Well, my friends at Sprint came through in a big way for me today.  The just announced Sprint HTC EVO Shift showed up on my doorstep.  I have had the phone, which is scheduled to be released commercially on Sprint’s network on January 9, for only a few hours, but it is already quickly becoming my favorite Android based phone.  When I reviewed the HTC EVO, I had two main complaints.  The phone was just too big for me to easily utilize, and there was no hard keyboard.  I am just not someone who likes to use an onscreen keyboard anymore than I have to.  So, stay tuned.  We will be checking out these features and a whole lot more in the coming weeks.  In the meantime, here are the complete specs to tide you over.

HTC EVO Shift™ 4G

As the 16^th 4G-capable device from Sprint, HTC EVO Shift follows in the footsteps of the award-winning HTC EVO™ 4G, bringing customers an attractive, compact design and an impressive list of features with the addition of a sliding QWERTY keyboard. Beyond the highly acclaimed HTC Sense user experience, HTC EVO Shift also boasts the power of 4G, Android 2.2™, a 5MP camera, 720p HD camcorder and a 3.6-inch capacitive touchscreen display with pinch-to-zoom capability.

Additional key features include:

• HD Video Recording
• Wi-Fi^®
• Sprint Mobile Hotspot (supporting up to eight Wi-Fi enabled devices)
• Android Market™ with access to more than 100,000 apps
• Messaging – Personal and business e-mail, IM and text messaging
• Social Networking Integration – Facebook^®, Twitter™, Flickr^® and more
• Visual Voicemail
• Google™ Mobile Services, including YouTube™, Gmail™, Google Talk™, Google Voice™ and Google Maps™
• GPS Navigation
• Stereo Bluetooth^® wireless technology
• microSD slot (supporting up to 32GB memory card)

From the press release:

LG Optimus 2X with Tegra 2 Offers Top Multimedia Features for a Better User Experience

LG Electronics (LG) recently unveiled the LG Optimus 2X, the world’s first smartphone with a dual-core processor. Along with more powerful multimedia features, the LG Optimus 2X’s high-performance Tegra 2 processor makes for faster, smoother web browsing and applications and lets users multitask with virtually no screen lag.

“Dual-core technology is the next leap forward in mobile technology so this is no small achievement to be the first to offer a smartphone utilising this technology,” said Dr. Jong-seok Park, CEO and President of LG Electronics Mobile Communications Company. “With unique features such as HDMI (High Definition Multimedia Interface) mirroring and exceptional graphics performance, the LG Optimus 2X is proof of LG’s commitment to high-end smartphones in 2011.”

Developed by graphics processor powerhouse NVIDIA ®, the dual-core Tegra 2 system-on-a-chip found in the LG Optimus 2X runs at a clock speed of 1GHz and boasts low power consumption and high performance for playing video and audio. Users will experience faster web browsing and smoother gameplay compared with single-core processors running at the same speed as well as instantaneous touch response and seamless multitasking between applications.

The LG Optimus 2X offers 1080p HD video playback and recording with HDMI mirroring that expands content on external displays to full HD quality. The LG Optimus 2X can connect wirelessly to any DLNA (Digital Living Network Alliance) compatible digital device such as HD TVs for a console-like gaming experience taking full advantage of the phone’s HDMI mirroring, accelerometer and gyro sensor. The smartphone also includes both rear- and front-facing cameras, microSD memory expandability, Micro-USB port and a hefty 1500mAh battery.

The LG Optimus 2X will be available in Korea next month with countries in Europe and Asia to follow. This mobile phone will initially be released with Android 2.2 (Froyo) and will be upgradeable to Android 2.3 (Gingerbread). The upgrade schedule will be announced in local markets in due course.

Key specifications:

1Ghz Dual-core Processor (NVIDIA Tegra 2)

4-inch WVGA screen

8GB memory (up to 32GB via microSD)

1,500 mAh battery

8 megapixel rear camera and 1.3 megapixel front camera

HDMI mirroring

1080p MPEG-4/H.264 playback and recording

Sounds like a lot of power.  I’m just thinking – I still am using my old AMD T-Bird 1Ghz running Windows XP…and now here comes a smartphone that has more power than my comp.  What is going to happen with this Android type system?  Seems like Android is going to have a lot of power….which goes to the thinking of do we even need a Chrome OS as Android will probably be the product of choice in which case Chrome OS would just be absorbed.  Exciting times.  Can’t wait for the new year!

As promised, I’ve been playing with one of the Motorola CLIQ’s we still have in the house, and that I recently updated to Android 2.1 (Éclair).  I have the following to say about this update.  Some of it is good, but some of it is quite critical.

1. Turn by Turn Directions – Its wonderful to have this capability now with this device.  TbT directions is a must have for me; as I am directionally challenged.  Éclair
2. Updated Google Apps – Speech to Text, Google Voice Search as well as an updated Google Maps and Navigation app (see above) are just part of what you’ll see.  I don’t know about you, but I really don’t use speech to text (I can read well enough and quickly enough that a computerized voice isn’t going to get me much.  As I’m not vision impaired, I find having a device read my text messages and e-mail to me, just laziness… Just sayin’. I also won’t use the Voice Search, as I find that the technology isn’t quite there as far as voice recognition is concerned.  I’m looking for "local rock bands," not ways to recycle cans or ways to cure hams.  I can type faster than it will take to delete, correct and/or respeak the command.
3. The new Android Market – This was a winner from the get go. The new Market app with its Update All and Auto Update features are pretty cool.  This is a clear winner.
4. Multimedia Apps – If you have an iPod (or other MP3/media player) use it.  Even my Nexus One doesn’t get used like this. The CLIQ has a very anemic processor.  You’re going to need some punch to make this work while multitasking other apps.
5. MotoBLUR 2.1.5 – The early reports I got on this update, about 6 months (or more) or so ago, indicated that the Motorola finally realized that MotoBLUR was nothing more than a big drag on the device’s resources (which it is…).  I had thought that they were going to make the CLIQ less BLURRY.  I guess I was wrong.  The 2.1.5 version of the CLIQ’s OS is still very MotoBLUR driven and dependent, and its almost as bad as the previous 1.x.x versions you had before the upgrade.

My best recommendation to existing CLIQ users is to update your software and then root the device with Super One Click.  I did, and I was able to put a different Launcher on the device.  At least this way, you can get rid of MotoBLUR and have a more "stock android" experience.  This is the easiest way to get a new ROM experience on the CLIQ, as there are little to no custom ROM’s available for the device.

The CLIQ’s home page	RSS and Music widgets	Google Search & RSS widgets
Landscape – Mail & Happenings widgets	Social networking in MotoBLUR	You still have to review ALL statuses in Happenings
The Universal Inbox	The Universal IM Client	The New Lock Screen

Many Motorola CLIQ users have been waiting nearly an ENTIRE YEAR for this upgrade.  I reviewed the CLIQ in November and December of last year. Getting here has been a long, annoying and frustrating.  The upgrade had more on-again/off-again action than Cher and Gregg Allman back in the day (and now I’ve REALLY dated myself…). 

However, the update has finally arrived.  You can get the update here; but there are a few hoops you have to jump through in order to get the update on your device.  Motorola makes you go through a 5 step process before you can actually get the software for your device.  While I am not going to recreate the process here, I will give you a few important tips in order to make the update work.

1. Most Moto CLIQ’s that I’ve seen have BLUR version 1.48 on them.  In order to install the latest version of Android for the CLIQ, your device must have BLUR version 1.61. Trying to flash the 2.15 version of BLUR over the 1.48 version will do nothing more than bring you to an error screen (device next to a triangle with an exclamation point in it), after the update package seems to execute without error.
2. BLUR version 1.61 is a Cupcake update that many seem to have missed.  If you don’t have BLUR 1.61, then you’ll need to do a Software Update check BEFORE you install Éclair (or BLUR 2.15) on your CLIQ.
3. Motorola makes you jump through a number of hoops (over and above getting and applying the 1.61 BLUR update) in order to flash your CLIQ.  There are 5 pages worth of instructions and "are you really sure you wanna do this" items that you have to read, click some sort of check box for and download links to wade through before you get to the software.

   I always get nervous when vendors do that because it usually tells me that they either didn’t want to release the item I’ve been waiting for, or that its problematic (or both).  Be careful when flashing.  They do indicate that you could brick your device…more than once.

I’ve downloaded and installed the update, though I did fall into the 1.48 vs. 1.61 version issue.  After I flashed the 1.61 update (and then letting BLUR get me back to where it wanted to get me), flashing the 2.15 version of BLUR was really very easy.

I’m in the process of evaluating the update and will have a write-up on it as a follow-up to my review in a week or so.

Over the past few days, I’ve had a few people ask me why I still use my Nexus One, as opposed to a newer or more advanced phone.  Yes, I could get a T-Mobile G2, T-Mo’s new HSPA+ device.  I could get a HTC EVO, Samsung Galaxy S Variant (Vibrant, Fascinate, Epic or Captivate).  I could get a Droid Incredible, Droid X, or even hold out of any of the new WP7 devices that are supposed to make themselves available before the end of the year.  There’s no end to choices for advanced devices right now.

The Google Phone – The Nexus One	The T-Mobile G2 with Google

So again, why stick with a Nexus One?  The answer is really very simple – Here are just a few small reasons why:

Read More …