Motorola Droid
Verizon and Motorola should be very proud of their Droid smartphone—with each
new Google Android-powered phone exceeding the next, the Motorola Droid is
definitely at a superior status within its OS community. The Motorola Droid was
the first truly considerable iPhone-killer, and once industry pros got their
hands on it they realized why—it was fast due to Verizon’s superior EV-DO Rev A
network, a solidly built smartphone, and quite a handsome handset.
The Droid was a momentous moment for both Verizon and Motorola—it was Verizon’s
first Google Android phone and it reinstalled the mobile community’s faith in
Motorola as a handset manufacturer. The Droid sports a gorgeous 400,000-pixel
16×9 3.7-inch LCD touchscreen, the speedy Android 2.0 operating system,
slide-out QWERTY keyboard, Voice-prompted Google Maps Navigation, Bluetooth
v2.1+EDR, a 5 megapixel camera, 480p HD camcorder, and a 1400 mAh battery that
provides up to 6.4 hours of talk time.
The Motorola Droid is currently available exclusively from Verizon Wireless for
$299.99 including a two year contract; or the Droid is also available from
Motorola for $599.99.
Motorola Backflip
If you lusted after the Motorola CLIQ while trapped in an AT&T service plan,
2010 is your lucky year. The backwards, back-flipping CLIQ-like smartphone—the
Motorola Backflip—will be arriving at AT&T this year. The Motorola Backflip is a
multitasking Android smartphone that features MOTOBLUR and a unique reverse-flip
design.Motorola says this new phone’s design makes it easier to enjoy videos,
music and photos. The Backflips’ QWERTY keyboard helps you to blast through
e-mails, texts, news feeds and social network messages. This device supports
Bluetooth A2DP, a high-res 3.1” HVGA screen, 3G Internet, Wi-Fi access and a 5
megapixel camera.
The Motorola Backflip is not out yet and the details of its release date are
scarce. The new Android-powered smartphone will be one of the few handsets
arriving at AT&T this year—we think between that and its promise as a genuinely
good phone; it’s enough to celebrate it.
CNET sites the Backflip as coming to AT&T on March 7, but nothing has been
confirmed. The phone will launch in Q1 of this year. So if you’re looking for a
spiffy and speedy Android smartphone with a solid build, Motorola may just have
one for you.
Verizon Scores Two More Motorola Androids
Verizon Wireless and Motorola today announced two new Android handsets, the Droid Pro and Citrus.
- Droid Pro:The first Android device designed for business, with IT-friendly features. This candybar-style smartphone packs a touch screen and a full QWERTY keyboard on the front. The Droid Pro is the first Global Android device from Verizon Wireless, and it allows customers to access wireless voice service in more than 220 countries and data coverage in more than 200 countries. It has a 5 megapixel camera with autofocus and flash. It also has a 3.1-inch touch display and a 1GHz processor. It will ship with Android 2.2 and Adobe's Flash Player Mobile 10.1. It has Exchange security features, complex password support, and device management options. It will be available in the first week of November from Verizon.
- Citrus: Motorola believes the Citrus is a good choice for feature phone users upgrading to their first smartphone. It has a 3-inch touch screen and multi-touch. This Android 2.1 device is a simple slab form factor and offers entry-level features in a compact design.
Motorola DROID Pro with portrait QWERTY and 3.1 inch screen is introduced
Motorola and Verizon have introduced the Motorola DROID Pro and it probably looks nothing like what you were expecting. Early speculation was that this handset would be a DROID 2 refitted for global use and made for the business set. With the ability to support voice calls in 220 countries and with data coverage in 200, the DROID Pro is still made for the pinstriped wearing executive who spends more time on an airplane than in an office, but the form factor is the surprise.
| The Motorola DROID Pro is designed for the businessman on the go |
The candybar shaped device features a portrait oriented QWERTY keyboard underneath the model's 3.1 inch capacitive touchscreen display. Under the hood is a 1GHz processor, running the show including the 5MP camera with AF and flash. The Motorola DROID Pro will ship with Android 2.2 on board along with Adobe Flash Player 10.1. The version of blur that we have seen on the Motorola DROID 2 and DROID X will also be included.
With the Motorola DROID Pro, users will be able to view and share documents like Microsoft Excel spreadsheets, Word documents and Power Point presentations. Users will be able to put up a live widget that delivers e-mail to their home screen which can be divided into personal and business messages.
While no word on pricing was revealed, the phone is expected to launch the first week of next month. Motorola Mobility CEO Sanjay Jha said, "The DROID Pro is an advanced business-ready solution that provides users with the full smartphone experience, redefined by delivering the power of a DROID."
Motorola M990 / Motorola Smart Rider
Do you remember when mobile phones were called carphones? Devices that were so big and heavy that they couldn't really be carried around and had to stay in the car? If you have a long memory, or if you live in the UK where the Carphone Warehouse is based then the answer might well be yes.
It turns out that Motorola also remember the carphone, and theMotorola M990 (also known as the Motorola Smart Rider) harks back to earlier times, being a mobile handset that is specifically designed to be installed in a vehicle.
It's a strange looking device, in part due to the wide 320 x 240 pixel 2.8" display that gives a clue that the M990 Smart Rider is nothing like the carphones of the past.
The large display is used in conjunction with the M990's GPS based satellite navigation system. But GPS isn't the only trick up the M990's sleeve, it also features an advanced voice recognition system that can be used for dialling calls or handset control, Bluetooth, an email client, web browser and quad-band GSM with GPRS and EDGE data support.
This is a big handset with a footprint of 137mm x 85mm and it weighs in at around 400 grams. The large size is an advantage for in-car use (where permitted), but it's not the sort of thing that you would want to carry around with you.
The M990 itself connects to all the other components via an "Octopus Cable". This means that the M990 will usually require a professional installation. The handset itself can be unplugged from the cable, so it can be removed from the car or truck when not in use.
The Motorola M990 is aimed at professional drivers rather than normal business customers or consumers. So, if you're a delivery driver, chauffeur, taxi driver or some other type of road warrior then the M990 may well be of interest. Perhaps this is a small market, but it is one that is not very well served and it's quite refreshing to see Motorola come up with something that is nicely tailored for this customer demographic.
The navigation system on the M990 Smart Rider integrates traffic reports and features real-time rerouting. It can also be connected to a suitable fleet management application to allow for vehicle tracking.
In addition, the M990 Smart Rider features 4 user profiles, which is useful when more than one person drives a vehicle, and it has an MP3 player with a 2GB microSD card included in the standard sales package.
This is a niche product, but it appears to be very well implemented. Motorola say that the M990 Smart Rider should be available worldwide from June 2008 onwards, although no guidance was given on cost.
Motorola FLIPOUT
The Motorola FLIPOUT is an Android handset with a very unusual form factor, following on from the similarly named BACKFLIP and based on the same platform as the Motorola DEXT.
The rounded-off square design hides a five row QWERTY keyboard that rotates out from underneath, giving a fairly narrow set of keys with the slightly unusual feature of a row of number keys. Although the form factor is unusual, it is actually pretty similar to the US-only Nokia 7705 Twist, however the FLIPOUT is a much more powerful device than the Nokia.
On the front of the Motorola FLIPOUT is a 2.8" touchscreen display in a traditional 320 x 240 pixel resolution. On the back is a fairly basic 3 megapixel fixed-focus camera which should be good enough for basic snapshots and occasional video clips, and Motorola have partnered with Kodak to integrate their technology for clearer pictures and easier sharing.
This is a 3.5G device with a maximum download speed of 7.2 Mbps and upload speed of up to 2 Mbps. The Motorola FLIPOUT also supports WiFi as you might expect. There's a microSD slot (with a 2GB card in the standard sales package), a 3.5mm audio connector, Bluetooth and USB connectivity plus an FM radio. The FLIPOUT also comes with GPS and has a digital compass.
This is an Android 2.1 smartphone supporting Motorola's MOTOBLUR service which manages personal information and social networking. The FLIPOUT comes with all the usual Android features too, such as a wide range of Google applications, a capable web browser, email client and multimedia player, and of course you can download from a wide choice of application on the Android Market.
Inside is a 1170 mAh battery which Motorola say can power the FLIPOUT for about 4.5 hours talktime on 3G and over 15 days standby time. The FLIPOUT measures 67 x 67 x 17mm and weighs 120 grams, so it is a bit of an unusual shape to fit into a pocket when you consider that the DEXT has a more conventional 114 x 58mm footprint.
There are quite a wide variety of colours available which Motorola list as Saffron, Black Licorice, Poppy Red, Fairway Green, Rebel Pink, Raspberry Crush, Dark Sapphire, and Brilliant Blue.. although not all carriers will have all colours available.
It's a striking phone to look at, and the combination of Android 2.1 plus MOTOBLUR is an extremely impressive software suite which has proven its worth on other Motorola handsets. However, the screen is quite a bit smaller than the DEXT and we suspect that the compact keypad will take some getting used to.
Motorola say that the FLIPOUT should be available starting in Q2 2010, which in practice means from June onwards. There's no word on pricing, but the somewhat better specified BACKFLIP retails for about €400 SIM-free, so we would expect the FLIPOUT to cost around €300 to €350 when it hits the shops.
Motorola DROID X
Destined for the US Verizon network, the Motorola DROID X follows on from the original Motorola DROID, and it represents a serious step up from the first DROID's already impressive specifications.
This is a CDMA/EVDO device, so it won't run on European GSM/UMTS networks.. however, the original DROID was quickly followed by a worldwide version, the Motorola Milestone, but we don't know if Motorola intend to sell a worldwide version alongside the original Milestone and the upcoming XT720.
Although the DROID X looks very much like the original DROID, the display has increased in size to a huge 4.3" touchscreen from 3.7" while retaining the same 480 x 852 pixel resolution. Inside is a 1GHz processor, which should be just as fast as anything else on the market. On the back is an 8 megapixel camera with LED flash, more of which later. This is a pure tablet style smartphone, and it doesn't come with the slide-out QWERTY keyboard of the original DROID.. probably no great loss to be honest.
Shipping initially with Android 2.1, the DROID X will receive an over-the-air upgrade to Android 2.2 ("Froyo") in the late summer. This new version of Android promises significantly improved performance, which is undoubtedly a good thing. There will also be a full version of Adobe Flash 10.1 available with the operating system upgrade, which will allow access to full Flash based multimedia.. but it may also make the Android platform vulnerable to security
flaws.
The camera has autofocus and a dual LED flash in addition to its 8 megapixel resolution. The quoted rates for video capture are impressive as Motorola say that the DROID X is capable of 720p HD recording. It can also play back captured video via the built-in HDMI port or via DLNA.
Internal flash memory is a useful 8GB, plus a 16GB card in the standard sales package which can be swapped out for a much larger 32GB card if you want. The DROID X also comes with GPS, supports Google Maps and has turn-by-turn navigation.
Most types of multimedia are supported, and the DROID X also comes with Verizon's new V CAST system which allows access to TV shows via the Verizon data network. The DROID X is a CDMA/EVDO 800/1900 MHz device with WiFi connectivity, so it won't work on European GSM networks but it will work on wireless hotspots worldwide.
Android comes with a wide range of built in application, including a web browser and email client and a range of preinstalled Google goodies. There's a huge range of applications available from the Android Market too, many of which are free or very low cost.
It's quite a large, heavy phone coming in at 155 grams (about 5.5 ounces) and 128 x 66 x 10mm (or 5.0 x 2.6 x 0.4 inches). In terms of size, it is partway between the original DROID and the new Dell Streak tablet. Talktime is quoted as being up to 8 hours with 9 days standby time.
If you live in the US, then you can pick the DROID X up from next month exclusively on the Verizon network for $200 when taken with an appropriate 2 year contract. For more information visit verizonwireless.com.
