Motorola - 5/56 - Android Police - Android News, Apps, Games, Phones, Tablets

Oct

[Leak] Jelly Bean For The RAZR M Makes Its Way To The Net, Seems To Work Great

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Leaks, News, RAZR M

Back when Motorola announced the RAZR M, HD, and MAXX HD, they promised Jelly Bean before the end of the year. Looks like the M may be first on the list to get the update, because a leaked build (4.1.1/9.8.1Q_25/35) showed up online last night. We chose to hold off on posting, as Artem started this thread on XDA so we could get some feedback before telling users to flash a buggy or incomplete ROM. The initial reports have been good, so we feel comfortable recommending the ROM at this point.

As always, though, there are caveats to be aware of.

Oct

[Update: Amazon, Too] Deal Alert: Motorola Bluetooth Keyboard For Android $23 With Free Shipping From NewEgg

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Deals, Motorola, News

If you do a lot of text entry on your tablet or smartphone, then you know what a cumbersome process it is. Pounding out a 200 word email on that touchscreen isn't the only option, though - you need to get yourself a Bluetooth keyboard.

There's no time like the present to make that happen, either - NewEgg has Motorola's official Bluetooth keyboard for Android on sale for a mere $23 until October 10th. That's a solid deal, as it retails for $70.

To snag the deal, you need only head over to NewEgg, toss the keyboard in your cart, and use promo code EMCJNNA232 to knock the price all the way down.

Oct

Ice Cream Sandwich Now Rolling Out To The Atrix 2 On AT&T

Posted by Cameron Summerson in AT&T, Atrix 2, News

Back in late September, Motorola updated its ICS rollout timeline, highlighting that several updates had been delayed, one of which was the Atrix 2. Then, much to the surprise of basically everyone, Moto released details and a soak test of the Atrix 2's Android 4.0 update just three days later. Silly Moto.

According to the official AT&T blog, the update is ready for that masses and should be rolling out to users now. Aside from all the changes that come with ICS, there are a few noteworthy Moto-specific changes, as well:

Due to Adobe's discontinuation of Flash development, Flash Player is no longer pre-loaded to this device.

Oct

ICS Now Rolling Out To The XOOM 2 Wi-Fi And XOOM Family Edition In Europe

Posted by Cameron Summerson in News, XOOM, XYBOARD / XOOM 2

While the US variants of the XOOM 2 (known as the Xyboard/Droid Xyboard in the States) have been sitting on ICS for a while now, the lonely European versions have been idly waiting for their update to roll in. Good news: today's the day!

Motorola announced via its Facebook page that not only are the XOOM 2 variants getting the bump to ICS, but the XOOM Family Edition is receiving the update, as well.

Both OTAs should be out in full force by now, so head into Settings > About tablet > System updates > Download to pull it down.

Oct

[Weekend Poll] If The Major Manufacturers All Made Similar Nexus Phones, Whose Would You Buy?

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in HTC, LG, Motorola, Polls, Samsung

This is the latest in our Weekend Poll series. For last week's, see How Much Total Storage Do You Need In A Phone?

Let's say that the rumors (and evidence?)of a Nexus program are true, and Motorola, Samsung, LG, and HTC are all making Nexus phones for release before the end of the year. For the sake of our poll, let's just pretend that they are all powered by the same CPU, GPU, and RAM, and had roughly the same screen size and resolution. Let's also say that there are no custom UIs used. As a result, updates are handled by Google directly, meaning they can be rolled out across all of the devices at roughly the same time.

Oct

Surprise! Motorola Has Killed Off Webtop And The Lapdock

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Motorola, News

"I love my lapdock. It's easily the best piece of technology that I've purchased in the last ten years," said no one ever. And Motorola knows that, so they're getting rid of Webtop.

The reason (as if it's not already clear)? Lack of adoption, or in Motorola's words, "adoption wasn't strong enough." That's a nice way of saying "no one bought this crap." In all fairness, though, it makes sense, considering the direction Android is going in - ICS bridged the gap between smartphone and tablet, which basically eliminated the need for something like Webtop in the first place.

For those who may be new to the Android scene, Webtop was first introduced by Motorola with the Atrix 4G.

Oct

Google Needs To Spend $340 Million To Slash 20% Of Motorola's Workforce And Close Numerous Offices

Posted by David Ruddock in Google, Motorola, News

Reuters, showing its apparent inability to view anything involving spending money in a positive light, is reporting this morning that Google has revised its reorg (read: firing) costs for Motorola to $340 million this quarter, up from an initial estimate of $275 million. The article goes on to describe this "restructuring headache" - you know, the one Google bought knowing 100% full well it is was getting and had time to prepare for literally a year in advance? Yeah, that "headache."

It seems no one bothered telling this Reuters writer that the notion Google bought Motorola simply for its patents is now considered a tad naïve, either.

Oct

New Marketshare Numbers Show Android Holding Its Lead Worldwide, ComScore Says US Smartphones Will Soon Become Majority

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in News

Every so often, with all the new device releases, lawsuits, feature scandals, and scathing editorials that fly back and forth across the tech world, it's nice to step back and take a look at the state of the industry from the comforting safe haven of numbers. ComScore's recent round of stats shows an unsurprising yet telling look at the US mobile industry. Predictably, Android remains the top dog with iOS following closely behind. For the period from May to August, gains made by both platforms were much higher than they were between February to May. Obviously summer is a pretty big time to buy smartphones, especially given the late-June launch of the Galaxy S III in the states.

Oct

[Deal Alert] Motorola Atrix HD Free From Amazon Wireless

Posted by Cameron Summerson in AT&T, ATRIX HD, Deals

The Atrix HD is probably the best Motorola smartphone on AT&T right now. If you happen to fancy Moto's hardware and are in the market for a new phone on Big Blue, you're in luck: it's now basically free from Amazon Wireless for new contract and upgrading customers.

Specs:

4.5" ColorBoost display with Gorilla Glass
1.5GHz dual-core processor
1GB RAM
8MP rear shooter, 2MP front camera
Android 4.0

This deal is good for both the white and black versions of the device, so pick your favorite, hit the appropriate link below, and enjoy your new phone.

Motorola Atrix HD: White | Black

Sep

Motorola Updates ICS Timeline Once Again - Atrix, Electrify, And Photon Will All Remain On Gingerbread

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

Last week, Motorola made some changes to its ICS timeline. Most of the changes didn't sound so good - several devices that were originally on the roster to get ICS were changed to "further plans coming soon." Among those devices was the ATRIX, Photon, and Electrify, which are all basically the same phone. Now, Motorola has made yet another change to the timeline, and it's not good news for owners of the aforementioned devices.