Unsurprisingly, Lenovo “product engineer” Ashton Kutcher is also doing online videos to promote Motorola. His last appearance demonstrated how people are incapable of not touching their phones. Now, Kutcher is talking with engineers and showing off features specific to Motorola phones.
Lenovo CEO Yuanqing Yang said today that the company will launch a new smartphone for the US in July, according to comments reported by The Wall Street Journal. Earlier this month at CES, the company announced that the Motorola brand name is actually being phased out around the world.
Best Buy offers the 2nd generation Moto X 16GB (unlocked) smartphone in black for $242.99 shipped, which is $57 below its retail price and the lowest price we could find for a brand new model. If you’re looking for its cheaper little brother, though, B&H offers the 2nd generation Moto G 8GB (unlocked) smartphone in black for $99.99 shipped w/ a free Belkin PowerHouse microUSB dock. That’s a savings of $95 compared to what these items would cost at retail…
Following news that Lenovo would be phasing out the Motorola brand-name, tech enthusiasts globally were intrigued to hear what else the company’s new owners had in store for us. Will Moto phones be just as good as they have been in the past? Will they keep the stock Android experience?
Lenovo’s chief, having spilled the beans regarding Google’s plans to launch its Play Services in China this year was seemingly keen to also share his thoughts on the Moto brand and what the next couple of years has in store for the fashionable smartphone family. As with all changes made when new owners take over, there’s both good news and bad news…
Update: Motorola has provided us with an official comment on the new branding.
In an interview with CNET, Motorola COO Rick Osterloh said that the storied Motorola brand will be phased out for Lenovo. Purchased by Google in 2011 and then sold to Lenovo in 2014, Motorola has had varying level of successes. While praised for stock Android, Moto devices on the high-end have not been successful in dethroning Samsung or LG.
Well-known designer Jonathan Adler has put together a new Moto X Pure Edition collection, all intended to capture the “spirit” of Moto Maker. The designs most definitely also have a holiday feel to them, so they might make a great gift if you know someone panning for the latest Moto X.
This holiday season, Motorola has something for every style lover on your list, including an all new Moto X Pure collection designed by the iconic Jonathan Adler. The limited-edition collection features three eye-catching, stylish phones that Jonathan felt captured the spirit of Moto Maker, our online phone design studio.
The collection will be available for pre-order at Motorola.com/JonathanAdler beginning November 24, and will officially go on sale December 3 for $474.99 (32GB). To help round out the rest of your shopping list, we asked Jonathan to share his top holiday gifting tips for the style-obsessed friends and family in your life.
Here’s what the three new phones look like:
Verizon and Motorola have begun sending out press invites this afternoon for an event to be held on October 27th in New York City. “Everything you expect from a phone will change,” the invite boldly claims. And clearly, the companies are planning to introduce more than one smartphone, as the invite asks members of the press to join as they unveil the newest “DROIDs”…
Expand
Expanding
Close
The new Moto 360 is surely right around the corner, but one thing doesn’t seem to have changed. The 2nd generation Moto 360 — which was just made official — still hasn’t managed to get rid of the dreadful “flat tire.” But according to a very informative slide snapped by our own Seth Weintraub at Lenovo’s press event yesterday, Motorola is having none of the criticism and jokes. Comparing the 360 to the Samsung Gear Live, the G Watch, and the Apple Watch, the Moto 360 wins in display-to-body ratio.
As you can see, at least according to Moto’s data, the 360’s screen has 71.7% of the front face of the watch, while the Apple Watch — probably the 360’s biggest competitor — has a measly 49.1%. Both of LG’s recent offerings come in at around the same number as the Apple Watch, but other competitors, like the Gear Live, are as low as 41.9%. With the flat tire, which sadly makes the 360’s screen a not-so-perfect circle, Motorola can achieve a much better ratio. Oddly missing, however, is the Huawei Watch…
The Moto X Style and Moto X Play only just recently launched last month, but it doesn’t look like Motorola is anywhere close to done for the year. Besides the fact that a slew of Moto 360 announcements are expected for this wek at IFA Berlin, it appears that the Lenovo-owned company is also preparing another smartphone for sometime later this year. It’s purportedly called the Motorola “Bounce,” and it sports a shatterproof screen, and specs very similar to that of the recent Moto X line.
As you can see above, the phone definitely looks a lot like the Moto X Play. In terms of its specs, the phone is also not far off from what the company is already offering. According to Upleaks, the phone packs a 5.43″ QHD display, the Snapdragon 810 MSM8994 processor, storage options at 32 and 64 GB, 3 GB of RAM, a 21-megapixel main camera, a 5-megapixel front-facing shooter, and a 3760mAh battery. Also, the phone is purportedly shatterproof, perhaps why it’s called “Bounce”?
While more details are sure to come, we’re not quite sure at this point to which regions the phone will be coming. That said, if Upleaks is correct — which he/she very often is — the phone will be launching sometime in December of this year. We’ll keep you updated as more details make their way out.
The Moto 360 is set to get a complete refresh at IFA later this week, and up to this point we’ve only seen what look to be two variants of the device. There’s apparently a smaller watch and a larger watch (reportedly called Moto 360S and Moto 360L, respectively). Now, well-known leakster Upleaks is giving us a look at a “Sport” variant of the smartwatch, featuring bright colors and some kind of fitness tracking software on board…
Expand
Expanding
Close
I’ve long been a fan of what Motorola has been doing with their smartphones and peripherals, and this week’s announcements are no exception. Both of the headphones Moto released, the Moto Surround and especially the Moto Pulse are top notch. I’ve been using the Pulse exclusively since the event and couldn’t be happier. They are so light that you forget they’re even on your head, while at the same time they have a mic for calls, a battery meter on your phone ,and they swivel so they pack flat. Oh and the sound is excellent – comparable to a $200 set of heavy cans from other mid/high tier vendors. At $60, the Pulse headphones are a no-brainer if you need light over-ears for a reasonable price.
But the Moto G 3rd edition is what we’re here to talk about…
Expand
Expanding
Close
Update: We now have a really attractive new render showing the device in white and gold, too…
Motorola has not had any success keeping its handsets a secret this year. We’ve seen half a dozen leaks of the company’s upcoming 2015 Moto G, and now — thanks to Android Peru on Facebook — we have yet another look at a device that purports to be the company’s upcoming Moto X. Previous leaks have been very sketchy, but these appear to be as legit as it gets. In fact, we had our hands on a prototype Nexus 6 last year, and it had identifying barcodes and labels almost identical to the ones seen in these pictures…
Expand
Expanding
Close
Motorola has seemingly introduced a revised 2nd generation Moto Hint, bringing some moderate improvements to the Bluetooth headset that the company introduced last year. It’s similar enough to last year’s model that most won’t even notice that there’s any difference, but upon closer inspection, this seems to be a worthy upgrade…
Expand
Expanding
Close
Keep up with the best gear and deals on the web by signing up for the 9to5Toys Newsletter. Also, be sure to check us out on: Twitter, RSS Feed, Facebook, Google+ and Safari push notifications.
Motorola launched the Moto Hint alongside the 2014 Moto X and Moto G last year, and it quickly became known as one of the better — albeit also more expensive — offerings on the market for those on the lookout for a Bluetooth headset. That still holds true today, but now Motorola is offering the Moto Hint at its online store for a cool $50 off the original price, down to just $100. It’s the lowest price we’ve seen, and it looks like some third-party retailers on Amazon are matching that price (at least for the darker colored model, which is currently going for $100.89).
Expand
Expanding
Close
From 9to5Toys.com:
Amazon’s Gold Box Deal of the Day is the Moto G 2014 edition 5-inch 720P smartphone for $149.99 shipped. That’s $30 off on this phone that receives quick Android updates to Lollipop and beyond and is unlocked for use on T-Mobile or AT&T in US or available for international shipping. It is available in Black or White and available with US or Global GSM variants. Other features
This phone gets incredible reviews (4.6/5 stars) from over 500 Amazon reviewers. With your savings, you can get a Plantronics Bluetooth headset for $25 (50% off) shipped and/or nice cases which start at $2.
Motorola’s recently unveiled next-generation Moto X smartphone is already available to order through other carriers such as AT&T, but Motorola today said the device won’t be available on Sprint. The news, which comes as a surprise considering the last-generation Moto X was available through the carrier, comes from a response to a customer on Motorola’s official Twitter account:
[tweet https://twitter.com/Motorola/status/512272654032965633]
There’s no word from either company on the reason behind the decision, but Verizon is expected to launch the device later this month while Motorola is already selling AT&T and T-Mobile compatible versions through its website. We’ll update with more if either company provides more information.
It seems as if speculation surrounding the Moto X+1 has been floating around the rumor mill for months now. Every week, it’s as if an announcement is imminent, then, more rumors build up and the phone remains a mere myth. This week is no exception, with a mysterious Motorola device appearing in Geekbench’s database.
After being available on Amazon for a short while, the Moto G with LTE is now available on Motorola’s official website. The device will run you just $219 and comes in either white or black.
Currently, Motorola seems to be the king of budget smartphones. With the launch of the Moto G ($179.99) and more recently the Moto E ($129.99), it seems like Motorola has a smartphone tier for just about anyone. Motorola’s Moto X has also dropped in price to $349.99 off contract and just barely graces the budget phone border.
The good news is, there are plenty of budget Motorola devices to choose from, but now you’ll have to make a decision. Which one is the best for you? Let’s find out in our Moto showdown.
Motorola’s website has been the source of various leaks in the last few weeks, and today we have another one. Captured in an image after the break by the @evleaks Twitter account, the website leaked only the name — no image or details are available. The device has also so far slipped by under the radar, with basically nothing being known about it.
Expand
Expanding
Close
A store listing on Motorola’s website (via Droid Life) has given us an early look at the currently-unannounced Moto X+1, which will be available on AT&T whenever it’s finally made public. The phone looks very similar to the current Moto X, so most of the big changes to the device will presumably be under-the-hood.
There is at least one change being made to the outside of the phone. The X+1 recently showed up on the MotoMaker tool that allows users to build customized versions of the Moto X. According to the options on that website, the phone will be available with 25 different backplates to choose from.
Earlier today LG started sending out invites to its big G3 reveal and now Motorola is following suit by announcing an event of its own dated for May 13th. However, unlike its competitors that appear to be focusing on building high-end flagship smartphones, Motorola’s invitation hints at a more modest announcement. “Connect more people to the world’s information and each other, and they can do great things,” the invitation reads. “Introducing the next smartphone from Motorola to make these connections happen. Made to last. Priced for all.”
Just last week, select Moto X variants started to receive price drops to $349 and $399 for 16GB and 32GB respectively, but now the company is looking to further discount all models of the device. Starting on May 1 at 12:01AM ET and running for 24 hours, the 16GB Moto X will cost just $299. The 32GB and Developer editions will receive an even steeper price cut, from $399 down to $324.99.
It’s unclear how many units Motorola will sell at this price, or if it will simply run the entire day. You also have to keep in mind that Motorola has promised a new flagship by late-Summer. But if you’ve been waiting for your chance to snag one of the best Android smartphones out there, this is your opportunity.
Let’s just hope this sale goes better than Moto’s Cyber Monday catastrophe…
