Facebook Working On New Photo-Sharing App?

Is Facebook working on a stand-alone photo-sharing app? It just might be, if we're to make a few assumptions about the leaked screenshots Tech Crunch got its hands on documenting the app on the iPhone. 

From its appearances, the app will cut through most of the social networking offered by Facebook and focus solely on imagery. We're not sure exactly how navigation and discovery are going to work out, but expect something in the way of a real-time feed showing both photos uploaded by your friends, as well as publicly-accessible photos in which your friends are tagged. 

While the available shots show a stand-alone app, we could very well see this project integrated into the main Facebook app. All these pics show the program as running on iOS, but knowing Facebook, we'd see a cross-platform release if and when it decided to launch the title. Internal names have dubbed it either Hovertown or WithPeople, but expect something much more straightforward for its actual release. 

Do you think Facebook needs a new way to access photos, beyond what you can already do with itssmartphone apps? Could this be a reaction to Apple's new-found enthusiasm towards cloud-based photo storage? 

Motorola Droid X2 Review

A little less than a year ago Motorola introduced the Droid X for Verizon. The Droid X had a large form factor and was quite the contender in the smartphone arena. It was popular among consumers that wanted a large screen for their Android platform. Now Motorola has revamped the internal guts of the Droid X while maintaining a similar physical design in the Droid X2. The new Droid X2 is the first device for Verizon that has both a qHD resolution display and a dual-core Tegra 2 processor. Read on for the full review to find out how the new Droid X2 has improved on the Droid X of yesteryear! 



BOX CONTENTS 


The Droid X2 comes bundled with the essential items to get up and running. The peripherals included are a USB 2.0 charging/sync cable, a USB wall charger, an 8GB microSD card, and the device itself. A few things lacking which would make the Droid X2 complete are a headset and a microHDMI cable. There is little documentation and the Droid X2 is packaged in one of the smallest boxes this side of the iPhone 4, to keep everything eco-friendly. 



HARDWARE 


As the first smartphone for Verizon to have both a qHD display and a dual-core processor, the Droid X2 makes for an impressive device. The screen is a 4.3-inch qHD (540 x 960 pixels) LCD underneath a glass capacitive multi-touch digitizer. The computing power comes from the 1GHz NVIDIA Tegra 2 250 dual-core processor that is combined with 512MB of RAM. The internal memory of the Droid X2 is 8GB and comes with a 8GB microSD card which is expandable to 32GB. 


Like other Androids recently debuted, the Droid X2 has the usual Wi-Fi b/g/n, Bluetooth 2.1, assisted GPS, accelerometer, digital compass, proximity, light sensor, and the extra bonus of an FM radio. The cellular radios keeping the Droid X2 in service are CDMA 800/1900. If Motorola had integrated LTE into the Droid X2 it would definitely take the cake for the 2011 smartphone lineup. 


Other hardware included is an 8MP cameras with dual LED flash, 1500mAh battery, 3.5mm stereo headphone jack, a microHDMI port (1920 x 1080 pixel output), three separate microphones, mono speakerphone, and a microUSB 2.0 port. The device dimensions are 65.5 x 127.5 x 9.9 millimeters, and it weighs 155 grams. 


At first glance the Droid X and Droid X2 are nearly indistinguishable from one another. The only obvious physical change to the exterior design is the omission of the dedicated camera button. But like a book, it’s never good to judge by the cover. The internal specs of the Droid X2 dwarf that of its predecessor. The speed and screen clarity make for a truly impressive Android experience. 

SOFTWARE 


The Motorola Droid X2 ships with Android 2.2.2 Froyo and a new version of MotoBlur, which many consumers will probably favor over the previous builds. While some of the apps that come preloaded on the Droid X2 are trials, which can be removed without rooting, some are quite useful such as DLNA, Data Usage, Mobile Hotspot, and other core Android apps. 


Verizon has also added their own apps in the mix, but thankfully most of the trial apps can be removed by uninstalling. This open approach will definitely appeal more to power users or anyone that finds proprietary software obnoxious. For other Verizon apps that cannot be uninstalled, the GingerBreak root will help out. 

CAMERA 

The Motorola Droid X2 can take photos up to 8MP resolution and includes a dual LED flash. The photography software is simple to use and has a few customizable settings and effects to provide a professional look. A couple of downsides to the Droid X2’s photo proficiencies are demonstrated while capturing images in low light situations or while panning quickly. 





For video recording the Droid X2 is capable of up to 720p HD resolution. While this may seem like the standard for other smartphones appearing recently, the dual-core Tegra 2 has more than enough power to record at 1080p as seen on the LG Optimus 2X or T-Mobile G2X. Perhaps in the near future there will be an update along with Gingerbread or even a reengineered version of the stock Droid X2 ROM that will allow for the 1080p video capture. The video quality is similar to other smartphones that have been introduced over the past year, and many would construe that the blurred panning effect is hindering to quality videos. 



PERFORMANCE 

The Droid X2 is fast, plain and simple! The device experienced no lag while playing video, loading webpages, or doing anything else deemed power hungry. The benchmark results yielded average scores: 

Quadrant: 2780 
Smartbench 2011: Productivity 2765, 2468 Games 
LinPack Pro: 36.7 MFLOP, 2.3 Seconds 



BATTERY LIFE 

Motorola and Verizon state that the Droid X2 should be able to provide around 480 minutes of usage and 220 hours of standby time. The actual usage time experienced was very similar to the projected estimate. The battery is 1500mAh lithium-ion. While in standby the Droid X2 seemed to halt all activity to preserve the battery life; like the Energizer Bunny, it just kept going. 
The SAR ratings are as follows: Head - 0.74W/kg; Body - 1.5 W/kg. 



CALL QUALITY/NETWORK SPEED 

The audio quality of the ear speaker was clear with little distortion. The speakerphone on the other hand was difficult to hear, but thanks to the trio of microphones the other party was unaware of the highway noise. At no time were there any dropped calls in the Seattle metropolitan area. Thanks in part to Verizon’s strong network; the Droid X2 seemed to never be without a missing bar of reception. 


The network speed of the Droid X2 is nothing too impressive. The average download speed was around 1.2Mbps and upload was about 900Kbps. Had Motorola integrated LTE into the Droid X2 the device would certainly appeal to more consumers, but would probably make for a thicker form factor, so it is a double-edged sword. 



PURCHASING AND AVAILABILITY 

The Motorola Droid X2 is available from Verizon for $199.99 after a qualifying two-year agreement. The non-subsidized price has been set at $449.99 and both purchasing options come with free overnight shipping. 

PROS 

+ Large 4.3" qHD resolution screen 
+ Tegra 2 dual-core processor 
+ Solid battery life 
+ Dual LED flash on the 8MP camera 
+ Clean version of MotoBlur 
+ Able to delete most trial software 

CONS 

- No 4G/LTE 
- No headset or microHDMI cable included 
- External speaker audio quality is poor 
- No 1080p video recording 

CONCLUSION 

With the nearly identical design to last year’s Droid X, the Droid X2 may not turn any heads. Of course the power of the Droid X2 will cause many heads to spin. The speed of the NVIDIA Tegra 2 is astonishing and combined with the Droid X2’s qHD screen bequeaths an experience unmatched by any other Androidsmartphone currently available. These hardware specs will appeal to the smartphone aficionado looking for a fast device, but if versatility is what matters, a two-year commitment is quite a long time to be without 4G/LTE. 


We rate the Motorola Droid X2: 4/5

LG Optimus 3D Could Arrive June 20; Maybe July 11?

With the HTC EVO 3D and LG Optimus 3D about to arrive, we're soon to learn if 3D-on-a-smartphone will be a killer feature, with apps like Wikitude 3D for augmented-reality browsing, or if it will be a soon-to-be-forgotten fad. First, though, we'll actually need the smartphones to go up for sale. An April 25 launch date for the Optimus 3D came and went, as did June 1, when Amazon had expected to send out stocks to those who had pre-ordered the smartphone. A new listing for the Optimus 3D from an Amazon retailer partner now gives us a new rumored release date, pegging the Android's launch for June 20. 

This new date fits in with other, less specific launch estimates, putting the Optimus 3D's release somewhere in June. This Amazon listing is fulfilled through retailer KingOfGadgets. Confusingly, when checking on KingOfGadgets's Optimus 3D status directly through the retailer itself, the phone is advertised as not arriving until July 11. 

Obviously, we'd like to believe the Optimus 3D will arrive sooner rather than later, but we can't ignore that disconnect between the listings. Consider June 20 an optimistic target, but we wouldn't write off the smartphone arriving anytime in the three weeks following that target, either.

HTC Trace Keyboard Demo on Sensation 4G (Video)

Swype has become one of the most popular third-party keyboards because, with some practice, it candramatically improve your speed of text entry on a mobile device. So it's no wonder that HTC now has a similar product, which they call Trace, that is now shipping on the HTC Sensation 4G. Trace integrates with the already-great HTC keyboard, but it doesn't work as well as Swype, as you'll see in this video. It seems to be less accurate, and sometimes the keyboard confuses a tap and hold of a letter (to get foreign characters) with a swiping gesture.