Hasta La Gadget!

It’s fair to say Motorola had a big 2013, and SlashGear sat down with Steve Horowitz, senior VP of software engineering, and Steve Sinclair, VP of product marketing, at CES … Continue reading

I am quite sure that many of us would like to get something free once in a while, as there is nothing quite like getting the most bang for your hard earned buck. Of course, a lot of it also depends on the seller, and Motorola must still carry the spirit of Christmas with them, as they are now offering the Chromecast dongle for free with every single Moto X smartphone that you decide to pick up. One ought to take note that the Chromecast had been left out of recent deals which Motorola did offer to the masses throughout the holiday season, but all of it has changed now.

There is a catch, however. In order to be eligible for this particular deal, you will first need to purchase your Moto X as an unlocked unit, which means you will have to pay the full price via Motorola. That would translate to forking out either $399 for the 16GB model Moto X, or $449 for the 32GB version of the Moto X. Needless to say, those who want to customize their device even more are able to do so, but if you are running short on cash, you can just stick to the tried and true black or white shades.

Motorola Throws In Free Chromecast With Moto X Purchase original content from Ubergizmo.

As it stands, Motorola’s Moto X is only available in the states at the moment. Motorola had initially dismissed the idea of bringing it to other countries, like the UK, but thanks to recent hints, it has been suggested that Motorola is now starting to consider launching the Moto X in other markets, like the EMEA regions, for example. Now thanks to invites Motorola has started to send out to publications based in the UK, a launch in Europe certainly sounds imminent. The event has been scheduled for the 14th of January 2014 and while the Moto X handset was not mentioned specifically, the invite expects that Motorola will “welcome a new addition to the European Motorola family of products.”

The folks at Droid-Life attempted to pry more information from Motorola at CES 2014, but were only told that they had an announcement and that they planned to broaden their geographic footprint. However thanks to a job listing found on Motorola UK’s website, it has been suggested that Motorola is looking for someone to setup Moto Maker in the UK, which we can only assume is for the Moto X. Either way for those living in Europe and eager to get the Moto X, the 14th of January is definitely a day you will want to mark down on your calendars, and be sure to check back with us as well as we will keep you updated on Motorola’s announcement! So, any of our readers from Europe excited by this piece of news?

Moto X For Europe Could Be Announced Next Week original content from Ubergizmo.

Last week it was rumored that Verizon is finally going to launch the Moto G smartphone for its customers in the near future. Now that didn’t come as a surprise considering that the carrier had already confirmed when the Moto G was announced that it would offer the smartphone to its prepaid customers. What did come as a surprise was the rumor that Verizon would offer it for $99, a significantly discounted price despite the fact that it normally costs $179 off contract, which is relatively affordable. Big Red has officially confirmed that the Moto G will be sold for $99 and that prepaid customers will be able to order it online from January 9th. The smartphone will reach its retail stores in the “coming weeks.”

Verizon’s official announcement follows word from Best Buy yesterday that it will begin selling Big Red’s variant of the smartphone as soon as shipments arrive at its stores, that too for the same $99 price tag as had been previously rumored. Moto G is billed as one of the most affordable mid-range Android smartphone out there, it is certainly an enticing option for those who are looking to save money but still want to have the luxury of using a bonafide smartphone without being tied to a two year contract.

Moto G Available For Verizon’s Prepaid Customers On January 9th original content from Ubergizmo.

The Motorola Xoom was a tablet released by Motorola a few years ago, back in 2011 to be exact. We haven’t seen anymore tablets from Motorola in the past couple of months, neither have we heard any plans of newer Xoom tablets in the future either, so safe to say the Xoom was the last of Motorola’s tablet efforts, at least for now. Well the good news is that if you’re still using your Motorola Xoom and you have absolutely no issues with it, you might be pleased to learn that the tablet will be getting an update to Android 4.4.2 KitKat! Yes, you read that right, a tablet about 3 years old will be getting an update to the latest build of Android!

Unfortunately this is not an official build from Motorola, but rather a custom ROM courtesy of XDA member, Schischu. This is an Android 4.4.2 KitKat-based OmniRom build meaning that if you haven’t rooted your Motorola Xoom tablet, you will have to do so. If you have no experience in rooting and flashing custom ROMs, this is where you’ll probably need to start doing some homework if you’d like your Xoom tablet to run the latest Android build. As it stands there are still a couple of minor issues with the build, such as the selection of alternate keyboards and audio dock volume controls, but like we said they’re minor and should not affect the overall experience.

In any case if you’d like to get started on flashing the custom ROM onto your Xoom tablet, head on over to the XDA forums for the details. For those running the WiFi-only model, you can head here; 3G models over here; and LTE models over here.

Motorola Xoom Gets Unofficial Android 4.4.2 KitKat Update original content from Ubergizmo.