Droid Bionic appears on Amazon with $150 price tag, quickly disappears again

Something’s seriously going on over at Amazon’s Wireless store where the Droid Bionic, a Verizon sibling to AT&T’s Atrix 4G, has today been spotted listed for sale with a $149.99 price. That matches the levy Amazon asked for the Atrix last week (before promptly yanking the page) and seems to confirm that the $150 price point is receiving some sincere consideration for these 4G-equipped handsets. The Bionic’s page has now also disappeared into the ether, but the memory of its delectable promise remains.

[Thanks, techcruncher]

Droid Bionic appears on Amazon with $150 price tag, quickly disappears again originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 31 Jan 2011 13:26:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Motorola Xoom Superbowl Ad Takes on iPad

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Back in December, Motorola let the world know it was planning to take on the iPad at CES the following month. The company released a quick and goofy CGI ad that took more than a few potshots at Apple’s wildly popular tablet. A few weeks later, the company debuted the Xoom, the first tablet to showcase the long awaited Android 3.0, Honeycomb, garnering rave reviews from around the industry.
Motorola is offering up another computer-generated video, again devoid of the actual device, strangely. The video will air during the Superbowl, but the company is showcasing it online now (check it out, after the jump).
The company references Apple’s own iconic Superbowl ad [above], opening with the text, “2011 looks a lot like 1984. One authority, one design, one
way to work.” The ad largely revolves around an image of the earth wearing those familiar white Apple earbuds.
“It’s time for more choices,” the ad implores, offering a laundry list of Xoom features, including a dual-core processor, 1080p video playback, front and rear facing cameras, 4G upgrades, and Honeycomb itself.
Is the Xoom ad destined to be as iconic as Apple’s “1984” ad? Not even close. But it does get its point across.

Motorola teases Xoom Super Bowl ad: ‘2011 looks a lot like 1984’

Moto hasn’t been shying away from the Apple jabs this year, and it’s got another one in store for the Super Bowl this week with a commercial that’ll poke fun at Cupertino’s 1984 Macintosh ad, perhaps the most famous Super Bowl spot of all time. In it, the company says that “2011 looks a lot like 1984” with “one authority, one design, one way to work” while showing Planet Earth wearing a pair of shiny white iPod / iPhone buds. Boom, here comes a new planet — a red, gaseous one with an “M” logo on it — that pimps a bunch of wild features we’ll be seeing in the Xoom like a dual-core processor, upgradeable 4G, and Honeycomb out of the box. In closing, Moto says “it’s time to live a free life.” We would’ve liked to have seen Motorola follow a format closer to that 1984 commercial, but it’s a pretty well-played jab nonetheless — and it’s conceivable that this is just a teaser for the actual ad that’ll air next weekend. Follow the break to check it out.

Continue reading Motorola teases Xoom Super Bowl ad: ‘2011 looks a lot like 1984’

Motorola teases Xoom Super Bowl ad: ‘2011 looks a lot like 1984’ originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 31 Jan 2011 12:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Motorola lifts our spirits with new Atrix 4G video

Been feeling down this cold and dreary January? Well, let Motorola “introduce” you to its new smartphone! The CES conqueror we already know as the Atrix 4G has received its first promo video from the mothership, highlighting its laptop and HD multimedia docks (giving us a decent peek at the docked UI for both), dual-core processor and related gaming credentials, and, of course, that gorgeous qHD screen resolution on the handset itself. It’s all set to a very uplifting soundtrack, connoting all the beautiful opportunity and potential that our collective smartphone future holds.

[Thanks, engadgeteer]

Continue reading Motorola lifts our spirits with new Atrix 4G video

Motorola lifts our spirits with new Atrix 4G video originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 28 Jan 2011 13:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Motorola Atrix 4G apparently priced at $150 by Costco, too

Never would we have guessed that third-party wireless retailers would be aiming to launch AT&T’s powerhouse Atrix 4G for just $150 on contract — $200 or $250, sure, but not $150. Alas, just a few hours after AmazonWireless’ peep show, we’re seeing an alleged leaked screen shot of Costco’s inventory system showing the same blockbuster price. Now, bear in mind that AT&T itself will probably sell the phone for at least $50 more — third parties usually have a second ETF on top of the carrier’s that allows them to subsidize a little more heavily — but it’s a good sign regardless.

Motorola Atrix 4G apparently priced at $150 by Costco, too originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 28 Jan 2011 11:16:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Motorola will enable Atrix 4G’s 1080p video recording in post-launch software update

The software on Motorola’s upcoming Atrix 4G has already been subject to some stern (and premature) scrutiny, but here’s some rather more concrete information about it, courtesy of the company’s own spec page for the device. As it turns out, Moto intends to launch the Atrix with some of its hardware capabilities clipped — specifically its Tegra 2-derived power to encode 1080p content — but will deliver them to users in an update (hopefully soon) thereafter. LG’s Optimus 2X, which is built around the same dual-core chip from NVIDIA, has been spending its time before launch showing off exactly what those 1080p encoding skills can deliver — both with video recording and through its HDMI connection — so it’ll be a downer for Moto fans to learn that their hallowed new superphone won’t be able to match up at launch. Then again, when we think about how often phone makers fail to tap the full potential of their hardware, maybe we should just be happy that 1080p abilities are coming to the Atrix at all, eh?

[Thanks, Mr. techcrunch]

Motorola will enable Atrix 4G’s 1080p video recording in post-launch software update originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 28 Jan 2011 02:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Motorola Atrix 4G goes up on AmazonWireless, $150 on February 11th — mistake? (update: Inspire 4G, too)

We suspect the boys and girls over at AmazonWireless threw their Atrix 4G product page up early, because — among other red flags — the buy button doesn’t work, but one important detail we can glean from it is that they seem interested in selling it for $149.99 on a new contract or $599.99 off-contract. Now, there are a couple of possibilities here; first off, since the page likely isn’t supposed to be online, these prices might just be guesses or placeholders, but furthermore, keep in mind that AmazonWireless and other third-party wireless resellers typically charge less for devices on contract than carriers do, so we’d expect this to be at least $50 more directly from AT&T. Oh, and one other tidbit: searching for the phone on Amazon reveals a possible release date of February 11th, which would be even more aggressive than Moto’s end-of-February guidance. Again, possibly another guess or placeholder on Amazon’s part… but it’s a date to keep in the back of your head nonetheless.

[Thanks, Roman]

Update: Turns out the Inspire 4G is listed, too, for $99.99 on contract or $499.99 contract-free. Thanks, Justin S.!

Update 2: …and they’re gone. Whoops!

Motorola Atrix 4G goes up on AmazonWireless, $150 on February 11th — mistake? (update: Inspire 4G, too) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 27 Jan 2011 20:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Motorola CEO: We’re Taking a Hit From Verizon iPhone

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The Verizon iPhone isn’t actually due out until February 10th, but Motorola is already feeling the burn. The company experienced a renaissance of sorts recently, thanks in no small part to a a number of Android-based handsets released for Verizon.And now the anticipation of the addition of Apple’s ultra popular handset to carrier has Motorola a bit freaked out.

“Since the announcement of the iPhone, we have seen a little slow down in our sell through of devices at Verizon,” the company’s CEO Sanjay Jha, told investors during a call yesterday. The company shipped 4.9 million smartphones last quarter–down from the 5.2 million analysts were anticipating. Motorola added that it expects to lose $26 million to $62 million in the first quarter of this year. 
MThe company is offering smartphones on other US carriers, as well, of course, but many of its fights will continue to be fought on Verizon. “When customers go into the Verizon stores now, they’ll be offered choices,” Jha added. “And time will tell what percentage of sales goes to which brand.”
Doesn’t sound particularly hopeful, does it? Perhaps the Xoom will turn things around a bit…

Sanjay Jha says multiple Motorola tablet sizes coming, hints at Atrix on other carriers

Can’t say this is any surprise, but Sanjay Jha just confirmed on Motorola’s earnings call that he “sees good reason” to eventually release an entire family of tablets at “different multiple different display sizes and price points.” Specifically, Jha mentioned 7-inch tablets, and later said that consumer demographics like kids, teenagers, and “women” want different things from a tablet than enterprise and professional customers — which sounds suspiciously like Jha doesn’t think women want a single device for work and home, but we’ll give him the benefit of the doubt, since he’s not always the smoothest speaker.

As for the Atrix, Jha simply said that “you will see our diversity in the retail channel as well with other carriers in the US,” which certainly sounds like it’ll hit other carriers once the AT&T exclusivity runs out. How long that exclusivity is, we don’t know — but keep in mind that the Droid Bionic is very nearly the same phone, so there’s a chance a software update will bring that sweet docking action to the red side of the market in the future. And if not, we’re sure the hacking community will have it covered.

Sanjay Jha says multiple Motorola tablet sizes coming, hints at Atrix on other carriers originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 26 Jan 2011 18:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Motorola Mobility reports robust growth in last quarter, but predicts difficult times ahead

Yes, we are deep in Q4 2010 financial reporting season, and Motorola’s freshly independent Mobility arm is latest to step up and deliver its figures. Total revenue over the past three months reached $3.4 billion, marking a 21 percent increase year-on-year, net revenue from mobile devices was $2.4 billion, up by 33 percent year-on-year, and handset shipments were a seemingly healthy 4.9 million. That figure’s disappointed Wall Street estimates, however — the collective expectation, according to MarketWatch, was 5.2 million — and the net profit of $80 million is barely (for a company of this size) in the black. More doom and gloom is cast by Motorola itself, which is predicting a difficult first quarter of 2011 that will end with the company losing between 9 and 21 cents per share in net terms. Ah well, let’s try to enjoy the sunshine of Moto making money today and forget the rainclouds of tomorrow.

Continue reading Motorola Mobility reports robust growth in last quarter, but predicts difficult times ahead

Motorola Mobility reports robust growth in last quarter, but predicts difficult times ahead originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 26 Jan 2011 17:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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