Cell Bytes

Are the likes of the Motorola Droid 2 and Droid X just a bit too fangled for your liking? Or maybe the original Droid is as retro as a Razr right about now. Either way, if you are looking to get your hands on last year’s technology for half the price you can now find the Droid back in stock at Verizon as a certified pre-owned device. After all the contract rigamarole you can order the handset for a measly $99. Sure, there are better handsets out there, but the Droid is a true workhorse that can still hold its own with the best of them. Part of the reason I haven’t felt the need to upgrade from the phone myself.

[via DroidLife]

We here at Phandroid are always game for the geeky, quirky, and weird, so it should come as no surprise that we jumped at the chance to get our hands on the Motorola Droid 2 R2-D2 edition. Its everything the Motorola Droid 2 already is with a healthy dose of nerd-tastic content and an extremely well-executed deco. Not only is the R2-D2 likeness on the back of the handset, but there are also plenty of little touches that pull in the Star Wars experience. We will get back to you later with a walkthrough of some more content on the phone (my Google account loaded in my old Droid wallpaper immediately so I completely overlooked the nice selection of Empire Strikes Back Live Wallpapers available) and a better look at the cool but ultimately pointless ESB Goggles app. But for now enjoy this unboxing of a geek’s dream come true.

Three out of the four Galaxy S smartphones that made their way to US shores didn’t come with a front-facing camera in tow, but that’s not going to stop the crafty guy in you. XDA’s done it again and has found a way to take a replacement camera for the Galaxy S and install it in any other Galaxy S phone (it’s only been tested for the Vibrant but I can’t imagine it’d be much different from the other devices.)

They’ve already taken care of the hard work for you by whipping up the necessary software, but you’ll have to crack open your device to make room for the camera by peeling some paint and connecting some wires. Shouldn’t be too hard if you’re the type that’s already into this sort of stuff. Head on over to XDA for the full suite of download links and instructions (including a link to where you can buy the camera itself.)

[via TalkAndroid]

Last night marked the arguably geeky launch of the R2D2 special edition of the Motorola Droid 2. Verizon stores across the country held launch parties leading up to a midnight launch of the phone where there were cosplay contests, fun and games, and more. We didn’t get a chance to get out to any of the launch locations, but I’m sure some of you have. Did you go out at midnight to get this phone? If so, what was it like and what did your particular location do? How many people showed up? If you didn’t get the phone at midnight, will you be getting it at all? Let your voice be heard in the poll and comments section below!

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Though if you took a bit of time to check out a few local Verizon stores you could no doubt track down in-stock Motorola Droid X units, the VZW site has had the handset on backorder for close to two months. As of this moment that is no longer the case as the product page no longer reports any delay in shipment. Of course, there is a chance that could change at any time if the current stock is again depleted, but here’s hoping Verizon can keep one of their most popular phones on shelves for at least the time being.

Have you been waiting to snag one? Now is your chance.

[via DroidLife]

The Motorola Droid X was updated to Android 2.2 and the world rejoiced. Rejoiced until the bugs started showing up, that is. One of the most glaring issues that many users have been experiencing involves the ordering of incoming and outgoing text messages. Instead of displaying messages from the top down in order of latest sent and received, texts remain static in the position they first appeared on the list. Compounding this issue are reports of intermittent SMS notifications. There is a developing thread over at the Motorola support forums that details the issue further, and it looks like Motorola heard the moans of X owners as a response has been issued on third page of the thread that a fix is already in the works.

Of course, there is no further information available other than that Moto’s engineering team has isolated the issue and devised a fix. When that fix will be available via update isn’t known at this time.

Have any DX users out there experience this text messaging issue? Sound off in the comments below.

[via Motorola Support Forums]

It’s only been a few days since Adobe issued a critical update for their Flash Player for Android to patch a pretty major security hole, but something must have not been sitting right in that version as a new update has just landed in the market. The changelog for version 10.1.95.1 isn’t known yet, but the assumption is that it is tidying up a few loose ends left after Adobe quickly pushed the first update to save face after the security exploit was initially revealed.

If you already have Flash player installed you should get a notification to update, but as that can sometimes be delayed its best you head over to the Market yourself if you want the update right away.

[via Android Community]

Alltel just got a second, though aging, Android handset to bolster their lineup which up until now only featured the HTC Hero. Just as reported, the Motorola Milestone has landed at Alltel stores bringing along the stock “Google Experience” and all the hardware that made the phone a huge success under the Motorola Droid branding. And what you will get is the same exact device, so if you are on Alltel and have been longing to get a piece of what was the first breakout Android device, now is your chance.

[via DroidLife]

If you are geeking out at the chance to wrap up two of your favorite pastimes into one device (assuming Star Wars and Android are two of your favorite pastimes) then you probably don’t want to miss out on your chance to hang out with other like-minded individuals and even get your picture taken with some of your favorite characters from the Star Wars Universe. Verizon will be hosting a series of launch parties for the Droid R2-D2 come September 30th, and all are welcome to attend. Unfortunately for us right coasters it looks like all of the stores that will be having midnight launches or early openings are located in the left half of the States, but anyone who can make it out and purchases a new Droid (any Droid) will receive an R2-D2 shirt and poster.

See the full list below. If you plan on going feel free to hook-up with others who will be attending in the comments below, and if you get some good pics or stories from the launch don’t be afraid to share them with us!

[via DroidLife]

Everyone has gone update happy this week, so update happy that even the HTC Hero for Sprint is getting in on the action with a bump up to firmware version 2.31.651.7. The update fixes issues with the phone dialer and GPS, but we are afraid that this may be getting to the end of the line in terms of future progression of the device. We already know the handset won’t get Android 2.2 (Froyo), so it seems like Sprint is just setting users up with a nice place to live — sort of like a retirement home — until the Hero is finally released from its mortal coils to join its brethren in Android heaven.

[via TalkAndroid]