Kieron-Scott Woodhouse’s Bamboo phone had made quiet the splash over on DVICE and frankly it really tweaked my interest as well. As Kevin Hall says in his article, I don’t think this phone is going to set any sales records but I do think it’s an amazing concept in function and form, not to mention the thing is just plain gorgeous! Woodhouse, a design student at Middlesex University in the U.K., even came up with a steel and bronze phone, which is even more of a stretch. This really is an amazing looking phone so hit the source links after the video.

SOURCE: DVICE > MIDDLESEX U > ADZERO

In the future you can expect to see some Ice Cream Sandwich love for this guy. As promised by Verizon and Motorola. When that might be is any ones guess. The DROID 4 is a pretty outstanding device and will easily cater to those of you that prefer a keyboard over the on-screen only options. It isn’t available just yet though, but is right around the corner with a launch date of February 10th. When it is finally time to go snag one, you can expect $199.99 on contract with all the usual data and plan requirements.

DROID 4 by Motorola Ready to Work and Play on the Verizon Wireless 4G LTE Network

Power, speed and reliability get the job done

BASKING RIDGE, N.J. – Feb. 7, 2012 — The award-winning DROID 4 by Motorola will be available to handle even the most demanding lifestyles starting Feb. 10 in Verizon Wireless Communications Stores and online at www.verizonwireless.com. Introduced at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES), the DROID 4 is the thinnest and most powerful 4G QWERTY smartphone measuring at less than half an inch thin. DROID 4 not only features a dual-core 1.2 GHz processor, but also a five-row QWERTY keyboard with a PC-like layout and edge-lit keys for fast, precise typing, even in the dark. Powered by America’s fastest, most reliable 4G network, DROID 4 customers will have access to 4G LTE coverage in 195 markets covering more than 200 million people.

Additional features

• Verizon Wireless 4G LTE – Customers can expect fast download speeds of 5 to 12 megabits per second (Mbps) and upload speeds of 2 to 5 Mbps in 4G LTE Mobile Broadband coverage areas
• Android^™ 2.3.5 Gingerbread, to be upgraded to Android^™ 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich
• 4.0-inch qHD display with scratch and scrape resistant glass
• Government-grade encryption (FIPS 140-2) for email, calendar and contacts; preloaded with Citrix^®Receiver^™ for Android (available in webtop) for desktop virtualization and access
• 8-megapixel camera with 1080p HD video capture
• Front-facing camera for video chat
• 4G LTE Mobile Hotspot supporting up to eight Wi-Fi-enabled devices

Business Ready

DROID 4 is designed to help customers get more done. Business professionals can impress their audience by presenting to a conference room full of potential customers in a snap by plugging the DROID 4 into an HDTV and presenting directly from the phone. Professionals can also combine the DROID 4 with the Lapdock 500 and its 14-inch display to create a full-featured mobile office. They can download documents, make edits using Lapdock’s full keyboard and email the updated documents to colleagues or customers. The Lapdock even features a built-in webcam so customers can attend virtual meetings and manage their business face-to-face.

The Smart Actions app on the DROID 4 helps automate everyday tasks and optimizes battery efficiency by letting customers create rules, such as automatically setting the phone to vibrate during work hours or dimming the display at a specific battery level.

Business professionals can leave their laptops behind and use the MotoCast^™ app to remotely stream documents, videos, music and pictures from their work or home computers to their handset. The remote access of MotoCast eliminates the need to store documents on the handset as everything is stored on their office laptop.

Pricing and availability

• DROID 4 by Motorola will be available on Feb. 10 in Verizon Wireless Communications Stores and online at www.verizonwireless.com for $199.99 with a new two-year customer agreement.
• The Lapdock 500 is available in Verizon Wireless Communications Stores and online for $299.97.
• Customers that purchase a DROID 4 will need to subscribe to a Verizon Wireless Nationwide Talk plan beginning at $39.99 monthly access and a smartphone data package starting at $30 monthly access for 2 GB of data.

For more information on Verizon Wireless products and services, visit a Verizon Wireless Communications Store, call 1-800-2 JOIN IN or go to www.verizonwireless.com. Follow@VZWnews on Twitter for the latest news on Verizon Wireless.

The Motorola Droid Bionic can be added to the list of soak tests, as a new update is rolling out to its testers. The Droid Razr, the Motorola Photon 4G and the Motorola Atrix 4G, have already been doing their “soak testing”, so the Bionic will not be left out of these reindeer games. Here are the changes we can expect:

• Remove VCast Music preload
• Add Amazon MP3 app preload
• Motorola Terms and Conditions screen automatically enables data collection/location details
• Google security patch to block access to change Home panel icons
• After factory reset, location consent screen shown on activation screen
• Change “Terms and Condition” screen title to “Motorola Terms of Service”

Some bloatware getting removed thankfully, but Motorola is putting there name on the terms of conditions. Interesting stuff, but at least Droid Bionic users will be happy to know that their phone is getting an update.

Source: Droid-Life

Via Samsung Canada, thanks Jeff

Since there seems to be some confusion on the part of it being for Canada ONLY, here is the quick look at the Eligibility Rules. Take special note about the part that says “Contest is open to legal residents of Canada“

ELIGIBILITY:
No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited. Contest is open to legal residents of Canada
excluding residents of Quebec who have reached the age of majority in their province or territory of
residence (or, if under the age of majority, have the consent of their parent or legal guardian to
participate in the Contest), except employees or agents (and those with whom they are domiciled)
and affiliates of Contest Sponsor and its advertising and promotion agencies.
CONTEST PERIOD:
Contest begins on Friday, February 3, 2012 at 6:00 p.m. (EST) and ends on Monday, February 13,
2012 at 6:00 p.m. (EST) (the “Contest Period”)

SAMSUNG LAUNCHES THE GALAXY NEXUS WHITE

Samsung’s latest Android device coming to UK shores 13th February

6th February 2012, London, UK – Samsung has today confirmed the availability of a white variant of the Galaxy Nexus in the UK. The first smartphone to feature Android™ 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, the Galaxy Nexus White can be bought in a range of stores across the country from 13th February.

Simon Stanford, UK & IRE Telecommunications & Networks Division said: “After much speculation, we are pleased to announce the availability of the Galaxy Nexus White which follows the great reception the phone has received since it was launched back in November. One of the things we at Samsung pride ourselves on is the choice we offer customers, and we’ve enjoyed huge success to date by introducing white variants of our most popular models to our product portfolio.”

The Galaxy Nexus™ White offers customers all the features found in the original Galaxy Nexus, from the 4.65” HD Super AMOLED display which boasts a market-leading resolution of 720p (1280×720), to the 5 megapixel camera and super-fast 1.2GHz dual core processor and HSPA+ connectivity so owners can connect to and browse the internet quickly and easily when they’re out and about.

As the first smartphone to run on Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, the Galaxy Nexus White offers customers an entirely new look and feel, including a redesigned user interface with improved multi-tasking, notifications, Wi-Fi hotspot, NFC support and a full web browsing experience. In addition to a rounded slim design, the Galaxy Nexus White also introduces new innovations such as ‘Face Unlock’, which uses facial recognition to unlock the phone. Whilst integration with Google+™ means owners can easily stay in touch with friends and family and talk over Google+ Messenger.

Verizon Wireless customers looking to snag a Motorola DROID 4 when it finally hits retail shelves now have confirmation of the exact damages they can expect their wallets to incur, thanks to a leak from our good friends at Droid-Life. Apparently, the DROID 4 will be available next Friday, February 10, which coincides with the premier of Star Wars: Episode 1 3D premier. The handset will launch with a $199 price tag for those willing to sign a new 2-year agreement and $549 outright.

For those unfamiliar, the DROID 4 is basically the Motorola DROID RAZR with a slide-out QWERTY keyboard, 4-inch screen and a removable battery. A 960×540 resolution LCD panel, 1.2Ghz processor, 1GB of RAM and 8MP camera round out the device.

Will this be your next phone?

Source: Droid-Life

If you own a Motorola Atrix 2, you may want to keep your eye out for an update that is reportedly rolling out to handsets now. The updated software, version v55.13.25, brings with it improved performance and the removal of Carrier IQ, cleverly worded by Motorola as “greater device security” — or at least that’s what we’re hearing. None of us in the AndroidSPIN camp have an Atrix 2 to confirm this, so make sure to download the Carrier IQ Detector software by Lookout to make certain your device is free of the controversial, privacy-invading software.

If you have not yet been notified of the update’s availability, you can always manually check by going into Settings > About Phone > System Updates. Then, all you need is a WiFi connection and a battery with at least 50% power and you’re all set. Happy downloading and flashing! Make sure to let us know how the update is treating you in the comment thread below.

Source: Motorola Via: Phandroid

Original bench mark tests return the device as running Android 2.3.4, but looking at the image it is more likely to be on Ice Cream Sandwich. That is entirely possible as you can see the search hardware button is no longer attached. There will be the usual TouchWiz 5 UI overlay though to mess it all up. The SGSII Plus will be pushing a 1.5GHz processor this go around though. So expect it to be a bit faster.

My only worry is that this device will get picked up by a few U.S. carriers. It would be great to have an ICS device floating around for more than just Verizon and soon to be Sprint with the Galaxy Nexus. I just hope they don’t dig them selves into a hole when the Galaxy S III does finally get itself up and running publicly.

Source: BGR

There is only one reason that something like this should make current Sensation owners smile, if even only slightly. Once this device hits the masses it should mean an ICS update could find its way to other Sensations shortly. Depending on what T-Mobile and other carriers have to say about it of course. At the very least it will give our developers another ICS source to tinker with.

Source: HTC via Eurodroid

Translated Release - 

HTC launches the HTC Sensation in Ice White

It appears that AT&T might be looking to snag up the device in the near future. A recent filing through the FCC pegs the device with all the proper bands for AT&T support, at least their 3G side of things. If it does make it AT&T it is most likely going to be launched at a mid-ranged device price. After all, they can’t charge an arm and a leg just because the screen is pretty. To make this a more tempting device, the Honor already has an up and running version of Ice Cream Sandwich on it in China. That should hopefully mean that an ICS update stateside shouldn’t be to far off.

I know a fair  amount of our readers prefer the high-end devices, but would you consider picking one of these up at some point? If I could find one on Craigslist for cheap I might be tempted to snag it just for the heck of it.

Source: Unwiredview