Motorola

Even after Google announced that it was selling Motorola to Lenovo, there were still many questions surrounding the deal and what exactly Lenovo would be getting for the low price of $2.91 billion. We now know that, not included in the deal, is the Advanced Technology and Projects group led by former DARPA director Regina Dugan. This was revealed during a conference call with Lenovo. The Verge reports that the group will be integrated into Google’s Android team. Dugan will report to Sundar Pichai, but will still run things relatively independently.

This team consists of around 100 people, who will all make the move to Google’s Mountain View office now. The group is most well known for the Project Ara modular phone. This technology allowed for different phone configurations to be constructed from various parts. Google plans to scale the project and use its plethora of resources to speed up the process. Google will also work to accelerate other projects led by Dugan, such as ones pertaining to security tattoos and biotech sensors.

Google will hold onto all of the patents obtained by the Advanced Technology and Projects group, although Lenovo will have a license to them.

Expand
Expanding
Close

Google CEO Larry Page and Lenovo CEO Yang Yuanqing

Update: Motorola and Google have both confirmed the acquisition of Motorola by Lenovo for $2.91 billion. Google will, however, retain the “vast majority” of Motorola’s patents. Google CEO Larry Page says that Motorola will be better unitized and more beneficial to Lenovo. This will also give Google more time to drive “innovation across the Android ecosystem.” The deal still has to pass regulatory approval in China and the U.S., and until then, Google says it is business as usual for the two companies.

According a tweet from Reuters reporter Gerry Shih, Lenovo is nearing completion on a deal to purchase Motorola from Google for around $3 billion. A report from China Daily news corroborates Reuters, but claims the deal is closer to the $2 billion mark. China Daily claims that the deal will be announced to the public Thursday morning in Beijing, which is just a few hours from now. Google is also holding an earnings call tomorrow, so it’s very possible that the information will officially drop during the call.

TechCrunch has “confirmed reports” of the acquisition, saying the terms of the deal have not yet been revealed, but that it was around $3 billion. It’s also important to note that the deal includes Motorola Mobility, which Google paid $12.5 billion for, not the entire Motorola company.

Expand
Expanding
Close

Motorola has just announced via its Twitter account that it will be offering the Moto X without contract for $100 on January 27th. The deal will apply to any Moto X, meaning that the 16GB will run just $299 and the 32GB will cost $349. That’s just $100 more than Moto G. The catch, however, is that the deal will only run for one hour and “while supplies last.” The offer will be available from 3PM ET to 4PM ET on the 27th of January.

Xtra sweet deal alert: Jan 27 3-4PM ET $100 off any #MotoX w/o contract while supplies last… (1/2)

— motorolaus (@MotorolaUS) January 24, 2014

Motorola also notes that, until Valentine’s Day (February 14th), the Moto X will be available for $70 off, should you miss out on the $100 off offer. That means that the 16GB model will be available for $330 and the 32GB for $380 It looks like that offer will kick in after the $100 off offer sells out on the 27th.

If you miss out, you can still get $70 off any #MotoX w/o contract until Valentine’s Day. (2/2)

— motorolaus (@MotorolaUS) January 24, 2014

These are certainly amazing deals. Let’s just hope that these sales go better than the Cyber Monday deal the company attempted to hold…

Expand
Expanding
Close

It’s no secret that 2013 was the best year that Motorola has had for quite a while, even contending for the crown of the best OEM of the year. Much of the company’s success is thanks to its CEO, Dennis Woodside. Woodside has made headlines for his comments before, and just recently, he conducted an interview with Trusted Reviews, during which he made some very interesting comments regarding the pricing of phones, as well as customization. Motorola has revolutionized both of these categories already, with Moto Maker and the Moto X and the $179 Moto G (via Droid Life).

First, Woodside commented on how even the $179 price tag for the Moto G is considered a lot of money in many parts of the world. He adds that the company is looking for ways to further trim down the prices of devices.

“In much of the world $179 is a lot of money so there’s a big market at a price point of less than $179. We’re going to look at that and just delivering on that value promise is super important. I mean why can’t these devices be $50? There’s no reason that can’t happen so we’re going to push that.”

Expand
Expanding
Close

Following the continued growth of smartphones in the US and increasing competition between Samsung and Apple, the two companies saw combined growth between 2012 and 2013 amounting to 68% of the US smartphone market. That’s according to data provided by The NPD Group which reports overall smartphone growth increased from 52% to 60% in Q4 of 2012 and 2013, respectively. NPD reports Samsung rose from 22% to 26% in Q4 2012 to 2013 among US smartphone users.
Expand
Expanding
Close

Following its announcement last August and rollout in the US, the Google-owned Motorola announced today via Twitter a timeline for Moto X availability in select European countries. Motorola is taking its Moto X smartphone to the United Kingdom, France, and Germany beginning sometime next month.

Expand
Expanding
Close

Of the most notable things Motorola has accomplished over the past year is arguably its contextually aware services, found on devices like the Moto X. Today, the company’s Assist app on the Play Store has been updated with a few new features. For those unaware, Assist can determine your actions, such as driving and sleeping, and perform a pre-specificed command.

Up until today, the app could only read you the text messages you got while driving. With this newest update, however, you can now reply to texts while driving by speaking to the phone. So once the text is read to you, you will have the ability to read a response to the app. In addition to that, Assist can also now launch your music player of choice when it notices you are driving.

The update is available on the Play Store, although Motorola Assist is only compatible with the most recent Droid line of devices, as well as the Moto X.

Expand
Expanding
Close

After the Cyber Monday madness surrounding the $349 Moto X, Motorola officially dropped the device’s off-contract price to just $399 last week, looking to get the device into even more consumer’s hands. Today, the company has announced another special offer for the Moto X. Starting today, January 8th, and running through January 14th, anyone who purchases an off-contract Moto X from Motorola’s website will also get a free Google Chromecast. The Chromecast costs $35 normally, so this is a great deal for anyone looking for the two devices.

The deal is live now on Motorola’s site. Simply use the promo “STREAM” to obtain the offer. The Moto X runs $399 for 16GB and $449 for 32GB.

Expand
Expanding
Close

Hot on the heels of rumors claiming that Verizon would soon be offering the Moto G for $100, Best Buy has announced that it is now selling the device in its retail stores. Speaking to the LA Times, Best Buy spokesman Jonathan Sandler announced that, the device “is currently landing in stores and is available for sale as soon as it arrives.” This means that there is no set release date for the device from Best Buy, so you’ll need to keep in contact with your local store if you are interested in purchasing one.

A version of the phone for Sprint’s Boost Mobile prepaid service was also released today, this time through HSN. The Moto G is currently on sale for $129.95, but you can get it for $99 after a $30 mail-in rebate (regular price $169.95).

Being priced at just $99.99 sans-contract, the Moto G is easily the best bargain phone on the market. We were big fans of it when we reviewed it, and its recent update to Android 4.4 KitKat only further improved the experience. Of course, it’s also worth noting that the Moto G’s older sibling, the Moto X, received a price drop today as well, and now runs $399.99.

Expand
Expanding
Close

Motorola is kicking off 2014 with a piece of excellent news as the Moto X drops to $399.99 without contract. Rick Osterloh, the company’s Senior Vice President just announced the news on the company’s official blog stating Motorola has “hearing a lot recently from people who want a new premium smartphone at a reasonable price without having to wait for a contract upgrade.” Motorola is taking the bull by the horns and dropping the price down to a level that is arguably one of the best price tags we’ve seen on a premium device in some time.

Expand
Expanding
Close

Update: According to an internal Verizon memo obtained by Droid-Life, the Moto G will be available from the carrier on January 9th.

It’s no secret that we are big fans of the Moto G here at 9to5Google. As of right now, the device is available unlocked from both Motorola and Amazon in 8GB and 16GB varieties for $179 and $199 respectively. According to a leaked image shared on Google+, the device will soon be coming for an even cheaper price.

Expand
Expanding
Close

Motorola CEO Dennis Woodside is in the precarious position of living up to incredible expectations as a Google owned company while still keeping the Motorola name in the spotlight. In an interview with the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette, Woodside talked that very issue and more.

Expand
Expanding
Close

Last week, Motorola announced that the Moto G would soon begin to be updated to Android 4.4 KitKat. Today, it looks like the update has finally started rolling out to users, as both Seth and I have received the update on our respective Moto G devices. The update comes in at roughly 191MB and bumps the device to build number 172.44.4.en.US.

New in the update are many of the changes we’ve come to know and love in KitKat. For one, all the new white-gradiants are present, replacing the blue, as is the new transparent notification bar. Not included is the new launcher found on the Nexus 5, though Google touts that as being exclusive to Nexus devices. You can always side load it, of course. Motorola also touts that new camera controls, such as manual focus and exposure, are included, though that was also included in an update to the Motorola Camera app on Google Play.

Expand
Expanding
Close

While the world may be looking at Samsung with loving eyes thanks to the wild success of the Galaxy line, I wouldn’t call 2013 the year of the Samsung. Instead, I’m prepared to give that title to the folks at Motorola with a dose of LG on the side. There’s little question that Motorola roared back this year with the Moto X and the Moto G just boosted their game at the very end of the year. That’s not to say LG didn’t have a great year, but with the success and great reviews of the Nexus 5 comes disappointing sales of their flagship the LG G2.

Expand
Expanding
Close

To say that 2013 has been an interesting year in the world of Android would be putting it mildly, but has it really been a banner year? The release of Android-oriented products like Google Glass, Google Hangouts/revamp of Google+ and the beginnings of Google Retail led the way for a whole new approach for Google to take on the competition.

As we look back at the Android-based smartphones that launched in 2013, there isn’t any one handset that truly stands out as a market revolution. Instead, 2013 saw improvements and innovation on existing brands and lines that were already incredibly popular. For example, the Galaxy S 4 which kicks off our list below didn’t really raise the bar over the Galaxy S III in a truly big way, but it did improve on an already market-leading experience from the Galaxy S III.

So without further adieu, here are the 9to5Google’s top Android smartphone picks for 2013:
Expand
Expanding
Close

Did you miss out on Motorola’s $350 off-contract Cyber Monday deal for the Moto X? If you did, here’s another opportunity to score the device sans contract for that very same price. The offer is “exclusive to Today Show viewers” but like any good deal made its way over to Slick Deals where readers are grabbing their shiny new Moto X units.

Expand
Expanding
Close

Just a few weeks after the device went up for sale, Motorola has announced that Android 4.4.2 is now rolling out to the Moto G. The update brings all of the KitKat features we’ve come to know and love. One of the biggest selling points of KitKat is the improved performance on lower-end devices that don’t have as much power under the hood. Given that the Moto G is own the lower-end of the totem pole, KitKat should drastically improve the performance of the device, not that it was bad before. 
Expand
Expanding
Close

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMrZmSPpIRw&w=600&h=400]

Grabbing the attention of customers in the wireless industry these days requires some slick moves and a creative mind. Well, Motorola has done exactly that with a brand new interactive ad in January’s Wired magazine.

Expand
Expanding
Close