Motorola MOTOSPLIT to have dynamic key labels, lame processor?

A quick glance at that render we’d obtained of the rumored MOTOSPLIT had us thinking we were seeing a large, Sholes-style phone with a musclebound OMAP3 core, but hold up — maybe this is a lower-end (and stranger) phone than we’d originally thought. Android Community has gotten tipped with additional details and another supposed render of the handset, and the most notable tidbit here seems to be that the phone is said to use dynamic key labels (a la Samsung Alias 2) to let the user pull out a single side as a numeric keypad or both sides (hence the “SPLIT” in the name) for full QWERTY action. In the QWERTY configuration, there’s apparently a kickstand around back that would help you set the phone on a desk and type with all the ease of the world’s smallest netbook cocked at an awkward 45-degree angle.

The wisdom and usability of this kind of setup remains a huge question mark, but the bigger question mark might be inside the phone itself: we’re hearing here that the MOTOSPLIT would use the same core as the Backflip, an old-school Qualcomm MSM7201A. Frankly that seems unlikely at best — virtually every Qualcomm-powered midrange smartphone to be introduced in 2010 from here on out will be using an MSM7227 or 7627 (including Moto’s own Devour), so we’re going to cautiously assume this particular piece of the intel is incorrect. Please let it be incorrect, Motorola, we beg of you.

Motorola MOTOSPLIT to have dynamic key labels, lame processor? originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 06 Feb 2010 20:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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T-Mobile getting Moto CLIQ XT, HTC HD2, Nokia Nuron next month?

The ironclad legitimacy of this slide can’t be confirmed, but considering what we know and what we’ve heard about T-Mobile USA’s plans for the next few months, we can totally buy what we’re seeing here. The PowerPoint masterpiece — which showed up on a PPCGeeks forum thread recently — has the midrange Android-powered Motorola Zeppelin as the “CLIQ XT” with a target launch of March 10, giving customers already flush with choices yet another way to get their Google on. Next, the Nokia “Nuron” (which looks an awful lot like a 5230 to us) is being billed as a “low-cost touchscreen” with 3G and Ovi Store access for a March 17 date with destiny, and finally, the mighty HD2 — which we already know is coming to T-Mobile — is said to be ready come March 24. Now, don’t get us wrong, the HD2 is a helluva phone — but if Windows Mobile 7 is really unveiled in a few days at MWC like everyone expects, that’s going to make the launch of a high-end 6.5 device just a little anticlimactic.

T-Mobile getting Moto CLIQ XT, HTC HD2, Nokia Nuron next month? originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 06 Feb 2010 13:07:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Motorola Droid gets official multitouch support — in Google Maps, anyway

When it rains, it pours, huh, Google? Not even a week after announcing the big multitouch update for its own Nexus One, Google has turned loose a new version of Google Maps that enables pinch-to-zoom support on the Droid. Of course, it was no secret that Android 2.0 had the framework in place to support this kind of stuff — Moto enabled it all by its lonesome on the Euro-spec Milestone — but it looks like this could be the watershed moment where multitouch finally becomes a must-have feature on Android devices across the board, as Moto CEO Sanjay Jha recently suggested would happen. The new version 3.4’s available as a software update in the Market right now, so grab it if you’ve got your Droid handy.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Motorola Droid gets official multitouch support — in Google Maps, anyway originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 05 Feb 2010 13:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Motorola Devour has Flash support, makes Pixi look like an underachiever

Motorola’s official spec sheet for the Devour reveals that there’ll be a Flash Lite runtime on board — presumably version 3.1, which offers support for a variety of video codecs and Flash 9 content — and more importantly, it’ll work in the browser. That’s pretty cool — it gives the Devour one small leg up on its Droid big brother and matches capabilities that HTC has rolled out in the past on the Hero, but what’s more interesting is that the Devour allegedly uses the same next-gen low-cost smartphone processor from Qualcomm, the MSM7627, as the Pixi. Palm has elected not to roll out the Pre’s upcoming Flash support to the Pixi on account of its lower-end specs, which begs the question: is Android’s Flash Lite 3.1 player significantly more efficient than webOS’ Flash 10.1 player, does the Devour have more horsepower packed in there than it’s letting on, or does Palm just have higher performance standards for annoying ads than Moto does?

[Thanks, StevenQ]

Motorola Devour has Flash support, makes Pixi look like an underachiever originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 04 Feb 2010 15:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Motorola Zeppelin spotted again, Android-ness confirmed

Yes, we’ve seen this puppy before — but last time, we’d merely heard it was running Android. This time around, we’ve got a little more confirmation that the so-called Zeppelin from Moto is sporting Google code (allegedly Cupcake, sadly) with a dash of Blur added in for good measure. Gizmodo Brazil — which scored some time with a prototype — suggests that this’ll see duty on the lower end of Motorola’s smartphone lineup, and we tend to agree considering the HVGA display that takes up far less space than it could if Moto had wanted to go for broke. A keyboardless companion to the CLIQ / DEXT, perhaps? Carriers are an open question here, but we’ve heard rumblings of interest on T-Mobile USA’s part; the site says it’ll hit streets in March, so we shouldn’t have long to wait to find out.

Motorola Zeppelin spotted again, Android-ness confirmed originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 03 Feb 2010 14:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Motorola Devour officially coming to Verizon next month

And just like that, it’s official. Verizon Wireless has today announced that Motorola‘s scrumptiously named Devour will be heading to its network next month, with it being the first VZW phone to feature Motoblur. Not that we’re seeing any surprises here, but a quick specification run down draws our attention to a 3.1-inch capacitive touchscreen, a touch-sensitive navigation pad, a pre-installed 8GB microSD card and Bluetooth support. Unfortunately, there’s no apparent mention of multitouch — and we wouldn’t expect it out of the box, since the Devour runs Android 1.6 — but we’re crossing our fingers (and toes, for that matter) for Google to sling that delightful Nexus One update to the rest of its high-powered Android phones in the very near future. There’s nary a mention of an asking price, but we’ll be sure to keep an eye out as launch day approaches.

Motorola Devour officially coming to Verizon next month originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 03 Feb 2010 09:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Motorola Backflip spotted in the wilds of China

Motorola’s Backflip has yet to springboard itself over to AT&T, but those who call China home can hop on the bandwagon right away. Said phone — which sports a full touchscreen and a physical QWERTY thanks to the horizontal clamshell design — is now available from Moto’s Chinese portal for 4,298 Chinese yuan (in unlocked form), which translates to right around $630. While the rest of the world awaits the phone’s launch later this quarter, you can hit up Mobile.163.com for a downright beautiful gallery of in the wild shots. Go on, it’s safe. We think.

[Thanks, Me]

Motorola Backflip spotted in the wilds of China originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 31 Jan 2010 23:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Motorola will ‘broaden the scope’ of Blur, sell a phone through Google this year

Earnings calls tend to be about as exciting as a stale piece of white bread, but every once in a while something juicy falls through — and morsels are filtering out of the earnings call that Motorola held this morning. Here are the biggies:

  • We hope you like Blur, because it’s not going anywhere. CEO Sanjay Jha says that “the majority of our new smartphone [sic] this year will feature” the platform, and that it’ll “include enhancements to address the prosumer segment of the market.” They’re looking to rope in media (music, photos, and so on) the same way they did social networking, boost enterprise compatibility for white collar types that only have one phone, and improve network efficiency to ease up on battery drain. All good things, we reckon.
  • Feature phones in Moto’s range will “meaningfully decline” as it heads toward planned profitability in the fourth quarter through higher-margin smartphones. Android isn’t the only game plan, though — it’ll continue to develop its ultra low-end handsets for emerging markets.
  • Following the Nexus One’s lead, Jha said that it’ll launch “at least one direct-to-consumer device with Google.” That matches up nicely with a statement he made during our CES interview that “there will be multiple devices [launched through Google] and I think that we said ‘yes’ today that probably this next device is our device.”

All told, we have every reason to believe that this’ll be an exciting year for Moto fans — and that HTC needs to keep a close eye on these guys.

Motorola will ‘broaden the scope’ of Blur, sell a phone through Google this year originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 28 Jan 2010 16:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Gearlog  |  sourceSeeking Alpha  | Email this | Comments

50 Android games demonstrated in one video — who says Android can’t game?

50 seems to be a pretty trendy number right now, what with Palm’s Pre Plus and Samsung’s i8910 HD both showing off the ability to run more than 49 concurrent processes. Joining that number party, albeit in a different fashion, is this video demonstrating 50 games running smooth as butter on a Motorola Droid handset. If you thought you had to have a Zune HD, iPod touch or one of them webOS thingies to get your mobile gaming on, maybe this will serve as a competent dissuader. See it after the break.

Continue reading 50 Android games demonstrated in one video — who says Android can’t game?

50 Android games demonstrated in one video — who says Android can’t game? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 28 Jan 2010 05:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Motorola Zeppelin spotted hopping train to Barcelona?

First, a disclaimer: we’ve heard the “Zeppelin” name before, both from Motorola and from Palm before that — we have no idea why it keeps coming up, particularly given the obvious references to epic disasters. That said, mobil.cz is reporting that this rather shapely device is an all-new Motorola smartphone bearing Android and the Zeppelin name that’s scheduled for unveiling at MWC in Barcelona next month. It’s said to have touch-sensitive buttons below the display, a 5 megapixel cam, 3.2-inch HVGA display, GPS, and Blur, presumably (well, hopefully) based on Android 2.0 or 2.1. In other words, it won’t be the highest-end phone on the block, but it won’t be the lowest, either — and it could very well be the most stylish. If this is legit, we shouldn’t have too long before we find out.

Motorola Zeppelin spotted hopping train to Barcelona? originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 27 Jan 2010 11:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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