Motorola has the full specs to their latest Andriod powered device on their website. The Motorola Devour is a Cupcake device (Android 1.6) with MotoBLUR, and will be on the Verizon Wireless network.

It looks like Moto and VzW are a little more than kissing cousins, as they appear to have fully gotten into bed together. It will be interesting to see how well the two do together...

In an effort to minimize the apparent scope of the problem faced by at least a sizable plurality of Nexus One customers this week, Google has issued a statement to the press. It essentially acknowledges what we've all seen with our eyes, that users are experiencing widespread 3G connectivity issues, but it offers no information as to what measures are being taken to address those concerns.

"We are aware of the issues that have affected a small number of users, and are working quickly to fix any problems," reads the statement from Google to Betanews this afternoon. "We hope to have more information soon. When we do, we will post it to the user forum."

It looks like my initial suspicions have been confirmed. There is a radio ROM problem with some, not all, of the N1's that Google sold. If this is TRULY the case, a radio ROM upgrade should fix the problem, once the differences between them have been identified and resolved.

This Holiday, with the economy in the tentative state that its in, I’ve had a number of people approach me with similar questions about techie gifts for their loved ones.  What should I get?  How much is too much to spend? Where do I start?

Those are all great questions.  I’ve got a couple of suggestions for the technology minded.  Let’s take a quick look at what’s available and you can make the best decisions for you, your family, and your budget…and don’t worry.  This really isn’t as difficult as you think it is.  Oh; and by the way. Just for the record, I am NOT an Apple fan boy… You’ll understand why in a moment.

Mobile Devices
Yes, kids…its a Smartphone kind of year.  HTC is tearing it up with introductions in the Windows Phone and Android platforms, on nearly all four major wireless carriers.  However, before you can get started, you need to pick a wireless carrier. If you have a regional carrier (like US Cellular, here in the Chicago-land area) with a killer deal, look at it long and hard before passing it up for one of the majors.  However, here’s my quick set of guidelines for the major carriers:

Verizon Wireless – If you do a lot of travelling, go with them.  They have signal everywhere (there IS a map for that).  However, be prepared to pay a premium for the better coverage.  They have to make up the cost of implementing their network somehow, and they’ve passed it on to their customers.  Their phone choices are getting better with the Motorola Droid, but they generally suck.

Recommended Device – The Moto Droid.  This iPhone competitor won’t replace the iPhone, and its not without its own challenges, but by all accounts, its a great device.

 

The Motorola Droid on Verizon Wireless…

AT&T Wireless – Depending on your geographic location, your coverage may be better than what we have here in Chicago-land.  For me, the coverage is WAY less than desirable; but they have decent phones, including the iPhone.  Pick AT&T (generally) if you’re looking for the latest devices, or if you gift of choice this Holiday Season is the iPhone. Its going to exist nowhere else until June 2010 at the earliest.

Recommended Device – The Apple iPhone (obviously).  If you’re looking for the iPhone experience, NOTHING out there on any other carrier is going to be able to replace it.

 

The Apple iPhone is THE quintessential Smartphone…

Sprint – Sprint shares some (but not all) towers with Verizon Wireless.  They are a middle of the ground carrier when it comes to service, rate plans and phone choices.  Be careful when looking at Sprint, their retention rates are low, and there’s rumors that they are being looked at by Deutch Telekom (they own T-Mobile).

Recommend Device – The HTC Touch Pro 2.  This Windows Phone is one of the best on the market, made by the darling of the Smartphone arena.

 

The HTC Touch Pro 2 is a great Windows Phone…

T-Mobile – They have the best rate plans in town. Period. Their coverage generally stinks so if you’re budget minded and looking for a phone for a loved one this Holiday Season, check T-Mobile’s coverage map first. Travelers will be out of luck with T-Mo, as their National coverage tends to stick to about 1500 yards either side of a nearby interstate highway.  Here in Chicago-land however, their coverage is better than AT&T.  Their phone choices are also not too bad, with at least two new Windows Phones and three Android phones.

Recommended Device – The Moto CLIQ. This Android powered phone is a social network junkie’s dream, bringing all of your favorite networks down into one convenient interface.  Watch for my review of the device on Just Another Mobile Monday.

 

The Moto CLIQ’s strengths lie in social networking…

MP3 Players
Despite what Microsoft is trying to do with the Zune and the Zune HD, Apple really wrote the book on the portable music player. If you’re looking to get a loved one an MP3 player, in my mind the question to ask yourself is what kind of iPod to get, and how big.  In my mind, there are really two choices – iPod Shuffle, the iPod Nano, or the iPod Touch.

No…I didn’t miscount. The Apple iPod is the quintessential music player. Its form, function and unfortunately, its price point singularly distinguish it as the multimedia player to have.

iPod Shuffle
The Shuffle is the entry level iPod, giving you random playback of selected songs.  If budget is an issue for you, this is the way to get the iPod experience at under $100. Its a difficult deal to pass up; and the iTunes experience is worth the cost. 

Starting at just $59, the Shuffle just may be the iPod for you…

iPod Nano
The Nano, with its new video camera offers video (obviously…movies and TV shows), pictures, and music for under $200 bucks. With the inclusion of the aforementioned video camera, it takes social to a whole new level.  This is the iPod that most teens and tweens want. Its small, offers varying color choices and gives them a creative outlet with its internal video camera.  Starting at $150 bucks, this is a really nice holiday gift, one that most everyone would like.

 

Starting at $159, the iPod Nano with video is a teen’s holiday dream come true…

iPod Touch
While Apple will tell you that the Touch is for everyone, its really a high end device, targeted at gamers and geeks. Starting at $199 for a meager 8GB, this device is the next portable, handheld gaming platform of choice, provided Apple doesn’t annoy all of their developers out of the business.

 

Starting at $199 for just 8Gb, the Touch is a high end gaming device…

Laptops
Without getting into a netbook, because some of them are just too small in size for some people, basic laptops can cost anywhere from $299.99 to $499.99. Be careful here.  If you’re in the market for a new portable PC, get something that provides anywhere from 1.5-2.0gHz of speed and at least 1GB of RAM.  Any speed CD/DVD writer will work, and any size hard drive 160GB or higher will provide adequate storage for a reasonable price.  RAM and hard drives are easy upgrades for notebooks later, and with prices on both coming down, you can add extra life later to a purchase today.

Recommended Budget Buy – For $389.99 you can get this Acer Aspire AS5517-5086 Notebook from Tiger Direct.

Desktops
Refurbished or used Mac desktops can be a GREAT value.  Macs tend to hold their value longer than Windows PC’s; and used or refurbished Macs are WONDERFUL media PC’s when hooked to an HDTV or HT monitor.  They also make a great first PC for young kids and educational software, especially if the desktop you find is an Intel based Mac (so it can run Windows in a Boot Camp partition).  Check eBay or Craig’s List for these kinds of deals.

Recommended Budget Buy – For a mere $189.99, you can get an eMachines ET1810-01 desktop computer from Tiger Direct. 

 

Check out Tiger Direct, near Aurora, or New Egg for some other really great deals.

I hope this buyer’s guide has given you some ideas. Buying tech-toys or gifts isn’t hard when you understand what’s out there and what their limitations are.

Have a Happy Holiday!

As most unboxings go, this one is unfortunately a little on the blasé side.  However, I wanted to show everyone that might be interested what came with the Moto CLIQ.  Having never owned a T-Mo phone or any other Moto phone for that matter (the StarTac I had back in 2000 really doesn’t count, right??), I had no idea what to expect.

When I woke up this morning, I was greeted to a FedEx bubble wrap envelope at my door.  Opening it up revealed the box below.

My Moto CLIQ’s box. Its showing a little wear…

Small box… I was hoping for a little more in it that I got.  I stopped by a local T-Mo store, and interestingly enough they confirmed the contents for me.

The CLIQ in its box…

The review unit is in very good condition, but the box is showing some wear. Its also unfortunately, a fingerprint magnet (as you can see).

The entire contents of the CLIQ’s box.  There’s not much here…

From left to right we have the micro USB cable, a set of 4 booklets (I haven’t opened them yet, obviously), a phone recycle envelope, the AC adapter (the USB cable plugs into it), and a set of 3.5mm headphones.

We’ve come a long way from the days when not only USB cables but FULL AC adapters as well as basic cases were included with a device.  While the CLIQ is currently $199 (I saw it for $149 at Wal-Mart last night here in Chicago), and approximately $400 unlocked, I was a bit surprised to see so little coming with the device.

I’m working with the device, and have been playing with it most of the day. I have my Twitter, Facebook and mail accounts synchronized to the device as well as my JAMM Google Apps account. So far, I’ve had a good day with the device, but after reading some of the T-Mo forums for the device, its clear it has some challenges.  The debate over MOTOBLUR, Android 2.0 and the CLIQ seems to have a lot of device owners returning the device and going with a My Touch 3G (or other device).  This is going to be an interesting two weeks…

Stay tuned, kids… I’ve got a lot planned for this thing!

The simple fact is that there is not enough memory on the G1 to support a much bigger OS, and even equipping the device with Cupcake was reportedly problematic. "We knew that internal flash space was going to be very tight on the G1 and we kept the system partition tight on purpose," Jean-Baptiste Queru, a software engineer at Google said on Twitter last week.

Even though T-Mobile continues to deny it, the Android community has resigned to the fact that the T-Mobile G1 (also known as the HTC Dream) will not receive any significant upgrades beyond "Cupcake," the Android software update from last April.

via betanews.com

There comes a time when the latest ROM upgrade just doesn't cut it. So much for the G1... No more Android updates for you! Its only been like 6 or so months for this device (give or take a few); and its already being obsoleted? If I were a G1 user, I'd be ticked off!