The Hippest Phones » Moto

Droid 2 (or whatever it’s called) for Verizon breaks cover once again

Chris Ziegler — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 04:42:00 +0000

Nothing new here, but at this point, Motorola's delicious duo of fresh Android phones for Verizon is leaking like... well, like a leaky faucet, we suppose. We've already got the full scoop on the keyboardless 4.3-inch Droid X -- a beast ready to take on sworn enemies from HTC like the EVO 4G and the Droid Incredible -- and we've seen plenty of details on the so-called Droid 2, too. The latter appears destined to replace the original Droid with a better keyboard layout and ever-so-gently refined ergonomics, but the latest leak from a Gizmodo tipster confirms that the cam's still 5 megapixels and it's currently running Android 2.1 atop Moto's new-look Blur (interestingly, the "Droid 2" name couldn't be confirmed). Apparently it's set for release in the "next few weeks," which would line up with rumors we've heard in the past of a launch windows somewhere between July and August -- so here's the real question: X or 2?

Droid 2 (or whatever it's called) for Verizon breaks cover once again originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 17 Jun 2010 23:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Motorola wants a 2GHz Android by year’s end, so do we

Vladislav Savov — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 20:32:00 +0000

Looks like we didn't get the full dish from Sanjay Jha's bout of loquaciousness this morning. It turns out Moto's chief of handsets has also expressed his company's intention to bring the world its first 2GHz smartphone and to do so on an aggressively accelerated roadmap. By the end of the year, Sanjay? Yes please. Another Moto exec is cited as saying NVIDIA Tegra will be providing the graphics prowess, Flash 10.1 will be fully supported, and a gyroscope will accompany HD video recording and output on the dreamy spec sheet. We wouldn't invest all of our trust in the conveniently anonymous exec's promised specs, but that 2GHz number comes straight from the top -- let the countdown begin.

Motorola wants a 2GHz Android by year's end, so do we originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 10 Jun 2010 15:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Motorola selling Droids faster than it can make them, has up to four videophones in pipeline

Vladislav Savov — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 09:34:00 +0000

In case you're not yet convinced that video chat is the next big thing phone makers are going to push on us, let Motorola's Sanjay Jha enlighten you. Having just launched the video-centric Motorola XT720 in Europe (sans a front-facing camera), Jha is promising that his crew will deliver between two and four handsets this year with the equipment necessary to carry out video calls. Funnily enough, Moto's co-CEO describes himself as someone who's "never been a great believer" in the functionality, but clearly his company's seeing a trend it feels the need to be a part of. Speaking of trends, Moto has also fallen afoul of supply shortages similar to those constraining Droid Incredible inventory, with Jha saying about the Moto Droid, "if I could build more, I'd sell more." And if you could get Android 2.2 on them, you'd have some really happy customers too.

Motorola selling Droids faster than it can make them, has up to four videophones in pipeline originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 10 Jun 2010 04:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Moto Droid, T-Mobile myTouch 3G to get Android 2.2

Greg Kumparak — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 19:18:40 +0000

It's getting harder and harder to keep track of which Android handsets are running on any given version of the platform -- but if you're making an effort to do so, we've got two impending amendments for you.

Motorola Motoroi getting Android 2.1, bound for UK?

Joseph L. Flatley — Fri, 14 May 2010 19:04:00 +0000

There's no word yet on when the Motorola Motoroi will make it to T-Mobile (in the industry we call that "the T-Motoroiola rumor") but there has definitely been a good deal of chatter concerning this handset. The latest has Pocket-lint confirming a UK release with Moto itself. Offering similarities to Taipei's HSPA-lovin' XT701, users in Ol' Blighty (and the rest of the UK) can look forward to an 8-megapixel camera (with a Xenon flash), support for 720p video, mini HDMI, and an unspecified processor boost. In addition, Android 2.1 is likely to be part of the deal. We have neither a timeline nor a price, and the veracity of this rumor is yet to be established (although it does seem like a no-brainer), but if this all goes down as Pocket-lint says it will you can color us Yanks mighty jealous.

Motorola Motoroi getting Android 2.1, bound for UK? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 14 May 2010 14:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Editorial: What happened to the US-spec Motorola MOTOROI?

Chris Ziegler — Fri, 07 May 2010 05:48:00 +0000

Motorola, in case you haven't noticed, hasn't done much in the way of high-spec gear since the announcement of the original Droid way back in October of last year -- and, well, that's a problem for a company that's in the midst of trying to kick-start a recovery to get its corporate split off on the right foot. The so-called Sholes Tablet -- alternatively known as the XT720 or the MOTOROI -- had seemed destined to become Moto's next volley thanks to comments by SK Telecom and Motorola execs at the phone's Korean launch, even going so far as to call out a March launch window, but March has come and gone and the phone is nowhere to be found. Heck, we even found FCC evidence that the phone would be hitching up with T-Mobile, but that was way back in January and we're on the cusp of Summer now.

We understand that delays happen in this business -- in fact, delays always happen -- but these protracted, phased roll-outs around the globe are never good for a product's image since the last markets to get the product have been exposed to it (thanks in part to yours truly) for months. This would be a killer high-end device for T-Mobile USA, but it's got to launch immediately; the Nexus One's been out there since January, and we can pretty much guarantee that Google doesn't intend to back down with the superphone assault. We suppose it's possible that the Sholes Tablet will actually reemerge as the "Nexus Two" -- Sanjay Jha wants to offer a Nexus-branded phone, after all -- but however it comes out, it's got to happen right now. Trust us, Motorola -- you've got a golden opportunity to learn from Sony Ericsson's mistakes on this one.

Editorial: What happened to the US-spec Motorola MOTOROI? originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Fri, 07 May 2010 00:48:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Motorola Hints At Its Own Mobile OS, Acquires Azingo

Simon Chester — Tue, 04 May 2010 14:50:09 +0000

After rumours of HTC contemplating their own OS, it seems Motorola may also be heading back into the OS game, with Co-CEO Sanjay Jha hinting at the importance of having their own OS.

Apple beats Moto

John Biggs — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 13:58:01 +0000

Well if that don't beat all. Apple sold 8.8 million iPhones while Motorola sold 8.5 million last quarter. The crazy part is that those are all, obviously, iPhones while Motorola's entire line consists of smart and feature phones. Including Droid and Devour. 9to5 notes:

Apple has eclipsed Motorola as the biggest mobile phone maker in the US, while fresh research tells us iPhone-driven global smartphone sales grew 50 per cent in the first quarter. Meanwhile, over half a million iPhones sold in just five months in South Korea.

Video: Discarded Motorola RAZR3 Prototype Gives a Glimpse Into The Moto That Could Have Been

Simon Chester — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 12:47:33 +0000

Back in 2008, after milking the poor cash cow to death, Motorola decided to can their once crazy-popular RAZR series of phones. A good thing, too, as their Android line of phones are really quite good, and have helped them climb out of the dreaded red end. But today over on Slash Gear, a prototype RAZR3 has risen from the grave to show us a twisted world where Motorola feature phones were the hotness, and smart phones were only for the geeks and their pocket protectors (like me...). It's quite chilling.

Review: Motorola CLIQ XT

Greg Kumparak — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 20:15:56 +0000

It can be said that Motorola just got its groove back. The Droid is probably one of the best phones out there, followed by the Devour, and they're constantly releasing a few good models every few weeks, which is better than some manufacturers can say. They've hit on a strong formula: build a nice phone, put Android on it, sell a few hundred thousand. Repeat. While the CLIQ XT isn't Motorola's best phone, it follows Moto's not-so-secret recipe without shaming the chef.

Android 2.1 to hit the Motorola Droid very, very soon

Greg Kumparak — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 02:43:14 +0000

When it rains, its pours. We just found out yesterday that Android 2.1 hitting the Moto Droid sometime in March was a pretty sure thing, and now we've got an exact date. And the best news of all: It's really, really soon.

Android 2.1 to hit the Motorola Droid starting Thursday

Greg Kumparak — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 02:40:19 +0000

When it rains, its pours. We just found out yesterday that Android 2.1 hitting the Moto Droid sometime in March was a pretty sure thing, and now we've got an exact date.

Never fear, Innovationman is here!

John Biggs — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 22:52:47 +0000

Innovationman has a gas-powered skateboard to sell you! He wants you to buy it! He has a family who are also interested in your trade! This thing is going for under $1000 but if you win, you have to offer a deposit of $1000! Don’t miss out! What is this thing? Let Innovationman tell you! GAS [...]

Listen to FM radio on your CLIQ

John Biggs — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 13:58:20 +0000

The Motorola CLIQ is a nice phone. That's point one. Point two is that it can actually play radio. Using a non-standard ROM, a user named Eugene found an FM radio binary and tried to run it on the CLIQ. After a little futzing, he was able to fire up the radio and listen to it right on the CLIQ. Who knew? Rest assured it's not available to the public right now. Watch AndroidGuys for further instruction.

Motorola MOTOSPLIT makes the Backflip look normal

Greg Kumparak — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 17:35:44 +0000

Motorola's by no means a stranger to phones with wonky form factors. I mean, just look at the Moto Backflip - the keyboard! It's on the back! What is this, the future? It gets crazier, friends.

Ninjas unbox the Nexus One

John Biggs — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 23:14:08 +0000

Yes, ninjas. What’s next? The Predator unboxing the Moto CLIQ?

iPhone Beats Droid, Nexus One And Droid Eris In Touchscreen Performance

Robin Wauters — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 17:55:37 +0000

To be honest, I don't really care which is the better smartphone (or super-duper phone): the iPhone 3GS, the Motorola Droid, HTC's Droid Eris, Google's Nexus One, Nokia's N900 or the Palm Pre. It's just great to witness this seemingly never-ending advancements in mobile technology, both on a hardware and software level, and to see increased competition drive innovation at such rapid pace. Just compare the market today to five years ago, and you can't help but be amazed by how far we've come - I still remember my epic struggles to get my previous phone (HTC S710 with Windows Mobile) to do half of what I really wanted it to. In short: if all phone manufacturers keep on pumping out better phones, I'm a happy camper (for the record: I'm still very pleased with my iPhone 3GS as my primary device). But comparisons will be comparisons, and MOTO Development Group this morning announced the results of its DIY touchscreen analysis, based on some touchy testing of the capacitive screens of the Nexus One, the iPhone, the Motorola Droid and HTC's Droid Eris.

Analysis: iPhone’s touchscreen slightly better than Droid, Nexus One and Droid Eris

Robin Wauters — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 15:08:19 +0000

Live at Motorola’s CES press conference

Matt Burns — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 01:28:43 +0000

After a day full of jamming in stale meeting rooms all day, the Motorola’s club venue is a nice change. And we hear Motorola has something special to announce. I don’t know, maybe a new phone sort of thing. We’ll find out shortly. We’re live at the Mirage’s Revolution Lounge. This is where all [...]

Motorola buys Super Bowl ad spot

Nilay Patel — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 22:46:00 +0000

Looks like Motorola's fully back in the game: not only does it have the hottest Android device you can (currently) buy in the Droid, word today is that the company's dished out somewhere between $2.5 and $3 million for at least one Super Bowl commercial. It's been a while since Motorola last spent so lavishly on an ad campaign, so we're super curious to see what device the ad is for -- the safe bet is obviously the Droid, but CES could bring both the AT&T-destined Backflip and Sholes Tablet, so it's all up in the air. Our main hope? The return of HELLO MOTO.

Motorola buys Super Bowl ad spot originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 30 Dec 2009 17:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Leaked: Swype For Android Beta Unofficially Available For Motorola Droid

Greg Kumparak — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 19:38:36 +0000

When Swype was nice enough to give us the world’s first hands-on with their ultra-nifty alternative keyboard on the Android platform, I wasn’t about to leak the installation files. It’s just not my style. Now that someone else has gone and leaked them, though, I’m more or less obligated to show you how to get [...]

Nokia sprouting a second SIM slot in 2010

Chris Ziegler — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 07:56:00 +0000

Russia and China have both made it very clear that they like their dual-SIM phones -- in most of Europe and the Americas, they're little more than a novelty, but in the Far East they've become a unique market need driven by the way local carriers work and the average buyer's usage model. LG, Samsung, and Moto have all succumbed to the trend, so why not Nokia? Sure enough, we're hearing from none other than industry heavyweight Eldar Murtazin who confirmed with a local Nokia exec that dual-SIM is in the cards come Q2 2010 in the "mid tier" segment. In other words, don't expect an N900 with a second SIM slot conveniently under the battery, but more likely a high-function Series 40 type of device. And hey, look, we know it wouldn't go over too well with carriers here, but we can think of plenty of times where we'd have loved to be able to flick from AT&T to T-Mobile or vice versa -- so go ahead, Nokia, sell these in your flagship stor... ah, wait.

Nokia sprouting a second SIM slot in 2010 originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Mon, 21 Dec 2009 02:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Motorola’s shiny XT800 shows off its Android

Chris Ziegler — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 14:09:00 +0000

Could this end up being the prettiest Android device to date? We don't want to call it before we have it in our own two hands, but China Telecom's likely entrant from Motorola -- the XT800 -- is looking better than ever in these live action shots unearthed by Chinese site tgbus. What's interesting here is that Moto's reusing the font first seen on the Droid's dock standby screen for a new home screen date / time widget, but the old-school Power Control widget below it has us believing that we're looking at an older Android 2.0 build (or heck, who knows, 1.5 or 1.6). It'll apparently have a 3.7-inch WVGA display with 720p playback and, as we've mentioned before, an HDMI-out for some serious multimedia street cred. It's still unclear whether this is being thrown around internally as the Titanium, Zeppelin, or something else entirely, but whatever -- Verizon, Sprint, bring it on over, alright?

Motorola's shiny XT800 shows off its Android originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Tue, 15 Dec 2009 09:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Acer planning ‘five or six’ Android sets in first half of 2010

Chris Ziegler — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 13:52:00 +0000

Alright, let us try out a new term were testing on you: "Androidsplosion." Does that do anything for you? No? Well, that's pretty much the kind of cluster we're going to be running into with the Android camp come the first half of next year thanks to a rumored bumper crop from HTC, some Sony Ericsson gear, undoubtedly a few lookers out of Moto, and now this gear from Acer. The Liquid's just now starting to make the rounds at retail, but the VP of its Asian handset biz says that it has "five or six" additional models on tap for early 2010 that'll run the gamut from low- to high-end. The third and fourth quarters, it seems, aren't yet firmed up -- so if you thought they were going to turn off the tap after that quick burst, you'd probably be wrong. Sadly, despite the well-stocked roadmap, there aren't any indications that the company is looking to expand outside of its Asian and European roots to include a North American presence -- but it's not any more shunning than we're accustomed to 'round these parts.

Acer planning 'five or six' Android sets in first half of 2010 originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Mon, 14 Dec 2009 08:52:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Motorola prepping 3G module with support for AT&T and T-Mobile USA alike

Chris Ziegler — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 02:12:00 +0000

T-Mobile's oddball 3G network makes creating a device that simply supports all forms of North American HSPA a challenge for a very simple reason: even triband HSPA radios are still a bit of a novelty, and to support everything we've got going on over here, you effectively need to go quadband since AWS splits its duties between 1700 and 2100MHz. Happily, Motorola is coming to bat here, not with an actual phone but with an 850 / 1900 / AWS radio module that's intended for integration by other OEMs. We're not sure what kinds of devices this particular unit might find duty in, but if nothing else, it gives us confidence that Moto's now able to create phones that effectively straddle the T-Mobile / AT&T fence -- assuming it's got a business case to do so.

Motorola prepping 3G module with support for AT&T and T-Mobile USA alike originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Thu, 10 Dec 2009 21:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Motorola MT710 bringing its Droid-ish good looks to China this month

Vladislav Savov — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 14:38:00 +0000

China Mobile is about to spoil its half billion subscribers with yet another Android smartphone in the 3.something-inch category. The Droid's keyboard-deprived younger sibling, the MT710 is about to hit Chinese stores this month, with TD-SCDMA 3G capabilities and OPhone OS 1.5 giving it a distinctly local flavor. WiFi connectivity will also be available, thanks to Moto playing nice with China's new security protocol, and the CPU has also changed to a 624MHz Marvel PXA310 chip, which is growing a bit long in the tooth now. Still, with that dashing red stripe on its side and a presumably thinner chassis, the MT710 just might be somebody's idea of a Droid perfected. You'll find the full specs of the new handset at the Moto Developers links below.

Motorola MT710 bringing its Droid-ish good looks to China this month originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 08 Dec 2009 09:38:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Cyber Monday CrunchDeal: “Free” Droid Eris

Greg Kumparak — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 18:46:20 +0000

It may not have seen as much hype as it’s big brother, the Moto Droid, but the Verizon Droid Eris is still one helluva handset. Generally coming in at around $99 bucks, it’s one of the cheapest ways to get in on all this Android-hullabaloo – and for one day, it’s even cheaper. And [...]

Motorola registers ‘Backflip’ name, could be for the Motus

Chris Ziegler — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 20:13:00 +0000

We think there's probably a really good reason why landscape QWERTY handsets don't hinge in reverse, but hey, everyone gets a little wild and crazy once in a while, right? Cellpassion has discovered that Moto has recently secured rights to the "Backflip" name in Europe, which would dovetail nicely with that allegedly leaked image of the upcoming Motus a few days back -- we hadn't really considered it the first time around, but on second look, we can imagine how this wouldn't be your average mechanism here. Sadly, the latest rumors have this thing based on Android 1.5 when it hits next quarter, suggesting that Motorola's having a hell of a time updating BLUR for newer builds -- and that could be a huge sticking point for 'em going forward.

Motorola registers 'Backflip' name, could be for the Motus originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Wed, 25 Nov 2009 15:13:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Survey: Droid advertising scaring men right into dutiful brand loyalty

Chris Ziegler — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 21:23:00 +0000

Glowing red cyborg eyes, bombs dropped from stealth fighters, emotionless calls of "DRRROOOIIID" every time you get a text message -- it's enough to scare yesterday's lunch out of anyone. Verizon's no-holds-barred advertising campaign for the Motorola Droid has been so ~~hellishly frightening~~ overwhelmingly successful, in fact, that it appears to be paying dividends either directly or indirectly against Moto's biggest rivals. YouGov's BrandIndex -- an ongoing survey measuring brand loyalty through some secret-sauce methodology that only analysts would fully comprehend -- shows a marked spike in Moto's score in the critical adult male category, while Apple and RIM have taken hits over the same period. These numbers look terribly volatile over a relative short span, so we're not going to be rushing to any conclusions -- but by any measure, it's pretty wild to see Moto go from a has-been to besting the bulletproof cult of iPhone in just a few short weeks. In the long term, it'll be interesting to see just how deeply Moto's and Apple's carrier relationships are factoring into public sentiment; after all, momentum's certainly on Verizon's side right now.

Survey: Droid advertising scaring men right into dutiful brand loyalty originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 24 Nov 2009 16:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Motorola i410 comes to Boost, catchy name doesn’t

Chris Ziegler — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 17:39:00 +0000

You know how you can tell Moto's new i410 for iDEN isn't really supposed to be hip, stylish, or ultra-functional? Neither Moto nor launch partner Boost bothered to give it a fresh, funky name, bucking the trend set by the Clutch and Debut. Of course, with an utterly basic black rectangular shell, tiny monochrome secondary display, and lack of even a VGA cam, it's clear that they're going for the bottom-most reaches of the market here -- which means that customers should be able to scoop it up for a song on any of Boost's prepaid plans, happily. It's not up on the carrier's site just yet, but it'll be available before the year's up -- and Motorola says that this officially "completes Boost Mobile's 2009 device roadmap," so we hope you weren't holding out for some mythical Android device in the next couple weeks.

Motorola i410 comes to Boost, catchy name doesn't originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Mon, 23 Nov 2009 12:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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