The only downside is that it will be launching with Android 2.1 rather than 2.2 (“Froyo”).  However, Google and Motorola have promised that 2.2 will land on the phone “later in the summer”.  Given the expected popularity of this device, I’m sure they’ll be working hard to get Froyo on the device as quickly as possible.

The other thing that people aren’t talking much about is the GPU (graphics processing unit) on the Droid X.  Unlike most mobile phones, the Droid X has a dedicated GPU which will result in much faster graphic processing, particularly for gaming.

As a better example, Phil Nickinson did a great comparison of the speed between the EVO (on 2.1), the Droid X (on 2.1) and the Nexus One (on 2.2).  While the Nexus one some of the speed tests due to running Froyo, the Droid X did remarkably well on the more graphically-intense tests.  Once Froyo lands on the X, it’ll be a speed demon!  Check out his video comparison here:

I have a Nexus right now, but I’m seriously considering selling it to pick up a Droid X.  Not only is it a better phone, but it’s on Verizon. Would you?

The Droid X is looking like an amazing phone is a post from: Android News Blog

I tried SpringPad a few weeks ago after reading an article about them.  While I’m not ready to give up Evernote quite yet, I’ve started moving a few items over to SpringPad.  The organization works well for some things (restaurant info, books, recipes, etc), so I’m taking advantage of that.  Plus, their Android app runs circles around the pitiful Evernote app.

This latest update adds a variety of great features including improved note editing, note sharing, and a very solid search function.  You can get details on their blog, or simply search for “SpringPad” from the Android Market.

SpringPad releases version 1.0.7 is a post from: Android News Blog

A few days ago, Techcrunch posted that 2.2 was rolling out.  However, hours later, virtually no one else had received the update.  Google later confirmed that the rollout was in progress, but now some other details have emerged.

As many had begun to expect, the initial rollout was for a small test group only.  They’re still working out the final bugs before it goes out to a wider audience.  According to Justin Mattson, “We expect a final build to be available for OTA updates shortly, stay tuned!’

“Shortly” could mean a lot of things, but I’d expect we’ll see the official rollout begin later this week.  I certainly hope we do, as I’m dying to get some Froyo on my Nexus!

Android 2.2 (Froyo) is rolling out! Sort of… is a post from: Android News Blog

As expected, Android 2.2 is all about speed and wow, it looks fast.  It’s expected to rolled out starting in June.  The Nexus One will certainly get it, and some have said that the Motorola Droid will get it very early too.  Many other phones will be getting it later in the year.

Here is the official video showing off what’s new:

For a more in-depth look, jkOnTheRun has a video walk-through that shows off many of the new features:

Once I get my hands on 2.2 I’ll be sure to post with more thoughts about it.

Android 2.2 (Froyo) official unveiled is a post from: Android News Blog

If you can’t make it out there to attend in person, you’ve got a few good alternate choices.  The first is to watch the live stream that Google has set up.

http://www.youtube.com/GoogleDevelopers
Wed, May 19 — 9:00am-10:30am PST
Thu, May 20 — 8:30am-10:00am PST

The other option is to watch a live Wave of the event.  With recent additions to Google Wave, it’s now a pretty powerful live-blogging platform.  You can follow it here.

I’ll probably be doing both — video in one screen and the live Wave in another.  We’ll be posting any major news that comes out (Android 2.2, perhaps?).

Google I/O starts in just a few minutes. Watch it live! is a post from: Android News Blog

The issue is apparently with the AMOLED screens, combined with the very strong sales of the device — reportedly more than 100,000 sold so far.  According to Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam, they expect to get caught back up by June 3.

The Incredible is a great phone, but with the Evo and the new iPhone coming soon, they’d do well to sell as many of these as they can in the next few weeks.

Verizon still can’t keep the Incredible in stock is a post from: Android News Blog

The updated Market is certainly cleaner than it used to be, but it’d odd that it’s still not showing all of the available apps and there’s still no way to search through it.

I suppose the lack of search is understandable — you don’t want people searching for specific apps and getting “not found” messages, when the apps are actually available on your phone and just not showing up on the site.  Of course, that leads to the question about why they aren’t all on the site.  It’s very odd.

Still, it’s a nice update.  Hopefully they’ll keep pressing on and give us even more in future days.

Android Market website gets a slight makeover is a post from: Android News Blog

As summarized by TechCrunch:

EvriThing Tech delivers tech news in predefined channels such as “Venture Capital,” “Web Giants,” Social And Real-Time Web,” and “Gadgets.” Evri’s realtime semantic matching algorithms deliver news in those categories to your phone. Soon, with future upgrades, you will be able to create and add your own channels on any topic.

As an Android user, I particularly like this line:

It is available in the Android market, and a nearly identical app is awaiting approval for the iPhone.

So, iPhone users will have to wait a few weeks to try it out.  Go Android!

To find it in the Android Market, simply search for “Evri”.  Do you think this will be a useful app for you? I still personally think I’ll be using my Google Reader news instead (tailored perfectly to what I want), but this could be a great way to discover new sources.  Time will tell.

Evri launches “Evri Thing Tech” app for Android is a post from: Android News Blog

Research in Motion, makers of the Blackberry are still clearly the top company with nearly 36% of US smartphone sales, but Google and Apple are fighting hard for the #2 spot.  A recent report showed that Android devices outsold the iPhone in the first quarter of 2010, although it’s expected that Apple will move back ahead of them when the new iPhone is released this summer.

Schmidt also took the opportunity to take a shot at Apple: “We’re trying to build an entire ecosystem of openness, the inverse of the other guys.”

No one can say for sure how things will end up, but it certainly seems like Android will be here to stay for quite a while.

More than 65,000 Android phones are shipping every day is a post from: Android News Blog

There’s really not a whole lot of other details to share at this point.  Their other games on Android (Spore Origins, The Sims 3, Tetris and Bejeweled) have only been decent, so hopefully they’ve stepped up with a solid title this time.

I would expect this game will require a fairly new device (Nexus, Incredible, Evo, etc), but it’s possibly they’ve built it to scale back to some older devices as well.  We’ll post more news when we learn anything.  In the meantime, here’s some footage of the game on iPhone since no videos are yet available for the Android version of it.

(via Android and Me)

Need for Speed coming to Android on June 4 is a post from: Android News Blog