Verizon Wireless & Kindle Team Up

Looks like Verizon Wireless will be pushing another app to your smartphone device in the near future. They’ve just teamed up with Amazon to bring the Kindle app pre-loaded on many smartphone devices and “other” devices. For now, the app will be featured on the Samsung Fascinate, the DROID 2 and the DROID X, with more devices to be added in the future.

What do you think of this? Just another way for carriers to add bloatware to your device or is this something you welcome? Let us know in the comments below!

In the meantime, here’s the full press release, just put out by Verizon Wireless this morning:

10/13/2010

BASKING RIDGE, NJ and SEATTLE, WA — Verizon Wireless and Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN) today announced that the Kindle reading experience is now easily found on many Android devices running on the nation’s most reliable wireless network and will be available on more devices in the future.

Kindle for Android lets customers discover and read more than 700,000 books in the Kindle Store and is easy to find on the application screen of the new Samsung Fascinate™ – which boasts a brilliant 4-inch Super AMOLED touch screen display – as well as on DROID™ 2 by Motorola and DROID X by Motorola.

Kindle for Android allows customers to browse, download and start reading their favorite books directly from their Android phone. Features of the Kindle app include:

• Buy Once, Read Everywhere – Amazon’s Whispersync technology syncs your bookmark across devices, so you can pick up where you left off.
• With Kindle Worry-Free Archive, books purchased from the Kindle Store are automatically backed up online, where they can be re-downloaded at any time.
• The largest selection of books people want to read. The U.S. Kindle Store now has more than 700,000 books, including New Releases and 107 of 111 New York Times Bestsellers. Over 575,000 of these books are $9.99 or less, including 80 New York Times Bestsellers.

“We’re very excited to bring Kindle for Android directly to Verizon Wireless customers,” said Jennifer Byrne, executive director, business development and partnerships for Verizon Wireless. “Our smartphones come with great screens that make buying and reading books simple and easy, and Amazon’s commitment to reading and offering a seamless customer experience is directly in line with what our customers want.”

“Customers are already telling us they love Kindle for Android, and we think they are going to be excited to get their Verizon Wireless phones and other devices preloaded with the Kindle app,” said Dave Limp, vice president, Kindle. “We are thrilled to be working with such an innovative company as Verizon Wireless and are excited to have Kindle for Android on these three phones and on other devices down the road.”

Customers can also find the app by searching for “Kindle” in Android Market™. For more information about the free Kindle app, go to www.amazon.com/kindleapps. For more information about Verizon Wireless, visit a Verizon Wireless Communications Store, call 1-800-2 JOIN IN or go to www.verizonwireless.com.

About Verizon Wireless
Verizon Wireless operates the nation’s most reliable and largest wireless voice and 3G data network, serving more than 92 million customers. Headquartered in Basking Ridge, N.J., with 79,000 employees nationwide, Verizon Wireless is a joint venture of Verizon Communications (NYSE, NASDAQ: VZ) and Vodafone (LSE, NASDAQ: VOD). For more information, visit www.verizonwireless.com. To preview and request broadcast-quality video footage and high-resolution stills of Verizon Wireless operations, log on to the Verizon Wireless Multimedia Library at .

About Amazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN), a Fortune 500 company based in Seattle, opened on the World Wide Web in July 1995 and today offers Earth’s Biggest Selection. Amazon.com, Inc. seeks to be Earth’s most customer-centric company, where customers can find and discover anything they might want to buy online, and endeavors to offer its customers the lowest possible prices. Amazon.com and other sellers offer millions of unique new, refurbished and used items in categories such as Books; Movies, Music & Games; Digital Downloads; Electronics & Computers; Home & Garden; Toys, Kids & Baby; Grocery; Apparel, Shoes & Jewelry; Health & Beauty; Sports & Outdoors; and Tools, Auto & Industrial. Amazon Web Services provides Amazon’s developer customers with access to in-the-cloud infrastructure services based on Amazon’s own back-end technology platform, which developers can use to enable virtuall y any type of business. Kindle, Kindle 3G and Kindle DX are the revolutionary portable readers that wirelessly download books, magazines, newspapers, blogs and personal documents to a crisp, high-resolution electronic ink display that looks and reads like real paper. Kindle 3G and Kindle DX utilize the same 3G wireless technology as advanced cell phones, so users never need to hunt for a Wi-Fi hotspot. Kindle is the #1 bestselling product across the millions of items sold on Amazon.

Amazon and its affiliates operate websites, including www.amazon.co.uk, www.amazon.de, www.amazon.co.jp, www.amazon.fr, www.amazon.ca, and www.amazon.cn. As used herein, “Amazon.com,” “we,” “our” and similar terms include Amazon.com, Inc., and its subsidiaries, unless the context indicates otherwise.

Forward-Looking Statements
This announcement contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Actual results may differ significantly from management’s expectations. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that include, among others, risks related to competition, management of growth, new products, services and technologies, potential fluctuations in operating results, international expansion, outcomes of legal proceedings and claims, fulfillment center optimization, seasonality, commercial agreements, acquisitions and strategic transactions, foreign exchange rates, system interruption, inventory, government regulation and taxation, payments and fraud. More information about factors that potentially could affect Amazon.com’s financial results is included in Amazon.com’s filings with the Securities and Ex change Commission, including its most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and subsequent filings.

source – VZW PR email

Flash Update In Android Market, v10.1.95.2

Have a DROID 1, DROID 2, DROID Incredible and/or DROID X running 2.2? Well, head on over to the Android Market and pick up the latest update to Flash – it’s now up to v10.1.95.2. No change log yet, but I’ll keep an eye out for it and update this post should I see one. If you’ve updated and are aware of what’s been updated, be sure to let us know in the comments below.

source – Droid-Life

Droid X Screen Problems – Verizon Wireless Responds

Droid X’ers….. are you having screen issues? Experiencing a bit of a flickering screen? Never fear, Verizon Wireless has put out a statement regarding this spotty problem. Not seeing it? No worries….. you probably won’t. Not many people are, which is good. Let’s get to the statement, shall we:

“Verizon Wireless and Motorola are aware of a very small number of DROID X units that have experienced a flickering or banding display. Motorola has resolved the issue and is continuing to ship the phones. Any consumer who experiences a flickering or banding display should contact a Motorola customer support center or Verizon Wireless.”

So, there you have it, it’s as easy as that. If you are experiencing the flickering, bring it back to a Verizon Wireless store or call in to the customer service center.

via – Droid-Life

Droid X owners – don’t PULL too hard!

Droid X owners, just a heads up! Some people are pulling the yellow battery tab a bit too hard and it’s tearing off into their hands. I have a co-worker that did this and ended up pretty upset that she now has a less than perfect device.

It appear that the tab can be a bit confusing, it’s there to help with the removal of the battery, but it’s sitting at a weird angle so it’s causing some people to pull it from an angle instead of straight up, that’s when it’s ripping.

Here’s a quick how-to video from Phil over at Android Central. Take a peek and let us know if you have any questions! We don’t want sad people with broken battery tabs!

Droid X Released By Verizon Today – Who’s Getting One?

Today is the day you Verizon folks have been waiting for! The Motorola Droid X is released today on the Verizon network. This is a monster of a phone to say the least. Not only does it have a large 4.3” TFT WVGA display, 1GHz OMAP 3630 processor, 8MP autofocus camera, and 8GB of internal memory, but it’s also the first Verizon smartphone to record 720p videos and come with a HDMI output for connecting to an HDTV. Included in the retail package is the Motorola DROID X MB810 smartphone with a 16GB Class 4 microSDHC memory card preinstalled, 1540mAh battery, wall charger with detachable microUSB cable, and user guides. *Notice – I posted pics of other devices as well so you all would have a comparison of specs with other feature smartphones.*

I sure hope the battery on this device packs the punch to “feed the machine”. Lol! Anyone received their X in the mail yet? Heading to Verizon when they open today to get your hands on it? I know I’ll be at least heading there today to give it a “look-see”. Verizon and the Android OS seem to go hand-in-hand lately. Anybody even care about a Verizon iPhone at this point?

Give us some feedback in the comments if you’re getting the X and your review of the device.

Happy Thursday, folks! Almost Friday…

PJ

X Marks The Spot

Droid X fans….have you started looking for YOUR Droid X? Maybe between all of us we can find ONE, that’d be fun.

There are currently 21 devices floating around (will there be more? Who knows) and @DroidLanding has been dropping hints like wildfire, even more so over the past week. The contest officially started on July 7th at noon EST and runs until July 15th at 11:59PM EST.

Here’s what we know so far:

First of all, you shouldn’t be looking for a DEVICE, per se. That just wouldn’t make sense. You can’t leave it outside in the elements without risking damage. You should be looking for a certificate that will let you know that you have just earned yourself a FREE Droid X.

Here are the locations that we’re sure of as of now:

1. Nevada
2. Los Angeles, CA – found
3. San Francisco, CA – found
4. New York, NY – found
5. Dallas, TX – found
6. Orlando, FL – found
7. Seattle, WA
8. Birmingham, AL – found
9. Nashville, TN – found
10. Houston, TX – found
11. Oklahoma City, OK – found
12. Cleveland, OH – found
13. Buffalo, NY – found
14. Chicago, Illinois – found
15. Denver, CO
16. St. Louis, MO
17. Detroit, Michigan – found
18. Minneapolis, Minnesota – found
19. Philadelphia, PA – found
20. Boston, MA  - found
21. Washington, DC – found

You can also head over to the official site: http://www.droiddoes.com for more information.

The official rules can be found here: http://phones.verizonwireless.com/droid/x/legal.html

Things are about to get HOT because once the certificates are hidden, the GPS location of the certificate will be tweeted and you’ll have 4 hours to find it. So lace up your sneakers, clear your calendar and get ready for the scavenger hunt. It’s about to get X-CITING (sorry, I couldn’t resist). No fighting!!

Why you SHOULDN’T upgrade to Droid X or Droid 2

Techranter wrote a great post on his blog about why you should hold off on upgrading to the Droid X or Droid 2, so much so that I wanted to share it with you all.

He makes a good argument about why original Droid owners should hold off to see what is around the bend. Please note that this post was written before todays announcements by Verizon Wireless, so some things can be crossed off the list. However, 99% of this is relevant to today!

Enough of my babbling, hit the link to read the reasons why you SHOULDN’T upgrade to the Droid X or Droid 2 HERE!

Before you go, throw Techranter a follow on Twitter!

Droid X to land on Verizon Wireless on July 15th

If you are an Android fan, you were eagerly awaiting the announcement today out of NYC – I know I was. Well, the time has come! What we have all been waiting anxiously for has finally been announced, the Droid X (MB810) is here! Well, almost here. Come July 15th, you can order your very own Droid X exclusively through Verizon Wireless. It will run you $199 after a mail-in rebate and 2-year contract, which was to be expected.

OK, so what are the details? Here we go:

* 4.3″ display, with 480 x 854 (FWVGA) resolution
* 8 GB on-device storage
* 16 GB microSD card storage included
* 512 MB of RAM
* 8 MP camera
* true multi-touch keyboard
* Swype keyboard (optional)
* Email support: Exchange AciveSync 2003 & 2007, IMAP4, POP3
* 1GHz Processor
* 3 microphones (voice/video/sound cancellation)
* Mobile hotspot ability, for up to 5 devices – $20/month (2GB cap…)
* Bluetooth/GPS/WiFi
* Equipped with Android 2.1
* Android 2.2 & Flash 10.1 to follow sometime over the summer
* Blockbuster video – watch/rent/buy movies straight from device
* NFL Mobile – watch live football via device
* Offers remote wipe of device (extra security)
* $29.99 for unlimited data

So there you have it. As reported before, this new device is a BEAST! It’s jam packed full of goodies and looks great, too!

Oh, but wait! Here’s some more great news for all of you crazy Verizon Wireless customers! If you have an upgrade coming ANY TIME in 2010, you will be able to upgrade to the Droid X on launch day! Yes, you read that right…..even if your upgrade date is December 31st, 2010, you will be able to upgrade to the Droid X on July 15th! Great news for all of Big Red’s customers! I think I just heard a collective cheer from Android fans all around the US!

But wait………this is NOT confirmed, but I am being told that it’s not only just the Droid X that you can upgrade to. Verizon Wireless will be extending this early upgrade offer to anyone eligible for an upgrade in 2010 to upgrade to any 3G smartphone! This promo will start today and end August 31st. Stay tuned for confirmation on that last bit.

picture – Droid-Life

** UPDATE ** Droid X WON’T GET 1.0GHz Snapdragon Processor

** UPDATE ** turns out that this was NOT correct information. The folks over at DroidLife tracked this down and got legitimate information regarding this tweet/information.

Well done, DroidLife! They snagged a screenshot of this tweet by @DroidLanding, the new Twitter account set up for the Droid X. As you can see from the tweet above (which has since been pulled….curious….), the Droid X will come equipped with the same processor as the Droid 2, a 1.0GHz Snapdragon Processor.

Only time will tell if this is true, but if this tweet is legit, why would it be a lie? Unless it was a screw up. Like I said, time will tell. You can be sure we’ll be watching!

Throw a follow to @DroidLanding to stay up to date! While you’re at it, throw a follow to us @TheSauceReport!

Hands-on with Motorola Droid X

Engadget just posted quite the hands-on experience with the Motorola Droid X, and I’m not going to take up all of your time with words.  Here are a few pictures, and then jump over to the Engadget link to check out the amazing videos.

Ok, now that you’ve seen the glamour shots, head on over HERE to check out the full hands-on experience from Joanna with Engadget, including 3 videos showcasing how bad ass this device is!

via – Engadget