Sep 14

Google outbid itself by 33 percent in Motorola Mobility acquisition, SEC filing reveals

Posted in: Android, financial, Google, industry, merger, mobilepostcross, money, moto, motorola, operating system, OperatingSystem, os, price, smartphone, Software, Today's Chili
Google’s acquisition of Motorola Mobility is already starting to lose that new car smell, but a fresh batch of financial details has now emerged, providing deeper insight into how the deal actually went down. According to an SEC filing that Motorola Mobility released yesterday, Google made an initial offer of $30 per share on August 1st, but soon raised that bid to $37 per share on August 9th, after Moto and its advisers asked for $43.50. On that same day, Google again raised its offer to $40 per share, even though Motorola wasn’t accepting bids from other firms, for fear that a public auction would jeopardize its sale. This 33 percent increase ultimately added some $3 billion to the pot, bringing the final price tag to $12.5 billion. A Mountain View spokeswoman declined to comment on the negotiations, though its aggressive bidding suggests that the search giant desperately wanted the deal to go through. The documents also reveal that patent-related issues were at the forefront of discussions from the very beginning, when Google’s Senior Vice President Andy Rubin met with Motorola Mobility CEO Sanjay Jha to talk about their mutual concerns, way back in July. According to the Wall Street Journal, these talks eventually convinced Jha that his company would be better off under Google’s stewardship, amid fears that Moto could get swallowed by the stormy seas of patent litigation — anxieties that the exec made all too apparent just four days before the merger was announced. You can dig through the full SEC filing at the source link below.

Google outbid itself by 33 percent in Motorola Mobility acquisition, SEC filing reveals originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 14 Sep 2011 04:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Bloomberg, The Wall Street Journal  |  sourceSEC  | Email this | Comments

No Comments | Tags: , ,
Sep 13

HTC Runnymede and Bliss details sneak out from leak-town

Posted in: Android, HTC, mobilepostcross, qualcomm, Today's Chili
Naming your flagship handset after a small village in Surrey isn’t what we’d do, but then we aren’t in the handset business. The first full render of the HTC Runnymede has leaked and as you can see, it’s one big heap of telephone. It’s the first phone to benefit from the company’s partnership with Beats Audio and will come with a pair of Beats-branded cans rather than regular earbuds. If you missed the specs first time around, the 4.7-inch, 9.9mm thick phone gets a beastly 768MB of RAM, 1.5GHZ Qualcomm chip and a serious 8 megapixel camera with f2.2 lens and double LED flash round back. Availability is still up in the air but we know that UK prices are £499 or £530 for the 16 or 32GB versions (roughly $790 and $840, respectively).

HTC also apparently thinks that women don’t buy enough of its phones, so it’s releasing the HTC Bliss, a smartphone that’s reportedly designed specifically for women. HTC’s belief is that the ladyphone needs to be smaller, gentler and do generally less than its contemporaries — it gets a much smaller 3.7-inch Super LCD display and a 5 megapixel camera. This is my next has also confirmed that the Bliss comes with an accessory called the Charm Indicator, a light-up bauble that fits to a handbag or bracelet (depending on size) and flashes when your phone requires attention. There’s no word on pricing or availability but presumably all will be revealed at the stylish HTC promo event on the 20th.

HTC Runnymede and Bliss details sneak out from leak-town originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 13 Sep 2011 18:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink unwired view, This is my next, AndroidGuys  |  sourceePrice (Translated)  | Email this | Comments

No Comments | Tags:
Sep 13

Intel shows off Medfield-based Android tablet at IDF 2011, we (briefly) go eyes-on (updated)

Posted in: Android, Google, GoogleAndroid, honeycomb, intel, nfc, slate, Today's Chili

Much in the same vein as the smartphone showed off this morning, Intel also teased a Medfield-based Android tablet. But unlike the prototype Andy Rubin whisked with him off stage, we were able to at least get up close and personal with its Intel inside sibling. Unfortunately we weren’t able to actually touch it, but here’s to hoping we can track one down and do a proper hands-on at some point today.

Update: Our eagle-eyed friends at CarryPad have spotted an NFC marking on the tablet’s back.

Gallery: Intel’s Medfield based Android tablet eyes-on

Intel shows off Medfield-based Android tablet at IDF 2011, we (briefly) go eyes-on (updated) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 13 Sep 2011 15:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

No Comments | Tags: ,
Sep 13

LG Optimus Hub officially outed as successor to Optimus One dynasty (video)

Posted in: Android, gingerbread, Google, LG, mobilepostmini, optimus, smartphone, Smartphones, Today's Chili, video

Well, LG’s gone ahead and made the successor to the Optimus One all official-like. The device you’ve previously known as the Univa (E510) has been renamed as the Optimus Hub, and it’s set to arrive in Italy next month for €199 off-contract. The specs remain the same since we first peered at the handset, though we’re now able to fill in some additional gaps. First, the camera has received a bump to 5 megapixels, and while the phone’s ability to record video still tops out at VGA (640 x 480), it’ll now capture up to 24fps (rather than 18fps with the Optimus One). Sadly, an LED flash remains absent from the scene. This Euro version features quad-band GSM support, although its 3G connectivity is limited to the 2100 and 900MHz bands and HSDPA caps out at 3.6Mbps. HDblog (based in Italy) was fortunate to get some hands-on time with the device, and even if you don’t speak Italian, it appears to operate quite well — just take a peek after the break. How will it compare to offerings from Huawei and ZTE in the battle for your hard-earned coin? That folks, remains to be seen.

Continue reading LG Optimus Hub officially outed as successor to Optimus One dynasty (video)

LG Optimus Hub officially outed as successor to Optimus One dynasty (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 13 Sep 2011 15:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Pocketnow, Unwired View  |  sourceHDblog.it (translated)  | Email this | Comments

No Comments | Tags: , ,
Sep 13

Motorola Droid Bionic Review: It’s Superfast, But…

Posted in: 4G, Android, dual-core, lte, motorola, review, Smartphones, Today's Chili, top

It’s funny, the way that Motorola keeps awkwardly scraping away at the future of computing. The Atrix was a phone with a dual-core processor-like your laptop!—that also turned into a laptop. The Droid Bionic is the next step—a dual-core transforming thing of a phone, but it pulls down real internet from the sky. More »

No Comments | Tags: , ,
Sep 13

Medfield-based Android phone shown at IDF 2011, future Android builds to be ‘optimized’ for Atom

Posted in: Android, breaking news, gingerbread, Google, GoogleAndroid, intel, mobilepostcross, Today's Chili
Google’s Andy Rubin just came up on stage here at the IDF keynote, joining Intel CEO Paul Otellini who was holding a bona fide Medfield-powered smartphone running Android 2.3 (Gingerbread)! Hard to be sure, but the device looks eerily like the Aava Mobile handset we’ve seen before. The cameo was part of a much larger initiative, which will see Intel working concurrently with Google in order to optimize future processors for use with Android. We were actually tipped off on this a few days back, but at the time, it was difficult to tell how much of a consumer impact it’d have. Given Andy’s showing, though, it’s looking better and better in that regard. The most impressive tidbit, however, is the promise that all future Android builds will be “optimized” for Intel’s low-power Atom clan. We’ve compiled a gallery for you below, and hopefully we’ll have a hands-on later today.

Gallery: Intel’s Medfield based Android smartphone

Dante Cesa contributed to this report.

Continue reading Medfield-based Android phone shown at IDF 2011, future Android builds to be ‘optimized’ for Atom

Medfield-based Android phone shown at IDF 2011, future Android builds to be ‘optimized’ for Atom originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 13 Sep 2011 13:10:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceIntel  | Email this | Comments

No Comments | Tags: , , , ,
Sep 13

Philly newsies to offer Archos Arnova 10 G2 tablet for $99 with subscription bundle

Posted in: Android, archos, gingerbread, minipost, tablet, tablets, Today's Chili

Taking a cue from other publications pushing tablet content, two major Philadelphia newspapers are offering discounted subscriptions bundled with a discounted device to read it on — the Android-based Arnova 10 G2. The Philadelphia Media Network and Arnova will offer the tablet for $99 when purchased with a two-year digital subscription to The Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News for $9.99 a month, or $129 for the year. That tally is substantially lower than the HK $1,680 (around $250) mark that the slate alone hit when it launched last month, but it’s not apt to attract too much attention outside of Brotherly Love’s favorite locale. So… which paper’s lined up to play copycat? Check out the more coverage link after the break for some hands-on video with the tablet.

Continue reading Philly newsies to offer Archos Arnova 10 G2 tablet for $99 with subscription bundle

Philly newsies to offer Archos Arnova 10 G2 tablet for $99 with subscription bundle originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 13 Sep 2011 10:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Yahoo  |   | Email this | Comments

No Comments | Tags: , , ,
Sep 13

The Best Ways to Kill Your SMS Plan

Posted in: Android, BlackBerry, Google, ios, Smartphones, Today's Chili, top, windows phone, Wp7

Your phone company is screwing you on text messaging. SMS messages cost them next to nothing, yet they charge you up the yin-yang. So how’s about sticking it to the phone company with some viable alternatives to SMS messaging? More »

No Comments | Tags: , ,
Sep 12

Motorola Electrify coming to US Cellular this month as a rebranded Photon 4G

Posted in: Android, mobilepostmini, moto, motorola, smartphone, Today's Chili
We shouldn’t be completely shocked by the news, but it’s great to hear regardless. US Cellular announced the upcoming availability of the Motorola Electrify, which is essentially its rebranded version of the Photon 4G — sans WiMAX, of course. The device will be ready for your purchase sometime later this month for $200, which is the same starting cost as Sprint’s variant provided you don’t factor in the initial $100 mail-in rebate. The Electrify is a 1GHz dual-core handset with Android 2.3, a 4.3-inch qHD display, webtop support and 8MP rear / VGA front-facing camera set. We definitely love seeing powerhouses like this make it to the smaller carriers, so if you’re an interested US Cellular fanboy or girl, just be sure that you’re not dying to see what the company will offer when its LTE network launches.

[Thanks, ChuckyTee]

Continue reading Motorola Electrify coming to US Cellular this month as a rebranded Photon 4G

Motorola Electrify coming to US Cellular this month as a rebranded Photon 4G originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 13 Sep 2011 00:25:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink AndroidCentral  |  sourceUS Cellular  | Email this | Comments

No Comments | Tags:
Sep 12

Samsung Galaxy Y coming soon to Vodafone UK’s budget lineup

Posted in: Android, gingerbread, Google, mobilepostmini, samsung, smartphone, Smartphones, Today's Chili, united kingdom, UnitedKingdom, vodafone

The Samsung Galaxy Y recently appeared on Vodafone’s “Coming Soon” page, where Sammy’s youth-oriented smartphone will look to carve a niche among the UK carrier’s value options. While the handset compares favorably to the current bottom-of-the-line Galaxy Mini (free on all contracts over £13 per month), the low-res QVGA display makes it a timid competitor to better-equipped options such as the Wildfire S and Xperia Mini Pro (both free on all contracts over £20.50 per month). Along with a Gingerbread OS and an 832MHz CPU, you’ll find a 2 megapixel camera and the usual assortment of 802.11n, Bluetooth 3.0 and GPS. Neither pricing nor a release date have been announced, which will certainly determine much of the Galaxy Y’s fate. So, Vodafone, how low can you go?

Samsung Galaxy Y coming soon to Vodafone UK’s budget lineup originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 12 Sep 2011 22:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink SlashPhone, IntoMobile, Unwired View  |  sourceVodafone UK  | Email this | Comments

No Comments | Tags: , ,