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 charger along every day.
The Droid Razr Maxx throws all those problems into the trash can, and only gains about 18g and 1.89mm in return.
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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.
Without further ado, these are our favorite December/January releases of the Android persuasion: The Samsung Galaxy Nexus, the LG Spectrum, and the Motorola Droid RAZR Maxx.
Enjoy! → Read More
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.
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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 States.
Today, Motorola has gotten some good news: the ITC has released its initial determination on the case, and it is ruling in Motorola’s favor. The news was first broken by CNet. As the CNet article reports, this is only an initial determination, and won’t become final until it’s been voted on by the ITC’s full committee. → Read More
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
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
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.
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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 lurking in VZW’s inventory system by the guys at Droid-Life, it looks like the next handset in the DROID RAZR series will be the DROID RAZR MAXX. → Read More
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 until I mess with these guys a bit but as it stands the power and performance are impressive. As Matt notes, however, the 10.1 model costs $529 with contract and the 8.2 costs $429. You’re going to hear this again and again: Verizon’s prices are too darn high. → Read More
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 mobile-originated transfer for a packet radio system.”
By now all this patent litigation has likely become tiresome to you, as it has most of us, but this is actually a pretty substantial win for Motorola, and an equally substantial loss for Apple. The loss means that an injunction on all the old iPhones, (probably the 4S, as well) and 3G-capable iPads is preliminarily enforceable against Apple Sales International, which is Apple’s Ireland-based subsidiary. → Read More
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 takes, albeit without juicy details like dates.
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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 are essentially two tablets that matter on the market: the $500 iPad and the $200 Kindle Fire. Because of this, there are just two price points. The iPad set the bar at $500 for full-featured tablets while the Fire is doing the same for budget models. Any tablet that attempts to jam itself into this pricing scheme is currently destined to fail. The low-end wants the Amazon pedigree while the high end knows that they want an iPad. The mid-range Android models are strong, I will admit, but they aren’t what compels the average shopper. → Read More
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
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 might be getting a revamp. But what happens when the cure is worse than the disease? XYBoard happens. → Read More
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
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
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 Sandwich fans), and they both pack the same complement of Google apps out of the box. → Read More
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
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 points out a few interesting particulars. → Read More
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’ RAZR will go for $299.99 on-contract. → Read More
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