MOTOROLA CONFIRMS GINGERBREAD UPDATE FOR MOST DROID SMARTPHONES

If you own a Droid X, Droid 2 (or Droid 2 Global,) or Droid Pro, Motorola has good news for you. Android 2.3 “Gingerbread” will make its way to your device, and according to Motorola support, you should get it before the end of the summer. Additionally, the Gingerbread update will include updated support for Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync, something that corporate Droid owners have been waiting for.

The Droid X will go first, according to Motorola, and should get an over-the-air update before the end of June. The Droid Pro, Droid 2, and Droid 2 Global will all get their updates before the end of the Q3 2011, meaning before the end of September, as long as Verizon approves and pushes the update to users. Granted, users who have rooted their devices likely already have Gingerbread ROMs. The Droid X, however, has been notoriously difficult to root, so the upgrade is good news for Droid X owners.

VERIZON DROID PRO PRICING REVEALED

The Droid Pro is arriving on November 9th and now we know the price of the highly anticipated Verizon mobile phone. The magic price will be $179, which is much lower than the rumored $299, for the Android with a Blackberry keyboard device. Although, it will probably actually be $279 with a $100 rebate like a lot of Verizon's phones.

With the Droid 2, the as yet only rumored Droid 2 Global, HTC Merge and Samsung Continuum, Verizon has a pretty hot holiday lineup. [Engadget]

VERIZON PUSHING OUT DROID 2 UPDATE

Verizon is slowly pushing out an OTA software update to the Motorola Droid 2 device.  The update, version 2.3.20, has a number of enhancements and improvements including better battery life, faster transitions between Wi-Fi and 3G connections and quicker location tracking when using the GPS.  Other enhancements include:

• New ability to add pictures from your Gallery to a contact.
• Export all your contacts to the SD card.
• View details of Social Networking contacts.
• VZ Navigator is now preloaded on device.

The full list of improvements is below.

• Improved battery life.
• Heightened proximity sensor accuracy to enable faster screen response.
• View the Weather widget in both landscape and portrait orientation.
• Simpler setup, improved user interactions, and better notifications for Visual Voice Mail.
• Background Email Sync during display inactivity for better user experience.
• Support for email domain suffixes containing more than three characters.
• Keep text messages organized with chronological in-box screen.
• Edit text messages after you've inserted a video file.
• Improved audio sound during recorded video playbacks.
• Stream Guided Tour videos on device in Help Center application with ease.
• Faster location tracking during GPS navigation.
• Faster transitions between Wi-Fi and 3G in data connection.

[Engadget]

OVERCLOCK YOUR DROID X OR DROID 2

Finding that your Motorola Droid X or Droid 2 just isn't fast enough?  Now you can overclock that 1Ghz processor to make it run faster, very easy with DX/D2 Overclocker.   This app condensenses everything down to a simple menu with a few presets.  Just open it up, tap what you want and apply the settings.  The app even comes with a stress tester to make sure your device can handle the extra voltage without any issues.  DX/D2 Overclocker can be purchased in the Android Market for $0.99.  You do have to have your Droid rooted beforehand though to use this app. [Gizmodo]

MOTOROLA DROID 2 SECURITY FLAW

Reports are surfacing about a bug that affects all stock, unrooted Motorola Droid 2 mobile devices running Android 2.2, Froyo (and potentially other Android 2.2 devices with BLUR).  The bug allows users to access Google Voice Actions even if the handset is locked and a passcode set.

With the Droid 2 locked and passcode prompt on the screen pressing the "search" soft-key or keyboard key for four seconds will trigger Google Voice Actions allowing the person to speak any commands like "Call 555-555-1245".  It is unknown at this time if this affects any other Droid devices running Android 2.2.  If you have a Droid X, give it a try and let us know in the comments section.  Video of this bug is below. [BGR]

DROID 2 HAS LOWEST RETURN RATE AT VERIZON WIRELESS

Boy Genius Report is reporting, teh Motorola Droid 2 has teh lowest smartphone return rate on Verizon Wireless.  Apparently,  people are thrilled with teh device and teh antenna fluctuation isn't an issue either since teh Motorola Droid 2 has teh lowest dropped call rate on teh carrier as well. [Boy Genius Report]

DROID 2 ROOTED

The recently released Droid 2 on the Verizon network has been rooted.  If you are looking for free tethering or just to run apps that may require root access head on over to the xda-developers forum and grab the instructions.  As always proceed at your own risk.