Oh Moto, you’re such a confusing company. We know that you’re working on a follow-up to the mega-successful Droid but we’re unsure if this is the Shadow (pictured above) we’ve heard about or if that will be the Nexus Two. Now, Engadget’s tipsters are saying you’re working on a device called “Xtreme” that will land on Verizon shortly.
Of course, there’s not much to go on with this one besides the tip but that name seems right up Motorola’s alley except there aren’t enough unneeded capitalized letters. It’s also a really dumb name that makes me recall the worst parts of the 1990s. I also can’t help but think of this clip from a classic film. Lame name aside, Moto has been getting cozy with Verizon lately, as the Droid brought it back to prominence in the smartphone conversation and I wasn’t in love with the Devour but I appreciated what it was trying to do.
Adding to the naming confusion is that we’ve already received word that the Droid 2 has received its WiFi certification. So, it looks like the Shadow could be the Xtreme but then what happens to the Nexus Two?
Well, Motorola’s co-CEO Sanjay Jha was actually at the Nexus One unveiling even though that hardware was made by rival HTC. This was a clear sign of support for Google and its little, green robot. Many expected the Nexus Two to be made by Moto and sold through Google’s online store.
Unfortunately, the Nexus line hasn’t been well-received by the public. In fact, Verizon Wireless (which was prominently mentioned at the N1 launch) decided to pass on Google’s “super phone” in favor of its branded Droid Incredible. Sprint also ditched the handset in order to promote its own EVO 4G.
So, maybe it’s in Motorola’s best interest to not even make a Nexus Two and just release a high-end, carrier-branded device. One thing’s for certain, we want the company to stop releasing handsets like the Backflop BackFlip.
[Via Engadget]