A week ago we were talking about Motorola releasing the Atrix 3 heading to AT&T. The Atrix line, which is basically the Droid RAZR rebranded from Verizon to fit in with AT&T’s Android lineup. So while we were looking for the third version to launch this month, it looks like AT&T will be losing the “3” and calling it the HD because of the 4.5″ HD LCD display with ColorBoost screen it will have. The HD will have an upgraded 1.5 dual core processor and a downgraded 8 megapixel rear shooter and a 1.3mp front. With a part number MB886 that showed up on Motorola’s website it looks like this won’t have all of Moto’s high end specs, but nothing to take for granted either. Generally Moto uses 900 series numbers for flagship devices.

Stay tuned and we’ll keep you posted with more.

[read]

With Samsung stealing a lot of Android Thunder these days with the Galaxy S III there are still other options for Android fans from the likes of Motorola. Slated to get a third upgrade from the original, the Atrix 3 heading to AT&T has been spotted  on Bluetooth.org . It looks like we could see the Atrix 3 in July and could mirror  the DROID RAZR HD which the Atrix 3 is a version of. The leaked image has MotoBlur on it and will sport Android 4.0 behind it.

The Atrix 3 has already cleared the FCC and has been referred to as the Qinara. Even though AT&T has never been as strong as Verizon with Android, they will have the two top devices from two of the top OEMS. The Samsung Galaxy S III and the Motorola Atrix 3 (DROID RAZR HD). Stay tuned.

[read]

I really liked the Motorola DROID RAZR and wish I had that device back to test out the new Ice Cream Sandwich, Android 4.0, update that is rolling out! That’s right: the long wait is over and no more Nexus envy for Moto Fans! Ice Cream Sandwich has a bunch of new updates and should ease your battery woes as well. I have generally found ICS to be a lot better on the battery, but if you are sporting the DROID RAZR MAXX, who cares right? You have the 3300 mAh battery  built right in.

The new unlock features are pretty cool, but I am not a huge fan of the face unlock. Better browsing and voice input are some new features as well. Check out the video below to get your mouth watering for some Ice Cream Sandwich goodness for your RAZR and head on over to Verizon!

Wow I never would have guessed this. As I have mentioned before, I really liked the DROID RAZR by Motorola and would have really considered it had it been on AT&T. Instead, the Death Star’s firm grip on my wireless existence is almost absolute with the family marching to Apple’s drum. But Verizon has that Apple drum as well beating to the cadence of the iPhone which I would have thought been their best selling device. But according to analyst Anil Doradia: “our checks highlight initial signs of Apple’s momentum under pressure, particularly at Verizon, which we believe is from the operator aggressively marketing competing 4G devices,”. He goes on to state that:

Since Apple’s iPhone launch in North America, we believe this was the first quarter where the iPhone was not the best selling smartphone at a North American mobile operator (where it was available). While Apple continued to maintain its top position at AT&T and Sprint, Motorola’s Droid RAZR MAXX was the best selling smartphone at Verizon. Our checks also indicate that at this stage consumers are not pausing in front of the iPhone launch as it is not influencing their purchasing decisions (but we expect it to start impacting over the next couple of months). Despite the “increased competitive landscape from 4G devices (and the iPhone 4S is not 4G),” Doradia is “not worried” as the next iPhone model, a true 4G phone, “will be an important catalyst for the company,” he believes.

So the idea is that 4G is really the driver behind Big Red’s customer decisions currently but Doradia does indicate that the iPhone 5 with it’s LTE capability will change this story. So enjoy your reign on Top Motorola because your 4G Droid RAZR MAXX has got top honors!

[Barron's via IntoMobile]

You don’t have to be an Android fan to love you some DROID RAZR! The phone was awesome with it’s nanoparticle coating, gorilla glass, and Kevlar back panel. I reviewed the phone and loved it:

Mobility Digest Review: Motorola Droid RAZR Video Unboxing

Mobility Digest Review: Motorola Droid RAZR

So today we got some photos of the soon to be released Motorola DROID RAZR HD with its unique signature feature Kevlar back panel. The DROID RAZR HD changes somewhat and by the picture seems to borrow an iPhone 4 side design. The camera on the back side has a square bezel around it and is centered between a LED Flash and Speaker Grill. On the side it appears we will see a micro HDMI and USB port. No other information is available and sources of the leak seem to think we will see the DROID RAZR HD at the end of summer.

So if you are not a fan of Samsung and all the Galaxy S III hype and want to keep with your Kevlar Coolness, count a spec monster DROID RAZR this summer!

[via Droid Life]

I mentioned this earlier that Wirefly has got a deal right now on the Motorola Droid 3 for free for new and upgrading Verizon customers but the deal just got sweeter according to Megan, our beloved Wirefly go to gal. Right now, not only is the Droid 3 free, but you will also get the Motorola Accessory Bundle for free too! Motorola desktop dock & car mount with rapid charger – $110 value! The Droid 3 is a slide out keyboard smartphone and pretty solid device that I reviewed (CLICK HERE) It’s a little dated right now with the Droid 4 being out but if you want a deal this might be the ticket for you. Too bad it doesn’t have 4G LTE so you could get in on the Double Your Data Deal. Remember the free is only after a 2 year contract with Verizon is signed sealed and delivered.

Click here for the Wirefly Droid 3 Deal Page.

Why can’t all tech companies just be up front with consumers when it comes to release schedules?

I’m not talking about trade secrets, waiting to announce new products or other good reasons for holding back.  Much of these types of releases should be hidden to help keep a competitive advantage.  I’m not asking for them to be a completely open book.  They need to make a profit after all.

What I’m talking about is how they treat us customers like we’re lowest on the totem pole, bottom of the food chain.  From their perspective, we simply buy the products, so why should we have a say?  But that’s precisely why we should: because we buy or use their products.  When I download the latest app or buy the newest device, I’m entering a partnership.  If you’re good to me, I’ll be good to you.

So when a company announces an update or product will come out “sometime in the Spring” or “end of third quarter”, the frustration begins.  I know they’re giving themselves wiggle room, but we all know it just means “the very end of the broad period we just mentioned”.  This is made all the more frustrating when the very soft deadline has come and gone.  As a consumer, I wait patiently for the end of the “window-of-time”.  But when complete radio silence follows at the end of the period, sometimes for months, I have to call foul.

Again, to be fair, I’m not saying “release a crappy product now!” or “Company X can meet their deadlines, why can’t you?”  I’m just asking for them to be up front about it.  Tell us, the consumers who are quivering with anticipation, why it’s delayed, and if/when it will in fact be released.  Even if it’s going to be delayed for months, just tell us.  I submit to you, dear reader, a couple of examples:

• Audible for Windows Phone – We’ve seen the screen shots.  Paul Thurrott has even played with it and says it’s good.  And a release week was leaked.  Why, great Amazon/Audible, has there been no word since early March?  Just tell us. I’d be OK with, “We hope to release by end of November” or “We ran into some interesting hardware compatibility issues and we’ll have to perform regression testing for the next 12 weeks”.  Anything, really, as long as it’s honest.
• Ice Cream Sandwich for Motorola Xoom LTE – The only word from Moto and Verizon have been some cryptic internal schedules showing “testing” or “investigating” or whatever. No official word on any dates.  Why all the secrecy?  If there really is a competitive advantage involved with keeping it a secret, why not just tell us?  Search the tubes and you will find forum after forum, comment after comment doing nothing but speculating about when/if this tablet will get ICS, what’s the status and why the delay?

For an analogy, I use airlines and departure times.  Why continue to delay a flight, little by little, 10 minutes at a stretch?  Why continue to keep our hopes up?  Just be straight and tell me the flight is delayed three hours, go get a beer.  Same with tech companies.

As most people know, the key to a good relationship is communication.  That’s all I ask, just tell us.  Guess I won’t hold my breath and go get a beer.

Lets face it, the only real phone debuts anybody cares about at the moment on the Android platform is of the Samsung variety. Even with HTC launching their One series in an attempt to recapture the hearts and wallets of once loyal customers its quickly become an afterthought. Caught square between the Galaxy Nexus, Motorola Droid Razr Maxx and the newly announced Samsung Galaxy S III its hard to anybody to get any more than a passing glance.

Apple and Samsung Duopoly

For all the huff and puff about Apple and Google potentially become a true duopoly I’d argue that there already exists a duopoly and its Apple and Samsung. According to a post on Engadget.com, Apple and Samsung combine to gobble up an astounding 99% of the mobile phone profits. That’s not a typo folks. Of course if you’ve been paying attention you will recall HTC, Motorola, LG, Dell, RIM and the like have all missed estimates and seen dip in growth. Outside of Apple’s iPhone 4S the next best selling phone, by a huge margin, is the Samsung Galaxy S II.

Arms Race

If you want the latest and greatest technology in your phone Android is where its at. Quad cores, NFC, HD screens, 16MP cameras, 4.8 screens, thin phones, 3D screens you name it and chances are Android has it in spades. The problem with Android OEMs is that they are all caught up in an Arms Race. Having the public’s mindshare almost entirely convinced that the iPhone’s user experience is head and shoulders above any Android device makes hardware OEMs focus on hardware innovation. Mind you, mindshare is definitely different from reality, but it doesn’t change perception.

It costs big time money to keep pushing ahead with new hardware components to build different models to cover the price and customer spectrum. Apple has the advantage of advanced planning and only a single device to procure parts for. When added to Apple’s recent heavy investment in components and their cost is driven down significantly. Android OEMs don’t have that luxury. They are all forced to keep up with the next company, Samsung releases a new screen display and everybody has to react and utilize the same or similar type of display to stay competitive. 4 inch screens were introduced and quickly came 4.3, 4.7 and now 4.8. All in the span of a couple of years. Yes the Android license is free but companies still have to invest heavily in engineering the OS to their devices and test upgrades for currently selling devices alongside  future devices. Apple with the iPhone and Microsoft with Windows Phone has shown that you can have an excellent user experience and generate strong loyalty without having to throw everything but the kitchen sink into your device. As long as Android is the preferred choice though of every OEM not named Apple, Nokia and RIM the race will only heat up and those who don’t already have strong brand loyalty will only sink further into the red. Every Arms Race produces its casualties though. It’s a truism at its finest.

Really if you’re an OEM and have turned your full attention to Android as the OS of choice and your results reflect dwindling market and mindshare is it really worth it to rely so heavily on something just because it allows you the freedom to do whatever you want with it? There is a reason why everyone who is successful is accountable to a mentor. The customer votes on what is valuable and what isn’t. Why continue to waist valuable resources to develop skins that nobody cares about? Why not innovate on the physical aesthetics. Or is that time not better spent on hiring outside counsel to evaluate the wisdom of the current strategic plan.

Wrap Up

Its clear that companies who lead the way in developing mobile tech like screens and chips have a leg up. Samsung does both of these two things and not so coincidentally they are dominating the Android market. Just like analysts and techies have a hard time seeing any other OS breaking up the Android/iOS duopoly the same should hold true for the Apple/Samsung duopoly.

The future is bright and booming in the mobile space but when was the last time you really looked forward to a phone that was not produced by Samsung? The last one I can think of is the Motorola Droid Maxx. HTC One X is a pretty good phone but still, in the minds of the consumers Samsung will reign supreme. It doesn’t help that Verizon in the U.S. likes to make Droid Does commercials and customers group up all Android devices together under the generic Droid moniker.

So what do you think? I’ve shared my views and would love to hear yours. Comment and lets get this thing called dialogue kicked into high gear.

Source: Engadget

Here is a great deal for you! If you are sporting the Motorola Atrix 4G and always wanted to get the laptop docking accessory for it but was appalled by the ridicules price Moto was charging for it, check this out! 1SaleADay.com has it right now for $59.99! That is a great deal and will give you some more life and fun out of you Atrix 4G. Perhaps this little accessory will make it harder for you to upgrade to the HTC One X or the Sammy Galaxy  S III?

Here is the link:

AT&T Motorola 11.6" Lapdock for AT&T Motorola ATRIX 4G w/ 1GB RAM, 1GHz Dual-Core Processor & Firefox Browser!

 Features Include:

• Lapdock for AT&T Motorola ATRIX 4G
• 1 GB RAM
• 1 GHz dual-core processor enables ATRIX 4G to render graphics and games quickly
• Continued uninterrupted calls even when the ATRIX 4G is removed from dock
• Interactive computer-like experience from your smartphone
• 11.6” screen and full keyboard make it easy to browse and work
• Large touchpad, stereo speakers and two USB ports
• When ATRIX 4G is docked, the webtop application opens
• Full desktop Mozilla Firefox 3.6 web browser with support for Adobe Flash Player
• Super thin design- weighs just 2.4 pounds, easily slips into a bag just like a laptop
• 36Wh three-cell battery
• Internal rechargeable battery provides up to 8 hours of use

*Note: The Motorola Lapdock requires the Motorola ATRIX 4G and the AT&T 4 GB DataPro and Tethering Plan.

Package Includes:
AT&T Motorola Lapdock For AT&T Motorola ATRIX 4G

Proof is always in the pudding they say and Motorola has produced a video testing the Motorola Droid RAZR MAXX, and iPhone 4S, and a LG Spectrum. The iPhone is the only one using Verizon’s 3G in this test because it does not have the LTE radio in yet, something we can expect in the iPhone 5, or the new iPhone, or whatever they end up calling it. The LG Spectrum and then RAZR MAXX will both  be rocking along on Verizon’s 4G LTE network.

Motorola takes all three devices and played continues video content until they all failed. No shocker, it was the LG Spectrum that died first and gave up the farm in 4 hrs and 26 mins. The iPhone 4S ran out of steam at the 8 hour 54 minute mark doubling that of the LG Spectrum. I actually would call that pretty impressive. But it is the Droid RAZR MAXX that keeps on chugging with 40% battery life remaining! The video does not conclude with the RAZR running out of power but they do say that it got 15 hours of video playback which is most impressive! Of course they added a monster sized battery to get that, but the RAZR MAXX is still a great looking device and if you had not seen the original RAZR and how smelt it is, you would never think that is is a thick device. The original RAZR was incredibly thin.

The thing to keep in mind also is just how much bigger then RAZR MAXX and the LG Spectrum are than the iPhone 4S. Check out the picture above and the iPhone 4S seems puny indeed with it’s 3.5 inch screen. Steve Jobs always felt that the iPhone should be small and pocketable, hence the iPad I suppose. But the market is demanding larger screen sizes as we continue to use our devices to consume more and more media content. And with the 4G LTE that the next iPhone must have to be a success, it will surely need more battery capacity. So why not kill two birds with one stone Apple? Drop us a bigger screen and bury a bigger battery in the next iPhone. Check out the video for the Motorola test between the three devices.