1
droid
droid
Are SmartPhones Making Us Smarter Shoppers?
By Chris Morran on December 16, 2010 3:00 PM
52 Comments
Not so long ago, comparison shopping required actually going to several stores or sifting through every circular in the Sunday paper. And even as at-home internet access became commonplace, that didn't really help if you'd gone to the store without doing the legwork in advance. But the rapid growth of web-enabled phones could be leading to better retail prices and more informed consumers. More »
Defective Droid Sends Reader To Verizon Smartphone Replacement Hell
By Laura Northrup on December 9, 2010 10:30 AM
56 Comments
Maybe we need to turn "Tales of Verizon Smartphone Replacement Hell" into a recurring series. In today's installment, an Android update breaks Brian's Motorola Droid, and he goes through five replacement phones in just over three months. Oh, and a free screen protector, which belonged to the previous owner of his "Certified Like New Replacement" phone. More »
(ABC7)
Carjacker Gets Tracked Down In 7 Minutes Thanks To Droid App
By Ben Popken on December 3, 2010 5:00 PM
74 Comments
Droid does...justice? A guy who got carjacked was able to track the thief and send cops to surround him in seven minutes, thanks to the Lookout app installed on his Droid left in the car. More »
(WFAA)
Motorola Droid 2 Screen Shatters In Man's Ear, Blood Everywhere
By Ben Popken on December 3, 2010 1:00 PM
84 Comments
A Texas man showed up at the hospital with blood streaming down his ear after his Motorola Droid 2 screen shattered in his ear. More »
The George Lucas Death Star Tries To Obliterate My Startup
By Phil Villarreal on September 14, 2010 3:30 PM
150 Comments
Matt says George Lucas' lawyers are sending Storm Troopers after him for using the word "droid" in the title of his startup, Addroid. He has precious few days to coordinate his Rebel Alliance defense and sent out a hologram (OK, an email) saying "Help me, Consumerists. You're my only hope!" More »
(strobist)
Do Pay-By-Smartphone Systems Put Consumers At Risk?
By Chris Morran on August 25, 2010 1:15 PM
17 Comments
As smartphones like the iPhone or Droid become more popular and more sophisticated, developers are finding new ways for consumers to use these mobile devices to replace existing items like airplane boarding passes, coupons and now credit cards. Soon, smartphone owners will be able to pay for purchases with a wave of their phones, but they should first be aware of the possible risks involved. More »
Don't Buy A Droid If You Plan To Actually Use The GPS
By Laura Northrup on August 12, 2010 8:00 AM
185 Comments
GPS functionality is an important selling point of smartphones. Brandon writes that he wanted to do more with his Droid's GPS than check in to Foursquare: he wanted the device to shout turn-by-turn directions at him. When his phone's GPS stopped working well enough for navigation, he went to Verizon for a replacement. That phone's GPS didn't work very well, either, so he sought another replacement. Then, another. Finally, a Verizon employee wondered: why doesn't Brandon just go buy a standalone GPS if this is so important? Why, indeed? More »
Apple Says Droid X Also Has "Death Grip" Problem
By Meg Marco on July 26, 2010 5:30 PM
104 Comments
Apple has added the Droid X to its list of phones that it claims also has the "death grip" antenna issue. Apple's website depicts a hand holding the phone in a fairly normal one-handed grip, with the signal bars depleted. Below the image, Apple says: " In weak signal areas, this grip may negatively affect signal strength." PCMag, however, takes issue with Apple's methodology... More »
Verizon Store Won't Sell Me Droid X Because I'm Already A Customer
By Phil Villarreal on July 16, 2010 2:30 PM
88 Comments
Mike figured being a loyal Verizon customer might give him a leg up over newcomers when it came down to lining up for the anticipated Droid X, which was released yesterday. He thought wrong, because after he pre-ordered the phone he went to pick it up and was told the four units that were in stock were being held for new customers. More »
Steve Jobs: All Smartphones Have The Same Problem, But Here's A Free Case
By Meg Marco on July 16, 2010 1:45 PM
160 Comments
Mr. Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple, has announced his solution to the iPhone 4 duct-tape-antenna-situation. Free case! Or a refund! More »
Consumer Reports Video Faceoff: Droid X vs. iPhone 4
By Ben Popken on June 30, 2010 3:00 PM
23 Comments
Playing like a polite re-enactment of a gadget blog comments section flame war, two Consumer Reports journalists pit the features of the iPhone 4 against the new Droid X in this video thunderdome. Who will win? Will the iPhone's Retina blind the Droid's amber oculus? Or will the Droid's tapered top-knob bash the iPhone into shards? "Two phones enter... one phone leaves..." More »
Verizon Replaced My Broken Droid With An Even More Broken Droid
By Phil Villarreal on May 21, 2010 9:24 AM
64 Comments
Jack thought he might get his Droid with a wonky GPS system replaced with one that worked, but instead he got a nasty refurb with a host of new issues. Now he seems to almost wish he'd kept his original messed-up phone. More »
Verizon Rep Tells Me To Quit After Company Bungles Order
By Phil Villarreal on May 17, 2010 8:01 AM
28 Comments
Brad wanted three Droid Incredibles as soon as possible, so he headed into a Verizon store and signed up for service. He says the place took his $600 but was out of stock, but Verizon insisted it could overnight the phones to him. Several overnights came and went Droid Incredible-free, and Brad called in to find out the phones were delayed because they were on backorder. More »
(SashaW)
Buncha Peoples' Droids Randomly Deleting All Their Text Messages
By Ben Popken on April 21, 2010 4:30 PM
77 Comments
Maybe they are sentient after all, just like the commercials suggest, and they've decided it's time for you to move on. A slew of Droid owners are reporting that their cellphones will sometimes randomly delete all of their text messages. That's every picture of your baby your wife sent you, every hilarious exchange between you and your best friend, and every must-have address you've got stored as a text message. More »
Make Sure You Know Which Version Of Android Is On That Phone Before Buying It
By Chris Walters on March 15, 2010 12:39 PM
32 Comments
That brand new smartphone you want to buy may not be running the latest version of Android, reports Wired, and the manufacturer or cellular provider might like it that way. It costs money to push updates out to existing customers, assuming the hardware is compatible. Besides, carriers can charge extra fees for add-on services (like turn-by-turn navigation) that newer Android OS versions include free of charge. Check out Wired's article for a comparison chart of the Android version on each handset. More »
(Photo: gillyberlin)
Google Not Done Yet With Direct-To-Consumer Phones, According To Motorola
By Chris Walters on January 28, 2010 5:00 PM
18 Comments
Motorola told its investors today that it's working on building an Android phone for Google to sell directly to consumers alongside the HTC-built Nexus One. There are no other details yet, other than that it should be released in 2010, according to Motorola's co-CEO Sanjay Jha. More »
Blade Runner is a good movie.
Google Names Phone After Blade Runner, Irritates Copyright Holder
By Meg Marco on January 6, 2010 12:56 PM
124 Comments
Phillip K. Dick wrote a book called "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?," which is too long to put in the title of this post, but was adapted into the film Blade Runner (which is awesome.) In this book, the android model in question is called the "Nexus-6." Google's phone, which runs an operating system called "Android" is called the "Nexus One." This has pissed off Phillip K. Dick's daughter. More »
(Photo: jblyberg)
This Verizon Store Provides Weird Repair Services
When they left, Chris had a sticker stuck to the back of his Droid, and his girlfriend was told to stop wearing makeup because makeup ruins the enV Touch. More »
By Chris Walters on December 21, 2009 7:48 PM
27 Comments
Some Motorola Droid phones are having problems with the battery cover coming off too easily. That's what was happening to Chris' Droid, so he and his girlfriend brought it into a Verizon store in Pleasant Hill, CA. His girlfriend brought along her defective enV Touch for service as well. When they left, Chris had a sticker stuck to the back of his Droid, and his girlfriend was told to stop wearing makeup because makeup ruins the enV Touch. More »
Help, Verizon Doubled My ETF Behind My Back!
By Laura Northrup on December 10, 2009 2:45 PM
37 Comments
The spark had left his mobile phone relationship, and Dean left his iPhone 3G for a Droid. He happily paid an ETF to escape his AT&T contract, only to find himself trapped in a strange void between Verizon's previous early termination fee for smartphone contracts and the newly doubled fee. Now, he tells Consumerist that due to the ETF change, he is trapped in a contract that he claims he never signed. More »
New Droid Ad Goes For iPhone Jugular, Misses
By Ben Popken on December 8, 2009 12:42 PM
107 Comments
A new ad for the Verizon Motorola Droid tries to savage the iPhone for being more concerned with looking good than working great. Does it work?
