Unwired View » Motorola

Motorola i890 iDEN clamshell now available at Sprint

Ilinca Nita — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 08:45:12 +0000

Sprint has launched a new iDEN phone which is, unsurprisingly, made by Motorola: the Motorola i890.

First mentioned in that leaked 2010 Sprint roadmap (which also included the Motorola i1), the Motorola i890 is a clamshell that looks quite nice for an iDEN device.

Like the Motorola Stature i9, the i890 has an external display and touch-sensitive keys next to it.

The phone features Nextel Direct Connect, Group Connect, GPS, email, web browser, stereo Bluetooth, music player, 2MP camera and MicroSD card support.

The Motorola i890 costs $129.99 with a 2-yr contract agreement and can be bought online through Sprint’s website.

Via Phone Scoop

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Motorola to pre-load Microsoft’s Bing on Android smartphones in China

Ilinca Nita — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 13:53:04 +0000

Motorola has announced that it’s pre-installing Microsoft Bing services on its future Android smartphones that will be launched in China starting this quarter.

More exactly, Moto’s China-bound Android handsets will use Bing’s Search and Maps capabilities by default, instead of Google’s ones.

Motorola says the collaboration with Microsoft was made to enable users “to customize their devices and select their own Search provider”, but this probably also has something to do with Google’s problems in China.

Motorola’s Android phones that are already available in China (like the Motorola XT800 seen above) will be able to get Bing services, too, thanks to over-the-air updates.

Interestingly, Motorola has also chosen not to use Google as the default search engine for the AT&T BackFlip, preferring Yahoo instead.

Via Press release

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Apple, Samsung, RIM, LG, Motorola, Sanyo and AT&T sued by SmartPhone Technologies

Ilinca Nita — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 23:51:50 +0000

SmartPhone Technologies LLC, a Texas-based company that doesn’t even seem to have a website, has sued no less than seven big companies for patent infringements.

The companies sued are Apple, Research In Motion, Samsung, LG, Motorola, Sanyo and AT&T.

SmartPhone Technologies claims that a “broad range of patents” that it owns have been infringed by the companies. Said patents are related to email syncing, Bluetooth connectivity and other technologies.

The suit was filed in a U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of Texas.

SmartPhone Technologies LLC seeks unspecified damages, costs and expenses from all companies that have allegedly infringed its patents.

Currently, Apple is also in a patent war with Nokia and HTC.

Via Apple Insider

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LG’s first Windows Phone 7 device to be called LG Panther?

Ilinca Nita — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 17:19:14 +0000

Unveiled last week during the Engadget Show, LG’s first smartphone to run Windows Phone 7 Series (and possibly the world’s first WP7 device) doesn’t have an official name yet.

However, a blog in the UK claims that the smartphone will be named LG Panther. They don’t say whether LG or Microsoft spilled this detail, but the name sounds pretty good and it suits perfectly a high-end device.

Unfortunately, we don’t have more info about the LG Panther’s features, and we only know that it has a touchscreen display, QWERTY keyboard, 3.5mm headset jack and a 5MP camera.

The LG Panther might be launched as early as September. Pricing details are not available at the moment.

Via WMPoweruser

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Motorola Quench, Backflip and Dext bring MotoBlur to Canada

Ilinca Nita — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 15:31:49 +0000

Three of Motorola’s Android smartphones that come with MotoBlur, the Quench, Backflip and Dext, have been officially announced for Canada, where they’ll be available starting the first half of this year.

Presented as a “revolutionary social service for Android”, MotoBlur has received mixed reactions since it debuted last year with the Motorola Cliq in the US.

MotoBlur syncs all your friends, emails, feeds and so on with automatic updates from Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, Gmail or Yahoo! mail. The service can also backup and restore information (your contacts, home screen customizations, email etc) via a server managed by Motorola.

Motorola says that the Quench, Backflip and Dext will be available via all three major Canadian carriers (Rogers, Bell and Telus), but it didn’t specifically mention which carrier gets which phone. The handsets will be joining the Motorola Milestone, the Android 2.0 device that’s already available in Canada.

Via Press release

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T-Mobile’s HTC HD2, Motorola Cliq XT and Nokia Nuron priced?

Ilinca Nita — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 15:36:49 +0000

We already know that the HTC HD2, Motorola Cliq XT and Nokia Nuron are all coming soon to T-Mobile USA, but the carrier didn’t announce their prices.

Well, TmoNews says the handsets could be prices as following: the HTC HD2 will be $199.99 with a contract agreement for two years, or $449.99 free of contract; the Motorola Cliq XT will cost $129.99 on contract, or $329.99 without any agreement; the Nokia Nuron will be cheaper – $69.99 with contract, or $179.99 without.

The on contract prices involve some rebates, although it looks like if you buy the HTC HD2 or the Motorola Cliq XT with a data plan there will be no rebates required.

Reportedly, T-Mobile USA will launch all three new handsets this month.

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Motorola VE440 Mister Cartoon edition launched by MetroPCS, “Snoop Dogg inside”

Ilinca Nita — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 18:35:15 +0000

MetroPCS has announced the availability of Motorola VE440 Mister Cartoon edition – obviously a remake of the VE440 introduced back in September 2009.

The new Motorola VE440 comes with two interchangeable back covers designed by Mister Cartoon, who also designed the case for the Samsung Messager Mister Cartoon edition.

The phone features exclusive wallpapers and ringtones, and a 1GB memory card that contains two unreleased Snoop Dogg tracks.

Other than that, the Motorola VE440 Mister Cartoon offers a 176 x 220 pixels display, GPS, 3.5mm headset jack, dedicated music keys, stereo Bluetooth and a 1.3MP camera.

“The mobile phone has become so much more than just a communication device; it’s a way for people to express themselves. The design I created, along with the cool features and music that Snoop Dogg added will allow fans to show people who they are and what they’re passionate about,” says Mister Cartoon.

The Motorola VE440 Mister Cartoon can be bought for $129 via MetroPCS’ website.

Via Press release, Mobile Burn

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Motorola Quench announced for TIM Brazil

Ilinca Nita — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 14:45:12 +0000

Officially unveiled during MWC 2010, the Motorola Quench / Cliq XT will be available soon in Brazil, via TIM (the country’s third largest mobile carrier, with more than 40 million subscribers).

Running Android 1.5, the Quench is the only phone with MotoBlur that doesn’t have a hardware QWERTY keyboard.

Its features include: 3.1 inch HVGA touchscreen display, accelerometer, HSPA, Wi-Fi, A-GPS, Swype, HTML browser, 3.5mm headset jack, stereo Bluetooth, FM radio, 5MP autofocus camera with flash, 512MB ROM, 256MB RAM, and a Qualcomm MSM7201A 528 MHz processor.

TIM Brazil will sell the Motorola Quench starting late March for a price that was not announced. The smartphone will also be available in Europe, as well as via T-Mobile USA (as Motorola Cliq XT).

Meanwhile, you can watch a hands-on video preview of the Motorola Quench here.

Via Press release

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Confirmed: Motorola BackFlip coming to AT&T on March 7, $99.99 on contract

Ilinca Nita — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 14:05:50 +0000

Motorola has just confirmed that AT&T’s first Android smartphone, the Motorola BackFlip, will be available starting March 7, as rumored.

Also announced in China and Italy, the Moto BackFlip will cost only $99.99 with an AT&T contract agreement for two years and after a $100 mail-in rebate.

As mentioned several times before, the BackFlip runs Android (version 1.5, apparently) and features a 3.1 inch HVGA touchscreen display, full QWERTY keyboard, MotoBlur with social networking integration (Facebook, MySpace, Twitter), HSDPA connectivity, GPS, Wi-Fi, 3.5mm headset jack, 5MP autofocus camera with LED flash, and a 1,500 mAh battery.

Here’s an older (official) video preview of the Motorola BackFlip for AT&T:

AT&T might also launch the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 with Android 1.6, but there are no clear details about this at the moment.

Via Press release

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Telus’ Motorola Milestone available now, $199.99 on contract

Ilinca Nita — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 16:52:17 +0000

Announced in November 2009, Telus’ Motorola Milestone is now finally available for purchase.

Coming as the GSM/HSDPA version of Verizon’s Droid, the Milestone can be bought from Telus for as low as 199.99 Canadian dollars – a 3-yr contract agreement is required, of course. The no contract price is $599.99.

The Motorola Milestone from Telus runs Android 2.0 (for the moment, at least) and features a 3.7 inch WVGA touchscreen display, full QWERTY keyboard, Wi-Fi, GPS, Google Maps, Gmail, Google Talk, YouTube, CrystalTalk technology, 3.5mm headset jack, and a 5MP autofocus camera.

Currently, Telus is the only carrier in Canada to offer the Motorola Milestone – you can get it here (Rogers and Bell will probably never launch it).

Via Press release

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#MWC10 Motorola QUENCH/ CLIQ XT hands-on video

Staska — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 08:53:36 +0000

When Motorola said that from the end of last year they are getting serious about Android, they really meant it. In about four months since the launch of their first Moto Cliq/Dext handset, Motorola now has 8 Android devices in its portfolio.

The latest handset, announced yesterday at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona – is Motorola Quench or Cliq XT, as it will be known in U.S.

Motorola Quench is a nice, full touch Android device, headed for the competition in a mid range smartphone market. And it has some pretty decent specs, to do well there: HSDPA connectivity, 3.1” HVGA display, 5mpx camera, Wi-Fi, A-GPS, E-Compass, etc;

Motorola Quench is currently running on Android 1.5, and has Moto BLUR interface/service on top of it. The handset can be expected to get an upgrade to Android 2.1 eventually, whenever Motorola makes MotoBLUR compatible with it.

Here’s a quick hands-on video with Motorola Quench /Cliq XT:

Motorola Quench should be available both in Europe and U.S within a month.

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#MWC10: Motorola Quench Cliq XT (ex-Zeppelin) announced

Ilinca Nita — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 08:55:54 +0000

The only new phone that Motorola announced at MWC 2010 (until now, anyway) is the Motorola Quench, which will be known in the US as Motorola Cliq XT (launched by T-Mobile).

Previously appeared as Motorola Zeppelin, the Quench / Cliq XT is an Android 1.5 smartphone with MotoBlur. Let’s hope it will be updated soon to a newer version of Android – otherwise, it might not be able to quench users’ thirst for a modern OS.

The Motorola Quench / Cliq XT is the eighth Android device unveiled by Moto globally.

Its features include: 3.1 HVGA touchscreen display with pinch and zoom capabilities, a front navigation touchpad, HSDPA, Wi-Fi, A-GPS, E-compass, virtual QWERTY keyboard, Bluetooth 2.0, 3.5mm headset jack, WebKit browser, Adobe Flash Lite, MicroSD card support, and a 5.0 megapixel autofocus camera with LED flash. The phone measures 116.7 x 59.4 x 12.3 mm and has a 1420 mAh battery that should be able to provide a talk-time of up to 6.5 hours.

The new Android smartphone will be available as Motorola Quench in Europe (starting Q1 2010), and as Motorola Cliq XT via T-Mobile USA (starting March). The handset’s price was not announced.

Via Press release

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Motorola Crush probably coming soon to Verizon

Ilinca Nita — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 14:32:03 +0000

If for some reason you want Verizon to release a new Motorola touchscreen phone that doesn’t run Android (like the Droid and the Devour do), we’ve got good news: it looks like the Motorola Crush – launched by US Cellular in November last year – will be soon introduced by the largest North American carrier.

Like the ZTE F350, the Motorola Crush appeared over at the Bluetooth SIG with Verizon’s logo on it.

They may hide the logo in the meantime (like they did with the logo on the ZTE phone), but we’ve already saved the original photo for you to see it:

As you may recall, the Motorola Crush features a 2.8 inch WQVGA touchscreen display, EV-DO connectivity, stereo Bluetooth, 3.5mm headset jack, 2MP camera and MicroSD card support.

The Moto Crush is currently offered by US Cellular for $80 on contract, so Verizon will probably sell it for a similar price.

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Motorola Plans to Split Into Two Separate Companies in Q1 2011

Brad Molen — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 22:39:17 +0000

Speculation has been flying around for at least a year and a half now that Motorola was planning on either selling its mobile division or splitting it off into its own publicly traded company using the same Motorola branding. Finally today we have official word on what Motorola plans to do, and it will be happening this time next year.

Through an official press release and webcast today, Motorola announced it will officially separate into two independent and publicly owned companies: one being the Mobile Devices and Home business entity, and the other will be focused on Enterprise Mobility Solutions and Networks businesses.

What will the Enterprise company do, specifically? Ultimately, it will offer a large portfolio of products like mobile computers, wireless network infrastructure, two-way radios, and secure public safety systems. That’s quite a handful!

Both businesses will use the Motorola brand; not too many details are available yet about how this will work, but the PR did mention that only one of the entities can own the actual brand, and that honor will go to the Mobile Devices and Home business, which will in turn license it royalty-free to the Enterprise entity.

David Dorman, chairman of Motorola’s Board of Directors, said:

The board of directors supports the planned separation of Motorola into two industry-leading public companies…We believe this structure provides significant operational and strategic flexibility for both companies, positions them for future success, and enhances long-term shareholder value.

So there you have it. Official word of Motorola’s plans. What do you think about them?

Here’s the full text of the PR:

Motorola Targets First Quarter 2011 to Separate into Two Independent, Publicly Traded Companies

–Mobile Devices and Home Businesses Target Growth Opportunities from Convergence of Mobility, Media and the Internet –Enterprise Mobility Solutions and Networks Businesses to Focus on Mission- and Business-Critical Solutions for Enterprise, Government and Wireless Operators –Company to Host Conference Call Today at 5:00 p.m. ET

SCHAUMBURG, Ill., Feb 11, 2010 /PRNewswire via COMTEX News Network/ — Motorola, Inc. (NYSE: MOT) today announced the Company is targeting the first quarter of 2011 for its planned separation. Motorola intends to separate into two independent, publicly traded companies. One will include the Company’s Mobile Devices and Home businesses, and the other will include its Enterprise Mobility Solutions and Networks businesses.

Dr. Sanjay Jha, co-chief executive officer of Motorola, Inc., will serve as chief executive officer of Motorola’s Mobile Devices and Home businesses effective immediately. This business will offer a comprehensive portfolio of mobile converged devices, digital entertainment devices in the home, and end-to-end video, voice and data solutions. Working with network operator partners, the company will also enable more advanced personalized services that leverage the capability of expanding wireless and wireline broadband availability.

Dr. Jha said, “The combination of Mobile Devices and our Home business brings together two highly complementary and innovative organizations. Together we will be best positioned to lead in the convergence of mobility, media, and the Internet. Our expanding portfolio of smartphones and end-to-end video content delivery capabilities will enable us to provide advanced mobile media solutions and multi-screen experiences for our customers.”

Greg Brown, co-chief executive officer of Motorola, Inc., will serve as chief executive officer of Motorola’s Enterprise Mobility Solutions and Networks businesses effective immediately. This business will offer a comprehensive end-to-end portfolio of products and solutions, including rugged two-way radios, mobile computers, secure public safety systems, scanning, RFID, and wireless network infrastructure.

Mr. Brown said, “We are the leading mission- and business-critical technology solutions provider with a commitment to innovation. As an independent company, we will continue to build on our long-standing tradition of strong customer relationships, leading-edge product development, quality, thought leadership, and solid financial performance.”

“The board of directors supports the planned separation of Motorola into two industry-leading public companies,” said David Dorman, chairman of Motorola’s Board of Directors. “We believe this structure provides significant operational and strategic flexibility for both companies, positions them for future success, and enhances long-term shareholder value.”

Completing the Separation

Motorola intends to effect the separation through a tax-free stock dividend of shares in the new company to Motorola shareholders. Following the separation both businesses will be well capitalized so the companies can execute their respective business plans and be able to address future opportunities. Motorola expects that, post-separation, the Enterprise Mobility and Networks business will be capitalized in a manner that will achieve an investment grade rating and will be the entity responsible for Motorola’s existing public market debt at the time of separation.

Following the separation event both entities will use the Motorola brand. The Mobile Devices and Home business is expected to own the Motorola brand and license it royalty free to the Enterprise Mobility Solutions and Networks business. Additional details regarding brand, capital structure and which entity will be distributed will be provided in the future as we progress with our plans.

The proposed tax-free spin-off is expected to be accomplished through a pro rata distribution to Motorola shareholders. Completion of the spin-off is subject to a number of conditions, including, among others, confirmation of the tax-free nature of the transaction, as well as effectiveness of a Form 10 Registration Statement to be filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (”SEC”). Motorola will distribute an information statement to shareholders following completion of the SEC’s review of the Form 10.

The Company noted that there can be no assurance that any separation transaction will ultimately occur or, if one does occur, there can be no assurances as to its terms or timing.

About Motorola

Motorola is known around the world for innovation in communications and focused on advancing the way the world connects. From broadband communications infrastructure, enterprise mobility and public safety solutions to high-definition video and mobile devices, Motorola is leading the next wave of innovations that enable people, enterprises and governments to be more connected and more mobile. Motorola (NYSE: MOT) had sales of US $22 billion in 2009. For more information, please visit www.motorola.com.

Conference Call and Webcast

Motorola will host a conference call today February 11, 2010 beginning at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time (USA) to discuss today’s announcement. The conference call will be webcast live at www.motorola.com/investor.

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Motorola BackFlip with Android announced for Italy

Ilinca Nita — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 19:41:19 +0000

Back in January, when Motorola officially announced the Android-powered BackFlip, it said that the smartphone would be introduced not only in North America (via AT&T), but also in Asia, Latin America and Europe.

The BackFlip is already on sale in China, and now it’s been announced in Italy – probably the first European country to get it.

As you may already know, the Motorola BackFlip features a 3.1 inch HVGA touchscreen display, Android 1.5 with MotoBlur, full QWERTY keyboard, HSDPA, GPS, Wi-Fi, full HTML browser, 3.5mm headset jack, social networking integration (Facebook, MySpace, Twitter), and a 5MP autofocus camera with flash.

Motorola didn’t say when exactly the BackFlip will be available in Italy, but this should happen before the end of March. Pricing details were not announced.

Via Press release

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Android 2.1 Coming in March to Motorola CLIQ, HTC Hero

Brad Molen — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 06:30:33 +0000

Now that the Nexus One and Moto DROID are starting to get Android 2.1 love, it’s only appropriate that other Android devices follow suit at a leisurely pace. After all, what’s the hurry, right? Personally I wish all Android phones could get updated much closer together, as in the same month. All venting aside, we heard word today about two more devices getting 2.1 updates, the HTC Hero and Moto CLIQ, and both updates will be coming in March.

Not too many specifics on the CLIQ, but we did learn that the Hero will still have Sense UI installed and will feature a new widget called Friend Stream which aggregates users updates across different social networking services. It will also feature improved Exchange support and other random stuff.

The Hero update will come sometime Mid-March, while BGR’s sources were much more vague on when in March the CLIQ update would roll out.

Sadly, it doesn’t seem as though the US versions will be getting the same 2.1 love quite just yet, but I know that won’t stop many of you from just importing the ROM in. You don’t have to tell us; it can be your little secret.

HTC Hero via Engadget

Moto CLIQ via BGR

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Motorola still leading the US mobile market, followed by LG and Samsung

Ilinca Nita — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 16:11:39 +0000

Although Motorola is struggling for market share in Europe and Asia, it’s still the number one phone maker in the US.

According to comScore, which ranked handset makers “according to their share of current mobile subscribers age 13 and older,” Motorola had 23.5% phone market share in the US between September and December 2009, while LG and Samsung came second and third, with 21.9% and 21.2% market share, respectively. Nokia was in the fourth place (9.2% market share), while RIM’s 7.0% share put the company in the fifth place.

If we talk about smartphones, things are quite different.

RIM led the US smartphone market with 41.6% share. Apple came in second, with 25.3, followed by Microsoft (and its Windows Mobile platform) with 18.0%, and Palm with 6.1%. Google’s Android ranked only fifth, with 5.2% – but its market share almost doubled over the previous month.

Other interesting findings: about 234 million people age 13 and older used mobile phones in the US in December last year. 63.1% of them used text messaging on their phones, 27.5% browsed the web, while 21.6% played games.

Via Cellular-news

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DROID Update Brings More Multitouch Goodness to Android

Brad Molen — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 06:12:07 +0000

Last week we heard some news we’ve been waiting a long time for: the Nexus One has finally been updated with multitouch capabilities. While we rejoiced upon hearing the news, we wondered how soon it would be before we would see it in other Android-supported devices. Fortunately the Motorola DROID, another big player in the Android market, is getting updated this week to Android 2.1 with the same multitouch features.

The update would technically not be the first multitouch to come to the DROID, as there was a Google Maps update sent out to DROID users 4 days ago that enabled the pinch-to-zoom functionality in the maps application but nothing else. However, it’s being rumored that the 2.1 update will enable multitouch in at least the browser as well and not just the Maps.

Other rumored details on the update include Google Goggles being pre-installed on the build and the addition of the same widgets that can be found on the Nexus One.No active wallpapers included, and no change to the home screen.

While not a huge laundry list of improvements, the actual improvements themselves are what stand out most notably. Multitouch is by far the most welcome improvement to the DROID, as it has been one of the most complained-about issues.

What other improvements would you like to see in future updates to the DROID?

via Engadget

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Motorola Milestone “Coming Soon” to Canada, Sans Manitoba and Saskatchewan

Brad Molen — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 22:08:42 +0000

The Motorola Milestone has been on course to launch on TELUS in Canada in early 2010, so this isn’t necessarily breaking news in that sense, but IntoMobile has a couple of additional nuggets of information to throw in the mix.

The biggest news is that the latest Telus ads are showing the Milestone as “coming soon”…except in Manitoba and Saskatchewan. This would normally come as a pretty big shock to most, except this isn’t the first time this has happened. In fact, the grandaddy of them all, the iPhone 3GS, is STILL not available in these two provinces and there’s no way of knowing when that’s going to change.

So what gives? It’s the fact that there’s still no HSPA coverage there. The network just doesn’t see a point in selling a premier 3G phone in an area that can’t enjoy 3G. Some may beg to differ, but most North American wireless carriers have similar attitudes about selling 3G devices in non-3G areas.

While this information doesn’t get us any closer to knowing when the Milestone will launch, it at least confirms to us that it really is still on course for the early part of 2010. Let’s just hope those unfortunate souls in Manitoba and Sasketchewan will be able to join the fun sometime soon.

via IntoMobile

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T-Mobile’s Dark Project Returns; Adds Hype to HTC HD2, Moto Zeppelin Launch?

Brad Molen — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 06:12:31 +0000

We’ve seen T-Mobile’s Dark Project before. Our last encounter with this mysterious “project” was back in October, when the so-called “Project Black” was building up hype for what was supposed to be huge game-changers. At the time we thought it may be launches for cool new handsets and new programs, when in actuality it was just a few rate plan changes. They were still pivotal, but nothing groundbreaking and certainly not worth all the hype the mystery gave it.

Turns out that the whole concept of a Dark Project is related to any confidential information that T-Mobile just doesn’t want to make public, not just one specific launch or program; this sadly deflates the whole hype machine that this mysterious program had going for it in the first place.

We thought the program was over and good, but it turns out we’ve just seen the beginning. Now the Dark Project is back again, and this time we’re likely going to see it actually coincide with some cool new handsets, such as the HTC HD2 and the Moto Zeppelin. Some training calendars showed up mentioning that the next Dark Project training begins February 17 and ends March 9. This would make complete sense, given the estimated launch date of the HD2 and Zeppelin are around March 10.

So is the Dark Project sequel all about the cool new handsets, or is it something trivial and unimportant? Or perhaps it’s another big change and this leak is trying to throw us off the scent? This all could just be coincidence, but we doubt it.

We’re keeping a close eye on this, so watch us for more info.

via Tmo News

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Motorola Zeppelin shows its Android UI (with MotoBlur) in Brazil

Ilinca Nita — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 21:15:51 +0000

In case you had any doubts, the Motorola Zeppelin seen last week is, indeed, running Android (OS 1.5, to be exact) – some new photos of it have appeared in Brazil confirming this.

According to Gizmodo, the Motorla Zeppelin should be available in Brazil starting March, together with the Motorola BackFlip (which is already available in China and will be launched by AT&T, too).

Like the BackFlip and Verizon’s just-announced Motorola Devour, the Zeppelin will come with the MotoBlur interface. The phone also features a 5MP autofocus camera with LED flash and (probably) a HVGA touchscreen display.

Details about the release of Motorola Zeppelin in other countries (or about its price) are not available at the moment – but we’ve previously heard that Moto might showcase the handset at MWC, so maybe more info will be unveiled there.

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Verizon’s Motorola Devour with Android and MotoBlur officially announced

Ilinca Nita — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 14:57:41 +0000

Motorola has just announced its second Android phone for Verizon (after the Droid): the Motorola Devour, previously known as Motorola Calgary.

Unlike the Droid, the Motorola Devour runs Android 1.6 and features the MotoBlur interface – which “syncs contacts from work and personal e-mail services, including Gmail, with posts, messages, photos and more from popular sites such as Facebook, MySpace and Twitter.”

The Devour has a 3.1 inch HVGA (320 x 480) capacitive touchscreen display and a full QWERTY keyboard.

This is the smartphone’s official look:

Other specs and features:

CDMA EVDO rev A connectivity
Accelerometer
Wi-Fi
A-GPS
Dual microphones with noise cancellation
Stereo Bluetooth
Android HTML Webkit browser
Adobe Flash Lite
Document Reader
3.5mm headset jack
3MP fixed-focus camera
8GB memory card in the box
1400 mAh battery
115.5 x 61 x 15.4 mm
180 grams (hm, that’s heavy)

The price of Verizon’s Motorola Devour was not announced, but the handset should be available for purchase starting March.

Via Press release

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Motorola Backflip (ME600) available now – but only in China

Ilinca Nita — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 11:54:52 +0000

Expected to be launched soon in the US, as AT&T’s first Android phone, the Motorola Backflip is already available in China – where Moto also has Android devices like the XT800 and MT710.

The Backflip appears as Motorola ME600 on Moto China’s website, and it costs 4,298 Chinese yuan unlocked (an 8GB memory card and a car charger are included in this price) – that’s about $629, so AT&T will probably (hopefully) sell the phone for $200 or less on contract.

The features of Motorola Backflip ME600 include a 320 x 480 pixels touchscreen display, HSDPA, Wi-Fi (and WAPI), GPS, full QWERTY keyboard, 3.5mm headset jack, 5MP autofocus camera, and Android with MotoBlur.

(live photos via 163)

Back to AT&T, the second largest US mobile carrier should launch the Motorola Backflip in March – and it looks like it has already ordered about 400,000 units of it. The phone is surely interesting, although the weird form factor might scare some customers off.

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Motorola confirms it’s working on a Google phone – Nexus Two?

Ilinca Nita — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 15:46:19 +0000

Not long after we’ve heard that the Motorola Shadow might become the Google Nexus Two, Motorola’s CEO Sanjay Jha has now confirmed they’re working on a Google phone – which should be part of those 20 to 30 Android handsets that the company will reportedly launch this year.

According to The Street, the Motorola Google phone “will be sold directly to consumers”, just like the Nexus One, so there are considerable chances for it to be the Nexus Two.

Sanjay Jha doesn’t give us further details, so we don’t know when the Moto Google phone will be announced, or if it’s the Motorola Shadow (seen below) or a different device.

Motorola has also announced its Q4 2009 results, posting a net earning of $142 million. The company shipped 12 million mobile phones in the quarter – 2 million of them were Android smartphones (the Droid / Milestone and the Cliq / Dext).

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Motorola Zeppelin is not the XT800? Might be announced at MWC

Ilinca Nita — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 16:35:41 +0000

Until now, we thought that Motorola Zeppelin is just a codename for the XT800 that’s been officially presented in China. But it looks like the Zeppelin is a slightly different Android smartphone.

While the XT800 is a high-end device, the new Zeppelin that appeared today over at Mobil.cz seems to be a mid-end phone.

Unlike the XT800, which has a 3.7 inch 854 x 480 pixels touchscreen display (its official specs can be found here), the Zeppelin only has a 3.2 inch 480 x 320 pixels screen.

The unannounced Android handset also features a touch-sensitive navigation pad, compass, GPS, 5MP camera and the MotoBlur UI.

Reportedly, the Motorola Zeppelin will be announced at MWC 2010, possibly coming in several color versions (the white one seen above, plus, maybe, a black one).

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North America-bound GSM Motorola Milestone A853 shows up

Ilinca Nita — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 23:54:11 +0000

I’m not sure what exactly is going on here, but the Droid A855’s GSM cousin, the Motorola Milestone A853, has just appeared over at the Bluetooth SIG – and it seems to be destined for North America.

The Milestone A853 is already available in Brazil and, according to Motorola Brazil’s website, it features quad-band GSM and tri-band 850/1900/2100 3G connectivity – unlike the European Milestone, which has 900/1900/2100 3G. The 850/1900 3G bands make the Milestone A853 perfect for AT&T’s or Rogers’ networks.

AT&T has already announced that it would launch more Android phones from Motorola in the first half of 2010 (besides the BackFlip), so this could be it. Sure, there’s also the weird MOTOSPLIT, but this one is slated for a Q3 launch (hence not in the first half of the year).

Since it will probably lose iPhone exclusivity pretty soon, AT&T needs more high-end smartphones in its line-up, and the Milestone is certainly a device that can make customers happy. Of course, we can’t say that the handset will surely be launched by AT&T, but the above-mentioned details do hint at such a possibility. And let’s not forget that the Milestone was rumored to hit AT&T since it was known as Motorola Sholes.

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Motorola MOTOSPLIT Shown Off, Coming to AT&T in Q3?

Brad Molen — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 06:44:37 +0000

We love the infamous Mr. Blurrycam. In an age where you can purchase inexpensive cameras that range from 8-12 megapixels, let alone DSLR’s that offer even higher resolution and quality, the people who photograph upcoming gadgets before they’re even heard of ALWAYS have a really bad camera that can only take fuzzy pictures. Are they using a RAZR to take these super-secret pics? It’s weird how it works, but almost every great device gets this type of treatment before any official (or even unofficial) announcements.

This is the same situation for the Motorola MOTOSPLIT, a forthcoming Android device that hasn’t been heard of publicly until today that has an incredibly unique form factor. The MOTOSPLIT appears to have a full qwerty keyboard that’s cut in half by a large screen in the middle; much akin to the much-missed Nokia 6820, except much thinner and the screen is a touchscreen panel. Oh, and it will have Snapdragon’s 1 GHz processor inside.

The MOTOSPLIT, from what has been leaked out, can be expected on AT&T in Q3. Could this be considered one of the 5 mysterious Android devices that will be released on AT&T in the near future? It’s hard to say, since those 5 are supposed to be released during the first half of 2010, while the MOTOSPLIT is waiting until the second half to join the party.

The Nokia 6820

All I know is, this thing looks pretty sweet. And if it combines the Nokia 6820’s form factor with the power of a Snapdragon Android handset, the Motorola MOTOSPLIT will become a hot summertime device.

via Engadget

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20 to 30 Motorola Android smartphones coming this year?

Ilinca Nita — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 20:03:38 +0000

Today, while launching the Moto Dext in Singapore, Motorola talked a bit about its plans for 2010.

CNET Asia was at the Dext launch event and interviewed Spiros Nikolakopoulos, vice president of Motorola Asia’s Mobile Devices unit.

Mr. Nikolakopoulos declared that Motorola wants to release 20 to 30 Android smartphones by the end of this year (probably including the Motorola Shadow, MOTOROI and Motorola BackFlip). Some of these upcoming smartphones will be available only in local markets, which might mean that the 20 to 30 estimated number includes slightly different versions of the same model (like the Dext and the Cliq).

Now let’s hope that most of the new Moto Android handsets will have multi-touch, as rumored not long ago.

As for non-smartphones, Motorola will continue to launch them, too – and they will be based on either Brew, or on the company’s own operating system.

Via Engadget

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Motorola MOTOROI to hit the US and other countries this spring?

Ilinca Nita — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 13:12:25 +0000

Great news for all those in the US who want a high-end Motorola Android smartphone but don’t like the Droid: it looks like the MOTOROI (announced yesterday in Korea) will be launched worldwide – the US included – starting March.

According to The Korea Herald, SK Telecom senior vice president Bae Joon-dong has confirmed the launch of MOTOROI in the US, while Rick Wolochatiuk (president of Motorola Korea) mentioned that the new Android handset will reach other countries, too.

Most probably, the MOTOROI will have a different name in the US – maybe Motorola Sholes Tablet?

Regardless of its name, the smartphone is one of the best Moto ever had, featuring a 3.7 inch WVGA touchscreen display, HSDPA, GPS, Wi-Fi, HDMI, 8GB of internal memory, and an 8MP autofocus camera with HD video recording. The price of Motorola MOTOROI for the US is not known at the moment.

A quick video preview of the Korean MOTOROI can be watched below:

In related news, Samsung, LG and Pantech all plan to launch Android phones in South Korea in the near future.

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Motorola’s MOTOROI (XT720) with Android gets official in Korea

Ilinca Nita — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 09:31:58 +0000

The Motorola XT720 – seen not long ago – has just been announced in South Korea under the official (and weird) name of MOTOROI.

As mentioned before, the MOTOROI XT720 is South Korea’s first Android smartphone. It’s targeted at “people who want the ultimate smart phone experience” and it should be available via SKT starting early February.

Running Android 2.0, MOTOROI XT720 is, basically, an upgraded version of the China-bound Motorola XT701.

The features of MOTOROI XT720 include:

3.7 inch WVGA (480 x 854 pixels) multi-touch display
Wi-Fi
GPS
Google Maps
Terrestrial DMB
3.5mm headset jack
HDMI
8MP camera with 720p HD video recording
8GB of internal memory
MicroSD card support

Motorola didn’t unveil the price of MOTOROI XT720, but the smartphone will most probably be expensive. A video preview of the handset (in Korean) can be watched below:

Via Press release

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Google Nexus Two to be the Motorola Shadow?

Ilinca Nita — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 00:01:01 +0000

Remember the Android-based Motorola Shadow, appeared in a leaked photo just before the end of 2009? Apparently, the smartphone is a QWERTY-equipped one that could become Google’s next Nexus phone – namely the Google Nexus Two.

We’ve already heard that Google might be readying an enterprise Nexus handset with a QWERTY keyboard, and, well, the Motorola Shadow can certainly pass as an enterprise phone.

The folks over at Mobile01 have two renderings that show the Moto Shadow – the device looks like a Motorola Droid, but has a different keyboard that includes a wrist strap:

The rumored features of Motorola Shadow / Google Nexus Two include a 4.3 inch WVGA touchscreen display, HMDI port, and an 8MP camera with HD video recording.

Of course, at the moment there’s no real proof that the Shadow will be the Google Nexus Two, but I guess things will be sorted out soon.

Via Engadget

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Motorola Backflip Launching March 7 on AT&T?

Brad Molen — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 07:16:26 +0000

Mark this date on your calendar, Android fans: March 7. Phandroid is reporting from the infamous “anonymous tipster” that we’ll be seeing AT&T, the 4th and last major US carrier to sell Android, launch the long-awaited Motorola Backflip on that particular date.

The Backflip, a rather unique and crazily-designed reverse flip touchscreen phone that was officially announced at CES, will be a good alternative to the ever-popular iPhone; especially if AT&T loses exclusivity with Apple.

Phandroid reports that the handset will retail for $324 (I assume they mean $324.99 to be specific), thus causing the subsidized price to be much lower and more reasonable. The Backflip would likely do very well in that price range, but if sold for a higher cost it would not be as popular with the targeted younger demographic.

Obviously with this being a rumor, we don’t know for sure if this date. And frankly, even if we knew for sure that was the planned date, it’s always subject to change depending on network tests and other preliminary events that could get in the way. But we’ll keep our fingers crossed.

We also don’t know for sure that this will be the absolute first Android device to be released on AT&T, but it’s the first rumor we’ve heard so far so we’re reporting it as the first; at least until another device gets rumored to come out sooner.

via Phandroid

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Motorola to put multitouch in most of its future phones?

Ilinca Nita — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 22:55:43 +0000

Motorola CEO Sanjay Jha has recently praised multitouch technology and, in an interview with Laptop Magazine, he stated that he thinks most of the company’s upcoming phones will “deliver multitouch”, mainly due to the fact that “the user feedback on multitouch is very good.”

As you may already know, Motorola’s latest flagship Android phone, the Droid, doesn’t have multitouch, although its European version – the Milestone – does offer this capability.

The absence of Droid’s multitouch may be explained by the fact that Apple holds a multitouch patent in the US (however, this hasn’t stopped Palm to put multitouch into the Pre).

Anyway, since Sanjay Jha is confident that multitouch will be featured in most of Moto’s new handsets, the company probably has some plans on how to overcome the issues that may appear.

Motorola’s CEO also mentioned that the company’s “focus on the software and user experience” will help it step ahead of manufacturers like LG and Dell – which have recently announced new Android phones. Mr. Jha further said that the Moto brand is also a reason for the company’s phones to be successful – “we do a lot of studies, and we’re probably the number one or number two brand in the U.S. in mobile, probably behind Apple.”

Via MobileCrunch

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Rugged Motorola Brute i680 launched by Sprint

Ilinca Nita — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 21:45:53 +0000

Sprint and Motorola have just announced a new rugged, push-to-talk phone for Nextel – the Motorola Brute i680 – which is available starting today.

The Brute i680 is a bulky clamshell that meets the Military Specification 810F for shock, vibration, dust, low and high temperatures, radiation, salt fog, humidity, blowing rain and low pressure.

The new phone comes with Sprint Nextel’s exclusive Public Safety application, which “allows public safety personnel to communicate, even if they are out of network range – an irreplaceable communication tool in times of emergency.”

Motorola Brute i680 also features:

2.2 inch internal display with 176 x 220 pixels, 1.3 inches external display with 120 x 160 pixels
GPS
Stereo Bluetooth
MP3 player
Web browser
Email
Threaded messaging
2MP camera with flash
180MB of internal memory
Memory card slot

The Motorola Brute i680 can be bought in Sprint’s retails stores, as well as online. Its price is of $119.99 (with a 2-yr contract and a Nextel Direct Connect calling plan).

Via Press release

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Nokia, Motorola and others sued by Korea’s telecoms research institute for patent violation

Ilinca Nita — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 16:42:22 +0000

As if it wasn’t already involved in patent violation suits (with Apple, most recently), Nokia now has to deal with another complaint, this time coming from South Korea.

ETRI (South Korea’s state-run Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute) has filed patent suits not only against Nokia, but also against Motorola and other 20 mobile phone manufactures. One of the suits dates from August 2009 and was filed in California, USA.

The phone makers have allegedly violated seven of ETRI’s patents for 3G mobile telecommunications standards, including WCDMA.

The South Korean institute hopes to get about $268.09 million in royalties from the 22 phone makers. Two unnamed manufacturers have already agreed to pay 20 billion KRW ($17.88 million) to ETRI.

ETRI holds 170 patents for various international standards and has reportedly commercialized CDMA technology for the first time in the world, back in 1996.

Via Yonhap News

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Motorola XT720 to be Korea’s first Android phone

Ilinca Nita — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 10:49:36 +0000

One of Motorola’s Android phones that appeared in China first, the XT701, will be released in South Korea next month via SK Telecom (the country’s largest mobile operator), under a different name: Motorola XT720.

According to Telecoms Korea, the XT720 will be South Korea’s first Android phone – so last year’s rumors seem to be more than just rumors after all.

Like the XT701 for China, Motorola XT720 features Android 2.0, a 3.7 inch WVGA touchscreen display, Wi-Fi, GPS, Bluetooth, and HDMI port. The XT720 also features mobile TV (T-DMB) and an 8MP photo camera with autofocus and flash.

(images via kangrk)

Including the Motorola XT720, SK Telecom plans to launch about 13 Android phones this year. Its main rival, KT (which is the only carrier that sells the iPhone in Korea), will also introduce several Android handsets.

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Sprint’s 2010 Roadmap Leaked, HTC WiMax and iDEN Android Devices Included

Brad Molen — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 05:52:58 +0000

Some unconfirmed leaked documents made its way down the pipeline into the hands of PhoneArena today, which shows a rather lengthy list of several new devices expected to be headed to Sprint at any point this year. While we don’t know the validity of the information, we still want to let you be the judge of the latest news out there.

There are a few handsets that were to be expected, while a couple took us by surprise. In all its leaked glory, here is the list.

First, HTC is supposedly coming out with the A9292, which is a WiMax-powered candybar. WiMax has been pretty much confined to laptop cards and the Overdrive router up until this point, so it’s nice to see handheld devices coming to Sprint that have 4G attached.

In RIM’s corner, we see the Blackberry Tour 2 (9650) will be coming with WiFi and OS 5.0. This has already been widely speculated and expected to happen. Also to be released is a Pearl Flip with “upgraded features”, whatever that means.

Motorola is planning on a MS400 device that may or may not be on a Microsoft-based OS. Since Motorola has publicly stated it will be skipping the WM 6.5 party to get ready for WM7, not to mention having heard reports that WM7 will be coming out by the end of the year, we expect this MS400 to be Windows Mobile 7.

Lastly on the surprise list is a Motorola Android device that will run on Nextel’s iDEN network, tentatively named the Motorola i1. Interestingly enough, it’s a full touchscreen that’s only running 1.6 and will have a 5 MP camera. Since it will run on 1.6, we certainly hope this is sooner in 2010 rather than later.

Also on the list:

LG LN510: Touchscreen with QWERTY keyboard, in blue, purple and red
LG LN240: texting phone with no EVDO support
LG LS680: Android device similar to GW620
Samsung M350: basic touchscreen phone
Samsung M570: Exclaim 2?
Samsung M910: Moment 2?
Palm C40: no information or rumors available on this one, though it’s been seen in Sprint’s inventory system already
Sanyo 8600: don’t know, don’t care
Samsung Instinct S30 Pink, Reclaim Grey and M330 Blue
Motorola i680: rugged military-grade with 2 MP camera
Motorola i890: no information available

If anyone has any information on any of these new handsets, please let us know. Or if you have opinions, make them heard!

via PhoneArena

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400,000 Motorola Backflip Android phones ordered by AT&T?

Ilinca Nita — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 18:57:30 +0000

Although it’s the last major US carrier to launch Android phones, AT&T seems to be betting heavily on Google’s open source mobile platform.

According to Eldar Murtazin (who is, most of the time, right), AT&T has ordered 400,000 Motorola Backflip handsets, and it might even order more – which means that the carrier is hoping to sell them like hot cakes.

Motorola Backflip was officially announced two days ago, and it’s a unique handset, thanks to the reverse flip design.

The Backflip features Android 1.5 (so says Motorola), MotoBlur, a 3.1 HVGA touchscreen display, quad-band GSM and tri-band HSDPA connectivity (850 / 1900 / 2100 MHz), Wi-Fi, A-GPS, Android Webkit browser, 3.5mm headset jack, 5MP autofocus camera, and a full QWERTY keyboard.

We don’t know the price and the exact release date of Motorola Backflip, but AT&T should unveil these details pretty soon.

Other Android smartphones that will be launched by AT&T include the Dell Mini 3 and an HTC-made device.

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#CES2010: Motorola Announces Long-Awaited Backflip Android Device

Brad Molen — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 05:00:34 +0000

By the time Motorola CEO Sanjay Jha took the stage at CES 2010 tonight to announce its latest Android smartphone, we all knew exactly what was going to be announced: the Motorola Backflip. The Backflip was implied by AT&T CEO Ralph de la Vega this morning to be one of the five Androids his company would be releasing in the first half, not to mention all the leaks we’ve seen of the device over the last couple months.

So there wasn’t really any surprise when we discovered that the Motorola Backflip was the newest member of the MotoBLUR team. We’ll get into specs in a moment, but let’s see some official pictures of this unique device.

First, let’s talk design. The Backflip has a reverse-flip QWERTY keyboard with 3.1″ HVGA touchscreen. The phone is a flip version of the CLIQ, and here’s the kicker: the QWERTY keyboard is on the outside of the phone, not the inside. Instead of the keyboard flipping inwards, it flips outwards. On the back of the touchscreen you’ll find a trackpad, another completely unique feature of the Backflip. The trackpad gives you a new way of flicking through different menus on the screen, not to mention scrolling through the web browser and other various apps. In fact, Motorola plans to publish the API for the trackpad so Android devs can access it and use the trackpad for their own apps on the Backflip. Not too shabby, I say.

Below is a video showing off exactly how the phone flips out, and what the benefits are for having such a weird and new design. While I can’t say for sure how i feel about the design yet (at least not without playing with it first), I’m intrigued by the level of innovation that Motorola had in making the Backflip. It’s not too often we see a completely new way of using a phone.

The video below is courtesy PhoneScoop.

We anticipate the Backflip to be available on AT&T, though Sanjay did not mention specifically which carrier it would be available for. But needless to say, we’d all be extremely surprised to see the phone land on any carrier in the US besides AT&T. It should also be available in Europe, Asia and Latin America sometime in the first quarter of this year. So we expect to see it before the end of March.

The specs include:

Android OS with MotoBLUR; will be upgradeable to 2.1
3.1″ HVGA high-res screen
WiFi and 3G 850/1900/2100 (quadband GSM); HSDPA 7.2 capable
5 MP camera with LED flash and autofocus
Video capture at 24 fps
MicroUSB and 3.5 mm headphone jack
Stereo Bluetooth
6 hours talk time, 13 days standby

via Motorola Press Release

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AT&T announces five Android phones from HTC, Motorola and Dell

Ilinca Nita — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 19:34:57 +0000

The same day when it announced the availability of Nokia’s Ovi Store for its customers, AT&T has also unveiled plans to launch no less than five new Android smartphones throughout 2010 (during the first half of the year) – and no, the Google Nexus One isn’t among them, unfortunately.

Currently the only majors US carrier that doesn’t have any Android handsets in its line-up, AT&T will work with HTC, Motorola and Dell for launching the five devices.

One of AT&T’s upcoming Android smartphones is the Dell Mini 3 – already available in China and Latin America as Dell Mini 3i, and approved by the FCC to work on AT&T’s 3G bands. The folks over at Dell have confirmed the release of Mini 3 via AT&T, although they don’t say when exactly it will be available, or for what price.

AT&T’s other Android smartphones include a Motorola one “powered by MOTOBLUR, with a unique form factor and an AT&T exclusive” (could it be the Motorola Backflip / Enzo?), and a HTC one – also an AT&T exclusive. Details about them are not available at the moment.

AT&T has already prepared a webpage on its website, dedicated to Android. You can find it here. Well, what can I say… It’s good to see AT&T finally getting with the times and embracing Android.

The second largest US carrier has also announced “an agreement with Qualcomm to standardize apps development for mid-range Quick Messaging Devices using BREW Mobile Platform”, and a new AT&T SDK. Apparently, HTC, LG and Pantech will launch Brew phones for AT&T this year and in early 2011.

Via Press release

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Verizon’s Motorola Devour (Calgary) shows up in silver

Ilinca Nita — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 11:21:48 +0000

First spotted only in a black version, the Motorola Devour / Calgary has now appeared in silver, too, which probably means that Verizon will offer it in at least two color versions.

As you may already know, the Motorola Devour is an Android smartphone with a full QWERTY keyboard and the MotoBlur UI running on top of Android.

According to BGR, an anonymous source says that the Devour is “easier to use” that the Motorola Droid (launched by Verizon not long ago).

The features of Moto Devour include an optical trackpad, Wi-Fi, GPS, 3.5mm headset jack, 3MP camera, and a 1420 mAh battery.

We still don’t know when Verizon will announce the Motorola Devour / Calgary, but it might do it at CES – which is set to debut in three days (on January 7).

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Motorola Shadow / Mirage – new Android phone with 4.3 inch WVGA display

Ilinca Nita — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 16:42:36 +0000

Motorola’s seriously betting on the Chinese mobile market (the largest in the world), as it’s getting ready to launch yet another high-end Android handset there, to join the Motorola XT800, Motorola MT710 and Motorola XT701.

While the three models mentioned above have 3.7 inch WVGA displays, the Shadow / Mirage apparently has a 4.3 inch WVGA one, which would make it the HTC HD2 of the Android world.

Display aside, the handset’s other (rumored) specs are really nice, too: HDMI port, 8MP camera and HD (1080p) video playback – all in a 9mm thin case.

Unfortunately, there’s only one (incomplete) rendering of the Motorola Shadow / Mirage:

As for the phone’s release date, this is a total mystery, but more details will probably appear soon.

Via BGR, mobile01

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Swype for Android available for download, although unofficially

Ilinca Nita — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 11:26:04 +0000

Officially launched only for Windows Mobile (with Verizon’s Samsung Omnia II being the first smartphone to get it), Swype is also available for Android, in a preview version – although, at the moment, it only works with phones that have WVGA displays, like the Motorola Droid / Milestone.

With Swype, users can input text faster and easier, using only one continuous finger (or stylus) motion across the soft keyboard.

To download Swype for Android, head on over to DroidMuff.in. You’ll also find instructions for installing and using it there.

There’s no word on when the official Swype app for Android will be launched, but it shouldn’t be long until this happens.The official app will most probably support all Android phones, as this video preview from MobileCrunch indicates (Swype works here on Verizon’s Droid Eris):

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Motorola to unveil new Android phones for Verizon and AT&T at CES?

Ilinca Nita — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 17:34:27 +0000

While Google is getting ready to present something related to Android (most probably the Nexus One) on January 5, Motorola might also unveil two new Android devices, but a day later – on January 6 (just ahead of CES 2010).

According to Trip Chowdhry, analyst at Global Equities Research, Moto “may announce” an Android phone for AT&T and another one for Verizon.

It’s said that the AT&T-bound handset has an OLED touchscreen display, a physical keyboard, and won’t feature the MotoBlur interface – this may be the Motorola Backflip seen not long ago in some leaked photos.

The Verizon-bound Motorola phone also has an OLED display, but no physical keyboard – could it be a version of the Motorola Sholes Tablet / XT701 (pictured above)?

Via Barron’s

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Motorola XT701’s official website shows up, but not for long

Ilinca Nita — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 15:26:34 +0000

Motorola XT701, one of the new Android phones prepared by Moto for China, has appeared on Motorola’s official website, although only or a short period of time.

This is the address where the XT701 appeared, but, as you’ll figure out by yourself, there’s nothing to see there anymore.

Rumored to be the Chinese version of the Motorola Sholes Tablet, the XT701 features Android 2.0, a 3.7 inch WVGA touchscreen display, GSM and WCDMA connectivity, GPS, 3.5mm headset jack, 5MP camera with autofocus and flash, and MicroSD card support (up to 32GB).

Motorola XT701 will be available via China Unicom, the second largest Chinese mobile carrier, for a price that is not known.

For the moment, Motorola China’s website only presents the Motorola XT800 and Motorola MT710, but there’s a reserved place for the XT701, too.

Via Gadgetfreaks.ru

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Palm Pre Plus, Motorola Devour and LG VS750 to hit Verizon

Ilinca Nita — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 13:34:02 +0000

Verizon has sort of confirmed that it will release the Palm Pre in early 2010, but it looks like the giant CDMA carrier prepares a slightly different version of the Pre.

According to Phone Arena, Verizon’s Pre will be called Palm Pre Plus – although there’s no word yet on what the “plus” is standing for. Maybe more internal memory – let’s say 16GB instead of 8GB? We’ll probably find out soon.

Another smartphone that should hit Verizon in the next few months is the LG VS750 – a Windows Mobile 6.5 handset with support for both CDMA and GSM frequencies (so it’s a global smartphone). It’s said that the VS750 is very thin, but other details about it are not known.

Verizon is also readying the Motorola Devour A555, previously known and photographed as Motorola Calgary. The Devour / Calgary will come with Android 2.1, Motoblur, a full QWERTY keyboard and a 3MP camera. Knowing this, it will probably be cheaper than the Moto Droid, which is currently offered for $200 on contract.

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Motorola Backflip / Enzo (MB300) to become AT&T’s first Android phone?

Ilinca Nita — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 12:11:32 +0000

While AT&T still hasn’t announced any kind of Android products until now, the second largest US carrier will surely do it in the near future.

The first Android phone to be sold by AT&T may not be Dell’s smartphone, but a Motorola device, namely the Motorola MB300 Backflip / Enzo.

Some live photos of the Backflip / Enzo have appeared over at Phandroid, showing the smartphone to come with several AT&T services, including: AT&T Navigator, AT&T Music, AT&T Mobile App store and Yahoo! Search.

Interestingly (in a rather bad way) is that the Moto MB300 Enzo may not come with any Google apps, save for Google Maps.

The Backflip / Enzo has an unusual form factor: its QWERTY keyboard can be “backflipped” and it includes the 5MP camera with flash.

The smartphone also features: 3.1 inch HVGA touchscreen display, Wi-Fi, GPS, 3G, 512MB ROM, 256MB RAM, and a 528 MHz Qualcomm MSM7201A processor. Apparently, the handset runs Android 1.5 (weird) and uses Motorola’s Motoblur interface.

The exact release date of Motorola MB300 Backflip / Enzo is not known, but AT&T might introduce it in the first months of 2010.

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Android-powered Motorola XT800 (Zeppelin) and MT710 in new photos

Ilinca Nita — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 19:19:41 +0000

Remember the Motorola MT710 and Motorola Zeppelin? They are two unannounced Android smartphones that should be launched by Motorola in China.

The Zeppelin is actually called Motorola XT800, and it is a dual-mode phone (GSM and CDMA) with features that include: a 3.7 inch touchscreen display with 854 x 480 pixels, 3G, Wi-Fi, WAPI, HMDI port, and a 5MP camera with flash.

These details about the specs of XT800 come form the Chinese website The Third Media, where we’ve also found some photos:

The XT800 Zeppelin has also appeared at Mobile-review, alongside the Motorola MT710:

At the moment, there’s still no word on when the XT800 and MT710 will be available, but “pretty soon” is probably a good guess.

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SHOP4APPS – Motorola’s own Android app store coming soon

Ilinca Nita — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 15:17:54 +0000

Motorola is getting ready to launch its own Android application store, called SHOP4APPS.

SHOP4APPS is web-based and was, for a short period of time, online, and now Motorola removed it.

Luckily, the folks over at Android and Me have managed to take a look at some of its features.

SHOP4APPS is accessible both from a desktop computer and a phone (with Android), although it looks like you can download apps only directly to your handset. To download apps, you’ll need a free mobile client called MotoAppstore (still in the testing phase).

The upcoming Android app store will feature a MyLocker section (where you can check your download history), automatic notifications when new versions of the applications are launched, and the ability to re-download/transfer apps.

It seems that Motorola plans to introduce the SHOP4APPS only in the US, Mexico, Brazil and Argentina for the beginning – but there’s no word on when this will happen.

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Motorola Opus One to be an iDEN Android smartphone?

Ilinca Nita — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 12:28:03 +0000

iDEN handsets are becoming more and more interesting, and it looks like we’ll soon have an Android smartphone for iDEN networks.

Motorola Opus One is the name of the smartphone in question and, according to BGR, it is a full-touch device.

Unfortunately, there aren’t any details about the features of Motorola Opus One, but its touchscreen display is probably a HVGA one, and we can see a photo camera on the back, with flash.

There’s no word yet on when Motorola plans to launch the Opus One. We’ll probably find out more about the phone next year, when it might be announced in the US for Nextel and/or Boost Mobile.

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