From Google CEO Larry Page:

…I’m excited to announce today that our Motorola Mobility deal has closed. Motorola is a great American tech company that has driven the mobile revolution, with a track record of over 80 years of innovation, including the creation of the first cell phone. We all remember Motorola’s StarTAC, which at the time seemed tiny and showed the real potential of these devices. And as a company who made a big, early bet on Android, Motorola has become an incredibly valuable partner to Google.

Page also confirmed that current Google SVP Dennis Woodside will take over as CEO of Motorola Mobility. Woodside’s experience with Google is primarily in advertising, increasing Google’s revenue in the American ad market by 75%, and he’s apparently been instrumental in the months-long acquisition process. Woodside’s experience in the mobile field, and in hardware in particular, is unproven.

Google has insisted for some time that Motorola will operate as an independent company after the acquisition, though the appointment of a Google inside man to the company’s highest post casts doubt upon that. After all, Jha led the company through the “DROID” era, literally saving it from disaster. Those hoping for a true first-party manufacturer for Android have been disappointed in the last few months as Motorola has kept its dogged dedication to Blur and other “skins”, and refused to unlock bootloaders against carriers’ wishes.

Will Motorola be Google brand in paperwork only? Plenty of pundits have speculated that the purchase was for Motorola’s impressive patent portfolio, something that Page alluded to with his references to the StarTAC. It’s unlikely that we’ll see a portfolio of Nexus-style devices, though one or two many be incoming as Google changes its strategy. We’ll be keeping a close eye on these corporate bedfellows in the coming months – it’ll be interesting to see if anything comes out of Google I/O in July.

Here’s the quick explanation, which is the same route that Motorola sadly took here. If the upgrade to Android 4.0 ICS won’t “improve” the device, they won’t be updating it. That’s the gist of their blog post. Devices like the DROID X2 (powerful dual-core smartphone) won’t be getting updated, and neither will the DROID 3. I could understand them not upgrading an older device like those with only 512 MB of RAM (although Google did this just fine) but to not be updating a phone as new as the DROID 3 and claiming it won’t “improve” the phone is just upsetting.

You may be wondering why all devices aren’t being upgraded to Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich). Here’s the deal. We work very closely with Google and cell phone carriers for every software update. And, obviously we want the new release to improve our devices. If we determine that can’t be done—well then, we’re not able to upgrade that particular device.

Now that Google’s finally got all the approvals for the Moto buyout hopefully something will be changing soon, but I have some serious doubts. The same blog post by Motorola has a link to their upgrade timeline, that seems to only list phones with 1GB of RAM getting the update, so that could be their thinking. Sadly since their bootloaders are so locked down developers can’t easily get into the mix and help out Motorola owners so for now users might be out of luck. I could understand if these phones weren’t capable of handling Android 4.0 ICS, but they are perfectly capable just like the Nexus S.

What does everyone think of Motorola’s latest comments? They are vague and I don’t think “improve” was the right word in this case, since we all know ICS improves devices all around. Sigh!

[via Motorola]

The news doesn’t get any better if you’re a Verizon unlimited data customer: buy a subsidized phone after the summer is over, and you can kiss your unlimited plan goodbye. At least you may be able to use your current Verizon 4G LTE phone internationally soon. Google did some backtracking after enabling a four-device deactivation limit to its Google Play Music service: you can deactivate as many as you like, at least for now. Good news for Nexus fans – Google may be using multiple partners for the next Nexus smartphone. One may be Motorola, since China has finally approved Google’s acquisition on the condition that Android remain open source for another five years.

Speaking of China and Motorola, they’re showing off three new RAZR designs in the territory, at least one of which will probably become Motorola’s DROID RAZR HD at some point. HTC was busy this week with the official announcement of the Desire C and leaks of the “Ville” C. And of course, hardware news wouldn’t be complete without the Samsung Galaxy S III. This week we saw photo samples of all four US carrier models, along with an FCC listing for T-Mobile, and leaks of the user manual and the S-Voice APK. Oh, and there are over 9 million pre-orders for the phone worldwide – can you blame them?

On the software side of things, the Galaxy S III got rooted even before it’s release, and was joined by its stablemate the Galaxy Tab 2 10.1. Ice Cream Sandwich for the DROID 4 was leaked, and an official update was sent out for T-Mobile’s Sensation 4G and teased for the Amaze 4G. The venerable HTC HD2 gets a Sense 4.0 port in progress, and the latest project to light up Kickstarter is the Chameleon tablet launcher.

Here at Android Community, you’ve got a few days left to enter our NVIDIA TegraZone Anniversary Tegra Pack Giveaway, and what better way to wait out the results than playing with Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Episode II? Be sure to read our hands-on look at Sega’s latest. We’ve also got a hands-on look at the LG Optimus LTE2, and an editorial on the creativity (or lack thereof) among the latest crop of high-profile Android games.  Until next week, stay in school, don’t do drugs, and always make a Nandroid backup.

China gave an important condition to its approval: Google had to commit to keeping Android an open-source operating system for the next five years. As our regular readers know, Android’s open source nature is one of the primary reasons that it’s become so popular, among manufacturers, developers and even a considerable portion of end users. One can hardly think that Google hesitated when asked to keep the status quo.

There’s only been one major hiccup in Google’s open source claims for Android: version 3.0, Honeycomb. The company kept a tight grip on the code for the first tablet version of Android, claiming that they didn’t want the software adapted for smartphones that weren’t designed to use it. Honeycomb remained closed, or at least inaccessible, for eight months, and the source code was released in November along with Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. Notably, ICS can be adapted for both tablets and smartphones easily.

China’s interest in an open Android is obvious: the vast majority of the devices within the country have nothing to do with Google, and low-cost manufacturers use Android as a de facto standard OS precipitously because it is open source. Low-cost manufacturers often release the newest version of Android onto their new hardware, in most cases even faster than major brands. Having Google continue to develop and produce an OS that’s both free as in freedom and free as in beer is incredibly advantageous to the Chinese tech sector.

With all the major obstacles cleared, Google should be able to formally buy Motorola sometime later this summer. Google has states that it intends to run Motorola as a separate and independent company (though former CEO Sanjay Jha was given his walking papers) and many have speculated that Google acquired the company purely for its extensive patent portfolio.

[via SlashGear]

Model numbers for these new RAZR’s are MT887, XT885 and XT889, and they’ll be available in China starting June 2nd on multiple carriers. Motorola’s MT887 (on the far right above) comes with a 4.3-inch qHD display (not HD) an 8 megapixel camera, about 8.3mm thin and is powered by a 1.2 GHz dual-core processor. All these phones are running the absolute latest Android 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich — hopefully their US brothers will see the same shortly with an update.

All three of the RAZR phones shown will be available soon hitting China Telecom and China Unicom early next month. You can clearly see from the last image the famous RAZR designs around back although the one in the middle looks closer to the DROID line than anything. We’ve seen similar phones leak in the past but today they are official and headed to the Chinese marketplace. Now lets just hope Motorola gets that Android 4.0.4 update for Verizon’s RAZR’s sooner than later.

[via PocketDroid]

While nothing about the DROID RAZR is new here, the folks at PocketDroid.net found the new promo video below showing off the curves, Kevlar, and blue colors of the RAZR. If you’re considering the color this will give you a better idea of what to expect.

The RAZR will still be the same 4.3-inch device running Android 2.3 Gingerbread — with ICS coming soon — running on Verizon’s 4G LTE network and having a powerful dual-core processor under the hood. The new blue RAZR is available in select stores now, and will be available nationwide starting May 17th. Check out our previous reviews, coverage, and Ice Cream Sandwich leaks from the timeline below.

Device Specifications and Information

Device Info

Device Name : DROID RAZR

Manufactuer : Motorola

Carrier : Verizon

Announced Date : October 18, 2011

Release Date : November 03, 2011

Also Known As :

Display

• Screen Size : 4.3 Inch
• Resolution :
• Screen Type : Super AMOLED Advanced qHD

Dimension & Weight

• Height : 5.15 Inch
• Width : 2.71 Inch
• Depth : 0.27 Inch
• Weight : 127 Grams

Battery & Power

Battery Type:
• Lithium Ion

• Battery Capacity : 1780 mAh
• Talk Time : NA
• Stand By Time : 8.9 hours

Software

Android OS:
• 2.3.x

Audio Playback:
• AAC
• AAC+
• MP3
• WAV
• WMA

Video Playback:
• MPEG-4 (MP4)

Messaging:
• SMS
• MMS

Hardware

CPU : OMAP 4430

CPU Clock Speed : 1200 Mhz

Core : 2

Ram : 1000 MB

Internal Storage : 16.384 GB

Front Facing Camera :

Camera Resolution : 8 MP

External Storage:
• MicroSD
• MicroSDHC

Camera Features:
• Auto focus
• Flash
• 1080p Video Recording

QWERTY :

Cellular Network

Network Technology:
• CDMA

CDMA Band:
• 800
• 850
• 900
• 1700
• 1900
• 2100

Device Connectivity

Wi-Fi:
• 802.11b
• 802.11g
• 802.11n

Bluetooth:
• Bluetooth 3.0

Location Features:
• Compass
• GPS
• Cellular location
• Wi-Fi location

FM Radio :

NFC :

The DROID RAZR MAXX is nearly identical to Motorola’s DROID RAZR, save for an extra couple of millimeters on the body to accommodate a massive 3300mAh battery. This impressive engineering gave the DROID RAZR MAXX a run-time of nearly three full days in our business trip torture test. Those of you outside the US will be getting a GSM version soon, with some European and Middle Eastern countries seeing the RAZR MAXX later this month.

We’re still pretty upset that Motorola’s Verizon handsets continue to come with a locked bootloader, but for those who want incredible battery life without the bulge, the DROID RAZR MAXX is where it’s at. We can hope (but certainly not confirm) that the price cut points to a release of the DROID RAZR HD, with a similar battery but a larger and denser screen. For those of you who are already Verizon customers, note that the renewal price is $169.99, neatly accommodating for the (admittedly ridiculous) $30 upgrade fee.

Device Specifications and Information

Device Info

Device Name : DROID RAZR MAXX

Manufactuer : Motorola

Carrier : Verizon

Announced Date : January 13, 2011

Release Date : January 26, 2011

Also Known As : RAZR MAXX, DROID RAZR MAXX

Display

• Screen Size : 4.3 Inch
• Resolution : 960x540
• Screen Type : Super AMOLED Advanced qHD

Dimension & Weight

• Height : 5.15 Inch
• Width : 2.27 Inch
• Depth : 0.35 Inch
• Weight : 145 Grams

Battery & Power

Battery Type:
• Lithium Ion

• Battery Capacity : 3300 mAh
• Talk Time : NA
• Stand By Time : 380 hours

Software

Android OS:
• 2.3.x

Audio Playback:
• AAC
• AAC+
• MP3
• WAV
• WMA

Video Playback:
• MPEG-4 (MP4)

Messaging:
• SMS
• MMS

Hardware

CPU : OMAP 4430

CPU Clock Speed : 1200 Mhz

Core : 2

Ram : 1000 MB

Internal Storage : NA

Front Facing Camera :

Camera Resolution : 8 MP

External Storage:
• MicroSD
• MicroSDHC

Camera Features:
• Auto focus
• Flash
• 1080p Video Recording

Sensors:
• Accelerometer
• Ambient light
• Proximity

QWERTY :

Cellular Network

Network Technology:
• CDMA

CDMA Band:
• 800
• 850
• 900
• 1700
• 1900
• 2100

Device Connectivity

Wi-Fi:
• 802.11b
• 802.11g
• 802.11n

Bluetooth:
• Bluetooth 3.0

Location Features:
• Compass
• GPS
• Cellular location
• Wi-Fi location

FM Radio :

NFC :

[via Droid-Life]

The multiple colors for the DROID RAZR mirror Motorola’s efforts on the original RAZR flip phone back in the mid 2000s. The RAZR and its descendants became massively popular for a few years, helped in no small part by the fact that they were offered in a huge variety of colors (with hot pink proving strangely resilient even as the RAZR fell out of fashion). We won’t be satisfied until Motorola and Verizon make the DROID RAZR available in fuchsia, goldenrod and puce.

Verizon didn’t say anything about pricing, is the same as the current models at $99 for a two-year contract. The insides are the same as they ever were: a 1.2Ghz dual-core TI OMAP processor, 1GB of RAM, 16GB of storage space (no free MicroSD card on the $99 version) and an 8MP camera. The screen is still a 4.3-inch AMOLED QHD display, and it still (frustratingly) shows Android Gingerbread. A couple of Ice Cream Sandwich ROMs have leaked out, so we can hope that the update is coming soon.

Device Specifications and Information

Device Info

Device Name : DROID RAZR

Manufactuer : Motorola

Carrier : Verizon

Announced Date : October 18, 2011

Release Date : November 03, 2011

Also Known As :

Display

• Screen Size : 4.3 Inch
• Resolution :
• Screen Type : Super AMOLED Advanced qHD

Dimension & Weight

• Height : 5.15 Inch
• Width : 2.71 Inch
• Depth : 0.27 Inch
• Weight : 127 Grams

Battery & Power

Battery Type:
• Lithium Ion

• Battery Capacity : 1780 mAh
• Talk Time : NA
• Stand By Time : 8.9 hours

Software

Android OS:
• 2.3.x

Audio Playback:
• AAC
• AAC+
• MP3
• WAV
• WMA

Video Playback:
• MPEG-4 (MP4)

Messaging:
• SMS
• MMS

Hardware

CPU : OMAP 4430

CPU Clock Speed : 1200 Mhz

Core : 2

Ram : 1000 MB

Internal Storage : 16.384 GB

Front Facing Camera :

Camera Resolution : 8 MP

External Storage:
• MicroSD
• MicroSDHC

Camera Features:
• Auto focus
• Flash
• 1080p Video Recording

QWERTY :

Cellular Network

Network Technology:
• CDMA

CDMA Band:
• 800
• 850
• 900
• 1700
• 1900
• 2100

Device Connectivity

Wi-Fi:
• 802.11b
• 802.11g
• 802.11n

Bluetooth:
• Bluetooth 3.0

Location Features:
• Compass
• GPS
• Cellular location
• Wi-Fi location

FM Radio :

NFC :

This rapid succession of multiple colors appropriately echoes the original RAZR flip phone: when the expensive and flashy phone was first available you could get it in any color you wanted, so long as you wanted silver. Later a handful of colors were available on multiple carriers, with hit pink being a particularly popular option. It looks like Motorola and Verizon are taking a similar approach with this generation’s fashion phone flagship.

This isn’t a guarantee of availability, so temper your excitement if a robin’s egg blue phone is what you’ve been waiting on for years. But considering the previous releases and the lower profile that the DROID RAZR has received since the MAXX was introduced, it’s a pretty even bet that we’ll see this one eventually. The lower price hopefully indicates that we’ll be seeing the DROID RAZR HD sooner rather than later.

Device Specifications and Information

Device Info

Device Name : DROID RAZR MAXX

Manufactuer : Motorola

Carrier : Verizon

Announced Date : January 13, 2011

Release Date : January 26, 2011

Also Known As : RAZR MAXX, DROID RAZR MAXX

Display

• Screen Size : 4.3 Inch
• Resolution : 960x540
• Screen Type : Super AMOLED Advanced qHD

Dimension & Weight

• Height : 5.15 Inch
• Width : 2.27 Inch
• Depth : 0.35 Inch
• Weight : 145 Grams

Battery & Power

Battery Type:
• Lithium Ion

• Battery Capacity : 3300 mAh
• Talk Time : NA
• Stand By Time : 380 hours

Software

Android OS:
• 2.3.x

Audio Playback:
• AAC
• AAC+
• MP3
• WAV
• WMA

Video Playback:
• MPEG-4 (MP4)

Messaging:
• SMS
• MMS

Hardware

CPU : OMAP 4430

CPU Clock Speed : 1200 Mhz

Core : 2

Ram : 1000 MB

Internal Storage : NA

Front Facing Camera :

Camera Resolution : 8 MP

External Storage:
• MicroSD
• MicroSDHC

Camera Features:
• Auto focus
• Flash
• 1080p Video Recording

Sensors:
• Accelerometer
• Ambient light
• Proximity

QWERTY :

Cellular Network

Network Technology:
• CDMA

CDMA Band:
• 800
• 850
• 900
• 1700
• 1900
• 2100

Device Connectivity

Wi-Fi:
• 802.11b
• 802.11g
• 802.11n

Bluetooth:
• Bluetooth 3.0

Location Features:
• Compass
• GPS
• Cellular location
• Wi-Fi location

FM Radio :

NFC :

[via androidcentral]

In other hardware news, AT&T’s version of the HTC One X launched today, though some lucky customers got their phones early. Bell Canada is getting the little brother HTC One S, and everyone can get a sweet kickstand case for it soon. LG and Pantech both introduced new models to compete with Samsung’s new flagship: the Optimus LTE 2 and Racer Vega 2, respectively. The 13-inch Toshiba Excite 13 was spotted at the FCC, and T-Mobile customers can get the budget-priced Prism 3G by Huawei starting today. Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 went up for pre-order at a reasonable $399.

On the software side of things, Samsung scheduled updates for all of its high-end Galaxy smartphones and tablets in Canada. Ice Cream Sandwich updates leaked for the HTC EVO 3D and Rezound (again), and T-Mobile promised an update for the Sensation 4G – without giving a date. Motorola’s Cliq 2 got an official update… to Gingerbread. Whoopie. The Galaxy Note version of CyanogenMod 9 got a boost from S-Pen support, and the Android Open Kang Project reached milestone 5. Swiftkey, Adobe Flash and AirDroid all received major updates. EA tried to shut down the paid mobile version of Rock Band, then quickly rescinded.

In more general news, Google added carrier billing to the Google Play Store for all US providers… except Verizon. Samsung’s on top of the world after beating Apple in smartphone sales, and Motorola, well, isn’t. LG has planned a competitor to Google Drive and similar services, and Runkeeper announced it would be the first app on the Pebble Smart Watch. Android’s distribution numbers for April came out, revealing a still-disappointing 4.9% Ice Cream Sandwich penetration.

Here on Android Community, you’ll want to check out our review of the phone that’s now going head to head with the Samsung Galaxy S III for top dog of the US Android field: AT&T’s HTC One X. We’ve also got an in-depth look at Google’s return to retail with the unlocked Galaxy Nexus on the Google Play Store. Until tomorrow, stay in school, don’t do drugs and always make a Nandroid backup.

According to the folks at Droid-Life Motorola has sent invites for software testing, better known as “soak tests” for both phones and those signing up have already started to see the updates appear on their phones. The DROID X2 saw an OTA update earlier this year so most likely the changes will be quite small for that phone. The DROID 3 on the other hand should be getting a sizable update that should address any outstanding bugs or issues.

Currently these are going out to testers only, and aren’t ready for the masses yet. Usually once the public starts seeing the tests the actual updates from Verizon and Motorola aren’t too far away, so expect some updates here soon. Once Verizon officially details the updates on their support pages we’ll be sure and confirm any and all changes and improvements.

The RAZR MAXX is basically identical to the RAZR, with the notable addition of a massive 3300mAh battery – the largest standard battery of any phone, along with the US’ DROID RAZR MAXX. We put the American version to the test with a three-day business trip with no charger, and the DROID RAZR MAXX came home victorious. It does stretch the phone’s dimensions a bit, but 8.9mm is still pretty darn thin for a high-end device.

The rest of the specs remain the same: a 1.2Ghz T! OMAP dual-core processor, 1GB of RAM, 16GB of internal storage plus a microSD card slot, an 8MP rear camera and – for now – Motorola’s customized version of Android 2.3. The international version gets a GSM HSPA+ radio that’ll be good almost anywhere in the world, and an enviable unlockable bootloader. Motorola didn’t announce a price for Norway or Sweden, but Clove UK has set it at the equivalent of about €530.

[via androidcentral]

Motorola announced that while they managed to sell around 5.1 million smartphones this quarter alone, not counting feature phones or tablets, they still had an overall operating loss of $121 million dollars on $3.6 billion revenue. Motorola shipped over 10.5 million devices in Q4 of 2011 but only managed 8.9 million overall in Q1 of this year, with 5.1m being smartphones as we stated above.

This is all bad news considering earlier today we reported Samsung taking the number 1 smartphone sales spot from Nokia, with Motorola no where to be seen. In the past Motorola CEO Sanjay Jha has always came out excited and usually leaks a few details on accident (or purpose) about upcoming plans or devices but this time around we didn’t get such luck. Most likely because of the impending transfer of the company to Google once that finally gets wrapped up.

Regarding the Google acquisition he did mention all major powers have signed off and have gave the deal an OK, except for China – but we knew that already. Cheers to a better Q2 Motorola!

[via Motorola]

The MOTOLUXE uses a 4-inch display to show off 854×480 pixels, with an 800mhz processor and 512MB of RAM powering it. Storage is limited to a single gigabyte, but naturally you can extend it with a MicroSD card, and you’ll want to if you plan on taking pics with the 8 megapixel camera. As indicated above it’s running Android 2.3 with a Motorola-customized interface, and I wouldn’t hold out for Ice Cream Sandwich any time soon. The body features a unique notification light in a recessed part of the case, below the navigation buttons.

Motorola was mum on the subject of price, but when the same phone debuted in the UK it cost the local equivalent of $413 (Canadian) unlocked. Carriers weren’t mentioned either, but the source tells that Virgin Mobile and Bell are the most likely candidates. The Motorola MOTOLUXE should hit Canadian carriers and retailers in the second quarter. For a better look at the phone, check out SlashGear’s hands-on preview.

Device Specifications and Information

Device Info

Device Name : MOTOLUXE

Manufactuer : Motorola

Carrier : NA

Announced Date : January 05, 2012

Release Date : TBA

Also Known As :

Display

• Screen Size : 4 Inch
• Resolution : 480x854
• Screen Type : LCD

Dimension & Weight

• Height : 4.63 Inch
• Width : 2.38 Inch
• Depth : 0.39 Inch
• Weight : 124 Grams

Battery & Power

Battery Type:
• Lithium Ion

• Battery Capacity : 1400 mAh
• Talk Time : NA
• Stand By Time : 450 hours

Software

Android OS:
• 2.3.x

Audio Playback:
• AAC
• AAC+
• AMR
• MID
• MP3
• WAV
• WMA

Video Playback:
• h.263
• h.264 / AVC
• MPEG-4 (MP4)
• WMV

Messaging:
• SMS
• MMS

Hardware

CPU :

CPU Clock Speed : 800 Mhz

Core : 1

Ram : 512 MB

Internal Storage : 1GB GB

Front Facing Camera :

Camera Resolution : 8 MP

External Storage:
• MicroSD
• MicroSDHC

Camera Features:
• Auto focus
• Flash

Sensors:
• Accelerometer
• Ambient light
• Proximity

QWERTY :

Cellular Network

Network Technology:
• GSM

GSM Band:
• 850
• 900
• 1800
• 1900

Device Connectivity

Wi-Fi:
• 802.11b
• 802.11g
• 802.11n

Bluetooth:
• Bluetooth 3.0

Location Features:
• GPS
• Cellular location
• Wi-Fi location

FM Radio :

NFC :

[via MobileSyrup]

The last Bionic update back in February was quite large and fixed most of the outstanding bugs with the camera and connectivity so there’s not a lot to go on for this update. We could see even more camera improvements, enhancements to 4G LTE, and fixes for some dialer battery drain users have been reporting with the latest official update. We saw an update rolling around earlier this month, but it never was officially released.

With Motorola not being too helpful on their update plans we’ll literally have to wait and see what this update will be, but most likely will still be a Gingerbread build and not Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, but you never know these days. I know Motorola’s latest updates have really made the Bionic much better, so surely there are still a few users enjoying the phone. As soon as we hear more we’ll be sure and update and in the meantime check out the suggestions of a Bionic 2 and more from the links below.

Device Specifications and Information

Device Info

Device Name : DROID Bionic

Manufactuer : Motorola

Carrier : Verizon

Announced Date : August 24, 2011

Release Date : September 08, 2011

Also Known As : Targa

Display

• Screen Size : 4.3 Inch
• Resolution : 540x960
• Screen Type : qHD

Dimension & Weight

• Height : 5.00 Inch
• Width : 2.60 Inch
• Depth : 0.40 Inch
• Weight : 159 Grams

Battery & Power

Battery Type:
• Lithium Ion

• Battery Capacity : 1735 mAh
• Talk Time : NA
• Stand By Time : NA

Software

Android OS:
• 2.3.x

Audio Playback:
• MP3

Video Playback:
• MPEG-4 (MP4)

Messaging:
• SMS
• MMS

Hardware

CPU :

CPU Clock Speed : 1000 Mhz

Core : 2

Ram : 1024 MB

Internal Storage : 16.384 GB

Front Facing Camera :

Camera Resolution : 8 MP

External Storage:
• MicroSD
• MicroSDHC

Camera Features:
• Auto focus
• Flash
• 1080p Video Recording
• 720p Video Recording

Sensors:
• Accelerometer
• Ambient light
• Proximity

QWERTY :

Cellular Network

Network Technology:
• GSM
• CDMA

GSM Band:
• 850
• 900
• 1800
• 1900

CDMA Band:
• 800
• 1900

Device Connectivity

Wi-Fi:
• 802.11a
• 802.11b
• 802.11g
• 802.11n

Bluetooth:
• Bluetooth 2.0

Location Features:
• Compass
• GPS
• Cellular location
• Wi-Fi location

FM Radio :

NFC :

[via Droid-Life]

But something’s a little different in the new 30-second spot. Verizon’s voice over guy seems far less combative – there’s no mention of a “racehorse duct-taped to a SCUD missile” here. It’s just a very gentle, very positive explanation of various features, like the DROID RAZR MAXX’s amazing battery life. There’s barely a hint of the industrial steampunk robots and holograms that typified the previous campaign.

See for yourself below:

So why the new approach, which seems more like an ad for Pepperidge Farm than a paradigm shift? The obvious answer is that Verizon isn’t keen to compare the new DROIDs with the iPhones sitting next to them in the carrier lineup. It seems like the days of combative us-versus-them advertising is over, from Verizon at least. T-Mobile is still eager to make Android and iOS duke it out, literally.

[via Droid-Life]

Hardware news of the non-galactic variety was dominated by the HTC Incredible 4G. We spotted it on Droid Does, it showed off its NFC capabilities, and it flaunted an extended battery. Most exciting of all, it might be headed for release as soon as May 10th. We saw leaked images from Sony of its monster-spec “Hayabusa” LT29i and the mid-range (and chunky) Tapioca ST21i. T-Mobile’s version of the HTC One S is now on sale. Motorola’s DROID RAZR HD is getting some more exposure, as is the rumored and now all but confirmed Galaxy Note for T-Mobile. Samsung is rumored to be making yet another Nexus phone for Google, and an unsubstantiated report shows Verizon getting an HTC Galaxy Note competitor and the Galaxy S III.

Speaking of the Galaxy S III (you knew it was coming): among many, many other stories, we got official confirmation from Samsung that it’ll be running a new quad-core Exynos processor. Unfortunately the US version may have to stick with dual-core for LTE connectivity, something that seems to be verified by an AnTutu benchmark with an existing dual-core Exynos processor. Samsung has started their official marketing campaign with a teaser website and sheepish video. We also saw a leaked product manual that looks pretty legitimate, and no less than three “leaked” photos that don’t.

On the software side of things, we’ve got official Ice Cream Sandwich updates for the Acer Iconia Tab A500 and A100 and the Sony Tablet S, leaked ICS updates for the HTC Amaze 4G, Motorola DROID RAZR and Samsung GSII Epic 4G Touch, and schedules for ICS updates on T-Mobile and Verizon. The Sony Xperia S and HTC One X both received ports of popular custom ROM CyanogenMod 9. Verizon Motorola LTE phones can now be ported to AT&T and T-Mobile, albeit only with 2G data speeds. Notably, a Google Android developer shed some depressing light on the length of Android update delays.

Here at Android Community we’ve got an exciting giveaway for you: a brand new ASUS Transformer Prime, messenger bag and a free copy of the new game Dark Meadow: The Pact THD. Just add us to your Circles on Google+ to enter; see the giveaway page for full details. For more information in the game, read our Dark Meadow review. On that note we’ve got a detailed breakdown of the processor differences between the Transformer Prime and the new Transformer Pad 300. We’ve also got reviews of the XCOM Global service and Huawei 3G USB modem, the new Scalado Album and Enhanced Email, a great alternative to the standard Exchange email client on Android. That’s all for this week folks – stay in school, don’t do drugs and always make a Nandroid backup.

According to the leak, the HTC Rezound will finally be given an over the air update on May 9th, with the DROID RAZR and DROID RAZR MAXX following on May 21st. Other devices aren’t so lucky: 3G and LTE flavors of the original XOOM have apparently been through with testing for a week, but the updates still have no estimated delivery time. There are no other devices listed, which might mean that development and testing hasn’t even started.

So, a little over a week for an update to the Rezound and a little under a month for the RAZRs puts these Android 4.0 upgrades about seven months after the open-source software was made available, an coincidentally, around the same time that new models from both Motorola (the DROID RAZR HD) and HTC (The DROID Incredible 4G) are expected to launch with ICS. Adventurous Rezound users have been using leaked software for months, or just flashing custom ROMs, while RAZR owners have had to settle for just the leak thanks to a locked bootloader.

[via Phandroid]

The Galaxy S III doesn’t have a firm date, though it should arrive sometime in May, June or July unless other US carriers get an exclusivity period. The RAZRs will definitively include the DROID RAZR HD, an upcoming phone that’s already been leaked with a larger 720p screen and a DROID RAZR MAXX-style battery. But the most interesting phone mentioned here is a hitherto unknown competitor to the Galaxy Note coming from HTC. This 5.0-inch smartphone is said to have a 1080p display (which is admittedly hard to believe), a Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Krait quad-core processor, HTC Sense 5 (yes, 5) and a smaller version of the Scribe pen from the HTC Flyer.

BGR has presented no photographic evidence for the roadmap, and while we’re not ones to shout “pics or it didn’t happen”, the sky-high specs of the HTC phone in particular beg for some kind of confirmation. Also notably absent is the Samsung Galaxy Note itself (which was previously rumored to come to Verizon as the Galaxy Journal) and the HTC DROID Incredible 4G, which we know is heading for Verizon in the near future. We’ll see how this roadmap plays out over the coming weeks and months.

The RAZR MAXX’s biggest draw is its massive 3300mAh battery, the largest we’ve ever seen on any stock smartphone. This extra battery doesn’t add a lot of extra bulk – the MAXX is just 8.9mm thick, which is only slightly thicker than the RAZR it’s based on. In all other respects, the two phones share hardware and software specifications, from the 4.3-inch QHD AMOLED display to the Motorola-customized version of Android 2.3 to the 8MP 1080p camera. The ROMs for the RAZR and RAZR MAXX are even interchangeable.

The RAZR MAXX doesn’t get a removable battery, but it’s one of the few phones for which that shouldn’t be an issue, even for advanced users. Its 16GB of on-board storage can be augmented with a MicroSD card, though currently we don’t know if the international model will get the free 16GB card that’s bundled with the DROID RAZR MAXX on Verizon. UK Android fanatics and US importers will be glad to know that Motorola will likely offer a bootloader unlocker shortly after the phone is released, at a retail price of £359.00 before value-added tax.

[via KnowYourMobile]