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Tag: Motorola

  • Motorola CEO Dennis Woodside To Step Down In March

    Dennis Woodside has been CEO of Motorola Mobility since Google bought the company in 2012. Since then, Motorola has produced two of 2013’s best smartphones – the Moto X and Moto G. That kind of excellence may very well continue after it’s sold to Lenovo, but Woodside won’t be along for the ride.

    On the Motorola blog today, Woodside announced that he would stepping down as Motorola Mobility’s CEO at the end of March. At that time, he will join Dropbox as its COO. After his departure, Jonathan Rosenberg, SVP of Products at Google from 2002 to 2011, will take over as COO at Motorola Mobility.

    Here are the full details:

    To ensure that Motorola maintains its current momentum and successfully transitions to Lenovo ownership, Jonathan Rosenberg, a longtime Googler and SVP of Products from 2002 to 2011, will step in as COO at Motorola Mobility as of April 1. Jonathan worked very closely with me to build the leadership team at Motorola and has been intimately involved in steering business and product decisions alongside with the current leadership team. Google Chief Business Officer Nikesh Arora will remain Executive Chairman of the Motorola Operating Board, and continue to oversee the strategy.

    Even with Woodside gone, it sounds like Motorola will keep doing what it does best – make phones. It’s unknown if the company will have anything on display for this year’s Mobile World Congress as it prepares for the move to Lenovo, but it could very well be the last product unveiling under Woodside. Here’s hoping Motorola shares more info on its ambitious modular smartphone concept.

    Image via Google+ Your Business

  • Report: Nest To Take On ‘Core’ Hardware At Google

    As you know, Google announced that it is selling Motorola Mobility to Lenovo for close to $3 billion. You’re probably also aware that the company recently announced that it will acquire Nest, makers of smart thermostats and smoke detector.

    With Motorola out of the company, apparently the Nest team will be running “core”
    hardware at Google, which could include more traditional hardware you’d expect from the company, like phones and tablets. This is according to TechCrunch, which says it has “learned” as much. The report says Google will keep Nest intact within the company, and will give it all the resources it needs.

    Given that Nest CEO Tony Fadell worked on the iPod for Apple, the team could foreseeably work on any number of devices under the company. The news may very well mean that Google doesn’t have plans to immediately launch any more thermostats or smoke detector-like devices.

    On Thursday’s earnings call, Google talked up the recent success of its hardware products like the Nexus 5 and the Chromecast, both of which saw significant sales during the last quarter and holiday season.

    Fadell recently appeared on Bloomberg TV to talk about Nest under Google.

    He noted that Google will give Nest access to world-wide markets, which he says is what the sale is really about.

    Image via YouTube

  • Google To Sell Motorola Mobility To Lenovo [Report]

    In 2013, it looked like Google-owned Motorola Mobility had finally hit its stride with the release of the Moto X and Moto G. Despite the success of these two phones, Google is already selling the company.

    TechCrunch is reporting that Google will be selling the Motorola Mobility to Lenovo for almost $3 billion. Google purchased the company in 2011 for $12.5 billion. While the difference in price between the two makes it seem like Google may hold onto some patents, but China Daily reports the deal nets Lenovo 10,000 patents. That’s over half of the 17,000 patents Google acquired in its original purchase.

    Unfortunately, we won’t know the exact terms of deal until it’s made official. Until then, we can only speculate and speculate we shall. For starters, a rumor popped up this week that Google would be discontinuing its Nexus brand of mobile devices in 2015. Others are stating that Google is simply rebranding the Nexus line as “Play Edition” to keep them in line with the non-Nexus phones currently offered on the Google Play store.

    Either way, the sale of Motorola Mobility and the death/rebranding of the Nexus line may mean that Google is interested in moving away from mobile somewhat. The company is really putting a lot of its effort these days behind wearables with Google Glass. Add to that Google’s recent agreement with Samsung to cross-license each other’s patents and you have a perfect storm of speculation regarding the future of Google’s mobile plans.

    Whatever happens, Google will remain committed to the Android platform. It just brings into question whether or not Google is committed to Android hardware as well.

    We’ll likely find out more tomorrow as Lenovo says it will host a press conference on Thursday to officially announce the acquisition.

    UPDATE: Google just made it official with a statement from CEO Larry Page. In the statement, Google cites a competitive market and it needing to be “all-in” for Motorola to succeed which is why they’re selling:

    But the smartphone market is super competitive, and to thrive it helps to be all-in when it comes to making mobile devices. It’s why we believe that Motorola will be better served by Lenovo—which has a rapidly growing smartphone business and is the largest (and fastest-growing) PC manufacturer in the world. This move will enable Google to devote our energy to driving innovation across the Android ecosystem, for the benefit of smartphone users everywhere.

    Page also confirmed two other notes of interest: Motorola will keep its branding in the move to Lenovo while Google will retain “majority of Motorola’s patents” which is it will “use to defend the entire Android ecosystem.”

    At the end, Page adds that business will continual as usual at Motorola as the deal is approved by regulators in both China and the U.S.

  • Moto G Gets A Google Play Edition

    Motorola was on a roll in 2013 with a line of super affordable smartphones that packed in some nifty features. The customizable Moto X is a steal at $399, and now Google is making the handset maker’s Moto G almost impossible to pass up on Google Play.

    Google added the Moto G to its growing list of Google Play Edition Android devices today. The entry-level smartphone packs some serious punch for its price. It’s also completely unlocked and comes with stock Android. While the device costs the same, the addition of stock Android and the promise of Android updates straight from Google make the $179 asking price even more titillating.

    Now before you go rushing off to buy your new smartphone, you should be aware of what you’re getting yourself into. Google Play Edition smartphones are generally cheap than their carrier counterparts, but you are getting what you pay for with the Moto G. In other words, you’re getting an entry level device that will serve your needs well if all you’re looking for is a smartphone that can do the most basic of tasks – a gaming device this is not.

    That being said, the Moto G does have some pretty serious hardware under the hood. It has a 4.5-inch 720p display, 5MP rear facing camera, 1.3MP front facing camera, Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 CPU and 2070 mAh battery. It doesn’t support LTE, but it does support 4G on both T-Mobile and AT&T.

    Oh, and if 8GB of onboard memory doesn’t do it for you, the 16GB Moto G is also available for $199. Both models are in stock and will ship from warehouses in one to two days.

    Image via Google Play

  • Buy A Moto X Off-Contract And Get A Chromecast For Free

    Google has been making bank on its new Chromecast dongle thanks to its super low price of $35. While $35 isn’t a lot of money, it’s still nice to get things for free. Free things are especially nice when they’re bonuses for spending hundreds of dollars on other consumer technology.

    Motorola has unveiled a new promotion for those who purchase an off-contract Moto X. For spending $399 on the new phone, Motorola will throw in a free Chromecast to make it feel like you’re actually getting a deal. After all, the $399 Motorola Moto X still costs more than the superior Nexus 5.

    If you’ve not been following the phone wars lately, the Moto X is the new flagship device from Motorola. It features a 720p 4.7 inch display, dual-core Snapdragon S4 Pro CPU, 16GB of onboard storage, 2GB of RAM and a 10MP rear-facing camera. In short, it’s a mid-tier phone featuring year-old components.

    So, what sets the Moto X apart from the others? Well, the Moto Maker program is the biggest distinguishing feature as it allows the consumer to customize the aesthetics of their device, including a bamboo wood back. It also has a number of software gimmicks that help it stand apart from the competition.

    Alongside all of this, Motorola is also throwing in the free Chromecast until January 14. If you want a personalized phone with mid-tier specs, you can’t go wrong with the Moto X. The bundled Chromecast should make your decision even easier. You can check out the deal here.

    [h/t: Droid Life]
    Image via Motorola

  • Motorola Reduces The Moto X’ Price To $399

    Motorola Reduces The Moto X’ Price To $399

    After being purchased by Google in 2012, Motorola sought to reinvent itself in 2013 with the release of the Moto X. Now the company is starting off 2014 right by reducing the price of its flagship smartphone.

    Motorola announced on Wednesday that the Moto X is now available at every carrier off-contract for $399. The company emphasizes that this price is permanent going forward and that it applies to all versions of the Moto X, including the fully customized phones made through the Moto Maker. In other words, you can get that awesome Moto X with wood paneling for the same price of a 32GB Nexus 5.

    With this new pricing, Motorola encourages consumers to go with the more affordable pre-paid wireless plans that many carriers offer. It estimates that a consumer could save hundreds of dollars over the two years that they would normally be locked into a contract with a subsidized phone.

    Interestingly enough, Motorola is also offering to finance a new Moto X for the consumer that can’t afford the full $399 price tag up front. In the fine print, Motorola says that a new Moto X can be yours for $0 down and interest free if the device is paid in full over the course of 6, 12 or 18 months.

    If you care more about hardware specs than gimmicks, another cheap option available to consumers going into 2014 is Google’s own Nexus 5. The LG G2 clone is available on pretty much every carrier and only costs $349 for the 16GB SKU. You can get the 32GB handset for $50 more.

    Image via Motorola Blog

  • Motorola Moto X Unveils “Natural” Back Option

    In May of last year, Google sealed a $13 billion acquisition to acquire mobile phone company Motorola. Since buying Motorola, Google has spent much of its time working of furthering the development of Google Glass and its Nexus line of tablets and phones. In August, though, Google unveiled its first creation from Motorola – the Moto X.

    The Motorola Moto X was released to somewhat rave reviews, mainly due to its plethora of external customization options and its unique integration of the Google Now voice-command system. The other selling points of the Moto X at the time of its release were its turn-of-the-wrist camera functioning and non-invasive notifications system.

    One aspect of the Moto X launch that was almost forgotten, until now, was the natural back option. In August, pictures began circulating showcasing the wooden-back options which would be available to customers at some unknown time.

    On Sunday, Motorola teased consumers with the natural wood option once again by posting this picture to their Google+ page:

    Moto X Google+ Teaser

    And starting today, the Bamboo back-plate option became available on the Moto X Moto Maker page.

    While the bamboo option looks fantastic and promises that unique-factor due to the fact that the wood grains will be different on every phone, the “upgrade” does come with certain drawbacks. First, the bamboo back will cost consumers $100 extra. While this is a splurge for just a new back, one has to remember that the Moto X is generously priced at $99 base. The other caveat to coveting the new bamboo back is that shipping takes an extra week, 14 days total. Thus, the first bamboo-backed Moto Xs will not arrive in the hands of consumers until January.

    When Google first acquired Motorola last year, many speculated if this was Google’s attempt at entering the hardware market. While Google relies on the majority of it income coming from its advertising services, it certainly appears as if Google is trying to become a more full-bodied company with the acquisition of Motorola. While the Moto X was not received with as much acclaim as the iPhone, Apple will be hard-pressed to keep such a stranglehold on the smart phone market if Google and Motorola continue to release such promising products at such a low price.

    Images via Motorola (1) (2)

  • HTC, BlackBerry Could Abandon the Tablet Market

    As crowded as the smartphone market currently is, the tablet market might be even more so. While brands such as Apple and Samsung have begun consolidating the smartphone market in established regions, other players such LG, Sony, and a variety of smaller Chinese brands have begun to make headway in emerging markets. The landscape looks much the same in the tablet sector, only smaller brands with extremely low-cost devices make up an even greater portion of the market.

    With tablet brands now jostling for fractions of market share, it seems that struggling brands may opt out of the market altogether. A DigiTimes report today revealed that HTC, Motorola, and BlackBerry could soon abandon their tablet programs. The report’s unnamed “industry sources” stated that this could happen due to the increased competition at the low end of the tablet market.

    For BlackBerry, abandoning tablet ambitions would seem only logical. Its latest tablet device, the PlayBook, was not even supported enough to get an upgrade to BlackBerry’s new operating system. The company’s traditional role has been in providing business-centric smartphones, and even those haven’t help the company keep up in the smartphone market in recent years. BlackBerry earlier this month failed to close on a proposed $4.7 billion buyout and is in the midst of a massive executive and board shift.

    HTC is in a similar situation as BlackBerry, with its high-end smartphone sales falling short and poor quarterly reports beginning to mount. Abandoning tablets to focus on its well-reviewed smartphones could help the brand stick around a bit longer.

    Motorola is in an odd position. Though its smartphones have also not made headway against Samsung and Apple, the company does have the financial backing of Google. Ignoring the tablet market for Motorola could mean that Google is overlooking it for future Nexus 7 tablet design.

    DigiTimes sources also stated that not everyone is giving the tablet up to low-cost brands, though. Nokia, LG and Sony are all expected to field a variety of tablets in the years to come. Nokia in particular was just acquired by Microsoft, which will certainly want to use the now-established Lumia brand to grow the Windows 8 platform on tablets.

  • Motorola Announces Low-Priced Moto G Smartphone

    As was rumored, Motorola today officially announced its new Moto G smartphone. The device is low-cost and aimed squarely at the emerging markets (China, Brazil) where market watchers believe most of the growth in the smartphone industry will come in the next decade.

    Motorola is positioning the Moto G as a smartphone for the masses, even going so far as to declare that high-end smartphone pricing has created a sub-class of technology users. The unlocked, no-contract needed device is priced at just $179 for the 8GB version and $199 for the 16GB version.

    Motorola has stated that the Moto G will launch in at least 30 countries by 2014. It will launch first this week in Brazil and some parts of Europe. Motorola is promising a rollout to all of Europe, Latin America, Canada, and some parts of Asia in the coming weeks. Markets such as the U.S., India, the Middle East, and more Asian countries will get the Moto G sometime in January.

    Though the lower price means that the Moto G’s hardware is a step down from the Moto X, the new smartphone is surprisingly solid for its price. The Moto G will have a 4.5-inch, 1280 x 720 display and a 1.2GHz quad-core processor. It has 1GB of RAM and a 2,070mAh battery. Its rear-facing camera is a modest 5MP, while the front-facing one is 1.3MP.

    The Moto G will also come running a clean version Android 4.3 Jellybean without any manufacturer crapware installed. Being owned by Google, though, Motorola is guaranteeing a quick update to Android 4.4 KitKat sometime in early 2014. KitKat has reportedly been designed with lower-end smartphones in mind.

    Though customers will not be able to customize their Moto G the way Motorola is offering with the Moto X, the device will have three different “shell” designs in a variety of colors.

  • Motorola to Announce Low-Priced Smartphone This Week

    Despite the massive marketing budget behind it, Motorola’s new Moto X has flopped. Android consumers enamored of Samsung and LG devices gave Motorola’s customizable cases a pass, and now Motorola is set to focus on the emerging markets where smartphone growth is still strong.

    The Wall Street Journal this week reported that Motorola will unveil a low-cost smartphone on Wednesday. The report cites unnamed “people familiar with the matter” as stating that the “Moto G” will be priced at less than $250 off-contract in the U.S.

    Other than the impending announcement and possible price range, not much is known about the Moto G. To reach the proposed price range, Motorola will have to also cut down the device’s hardware from that seen in the Moto X. The Moto G is currently rumored to have a 1.2GHz quad-core CPU, a smaller 4.5-inch screen with 1280 x 720 resolution, and a 5MP rear camera.

    Though the device may be sole in established smartphone markets such as the U.S. and Europe, the Moto G is almost certainly aimed at emerging markets such as China, India, and Brazil, where analysts believe most of the industry’s growth will happen from in the coming years. Motorola’s own marketing tease for the Moto G emphasizes a globe and many different world locations.

    The news comes just as the dust from the Moto X’s release has settled. The Journal cites market research firm Strategy Analytics’s figures showing that only 500,000 Moto X smartphones have been sold since its release nearly three months ago. These shipment numbers represent a 50% drop in year-over-year shipments for Motorola during the third quarter of 2013. The firm predicts that Motorola will sell only 1 million Moto X’s during this year’s holiday quarter.

  • Phonebloks Opens Up About Its Collaboration With Motorola

    Motorola announced on Monday an ambitious plan to rethink how smartphones are made with Project Ara. The company is partnering with Phonebloks to create a modular smartphone that allows the user to upgrade their phone piece by piece instead of replacing the entire thing. Now Phonebloks has come out with a new video to explain what it’s doing with Motorola.

    Much of the video is a retread of what Motorola announced on Monday, but Phonebloks did have some new information to share. For starters, Motorola will be developing Project Ara in the open with input from the Phonebloks community. The hope here is that Motorola can create a better phone when developing it with input from phone users and developers instead of behind closed doors.

    Despite working closely with Motorola, the Phonebloks team says that it wants to remain independent. That’s why it won’t be taking any money from Google and will instead rely on donations to keep its servers running while increasing its Web presence. This will allow it to continue championing a modular smartphone in the event that Motorola backs out.

    If you want to know more about Phonebloks and Project Ara, check out the official Web site.

    [Image: Dave Hakkens/YouTube]

  • Motorola Wants To Make The Smartphone Modular With Ara

    One of the best parts about building your own equipment is that you can swap out parts to upgrade said equipment without having to replace the entire thing. Such a concept has been the norm in the PC space for years, but it’s never been possible on smartphones just yet. That might just change if Motorola has anything to say about it.

    Motorola introduced Project Ara to the world on Monday. The end goal of this latest project is to make smartphones completely modular. In other words, make it so that users can upgrade their existing phone with new parts instead of having to buy an all new phone.

    Here’s how Motorola describes its ambitious new project:

    Led by Motorola’s Advanced Technology and Projects group, Project Ara is developing a free, open hardware platform for creating highly modular smartphones. We want to do for hardware what the Android platform has done for software: create a vibrant third-party developer ecosystem, lower the barriers to entry, increase the pace of innovation, and substantially compress development timelines.

    To make Ara a reality, Motorola has joined forces with Phonebloks to help spread the word. Phonebloks is a startup that wants to create mobile devices that are made entirely of customizable hardware blocks. Each block contains one component and users can switch out these blocks for any other block at any time. Check out their initial pitch video to see the potential of modular smartphones:

    Motorola says that it will start sending out invitations to developers asking them to build modules for the platform within the next few months. It will release an alpha build of the Module Developer’s Kit in the next few months as well.

    [Image: Motorola Blog]

  • LG Is Making The Nexus 5, Will Be Similar To The G2 [Rumor]

    Last year, Google and LG released one of the best Android phones on the market with the Nexus 4. Since then, a lot of quality phones, including the HTC One and Galaxy S 4, have gone a long way in making the Nexus 4 look a little old. Google will no doubt fix that later this year with a new Nexus device, but it’s currently unknown which company will have the honor.

    Chinese site MyDrivers (as translated by DroidLife) reports that LG will once again make the next Nexus device. For now, the device is being called the Nexus 5 in reference to its rumored 5.2-inch display.

    Beyond the larger display, the rumors state that the Nexus 5 will be almost identical to the recently revealed LG G2. The latest flagship from LG features the same 5.2-inch display alongside a Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 CPU, 2GB of RAM and either 16 or 32GB of internal memory. The only difference between the G2 and the Nexus 5 is that Google is supposedly swapping out the Snapdragon 800 for the cheaper 600 to keep costs down.

    Interestingly enough, it’s also rumored that the Nexus 5 will be the device that Google uses to introduce Android 5.0, or Key Lime Pie. Google only recently starting pushing out Android 4.3 to its Nexus devices, but a late 2013 release for Key Lime Pie makes sense if only to satiate the masses who are demanding something beyond incremental updates from the Android team.

    So, when might we see the mythical Nexus 5 and Key Lime Pie? The rumor states that Google is pushing for an October reveal. That would put the announcement roughly a year after the announcement of the Nexus 4 which itself was delayed due to Hurricane Sandy. Barring any repeat performances from Mother Nature this year, Google may be able to do a mid-October reveal.

    Like always, all of the above are nothing but rumors. LG might not even be making the next Nexus device as there are other rumors floating around that say Motorola might be making a Nexus version of the Moto X. It’s even possible that LG and Motorola will both release a Nexus device, but that’s the most unlikely out of all the possible scenarios.

    Regardless of whoever Google chooses to make the next Nexus phone, they’d be wise not to celebrate the launch with an ill-informed stunt involving BB guns.

  • The Next Nexus Phone Will Be Made By Motorola [Rumor]

    So far, Google’s Nexus phones have been made by Samsung and LG. Some think that LG will make the next Nexus phone, but others wonder why Google just doesn’t have Motorola make it. After all, Google now owns the handset manufacturer. As it turns out, Google might actually involve Motorola in the future of Nexus.

    In a post from Taylor Wimberly on Google+, he says that Google and Motorola will release a Nexus phone at the end of this year. Droid-Life says that he was spot on with the Moto X months before it was announced so there is some weight behind his statement.

    This latest rumor is interesting on a number of fronts, but the most pressing is the existence of the Moto X. You could consider it a kind of Google phone as the company worked closely with Motorola on the device. Would a Motorola Nexus just be a Moto X with stock Android? It’s entirely plausible and I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised to see one later this year.

    Interestingly enough, it’s also speculated that LG could still release a Nexus phone as well. Would Google release two Nexus phones in the same year? The company already sells Nexus versions of the Galaxy S4 and HTC One in the Google Play store so it’s not entirely out of the question. LG could provide the flagship high-end Nexus experience while the Motorola Nexus would be a cheaper, mid-tier device.

    All of this is purely speculation for now, but it’s interesting to think about the future of the Nexus program. Will Google start cranking out more hardware every year? It’s a nice thought, but some hardware manufacturers may not be fully on board with the idea of selling their hardware at cost even if Google cushions it with heavy subsidizations.

  • The Moto X Will Arrive On August 23 [Report]

    The Moto X Will Arrive On August 23 [Report]

    Google and Motorola made a big to do about the Moto X earlier this month when they officially unveiled the handset. At the time, they only said that the phone would launch later this year. Now we have a date thanks to a new report.

    A report out of Ad Age says that the Moto X will launch on August 23. On that date, AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon will all start to offer the device. With the exception of T-Mobile, the other three carriers will charge $199 for the device with a new two-year contract. With T-Mobile, the device will be offered straight from the Motorola site for an undisclosed sum.

    Now, one of the more interesting aspects of the Moto X is the customization options available to consumers. The Moto Maker Web app will allow Moto X buyers to essentially design their own phone with a number of custom backs and colors. The phone will then be assembled at a factory in Texas, and shipped to you.

    Unfortunately, the Moto Maker app will be exclusive to AT&T subscribers at launch. Everybody else will be stuck with the stock black and white colors. AT&T’s exclusivity will not last long, however, as Sprint, Verizon and T-Mobile subscribers can start using the Moto Maker app come November.

    We now know that you’ll be able to get a Moto X on August 23, but will it be worth it? The device sports some decent specs including a 1.7GHz dual-core Snapdragon CPU, 2GB of RAM, Android 4.2.2, 16GB of internal storage and a 10MP rear camera. It also features some unique sensors that can detect speech and movement, including a camera that can be turned on with the flick of a wrist.

    If you’re an AT&T subscriber, the availability of the Moto Maker at launch might make the Moto X a viable choice for those looking for something new. As for everybody else, you’re better off waiting until the Moto Maker launches for your carrier in November. The phone has some neat gimmicks, but Motorola unwisely locked its best gimmick behind carrier exclusivity.

    [h/t: Droid-Life]

  • Facebook Has A CMO For The First Time (And He Comes From Google)

    Facebook now has its first-ever chief marketing officer, and it just happens to be an executive which the company has lured away from Google. Gary Briggs went over to Google when the company acquired Motorola Mobility, where he was SVP, Marketing and Advisor to the CEO. He was also VP, Consumer Marketing at Google.

    Facebook itself has never had an actual CMO, but rather a VP, Product Marketing. According to AdAge, who broke the story, Briggs will replace Eric Antonow, who held that title at the company. The publication reports:

    The change in title reflects an expanded scope for the role. Mr. Briggs’s duties are to lead branding and marketing efforts for all Facebook constituencies of users, developers and potential consumers of new products like Facebook Home. He’ll oversee the Facebook teams responsible for product marketing, platform marketing and events, communication design, brand marketing and content strategy.

    AdAge also shares the following quote from Briggs:

    “Facebook isn’t just a company. For more than a billion people, it’s their connection to the friends and things they care about most. Telling the story of such an important and still very young brand is an incredible opportunity, and I cannot wait to get started.”

    Briggs’ position at Facebook is confirmed by his LinkedIn profile, which lists VP, CMO at Facebook for August 2013 – Present at Menlo Park.

    Other roles Briggs has held over the years include Director, Brand Pepsi at Pepsi Cola, Director, Brand Strategy at IBM, VP, Consumer Marketing at eBay, Vp, GM eBay Canada, VP, Marketing at PayPal and SVP, CMO at eBay North America, among other things.

    Obviously Briggs has a great deal of experience in marketing major brands, including major Internet brands.

    Briggs is also currently a board member for Rainmaker

    Image: LinkedIn

  • Here’s Everything You Need To Know About The Moto X

    For months now, we’ve been hearing rumors about a new mystery phone out of Google and Motorola called the Moto X. Now it’s official, and Google may just have a hit on its hands.

    First things first, what is the Moto X? Well, it’s the new flagship smartphone designed by Motorola and Google. It’s intention to shake up the smartphone market by introducing a number of new elements that haven’t been seen in smartphones yet. Some of those things include sensors that can detect movement and voice, and react accordingly.

    Here’s a taste of what the Moto X is capable of with just voice and Google Now:

    Speaking of sensors, Motorola is making a big deal out of its new camera that can be activated through two quick flips of the wrist. Here it is in action:

    As you may have noticed in the above trailers, one of the taglines is “Designed by you.” In fact, it may be the most important aspect of the Moto X. In the coming months, Motorola will open a Web app called Moto Maker that lets consumers design their own Moto X. Here are the details:

    Your Moto X is truly yours, because you design it. Through our online studio, Moto Maker, you choose the colors, and decide on the details: front, back, accents, memory, wallpapers, even add a name or a short message. When you’re done, we assemble your Moto X right here in the USA and ship it to you for free in 4 days or less.

    Choose from more than 2,000 possible combinations, with more to come. We’ll be constantly exploring new offerings, such as real wood backs, starting later in the year.

    That all seems cool, but what about the specs? A smartphone is only as good as the hardware that powers it. In that area, the Moto X is doing pretty well for itself. The heart of the device is referred to as the Motorola X8 Mobile Computing System. It contains a 1.7GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro and two additional low-power processors to handle speech and touch recognition. As for the other specs, it’s equipped with Android 4.2.2, 2GB of RAM, 16GB of internal storage, a 4.7-inch 720p display, a 10MP rear camera and a 2MP front camera.

    Also of note, the Moto X does feature support for 4G LTE. It seems pretty obvious at this point, but you can never be too sure as Google’s own Nexus line of smartphones still only support up to HSPA+.

    So, when will you be able to get your hands on the Moto X? Motorola says that the phone will be available in late August on AT&T, Sprint, US Cellular and Verizon for $199 on contract. The device will also be available unlocked via Motorola’s own Web site and Google Play at a later date, but Motorola isn’t saying how the unlocked version will cost.

  • Verizon Gets Three New Droids From Motorola This Year

    The talk of the town regarding Motorola is its new Moto X smartphone that’s scheduled to be unveiled on August 1. Before they get to that, however, Motorola has unveiled the three new members of its Droid family for Verizon.

    At an event today, Motorola announced the Droid Ultra, Droid Maxx and Droid Mini. Motorola says the three phones represent the company’s “best performing products yet.”

    Starting with the Droid Ultra and Maxx, it should be noted that both are almost identical. Both phones feature a 5-inch OLED 720p display, Motorola’s new X8 Computing system, a Snapdragon S4 Pro 1.7GHz dual-core CPU, 2GB of RAM, 10MP back camera and 2MP front camera.

    As for differences between the two, the Droid Ultra is 1.3mm thinner than the Maxx, but that thinness comes at the expense of a smaller battery. The Droid Maxx promises 48 hours of battery life with its 3,500mAh battery. As for other differences, the Droid Ultra will have 16GB of onboard memory while the Droid Maxx will have 32GB.

    The Droid Mini boasts similar specs as the the other two with a 1.7GHz CPU, 2GB of RAM and 16GB of onboard storage. As its Mini suggests, the big difference is that is sports a 4.3-inch display instead of the 5-inch display of its big brothers. It also makes some minor sacrifices in battery life.

    So, how much is all of this going to cost you? Verizon says that the Droid Ultra will be $199, the Droid Maxx will be $299 and the Droid Mini will be $99. The above prices are only for those who sign a new two-year contract.

    If the new Droid family piques your interest, you can put in a preorder today. All three phones will ship on August 20.

  • Motorola’s Moto X Leaked Ahead Of August Reveal

    Motorola is working on something big with Google. The phone – called the Moto X – represents the first major device launch since the company was bought by Google. The device has been shrouded in mystery for some time, but recent leaks have revealed pretty much everything about it.

    You may remember seeing the leak from last week that showed video of the Moto X in action. Now thanks to evleaks, we have a high quality press render of the device in white:

    Motorola's Moto X Leaked Ahead Of August Reveal

    So, what does it look like on the inside? Android Police found that the Moto X will come equipped with a dual-core Qualcomm S4 Pro CPU, 2GB of RAM, a 4.7-inch 1184×720 display, 10.5MP rear camera, 2.1MP front camera, 16GB of internal memory and Android 4.2.2. Of course, it will probably be upgraded to Android 4.3 in the near future.

    All in all, we’re looking at a decent mid-range smartphone. Its true claim to fame are the sensors that Motorola says will allow users to interact with their phone in all new ways. Even with the advanced sensor tech, it’s looking like Google is targeting the cost conscious consumer with its first major smartphone from Motorola. There’s no price yet, but it will most likely be pretty affordable.

    So, when will you finally be able to get your hands on the Moto X? Motorola is unveiling the phone on August 1. It’s not of the question to think that a launch would come later that month. Motorola has to compete with the already well established Galaxy S4 and HTC One, and waiting any longer would only hurt its prospects.

  • Motorola’s Moto X Leaked In Promo Video

    Motorola’s Moto X Leaked In Promo Video

    It’s no secret that Motorola, which is now owned by Google, is working on a new Android phone. We also know that it will be made in the U.S. and that Google may be spending close to $500 million to market the device. Now all we need to know is more about the actual phone itself.

    Over the weekend, Rogers Wireless leaked a video showcasing the Moto X and all of its features. Its most prominent feature is that it can be controlled entirely through voice. The video shows the phone being woken up by a woman saying. “OK, Google Now.” You can also say “help me” for a list of voice commands. Check it out:

    Looks pretty cool, right? You’ll also be pleased to know that the Moto X is rocking some pretty good hardware under the hood as well. The Moto X has a 4.7-inch 720p display, a 1.7GHz Snapdragon S4 CPU, 2GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage. It will launch with Android 4.2.2 and Google will undoubtedly keep it updated to the latest versions. The only real downside is that it doesn’t have a microSD slot for expandable storage.

    So, when will you be able to get your hands on the Moto X? The above Rogers Wireless video says it will be launching in Canada in August. A U.S. launch shouldn’t be that far behind as Motorola CEO Dennis Woodside said the Moto X would be launching this summer during his D11 talk. At the same talk, he said that the device will be aggressively priced. He didn’t elaborate on what that meant, but it would be awesome if the Moto X was priced similarly to Google’s Nexus line of devices.

    [h/t: DroidLife]

  • How Much Will Google Spend To Market The Moto X?

    The details about the upcoming Motorola’s Moto X, the first smartphone to be released by the company since being acquired by Google, are still of a grapevine-only version. The veil is, however, being pulled back as the Moto X gets closer to its release date. Images of the device have been strategically leaked, and now, some information about Google’s commitment to the device’s success have popped up as well.

    In case you missed the leaked image of the Moto X:

    Moto X

    It’s clear that Google has high hopes for its debut Motorola device, and the company is willing to spend some big bucks getting the word out about its new toy, all in hopes of grabbing some of that precious market share from Apple and Samsung. According to a report in the New York Times, Google is prepared to spend as much as $500 million to let the masses know about the Moto X:

    Apple and Samsung have the benefit of sizable marketing budgets. The two companies spent $333 million and $401 million, respectively, to advertise mobile devices in the U.S. last year, according to Kantar Media… Google may end up spending more money than that on the Moto X phone alone, people familiar with the matter said.

    The questions become, what will Google be showing off with its money? In other words, what will the Moto X have that the others (iPhone/Galaxy) don’t? Why would people want to switch? Again, these details are forthcoming, but some of the early information is encouraging.

    Perhaps most enticing is the reduction of the traditional, pre-installed bloatware when the Moto X is purchased. Motorola/Google is reducing the amount of applications that come already installed on new phones, which should be a mandatory thing, but I digress. Another potential attraction is the ability to customize the look of your phone (within reason). Would-be customers will have the ability to choose the color of their device’s trim and back plate, which can also be engraved. The Moto X will be available on the four predominant wireless providers (AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, and T-Mobile). The expected cost for the device will be in the $200 range for those who choose to get the appropriate contract.

    While there is no concrete release date for the Moto X, the general consensus is it will hit the shelves “soon.”