ChazClout

For those Droid owners who are too impatient to wait for an OTA Android 2.1 update, you can finally do so easily thanks to Androidforums user Trident! and his handy guide to update manually.

Now there is no reason for Droid owners to feel left out of the Android 2.1 fun!

Source: Phandroid

doubleTwist has recently been updated to include the ability io search for Android Market apps within the doubleTwist application.

I’ve not tried the update yet as I am currently using Banshee in the Ubuntu 10.4 beta to sync music with my Nexus One but I will give doubleTwist a whirl if the Android Market search feature ends up turning out good.

doubleTwist is turning into one of the most Android friendly sync applications available on Mac and Windows!

I’ve had a few annoying calls on my phone number so I thought I’d look for an app that could run in the background on my phone which would block these peky calls. One quick search of the Android Market and I came across Call Blocker for Android.

Call Blocker screenshot 1

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It seems that Droid owners will finally be getting their 2.1 update TODAY! After a few delays, Engadget have posted info on the imminent update.

Starting 03/30/2010, Verizon Wireless is pleased to announce a new software update for the DROID by Motorola. Users will be able to upgrade their software to version AP: ESE81/BP: C_01.3E.03P to receive new improvements and enhancements.

*Software Schedule:*
Below is the software-upgrade notification schedule (All times listed are Eastern Time):

o At noon on 03/30, 1,000 users will receive notification of
the update.
o At 11:59 PM on 03/30, 9,000 more users will receive the
update notification.
o After the first 10,000 users receive the update on 03/30,
there will be a 24-hour period when no additional upgrades
will be delivered.
o On Day 3 (04/01), 200,000 users will receive the update
notification at 11:59 PM. This schedule will continue each
day thereafter until the update has been delivered to all users.

The Motorola Milestone recieved an OTA update yesterday and it seems Droid owners will be getting some 2.1 fun today!

The 2.1 wait is almost over.

Source: Engadget

Samsung have announced a new Android based handset featuring a 1GHz processor,  4 inch super AMOLED display and native GPS with 3D maps.

LAS VEGAS, March 23, 2010 – Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., a leading mobile phone provider, today introduced the Galaxy S (Model: GT-I9000), a smart phone that makes users’ lives more convenient, more exciting, and more integrated. JK Shin, president and head of Samsung Electronics’ Mobile Communications Business announced the global launch of the Galaxy S at his keynote speech at the International CTIA Wireless 2010. The Galaxy S will be available in Europe, North America, Latin America, Australia, and Asia soon.

Looking at the press shots it features a skinned Android OS which bares an extremely close resemblance to iPhone OS!

Sources: Businesswire, Engadget

Opera today have submitted their iPhone version of Opera Mini to Apple for approval on the app store and have posted a video of the advantages of their server side compression at work on an EDGE connection.

With an impressive 5 pages loaded to Safari’s one page on EDGE, it really does show how the browser will benefit those with low signal. Opera have aslo posted a competition where you can guess the approval date and the closest guess will win an iPhone! Some are seeing this as Opera putting pressure on Apple to approve it swiftly and to stop them from denying it altogether as Apple will undoubtedly get some bad press if it is rejected for a trivial reason.

Head on over to the competition page (if you hadn’t earlier) to submit your guess to try and win an iPhone 3G

Source: Opera

Here is an interesting keyboard replacement for Android, it’s called ThickButtons and it dynamically changes expected keypresses to fatter keys.

It’s not a bad keyboard replacement and works quite well but I did feel I was a little slower when typing as I had to adjust to the moving keys as they enlarged.

The app is available on the Anrdoid Market for free. Scan the QR code below or search for “thickbuttons” on the Market.

Source: AndroidGuys

HTC have made an official statement in the recent patent dispute initiated by Apple.

HTC Corporation today outlined its disagreement with Apple’s legal actions and reiterated its commitment to creating a portfolio of innovative smartphones that gives consumers a variety of choices.

It the statement they are keen to state that they “strongly advocate intellectual property protection and will continue to respect other innovators and their technologies“.

Whilst I have no clue if Google will ever become a direct target by Apple in any future patent disputes, it will be interesting to see how far it goes and how it will affect either HTC or Apple in the long run. Full statement linked below.

Source: HTC news release.

In a press release today, Sprint have announcd that the Nexus One is coming soon to their network.

Nexus One, the first wireless phone sold through Google(TM)’s web store, is planned for Sprint’s 3G Mobile Broadband Network. Sprint (NYSE:S) will announce pricing and an exact availability date soon.

Once released on Verizon and Sprint, this will make the Nexus One available on all 4 major U.S carriers. It seems that Google have been busy in America.

Now, where is that U.K bound Vodafone Nexus One Google?

Source: Sprint

Verizon will be rolling out the Android 2.1 update from tomorrow. Some of the enhancements that this will bring to the droid are:

• Pinch to zoom in the browser, Google Maps and the new improved gallery app
• A new weather and news widget
• Voice text entry
• Live wallpapers

More information about the Droid Android 2.1 update can be found at Verizon. Welcome to Android 2.1 Droid owners!

Source: Verizon