Motorola - 53/79 - Android Police - Android News, Apps, Games, Phones, Tablets

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

The Media Worships The iPad - But For How Much Longer?

Posted by Will Shanklin in Editorials, NOOKcolor (Encore), XOOM

You've seen it: a new Android tablet is featured on some mainstream media's program or website, and you know it's coming, but you still can't help but clench your sphincter muscles just a little when you hear it...

Will it be an iPad killer?

Samsung's attempt to compete with the iPad...

The latest inferior and insignificant non-Apple offering that we're forced to cover...

Can't they see that this is like describing Colin Firth as a wanna-be Tom Cruise? After a while, you begin to wonder if these journalists have actually used an Android tablet. Do they even know what it is they're missing?

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

Thumb Keyboard Is An Epic Win For Tablet Typing [Hands-On]

Posted by Will Shanklin in App Reviews, Applications, Galaxy Tab, NOOKcolor (Encore), Reviews, Tips & Tutorials, XOOM

Last Updated: July 24th, 2011

If you caught our review of Thumb Keyboard last month, you'll know the gist of this clever keyboard app that aims to make two-thumbed typing a breeze. It's a novel (and potentially very useful) tool for a phone, but with recent updates that have accentuated the tablet layouts, this has now become my keyboard of choice on large tablet screens, and is a potential game-changer in the new slate arena.

On phones, trace keyboards like Swype and SlideIt are extremely hard to beat in the speed department (world texting records seem to be broken on a regular basis with Swype), but on the wider tablet screen, tracing suddenly becomes much less convenient.

Feb

SetCPU Developer Overclocks Motorola XOOM To 1.2GHz, Hits 40 MFLOPS In Linpack

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in Development, News, XOOM

It's amazing how quickly the developer community gets to work after a new flagship device is released, and the XOOM is clearly no exception. First, ClockworkMod developer Koush managed to get CWM up and running on the tablet 2 hours after he picked it up, and shortly after, he released root instructions.

Now, SetCPU developer Michael Huang has pushed the Tegra 2 CPU in the XOOM up 20% to 1.2GHz. At that speed, it manages a score of 40.716 MFLOPS while still working perfectly. The caveat? Linpack is a single-core benchmark, meaning that one of the Tegra 2's cores goes unused.

Feb

Updated: [Deal Alert] Walmart Wireless/LetsTalk Now Selling Motorola Atrix 4G + Laptop Dock Bundle For $250 On Contract

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in AT&T, Atrix 4G (Olympus), Deals, Motorola

Update: LetsTalk/Walmart Wireless now says "this product is no longer available." When we called them, we were told the sale was a mistake. We aren't yet sure whether the $250 price will be honored for customers who already bought the bundle.

We've already seen some surprisingly hot deals on the powerhouse of a phone that is the Atrix 4G, but LetsTalk/Walmart Wireless' latest offer tops everything. Thanks to them, you can now snag both the Atrix 4G and its laptop dock for just $250 - half of AT&T's price.

The deal is, of course, available only to customers signing up for a new two-year contract (the off-contract price for the bundle is still $1,099.99), but nonetheless, if you've been waiting to pick up an Atrix, this is the perfect opportunity.

Feb

Now That The Verizon XOOM Is Here, When Will We See That Wi-Fi-Only Model?

Posted by Will Shanklin in Editorials, Motorola, Verizon Wireless, XOOM

If you began drooling from the very first murmurs of a "Pure Google" tablet running Android 3.0 'Honeycomb', to the buzz at CES, through the anticipation building up to launch: your day has arrived and you likely now have a Motorola XOOM in your hands. Congratulations. Of course that would be the $800 Verizon Motorola XOOM that's in your hands. But what about that $600 Wi-Fi-only XOOM? Not only is it not in anyone's hands, but there has yet to be a confirmed release date either.

With nearly every Android phone capable of generating a wireless hotspot to share its data plan with a tablet, taking on the burden of yet another monthly data bill can seem like an unwelcomed guest to many users.

Feb

Motorola XOOM Gets A Teardown, 4G LTE Chip Upgrade Takes 10 Minutes, Not 6 Days

Posted by David Ruddock in Motorola, News, Verizon Wireless, XOOM

The good folks over at iFixit gave the Motorola XOOM a teardown this morning, and aside from the ridiculous 57 screws holding it together, it has been deemed pretty tinker-friendly, scoring an 8/10 on the repairability meter.

One interesting piece of information did emerge during the XOOM's disrobing, though - in regard to its much-touched LTE upgradeability. The teardown's author noted that the XOOM ships with a dummy mini-PCI board, presumably holding the 4G LTE radio's slot. What's so fascinating about that? Well, the author claims a seasoned technician could swap out the dummy card and close up in about 10 minutes.