While addressing shareholders at the company’s annual meeting in Cologne, Germany, Deutsche Telekom CEO Rene Obermann told investors that a complete takeover of T-Mobile USA was out of the question after AT&T’s very public failed bid last year. Obermann did tell investors that it was considering all other options, including a potential merger of [...]]]>

While addressing shareholders at the company’s annual meeting in Cologne, Germany, Deutsche Telekom CEO Rene Obermann told investors that a complete takeover of T-Mobile USA was out of the question after AT&T’s very public failed bid last year. Obermann did tell investors that it was considering all other options, including a potential merger of its T-Mobile USA business unit with another organization.

There are several options on the table in such a scenario; Sprint has had its eye on T-Mobile USA for a while, and a combined company would present a large competitor to AT&T and Verizon. Such a scenario is unlikely, however, as the technology these companies employ is so different that it would be extremely costly to make the networks compatible.

The more likely potential suitor is MetroPCS, as recent rumors have suggested that the two companies are actively speaking about a possible merger. Bloomberg reported a few weeks back that the company was essentially looking to do a joint venture with MetroPCS, with Deutsche Telekom holding the majority stake of the combined company. The deal could be similar to the Everything Everywhere carrier in the UK, a joint venture between T-Mobile and Orange. Deutsche Telekom is also considering a network sharing agreement with MetroPCS or Sprint, which would have the companies sharing spectrum but maintaining their current status as standalone organizations.

Meanwhile, it’s business as usual for T-Mobile USA. The company is beginning to actively build out an LTE network over the next two years. Time will tell the fate of T-Mobile USA, though the message from Deutsche Telekom is still crystal clear; T-Mobile USA does not work as a standalone business, and the company will be looking at ways to either make T-Mobile profitable, or spin it off into a new company combined with another carrier.

Today NVIDIA announced that their Icera 410 LTE multimode data modem was successfully validated by AT&T for operation on its 4G LTE network. This modem is designed for tablets and clamshell devices, but it’s an important step for NVIDIA that could lead to Icera LTE modems appearing in Tegra-powered smartphones.

“Validation with AT&T is an achievement that paves [...]]]>

Today NVIDIA announced that their Icera 410 LTE multimode data modem was successfully validated by AT&T for operation on its 4G LTE network. This modem is designed for tablets and clamshell devices, but it’s an important step for NVIDIA that could lead to Icera LTE modems appearing in Tegra-powered smartphones.

“Validation with AT&T is an achievement that paves the way for NVIDIA Icera-powered LTE devices on the AT&T network through this year and next,” said Stan Boland, senior vice president of Mobile Communications at NVIDIA.

NVIDIA released their quad-core Tegra 3 chip last year, but you won’t find it inside any mobile devices at US carrier stores yet. The issue is that most US carriers are now demanding LTE connectivity, and the few modem providers that have gained approval to operate on these LTE networks (namely Qualcomm) are not interested in working with NVIDIA.

That should change in the second half of the year as NVIDIA releases their own LTE modem and the leading suppliers of cellular silicon solutions release additional LTE modems that will work with Tegra 3.

NVIDIA acquired the Icera technology last year this year ZTE announced the first smartphone based on both its Tegra processor and Icera modem, the Mimosa X.

Later this year we expect NVIDIA to reveal a newer chip called Tegra 3+ that should work with the latest LTE modems from GCT Semiconductor, Renesas Mobile, and ST-Ericsson. We also expect NVIDIA to release another chip codenamed Grey in early 2013, which will be their first Tegra chip to integrate an Icera LTE modem.

Head over to NVIDIA’s Icera products page for additional details on their modem lineup.

The jury has ruled that Google did not infringe on Oracle’s patents in what has been referred to by the presiding Judge as the “World Series of Intellectual Property cases.”

The potential ramifications of an Oracle win in this case were dire in the eyes of many Java developers, so this news will likely be [...]]]>

The jury has ruled that Google did not infringe on Oracle’s patents in what has been referred to by the presiding Judge as the “World Series of Intellectual Property cases.”

The potential ramifications of an Oracle win in this case were dire in the eyes of many Java developers, so this news will likely be celebrated by many outside the Android community as well.

While the jury’s ruling precludes Google paying any damages on this part of the claim this does still leave the other question which the Judge took off the table for the jury and that is whether the Java APIs that Google used can be copyrighted at all. Google and Oracle will be submitting briefs to the Judge on that question today, but there is no timeline for the Judge to make a ruling on that question at the moment.

This is certainly a great day for Google’s legal team, but in all likelihood we will see this decision appealed so it’s not quite time to break out the champagne yet.

Today, HTC has released a detailed list of devices that will be updated to Android 4.0. Very few specifics are given about each device, but HTC did provide a two-month release window for each update. While there are no real surprises on the list, it’s nice to finally have specific time frames to look [...]]]>

Today, HTC has released a detailed list of devices that will be updated to Android 4.0. Very few specifics are given about each device, but HTC did provide a two-month release window for each update. While there are no real surprises on the list, it’s nice to finally have specific time frames to look forward to. HTC hopes to be done with its Android 4.0 updates by the end of August, but we know there are unexpected issues that could push updates into the fall.

The target timeline for announced devices is below. Because of partner and network testing, and approval processes for device updates, it can take up to 45 days for all carriers and countries to get the update after a rollout has begun.HTC

Is your HTC phone on the official Android 4.0 update list? Will you be waiting patiently for the update, or do you plan to upgrade to a new phone within the next month or two?

Latest Android 4.0 update news from HTC

• 5/22/12 - T-Mobile HTC Amaze 4G Android 4.0 update now available
  T-Mobile releases the Android 4.0 update for the HTC Amaze 4G
• 5/16/12 -T-Mobile HTC Sensation 4G Android 4.0 update now available
  T-Mobile releases the Android 4.0 update for the HTC Sensation 4G
• 5/14/12 - Official: T-Mobile HTC Sensation 4.0 update coming May 16
  T-Mobile announces a May 16th HTC sensation 4G Android 4.0 update

Official HTC Android 4.0 handset update list

• HTC Sensation – March-June
• HTC Sensation XE – March-June
• HTC Velocity - March-June
• HTC Sensation XL  - April-June
• HTC EVO 4G+ - May-June
• HTC Rezound - June-July
• HTC Vivid  – March-June
• HTC Amaze 4G - May-June
• HTC EVO 3D - June-July
• HTC EVO Design 4G - June-July
• HTC Desire S - June-July
• HTC Incredible S - June-July
• DROID Incredible 2 - TBD (by the end of August)
• HTC Thunderbolt - July-August
• HTC Rhyme  - June-July
• HTC Desire HD - July-August

HTC handsets expected to receive the Android 4.0 update

• HTC Desire Z
• T-Mobile G2
• myTouch 4G
• myTouch 4G Slide
• HTC Hero S
• HTC Merge
• HTC EVO Shift 4G

Goodbye, Moto. And thank you for a wonderful 85 years of business.

After China removed the last hurdle to Google’s takeover of Motorola Mobility, we knew it was only a matter of time before Google deemed the acquisition process complete. As part of the completed acquisition, Motorola Mobility will cease trading on the [...]]]>

Goodbye, Moto. And thank you for a wonderful 85 years of business.

After China removed the last hurdle to Google’s takeover of Motorola Mobility, we knew it was only a matter of time before Google deemed the acquisition process complete. As part of the completed acquisition, Motorola Mobility will cease trading on the New York Stock Exchange effective immediately.

Motorola Mobility employees are likely sitting around this morning trying to figure out exactly what a takeover means for them. In the past few days, we’ve heard rumors of the customary massive layoffs that tend to result from two companies merging together. Motorola Mobility CEO Sanjay Jha is out, paving the way for long-time Googler Dennis Woodside to take the reins.

As Google now owns a major handset maker, the company needs to decide what approach it’ll take when it comes to the hardware business. They’ve previously suggested that they will take more of a hands-off approach to hardware, running newly-acquired Motorola Mobility as a true separate entity and largely letting them maintain the status quo. As part of the approval process, China required that Android stay open for at least another 5 years, which coupled with the rumors of multiple Nexus OEM partners suggest that Google doesn’t intend to play favorites with Motorola.

Time will tell how long that lack of a tight partnership with its own company will last. We’re looking forward to seeing what comes out of Motorola Mobility now that Google is running the ship. More stock Android devices will hopefully be Google’s top priority, and get those Blur developers working alongside Google engineers on Android 5.

It’s been a few months since we last checked in with the official Android 4.0 update list for Motorola, and in light of recent changes to that list (as well as comments from Motorola on the Android 4.0 update, which we will get to in a moment) it seemed like a good time for a [...]]]>

It’s been a few months since we last checked in with the official Android 4.0 update list for Motorola, and in light of recent changes to that list (as well as comments from Motorola on the Android 4.0 update, which we will get to in a moment) it seemed like a good time for a status update.

Will my device be updated?

Motorola has perhaps been the most candid and comprehensive of the major manufacturers when it comes to their Android upgrade process. They outlined their 4-step updating process for everyone back in December and have pretty dutifully maintained the device update page found in their forums.

Unfortunately this has not translated into being the most expedient in actually delivering upgrades to their customers’ devices. To date, the only device that has received its update to Android 4.0 is the WiFi-only XOOM (and only the versions in the US or Canada at that). All other devices remain in either the Development, Evaluation & Planning or Testing phases.

Now, as previously mentioned, there was a blog post from Motorola in the last few days which was designed to make clear why some devices won’t be getting Android 4.0.

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.Motorola

Latest News from Motorola

• 04/06/12 - Android 4.0 update for the Motorola RAZR delayed as HTC Rezound update confirmed for today
  The Best Buy leak proved to be either false optimism from Best Buy or a poorly timed April Fools joke.
• 03/31/12 - Motorola DROID RAZR and HTC Rezound Android 4.0 update scheduled for next week
  A leaked screenshot from an internal Best Buy system pointed to the DROID RAZR and RAZR MAXX receiving their update on April 4th.
• 03/22/12 - AT&T is the first US wireless carrier to issue an Android 4.0 update, 10 more devices to be upgraded
  AT&T issued their first official list of their devices that would be updated to Android 4.0. The Atrix 2 and the Atrix 4G were the two Motorola devices to make an appearance on that list.
• 02/20/12 - A closer look at Motorola’s Android 4.0.3 build for the Verizon DROID RAZR
  A leaked build of Android 4.0.3 for the DROID RAZR provides a tantalizing glimpse of the future for Moto handset owners.
• 01/18/12 - US Motorola XOOM WiFi-only tablets receive Android 4.0 update
  Becoming the first Motorola device with Android 4.0, the US XOOM WiFi-only tablet started receiving its delicious update during January. It is a bit simpler for Motorola to do this, as it has no UI overlay, and the manufacturer does not have to go through a carrier to get the updates out.
• 12/07/11 - Motorola details their 4-step updating process
  Soon after Google released the source code for Android 4.0, Motorola decided to go ahead and let us know how things work (on their side). This explains why updates can take a good amount of time before reaching the consumer, and is a great way to get an idea of how they make it to your devices.
• 10/24/11 - Motorola promises Android 4.0 updates to be released 6 weeks after Google’s release
  Aiming a bit too high, Motorola promises that updates would start being rolled out 6 weeks after Google releases the Android 4.0 OS. Most devices still haven’t received the update, and won’t for a while, so it is evident that Motorola was overestimating its abilities.

Motorola devices that have Android 4.0

• Motorola XOOM WiFi-Only (USA, Canada)

Motorola devices that will receive Android 4.0 during Q2

• Motorola XOOM WiFi-Only (Asia Pacific, China, EMEA, Japan & LATAM)
• Motorola XOOM (Verizon)
• Motorola RAZR (Asia Pacific, Canada, China, EMEA, Japan, Korea & LATAM)
• Motorola DROID RAZR (Verizon)
• Motorola DROID RAZR Maxx (Verizon)
• Motorola MT917 (China)
• Motorola XT928 (China)

Motorola devices that will receive Android 4.0 during Q3

• Motorola Atrix 4G (USA)
• Motorola Atrix 2 (Asia-Pacific, LATAM, USA, and selected other markets)
• Motorola XOOM Family Edition (USA)
• Motorola XOOM 2 (Asia Pacific, EMEA, and LATAM)
• Motorola XOOM 2 Media Edition (Asia Pacific, EMEA, and LATAM)
• Motorola Xyboard 8.2 (USA)
• Motorola Xyboard 10.1 (USA)
• Motorola DROID Bionic (Verizon)
• Motorola DROID 4 (Verizon)
• Motorola DROID Xyboard 8.2 (Verizon)
• Motorola DROID Xyboard 10.1 (Verizon)

Motorola devices that will receive Android 4.0 during Q4

• Motorola Photon 4G (USA)

Phones under evaluation and planning: Might or might not get update, no estimated dates

• Motorola Atrix/Atrix 4G (Asia Pacific, EMEA and LATAM)
• Motorola Electrify (USA)
• Motorola Photon 4G (Japan)
• Motorola XOOM WiFi + 3G (Asia Pacific, EMEA and LATAM)

Motorola devices that will NOT get updated to Android 4.0

• Motorola Admiral
• Motorola Charm
• Motorola DROID 3
• Motorola DROID X2
• Motorola Flipout
• Motorola Milestone A854/A953
• Motorola Milestone XT720/XT701/XT711
• Motorola XT605
• Motorola XT615 / XT685 / MOTOLUXE
• Motorola XT882
• Motorola MT870
• Motorola Milestone 3
• Motorola Milestone X2
• Motorola Pro+
• Motorola Devour
• Motorola Cliq XT
• Motorola i1
• Motorola Dext
• Motorola Quench MB501/XT5 XT502/XT3 XT502
• Motorola Defy Mini
• Motorola Defy MB525 (Europe & MEA)

Just a little over three months after Google got the green light from the US Department of Justice and the European Commission they have finally received the blessing of Chinese regulators to acquire Motorola Mobility.

Google did have to agree to one fairly major stipulation in the process however — Android must [...]]]>

Just a little over three months after Google got the green light from the US Department of Justice and the European Commission they have finally received the blessing of Chinese regulators to acquire Motorola Mobility.

Google did have to agree to one fairly major stipulation in the process however — Android must remain freely available to other manufacturers for the next five years. Now it seems likely that this is exactly what Google has in mind anyway, but this should assuage any lingering doubts for other manufacturers.

According to WSJs sources the purchase could be finalized within the week. What, if anything, we will see happen once the deal goes through has been a bit of a mystery ever since we first heard of the planned buyout over nine months ago. There’s been no shortage of rumor and news surrounding Motorola’s future with a shake-up at CEO, a potential sale to Huawei, a complete firewall between the two companies and now a potential US importation ban in the coming months. The only seeming guarantee is that it is unlikely to be a boring year where Motorola is concerned.

We’ve asked you before, but now that we are in the home stretch for this purchase it feels like it’s an appropriate time to ask again. What do you think Google should be doing with Motorola? Should they be a full-time Nexus manufacturer? Should Google allow them to continue as a separate entity? Should Google allow them to continue as a separate entity but insist that Blur and any otherwise named permutation of it be killed off? (I’m only slightly kidding.)

Hot on the heels of US customs imposing an International Trade Commission ban on select HTC devices we have yet another exclusion order from the ITC, but this time around it’s Microsoft winning their patent claim against Motorola.

The patent in question dates back to 1998 and relates to scheduling a meeting with [...]]]>

Hot on the heels of US customs imposing an International Trade Commission ban on select HTC devices we have yet another exclusion order from the ITC, but this time around it’s Microsoft winning their patent claim against Motorola.

The patent in question dates back to 1998 and relates to scheduling a meeting with a group using a mobile device and having that event sync across mobile devices and PCs. As with many of these claims this sounds like fairly ridiculous feature to be able to patent, but the key is always in the exact implementation of the feature so it’s possible that Motorola will be able to come up with another way of handling the function (that is the tactic HTC employed in their case).

As you may recall from the HTC ruling this exclusion order doesn’t have any immediate ramifications for consumers as first the order goes to President Obama, who has 60 days to overturn the ruling should he so desire. My understanding is that the likelihood of this is just slightly higher than the next iPhone running Jelly Bean. Motorola also indicated that they may seek to appeal the ruling which would further delay an actual ban being put in place.

For Motorola the immediate repercussions are that they must pay Microsoft 33 cents per device during the 60 day review period with the President. A per device licensing fee is one of the potential resolutions to this matter and likely the option that Microsoft would prefer considering they are already pulling in licensing fees from the majority of Android manufacturers.

With Google finally receiving the necessary approval in China for the Motorola acquisition there may well be a different legal team at the helm for this matter by the time the 60 day review period is up — whether that will result in a different strategy going forward is anyone’s guess at the moment, but we’ll be keeping a careful eye on this one as the summer progresses.

Last week we had the chance to sit down with Ryan Bidan, Director of Product Markting at Samsung Mobile, as part of our ongoing Android Insiders series. The Galaxy S III is one of the largest Android product launches of the year so we wanted to talk about the Galaxy brand and what it [...]]]>

Last week we had the chance to sit down with Ryan Bidan, Director of Product Markting at Samsung Mobile, as part of our ongoing Android Insiders series. The Galaxy S III is one of the largest Android product launches of the year so we wanted to talk about the Galaxy brand and what it represents to consumers.

We also chatted about TouchWiz, unlocked phones, and customer loyalty programs, so check out the full interview below and let Samsung know how much you appreciate them taking the time to sit down and talk with the Android community.

Android and Me:  The messaging for the Galaxy S II was “Screen, speed, and content.” What should the Galaxy brand represent to consumers?

Ryan Bidan:  For us the Galaxy brand is our flagship brand. I want it to be defined to consumers as the best Android device experience period. In this case we happen to be talking about the Galaxy S III, our flagship Android phone.

A year ago when we were talking about the Galaxy S II, part of it was the market was in a very different place and what we needed to do with that launch was something different. We basically brought out a world beater phone that decimated the competition. It was hands down the best Android phone across the line and did a great job.

I think the market has changed quite a bit in the last year. I think there are a lot of really great devices out there. For most consumers this idea of “speed and screen”, those kind of factors, the speed particularly and the power of the hardware are becoming less relevant of a differentiator. You move from this place where it was megahertz, gigahertz, and cores and now we are trying to move beyond that. Is my quad-core really better than a dual-core from the next generation?

What we are trying to do here is define Galaxy S III as being the flagship device experience in totality from design, performance, and on-device software. I don’t want you to worry about what’s going on under the covers. We make all the components. It’s the best device available for you and it’s going to have the best experience.

Yes, its got a great screen and lots of power under the hood, but what I want you to think about is how great it feels to use, how fluid it is, and things we have done with the software.

AAM: How important is Samsung’s content ecosystem to the success of the Galaxy S III?

RB:  On the content side, it’s a bit of an open market for us. So you’ve got Google’s offerings, a lot of 3rd party offerings, carrier offerings, and in some cases you have Samsung’s offerings. For us it has always been about providing choice for the consumer. So in markets where there aren’t any 3rd party providers or markets where there aren’t solutions to provide that kind of content, we’ve gone out and done some of those.

Obviously the US market is very mature in terms of content delivery in a lot of ways. There are lots of incumbents in those markets, so our strategy has been more likely to work with them than provide solutions against them.

So that’s part one. Do I think that Samsung’s content ecosystem is important for the success of this device? Absolutely. I think a big part of the device experience today, the expectation around the device experience, is that ‘I’ve got my content. I can enjoy my content.’

And for Samsung, having various components of the ecosystem, it becomes how can I share that content. Whether it’s with my TV, or my tablet, or across other devices.

AAM: Specifically, I’m curious about Samsung’s Game Hub. I saw Samsung preview some new games at their Unpacked event like Gameloft’s Asphalt 7. Do you think we will see Game Hub in the United States?

RB: I think gaming as a content solution is very important. Do I think we need to provide great gaming solutions for our customers? Absolutely. Will that be in the form of Game Hub or some other way to deliver that content? I’m not 100% sure right now.

AAM: For a customer that purchased the Galaxy S II and loved it, what do you see as the key reasons to upgrade to a Galaxy S III?

RB: If I was talking to a specific user I would totally dig into what they are doing with their device today and tell them how much more awesome the Galaxy S III is. In general I think the things to look for are best in class hardware, a great camera experience - we got the 8 megapixel shooter and all the advanced features like burst shot and zero shutter lag, and we now got the HD screen with the 4.8 inch 720p HD Super AMOLED display. It looks much better and has more information on the screen. And you now have Ice Cream Sandwich and the latest Samsung enhancements to it.

AAM: What is the future of TouchWiz going forward? There is no mention of TouchWiz in Samsung’s online marketing for the Galaxy S III. Is Samsung going to devalue it?

RB: My take on it, and the way I have characterized it is actually the opposite. What we are trying to do is not separate TouchWiz as a separate element, so much as help consumers understand it’s part of the Samsung device experience. It’s not this add-on, but it’s deeply integrated into how you experience this Samsung device.

Whether it’s lock-screen customizations, or gesture UX, or any of those kinds of elements that we have gone and extended, those kinds of additions to Ice Cream Sandwich that we think are interesting – that for us is now part of your Samsung device experience.

I don’t think calling out TouchWiz as a separate application or having it thought of as this separate thing is particularly useful.

AAM:  How do you see the market for unlocked phones in the US evolving over the next couple of years?

RB:  It’s a challenging one because the issue has always been the market in the US, or North America, is so very different than the rest of the world – the position of the carriers, subsidized devices, and all that kind of stuff.

I think unlocked devices are very interesting, but I think it’s very much an enthusiast audience at this point. It’s those people who would be willing to import the phone from overseas anyways. When we are talking about something like a Google Experience device, like the Galaxy Nexus, it is a very focused kind experience that [consumers] are looking for.

How do I think about the unlocked thing? From a consumer point of view I think it would be great to see more unlocked phones. I don’t think the North American consumer is necessarily ready for the market to become that kind of unlocked device market.

We expect our phones to be subsidized. We expect to go in a store and spend $199 or $299 for a flagship device. If we started going in and had to bear the true cost of what those devices were, the model might not be that appealing at the end of the day.

AAM:  Why should a smartphone buyer be loyal to Samsung, versus going out and getting the latest, greatest smartphone?

RB:  We are changing what we talk about with the Galaxy S III and defining a specific Samsung experience. What we are doing is trying to define and communicate reasons why you want to come into the Samsung ecosystem, but then also stay there. Things like unique features on our devices, great design, unique ecosystem opportunities, and [Samsung's] other device offerings.

I want to get you in the door with a great device experience. The Galaxy S III looks fantastic, runs awesomely, and has a lot of cool features. Then you see all the other things that you can do with your device, that you can only do with Samsung, whether it’s gesture UX, S Voice, AllShare Play, S Beam, that you can’t do with any other device.

AAM:  Have you ever considered doing a customer loyalty type program or is that something you leave up to your retail partners?

RB:  It’s interesting because we are making this transition to wanting to be closer to our consumer. So when I talk about things like wanting to deliver a Samsung experience, I mean to the end user. I want you to have a relationship with your Samsung phone regardless of what carrier you are on.

As part of that it means us needing to get closer to how those devices are actually delivered to consumers in the retail model and what that purchase process looks like. We are absolutely looking at all kinds of options around customer retention, loyalty, and trade up. Do I have anything to announce today? No, but it’s definitely something we are thinking about regularly.

AAM: Thank you for your time.

Quick warning to the cross section of you that both love your Google Music and frequently flashing new ROMs onto your device(s), which I imagine might be quite a few of you.

Google has recently put a limit on the number of ‘devices’ that a user may deauthorize in a year and at [...]]]>

Quick warning to the cross section of you that both love your Google Music and frequently flashing new ROMs onto your device(s), which I imagine might be quite a few of you.

Google has recently put a limit on the number of ‘devices’ that a user may deauthorize in a year and at just four that limit could definitely be a problem. If you weren’t already aware, the ceiling for devices that you can have authorized on a single Google Music account at any given time is ten.

I suspect if you are savvy enough to flash a new ROMs you can already see where the problem is, but for those that aren’t aware the phone is given a new ID within Google Music each time you register it after flashing a new ROM. So the same device could potentially eat up your entire quota after just a few new ROMs.

Considering the dedicated and often vocal ROM development community that Android has fostered, it’s possible that we will see some serious backlash over this which could in turn lead to a reversal or at least a softening of the policy by Google.

In the mean time if this sounds like it may be a problem for you I would recommend heading over to the XDA thread listed in the VIA link below as they are already discussing potential workarounds such as restoring accounts via Titanium Backup to avoid a new authorization.

I’m hoping this is one of those situations where the full ramifications of the policy change were not thought through properly and that we will see Google come up with a workable solution, but as the vast majority of users would never run into this problem it’s entirely possible that it will stand.

Update: It seems that Google may have fixed this problem without saying a peep about it as the deauthorization limit seems to have suddenly been lifted. I was able to deauthorize all of my current devices from my list just moments ago after having hit the limit of four this morning. There’s been no change to Google’s policy in the Play Store Support page yet so we’ll have to see if Google has replaced the restriction with something more lenient or just done away with it completely.

Update 2: Here’s the official update from Google. The upshot is that for the time being you’re free to deauthorize devices at will, but that won’t be the permanent solution.

Yesterday we made a change to our device policy for music on Google Play. Any user can associate up to 10 devices to his or her account. Once you have connected 10 devices, you may add a new device only by deauthorizing an existing one from your account, and you may do this up to four times per year.

We limit the number of times you can swap out new devices at the request of some of our music partners in an effort to limit abuse. We understand this has caused some issues for users who often deauthorize and reauthorize the same device, and we are currently re-implementing the solution in a way that works for our users and music partners.

We apologize for any inconvenience and will update this page as new changes are made.Google Play Support