It’s been several months since Motorola has announced the Droid Bionic, and only now are reviewers starting to get their hands on it. The company has been on a pretty good ride this year with the Xoom tablet and the Atrix smartphones, but can it continue its good reviews with this Android powered phone?
Hardware and features
The Droid features a dual-core 1Ghz processor, 16GB internal memory, the ability to increase capacity to 16GB through a microSD card, and a 4.3-inch screen.
It also features two cameras with an 8MB lens for the rear, with the ability to capture at 1080p, and play back at 1080p as well. It comes with HDMI out.
The Droid features four buttons at the bottom of the screen, touch sensitive, and a MicroUSB port as well, along with a headphone jack and a physical power button. It features WiFi, Bluetooth, and comes preloaded with Android Gingerbread.
What’s the consensus?
Reviewers have praised the speed of the Bionic. Slashgear wrote that while the Galaxy S II is slightly faster, the Bionic passes all benchmarks for use.
“In general use the Bionic felt fast and slick, with neither lag nor delay in loading and moving between apps, accessing webpages and playing media.”
And while it criticised the use of the camera, it noted that video capture was actually quite smooth and could film at 30 frames per second.
ZDNet wrote the build of the gadget is quite good, and said that although it feels quite thick and heavy, it’s actually quite easy to use.
“The weight is similar to the Nexus S, too. The thicker hump around the camera on the Bionic no doubt adds to the impression of a slightly clunky-looking phone. After using it awhile that impression is dispelled as the Bionic feels comfortable in the hand.”
It also wrote the device is clearly aimed at business users, saying the Citrix Receiver app had been preinstalled, along with ZumoCast which allows streaming to and from the device.
Engadget also praised the responsiveness of the device, and said battery life was more than adequate for a day’s usage of light to moderate activities, but said that anymore and a second battery may be a possibility.
“And, if you’re looking to use this phone as a wireless modem for your laptop, you won’t want to stray far from an outlet. We went from a full battery to completely dead in less than three hours of wireless tethering.”
However, it did say that customised Android software was easy to use and quite responsive.
There are some problems. ZDNet noted there was nothing special about the quality of the camera, and even said the price tag of $US300 may be a little high, and that audio quality wasn’t great.
“The Bionic works fine as a phone, although some calls had less than sterling audio. I would rate the call audio quality as adequate but nothing special. I did not experience any dropped calls while using the Bionic.”
Slashgear also wrote that while the device is the best combination of a device with LTE, dual-core power and a large display, “don’t expect perfection”.
Who’s it for
The Bionic is a competent smartphone that is built for both consumers and business users. It’s fast, responsive and the customised software is reported to work quite well. However, battery usage is a problem.
If you’re going to use this phone as a casual handset, then it’s one of the better Android handsets available. But if you’re using it for business, you may want something that will keep a charge for a lot longer.
Related Items :
- GADGET WATCH: BlackBerry Bold 9900
- Google purchase of Motorola is more than patents, Eric Schmidt says
- GADGET WATCH: Samsung Galaxy S II
- GADGET WATCH: MacBook Air
- Pictures of Droid HD surface
0
The one that started it all i.e. Motorola’s Xoom, was the first commercially available tablet to rock Google’s Honeycomb OS. Launched in early 2011, Motorola took their own sweet time in bringing it to India, perhaps they were aiming for a fashionably late entrance. The company has launched two variants of the Xoom in India, a Wi-Fi only model and a 3G + Wi-Fi version as well both with 32GB of internal storage. Armed with Honeycomb 3.1, does the Xoom have what it takes to be a winner? Let’s find out.
Design and Build
Taking it out of the box, you’ll immediately notice that the build and finish of the device is top notch. An aluminium frame makes up most of the body which is smooth and does not attract fingerprints. The upper portion is plastic with a rubber coating, where the GSM, 3G and Wi-Fi radios are placed. At 730g, it weighs the same as the Acer ICONIA Tab 500 but somehow it doesn’t feel as heavy, probably due to better weight distribution of the components. You can easily use it single handed without feeling too much fatigue.
Bright and vivid screen
Most of the connectors are grouped together at the bottom which includes micro-USB port, mini-HDMI, docking connector, and charging port. There’s a volume rocker on the left while the SIM card and memory card slot and 3.5 headphone jack is placed on the top. There are two white LEDs hidden in the bezel. The one just above the charging port lights up when the tablet is charging and is switched off. The other one is placed on the right and is a narrow horizontal slit that glows when you get an alert like a new e-mail.
Matt finish doesn’t attract fingerprints
On the back, we have stereo speakers, power/sleep button and the 5MP camera with dual-LED flash. The placement of the power button is a bit odd and if you’re using it for the first time, it’s a bit puzzling when you don’t find it on any of the edges. Overall the design is simple and straightforward which we quite liked. It’s not the slimmest or the lightest of the tablets in the market, but we already found it to be better than the ICONIA 500 if that says anything.
Features
Interface
Our first experience of Honeycomb was not pleasant. 3.0 was just too buggy and refused to work as well as wanted it to. We are surprised how Google actually released such an unpolished build of Android in the first place. That’s all in the past now. The Xoom comes with 3.1 (or is upgradable, in case you bought an old unit). Motorola hasn’t done anything to the interface at all, it’s pretty much stock Android. However, the improvements are apparent right away. The sluggishness and jerky behaviour is almost non existent. Unlocking the device, switching orientations or browsing the menus is a lot smoother and responsive to input. In fact, Linpack recorded a single threaded score of 28.9 MFLOPS and a multi-thread score of 55.6. We also ran AnTuTu which gave us an overall score of 3775.
Stock Honeycomb widgets
The taskbar, which is the third icon from the bottom now let’s you view up to 17 previously opened apps so you can quickly switch whenever required. However, not all of them will run in the background but you can at least quickly access them this way. Another big and highly anticipated feature that everyone’s been waiting for is GTalk, now let’s you sign into multiple accounts. When you open the app, you can choose which gmail account you wish to sign into. Now, if only Google would make haste and release it for mobile devices as well.
The task bar now shows more apps
The 10.1-inch screen carries the same 1280×800 pixel resolution and the Xoom is powered by Nvidia’s Tegra 2 CPU which runs at 1GHz. The internal memory is 32GB and is the same for both, the Wi-Fi and 3G models. Overall, Honeycomb seems a lot more user friendly now but it still has some chinks in the armor like the bug which makes the tablet unresponsive when charging is still present.
Media
Since Motorola hasn’t taken the trouble to include any custom player, you’re stuck with the stock Android video player which has very limited functionality. The video player only supports MP4 and WMV file formats along with codecs like H.264 and H.263. Videos are accessed from the ‘Gallery’ itself, there’s no separate video app. 1080p videos play just fine provided they are in MP4 format. To be able to play more formats, you need to install Moboplayer or Rockplayer. The speakers aren’t bad and you can easily enjoy a movie without headphones.
The music player lacks any pre-sets or enhancements
The music player is a very basic with no equalizer pre-sets or enhancement options. The supported file formats include MP3, WAV, WMA and AAC+. Sound quality is once again just average so if you’re serious about music, then look elsewhere.
Connectivity
Our review unit was the 3G version, which had full support for quad-band GSM and HSDPA and HSUPA support. Along with this, we also have dual-band Wi-Fi ‘n’ support and Bluetooth v2.1. The 3G SIM can only be used for data since the Xoom does not have any telephony functions. You can however do VoIP calls through Skype or other apps if you really have to. The default WebKit browser is good enough for casual surfing as it supports, tabs, full Flash 10.1 support, etc. The 3G refused to work initially for whatever reason even though the tablet detected the presence of the SIM. After a couple of reboots it suddenly started working. This is probably another bug with 3.1 and other users have also reported this issue. Do let us know if you’re a user and have faced a similar issue. MOTOROLA did inform us that in case of such a problem with 3G not gettig activated, it’s recommended you get the SIM card changed. If that doesn’t work you could either choose to be patient or get the piece replaced.
Finally, we can log into multiple accounts
When you connect the Xoom to the PC, you get a choice of putting the internal or external memory in mass storage, but you can’t have both together which was very weird. Also, once connected, the Xoom does not show up as a removable drive, instead it shows up as a ‘Media Device’. You can still drag and drop files in the device though. The standard apps include Gtalk, Gmail, Latitude, Google Maps and Places.
Misc Features
Besides the usual apps, the Xoom comes with a File Manager and Movie Studio app. The file manager lets you browse through the built-in and external memory. Movie Studio lets you edit videos you’ve shot with the camera.
Camera
The 5MP auto-focus camera is capable of 720p video recording at 30fps. The picture quality is strictly average for indoor shots while out-doors fair slightly better. The dual-LED flash is quite powerful and easily illuminates the subject in a pitch dark room provided you maintain a distance of 5-6ft.
Standard Andriod interface
The captured image is clear with good amount of detail. The camera options are once again the stock Android Honeycomb so you get White Balance, Colour Modes and Scene modes.
This was taken in pitch dark room
720p video recording is smooth for the most part but while panning, slight jerks are present. It’s not too much but it’s there.
Battery Life
Motorola doesn’t mention what capacity battery they’ve used in the Xoom, only that it will deliver up to 10hrs of video playback. In our video drain test, the tablet managed 7hrs and 15min. This is after playing an SD video content continuously with the brightness set to medium. If you leave the brightness in auto mode,you could squeeze out a bit more juice.
Verdict
At Rs. 35,590 the Motorola Xoom’s only other competitor is the Samsung Galaxy Tab 750. Both are almost equally powerful and have similar feature sets, except for the fact that the Tab 750 has only 16GB of internal memory as opposed to 32GB on the Xoom. We can’t say for certain which is better until we’ve tested the Tab 750. In case you don’t want to bother with 3G, the Wi-Fi only version retails for Rs.29,990 which is a bit more than the ICONIA Tab 500, but then you’re also getting more built-in memory. Motorola is also bundling a case along with the Xoom as an introductory offer.
The Xoom is a well built tablet and after getting the 3.1 update, is a lot faster and easier to use. It has full 3G support and the largest built-in memory for a tablet in this price range. But apart from that, Motorola hasn’t done any customizations of their own so out of the box, the Xoom’s feature set is pretty limited until you install apps. I think this is where Samsung’s TouchWiz UI may turn the tables in their favour. If it’s anything like their mobile version then we can expect a wider video and audio format support out of the box, DLNA, etc. When it comes to high-end tablets or phones for that matter, tasks like 1080p playback, HDMI, etc. don’t really matter since that’s what’s expected of the device. It’s the how the company customizes the experience to make it stand out from the rest and in that respect, Motorola seems to be lacking in a big way.
Tags: Motorola Xoom, Mototola, Xoom, 3G, Honeycomb 3.1, Honeycomb, Android, Google, Android 3.1, Touchscreen, 5 Megapixel, 3G + Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi only, Tablet, 10-inch Screen, Samsung Galaxy Tab 750, iPad 3G, Apple, capacitive touchscreen, tablet, Acer ICONIA Tab 500
Week 1 Motorola Xoom Analysis / Buffalo Bills Trivia Promotion
****Which former Bills running back ran for a series-high 185 yards in a 14-9 Bills win on Dec. 4, 1983 in Kansas City?****
Grand Prize: Four (4) suite tickets and one (1) parking pass to the Buffalo Bills game on September 18, 2011. Suite does not include food and beverage.
To be eligible, fill out the entry form on the Buffalo Bills Facebook Page. Good luck!
Top 3 Individual Matchups
1 – Demetrius Bell vs. Tamba Hali – Hali established himself as a premier pass rusher in 2010 with 14.5 sacks, second in the NFL to only Dallas’ DeMarcus Ware. He had 1.5 sacks in last year’s matchup against the Bills. Bell’s new found consistency will have to be at its best Sunday.
2 – Eric Wood vs. Kelly Gregg – Wood has returned full time to his natural position in the pivot, and he faces a solid test in the underrated nose tackle, whom Kansas City signed in free agency from Baltimore. For those that like the trench battles, this is one to watch.
3 – Terrence McGee vs. Dwayne Bowe – The Chiefs top wideout led the league in TD catches with 15 last season and is tough to defend on jump balls with his size and strength. McGee usually doesn’t get enough credit for his physical strength in these matchups, but he’ll only go against him part time as he’ll shift to the slot in nickel packages with Leodis McKelvin or Drayton Florence drawing Bowe as an assignment.
Top 2 Bills Advantages
Good advantage – 3rd down defense – The reason the Bills pushed last year’s game against the Chiefs to overtime was their effectiveness on third down defensively. Kansas City managed just 4-15 third down conversions in what was a five quarter game (overtime). The Chiefs ranked a below average 20th in third down percentage in 2010.
Best advantage – Pass defense – Buffalo’s third-ranked pass defense of a season ago gets zero credit because most assume that with teams able to run at will on the Bills they never had to pass. While there is some validity to that contention, Buffalo’s defensive backfield with a subpar pass rush still allowed the sixth fewest pass plays of 25 yards or more (23) in 2010. And they capably held the Chiefs’ main threats in check last season. With an improved pass rush in 2011 with Shawne Merriman back to form, the secondary should not only have an easier go of it, but possibly some opportunities for takeaways.
Bills Number 1 Must
Neutralize Charles – Jamaal Charles is the engine of the Chiefs’ offense, which doesn’t play high risk football. Buffalo will have to get to set the edge quickly to contain one of the fastest backs in football and gang tackle. If they can hold him to around 100 yards from scrimmage, they have a very good chance of posting a win in the opener.
Scouting Eye
Cassel cracked?
The Chiefs will never confirm it, but there are reports that Cassel sustained a cracked rib in Kansas City’s preseason finale against Green Bay when Packers DT Howard Green came down on him with his full body weight. Cassel is expected to play, but getting hits on him early could render him ineffective. If he does in fact have a cracked rib, getting the proper hip torque on his passes could prove difficult, which may affect Kansas City’s downfield pass plays.
Nicked up
Before the season even started the Chiefs lost a free agent acquisition on defense and a weapon on offense for the year. LB Brandon Siler, who signed with Kansas City after playing for the Chargers the past couple of seasons, was lost for the year after tearing his Achilles. He was expected to be a reserve linebacker and valuable special teamer.
Moeaki’s loss could prove more detrimental. The team’s starting tight end, Moeaki suffered a torn ACL in the preseason and he too is on injured reserve. He had 47 catches and three touchdowns as a rookie last season.
Rookie WR Jonathan Baldwin is also not expected to be available this week with a thumb injury.
Ball security
The Chiefs will no doubt be looking to protect the ball in 2011 as well as they did last season. Despite the fact that Kansas City ran the ball more than anyone last season (556 rushes) they lost just six fumbles in 2010. Combined with eight interceptions, the Chiefs had the second fewest giveaways in the league last year (14). Only New England (10) had fewer.
Lead blocker
The league’s number one rushing offense a year ago added a valuable piece to their ground game this past offseason. Known primarily as a perimeter run team due to the speed of Jamaal Charles, the Chiefs diversified their rushing attack by signing free agent FB Le’Ron McClain.
McClain is expected to help Kansas City’s inside run production, Known as a premier lead blocker in the league he gives the Chiefs something they haven’t had in their offensive backfield in a while.
Familiar face
Coaches feel more comfortable with players they know and Todd Haley is no different. The Chiefs head coach successfully recruited a receiver he had when he was offensive coordinator in Arizona in free agency. Steve Breaston signed with Kansas City this offseason and is expected to be the Chiefs number two receiver opposite Dwayne Bowe.
Breaston averaged over 15 yards a catch last season for Arizona with 718 yards on 47 catches including a touchdown.
A year prior Haley successfully recruited another former Arizona receiver to come to Kansas City in Jerehme Urban, who runs as the team’s fourth wideout.
Buffalo Chips
Quote of the week
“I want to win them all, but when you’ve been somewhere and they fired you? Yeah, if you said it didn’t mean a little more you’d be lying. But I want to win them all. This is one of 16. I want to be 1-and-0 when this is over.”
–Head coach Chan Gailey
Stat of the week
The Chiefs were the fifth-highest scoring team in the second quarter last season with 137 points. The Bills allowed their opponents to score a league-high 166 points in the second quarter in 2010.
Milestones in reach
Ryan Fitzpatrick needs 21 completions for 700 in his career.
Fred Jackson needs 37 yards from scrimmage for 4,000 in his career.
Chris Kelsay needs a half sack to break a tie with Fred Smerlas for 10th on the team’s all-time sack chart.
Stevie Johnson needs six receptions to reach 100 in his career.
Final note
The Bills have won three of their last four meetings with the Chiefs including two of the last three in Kansas City.
Week 1 Motorola Xoom Analysis / Buffalo Bills Trivia Promotion
****Which former Bills running back ran for a series-high 185 yards in a 14-9 Bills win on Dec. 4, 1983 in Kansas City?****
Grand Price: Four (4) suite tickets and one (1) parking pass to the Buffalo Bills game on September 18, 2011. Suite does not include food and beverage.
To be eligible, fill out the entry form on the Buffalo Bills Facebook Page. Good luck!
Top 3 Individual Matchups
1 – Demetrius Bell vs. Tamba Hali – Hali established himself as a premier pass rusher in 2010 with 14.5 sacks, second in the NFL to only Dallas’ DeMarcus Ware. He had 1.5 sacks in last year’s matchup against the Bills. Bell’s new found consistency will have to be at its best Sunday.
2 – Eric Wood vs. Kelly Gregg – Wood has returned full time to his natural position in the pivot, and he faces a solid test in the underrated nose tackle, whom Kansas City signed in free agency from Baltimore. For those that like the trench battles, this is one to watch.
3 – Terrence McGee vs. Dwayne Bowe – The Chiefs top wideout led the league in TD catches with 15 last season and is tough to defend on jump balls with his size and strength. McGee usually doesn’t get enough credit for his physical strength in these matchups, but he’ll only go against him part time as he’ll shift to the slot in nickel packages with Leodis McKelvin or Drayton Florence drawing Bowe as an assignment.
Top 2 Bills Advantages
Good advantage – 3rd down defense – The reason the Bills pushed last year’s game against the Chiefs to overtime was their effectiveness on third down defensively. Kansas City managed just 4-15 third down conversions in what was a five quarter game (overtime). The Chiefs ranked a below average 20th in third down percentage in 2010.
Best advantage – Pass defense – Buffalo’s third-ranked pass defense of a season ago gets zero credit because most assume that with teams able to run at will on the Bills they never had to pass. While there is some validity to that contention, Buffalo’s defensive backfield with a subpar pass rush still allowed the sixth fewest pass plays of 25 yards or more (23) in 2010. And they capably held the Chiefs’ main threats in check last season. With an improved pass rush in 2011 with Shawne Merriman back to form, the secondary should not only have an easier go of it, but possibly some opportunities for takeaways.
Bills Number 1 Must
Neutralize Charles – Jamaal Charles is the engine of the Chiefs’ offense, which doesn’t play high risk football. Buffalo will have to get to set the edge quickly to contain one of the fastest backs in football and gang tackle. If they can hold him to around 100 yards from scrimmage, they have a very good chance of posting a win in the opener.
Scouting Eye
Cassel cracked?
The Chiefs will never confirm it, but there are reports that Cassel sustained a cracked rib in Kansas City’s preseason finale against Green Bay when Packers DT Howard Green came down on him with his full body weight. Cassel is expected to play, but getting hits on him early could render him ineffective. If he does in fact have a cracked rib, getting the proper hip torque on his passes could prove difficult, which may affect Kansas City’s downfield pass plays.
Nicked up
Before the season even started the Chiefs lost a free agent acquisition on defense and a weapon on offense for the year. LB Brandon Siler, who signed with Kansas City after playing for the Chargers the past couple of seasons, was lost for the year after tearing his Achilles. He was expected to be a reserve linebacker and valuable special teamer.
Moeaki’s loss could prove more detrimental. The team’s starting tight end, Moeaki suffered a torn ACL in the preseason and he too is on injured reserve. He had 47 catches and three touchdowns as a rookie last season.
Rookie WR Jonathan Baldwin is also not expected to be available this week with a thumb injury.
Ball security
The Chiefs will no doubt be looking to protect the ball in 2011 as well as they did last season. Despite the fact that Kansas City ran the ball more than anyone last season (556 rushes) they lost just six fumbles in 2010. Combined with eight interceptions, the Chiefs had the second fewest giveaways in the league last year (14). Only New England (10) had fewer.
Lead blocker
The league’s number one rushing offense a year ago added a valuable piece to their ground game this past offseason. Known primarily as a perimeter run team due to the speed of Jamaal Charles, the Chiefs diversified their rushing attack by signing free agent FB Le’Ron McClain.
McClain is expected to help Kansas City’s inside run production, Known as a premier lead blocker in the league he gives the Chiefs something they haven’t had in their offensive backfield in a while.
Familiar face
Coaches feel more comfortable with players they know and Todd Haley is no different. The Chiefs head coach successfully recruited a receiver he had when he was offensive coordinator in Arizona in free agency. Steve Breaston signed with Kansas City this offseason and is expected to be the Chiefs number two receiver opposite Dwayne Bowe.
Breaston averaged over 15 yards a catch last season for Arizona with 718 yards on 47 catches including a touchdown.
A year prior Haley successfully recruited another former Arizona receiver to come to Kansas City in Jerehme Urban, who runs as the team’s fourth wideout.
Buffalo Chips
Quote of the week
“I want to win them all, but when you’ve been somewhere and they fired you? Yeah, if you said it didn’t mean a little more you’d be lying. But I want to win them all. This is one of 16. I want to be 1-and-0 when this is over.”
–Head coach Chan Gailey
Stat of the week
The Chiefs were the fifth-highest scoring team in the second quarter last season with 137 points. The Bills allowed their opponents to score a league-high 166 points in the second quarter in 2010.
Milestones in reach
Ryan Fitzpatrick needs 21 completions for 700 in his career.
Fred Jackson needs 37 yards from scrimmage for 4,000 in his career.
Chris Kelsay needs a half sack to break a tie with Fred Smerlas for 10th on the team’s all-time sack chart.
Stevie Johnson needs six receptions to reach 100 in his career.
Final note
The Bills have won three of their last four meetings with the Chiefs including two of the last three in Kansas City.
Week 1 Motorola Xoom Analysis / Buffalo Bills Trivia Promotion
****Which former Bills running back ran for a series-high 185 yards in a 14-9 Bills win on Dec. 4, 1983 in Kansas City?****
Grand Price: Four (4) suite tickets and one (1) parking pass to the Buffalo Bills game on September 18, 2011. Suite does not include food and beverage.
To be eligible, fill out the entry form on the Buffalo Bills Facebook Page. Good luck!
Top 3 Individual Matchups
1 – Demetrius Bell vs. Tamba Hali – Hali established himself as a premier pass rusher in 2010 with 14.5 sacks, second in the NFL to only Dallas’ DeMarcus Ware. He had 1.5 sacks in last year’s matchup against the Bills. Bell’s new found consistency will have to be at its best Sunday.
2 – Eric Wood vs. Kelly Gregg – Wood has returned full time to his natural position in the pivot, and he faces a solid test in the underrated nose tackle, whom Kansas City signed in free agency from Baltimore. For those that like the trench battles, this is one to watch.
3 – Terrence McGee vs. Dwayne Bowe – The Chiefs top wideout led the league in TD catches with 15 last season and is tough to defend on jump balls with his size and strength. McGee usually doesn’t get enough credit for his physical strength in these matchups, but he’ll only go against him part time as he’ll shift to the slot in nickel packages with Leodis McKelvin or Drayton Florence drawing Bowe as an assignment.
Top 2 Bills Advantages
Good advantage – 3rd down defense – The reason the Bills pushed last year’s game against the Chiefs to overtime was their effectiveness on third down defensively. Kansas City managed just 4-15 third down conversions in what was a five quarter game (overtime). The Chiefs ranked a below average 20th in third down percentage in 2010.
Best advantage – Pass defense – Buffalo’s third-ranked pass defense of a season ago gets zero credit because most assume that with teams able to run at will on the Bills they never had to pass. While there is some validity to that contention, Buffalo’s defensive backfield with a subpar pass rush still allowed the sixth fewest pass plays of 25 yards or more (23) in 2010. And they capably held the Chiefs’ main threats in check last season. With an improved pass rush in 2011 with Shawne Merriman back to form, the secondary should not only have an easier go of it, but possibly some opportunities for takeaways.
Bills Number 1 Must
Neutralize Charles – Jamaal Charles is the engine of the Chiefs’ offense, which doesn’t play high risk football. Buffalo will have to get to set the edge quickly to contain one of the fastest backs in football and gang tackle. If they can hold him to around 100 yards from scrimmage, they have a very good chance of posting a win in the opener.
Scouting Eye
Cassel cracked?
The Chiefs will never confirm it, but there are reports that Cassel sustained a cracked rib in Kansas City’s preseason finale against Green Bay when Packers DT Howard Green came down on him with his full body weight. Cassel is expected to play, but getting hits on him early could render him ineffective. If he does in fact have a cracked rib, getting the proper hip torque on his passes could prove difficult, which may affect Kansas City’s downfield pass plays.
Nicked up
Before the season even started the Chiefs lost a free agent acquisition on defense and a weapon on offense for the year. LB Brandon Siler, who signed with Kansas City after playing for the Chargers the past couple of seasons, was lost for the year after tearing his Achilles. He was expected to be a reserve linebacker and valuable special teamer.
Moeaki’s loss could prove more detrimental. The team’s starting tight end, Moeaki suffered a torn ACL in the preseason and he too is on injured reserve. He had 47 catches and three touchdowns as a rookie last season.
Rookie WR Jonathan Baldwin is also not expected to be available this week with a thumb injury.
Ball security
The Chiefs will no doubt be looking to protect the ball in 2011 as well as they did last season. Despite the fact that Kansas City ran the ball more than anyone last season (556 rushes) they lost just six fumbles in 2010. Combined with eight interceptions, the Chiefs had the second fewest giveaways in the league last year (14). Only New England (10) had fewer.
Lead blocker
The league’s number one rushing offense a year ago added a valuable piece to their ground game this past offseason. Known primarily as a perimeter run team due to the speed of Jamaal Charles, the Chiefs diversified their rushing attack by signing free agent FB Le’Ron McClain.
McClain is expected to help Kansas City’s inside run production, Known as a premier lead blocker in the league he gives the Chiefs something they haven’t had in their offensive backfield in a while.
Familiar face
Coaches feel more comfortable with players they know and Todd Haley is no different. The Chiefs head coach successfully recruited a receiver he had when he was offensive coordinator in Arizona in free agency. Steve Breaston signed with Kansas City this offseason and is expected to be the Chiefs number two receiver opposite Dwayne Bowe.
Breaston averaged over 15 yards a catch last season for Arizona with 718 yards on 47 catches including a touchdown.
A year prior Haley successfully recruited another former Arizona receiver to come to Kansas City in Jerehme Urban, who runs as the team’s fourth wideout.
Buffalo Chips
Quote of the week
“I want to win them all, but when you’ve been somewhere and they fired you? Yeah, if you said it didn’t mean a little more you’d be lying. But I want to win them all. This is one of 16. I want to be 1-and-0 when this is over.”
–Head coach Chan Gailey
Stat of the week
The Chiefs were the fifth-highest scoring team in the second quarter last season with 137 points. The Bills allowed their opponents to score a league-high 166 points in the second quarter in 2010.
Milestones in reach
Ryan Fitzpatrick needs 21 completions for 700 in his career.
Fred Jackson needs 37 yards from scrimmage for 4,000 in his career.
Chris Kelsay needs a half sack to break a tie with Fred Smerlas for 10th on the team’s all-time sack chart.
Stevie Johnson needs six receptions to reach 100 in his career.
Final note
The Bills have won three of their last four meetings with the Chiefs including two of the last three in Kansas City.
The Motorola Xoom tablet has had its price slashed by another retailer, as the 32GB Wi-Fi only version appears on the Dixons site for £329.
The 3G and Wi-Fi version now costs £399. Dixons joins Amazon, Play.com and the Carphone Warehouse on the list of retailers reducing the tablet’s price.
The Xoom’s price has dropped rapidly in the past couple of weeks, having previously been available SIM-free for £579 from some stores.
Amazon built on an initial price reduction from £479 to £389 for the 32GB model by knocking off another £40 bringing the cost down to £349.
The Carphone Warehouse has the 32GB up at £479 and 16GB for £399 making Dixons currently the cheapest place to buy a Motorola Xoom tablet.
This summer Motorola faced an embarrassing climbdown over the US pricing of the Xoom when Verizon Wireless dropped the price to $499 (£305) all the way down from $799 (£489).
Bang for your buck
The Xoom remains a high spec device with a 1 GHz dual core Nvidia Tegra 2 SoC clocked at 1GHz, Android 3.1 Honeycomb, 1GB RAM and 32GB onboard storage with a microSD slot
It has a 10.1-inch 1280×800 pixel display; HDMI, USB, Bluetooth, and Wi-Fi connectivity as well as a five megapixel rear camera and a two megapixel front-facing one. The device includes GPS and and an estimated battery life of around 10 hours.
It was the first tablet to run Android Honeycomb but, despite this, the Xoom has still had a tough time competing against the Apple brand having been initially priced in line with the iPad.
Motorola’s mobile division Motorola Mobility is currently being acquired by Android maker Google for around £7.7 billion.
The price of the Motorola XOOM has reached new lows with the device, which was the first dual core tablet, now fetching a mere £314, a far cry from the ££499 that it used to command.
To get down to this price, you will need to use the voucher code TABLET5 at check out at any DSGi outlet (PCWorld, Dixons or Currys); what makes the deal even more noteworthy is the fact that it packs 32GB onboard storage rather than the usual 16GB found on the Asus or Acer rivals.
Even as it turns nine months old, the XOOM still has top notch specifications; a dual core Nvidia Tegra 2 SoC clocked at 1GHz, Android 3.1 Honeycomb, 1GB RAM, 32GB onboard storage (with a microSD slot), a 10.1-inch 1280×800 pixels display, HDMI, USB, Bluetoth, Wi-Fi, two speakers, a five megapixel rear camera and a two megapixel front facing one, GPS and an estimated battery life of around 10 hours.
The only complaint about the XOOM from a buyer’s perspective is the fact that it weighs significantly more than its competitors and is way thicker as well.
The XOOM is still significantly more expensive than the Hannspree Hannspad tablet which comes with half the memory, a lower resolution and half the storage but also half the price.
Beginning of the end? Image: Motorola.
The Amazon Kindle tablet will boast a 7-inch form-factor, a muti-touch screen, run on Android and cost about half the price of the Apple iPad, according to a writer who claims to have seen the device.
MG Siegler of the influential TechCrunch blog says he has seen and played with a Design Verification Testing unit of the heavily-rumored device, which is expected to arrive in November.
Amazon has yet to officially confirm it will launch a tablet.
Siegler, who claims he could not post any pictures as part of a seemingly covert hands-on, says the device can be likened to that of the BlackBerry Playbook in terms of form-factor.
A colour, touchscreen Kindle with Android
His report claims says the Amazon tablet will still be called a Kindle and will be the first device under that banner to boast a full-colour touchscreen.
“The device is a 7-inch tablet with a capacitive touch screen. It is multi-touch, but from what I saw, I believe the reports that it relies on a two-finger multi-touch (instead of 10-finger, like the iPad uses) are accurate.
“This will be the first Kindle with a full-color screen. And yes, it is back-lit. There is no e-ink to be found anywhere on this device.”
‘Nothing like Android you’re used to’
Siegler also confirms that the device will be running Android, although the experience is likely to be hugely different from other Android tablets like the Motorola Xoom.
He adds: “As anticipated, Amazon has forked Android to build their own version for the Kindle. Simply put: it looks nothing like the Android you’re used to seeing.
“The interface is all Amazon and Kindle. It’s black, dark blue, and a bunch of orange. The main screen is a carousel that looks like Cover Flow in iTunes which displays all the content you have on the device.”
Half the price of the iPad
Perhaps most tellingly, TechCrunch says that the device will ship for around $250 (£170 as a direct conversion), which is half the price of the cheapest Apple iPad model in the US.
The recent HP TouchPad fire sale has shown that there is massive mainstream interest in competitively priced tablets.
Siegler also adds that plans for a 10-inch version of the device is also on the way, but those plans have been delayed until early 2012.
Link: TechCrunch
Droid-Life has got its hands on Verizon’s MAP (minimum advertised price) that includes some old stuff and some new and interesting devices, namely Motorola XOOM LTE and a handset HTC Rhyme.
According to this list, Motorola XOOM LTE could release on Verizon on September 8, the same day as Bionic and in fact, before the LTE upgrade rolls out to all Motorola XOOM 3G customers. Hmm… that could mean trouble and some disgruntled customers. The LTE upgrade has started rolling out to business and government customers and the device is back with them running on 4G. However, it still needs to be available to all customers … and remember … they’ve been waiting since February.
Motorola XOOM LTE comes to Verizon for $500 with a 2-year contract. It’s expected to be thinner than its predecessor with a few bump ups.
The second device is HTC Rhyme (model number ADR6330), a name that suggests interesting things about the handset. For the $199.99 price point, this phone is expected to be a mid-range Android device. For the name, it could have some special attributes to support music, maybe it’s tied with Beats audio. Maybe it will have a Merge-like keyboard as earlier rumored. It’s expected to release sometime September 29, according to the MAP.
Looks like Verizon has got a set of cool surprises lined up for September.
[via droid-life]
Who is saying what??