Google Reveals Android 4.0 ( Ice Cream sandwich)... in short is slick...

[Dopedangel]

That a great add by the way shows the toughness as well as the beauty of the screen

[starrlamia]

excited for this! i just wish i had the funds to update my nexus s!

[Andrew H.]

Originally Posted by =X=

HTC, Samsung, etc... do air regular commercials but their spin is on the phone not the platform. They probably just don't catch you eye like the DROID commercials, kind of shows you the marketing genius of Verizon.

Verizon marketing for the droid is *horrible.* Just horrible. Look at their droid website - it really is aimed at the 13-16 year old demographic: www.droiddoes.com


It's probably a testament to the quality of their phones/service that they do as well as they do with a marketing campaign like that.

[DustyDisks]

Originally Posted by Andrew H.

Verizon marketing for the droid is *horrible.* Just horrible. Look at their droid website - it really is aimed at the 13-16 year old demographic: www.droiddoes.com


It's probably a testament to the quality of their phones/service that they do as well as they do with a marketing campaign like that.

They maybe targeting kids, even the t.v ad's are definitely geared too the younger crowd.

Hook the kids that have no cash/money so they will pester the parents that do.

Just a thought!

[=X=]

Originally Posted by Andrew H.

Verizon marketing for the droid is *horrible.* Just horrible. Look at their droid website - it really is aimed at the 13-16 year old demographic:

Regardless of ones opinion good marketing is best rated at how well it succeeds at rasing interest. The Droid, ads do just that. There is some a strong correlation between Androids quick rise and when those ads started to air.

Commercials like
"Dude you're getting a Dell"
"Hi I'm a mac"
"Droid Does"

At first glance appear horrible and tell nothing about the product, but yet consumer young and old identify with the ads.

Originally Posted by Andrew H.

It's probably a testament to the quality of their phones/service that they do as well as they do with a marketing campaign like that.

You sound like such a fanboy. No logic no facts just biased point of view.
Verizon right now is carrying the best phones, androids, iphone, winmo etc... their Droid brand is reserved for only the best android phones.

[mewmartigan]

Originally Posted by =X=

Verizon right now is carrying the best phones, androids, iphone, winmo etc... their Droid brand is reserved for only the best android phones.

I'm not sure the Droid brand is reserved for only the best phones...in fact, the Droid name applies mostly to Motorola phones. A trend that started with the original "Droid" on verizon a few years ago.
Most of the HTC (Droid Incedible not withstanding) and Samsung phones do not get the Droid moniker and don't seem to be marketed nearly as heavily as the Moto phones do.

For the new crop of phones, I have seen a million advertisments for the Droid Razr, just one for the HTC Rezound and none so far for the Galaxy Nexus.

I want my Nexus!

[kjk]

Originally Posted by =X=

Regardless of ones opinion good marketing is best rated at how well it succeeds at rasing interest. The Droid, ads do just that. There is some a strong correlation between Androids quick rise and when those ads started to air.

Commercials like
"Dude you're getting a Dell"
"Hi I'm a mac"
"Droid Does"

At first glance appear horrible and tell nothing about the product, but yet consumer young and old identify with the ads.


You sound like such a fanboy. No logic no facts just biased point of view.
Verizon right now is carrying the best phones, androids, iphone, winmo etc... their Droid brand is reserved for only the best android phones.

Yeah, the old "fanboy" insult never gets old. I also think those new Verizon ads must be aimed at 15 year old boys. I think Verizon does well because they provide consistently great service.

edit: lol, one of my favorite tech writers just weighed in:

Compared to iPhone/iPad ads especially it's painful how masculine, blow-up-crap, power-focused Android device ad campaigns are.

in response to Kevin Rose's tweet:

saw a droid tv commercial, i want to see the phone, not robots, explosions, & lasers (i mean, i like those things,they don't sell the phone)

[=X=]

Originally Posted by kjk

Yeah, the old "fanboy" insult never gets old.

LOL true, but no as much as folks trashing other technology/products with false claims or from complete ignorance of a product.

I get it they like their product of choice, but instead of promoting it by thrashing competing products with incorrect facts how about just taking the choice product up.

Originally Posted by kjk

I also think those new Verizon ads must be aimed at 15 year old boys. I think Verizon does well because they provide consistently great service.

Not disagreeing, I also think the ads I mentioned were seem "targeted" at the younger crowd, I'll add the iPod Dancing teens to that as well. But when you look around a good a mount of those folks using those products are much older than the target audience. Personally I think the target audience for all the ads are for a higher crowed, I have my theory and I'll leave it at that.

=X=

[kjk]

Originally Posted by =X=

Not disagreeing, I also think the ads I mentioned were also targeted at the younger crowd, I'll add the iPod Dancing teens to that as well. But when you look around a good a mount of those folks using those products are much older than the target audience. Personally I think the target audience for all the ads are for a higher crowed, I have my theory and I'll leave it at that.

=X=

Believe it or not, I was actually going to mention those dancing iPod ads as well-I thought (like the I'm a Mac ones) Apple kept those going well beyond their expiration date. By the time Bono showed up in pink silhouette I knew they had jumped the shark

[=X=]

Originally Posted by mewmartigan

I'm not sure the Droid brand is reserved for only the best phones...in fact, the Droid name applies mostly to Motorola phones. A trend that started with the original "Droid" on verizon a few years ago.
Most of the HTC (Droid Incedible not withstanding) and Samsung phones do not get the Droid moniker and don't seem to be marketed nearly as heavily as the Moto phones do.

For the new crop of phones, I have seen a million advertisments for the Droid Razr, just one for the HTC Rezound and none so far for the Galaxy Nexus.

I want my Nexus!

Okay you are correct the best phones are always DROIDs, but that is not what Verizon wants you to believe. I guess the more accurate statement is you will not see lower end Android phones being labeled as DROID. The DROID is not exclusive to a maker however.


As for the Nexus Prime, that is the first phone "Google experience" phone I've actually cared to get. I think the design, curve sans buttons is very comfortable.


=X=

[SeaKing]

Ok. Someone please explain to an old sailor what all this means.

I notice the new Fire (7") and Nook (7") have Android 2.1 or so, and have a GUI or UI added to them.
The 7" tablets for the most part (like the Lenovo A1) use Gingerbread which is is also an Android 2. I am not sure about the HTC Flyer and can't look it up right now.

This Android 2 is for phones (small screens) I read.

Android 3, Honeycomb is for tablets like the 7" but most we see are using Gingerbread.

Android 4, Ice Cream Sandwich is for both tablets and smaller screens.

So does it make a difference if you buy a 7" tablet using an OS for a phone?
Should you wait until the 7" tablet has at least Honeycomb?
Will the new 5" tablets like are being talked about by Lenovo use Ginger bread which was made for the small screen, or use the newer Honeycomb which was made for larger 7" or more tablets and also small screens?
Or will they use the latest OS, the Ice Cream Sandwich?

Someone tell me a "tale or two." Please

[vaughnmr]

2.1 Eclair is outdated, rarely found on devices now.

2.2 Froyo is outdated, usually found on cheap tablets and phones that haven't been updated by the mfg.

2.3 Gingerbread refined the user interface, improved the soft keyboard and copy/paste features, improved gaming performance, added SIP support (VoIP calls), and added support for Near Field Communication.

3.0 Honeycombwas a tablet-oriented release which supports larger screen devices and introduces many new user interface features, and supports multi-core processors and hardware acceleration for graphics.

3.1 Honeycomb, released in May 2011, added support for extra input devices, USB host mode for transferring information directly from cameras and other devices, and the Google Movies and Books apps.

3.2 Honeycomb, released in July 2011, added optimization for a broader range of screen sizes, new "zoom-to-fill" screen compatibility mode, loading media files directly from SD card, and an extended screen support API.

4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, announced on October 19, 2011, brought Honeycomb features to smartphones and added new features including facial recognition unlock, network data usage monitoring and control, unified social networking contacts, photography enhancements, offline email searching, and information sharing using NFC.

[SeaKing]

Originally Posted by vaughnmr

2.1 Eclair is outdated, rarely found on devices now.

2.2 Froyo is outdated, usually found on cheap tablets and phones that haven't been updated by the mfg.

2.3 Gingerbread refined the user interface, improved the soft keyboard and copy/paste features, improved gaming performance, added SIP support (VoIP calls), and added support for Near Field Communication.

3.0 Honeycombwas a tablet-oriented release which supports larger screen devices and introduces many new user interface features, and supports multi-core processors and hardware acceleration for graphics.

3.1 Honeycomb, released in May 2011, added support for extra input devices, USB host mode for transferring information directly from cameras and other devices, and the Google Movies and Books apps.

3.2 Honeycomb, released in July 2011, added optimization for a broader range of screen sizes, new "zoom-to-fill" screen compatibility mode, loading media files directly from SD card, and an extended screen support API.

4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, announced on October 19, 2011, brought Honeycomb features to smartphones and added new features including facial recognition unlock, network data usage monitoring and control, unified social networking contacts, photography enhancements, offline email searching, and information sharing using NFC.

Yes true, but my question is about those devices that are coming out now or at least since Honeycomb came out, that are 7" but are still using Gingerbread. or earlier. Fire, New Nook Color, Lenovo, and others.

Should we buy a device with an old OS or wait until they upgrade it?

I saw an article about Lenovo A1 that doubted that the tablet would ever be given Honeycomb.

Should we wait?

[kjk]

Originally Posted by SeaKing

Yes true, but my question is about those devices that are coming out now or at least since Honeycomb came out, that are 7" but are still using Gingerbread. or earlier. Fire, New Nook Color, Lenovo, and others.

Should we buy a device with an old OS or wait until they upgrade it?

I saw an article about Lenovo A1 that doubted that the tablet would ever be given Honeycomb.

Should we wait?

I think it is just too early to tell if the 7" devices will have clearer update paths than smart phones, for example.

No one knows what Amazon is planning with Android long-term; whether they will incorporate all or some of Google's subsequent updates, or just continue improving their own UI. I'm really curious to see what they have planned for the future.

[Prestidigitweeze]

I haven't seen anything about it in the features list, but the thing I was looking forward to most with ICS was being able to send digital audio through USB. That feature would mean near-reference-quality audio from any compatible Android device independently of its hardware so long as you used an external powered DAC/Amp (such as the one Fiio's been talking about making available for roughly $90).

Does anyone know whether Google implemented that feature? People who must have that same feature right now end up spending $1000 for a Cypher Labs Algorithm Solo and dedicated headphone amp for their iPhones. It would amount to a -$910 difference for Android/Fiio users.

There's always the ancient iRiver iHP-40, but it doesn't make calls.