I just dashed off this quick video for my Twitter followers to demonstrate that the DROID doesn't have a multitouch soft keyboard, and pretty much instantly realized that I should probably share it with everyone else, since we've been getting a lot of questions about it. Long story short, while Android 2.0 and the DROID's hardware support multitouch, the device itself doesn't do multitouch out-of-the-box, and the soft keyboard suffers mightily for it. Why it's missing is certainly open for debate, but for now just know that no amount of hoping, wishing, or booze is going to make the stock keyboard register more than one press at a time. Don't despair, though -- while I'm not a fan, Chris Ziegler absolutely flies on this same keyboard on his DROID. Videos after the break.

Continue reading iPhone vs DROID multitouch keyboard showdown (video)

We've been getting a slow trickle of tips telling us that Verizon's Mobile Web service is currently down nationwide, with no ETA on a fix. That's Mobile Web, the featurephone service, not, you know, big-boy data, so chances are you're fine -- our various VZW smartphones are unaffected. (Although we did have a dropped call and some spotty voice quality on a DROID this morning -- ruh roh.) We'll let you know if we hear further.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Looks like the DROID invasion is starting a little early -- we were just sent these pics of Motorola's beastly Android slider on sale at an unspecified Best Buy Mobile somewhere deep within America's heartland. Or perhaps it's lurking around the fringe of our nation's coasts. In either case, we're told BBM reps can sell you a DROID as of today, so it might be worth checking out if you're not psyched to hit up your local Verizon store at 7AM tomorrow. And do let us know if the DROID ERIS is available, will you?

P.S.- Just got a tip that Wal-Mart is now selling 'em early too. The DROIDs are loose, people. Gather your valuables.

P.P.S.- Target Mobile Solutions, which operates kiosks in California Target stores, has opened the floodgates too -- but the catch is that you'll be paying $249.99 for a new activation, $50 more than Verizon after rebate. Thanks, Tony! (Update: we're hearing it's back down to $199.87 now -- nice!)

[Thanks, Mike and Jesse]

Continue reading Motorola DROID goes on sale a little early at Best Buy Mobile

Looks like those iDon't ads aren't all Verizon has in store to promote the DROID: this new spot, called "Stealth," just leaked to BGR. Again, we can't help but notice that Big Red's taking a nerdier sci-fi approach to things with these ads, but that seems to suit the DROID, if you ask us. Video after the break.

Continue reading Second Verizon DROID commercial stealth attacks America

Whoa -- we just got word that AT&T is suing Verizon for false advertising over Big Red's "There's a map for that" ads. We're reading the complaint and motion to stop the ads right now, but here's what AT&T says is the big problem:

In essence, we believe the ads mislead consumers into believing that AT&T doesn't offer ANY wireless service in the vast majority of the country. In fact, AT&T's wireless network blankets the US, reaching approximately 296M people. Additionally, our 3G service is available in over 9,600 cities and towns. Verizon's misleading advertising tactics appear to be a response to AT&T's strong leadership in smartphones. We have twice the number of smartphone customers... and we've beaten them two quarters in a row on net post-paid subscribers. We also had lower churn -- a sign that customers are quite happy with the service they receive.

AT&T also says its network reaches about the same number of people as Verizon's, so we're thinking it's a little miffed that it's being portrayed as an also-ran here. We'll update as we learn more, keep it locked!

Update: So this seems like a very narrow lawsuit, actually. As we've been told, AT&T thinks Verizon is trying to fool viewers into thinking that they can't use any AT&T phone services outside of 3G coverage areas by showing two essentially different maps. Since Verizon's entire network is 3G, the gaps in the red map are actual service gaps -- but Verizon doesn't show that the gaps on the AT&T map might be covered by AT&T's huge 2G network. We can see how that could be misleading, but at some point you've got to compare apples to apples, and AT&T even says it has "no quarrel with Verizon advertising its larger 3G network" in its complaint, so we'll see how the court reacts.

Update 2: Interestingly, Verizon's already changed the ads once at AT&T's behest, editing them to remove the phrase "out of touch" and adding a "Voice and data services available outside of 3G areas" small print disclaimer at the end. Apparently that wasn't enough for AT&T, which says the ads still confuse non-technical viewers into thinking AT&T provides no service at all outside of its 3G coverage.

Update 3: Okay, we've read everything -- there's really not much more to this suit than the arguments over the maps. We're thinking Verizon could have easily dealt with this by just using dark blue and light blue on the AT&T map to differentiate between 3G and 2G coverage, but at this point we don't think Ma Bell is all that interested in anything except getting these ads off the air. All that said, it's hard to deny that Verizon's ads made a perfectly valid point: using an iPhone on AT&T's network in New York or San Francisco is an exercise in frustration, regardless of whether you have 2G or 3G, and we've had zero problems on Verizon. Let's just hope AT&T is working as hard to fight these ads with its actual service as it is with its lawyers.

Continue reading AT&T sues Verizon over 'there's a map for that' ads

The iPhone App Store's arbitrary and inconsistent approval process continues to baffle and annoy on every level, as Macworld Editor-in-Chief Jason Snell just had his iPhone book rejected... for using the word "iPhone" in the title. Apparently Apple doesn't like app names or icons to include the word iPhone or images of the iPhone -- which arguably makes sense on some level -- but you'd think a freaking iPhone reference manual would warrant an exception, wouldn't you? Making matters worse, it appears that one Mr. David Pogue didn't have this problem, as his iPhone: The Missing Manual was approved with title and icon intact. Sigh. Phil Schiller -- deploy!

Continue reading Apple rejects Macworld iPhone Superguide from App Store... for using the word 'iPhone'

It's not exactly the native unlock we've been waiting for, but those of you in Europe dying for a Pre unshackled from O2 will be happy to know that the Rebel Simcard II is now compatible with Palm's first webOS device. The £10.99 / $17.95 accessory card slots in between your carrier's SIM and the Pre's SIM slot, bypassing the Pre's network locks and allowing full access to voice and data services including 3G. Sadly, the Pre doesn't have the radio support to make this work in the States on anything but EDGE, but at least it's a start, right? Video after the break.

[Thanks, Ji]

Continue reading GSM Palm Pre unlocked with a little Rebel assistance

Somewhat unusually, Verizon and Motorola actually gave us four DROID review units to play with -- and while Paul, Nilay, and Chris all contributed to Josh's official Engadget review, there were definitely some different perspectives (and dissenting opinions) amongst the team. Rather than try to squeeze everything together into one jumbled whole, we thought we'd let everyone add their own take on what's clearly a watershed device for Motorola, Google, and Verizon. Read on for more!

Continue reading More on the DROID: thoughts from the rest of Engadget

The Motorola DROID might be at the forefront of the Android scene right now, but it looks like it's going to have some high-end competition soon -- Sony Ericsson's been hyping the Rachael / XPERIA X3 launch on November 3, and today it's put out this little teaser video. Nothing much here other than some fleeting glimpses of the handset in Luster White, but it's looking quite sharp, and if the final specs are close to the DROID's we could have a real battle on our hands -- especially since SE's crazy Android UI skin looks pretty sweet. Check the video after the break.

[Thanks, Lars]

Continue reading Sony Ericsson Rachael teaser video plays with our hearts

It's finally here: the Motorola DROID, perhaps the most hotly-anticipated Android smartphone yet. We've been poring over every nook and cranny of this svelte QWERTY slider, and our full review is up on Engadget Classic -- so what are you waiting for? Hit the read link and dive right in!

Again, we have no idea why Verizon is burying the launch of the HTC Droid Eris alongside the Motorola Droid tomorrow (well, apart from the slow CPU and older Android build) but if you had any doubts that Big Red was going to launch this riff on the Hero, well, these screenshots of the employee training course should put those to rest. Interestingly, the buttons and logo placement are slightly different from the pic that was leaked to gdgt, but this version certainly looks like what Eric Schmidt was holding the other day, so we're thinking this is the final iteration. We'll see what's what tomorrow, we suppose.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

We already know plenty of people who've eschewed traditional turn-by-turn GPS systems in favor of plotting it out for free on Google Maps, and now there's whispers that Mountain View is coming after the rest of the market with a free nav app. That's at least what nav services providers are saying to Forbes, who think El Goog is gearing up to release a free ad-supported navigation app after making moves to use its own US maps instead licensing data from Tele Atlas and putting ads on the iPhone Maps app. Obviously that would shake things up a ton -- and make Android devices a huge bargain -- but we'll see where this all leads over the next few months.

[Via Fierce Mobile Content; thanks Elad]

We've been hearing about a 1GHz Snapdragon-based Android handset called the HTC Dragon ever since the HD2 came out, but now it looks like some pieces are falling into place -- apparently this mystery HTC set we spotted over the weekend is a CDMA version of the Dragon headed for Verizon as the HTC Passion sometime in Q4. Apparently Verizon's trying to unify the hardware UI of its Droid lineup, which is why the Motorola Droid, the HTC Droid Eris, and the Passion share a set of buttons along the bottom edge of the screen, and some people are also claiming that the white notification bar is further sign of similarity. As for us, well, we'll wait to hear more before we start to get too excited -- and we can't help but wonder if this thing will run Sense or stock Android 2.0 when it hits, as HTC's big new ad push is all about personalization. Still, it's looking like a hell of a year for Android (and Verizon), no?

HTC's definitely been a major name amonst the gadget cognoscenti for a while now, but it looks like the company's gearing up to go mainstream -- this is the first print ad from the new HTC You campaign that's launching today. Considering HTC's recent slew of high-profile handset launches like the Hero, HD2, and Tilt2 and equally-promising upcoming products like the Dragon and Droid Eris, we'd say this marketing push hasn't come a moment too soon. As for the ad itself, while it's not exactly a knockdown punch, it certainly suggests that HTC sees Sense UI as its ace in the hole -- we'll see how that plays out as Android 2.0 phones like the Motorola Droid come out and make stock Android sexy again.

Update: And the commercials have gone live on YouTube as well -- we gotta say, we're pretty into them. Check 'em after the break.

Continue reading HTC You ad campaign unveiled