Motorola - Android Police - Android News, Apps, Games, Phones, Tablets

Apr

[Editorial] Stop Making Crap Up And Then Whining About It

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Android OS, Editorials

Let's take a trip down memory lane, shall we? The year was 2012, the Galaxy S III and the HTC One X were still new, and some jerk on the internet suggested that maybe it's cool if people started appreciating their amazing phones instead of complaining about how their device wasn't revolutionary.

In the time since then, certain segments of the tech community have opted to go in the other direction. Rather than accept that smartphones are incredible and that the wow-factor comes from using them instead of hyped up tech events, some people believe that the next revolution is just right around the corner.

Apr

Google I/O 2013: Google's To-Do List This Year

Posted by Ron Amadeo in Android OS, News

Last Updated: May 3rd, 2013

Google I/O is coming! We'll know about all of Google's new projects in just 2 ~~short~~ agonizingly long weeks. While we desperately count the days until May 15th, we thought it would be a great idea to take stock all of the things we've caught wind of lately.

Calling this an "I/O Preview," sounds a little too certain. I'm not predicting everything here will come out at I/O, this is just a list of everything we know Google is working on - their "To-Do" list. Just like any to-do list, Google could cross something off and release it, or endlessly procrastinate, or completely cancel something.

Apr

Motorola Design Chief Promises 'Just Right' Size Android Phones In 2H 2013, Shooting For Cross-Carrier Branding

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Google, Motorola, News

Ever since the WSJ dropped a hint about the mythical 'X Phone' back in December, the rumors have not stopped flowing. Which is great because, according to Motorola's CFO, the 18 months of product pipeline that Google acquired weren't exactly wow-ing anyone. However, according to Moto's design chief Jim Wicks, the next generation of hardware will be fantastic.

The handsets have been in the works for the last eight months (so since around August, for those counting), and will target the segments of the market that's looking for a "just right" screen size. Said Wicks:

"Certain people like a large screen, but there's a sweet spot for consumers that we're currently exceeding in the market.

Apr

Deal Alert: Woot Offering MOTOACTV 8GB Watch With Heart Rate Monitor Chest Strap For $179.99

Posted by Liam Spradlin in Deals, MOTOACTV

If you're intrigued by the idea of wearable technology, but don't see the Pebble's appeal, or don't have the patience to wait for Google Glass or any of the other rumored wearable goodies coming from Apple, Samsung, or Google (depending on who you ask), Motorola's MOTOACTV, the fitness-tracking smartwatch, may be a good starting point.

The MOTOACTV, which debuted in 2011, is a smartwatch that positions itself as mainly a fitness tool, tracking your runs and slapping some maps and music on top of it for a nice experience. The device also syncs to your smartphone to notify you of calls, SMS messages, and calendar events.

Apr

[Editorial] Facebook (Shockingly!) Didn't Fork Android, Because Forking Android Rarely Makes Sense

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Editorials, Google

Today, Facebook announced the Facebook Home suite that we've been hearing so much about. Well, to be more accurate, we've been hearing that Facebook is going to build its own phone and fork Android and create its own special social OS and that it would be the end of Google and that civilization will crash around us and we'll all wear monkey pelts and "Like" statuses by hurling spears through our enemies. Or something. Well, as it turns out, the world didn't end, Android is still whole, and Zuckerberg even thinks the idea of forking an entire OS to make an app is silly.

Apr

comScore Releases February 2013 U.S. Numbers: Android Drops 2%, Apple And Samsung Gain OEM Share

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in News

comScore just dropped some new U.S. market share numbers on us and if you like drama, you're going to love this one. According to the analytics company, for the three month period ending in February 2013, Android's share actually dropped 2%, while Apple's rose 3.9%. Before you panic, though, no, this isn't the end of the world.

Since comScore actually gives us the total number of smartphone subscribers in the country (by its count), we can use that percentage to get an idea of just how many total users a platform gained or lost. There were 133.7m total smartphone users in February, versus 123.3m in November.

Apr

[Update: Sundar Pichai, Too!] Dennis Woodside To Speak At AllThingsD's Sold-Out D11 Conference, Perhaps He'll Shed Some Light On What's Going On At Motorola

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Motorola, News

Update: Looks like Woodside won't be the only person of interest at D11. Chrome – and now Android – lead Sundar Pichai will also be joining the conference. He'll definitely be one to watch.

Historically, AllThingsD's annual "executive conference" – simply called D – has yielded some interesting info from the likes of Andy Rubin, Eric Schmidt, and more. Thus, it's an an event that we all look forward to, just to see what sort of answers the parties relevant to our interests produce.

While the upcoming D conference, D11, may already be sold out, AllThingsD published a not-yet-complete roster of speakers earlier today.

Mar

Deal Alert: Motorola Droid Razr HD Drops To $0.01 On Amazon Wireless For New Accounts

Posted by Liam Spradlin in Deals, RAZR HD / RAZR MAXX HD, Verizon Wireless

In January, we saw Motorola's Droid Razr HD drop to just a penny on Amazon for customers looking to upgrade their old devices. Sadly, the deal didn't extend to new customers (though at $19.99, not much complaining could be done).

If you were hoping to hop onto the big red network with the Razr HD for a more enticing price, Amazon's got your deal – the phone is now just a penny for new customers (and additional lines). Upgrades on the other hand will cost customers $89.99, strangely enough.

Though the Razr HD launched last fall, its specs still hold up against the competition.

Feb

Google's CFO Says New Moto Products Not ''Wow' By Google Standards' After Being Injected With Truth Serum

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Google, Motorola, News

Sometimes, getting companies to admit what we all know is a huge game of cat and mouse. We all know, for example, that Motorola was still making phones before Google bought the company and still has to release some of those phones. We can also guess, based on the most recent Googorola announcements, that the hardware is good, but not really up to the standards we have come to expect from, say, the Nexus line. Well, in a stunning display of candor, Google's CFO agrees.

During a session at the Morgan Stanley Technology Conference, the Chief Financial Officer for the software giant said that the products that Motorola is currently working on "aren't 'wow' by Google standards." That's not just speaking about past devices (which companies are typically more willing to be honest about).

Feb

AOKP Updated To Android 4.2.2: Adds DROID 3, 4, Bionic, RAZR, HTC One XL, And The Sprint Galaxy Nexus

Posted by Jeremiah Rice in Android OS, Bionic, Droid 3, Droid 4, Galaxy Nexus, News, One XL (Evita), RAZR / RAZR MAXX

It's that time again, custom ROM fans. The oh-so-versatile Android Open Kang Project has released its fourth 4.2 build, this time updated to the latest 4.2.2 AOSP code. While feature additions beyond the ones added by Google themselves are few and far between, the list of supported devices for AOKP 4.2 has greatly expanded. Most of the phones in question come from Verizon's Motorola stable.

The full list of added phones includes the Motorola DROID 3, DROID 4, DROID Bionic, DROID RAZR (and by extension, the DROID RAZR MAXX),the international GSM Motorola RAZR (XT910), the HTC One XL, and Sprint's version of the Galaxy Nexus.