You might say the week is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workweek, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Weekly Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past seven days — all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
If you didn’t get enough mobile news during the week, not to worry, because we’ve opened the firehose for the truly hardcore. This week, Samsung added two new colors to its GS4 LTE-A lineup, Motorola teased its manufacturing facility for the upcoming Moto X and @evleaks spilled the beans on a new smartphone for Verizon. These stories and more await after the break. So buy the ticket and take the ride as we explore all that’s happening in the mobile world for this week of July 15th, 2013.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile
And the saga continues! Hot on the heels of this morning’s leaked renders comes a couple more press shots of the Moto X, courtesy of @evleaks — this time in glorious unicorn white. There’s not much more to mention here other than it’s a lot easier to spot the mics front and back and to get a feel for the texture that adorns the rear. It looks very much like the svelte handset Eric Schmidt recently flaunted at the annual Allen and Co media conference. Not a fan of the existing hues? Motorola’s been pretty clear the phone will be available in custom colors — we’re longing for a beautiful shade of purple ourselves. With the official Moto X launch slated for Thursday August 1st, we’re only days away from getting all the details, so stay tuned for more.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Google
Source: @evleaks
All signs suggest that the Moto X will become official on August 1st, but if snapshots and videos of the real thing aren’t enough to satiate your curiosity… well, now there’s a press render from @evleaks and partner site TheUnlockr. Naturally, stock Android has been key to the Moto X for some time now, but it seems that we might find subtle interface tweaks from Motorola, such as the transparent navigation bar, which is now highly visible. In all, there aren’t many startling revelations in the latest leak, but one thing is for certain: the phone’s face sure looks a lot cleaner now that Motorola’s logo has been scrubbed away.
Update: A render of the phone’s right side profile has now emerged from @evleaks, which you can see in the above image. At first glance, the Moto X might appear to be a rather chunky handset, but appearances can be deceiving; if you’ll recall the Eric Schmidt incident, the Moto X actually sports rather sleek curves.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Google
Source: TheUnlockr
You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours — all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
So when exactly will the Moto X make its formal debut? August 1st is the date, according to a Motorola teaser announcing the launch. There’s been no shortage of leaks for the new flagship smartphone, which we know will be assembled in the US and will ship to customers in a variety of colors. So far, our best look at the device has come courtesy of Eric Schmidt himself, who was showing off his own sample at the Allen and Company Conference earlier this month in Sun Valley. He declined to provide any specification details, but some attendees did sneak a peek at the handset’s carbon fiber-like back and sleek curves. We’ll surely be back with more, live from the August 1st launch event in New York City.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Google
Source: Ina Fried (Twitter)
Just when we’re getting bored of all these static Moto X leaks, a couple of new video clips popped up to finally show off some of the software goodies. The first one appears to be a leaked Rogers promotional video (embedded after the break), in which a nice lady introduces us to a new Google Now voice command feature, which can be toggled with a custom phrase even when the screen is off. According to another clip uploaded by kronikbudz, said feature is called Open Mic, but there’s no indication as to whether this will be exclusive to Motorola devices or whether it’ll come with the next Android release.
The Rogers video adds that the Moto X will provide ambient “active updates” notifications on the screen when the phone is locked, and this is pitched as a more sensible replacement for the meaningless blinking light. Later on, the same lady demonstrates how one can activate the phone’s camera — even when locked — by simply twisting the wrist twice. We’re a bit worried that this may allow accidental activations, unless the phone can detect whether it is inside a pocket or bag.
Finally, the lady says the Moto X will be “exclusively” heading to Rogers this August in either black or white, thus confirming the “late Summer” window that we were previously told. Enjoy your very own exclusivity while it lasts, Mr. Schmidt!
[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile
Via: MobileSyrup, Android Authority
Source: Google+
What’s said to be the Moto X has been breaking cover left and right, and now it’s made yet another appearance. Android Central has scored a new photo of the device in question, and while it looks nearly identical to an earlier snapshot, a keen eye will notice a Verizon 4G logo sitting in the status bar. The outlet also notes that the soft navigation keys are slightly translucent like those in the previous leak, which may point to an unreleased version of Android. Paired with an internal document from Big Red that pegs the hardware for an August 23rd arrival, it looks like the Moto X is a sure bet on the carrier.
Update: It bears mentioning that an unknown Moto phone we saw way back in March may be the same model. Head past the break to check out the video.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile
Source: Android Central
What’s said to be the Moto X has been breaking cover left and right, and now it’s made yet another appearance. Android Central has scored a new photo of the device in question, and while it looks nearly identical to an earlier snapshot, a keen eye will notice a Verizon 4G logo sitting in the status bar. The outlet also notes that the soft navigation keys are slightly translucent like those in the previous leak, which may point to an unreleased version of Android. Paired with an internal document from Big Red that pegs the hardware for an August 23rd arrival, it looks like the Moto X is a sure bet on the carrier.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile
Source: Android Central
You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours — all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.
