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Feb

Motorola To Offer Webtop Accessories For More Phones, And Gingerbread Updates Are Coming

Posted by David Ruddock in Gingerbread 2.3, Motorola, News

Last Updated: February 4th, 2012

In an investor call today, Motorola's CEO Sanjay Jha revealed two interesting tidbits: first, that the ATRIX 4G's Webtop app and accessory are going to be made available for more Motorola devices in the future, and second, that Gingerbread updates for all of Motorola's high-end Android devices are in the works.

On the former, it may be hard for some to get excited about more Webtop action, as the ATRIX 4G's has been dubbed overpriced and "gimmicky." However, it's important to realize that if Moto plans on continuing to offer Webtop accessories and software, they will also continue improving them. Rather than letting the idea die with the ATRIX 4G, it seems likely that Motorola will work to make Webtop a viable and attractive choice for smartphone users, and that means the technology will have to evolve as time goes on.

Feb

Honeycomb Statue Arrives At Google's Headquarters

Posted by Will Shanklin in Honeycomb 3.0/3.1/3.2, News, Off-Topic

Who needs to visit Disneyland to feel like a kid again? Google's collection of dessert statues that correspond to their Android releases has a new addition today, in the Honeycomb statue.

Last week, we were wondering when we could expect a shrine in the Googleplex, and had the following exchange with the search giant:

Less than a week later, we give you (drumroll, please): THE HONEYCOMB.

What's that? You aren't satisified with a still shot? Check out: VIDEO OF THE HONEYCOMB.

Families, you can proceed to change your vacation itinerary from Anaheim to Mountain View, as Google's kingdom just got a little bit more magical.

Feb

If Your Motorola XOOM Is Rooted It Will Not Be Upgraded To 4G LTE Unless You Un-Root, Says Moto

Posted by David Ruddock in Development, Motorola, News, Tips & Tutorials, Verizon Wireless, XOOM

Well, the title explains it pretty well, but I'll provide you some documented evidence:

That's right, folks. Sending in your XOOM to Motorola while it's rooted will get it sent right back. Motorola will not provide 4G LTE upgrades to XOOM devices that have been rooted, plain and simple.

A forum moderator in the same Motorola support thread indicates that it's not quite as hard-line as the first responder indicated, and that your XOOM simply must be stock in terms of software functionality when Motorola receives it. Presumably, this means a flash back to factory settings and software will allow your previously booted 'n rooted XOOM to be upgraded.

Feb

Motorola Readies A More Secure Android Platform For The Corporate World

Posted by Abhiroop Basu in Android OS, Motorola, News

Motorola Mobility has revealed to InfoWorld that it is working with the newly acquired start-up 3LM (Three Laws Mobility) to fill the security gaps in the Android platform and create a more secure smartphone OS.

The BlackBerry has been the traditional smartphone of choice for executives, with the iPhone making slow inroads. However, the Android platform has never found love in the corporate world due mainly to its open and insecure nature, perceived or otherwise. There has not really been any effective application or tool that allows the device to be fully secured.

According to InfoWorld, 3LM will create APIs for the Android platform that will "add missing security and management capabilities at the OS level, so that the entire device can be managed via policies by mobile device management tools".

Feb

After Numerous Delays, The HTC Thunderbolt May Finally Launch This Week

Posted by Abhiroop Basu in News, Rumors, Thunderbolt (Mecha)

Electronista picked up on a (now deleted) tweet from the infamous Verizon-affiliated tipster black_man_x that "Thunderbolts are go!!!!", suggesting that the launch of the HTC Thunderbolt is imminent.

This is just a short while after GizmoFusion reported that it had received word of Verizon planning on releasing the device "as early as next week" (which is now "this week").

It is still a little unclear when Verizon's first LTE phone will launch, however the most recent rumours suggest the in-store date to be March 10. Although it could also be the 3rd or 4th.

This is a sigh of relief for Verizon and HTC after rumours surfaced that the LTE device would be further delayed due to horrid battery performance of two to three hours on a single charge.

Feb

BlueputDroid Turns Your Android Phone Into A Mouse/Keyboard For Your PS3

Posted by Will Shanklin in Applications, News

If you have a Playstation 3 and have ever surfed the web or chatted with a gaming buddy, you may already be familiar with one of the most annoying text entry systems known to mankind. Pushing a directional pad (or joystick) to select letters may have been fun when entering the Super Macho Man code in Mike Tyson's Punchout, but this isn't 1987, and you expect an easier method of typing. Of course, Sony (and third party vendors) will be happy to sell you a pricey keyboard peripheral, but do you really want to buy yet another accessory for your gaming console?

Feb

Motorola XOOM Gets Overclocked By SetCPU To 1.5GHz, Bends Space-Time

Posted by David Ruddock in Applications, Development, News, Videos, XOOM

You thought 1.2GHz was fast? That was just the beginning. The developer of the extremely popular SetCPU app has managed to get a 50% clock speed increase out of the XOOM's dual-core Nvidia Tegra 2, bumping it up to a screaming 1.5GHz. Now, this is sort of like attaching a very large turbo to your four-cylinder hot hatch - that is, your device life may be shortened a little if you're constantly pushing it to the limits. Oh, and it might burn a hole in your pants. But 1.5GHz is an impressive figure regardless, and shows just how powerful the Tegra 2 driving the XOOM really is.

Feb

That Was Quick: The Motorola Atrix 4G Now Has Its First Custom ROM

Posted by Will Shanklin in Atrix 4G (Olympus), Development, News

If you're among the early adopters of Motorola's Atrix 4G, you can now install a custom ROM that may give you more flexibility with your snazzy new phone. Developer Design Gears' Adeo ROM is now available for download. While this may not be a ROM that will show any immediately mind-blowing changes to the typical end user, it gives you a reboot option, and more importantly, it's deodexed, which is an important first step that will allow developers and advanced users greater power to modify and replace apps APK files.

While one can install the ROM whether rooted or not, this brings some tricky caveats along with it:

you cannot do a factory reset, or you could end up bricking your prized Atrix
you cannot ever pull the battery, or risk suffering the wrath of the Atrix gods (or something like that)

A tutorial/review of the ROM has hit YouTube, courtesy of MobileTechVideos:

As you can probably tell, the direct usefulness of this one is really going to depend on your level of experience and whether you're a developer or not.

Feb

Quick How To & Hands-On: Get The Stunning Honeycomb Boot Animation On Your Rooted Android Device

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in Development, Honeycomb 3.0/3.1/3.2, News

Last night, I spotted a tweet from simms22 linking to a video of the Honeycomb boot animation on a CM7ed Nexus S. This morning I awoke to a tweet from him with a link to download it. Update: about an hour ago, simms notified me that the original animation is the work of XDA member zul8er, and tnpapadakos then released an updated (fixed) version.

^{I think this is the first time I've ever seen his pretend pervertedness actually pan out.}

And indeed, sexy it is. For those who missed the boot animation the first go-round, we were impressed the when we saw it earlier this month on the XOOM, and it looks just as good scaled down.

Feb

Did EA Just Diss Verizon Users Again? Bejeweled 2 Now On Sale For $0.99, Unless You're On Verizon ($2.99)

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Applications, News

A couple of weeks ago, EA released Bejeweled 2 to the Android Market, and many Bejeweled fans jumped on it like bees on honey. Most found the game in the Market just fine for $2.99, but others were stumped when they saw a whopping $7.99 price tag.

Those others were all Verizon customers, as we found out after digging in, because apparently EA decided to release 2 separate, but otherwise exactly identical versions of the game - one for VZW customers and one for everyone else.

After being called out by us and a few other blogs, EA came to their senses, quietly lowered the VZW app's price to $2.99, and everything was back to normal again.