Verizon graphic designers don’t know Android from the iOS

Verizon Motorola iOS.

See anything strange about the phone in that image? Maybe the fact that it’s a Motorola and yet, for some reason, it’s running Apple’s iOS. I won’t call it anything more than a slip-up by the graphic designer, because that’s probably all it is. It does seem a little strange that the iOS screenshots would be so close at hand.

Source: Engadget

  

Motorola Devour is like the Droid’s weird cousin

Motorola Devour.Verizon and Motorola announced a new phone today. Called the Devour, the phone looks like a mini-Droid, or as my title suggests, the Droid’s weird cousin. It’s got a smaller display, a presumably smaller keyboard (yikes) and runs Anroid, albeit through Motoblur, Motorola’s odd Android distro.

I would guess the phone is going to fall somewhere around the Droid Eris in terms of price. It’s not a bad phone for $100, but like the Eris, it seems like a waste for what you’d get if you spent another $99. I can’t for the life of me figure out why Motorola is so obsessed with the physical keyboard, either. The pad on the Droid sucks. It really sucks. Android’s software keyboard is just so much nicer, why not rely on that?

If Motorola is your thing, you can get the Devour in early March.

  

iPhone tops the 10 most popular phones in the US

iPhone beats out everybody else.The Nielsen Company has released the top performers in the tech sector for 2009. Among the company’s lists is the cell phone chart, at the top of which sits the iPhone.

I know. I was shocked, too. Below that it’s the Blackberry 8300 series. Again, a pretty big surprise. The two most popular phones in the states this year are actual smartphones. Perhaps most surprising of all was the number three spot: the Motorola RAZR. I don’t know if people just aren’t resubbing, so they don’t replace their out-of-date phones, or if there just weren’t enough smartphone options on Verizon, the nation’s network of choice.

Whatever the case, the RAZR is still hanging around in big numbers, but it’s getting beat out by the smartphone explosion. Manufacturers take note: people want mobile web access, so much so that the smartphone sector is finally beating the pants off feature phones.

Source:

  

Motorola Debut i856 giveaway

Motorola Debut i856 Slider.Just a reminder to enter yourself in our Motorola Debut i856 giveaway. Motorola was kind enough to offer up two of these for our readers, so you’ve got double the chances to pick one up. As far as feature phones go, it’s a great choice for anyone with a taste for music. Visit the contest page at Bullz-Eye for full details. I’ve also posted the rules below.

If you want to enter to win this item, please send an email to:

contests@bullz-eye.com

Please put the name of the item in the subject line of the email and include your full name & address in the body of the email.

Limit one entry by email per promotion. Please do not abuse this rule. If multiple emails are consistently sent from the same address for a particular promotion, that email address will be blocked from all future Bullz-Eye.com giveaways.

We do not share your email and personal information with anybody. Click here for our privacy policy.

You must be at least 18 years old to have a chance to win.

Winners will be selected by Bullz-Eye.com at random. Your chances of winning depend upon the number of items we have to give away and the number of entries we receive while the promotion is posted on Bullz-Eye.com.

Void where prohibited.

CONTEST ENDS: DECEMBER 30, 2009

  

Handset Review: Motorola Debut i856

Motorola-Debut-i856I’ve spent the last two weeks with the Motorola Debut i856, a feature phone on the Sprint network that makes use of iDEN tech with push-to-talk. It’s the slimmest push-to-talk phone I’ve seen and has solid voice quality and a decent music player. Unfortunately, the keypad makes texting feel like a chore and with increasingly cheap smartphones, the i856 might not have enough features to keep your interest.

Design
The i856 is definitely a good looking phone. I’ve always preferred sliders to clamshells, and again, the thin body is a nice addition to the world of iDEN devices. At 4.19 inches long by 2.0 inches wide by 0.59 thick, it’s small enough to tuck into a pocket or a small purse. The front of the phone has a ring with four navigation buttons and a selection button. The left, right, and selection buttons control the media player whenever you have music playing. The rest of the time they’re used for standard browsing. The side of the phone has your volume rocker, the push-to-talk key (which also pulls up the contacts page) and a volume toggle. You also get a 3.5mm headphone jack, allowing the use of your headset of choice.

One confusing design feature is the placement of the microSD slot. It’s inconveniently tucked under the battery cover – not a huge deal, but a pain if you like to switch out your music regularly.

The keypad design is where the i856 suffers most. It looks good, but the buttons are spongy and close together, making it almost impossible to text with two hands. The keys are raised, so it’s easy enough to dial by feel with one hand, but doing anything else is an exercise in frustration.

Features
With any feature phone, I look for it to do one thing really well. If I wanted something that could multi-task well, I’d step up to a smartphone. The i856 actually has a great little media player. It organizes tracks by artist, album, and genre, and (my personal favorite feature) it supports podcasts. You can set the phone to play music in the background while performing other functions, and the keys that toggle on the front of the phone make it easy to control what you hear. The player supports a wide range of formats, so you shouldn’t have trouble getting what you want on the phone.

The i856 also has a 1.3MP camera. It takes pictures of about the quality you’d expect, worse in low light. There’s a 600 capacity contact list with the ability to group contacts for push-to-talk and customize caller ID photos and ringtones. Beyond that you get the basic downloads for wallpapers, ringtones, and games.

Quality and Performance
I was really impressed with the call quality on the i856. It’s crystal clear on both ends, so much so that my friend thought it was a VoIP call. Speaker phone was good enough for occasional hands-free use. Again, media features are strong and easy to control, just make sure you’re using a headset. The external speakers sound tinny and thin.

Overall, this is a decent phone if you’re really committed to push-to-talk. Beyond that, your $100 could get you a Palm Pre if you’re committed to Sprint (the i856 is also available through Boost), which is a much more flexible device.

Giveaway!
Motorola has offered us two of these handsets for a giveaway. As soon as we have details for the contest I’ll post them here. Don’t forget to check out our other reviews at the Gadget Teaser Reviews section.