Manufacturers are always catching heat for not staying up to date with Android software. They can release three phones in a quarter, each with better hardware than the one before it, but not a single one runs on the latest version of Android. Why is that? We know third-party UIs and carrier customizations hold up [...]]]>

Manufacturers are always catching heat for not staying up to date with Android software. They can release three phones in a quarter, each with better hardware than the one before it, but not a single one runs on the latest version of Android. Why is that? We know third-party UIs and carrier customizations hold up the update process. That’s not all though. A Motorola executive has spoken out on the hardships of updates, and it looks like the Big M holds Google’s Nexus hardware choices responsible for much of the delays.

When Google first releases a new version of Android, only the company lucky enough to be chosen as the manufacturer of the next Nexus has access to it. When that new version of Android is released with the next Nexus, it’s optimized to run on Nexus hardware. According to Christy Wyatt, senior vice president and general manager of Motorola’s Enterprise Business Unit, that’s where the problems begin.

When Google does a release of the software ... they do a version of the software for whatever phone they just shipped. The rest of the ecosystem doesn't see it until you see it. Hardware is by far the long pole in the tent, with multiple chipsets and multiple radio bands for multiple countries. It's a big machine to churn.Christy WyattMotorola

Clearly, manufacturers are faced with several hurdles leading to a consumer update. Some are uncontrollable, while some could be worked on.

Carrier control isn’t likely to go away anytime soon. Companies like Motorola don’t see any advantages in limiting what a carrier can do to their device. Some devices make it to market with only a handful of custom apps, while others, like Moto’s Droid devices, are as carrier branded as Android gets. In return for giving Verizon this sort of control, Motorola gets to be the face of Verizon for many ad campaigns to come.

Limiting the hardware a manufacturer releases would also help alleviate some of the stress behind updates. This could be a growing trend in 2012. It was certainly well voiced in 2011.

As far as Android being optimized for specific hardware, forcing manufacturers to work overtime to optimize for their hardware, there’s not a whole lot that can be said. However, companies with less hardware available, who make less changes to stock Android, generally get their updates out faster than anyone else.

Hardware optimization and custom software aside, one can’t help but wonder how much of the drawn out update process is tied to sheer laziness or a “who cares” attitude. Take Motorola’s unfulfilled promise to unlock bootloaders: instead of making good and releasing the necessary tools, they’ve announced yet another version of the RAZR with an unlockable bootloader and “Developer Edition” in the name.

Is that because Verizon told them unlocking the original RAZR would be a bad idea? Are they too busy working on new phones, ignoring the old ones? Do they really even care? If Motorola is spending all their time trying to optimize new versions of Android Google released with a Nexus in mind, would they be opposed to some hardware limitations imposed by Google? Or probably most ideally for Motorola, should consumers just get over it, and be happy that they can still run (most of) the latest apps from the Market?

Whatever the case, one thing is for sure. Don’t expect the manufacturers to suddenly start updating their handsets faster any time soon. They have plenty of excuses reasons lined up to explain the wait.

Googorola is set to become a reality as early as next week, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal. The $12.5 Billion acquisition of Motorola Mobility by Google will gain approval by the Justice Department, though antitrust enforcers still show concerns over how Google will license some of the patents it will acquire [...]]]>

Googorola is set to become a reality as early as next week, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal. The $12.5 Billion acquisition of Motorola Mobility by Google will gain approval by the Justice Department, though antitrust enforcers still show concerns over how Google will license some of the patents it will acquire from the deal. Surely these folks will be keeping a close eye on Google to determine whether they’re using these patents in a fair manner.

Approval from the U.S. DOJ was one of several hurdles that the merger would have to face in order to gain approval. In addition to the DOJ, Google and Motorola need buy-in from the European Commission, China, Canada, Israel, Russia, Taiwan, and Turkey in order to proceed. As of the end of January, only Russia and Turkey had approved the merger while the other countries conducted further investigations.

The European Commission has set a Monday deadline for approval of the deal, meaning we won’t have to wait too long to know whether the next big hurdle will be overcome. Europe is likely the biggest obstacle to the merger, and an approval on Monday would likely mean the deal would become a reality very soon.

More to come early next week as we await a ruling from across the pond.

While most consumers are still trying to figure out the differences between Froyo, Gingerbread or Ice Cream Sandwich, Android enthusiasts are praising the latest iteration of Android. Android 4.0 delivered a myriad of new functionalities to Android, including a shiny new user interface (UI). The Android development team at Google spent countless hours making Android’s [...]]]>

While most consumers are still trying to figure out the differences between Froyo, Gingerbread or Ice Cream Sandwich, Android enthusiasts are praising the latest iteration of Android. Android 4.0 delivered a myriad of new functionalities to Android, including a shiny new user interface (UI). The Android development team at Google spent countless hours making Android’s new UI “enchanting, beautiful and seductive.” With such a dramatically improved UI, manufacturers would certainly ditch their custom skins and bring back some unity to Android’s user experience – or would they?

There was certainly hope from many Android enthusiasts that the stock Android UI would be embraced by all. Unfortunately, early leaks and previews from Sony, Samsung and HTC have disappointed many since Android manufacturers seem to be chugging along on the same course as before, spending the majority of their time working on custom skins for Android rather than focusing solely on updating older phones to the latest version of Android. But is this really a bad thing?

If you read through the comments on this site you will notice a recurring theme: our readers are very outspoken about the virtues of the stock Android UI, claiming that “Google finally got it right” and asking “why would manufacturers mess around with perfection” while bullying (down voting) commenters who showed support for HTC Sense, TouchWiz or MotoBLUR (or whatever Motorola is calling it these days).

Personally, I’m a big fan of stock Android and will agree that Google has finally delivered a UI that’s better than most custom skins produced by OEMs. The problem is that Google’s new UI improvements for Android are merely a composite refinement of all the features Motorola, HTC and Samsung have had for quite some time. If you pick apart the new UI piece by piece you will notice that there’s really nothing new. Looking back over the past three years, you’ll see that Google’s UI improvements with every new version of Android include borrowed ideas that were introduced by others.

Below are a few examples of some of the features included in Android 4.0 which were originally pioneered in one or more custom skins produced by Android manufacturers.

Social Media Integration

Facebook and Twitter integration into the contacts application was first introduced by HTC and was adopted a few months later by Motorola in 2009. Both Motorola and HTC served up your contact’s latest status update or a notification of an impending birthday when you called or received a call from one of your contacts. Google introduced a more limited Facebook integration with Android 2.1.

Animated Widgets

When Android first launched, Google only had three widgets and developers had to wait until Android 1.5 before they were able to create their own. Fortunately, HTC jumped into the deep end with HTC Sense and delivered several dozen widgets which also featured animations. The HTC flip clock is probably the most recognizable and mimicked Android widget. Motorola, Samsung, LG and even Huawei introduced animated widgets to their custom versions of Android before Google got around to it with Honeycomb.

Re-sizable Widgets

While HTC kept adding more and more widgets to its Sense library (most of which were simply different sizes of the same widget), Motorola chose to take a different route with the introduction of the DROID X by introducing re-sizable widgets. Users could now choose how large or small they wanted a widget to be. The best part about Motorola’s widget resizing feature is that the widget layout changes depending on which size you choose. As with animated widgets, Google introduced re-sizable widgets in Honeycomb, but the functionality was not nearly as advanced as Motorola’s.

Advanced Lock-screen

With Sense, HTC has always been on the forefront of the customizable lock screen. Early iterations included music controls and details of missed phone calls and text messages. With HTC Sense 3.0, HTC took the customizable lock-screen to a whole new level by giving users a variety of different skins which displayed stock quotes, animated weather, pictures and social media updates from friends. Users were also given the option to choose four different applications which could be launched directly from the lock-screen. The Android team added new features to the lock-screen in Android 4.0 which allow users to launch the dialer or camera applications, but there is still no option to add any user customization.

When it comes to features, many of the custom Android skins produced by OEMs clearly have the Android team beat. But this shouldn’t be surprising to anyone. Motorola and Samsung have been in the mobile phone business for decades and one of HTC’s biggest accomplishments before Android came along was adding a custom UI on top of Windows Mobile which finally made the OS usable for everyday consumers.

My assumption is that there is fear among Android enthusiasts that manufacturers will simply take Android 4.0 and all its new features and cover it up with their own UI without adding any new functionality on top of it. While I can’t guarantee that every custom skin will look nicer than what the Android team has whipped up, the majority of new phones running Android 4.0 with a custom skin will have all the base features with additional features which give users more control and an enhanced experience.

The reason Android is successful isn’t because Google is doing all the work. The leading manufacturers take Google’s base code and add their own tweaks to differentiate their products from the competition while adding features which Google has not yet dreamed up. If everyone simply took Android 4.0 and loaded it onto their phones, the rapid pace of Android’s innovations would slow to a crawl which might lead to the platform’s demise.

I know there will always be a lot of supporters of stock Android, but I hope those of you who prefer your vanilla UI treatment can learn to appreciate custom skins a little more. Google has done an incredible job with the Android 4.0 UI, but lets not forget to give credit to the manufacturers who pioneered many of those same features months or even years before Google wrapped them into the Android fold.

In case there was any doubt to the rumored release date, Verizon has issued a press release this morning which confirms the February 10th availability of the slide-out QWERTY device. Starting this Friday, the Droid 4 will sell for $199.99 with a new 2-year agreement or eligible upgrade.

The spec sheet for the Droid [...]]]>

In case there was any doubt to the rumored release date, Verizon has issued a press release this morning which confirms the February 10th availability of the slide-out QWERTY device. Starting this Friday, the Droid 4 will sell for $199.99 with a new 2-year agreement or eligible upgrade.

The spec sheet for the Droid 4 includes:

• 1.2 GHz dual-core processor
• 4.0″ qHD display
• Android 2.3.5 Gingerbread with Motorola’s UI overlay
• 8 megapixel rear camera with 1080p recording capabilities
• 720p front facing camera
• 1GB RAM
• 16GB onboard storage (up to 48 GB with micro SD)
• LTE

The Droid 4 will certainly become the best QWERTY device available to Verizon customers when it launches later this week. If the Droid 4 gives you a feeling a deja vu, that’s most certainly because the Droid 4 looks just like the Droid RAZR with a slide-out keyboard.

Anyone out there planning on picking up a Droid 4? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

After Motorola’s victory last Friday, Apple was forced to remove multiple iPads and iPhones from its German online store. Apple was able to quickly put them back up, after asking Motorola for a patent licensing deal. It has just been discovered that Motorola is willing to work with Apple on this, but for quite a [...]]]>

After Motorola’s victory last Friday, Apple was forced to remove multiple iPads and iPhones from its German online store. Apple was able to quickly put them back up, after asking Motorola for a patent licensing deal. It has just been discovered that Motorola is willing to work with Apple on this, but for quite a substantial price.

According to a document discovered by FOSS Patents, Motorola is asking for 2.25% in royalties. The exact details are still unclear, so it is unknown whether this will apply only to affected devices or not. Such included the iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4 and all 3G-enabled iPads.

Regardless, Apple is one of the most successful companies in the industry, so 2.25% will amount to many, many millions of dollars should they accept.

Apple is not keeping its arms crossed, though. They know that the tension between Apple and Android manufacturers is strong, and Motorola could be biased against the Cupertino giant. Apple has recently requested information about Motorola’s deals with other companies, in an attempt to prove that such a percentage is too high. Said manufacturers include Nokia, HTC, LG and Ericsson.

Stay tuned to see how this one unfolds, and we will definitely stay on top of it. This is just the beginning of the retaliation. With Google set to protect Android manufacturers from the patent wars, along with the acquisition of Motorola, things are looking bright for the future.

What do you guys say? Is 2.25% really too much? Do you believe Apple (and company) will be less likely to bother Android manufacturers after a few court losses?

We have something special for your daily flurry of lawsuit news. We usually see Cupertino Giant messing with all the little boys in the playground. Today, Motorola has taken a big swing at Apple, winning a permanent injunction in Germany. This forced Apple to pull most of its devices from its online store (you [...]]]>

We have something special for your daily flurry of lawsuit news. We usually see Cupertino Giant messing with all the little boys in the playground. Today, Motorola has taken a big swing at Apple, winning a permanent injunction in Germany. This forced Apple to pull most of its devices from its online store (you could still find them at stores) for a while.

Devices affected included the iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4 and all 3G-enabled iPads. These went off the German Apple Store website for a while, until the ban was lifted again. An appeal took place after Apple complained that Motorola was not being helpful with the licensing of the patents at hand. Apple made a licencing payment offer, and its products should be back in the shelves soon. ^[1]

Regardless, it seems like iPhone and iPad users in Germany might still be losing some iCloud functionality. Mainly, the use of push e-mail, which is a great loss, if you ask us. Being able to get your e-mail & notifications in time is crucial for many users.

It seems like Google was not so wrong making the decision to acquire Motorola, in order to defend the Android operating system and manufacturers from legal battles. Motorola is on a roll with Apple, with this being the third time they won against Cupertino Giant, in Germany.

We are also still waiting to see what happens in Florida, where Motorola sued Apple, as well. Odds are looking awfully great for Motorola. And with this happening in Apple’s home country, we can expect to see those tables not only turned, but flipped upside down.

The Motorola Droid legacy is about to receive its latest iteration, the Droid 4. This 4G LTE, slide-out keyboard device is undoubtedly one of the most awaited in Verizon’s network, especially for all the keyboard lovers out there. We were expecting this bad boy to hit the streets last December, but rumors indicate that the [...]]]>

The Motorola Droid legacy is about to receive its latest iteration, the Droid 4. This 4G LTE, slide-out keyboard device is undoubtedly one of the most awaited in Verizon’s network, especially for all the keyboard lovers out there. We were expecting this bad boy to hit the streets last December, but rumors indicate that the release was pushed back. But this time around all stars are lining up, and it looks as though the device will be released next week.

The first, and most important sign is the fact that the Motorola Droid 4 has recently showed up at the Droid Does website. Such instance is usually followed by a release, very soon. In this site, we can see all the main features and specs, as well as sign-up for more information.

If you have not heard of the specs, they include a dual-core 1.2 GHz processor, 1 GB of RAM, 4-inch qHD display, Android 2.3.5, 8 MP rear-facing camera (1080p recording), front-facing camera (720p recording), 4G LTE connectivity and a 5-row slide-out physical keyboard. Also, remember that this phone will be getting GSM global roaming capabilities. All the travelers out there might be interested in this.

Its appearance at the Droid Does website definitely makes the Droid 4 a bit more exciting. But it tells us nothing we don’t already know. The specs and features have been known for months now. What we want to know is when and for how much we will be able to get this piece of technology in our hands. For such details, we have to turn our heads to the rumor wagon.

Just yesterday, our buds from Droid-Life received a tip that confirmed a February 9 release date. Rumors also state that this bad boy will go for $199 on a 2-year contract, which is not a bad price compared to the other new 4G LTE devices.

That was all good and dandy, until this morning, when Droid-Life got another tip. This time it is a screenshot from Verizon’s equipment guide, and it states that the Droid 4 will be launching on February 10 instead (image below).

But whether it is the 10th or the 9th, odds are that it will be coming very soon. Get ready to let your flying fingers type away at 4G LTE speeds, texting demons! This bad boy is finally getting here. Is anyone signing up for this one?

For everyone that has been complaining about Motorola locking their bootloaders I’m sure this is going to… well let’s be honest this is probably just going to tick you off too.

Motorola has announced via their blog that a new version of the Motorola RAZR will be coming first to Europe and then [...]]]>

For everyone that has been complaining about Motorola locking their bootloaders I’m sure this is going to… well let’s be honest this is probably just going to tick you off too.

Motorola has announced via their blog that a new version of the Motorola RAZR will be coming first to Europe and then to the U.S. “in the coming months.” This is a spin on the original RAZR, not the recently released RAZR MAXX, and will be known as the RAZR Developer Edition. The big headling feature of this newest rendition of the RAZR is an unlockable bootloader. While there has been something of a hue and cry from the Android population over Motorola’s steadfast locking of their bootloaders it seems unlikely that anyone’s ideal solution was yet another SKU in the RAZR family.

The full text of their post can be found below as they have subsequently pulled it from their blog. The date on their post was January 30th so someone probably just pulled the trigger on it a bit early.

Motorola is quick to attribute the need for locked bootloaders on their phones to “carrier and regulatory obligations” which is a bit puzzling considering other manufacturers don’t appear to be similarly hampered.

What are your thoughts on this move? Are you pleased that Motorola is at least making a product with an unlocked bootloader available to consumers or do you feel that they are letting current owners down by not finding a way to allow them this same freedom?

Gallery

Google shocked the tech world last year when they announced that they would acquire Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion. Shareholders already approved the deal and many in the industry assume it will go through, but there are still a few hurdles left to clear before it becomes official. Motorola provided an update on [...]]]>

Google shocked the tech world last year when they announced that they would acquire Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion. Shareholders already approved the deal and many in the industry assume it will go through, but there are still a few hurdles left to clear before it becomes official. Motorola provided an update on the progress in yesterday’s earnings report.

In order to be approved antitrust clearances, or waiting period expirations, are required by the U.S. Department of Justice, European Commission, Canada, China, Israel, Russia, Taiwan and Turkey.

So far, clearances have only been received from Turkey and Russia. The waiting period has expired in the United States and Canada, but Motorola has been informed that the reviewing agencies have not finished their investigations. The Chinese Ministry of Commerce announced in December that they have moved on to phase two of its investigation.

Motorola “expects the transaction to close in early 2012″ but notes that “factors outside the company’s control” could “delay or prevent completion of the transaction altogether.”

The biggest obstacle to completing the transaction could come from Europe where consumer groups are urging the European Union to block the merger. Consumer Watchdog, a US-based advocacy group, has written a letter [.pdf] to the EU asking them to stop the deal.

Parts of the letter read, “Allowing the Motorola Mobility deal would provide Google with unprecedented dominance in virtually all aspects of the mobile world – manufacturing, operating systems, search and advertising. It would be a virtually unstoppable juggernaut. We urge the Commission to block the proposed $12.5 billion deal.”

Not only does the letter ask the EU to block the merger, but it also calls for an investigation into the Google’s alleged anti-competitive practices.

If you are not familiar with Consumer Watchdog, they have accused Google of engaging in “close relationships” with the U.S. governement and produced several videos attacking former Google CEO, Eric Schmidt.

The EU Commission was originally supposed to make a decision on the merger by January 10th, but that deadline was extended to February 13th after Google submitted additional documents to support its case.

At this point I doubt the deal will get killed, but anything is possible. There was a time when we thought that AT&T’s acquisition of T-Mobile was certain, and look how that turned out.

Folks looking to get their hands on the Wi-Fi Motorola Xyboard 8.2″ and 10.1″ tablets, the wait is over. Though the device has been up for preorder for a few weeks now, the follow up to the Xoom tablet is now shipping from Motorola’s website.

Starting today, customers who order the Xyboard will [...]]]>

Folks looking to get their hands on the Wi-Fi Motorola Xyboard 8.2″ and 10.1″ tablets, the wait is over. Though the device has been up for preorder for a few weeks now, the follow up to the Xoom tablet is now shipping from Motorola’s website.

Starting today, customers who order the Xyboard will be treated to free two-day shipping on their orders. The pricing for the Wi-Fi models range from $399.99 for the 16 GB 8.2″ model to $599.99 for the 32GB 10.1″ model.

Highlights of the Motorola Xyboard include:

• Android 3.2 Honeycomb at launch
• 8.2- or 10.1-inch IPS display with Gorilla Glass
• 1.2 GHz dual-core OMAP4 processor
• 5 MP rear camera
• 1.3 MP front facing camera
• 1 GB RAM
• 16 GB or 32 GB internal storage

Frankly, unless you’re a big fan of the form factor of the Xyboard, we can’t see much of a justification for plopping down $400 to $600 on a tablet, especially when you’re putting these devices on shelves next to the Transformer Prime ($500 and $600, same as Xyboard) and upcoming 7″ Tegra 3 MeMO 370T at $250.

If you’ve still got your heart set on the Xyboard, you can head over to Motorola’s site to order your shiny new Android tablet. Anyone planning on picking one of these up? Which model?