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Aug

Costco To Get DROID BIONIC With Dock, Battery, And Charger Bundle For Just $300?

Posted by David Ruddock in 4G, Bionic, News, Rumors, Verizon Wireless

Wow, this just might be the best deal we've posted in a while. Unfortunately, we're not 100% certain on the price, because the images we were tipped to don't exactly specify one. Still, based on the $300 mark we've been hearing, and Droid-forums' claim that their source says that's the number, we're starting to feel pretty confident in that figure.

If you look on the left hand side of that image, in the red area, you can see the text "Accessories Bonus Pack / $159.97 Retail Value / Includes Standard Dock / Vehicle Navigator Dock / Battery Dock and / Extra Battery." That's a lot of kit to bundle with a phone for just $300 on a new 2-year agreement!

Aug

Dat's Phat: DROID BIONIC Gets A Side Profile Shot, Has Junk In Trunk

Posted by David Ruddock in 4G, Bionic, Motorola, News, Verizon Wireless

Not really. Actually, the BIONIC looks pretty svelte in these images leaked by the good folks over at Pop Herald. Here's the BIONIC stand-alone, and side by side with the DROID X2:

While the BIONIC clearly is thicker than the DX2, it's not by that much. Of course, press shots (which these likely are) have a tendency to play with lighting and perspective in order to make a phone seem thinner than it might actually be, so until you hold it in your hand, it's all kind of relative.

Still, based on these images, it's thinner than I expected.

Pop Herald via Droid-life

Aug

DROID HD Makes First Appearance, Leaves Us Saying "BIONIC Who?"

Posted by David Ruddock in Motorola, News, RAZR / RAZR MAXX

Last Updated: October 18th, 2011

Motorola is apparently hard at work on another high-end handset known as the DROID HD - and boy, is it a good-looking piece of kit. Just take a look:

Left to right: DROID BIONIC, DROID HD

The DROID HD appears to be what the DROID X2 should have been - namely, much better in every respect. While it may have a qHD display (not confirmed - just presumed), in almost every other conceivable way, the HD looks like the Moto handset to have. The elephant in the room of course is the BIONIC, Motorola's upcoming dual-core monster 4G LTE device, which will likely sit at a significantly higher price tier than the HD.

Aug

Verizon XOOM Android 3.2 Update Rolling Out Soon - SD Card Support Is Finally Here

Posted by David Ruddock in Honeycomb 3.0/3.1/3.2, News, Tips & Tutorials, Verizon Wireless, XOOM

Well, it's only taken about five months, but Verizon XOOM owners will finally be able to make use of that lovely microSD slot on the side of their tablet. Of course, the OTA update in question does a fair bit more than allow you to up your XOOM's already robust storage. Take a look at this list:

While Verizon (they're the ones publishing the update) doesn't explicitly state that the update, dubbed HTJ85 (has a nice ring to it, right?), brings Android 3.2 to the XOOM, it's clearly implied by the addition of "Screen Scaling Compatibility Mode" - a feature of Android 3.2 that we talked about a while ago.

Jun

[No Joke] CyanogenMod 7 Now Officially Supports The Original Motorola CLIQ/DEXT

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in CLIQ / DEXT (Morrison), Development, Motorola, News

Shortly after officially adding support for the original Galaxy S line that is now approaching its first anniversary, the CyanogenMod team set out to prove once again that it's the single greatest ROM family in the world of Android, breathing lives even into devices that are approaching retirement age.

No, it's not a shiny new Atrix or a beefy G2x (at least not yet) - this time it's the good old gramps Motorola CLIQ, also known as DEXT outside the U.S.

This article deals with a couple of advanced topics. If you’re unfamiliar with some of the terms, hit up our primers here:

Rooting Explained + Top 5 Benefits Of Rooting
Top Android Apps Every Rooted User Should Know About: Part 1 (Apps 1-8), Part 2 (Apps 9-16), Part 3 (Apps 17-25)
Custom ROMs Explained And Why You Want Them
How To Fully Back Up And Restore Your Android Phone Using Nandroid Backup
How To Flash A Custom ROM To Your Android Phone With ROM Manager + Full Backup & Restore
So You Want To Know About Bootloaders, Encryption, Signing, And Locking?

Jun

[Pictures] DROID Bionic Will Be Shipping With Android 2.3.4, Has A Gigantic 4.5" Screen

Posted by David Ruddock in Bionic, Gingerbread 2.3, Motorola, News, Rumors, Verizon Wireless

You saw some of the leaked Bionic pictures earlier today, but now thanks to PhoneHK we can give you even more information about the upcoming monster of a Motorola handset. First and foremost, this thing will (at least according to this test unit) be running Android 2.3.4 Gingerbread right out of the gate:

That's a relief. If the Bionic had shipped with Froyo, Motorola might have had a user rebellion on its hands. What other goodies were revealed by the generous leaker about the Bionic?

4.5" qHD display
8MP rear camera, 1080p video recording, plus front-facing camera
WebTop dock accessory
Brand-new BLUR
1750mAh battery (that's large)

You can see some of the new BLUR in action below in various screenshots, including a translucent notification bar and 3D homescreen previews:

Not bad, Motorola, not bad.

Apr

Motorola Says 2011 Devices To Have "Unlockable/Relockable Bootloader"

Posted by Zak Stinson in Development, Motorola, News, Rumors

Last Updated: April 27th, 2011

Motorola has had a dark past when it comes to bootloaders. Apart from a couple exceptions (most notably, the XOOM), all of the major Motorola devices have had locked bootloaders, and thus, Android customization enthusiasts have been shut out from such tweaks as custom kernels.

Recently, there has been quite an outcry directed at Motorola and their bootloader policy, in the form of petitions and hijacked polls, and it looks like they have heard users' requests. In response to questions from Irwin Proud, the man behind the petition, Motorola has indicated that they plan on changing their tune.

“In terms of your question – we completely understand the operator requirement for security to the end user, and as well, want to support the developer communities desire to use these products as a development platform. It is our intention to enable the unlockable/relockable bootloader currently found on Motorola XOOM across our portfolio of devices starting in late 2011, where carriers and operators will allow it.”

*Hold for applause* Yes, it looks like the company notorious for their developer-unfriendly attitude has heard the requests of the Android community and is ready to embrace handset freedom.

Apr

[Free Stuff Alert] Amazon Is Giving Away 8 Motorola XOOM Wi-Fi Tablets

Posted by David Ruddock in Deals, Motorola, News, XOOM

If you head over to Amazon's Facebook page right now and press "Like," you'll find the first product in Amazon's ongoing A-Z Sweepstakes, a Motorola XOOM, is up for grabs. Eight of them - to be precise. All you have to do is give Amazon your name, email address, and phone number to enter. This is a US residents-only contest, though (unlike our super-awesome Motorola XOOM Wi-Fi Giveaway.)

Amazon

Apr

Sprint Motorola XOOM With WiMAX 4G Now Imminent

Posted by David Ruddock in 4G, News, Sprint, XOOM

Boy Genius Report dropped a piece of information this afternoon confirming a long-standing suspicion that the Motorola XOOM will soon be available on America's most budget-friendly carrier, Sprint - and it'll be packing a WiMAX 4G radio.

The tip came via Sprint store employees, who found XOOM case SKUs in the Sprint inventory system, along with an actual case in an accessory shipment, as shown below.

Pricing has not yet been made public, but expect some kind of subsidy to be available with a 2-year agreement.

Is the WiMAX-ified XOOM just what you've been waiting for? Or do you like your XOOMs cheaper, contract-free, with only the wi-fize and fewer gee-beez?

Mar

Motorola Vows Dedication To Android, But Does Not Deny That They Are Developing An OS

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Atrix 4G (Olympus), Motorola, News, Rumors

A few days ago we reported that Motorola may be working on their own OS due to frustrations with Android fragmentation, lack of Google support, and most importantly, difficulty in developing a standout device in an Android-saturated market.

In an attempt to clarify this, Motorola spokeswoman Kira Golin told PCMag.com that "Motorola Mobility is dedicated to Android." But, in an almost condescending manner, she went on to say, "That's our statement, and I can't control how you interpret or print it."

Naturally, there are a few things that bother me about this statement, the first being the fact that they did not deny the existence of an alternate OS.