I flashed clockwork recovery with the rom manager app and just placed the 5.0.5.3.zip file on the root of the SD card and chose Install Rom from SD Card in the rom manager app. When I rebooted, I didn't have any of the google apps (gmail, market, maps, etc) but found out that also have to run the Google Addon file at the link below the rom one. Renamed that to update.zip, put it on the sd card and applied it in recovery and everything worked fine. Overall it's pretty fast and smooth. Allows you to change the number of homescreens (default is apparently 7) and give you full 360deg screen rotation with the accelerometer rather than portrait or left landscape only. Also has the 3d launcher from the N1 and it works pretty well and allows 4 static icons on each screen. So the phone, browser handcent and google talk icons are on all of the screens like the one below

3/24/2010 5:53:51 PM

More than 70% of iPhone developers plan to develop for Android over the next six months
http://metrics.admob.com/2010/03/admob-publisher-survey/

3/24/2010 6:34:00 PM

I had been waiting for the announcement of a new Android phone on Sprint, and definitely want the EVO. Only thing I'm worried about is a possibility that there is an extra surcharge for the 4G (engadget stated that there may be). I live in a city without 4G (don't ask me how one of the biggest cities in the US, San Diego, still doesn't have it...) so it'd suck to pay a surcharge for something I can't use.

3/24/2010 7:09:25 PM

For those with the G1:

I flashed this rom tonight and holy shit, it IS VERY fast. Totally worth trying out:
http://androidandme.com/2010/03/news/android-hacks-video-review-of-supercsdiv4/

^^^ that looks sweet man. I ended up rooting my wifes Nexus tonight (not my buddys droid) and flashed cyanogens rom. You must have found something I have not because I do not see how to add the 4 apps at the launcher like that. Did you flash another launcher?

3/25/2010 1:17:16 AM

nah, the launcher came with the rom. It booted up and gave me the option of using the regular tabbed launcher or the 3d launcher. When you drag a shortcut around the screen, little green dots will appear appear on both sides of the launcher and you can place the shortcut on one of them. Maybe it's something with the droid specific rom. Does the N1 rom you loaded have the little dots on each side of the launcher button to display the thumbnails of all of the screens? The droid build doesn't have them but holding the launcher will give you a thumbnail view.

3/25/2010 10:00:03 AM

sorry for this noob question, but can you tether with any andriod phone? Ive heard people say you could but I wanted to see if i could use my laptop with a new android phone.

3/25/2010 12:27:00 PM

look up PDANet

3/25/2010 12:39:11 PM

Thanks

3/25/2010 4:50:02 PM

Yeah pdanet should work. There's a paid version and a free one that doesn't allow https. Best thing to do is wait for the phone to be rooted and install one of the custom roms and kernels that allow wifi tethering for free. The CM rom I'm using also includes usb tethering.

Have to say I'm fairly impressed with CM 5.0.5.3 on the droid. Seems a little speedier than bugless beast and I haven't seen a force close yet. Managed to add the custom dialer and dark facebook widget from the smoked glass theme but got hung in a boot loop after trying to add the dark notification bar. Glad I made a backup.

3/25/2010 5:04:09 PM

My Droid is acting up. I got the red led of death today.... while my phone was charging .... already at 70% before it briefly said 5%. Now I'm seeing that I can't switch orientation unless I pull out the keyboard.

I'm just a silly old droid playing silly droid games

3/25/2010 6:43:25 PM

What do you folks think of the Dell mini 5?

http://i.engadget.com/2010/02/19/dell-mini-5-prototype-impressions/

I'm considering making the jump from a 3gs to a mini 5 so long as it has Pinch to zoom maps and browser. It should have 2.1 upon release. Sure it's huge for a phone but it does fit in a pocket.

[Edited on March 25, 2010 at 9:28 PM. Reason : 2.1]

3/25/2010 9:02:26 PM

jeebus. That's a damn phone?

3/25/2010 9:26:05 PM

Yeah it's huge for a phone. It's also small for a tablet, heh

3/25/2010 9:35:52 PM

Justin, you must have some large pockets.

Then again... may I assume you're looking at this specifically because you might use it for tech support needs?

3/25/2010 9:47:15 PM

Nah, I just think that I could compromise the larger size for what I would hope to be a better internet browsing experience. The 3gs can browse the web well but I find myself scrolling all over the place when viewing pages. As a result I often find myself reading mobile versions of pages to access content due to speed and readability.

Of course I'd need to have a hands on impression before making such a jump but yeah... I think it just might be the right fit depending on how well it browses the net.

Here's a link to a recent sighting:

http://www.electronista.com/articles/10/03/25/dell.teases.aero.android.phone.mini.5.tablet/

"Otherwise confirmed were the 5-inch capacitive touchscreen, VGA webcam, access to Android Market, Facebook and Flash 10.1 support. Processing power comes from a 1GHz Snapdragon, and the 800x480 touchscreen is sharp."

[Edited on March 25, 2010 at 10:57 PM. Reason : Recent sighting]

3/25/2010 10:39:46 PM

Given that it's being made by Dell, it will probably be priced unreasonably. Might as well just get an iPad.

3/26/2010 11:10:59 AM

yeah, it's specs could very well make it expensive. I could do without the front facing webcam for one.

Hopefully they'll try to be competitive in price.

Flash on the mini 5 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Py5oATbRY-s

3/26/2010 3:19:56 PM

http://www.chinacartimes.com/2010/03/18/roewe-350-production-kicks-off-today-roewe-350-running-on-android/

Roewe 350: The first car to run on Android

Quote :

"The 350 was based on the Roewe N1 concept car that was shown at the Shanghai Auto Show last year. The concept itself was the epitome of 3G lifestyle, and as a result the Roewe 350 DVD/GPS system is actually running on Google’s very own Android system. The 350 will be able to get all the latest real time traffic reports so drivers can avoid certain spots, the system also allows for direct web access from your car, and oddly it allows you to chat online which is something you really don’t want to be doing when you’re driving. The 350 will be running the 2.1 Android operating system, which is the same as what you will find in Google’s latest Nexus handset."

3/27/2010 6:39:58 PM

are people still having voice quality issues with the Droid? from what I read, it's more of a problem for people on the other end of the call...supposedly sounds like you are muffled or in a tunnel or something.

3/27/2010 9:44:33 PM

a bunch of guys at work have android phones (hero, droid mostly) and haven't had any issues. My wife has the moment and it comes through clear as well.

3/27/2010 11:27:21 PM

sometimes its hard to hear my girlfriend on her droid eris, but i think its mostly because she doesnt know how to actually talk into the phone

3/27/2010 11:42:10 PM

haven't had any problems like that with my Droid.

3/28/2010 12:13:49 AM

if i'm laying in bed on a pillow, no one can hear me on my droid. if i sit up straight, they can hear me fine. i don't know what the deal is. i think it's something with the pillow. sometimes it does it if i squeeze the phone between my head and my shoulder to have both hands free.

3/28/2010 12:52:53 AM

haven't had any complaints yet. Did have an issue where it would echo like crazy when I tried to talk but going into the programming options and changing the vocode fixed that. Another thing to consider is that the antenna is in the bottom lip of the phone which is where a lot of people tend to hold it so that could be a problem.

3/28/2010 9:01:53 AM

i just was concerned because there's a huge thread on the Motorola forums of people complaining about audio issues, etc. then again i bet most of them are the same handful of weirdos that go through like 20 phones a year and actually get a rise out of bitching to customer support for 3 hours a day

3/28/2010 12:12:40 PM

Every phone is going to have issues, and stupid people trying to use 'em. If it were really a problem, blogs like Engadget, Gizmodo, etc., would have been all over it already.

3/28/2010 3:26:07 PM

motorola phones are supposed to have excellent call quality right now thanks to some of their technologies. my backflip is excellent and the z9 i had before that was excellent. i can't speak for android phones other than my backflip, but I would imagine the droid has great call quality

3/28/2010 6:45:10 PM

It does.

3/28/2010 9:54:26 PM

Quote :

"then again i bet most of them are the same handful of weirdos that go through like 20 phones a year and actually get a rise out of bitching to customer support for 3 hours a day"

i work with a guy like that. i swear, he must be on his 6th phone right now. he finally got the droid, and puts a new ROM on it every week

3/29/2010 12:08:33 AM

You work with CalliPHISH?

3/29/2010 8:09:33 AM

good news everyone- we're getting droids wednesday (19.99 on amazon? yes please)

i'd like to sign up for the newsletters now. seriously though- what's the best site for a rom guide and/or any other tips for setting it up to be rad?

3/29/2010 8:45:02 AM

I'm probably gonna get called down for this, but I'd stick with the stock firmware for a while. Get your contacts right, find the apps you like, figure out how to integrate the phone and its features into your life and all that, then take stock of what else you'd like to do but can't with the stock firmware.

The only thing I honestly needed that I couldn't do without root was wireless tethering. Overclocking is nice, but it's far from a necessity.

3/29/2010 9:07:30 AM

Damn, I just heard about Amazon offering the Droid for $20, and I ordered mine from VZW yesterday for $200. Think I can call up and get some kind of pricematch?

3/29/2010 9:22:57 AM

Yeah wireless tethering is really the only thing I want to root the phone for...

3/29/2010 9:57:18 AM

Get this eBook reader, it's great:

http://www.aldiko.com/

3/29/2010 10:12:09 AM

[Edited on March 29, 2010 at 10:39 AM. Reason : ]

3/29/2010 10:38:14 AM

^Wow I really want to hold out for the HTC Incredible but that is really tempting

3/29/2010 10:44:40 AM

Some really sweet apps in the mix for Android, a couple were released at CTIA:

Logmein Android
https://secure.logmein.com/welcome/android/

Paypal
http://www.androidcentral.com/paypal-bump-android-bound

Dropbox
http://techcrunch.com/2010/03/22/dropbox-android-app/

Skype Mobile
http://www.skype.com/download/skype/android/

Oregon Trail
http://www.androidcentral.com/oregon-trail-android-app-ctia

Fandango
http://www.fandango.com/androidapp

Rhapsody (public beta coming April 4th)
http://www.rhapsody.com/android/download

Blockbuster (like anyone will really use this, ha!)
http://www.androidcentral.com/blockbusters-android-app-ctia

3/29/2010 12:31:24 PM

yeah, I've been using phonemypc on the droid but can't wait for logmein to release theirs.

And there are a lot more benefits to rooting and installing a custom rom than wireless tether. There are a few apps that require root access like drocap (screen capture app) and Led hack which will turn off the backlight on the softbuttons buttons when on the dock. From what I can tell, the battery life is a good bit better on the CM rom I'm running vs stock and everything runs smoother overall.

3/29/2010 2:03:39 PM

is there a way to get "aftermarket" ebooks on that droid program?

3/29/2010 2:07:57 PM

looks like the EVO 4G won't do simultaneous voice and data so lets see if at&t takes a shot at sprint now.

Quote :

"If you're using 4G for data, you can't use CDMA for voice. Currently the only way to do simultaneous voice and data would be through a third-party VOIP solution. However, this is not do to strict hardware limitations, so it's possible this could change with future updates."

[Edited on March 29, 2010 at 7:52 PM. Reason : ]

3/29/2010 7:52:11 PM

That is odd... I was under the impression from ars technica that a phone with 4G service did voice calls through the data channel. Since they did not allocate separate frequencies for voice and data, they just used the wide-pipe data channel for both.

3/29/2010 9:56:55 PM

Skype mobile's only available for Verizon at the moment.

WTF is the world coming to, the Nexus One on every network, Sprint with the first 4G phone, and Verizon, by far the most expensive out of the 4 major US networks is the first out of the gate with an application thats likely to save consumers huge sums of money by ultimately giving them the option to reduce the minutes they purchase through the carrier.

3/29/2010 10:33:08 PM

This Nexus One & Incredible bullshit is pissing me off.

3/29/2010 11:28:53 PM

im fucking tired of this talk and data bullshit. how often do you find yourself in that situation?

3/29/2010 11:32:42 PM

about once a week for me

3/30/2010 12:38:35 PM

I'm usually in reach of wifi so it doesn't really bother me in the event that I need to use it. Think the only time I've used it is while my mom was blabbering on about something.

looks they're rolling out 2.1 for the droid

http://www.androidcentral.com/verizon-motorola-droids-android-21-update-reportedly-rolling-out-again

Quote :

"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. The SOP of 1,000 people in the first batch applies, followed by 9,000 more at midnight tonight, and 200,000 on Thursday."

[Edited on March 30, 2010 at 12:43 PM. Reason : ]

3/30/2010 12:42:38 PM

I'll believe it when I see the update notification on my phone and after applying said update the firmware shoes 2.1.0

3/30/2010 1:00:00 PM

^^ not fooling for that old trick again

3/30/2010 11:48:49 PM

If you don't want to wait, you can manually update it to the 2.1 release by following the instructions at http://www.androidcentral.com/how-manually-update-your-droid-android-21

3/31/2010 7:50:12 AM