The smartphone sector is one of the fastest moving sectors in the mobile tech space. New phones appear almost daily, and the resultant race for the latest and greatest is a hectic one. Savvy consumers may be the only ones concerned about technical details such as OS version installed on a given phone, but it can make a big difference when it comes time to make a purchase. It is not always a given that smartphone X will get the next big OS upgrade, and even if it does the timing of said upgrade is not always fast. That leads to the question — how fast is fast enough for smartphone upgrades?

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I am working in a Panera Bread today and I feel like one of those shady street counterfeit product hawkers. I have the original iPhone, Droid and a Palm Pre on the table in front of me, attracting a lot of attention. I have been comparing the three phones and I thought it made sense to shoot a simple “grab and shoot” picture using all three phones for comparison.

I am no professional photographer, and while I’m sure I could have tweaked the settings on each of the phone cameras, I wanted to simulate the way most people use their camera phone. You see something interesting, grab the phone and snap a pic. That’s all I did here, so each of the photos reflects the default settings for each camera. The photos were taken one after the other, and the camera was the same distance from the subject in each.  Here are the three photos taken and some that show the sizes of the three phones:

Courtesy Clicky

What happens when a phone like the Droid, that is focused on web integration, launches on the U.S. network widely recognized as the best 3G network (Verizon)? Statistics released by Clicky, a web analytics firm, show that the Droid has made an impact on usage in the U. S. from the very launch of the phone. The Droid on Verizon has accounted for over two percent of total mobile browsers accessing the 150,000 web sites that Clicky tracks, starting on Nov. 11, the launch date for the Droid.

This is significant, not only for demonstrating the immediate impact the Droid has exhibited on the mobile web, but for the fact that it is accounting for almost a third of usage of all Android phones in the U.S. There are other Android phones that are in the wild, and some have been for quite some time, yet the Droid is already climbing the usage charts tracking them all, after just a few days. Of course, reliability of statistics depend on a lot of factors, but this big chunk of browsing share is attention grabbing.

(via Geek.com)

If you follow smartphones you’ve probably seen a pretty cool phone appear out of nowhere recently, the V1, from a company you’ve probably never heard of, Saygus. The V1 is an Android-based phone that closely resembles Verizon’s Droid. It looks impressive, and when you throw in its video conferencing capabilities, seems almost too good to be true. Maybe it is. I found it unusual that such a sophisticated-looking phone could be made by such an unknown company like Saygus, so I set off to discover everything I could about the firm. What I found left me with more questions than answers.

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Personally, I feel bad for the original G1 Android handset. Only a year into its existence and it’s getting passed up by younger, thinner models with fewer chins. And then there’s that fabulous looking Google Navigation found on those new-fangled Android 2.0 devices. It’s enough to make a bronze G1 turn green with envy. But wait — is that Google Navigation on a G1 that Engadget Mobile found? It is! Thanks to the clever crowd at XDA Developers — where else? — Google’s newest directional software is running on the G1. I’m curious if Google will put the kibosh on this though — they did it before with a programmer that was repackaging Google closed-source apps.

I keep Om’s old G1 around the house for software testing and such — he wouldn’t swap it for the Droid, go figure. Most of the time, it sits idly on my desk, but maybe it’s time to start getting into that hackability zone with this one-year old. Android by itself is getting better and better, but it seems to me that all of the fun stuff happens when folks start tinkering with the platform. Since I’m still terrified by a solder iron, this seems like a better way to channel my efforts. Any suggestions on where to start and what to do with a G1?

I am still knee-deep in my evaluation of the Droid, a phone that I’m pretty happy using. One of the coolest features of the Droid that I have only just touched on is the ability to shoot DVD quality video with the 5 MP camera. Our buds at NewTeeVee have taken time out of their busy prep for the NewTeeVee Live conference this week to test out a new beta version of Qik for the Droid. This Droid Qik app handles the high quality video and they’ve got an example of the high quality shot using the new app.

Here are some of today’s phone conversations I enjoyed reading or viewing on the web, along with some brief thoughts:

Verizon already looking to fix Droid and Eris issues (Phandroid) — It doesn’t get any more official than leaked, top-secret documents with a “Confidential” watermark, now does it? Apparently, Verizon has two software updates targeted for its new Android handsets — one on December 11 and the next on January 22. There are a number of documented fixes along with current workarounds in the docs. Important items of note: improvements in the camera auto-focus and Bluetooth data transfers.

Google buys AdMob (Google) — Why would Google’s purchase of AdMob be of interest to a phone owner? Google is now going to have insights to iPhone apps since AdMob is a large ad provider to mobile apps. This ought to be interesting to see how Google uses the info, considering the fact that using information smartly ties directly to their business model.

T-Mobile hangs up on My Faves (Fierce Wireless) — I for one am glad to see the MyFaves program go. I only have three friends, so it made me feel inferior. OK, I’m just joking, but the sad news is true — T-Mobile is doing away with the MyFaves feature. No longer will new customers have the chance to add five friends to their free calling circle, although I have heard that if you have MyFaves now, you’ll be grandfathered in to keep it. Now that T-Mo has their new Even More and Even More Plus plans with unlimited voice, I won’t have to worry about how many friends I have. I wonder why they never call?

Welcome to our newest Monday feature — Android Ecosystem! Last week’s news was generally dominated with the launch of the Motorola Droid and Eris, so this week will likely present some longer term impressions with both devices. I’ve been thorough enjoying watching Dave Winer with his new Droid — he even started a new community blog for the device!  James has used his loaner Droid for several days and offers more insights while I read an interesting article from Computerworld — Galen Gruman feels that the Droid Eris is better device. Considering that you can save about $100 by purchasing the Eris and the Droid’s hardware keybaord — missing on the Eris — isn’t gaining rave reviews and he raises a good point.

True, you’re dealing with Android 1.6, but you’re gaining a slick UI with HTC’s Sense. Besides, HTC has reported that Sense is coming to Android 2.0 on the Hero, so it’s not a stretch to see the Eris (essentially, the same phone) gain an Android update with Sense from Verizon in the near future. Going back to the point about saving money for a sec: you can nab either the Droid or Droid Eris for even less through Wirefly — the Motorola Droid is reportedly $99 while the Eris is free with a new two-year contract.

Getting away from phones, it’s worth a mention that the Android-x86 project continues to make progress with Android porting to x86 computers. I recently used their build to get Android 1.6 on my 1.33 GHz Intel Core Solo powered Samsung Q1UP UMPC. Since that build, the project team has incorporated several new features including support for Bluetooth. I’ll be taking another look at it in the near future because I’d like to use a Bluetooth keyboard with my device — rumor has it that the button next to the CTRL key is the magic “Menu” button in Android. While I wait for the next build, here’s a look at how Android functions on such a device.

No question about it, Verizon’s ad campaign for the Droid has stoked public awareness of the new Android phone. I have been using it solid for a few days now and it is rare to run into someone who hasn’t heard about the Motorola Droid. Like the campaign that Sprint and Palm run for the Pre, it shows how mainstream smartphones are becoming.

Having used the Droid for a few days, let me share my ongoing impressions of the phone. First up, I get asked how I can use so many evaluation phones, while maintaining my sanity having four carrier phones of my own. That’s a fair question, and one with a simple answer. Google Voice is the magic that makes all this work for me. I forward all four of my own phone lines to the Google Voice number, and the GV number is forwarded to the phone I carry with me. Right now that phone is the Droid, so no matter which of my numbers gets a call, it rings on the Droid. Text messages to all four of my phones go right to the Droid through GV, too. And since the Android version of GV is so complete, I set the Droid to use GV for all outgoing calls. It just works.

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I use the task manager Remember The Milk on all of my devices, computers and phones alike, and the Verizon Droid I am evaluating is no exception. RTM has been available on Android phones for a while, and it is a nice application for those handsets. Android supports widgets on the home screens, and RTM has a widget in addition to the application. It sits on the home screen showing your task list, and the full app is just a screen tap away. Android has a Quick Search feature that is powerful, and this new version of RTM integrates your tasks with the search feature so your task list can now be searched universally.

The RTM folks were ready for the launch of the Droid last week, and updated the Android app to support the handset’s high-resolution screen. I am using it and it works fine, so those of you with RTM Pro accounts should get the update if you are using an Android phone. This new Android version also supports the lower resolution of the HTC Tattoo.