February 3rd, 2012

Motorola Injunction Kicks 3 iPhones And An iPad Off Of Apple’s German Site (Update)

Screen shot 2012-02-03 at 9.31.51 AM

Once upon a time, in a land far, far away, there lived a website called Apple.de. And on this website, in historical Deutschland, there lived three iPhones and an iPad. They were a happy bunch: some wise but slow with old age, others quick and lean, but they all had one tragic flaw in common.

According to a court in Germany, all four of them are infringing on Motorola patents related to… → Read More

Droid Razr Maxx
January 28th, 2012

MotorolaDroidRazrMaxxReview:4GLTEWithSolidBatteryLifeJustGotReal

The Droid Razr Maxx by Motorola is a very special phone. You see, I had a bit of a thing for the Droid Razr when it first came out, but it wasn’t quite perfect. It felt a bit light, and I had trouble holding it in my hand since it was so big and so thin at the same time. Plus, battery life was a bust. It wasn’t awful, but it only lasted about nine hours, meaning most people would need to bring a… → Read More

January 27th, 2012

Android Smartphone Round-Up: December/January Edition

groupshot

We took a break from the Android round-up in December because, well, to be honest I was on vacation. But January gave us a few extra smartphones and the holidays are over, so we’re back. What we’ve got for you today leans into more expensive turf, and unfortunately, our favorite Android devices for the past two months are also exclusively at Verizon, so Big Red subscribers should pay attention. → Read More

January 24th, 2012

$299 Droid RAZR MAXX To Hit Verizon Shelves On January 26

droid-razr-maxx

Looks like that flubbed product page turned out to be right after all — Verizon Wireless has just announced that the ever-so-slightly-tweaked Droid RAZR MAXX will indeed be hitting store shelves on January 26. → Read More

January 13th, 2012

ITC Sides With Motorola In Key Apple Patent Suit

droidshot

Back in fall 2010, Apple filed suit against Motorola alleging that the company was violating several of its patents with its flagship line of Droid smartphones, all of which run Android. The case was filed with the US International Trade Commission — a favorite battleground for these smartphone suits, as it has the ability to block potentially infringing devices from import into the United… → Read More

January 13th, 2012

Droid RAZR MAXX To Launch On January 26th?

Droid RAZR Maxx

While there wasn’t much to say about the recently announced Droid RAZR MAXX to begin with (it’s essentially the Droid RAZR with a bigger battery and more storage), Motorola and Verizon decided to leave out one key bit of detail: the launch date. That, it seems, has been fixed. → Read More

December 29th, 2011

Verizon Cuts $50 Off The Droid Xyboards On-Contract Price But They’re Still Too Expensive

droidmeme

It seems that Verizon (or Motorola) got the message: The Droid Xyboards are too damn expensive when tied to a 2-year commitment. Until today, Verizon was selling the 10.1 Xoom 2 for $529 and required a 2-year contract. Ludicrous. Well, after today’s price cuts, the prices are less absurd, but just slightly. → Read More

December 22nd, 2011

Motorola Mobility Acquires Video Guide Startup SetJam

setjam-logo

Today, SetJam, a company that describes itself as “building the future of TV,” has announced it has been acquired by Motorola Mobility. The company’s products currently include a customizable TV and movie widgets designed for embedding on websites, plus developer-friendly tools like a REST API and XML download of the SetJam database. → Read More

December 17th, 2011

Verizon’s Next DROID RAZR Already Spotted In Their System

Maxx Headroom

Because the name “Verizon DROID RAZR by Motorola” seemingly isn’t long enough, it looks like Verizon’s already planning another RAZR with even more words in the name. I kid, of course (does the name even matter? Everyone outside of the tech scene just calls every Android phone “the Droid” anyway), but I pick on the name because it’s pretty much the only thing we know at this point.

Spotted… → Read More

December 12th, 2011

Hands-On With The Latest Motorola Xyboards

scaledwm.IMG_4521

It’s not every day that you have two – count ‘em – two Motorola Honeycomb tablets drop on your lap but today’s one of those days. I’ve just powered up the Xyboard 8.2 and 10.1 and am running them through their paces right now. The tablets are surprisingly thin and, in preliminary LTE tests, surprisingly fast on the wireless networks, topping out at 28.8mbps.

I’m going to withhold judgement… → Read More

December 9th, 2011

Apple Loses Big Against Motorola In Germany (Update)

Gavelgood

Apple has lost a preliminary injunction filed by Motorola Mobility over a wireless-related patent. That’s not something we’re hearing a lot of these days, but it seems to be the case over in Germany, where a judge in the Mannheim Regional Court has ruled that the iPhone and iPad (3G versions) infringe European Patent 1010336, covering a “method for performing countdown function during a… → Read More

December 7th, 2011

Motorola And Sony Ericsson Weigh In On The Android 4.0 Upgrade Process

ics-how

The era of Ice Cream Sandwich is upon us, and while some of us are waiting diligently for our Galaxy Nexuses to to arrive, others are left pondering a more different question: when will my device get Android 4.0?

Sony Ericsson (soon to be just Sony) and Motorola have heard our pleas, and have both gone into lengthy tirades about how the Ice Cream Sandwich process actually works and how long it… → Read More

December 6th, 2011

Try, Try Again: The XYBOARD Tablets Make All The Same Mistakes

were-doomed-c3po

Listen, I’ve yet to play with the new Xoom 2 models — or, as the new devices are called at Verizon, the XYBoards. I’m sure both the 8.9 and 10.1 models are fine tablets. They probably power through the hundred or so Honeycomb apps like a championship thoroughbred. But it doesn’t matter. No one is going to buy the new-ish tablets. They will flop harder than the original Xoom.

Right now there… → Read More

December 6th, 2011

DROID XYBOARD Tablets Get Official, Hitting Verizon Stores This Month

Pasteur_front 005

Verizon’s been teasing us with them for weeks now, but today the company has finally made things official: Motorola’s LTE-capable DROID XYBOARD tablets will be hitting Verizon stores this month.

For those of you who have managed to miss all the news about Motorola’s latest tablet venture, here are a few of the salient details. → Read More

November 14th, 2011

“Xoom” To Give Way To “XYBoard”?

xyyy

The Xoom hasn’t been the big hit everyone was hoping for. After an inauspicious debut marked by bugs, a lack of Honeycomb apps, and a non-functioning SD card slot, the big debut tablet from Motorola was quickly superseded by other devices, in some cases cheaper or better Honeycomb tablets, and in others more use-specific devices like the Nook Color.

It’s no surprise, then, that the Xoom brand… → Read More

November 11th, 2011

Amazon’s $111.11 Droid RAZR Deal Makes My Wallet Happy

Motorola Droid RAZR

Happy 11/11/11 boys and girls! Verizon is preparing to open the release their latest 4G smartphone into the world promptly at 11:11 this morning, but those of you whose wallets ache when they see that $299 price tag may want to check out Amazon Wireless’s launch day deal.

Running with Verizon’s all-11s schtick, Amazon has the Droid RAZR for $111.11 with a two-year contract. → Read More

November 9th, 2011

Review: Motorola Atrix 2

IMG_3165

An attractive and comfortable phone with a nice camera and enough speed for most users. The qHD screen is sharp and the design is understated. It’s just too bad Motorola had to ruin the UI with a few ugly effects.

It’s not a major update to the original Atrix, but it has some welcome changes and stands on its own as a good choice for non-iPhone AT&T users. Read on for the full review. → Read More

November 3rd, 2011

Motorola Unveils The Xoom 2 And Xoom 2 Media Edition

hgalleryxoom2dynrhorizhomeemaramat800

We’ve been seeing them in one form or another for months now, but today Motorola has officially unveiled the Xoom 2 and Xoom 2 Media Edition tablets.

In most ways, the two tablets are nearly identical: they both sport 1.2GHz dual-core processors, 1GB of RAM, 16GB of internal storage, a 5-megapixel rear shooter, and a 1.3-megapixel front-facer. As expected, both run Android 3.2 (sorry Ice Cream… → Read More

November 2nd, 2011

Take A Peek At China’s Version Of The Motorola Droid RAZR

Chinese RAZR

The Droid RAZR has certainly been the talk of the the town lately, with its 7.1mm waist line, 1.2GHz dual-core processor and uniquely beautiful design. According to the leaks, the RAZR should be gracing shelves by November 10 both here in the States and in the UK.

But what about China? → Read More

November 1st, 2011

Motorola’s Xoom 2 Spied In Catalog, Should Launch Before Christmas

xoom2

We were half-expecting to see the Xoom 2 officially break cover at Motorola’s Droid RAZR launch event (especially since some incriminating photos of the tab leaked just prior to it), but according to the latest Carphone Warehouse buyer’s guide, the Xoom 2 should make its debut in time for the holidays.

I managed to scrounge up a high resolution shot of the page in question (below), and it… → Read More

November 1st, 2011

Verizon Doc Points To November 10 Launch For The Droid RAZR

RAZR launch, small

Remember that one time Motorola and Verizon announced the new Droid RAZR, but failed to offer up any in-store availability dates? A date as vague as “November” can only tide over the masses for so long, which may be why Verizon “passed along” this internal document (full-size below) to Droid-Life, which details in-store availability across “all channels” on November 10. The beastly 4G-LTE packin’… → Read More

October 27th, 2011

Motorola’s New LTE-Packing DROID4 Caught On Film

droid4-1

Motorola fans may still be riding high on the announcement of the Droid RAZR, but Droid-Life has just gotten their hands on images of yet another Motorola handset in the works: the DROID4.

The DROID4 apes some of the RAZR’s industrial design (like the funky corners and non-removable battery), but it sadly isn’t quite as svelte thanks to the spacious slide-out five row keyboard. → Read More

October 27th, 2011

Motorola Droid RAZR Goes Up For Pre-Order At Verizon

Screen shot 2011-10-27 at 8.13.40 AM

This morning the Droid RAZR — the world’s thinnest smartphone according to Motorola — is now available for pre-order from Verizon. The phone is still listed as available on Verizon’s website, but it’ll surely go fast. So if this is what you’ve been waiting for then we recommend moving fast. → Read More

October 25th, 2011

Android Smartphone Round-Up: October Edition

roundup

Even with Ice Cream Sandwich on the way, Android Gingerbread devices are still as hot as ever. That said, there are way too many Android handsets on the market to parse through each and every one, but that’s why we’re here. We’ve looked through all the latest Android smartphones to give you our brief thoughts on the pick of the litter. These aren’t full-length reviews, but rather a way for you to… → Read More

October 24th, 2011

Motorola’s Droid RAZR (Or Something Like It) Likely Headed For AT&T Soon

Razr ATT

Sorry, Verizon: looks like your exclusivity on the Motorola Droid RAZR might not last all that long. Based on the finer details of some docs pulled fresh from the good ol’ FCC, it looks like AT&T might be getting a RAZR of their very own. → Read More

October 24th, 2011

Motorola Offers Unlocked Bootloader Tool For Droid RAZR, Verizon Removes It

motorola-droid-razr

Soon-to-be Droid RAZR owners, this one’s for you. If you’re looking for a reason to be angry this Monday morning, I’ll do you one better with a reason for anger and a target toward which you can direct that rage.

Ausdroid reports that Motorola has provided a bootloader unlock solution for its new Motorola Droid RAZR (which is a shock in and of itself after the way Moto has previously handled→ Read More

October 20th, 2011

Motorola Admiral Hits Sprint On October 23 With $100 Price Tag

admiral_dyn_r_vert_hero_sprint_m

Move over, Kyocera DuraMax — Sprint has just officially announced the Motorola Admiral, the first Android smartphone in their growing Direct Connect lineup.

The Admiral takes a 1.2GHz processor, 4GB of internal storage, and 3G hotspot support and wraps it all in a mil-spec 810G compliant body. The 3.1-inch VGA display swathed in Gorilla Glass sits above a 4 row QWERTY keyboard, and a 5MP… → Read More

October 19th, 2011

Droid Razr To Taste Ice Cream Sandwich Update In First Half Of 2012

razr7

Motorola’s Droid Razr made quite the splash yesterday thanks in part to its impressive hardware, but the Android build that it runs seems bit quaint now thanks to Ice Cream Sandwich. No worries, though: if you pick up a Droid Razr when it ships in November, you should be getting the Android 4.0 update in early 2012. → Read More

October 18th, 2011

Video: Hands-On With Motorola’s iPod Nano Challenger, The MOTO ACTV

DSC_0093

This morning, Motorola dropped a bit of a surprise with the MOTO ACTV, an iPod Nano-esque thimble of a device.

Does the world need another tiny, crappy audio player? Probably not. But what about a tiny, Android-powered audio player that focuses on gauging exercise? Still, probably not — but hey, it’ll be fun to hack! → Read More

DSC_0085
October 18th, 2011

Hands-OnWithTheVerizonDroidRAZRByMotorola

After the hot mess that was the Droid Bionic Saga (Delay! Delay! Delay! Screw it, release garbage.), I didn’t think I could ever like another Motorola device again. Guess I was wrong.

I just spent a bit of time with the just announced Droid RAZR, and, at least at first glance, it is… surprisingly great. Dive in for my first impressions, won’t you? → Read More