Verizon Motorola Droid 3 Hardware Tour (Video)

Even with a dual-core processor (allowing for even power-hungry applications to run more efficiently), dual-band and bright 4-inch qHD display, the Droid 3 has a very acceptable battery life (especially compared to 4G devices). While a little heavier than most keyboard phones, it is the slimmest we've seen thus far. Certainly a welcome upgrade in the Droid line.

It isn't without problems, however. Even though it is easily viewable in bright sunlight, the PenTile display colors are washed out, and there is noticeable pixelation, especially with text and scrolling. Noticeably absent from the phone is the gyroscope.



The Motorola Droid 3 is available from Verizon for $199 with a two year contract.

First Windows Phone 7 Custom ROM For HSPL Enabled HTC Devices

This week we heard about the first RSPL/HSPL project for Windows Phone 7-powered HTC devices, which should open up the gates for future customization and even custom ROMs from the underground developer community. In case you doubted it, here's the first ever custom WindowsPhone 7 ROM.

It comes courtesy of the Dark Forces Team (DFT), the ones behind many Windows Phone ports and the HSPL itself. It is reportedly suitable for first wave Windows Phones made by the Taiwanese manufacturer HTC. According to the description, it is suitable "for all HTC operator devices which support by RSPL/HSPL operator".

The build number is 7713 so we're looking at Windows Phone Mango with all the carrier customizations being left out. What in is the platform itself Chevron Unlocked and the HTC applications. You definitely can remove customizations pretty easily in Windows Phone by uninstalling apps yourself without the need for a custom ROM.

This custom ROM doesn't stand for a vanilla Windows Phone experience. It is by itself a breakthrough, a proof of concept that Hard SPL and custom Windows Phone 7 ROMs are possible.

Note: Since this falls in the same "tampering, hacking, etc." category which can void your warranty and even render your device useless, act with extreme caution. Read the instructions in the thread carefully if you can't resist the urge to flash! Devices supported are Gold (HTC Pro 7, T7575), Mozart (HD3, T8697, T8698, T8699), Mondrian (Surround, T8788), Spark (Trophy, T8686) and Schubert (HD7, T9292, T9295, T9296). 

BlackBerry Messenger Updated To Version 6.0.0.129

RIM has officially launched its BlackBerry Messenger version 6 last week, offering full support for connected apps, which will allow users to communicate while inside a supported application. Research in Motion has just updated the popular messenger application to version 6.0.0.129.

The new application refresh is available in the BlackBerry App World, including those who are using the new version 3. There's no changelog to go with the update but the application refresh reportedly brings back the "show what I’m listening to" feature left out of the initial version 6, with which you can show off the current tunes playing on your phone. 

GetJar Gold Offers Top Paid Android Applications For Free

Users are definitely happy with the Amazon Appstore daily free application offer where they give away one paid application for free every day. GetJar has introduced GetJar Gold where they give away top paid applications for free.

Backbreaker, SwiftKey X, Age of Zombies and more are titles you can get for free from GetJar. The company is reportedly known to only offer one-time downloads meaning that if there's an update to an app you've downloaded and installed, that one will remain without the refresh. However, they might implement the update system for GetJar Gold paid apps you are downloading for free. Head over to the source link and let us know! 

Toshiba TG-01 Running Windows Phone 7 Unofficially For Sale

You might remember the Toshiba TG-01 Windows Mobile-powered phone from two years ago which was also spotted running Windows Phone 7. With its 1GHz processor and 256MB of RAM it seems to cope well with Redmond's new mobile platform.

It's really not known why some TG-01s were updated to Windows Phone -- some say people used them internally for testing purposes -- but if you would like to have one for your personal collection, there's one for sale. Follow the source link to place your offer but be cautious as always when purchasing online, especially if you're going to buy a legacy Windows Mobile smartphonerunning a Windows Phone 7 ROM that doesn't operate the camera.