Motorola recently introduced an LTE-capable version of its Moto G, but it appears that an full-fledged upgrade is in the works. The follow up to Motorola’s affordable smartphone will ship with a 5-inch 720p display, a 1.2GHz quad-core processor, an Adreno 305 GPU, 1GB of RAM, an 8-megapixel rear-facing camera, a 2-megapixel front-facing shooter, 8GB of internal storage and Android 4.4.4 KitKat.
Rumors of when we can expect a Moto X successor have been around for a while now, but now Droid Life is reporting that the device will be released on Verizon in late September. The blog claims that its sources are currently hearing that Verizon is planning to launch the device on September 25th.
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.
This is what the Moto 360 wireless charging dock looks like, according to Italian site Gadget.net – and it certainly looks persuasively real. Assuming you can choose to show the time as well as the charge state, the dock effectively turns the smartwatch into a bedside clock while it’s charging overnight.
The blue circle around the outside of the watch face shows the charge level. Looking at the rear of the dock, we can’t see any detail, but it’s likely that it’s some kind of USB connector …
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It’s no secret that we were huge fans of the Moto G when it was released last fall. At under $200 and with the performance of a flagship device, it was a steal of a phone at the time. Now, two benchmarks have emerged from what is allegedly the Moto G successor. First noticed by CNET, these benchmarks peg the second-generation Moto G as having a 5-inch display, up from 4.5-inches, and a higher-resolution 8MP rear camera, up from 5MP.
During the summer of 2013, the line-up of Google Play Edition devices grew incredibly quickly, with devices available from HTC, Motorola, Samsung, and Sony. Last month, however, the selection of devices dropped to just three: the Moto G, Galaxy S4, and HTC One (M8). Now, this evening, Google has removed the Galaxy S4 Google Play Edition from the store without any replacement in sight.
As Lenovo’s acquisition of Motorola nears closing, today Motorola shared some updates on changes to its leadership. Announced in its press release is a promotion for Charlie Tritschler to Senior Vice Present of Product Management overseeing product development on all the company’s products. Tritschler joined Motorola in March of 2013 from Amazon’s Kindle team. Motorola notes that “Charlie has been one of the leading forces behind Moto G and Moto E.”
The company also announced it’s adding regional sales heads as three new members of its senior leadership team and also making Adrienne Hayes the SVP of Marketing and Communications of a new marketing and communications team responsible for the company’s brand and advertising worldwide.
These changes ensure that our leadership team accurately reflects our priorities and organization structure, and put us in the best possible position to continue growing our success. Congratulations to all the leaders in new roles, and my thanks to everyone who helped bring us this far.
Missing from Motorola’s new executives page is Bill Morgan who was previously the company’s Senior Vice President of Marketing overseeing the brand, advertising, and communications role that now seems to be filled by Adrienne.
A report earlier this week claimed Google and Motorola are beginning work on a 5.9-inch Nexus device codenamed Shamu as Motorola transitions to its new home at Lenovo.
Motorola recently filed a trademark for the name “Moto Maxx,” which means the company could eventually use the moniker for a new smartphone or tablet. Historically Motorola’s Maxx product line has been connected to phones that feature extended battery life, while its Moto branding has been associated with affordable devices like the Moto X, Moto G, and Moto E.
Over the weekend, a report was published claiming that Google and Motorola were working together on a 5.9-inch Nexus device codenamed the Shamu. This afternoon, The Information published a separate report corroborating this weekend’s source.
The fate of Google’s Nexus line of devices has been up in the air for several months now, with LG saying it is not working on a device for it and Android Silver reportedly taking over its role. At Google I/O last month, however, Googler David Burke confirmed that the company is still heavily interested in the Nexus line of devices. Rumors have also recently circulated that HTC is working on a 9-inch Nexus tablet dubbed the Volantis. Now, Android Police is reporting that Google and Motorola are working on a device codenamed Shamu.
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=15uIFmysZV4]
Let’s face it, when companies are interviewed at tech conferences, they talk about all kinds of crazy stuff that will never be launched – like the idea of wearing a digital tattoo to unlock your phone. Except this time, more than a year after first discussing the idea at the D11 conference last May, Motorola has actually done it and is showing it off in a new video …
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Motorola Mobility’s ownership may be stuck in regulatory limbo, but the soon to be Lenovo-owned company definitely has some handsets in its pipeline. This time around we’re looking at an unidentified Motorola device that appears to running Android L. Allegedly running on Verizon’s network, the still shots of this smartphone reveal that it’s larger than a Nexus 5, which packs a 4.95-inch display.
Samsung, HTC and Motorola are likely to be looking a little nervously over their shoulders as Chinese smartphone manufacturer Xiaomi more than doubled its year-on-year sales. The company announced (via TNW) that it sold 26.1M phones in the first half of this year, more than it sold in the whole of 2013.
These are impressive sales for a company which sold its first smartphone just three years ago, and whose sales were initially limited to China. Its growth has been fuelled by expansion into Singapore, Malaysia, India and the Philipines, with the company now eyeing up Latin America as its next market …
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Android 4.4.4 is on the move and the latest handset to be blessed with an over-the-air push of Mountain View’s newest version of KitKat is the Google Play edition of the Moto G. Released to tackle a few bugs and potential security exploits missed by its predecessor, this fairly lean update doesn’t bring much to the table in terms of aesthetics.
Last month, Motorola announced that it was accepting design submissions for watch faces for its Moto 360 smartwatch. We showed you some of the best and most interesting submissions last month, as well, but today, Motorola has finally announced the winner of its contest. In a blog post, Motorola announced that out of the 1,300 submitted designs, David Pascual’s watch face was deemed the best. You can see his design at the top of this page.
Motorola says that Pascual wins one of the very first Moto 360s and the chance for his design to be featured on the watch when it ships. It’s unclear exactly what Pascual has to do for his design to be featured on the watch, but we’re guessing there’s some sort of licensing.
You can view all of the Moto 360 watch face designs on Google+. The Moto 360 is slated to go on sale later this summer.
We’ve been hearing quite a bit recently about the upcoming Moto X+1, which is expected to be Motorola’s next flagship smartphone. Now, 9to5Google has received what appears to be a promotional render for what is said to be that device from a source we consider reliable.
While a lot of information has already been leaked about this phone, one new feature revealed by this source is the apparent inclusion of a front-facing speaker at the bottom of the phone, though the purpose for that hardware (beyond possible music playback or speakerphone support) is still uncertain.
The source says it’s possible this phone will be revealed at Google’s I/O developer conference. If that’s the case, it would make sense for promotional images to start floating around about this time as the company prepares to unveil the next-gen device.
We’ve also gotten our hands on two separate images from a second render from the same source which is embedded below:
Although Motorola has yet to formally announce the Moto X+1, we’ve seen our share of alleged photos and videos of this phantom smartphone. Today, however, we’re getting the clearest shot to date of the rumored handset, courtesy of @evleaks. Unlike previous sketchy images, this front and back pair of photos appear to be press renders of the Moto X successor dressed up in some type of case.
Motorola has been aggressively pushing its Moto X lately, but the smartphone’s rumored successor appears to be coming along. Pictured above is a purported shot of the Moto X+1 wrapped up in plastic like it was killed by a mafia hitman. Not exactly a fashion statement, the device’s operator claims that this was done to hide identifying markings on the handset.
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.
Every year at Google I/O the company gives away a few gadgets to the attendees of the event. Last year, Google gave away the $1,500 Chromebook Pixel to attendees, among other things. According to a report from Android Authority, Google this year plans to give out the LG G Watch for free to all the people in attendance.
Motorola this afternoon updated its Assist app on Android to version 2.2.35 with a handful of changes. Motorola Assist already offers a variety of features that improve handsfree capabilities of the Moto X (and other devices), and this update adds another very useful one.
Motorola announced on Twitter and the company’s website today that the 32 GB Moto X will be available for $100 less than its usual price for the next two days. The sale starts tonight at midnight and runs until Friday.
Only the unlocked, no-contract model will be discounted. That specific version usually runs about $499, so this is a pretty decent drop for those wanting to get their hands on the KitKat-powered smartphone.
Following announcements for the roll out of Android 4.4.3 for a number of Android devices yesterday, Motorola today confirmed its own roll out schedule for Moto X, Moto G, and Moto E. Here’s the break down of who gets it first starting this week:
While users will get the improved dialer (pictured above) and other fixes we previously detailed for Android 4.4.3, Moto X and Moto G users will also get the Moto Alert app, and “pausing for video recording with a convenient pause/resume button on the viewfinder,” while Moto X gets improved camera image quality:
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZgHGDGCBfc
Update: The Moto Stream is now live on Motorola’s website. It costs $49, uses Bluetooth and NFC technology to connect to devices, charges over USB, and has a 3.5mm to RCA connector for audio. Motorola also provides a bit more insight into this “DJ experience” it hinted at by describing a software feature called Heist Mode:
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