Apr 23

Engadget shreds on the Zero S all-electric motorcycle (with video!)

Posted in: feature, Features, moto, review, reviewed, Today's Chili
Zero S electric motorcycle test ride and review

It’s not the first. It’s not the fastest. It’s not the lightest, the strongest, the cheapest, or even the best looking electric motorcycle out there. It is, however, one of the very few you can order today and, when it ships next month, ride it (legally) on the highways and byways of all 50 states. Europe, too. Among that very limited group the Zero S electric supermoto (or electrimoto as we’ve taken to calling it) is certainly a standout, completely custom-built around battery and motor, and we were lucky enough to take it for a spin on a hazy, dingy, frequently traffic’d New York City side street — just the sort of conditions a two-wheeled urban warrior/commuter relishes. Read on for our full impressions and a video that will take you along for the ride.

Gallery: Zero S Motorcycle

Continue reading Engadget shreds on the Zero S all-electric motorcycle (with video!)

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Engadget shreds on the Zero S all-electric motorcycle (with video!) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 23 Apr 2009 11:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apr 14

Motorola looking to produce a connected GPS unit?

Posted in: gps, moto, motorola, nav, navigation, rumor, Today's Chili

Motorola’s navigation line certainly isn’t the firms most notable, but the Garmins and TomToms of the world are probably taking notice after an intriguing quote from product line manager Blake Bullock. According to TWICE, Mr. Bullock stated that Moto was “absolutely making a bigger play” in the PND arena. Specifically, he mentioned that it could “bring something new to the table with Motorola’s vast experience in wireless connectivity,” noting that it has “aspirations to combine the best aspects of 3G smartphones with PNDs [to] create optimized experiences for consumers.” ‘Course, we’ve no clue as to when, where and how the company will get its hands dirty with a web-savvy GPS unit, but considering its current state of affairs, we’d say yesterday would be a great time to get things rolling.

[Via GPS Tracklog, thanks Rich]

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Motorola looking to produce a connected GPS unit? originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 14 Apr 2009 16:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apr 06

Motorola showcases USB-powered Media Mover

Posted in: bluetooth, moto, motorola, Today's Chili, wifi

We didn’t think much of Motorola’s MCU3E (MCUBE) wireless transcoder when it was launched as a prototype late last year, but obviously Moto’s got dreams of seeing this in homes around the world. Showcased at this year’s Cable Show, the rechristened Media Mover is a USB-powered device that not only transcodes media on your DVR, but also broadcasts said media (transfer or streaming) locally or remotely via WiFi or Bluetooth. Dave Zatz reported that the quality was actually pretty stellar, and while the company wasn’t exactly forthcoming when it came to hardware specifics and availability, we don’t suspect it’ll be too long before the company comes right out with those very details. Check the read link for a few more hands-on shots.

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Motorola showcases USB-powered Media Mover originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 06 Apr 2009 11:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mar 03

Motorola Touch ZINE HD is likely fake, hearts break around the world

Posted in: Android, moto, motorola, Today's Chili

We knew it was too good to be true. Don’t get us wrong, this new ZN300 is alright, but Motorola knows as well as we do that this isn’t the device people are looking for Schaumburg to produce right now; the company’s engineering talent isn’t in question, but what the people want is a superphone that proves there’s some design talent in the house, too. That’s why this supposed Touch ZINE HD got such a strong positive reaction the past few days that we’d all held out hope that there was a shred of reality to it, but unfortunately, Androidphones.com makes a very convincing argument that it’s almost certainly poppycock: looks like our boy Yury Cassini here took the back of a ZN5, combined it with the blanked front of a E8, and — voila! — there’s the device the Android-loving world is waiting for. In our last piece about this device, we implored to Moto that “if this isn’t real, can whatever it is you’re working on right this second and do precisely this instead,” and as we sit here with broken hearts and shattered dreams, the advice most definitely stands.

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Motorola Touch ZINE HD is likely fake, hearts break around the world originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 03 Mar 2009 13:49:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Feb 23

Motorola Ruby (VE1) ditches weird spelling, not the RAZR look

Posted in: moto, motorola, Today's Chili

We’ll hand it to Moto here — it truly is admirable that it didn’t use all caps and no vowels to name a phone that’s so strikingly similar to the original RAZR, but we can’t help but doubt this thing’s ability to sell. The Motorola Ruby (or VE1), will reportedly boast a 5 megapixel camera, a standard flip phone design and… well, that’s about it. Or, at least that’s all we know of. For those still agile enough to mouse to the read link after the massive facepalm you surely just initiated, there are a few more images down there for your perusal. “Enjoy.”

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Motorola Ruby (VE1) ditches weird spelling, not the RAZR look originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 23 Feb 2009 17:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Feb 21

Motorola with big touchscreen emerges, doesn’t disgust

Posted in: moto, motorola, slate, Today's Chili

What’s this, a high-end slate from Motorola that we can all cautiously get behind? Hard as it may be to believe, it seems that Moto might be working on some serious hardware to compete with… well, anything. We don’t have any information on this device we’re seeing here beyond what we can make out from the picture — 5 megapixel Kodak-branded camera, big touchscreen, TV-out, and a xenon flash — but the tip suggests that this could be Moto’s first Android device. We tend to think that’s not very likely, since we don’t have Home or Back buttons on the front (which would also rule out Windows Mobile 6.5 without a Start button), but we suppose they could be hiding out on the side somewhere — and frankly, we don’t see Motorola blowing anyone away with a touchscreen version of its proprietary platform any time soon. At any rate, let’s just hope this shot is real, and the phone’s almost ready for retail.

[Thanks, anonymous tipster]

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Motorola with big touchscreen emerges, doesn’t disgust originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 21 Feb 2009 14:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Feb 13

Video: Android-powered E-Ink display kindles our e-book fantasies

Posted in: Android, e ink, hack, moto, Today's Chili

Someday soon, we expect Google’s Android OS (like Microsoft’s ubiquitous WinCE platform) to power pretty much any consumer device available. Until then, we’re left to peer wistfully into the misfit laboratories of the hacking community to get our open-source kicks. The cats at the MOTO Development Group have written a custom driver to create what they claim is the first instance of Android running on an E-Ink display. Unfortunately, there’s plenty of that annoying white / black E-Ink flicker as the display refreshes. While that won’t be eliminated anytime soon, it’s certainly possible to minimize the effect through some future optimization — this is just a first step, after all. See it in action after the break.

Continue reading Video: Android-powered E-Ink display kindles our e-book fantasies

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Video: Android-powered E-Ink display kindles our e-book fantasies originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 13 Feb 2009 02:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jan 31

Motorola ZN300 looks possibly okay, sort of

Posted in: moto, motorola, slider, Today's Chili

We knew the name, but when it comes to phones, it’s not really the name we care about, now is it? (Is it?) Looks like we now have the first totally unofficial shot of Motorola’s upcoming ZN300 slider, said to feature a QVGA display and 3 megapixel cam around back. Unless this puppy runs Android through some comical error in communication between Moto’s executive and engineering teams, the glossy front, generous bezel, and rockin’ offset “M” logo aren’t enough to do it for us — but we’re sure they’ll manage to sell a few for a song on contract when it’s finally announced. Go, sk8r boi, go!

[Via PHONE Magazine]

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Motorola ZN300 looks possibly okay, sort of originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 31 Jan 2009 08:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jan 27

i465 to be first Motorola iDEN phone with QWERTY

Posted in: moto, motorola, qwerty, Today's Chili

A year ago, “innovation” and “iDEN” were two words we wouldn’t dare use in the same sentence — but in the age of i9s and 8350is, the landscape has changed just a bit. That’s not to say we’d dare consider switching from CDMA or GSM to the old-school PTT airwaves, but hey, it’s good to know the Nextels and Mikes of the world are still getting theirs in 2009. This year should see the release of the Motorola i465, the very first iDEN Moto to score a QWERTY keyboard — and no, it’s not Windows Mobile or anything fancy like that. Instead, it seems they’ll be taking the low-tech route by grafting a full keyboard onto a dumbphone, a strategy that’s really caught on with many of the world’s carriers in the past year as they’ve looked to boost messaging revenue with cool, affordable phones geared toward a younger segment. It’s got Bluetooth 2.0 and a lowly VGA cam, but other than that, specs, release dates, and target carriers are all a mystery to us — so if you’re in that curious group of folks who text and push-to-talk like monsters and can’t tolerate anything out of Waterloo, keep your eyes peeled.

Gallery: i465 to be first Motorola iDEN phone with QWERTY

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i465 to be first Motorola iDEN phone with QWERTY originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 27 Jan 2009 21:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jan 14

Motorola to lay off 4,000 starting immediately

Posted in: breaking news, BreakingNews, moto, motorola, Today's Chili

It’s official: Moto’s pulling out the axe. The beleaguered manufacturer is no stranger to financial struggles at this point — nor layoffs, for that matter — but the latest round cuts some 6 percent of employees from Moto’s global operations, and 3,000 of the 4,000 will come directly from the handset division. The news comes along with a preliminary fourth quarter earnings estimate of a 7 to 8 cent per share loss (which isn’t really “earnings” when you think about it), so yeah, it’s business as usual out in Schaumburg: get lean and start making awesome products. Soon, Moto. Please.

[Via Boy Genius Report]

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Motorola to lay off 4,000 starting immediately originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 14 Jan 2009 17:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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