It’s been just over nine months since Google announced their intentions to acquire hardware manufacturer Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion, and now it seems that the final pieces of the deal have fallen into place.
According to a new report from the Associated Press, Chinese officials have finally given the Google-Motorola deal their blessing.
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It would appear that Motorola is putting even more of an effort into its resurrected Razr line. Just a few months after the hotly anticipated Droid Razr stepped onto the scene, Motorola offered the same unit with an upgraded battery, making the Droid Razr Maxx my new favorite Android phone with an 8+ hour battery life (and that’s under extreme duress).
Today, just a few months after the Razr Maxx, we’re seeings signs of yet another Razr line upgrade: The Droid Razr HD.
You see, both the Droid Razr and the Razr Maxx are excellent handsets, but with both sporting a qHD display resolution it was somewhat inevitable that Motorola would have to go spec-to-spec with competitors at some point and put out a 720p display. After seeing the EXIF data left by a Motorola Mobility employee on a picture of his desk he posted to his Picasa account, we’re thinking the Droid Razr HD (codenamed Vanquish) may be the real deal. → Read More
Another development in the ongoing fight between Apple and Motorola over patent infringements in Germany: a court has decided against Apple Inc. in a case involving push email service on iCloud and MobileMe services in the country. This is effectively an extension of the same ruling that was originally handed down in February against Apple International, a case that Apple is appealing.
A judge in a regional court in Mannheim, where the case was heard, has ordered Apple Inc. to pay damages, according to the Wall Street Journal. The exact value has not been specified.
Apple tells us it is appealing this case, based on the same points as the earlier one. In that case, Apple is appealing because it believes the patent in question — a patent (the ’654) that Motorola originally received in the 1990s around pager technology — is invalid. A spokesperson at the time of that earlier ruling dismissed it to me as an “old pager patent.” Since this case concerns the exact same patent, it is likely that Apple will also appeal in this newest case. → Read More
Those of you dutifully carrying around your HTC Vivids have probably already heard AT&T has officially started pushing out the handset’s Ice Cream Sandwich update. For all you other AT&T customers, fear not — the nation’s second largest wireless carrier has also announced which of their other Android handsets will be getting the Ice Cream Sandwich treatment.
There aren’t many surprises on the list (which can be found below if you’d rather not wait), but a few fairly recent devices have been don’t seem to have made the cut yet. → Read More
Do you know who Bubba Watson is? I sure don’t, but the internet tells me he’s a three-time PGA Tour winner — that’s right folks, he’s an expert at putting balls into cups.
As it turns out, Motorola Mobility thinks so highly of his skill that they’ve “teamed up” with him for a special golf-geared version of their MOTOACTV fitness gadget.
Really. → Read More
Motorola has really been stepping up lately. If you would have asked me six months ago to choose between a Samsung handset and a Motorola phone, I probably would have chosen Samsung hands-down. But as Motorola evolves its design language and nails down some of our most necessary features — solid battery, thin profile, premium feel in the hand, and badass specs — I find myself more and more infatuated with the stuff Moto’s putting out.
Take this leaked Droid Fighter, for example. If information from the PhonesHK forums is correct, Motorola is improving on its already successful Razr design language with an even bigger HD screen. While the original Razr had a 4.3-inch 540×960 display, this new (officially) unnamed beast has a massive 4.6-inch display, boasting a 720p resolution. → Read More
When the Droid Razr Maxx first arrived I was filled with mixed emotions. On the one hand, I was truly excited that Motorola found a way to make the Razr a plausible option — the original battery life on that thing is atrocious. On the other hand, I felt bad for the folks who went out and bought a Razr only to have an (almost) identical device with twice the battery life land a couple months later.
But it turns out there may be a solution for you Razr owners after all. A senior member over at the XDA Developers forum has figured a way to slap a Razr Maxx battery and battery door onto the Razr, significantly improving battery life. But be warned, this is a rather dangerous mod with potentially devastating consequences, so do plenty of reading before you move forward and proceed with caution. → Read More
Another development in the very long and winding road of mobile patent disputes: Apple has now had to disable the push email function used through MobileMe/iCloud, after a court ruled earlier this month that Apple had infringed on a Motorola patent claiming IP on push email.
A spokesperson from Apple told TechCrunch that the turn-off happened overnight, and that it will be appealing the ruling. → Read More
The Motorola Atrix line has been a big one for the company. Yet with two iterations out so far, the phones have yet to really wow anyone. But according to this specs/photo leak, the Atrix 3 may leave you humming a different tune.
Tian Jin Daily reports that the Atrix 3 will sport a 4.3-inch 720p display, which is a nice start but that’s not even where things get exciting. Under the hood, you’ll find a quad-core Tegra 3 processor, 2GB of RAM and a massive 3300mAh battery. → Read More
The Droid 4 doesn’t look much like its other Droid siblings, but it does promise the same stellar keyboard and a solid construction. At $199 it won’t break your wallet, but it will offer most of the same specs we’re seeing go for $300, including a 4G LTE radio.
If thin and light is important to you, the Droid 4 probably isn’t what you’re looking for, but keyboard purists should start getting excited… right… now.
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It sometimes feels like a absurd story without an ending, trying to track who is attacking whom in the mobile patent game. But Google has now secured one patent that may demonstrate how companies are figuring out ways of getting around would-be infringement issues — and possibly produce more differentiated products in the process.
A Google patent, published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, looks like it could pave the way for a new way of unlocking a mobile device. The news comes just as Android-handset maker Motorola, which Google is in the process of acquiring, got a ruling against it in Germany for another mobile unlock patent, in an ongoing case filed by Apple. → Read More
Google has overcome two big regulatory hurdles in getting its $12.5-billion acquisition of Motorola Mobility approved by both U.S. and European regulators. China now has until March 20 to decide whether or not it will wave through the deal, too.
Now, China’s Anti-Monopoly Bureau is now reviewing the deal — a routine part of the procedure for companies that make more than 400 million yuan ($63 million) in China and 10 billion yuan ($1.6 billion) globally. (Google reported revenues of nearly $38 million for 2011.) And some think that China might use the opportunity to get Google to bring back its search business to the Mainland from Hong Kong. → Read More
A life spent caught up in the drudgery of retail is usually pretty free of frills, but Verizon Wireless employees may soon be getting a shot at some swanky hardware if some newly-leaked images hold true. According to Android And Me, Verizon has reached out to their employees with an offer they may not be able to refuse: limited edition Droid RAZRs and Droid RAZR MAXXs.
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Motorola’s latest handsets have been pretty impressive. The Razr and Razr Maxx, in particular, are excellent handsets. But it would seem that the (almost) freshly acquired company has no intentions of resting on its laurels.
Rather than sticking with its usual OMAP-powered devices, Motorola has slapped an Intel Medfield chip on to this anonymous device. And lest we forget, Ice Cream Sandwich is finally coming along for the ride. (It sure does pay off to be under Google’s wing, doesn’t it?) → Read More
Just hours after the European Commission announced their approval of Google’s $12.5 billion Motorola purchase, the United States Department of Justice has announced that they too have given the deal their blessing.
With this, Google is one step closer to closing the deal, although they’re still waiting on approval from China, Taiwan, and Israel before the transaction can officially be completed.
According to the DoJ’s Antitrust Division, who conducted the investigation, the purchase was “not likely to significantly change existing market dynamics” or “substantially lessen competition.” → Read More
As you’ll notice quite quickly from this infographic, we’re pitting the Droid 4 against its predecessor, the Droid 3, along with the iPhone 4S. For anyone who isn’t a die-hard Android fan, the iPhone 4S usually comes into the equation when it comes time to upgrade hardware. Since many of our reviews will be of Android devices (and Windows Phone) rather than iOS, we wanted to make sure to let you visualize the differences between the handset we’re reviewing and its biggest competitors. → Read More
Before we chat out the Droid 4 there’s a bit of other news we need to address right quick. As you’ll surely notice, we’re doing smartphone reviews a little differently now. That said, this video and my basic hands-on impressions are just the first in a three-part series reviewing the phone. Stay tuned for what comes next!
Alright then, back to business…
The Motorola Droid 4 has spent exactly 24 hours on shelves, and from the time I’ve spent with the phone I wouldn’t be surprised to hear that it’s doing quite well there. → Read More
It’s been nearly a month since Verizon officially spilled the beans on the QWERTY-packing, LTE-sporting Motorola Droid 4, and now we finally have a release date to go with it.
According to the nation’s largest wireless provider, the oft-delayed Droid 4 is due to hit sales channels on February 10 complete with a $199 price tag. → Read More
Maybe it was too thick, maybe it was too heavy, maybe you just didn’t like Honeycomb. Regardless of your reasoning, you may want to keep your eyes peeled on your credit score if you bought and returned a Motorola Xoom between March and October 2011, because your personal information may be in someone else’s hands.
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 embedded 3G/UMTS wireless technology, FRAND standards essential patents to be specific. This means that the technology within the patents is now a standard across the industry, and the company that owns said technology is required to license it to competitors under fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory terms.
That said, the Mannheim Regional Court has enforced a permanent injunction on the iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, iPhone 3G and the iPad 2 3G. → Read More
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