Hasta La Gadget!

There’s precisely no way to know for sure, but it looks as if the perpetual mystery surrounding the Motorola Shadow may be nearing its end. Just as the weekend was getting kicked off in earnest, a new Moto handset managed to get its own stamp of approval from the fine folks at the Wi-Fi Alliance, and pictures of something that might be the Shadow appeared on laptopmemo. The MB810 is said to be equipped with both 802.11b/g/n as well as a cellular data connection, though it’s impossible to tell from the paperwork whether it’ll be outed in GSM or CDMA form. The leaked handset at laptopmemo is said to have a 4.3-inch capacitive touchscreen, an eight megapixel camera with HD video capability, and a slider QWERTY keyboard. Are they the same handset, and is any of this real? We should know whether or not this guy has slipped through the cracks under another moniker in due time, but if you’re anything like us, “due time” won’t ever come soon enough.

[Thanks, Mittens]

Continue reading Motorola MB810 gets a Wi-Fi certification, might just be the Shadow

Motorola MB810 gets a Wi-Fi certification, might just be the Shadow originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 02 May 2010 14:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Phandroid, Android Community  |  Wi-Fi.org [PDF], laptopmemo  | Email this | Comments

Well, this is… something. Out of seemingly nowhere, Motorola has just made the decision to shun Google’s location services in favor of those from Skyhook, proudly becoming the “first Android device maker to abandon Google for its location services.” According to the release — which feels atypically jovial to us — the device maker will marry Skyhook’s GPS, WiFi and cellular location in the “vast majority” of its phone models, and since Skyhook will be baked into the OS, every single app can reap the benefits. Reportedly, developers are pretty stoked about the news, and it’s pretty clear that Motorola is equally confident that Skyhook’s location solution is the best on the market. Not like Google really needs any more frenemies right now, but hey — you won’t find us kvetching about anyone keeping the Big Shot on its toes.

Continue reading Motorola gives Google the boot, turns to Skyhook for location services

Motorola gives Google the boot, turns to Skyhook for location services originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 26 Apr 2010 11:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

Motorola’s Devour has somehow managed to get a little lost in the mix, primarily due to the wealth of Android options on America’s two main CDMA carriers right now. The design is certainly appealing, particularly to those still averse to virtual keyboards, but it’s the Blur user interface that really sets this apart from the Droid. Of course, we didn’t exactly find a whole lot to love about the total package (compared to the other Android options, anyway), but that’s not to say there’s nothing to discuss. On the contrary, actually. Did you plop down a crisp Benjamin to get yourself a Devour? Are you still happy with the decision? How’s Blur been treating you? Would you retool any of the hardware / software aspects? Get honest down in comments below, and yes, feel free to consider this the group therapy you’ve thus far refused to pay good money for.

How would you change Motorola’s Devour? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 16 Apr 2010 22:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

Motorola doesn’t exactly have a huge foothold in the portable navigation market, but it’s not like the TomToms and Garmins of the world really need to keep on keepin’ on sans any legitimate competition. Originally revealed at CES (and once again at MWC), the Motonav TN765 is one of the most bizarrely designed GPS units we’ve ever seen, taking on a Philips 21:9 Cinema type of layout in order to provide an ultra-widescreen view that can’t easily be found elsewhere. Now, the 5.1-inch device is on sale in the US for around $270, and we’ve collected a number of reviews from those who’ve had the ability to whiz around town with one adhered to the windshield. For the most part, critics were duly impressed with the wide variety of features (Bluetooth handsfree calling, text-to-speech, voice dialing, auto map zooming and a litany of live data reports informing you of the local weather forecast, gas prices, etc.). Previously, Motorola’s PND efforts weren’t exactly lauded, but this guy’s different — most everyone found the robust feature set and stunning user interface to be more than satisfactory, with the main detraction being the intermittent MotoExtras service and dodgy reception in dense, urban areas. Hit up the links below before pulling the trigger (or switching on the safety, as it were).

Motorola’s Motonav TN765 navigator gets reviewed: a widescreen PND done right originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 05 Apr 2010 11:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  T3, GPS Review, CNET  | Email this | Comments

As is pleasantly often the case with Android devices, it turns out there’s already a quick, easy, nearly painless way to circumvent the phased rollout of Android 2.1 to Verizon’s Droids out in the field. Anyone who’s already been through this will feel right at home with the process: grab the binary straight from Google (so you know it’s legit, which is always nice), rename the file, transfer it to your microSD card, and reboot to the recovery mode screen. The rest is pretty self-evident, and when all is said and done, you’ll have a Droid equipped with the very latest and greatest that Google has to offer. Let us know how it goes, y’hear?

Droid mercifully gets a manual 2.1 update option originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 31 Mar 2010 15:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink MobileCrunch  |  Google  | Email this | Comments