22
May
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Google And Motorola's Shotgun Wedding Is Final - And It's Definitely Going To Change Things For Android

Posted by in Android OS, Editorials, Google, Legal, Motorola, News

Today, Google announced that its acquisition of Motorola Mobility had officially closed. Make no mistake, this merger is something of a shotgun arrangement - and the offspring conceived out of wedlock is Android. So, how did we get here, two and a half years after the first DROID?

A Brief History Of Motorola And Android

Motorola was once Google's model manufacturer partner. At least in the US, it produced what was the most popular "first generation" Android smartphone, the original Motorola DROID. The OG DROID was responsible for "hooking" many people on the operating system, whether through endlessly modifying and tweaking the device, or simply for its stellar build quality and reliability (those things were little tanks), it was truly the work-horse that first brought Android into the hands of a large number of people here in the US.

11
Jan
Motorola-New-Logo

[CES 2012] Motorola To Stop Flooding The Market With Thousands Of Phones

Posted by in Motorola, News

"More wood behind fewer arrows."

That's the phrase Larry Page used to describe Google's recent shut down of underperforming products. Stop flooding the market with crap, and focus on fewer, higher quality products. Now it seems Motorola has somehow gotten the exact same idea.

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AllThingsD reports that Motorola "plans to release fewer new models this year, in an effort to concentrate its marketing dollars." I hope they are concentrating their design, polish, and update efforts too.

Motorola's release schedule since they jumped on the Android train has been absolutely insane. Their 2011 US product lineup looked something like this:

  • Droid 3
  • Droid Bionic
  • Droid RAZR
  • Atrix
  • Atrix 2
  • Admiral
  • Electrify
  • Droid X2
  • Photon
  • XPRT
  • Titanium
  • Triumph
  • DEFY+
  • CLIQ 2
  • Xoom
  • Xoom Family Edition
  • Droid XYBOARD 10.1
  • Droid XYBOARD 8.2

Now this list is in no way definitive, but it should give you an idea of the crazy incremental one upmanship Motorola has been betting on.

11
Jan
Motorola-Laptop-Dock-for-ATRIX-4G

[CES 2012] Motorola To Bring More Capabilities To Webtop, Including Google Chrome

Posted by in Motorola, News

Have you ever used the Webtop feature built into a number of Motorola's newest devices? According to CEO Sanjay Jha, not many users are actively firing up the desktop-in-a-cellphone feature - less than ten percent, to be exact. Makes sense, though, as it's basically a watered-down desktop experience, and no one really wants that.

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According to Jha, Moto is aware of the issues with Webtop and wants to make it more useable. He told The Verge that the next generation of Webtop would bring more capabilities, including a new browser: Google's Chrome. In all honestly, this is probably what the company should've used in the first place, as the version of Firefox currently used by Webtop was old, slow, and outdated before it ever hit shelves.

16
Feb
Screen shot 2011-02-16 at 3.38.23 PM

Sanjay Jha On Motorola XOOM Pricing: 3G Version Will Cost $799, WiFi-Only Model To Retail For $600

Posted by in Motorola, News, Verizon Wireless, XOOM

Told you so - the price of the XOOM will indeed be significantly less than $1,200 (at least according to Motorola CEO Sanjay Jha). In fact, if you decide to take the WiFi-only route, the tablet will cost just $600 - half of the price Best Buy put up (and subsequently took down). 3G connectivity will come with a $199 premium (jacking the price up to $799), though it's worth noting that the XOOM's radio will see an LTE upgrade sometime down the road.

Of course, there's probably one question on your mind: "How does this look next to Apple's pricing?" Well the cost of the WiFi-only model actually compares favorably - a 32 GB WiFi iPad costs $599, so the two tablets will be neck-to-neck.