Speaking of specs, this fancy fella’ rocks a 2.8-inch WQVGA (240×400 pixels) internal display, external screen comprised of 144 LEDs, 2-megapixel camera with fixed focus, Bluetooth 2.1, FM radio, 3.5mm headset jack, and 50MB of built-in storage that is further expandable with microSD memory cards.

Moto will ask 99 EUR for the unlocked, SIM-free Gleam+, with carriers most likely giving it away to anyone willing to put his/her signature on a new two-year customer agreement. Heck you’ll most likely be able to get the phone for free even with 12- and 18-month contracts.

Personally I like the new phone — it looks like a fancier version of RAZR2 — but since it doesn’t run any smartphone OS, I’m afraid I’ll have to skip it…

If you read deep into the words: “integrate” and “time-consuming” you instantly think about a software related issue, right? Well, not according to Moto’s SVP. She claims that “hardware is the long pole in the tent,” adding that many hardware components found in the company’s devices need some fine tuning to fuse a new OS. When someone asked her about Motorola’s custom user interface, MOTOBLUR or whatever it’s called today, Wyatt responded saying “the software is never the hard part.”

She also talked about things we already knew, like Google prioritizing manufacturers who has dibs on the company’s “hero” device (think any Nexus phone), as this gives them access to the new code first. Sorting through all the fluff, I found that the most compelling part of what Wyatt said was carriers have the final say when it comes to updates. Motorola also says the carriers have a large impact on when things happen, or whether they happen at all. Wow.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: This ultimately is a Google issue, as it needs grow a pair and put its foot down on some of the behavior from these carriers. Truth is, the search giant has empowered the carriers way too much, giving them the last say so when upgrades go out. It’s ridiculous that only 1 percent of Android user have ICS 4.0, especially since its been out for over two months — it’s absurd. Just stating the facts, people.

[via mobileburn]

We’ll know by Monday if the EU has any beef with the deal and I’d imagine its concerns would revolve around patents and Google’s position in the Android chain. Additionally, the EU has been taking a close look at Google over the last few months.

While one could easily see this deal having a material impact on Samsung, HTC and others, I don’t really see how the U.S. government could stop the deal on anti-trust grounds. This isn’t AT&T trying to buy a competitor, as Google and Motorola don’t really compete in meaningful ways. Google is using its cash to enter some new market segments, as well as shore up its patent portfolio.

If you’re worried about what this will mean for Android, you should know that Google says it is committed to keeping it open and the independently-owned Motorola won’t get any special access. I’m not sure I buy that because it doesn’t make business sense for Google to not utilize all of its resources to better compete against Apple, particularly with the company being more focused and streamlined under Larry Page. Sure, you may argue that doing this will alienate some partners but the reach and appeal of the free Android operating system has few challengers – Windows Phone is good but costly and the open source webOS has no track record of success.

Whatever happens, it appears like we can all be on the lookout for a Googorola later this year.

[Via Wall Street Journal]

Under the hood, the Droid 4 is competitive with other handsets in Verizon’s current Android lineup.  The Droid 4 has a dual-core 1.2 GHz processor,  an 8-megapixel rear-facing camera with 1080p HD video capture, a Front-facing camera for video chat,  a five-row QWERTY keyboard with edge-lit keys, LTE connectivity and Android 2.3.5 Gingerbread (upgradeable to Android 4.0). It also has government-grade encryption (FIPS 140-2), desktop virtualization and other enterprise features. If you want a laptop with your phone, you can grab the Lapdock 500 accessory which has a 14-inch display and sells for $299.97.

[Via Verizon Wireless]

If I could suggest one thing – grab the Galaxy Nexus, instead — it is readily available in stock. It may not be as sexy as Moto’s baby (though that’s arguable), but it rocks a much better 720p screen. Not to mention the preloaded Ice Cream Sandwich…

[Via: AndroidCentral]

• Mobile Hotspot bug fixes and improved security
• Update to VZ Navigator with the latest 3D map improvements
• A number of Visual Voice Mail updates
• Improved stability of data connectivity after Airplane Mode is disabled
• Improved data throughput performance in low-signal 4G environments
• Improved Battery life when using Phone Book Access Profile (PBAP) Bluetooth headsets
• Updated Favorite Contacts widget
• Improved device stability when moving between home screen panels
• When performing an OTA update, the display will correctly show the remaining download time
• Addition of the CMAS (Commercial Mobile Alert Service) feature
• Few VCast apps pre-installed

There you have it. Again it’s not Android 4.0, but it’s definitely worth pushing the [update] button.

• Improvements in the camera app, delivering better overall picture taking experience.
• Addition of Google Music application from where you can shop for millions of songs and download hundreds of free tracks.
• Re-naming of Motorola Gallery, Music and Files applications to My Gallery, My Music and My Files.
• Enhancements to device security, including addition of Android security patches from Google and Cisco Any Connect VPN enablers.
• Emergency Alerts from authorities such as Hurricane warning notifications.
• Amazon Kindle – link to the app for quick access to your library of Amazon digital books as well as access to the entire Amazon library.
• AT&T Messages – link to the app for quick access to all of your texts, calls and messages which have been stored in the cloud.
• Improvements to keyboard functionality for better email experience.
• Improved stability of Mobile Hotspot for better overall performance.
• Enhancements to Webtop to improve stability.

Yep you should update your Motorola ATRIX 2 if you still haven’t. Hit Settings, About phone and find the Update option there. Good luck!

[Via: AndroidCentral]

Lots of developments have occurred after this initial ruling, so lets sort them out. To understand what’s going on, you must first understand which patent is in question. Motorola filed a case against Apple for its “multiple pager status synchronization system and method,” which is something Apple uses in its iCloud product. Yes, this is a huge deal.

As expected, Apple has appealed the decision. And from the latest news coming in, all its devices in question will return back on its German online store shortly. The Cupertino giant released a comment to AllThingsD.

“All iPad and iPhone models will be back on sale through Apple’s online store in Germany shortly,” an Apple spokeswoman told AllThingsD. “Apple appealed this ruling because Motorola repeatedly refuses to license this patent to Apple on reasonable terms, despite having declared it an industry standard patent seven years ago.”

So what does this all mean? Well, this suspension is more than likely a temporary thing, as the battle will continue on the basis of appeal. Apple’s argument is Motorola Mobility is not honoring the FRAND licensing obligations (fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory) it has on some standards-essential patents.

In the end, I expect these two to work out some sort of licensing agreement, because Apple is swimming in cash and Motorola needs some of that loot. Of course, once Motorola becomes a part of Google, you have to wonder how/if the negotiations will change.

[via AllThingsD]

If you’re not intimidated by the world’s first Android 4.0 smartphone and like design of the DROID RAZR MAXX more, now’s your chance to grab one for less. Good ol’ Amazon Wireless is offering it for $199.99, which is $100 off Verizon’s asking price. That’s the price for new users only; those upgrading or adding a line to the family account will have to pour out $30 more for a total of $229.99 — which is still a good deal.

Finally, if signing carrier contracts is not your “modus operandi,” you may get only the phone for $729.99 and get some prepaid plan with it. It’s your call…

As the name would suggest, this is essentially the Droid Razr with a bigger battery and a thicker form factor. While it’s not “impossibly thin” like the Razr, the Droid Razr Maxx is still quite a slim handset – check out how it compares to the iPhone below. Still, without that super-thin form factor, it does lose a little of what made the Razr special, even if I found the Razr Maxx to be more comfortable in the hand.

Inside, the Droid Razr Maxx has everything you’d want in a modern smartphone: dual-core processor, 4G LTE, Bluetooth, GPS, 8-megapixel camera with 1080p HD video capturing, 32 GB of combined memory, large touchscreen and more. If we had to nitpick, we could complain about the lack of NFC but that’s a very minor point. The Droid Razr Maxx is packed full of power.

The big appeal of this handset is the 3,300 mAh battery and Motorola is promising that this is the first 4G LTE handset that will actually be able to work through the day and night. It’s too soon to tell if that’s true but I’m very optimistic that it will pull through and actually enable a real 4G LTE lifestyle. The battery life on previous 4G LTE handsets haven’t been great and I don’t care how cool a phone is, if it runs out of battery quickly, it just becomes a fancy paper weight.

The teflon backing looks and feels really nice and the thicker body doesn’t hurt your hand like the original Razr kind of did. Motorola has its own custom version of Android Gingerbread on here and I’m already annoyed by some of it but I’ll give it a fair shake in the full review.

On the monetary side, revenues for Q4 2011 were $3.4 billion, which is about the same as Q4 2010. The company posted a loss of $80 million during Q4 2011, which contrasts with the $80 million it earned in the same quarter last year. For the year, net revenues climbed to $13.1 billion, which is a 14 percent increase over 2010. Motorola ended the year with a positive operating cash flow of $357 million and total cash now stands at $3.6 billion.

Because of the merger with Google, the company will not hold an earnings conference call. We won’t be able to glean any additional information about the company’s outlook on its current financial status. Best we can do is watch Google’s stock price and analyst reactions to this news.

[Via Motorola]