Just prior to its offload to Lenovo, Motorola Mobility has named Rick Osterloh as chief operating officer. Jonathan Rosenberg, Google's Senior Vice President of Product Management announced the appointment of Osterloh, who is replacing Dennis Woodside -- who departed to become Dropbox's first chief operating officer.
The BBC is extending the time British viewers will have to watch recently-broadcast shows on iPlayer to 30 days. Up from the previous seven-day limit, Pocket-Lint reports the popular catch-up streaming service will allow for downloads or streams of shows from any of the BBC's television channels up to 30 days after being broadcast, with the changes set to take place from this summer.
Republic Wireless is finally offering the Moto X through Moto Maker, from 12pm Eastern Time. The budget carrier will be selling the Motorola flagship off-contract in 16GB and 32GB variants for $350 and $400 respectively. As an incentive for launch, the carrier is offering a coupon to the first 2,000 people to visit a specific site from 11am Eastern and provide their e-mail address, for a free wooden cover upgrade worth $25.
Motorola is seeing some success in the United Kingdom after the brand all but died in the country, according to a research firm. The latest Kantar Worldpanel ComTech report states that the Moto G helped Motorola reach a market share of 6 percent in the UK for the quarter ending in February, rising up from "almost nothing" in a six-month period.
Not to be outdone by LG and its G Watch, Motorola has teased its first smart watch. The Moto 360 will run on Android Wear, also announced today, will differ from most other smart watches on the market, in offering a "round face and premium materials" instead of the squarish appearance shown in the Pebble, the Samsung Gear, and similar devices.
Apple grew its share among US smartphone owners during the last quarter to 41.6 percent, according to new comScore data. Data polled between October and January shows that Apple advanced 1 percentage point. The company's main rival, Samsung, grew ownership by 1.3 points, but remained firmly in second place at 26.7 percent. LG's share rose just 0.3 points to 6.9 percent, presumably on the back of the G2 and the Google-branded Nexus 5.
Motorola has made two changes to Moto Maker in an attempt to attract students to the Moto X smartphone. The online designer has been updated to include preconfigured customizations based on a number of colleges, complete with a case showing the college emblem, while students will be able to pick up a Moto X from the company at a discount.
Opera has updated the Android variant of its web browser to version 20, and has included support for WebRTC, a technology that can support browser-based video conferencing. The update also adds a new customizable interface, a flat-design Speed Dial, upgrades to the search and address bar, an update of the Chromium core to version 33, and a number of other minor updates. The updated Opera for Android is available to download now from Google Play, for devices running Android 4.0 or higher.
Of the 121 million smartphones sold in the US during 2013, Apple took home a 45 percent share, according to new NPD Group data. That represents a growth of 1 point annually. Samsung advanced two points though to a 26 percent share, while LG gained 3 points, moving up to 8 percent. HTC and Motorola both saw declines; the former from 10 to 6 percent, and the latter from 7 percent to 4.
The Wall Street Journal has published the full contents of yesterday's interview with Apple CEO Tim Cook, in which he announced the company's expanded share buyback plan. Commenting on Google's recent sale of Motorola to Lenovo, Cook says that he "wasn't surprised," and that it "seems like a logical transaction," since Motorola is losing money and Google isn't committed to it. "I think it's really hard to do hardware, software and services and to link all those things together. That's what makes Apple so special," he adds. "It's really hard, so I'm not surprised that they are not going to do that."
Networking hardware manufacturer Cisco has struck a deal with non-practicing entity Innovatio IP Ventures to settle a suit and protect commercial and potentially home users of its hardware. Together with Netgear and Motorola, have agreed to pay IP Ventures 3.2 cents for 85 million pieces of network gear, netting the patent troll $2.7 million.
Path has finally added video to the Android version of its app, bringing it in line with the iOS version. The official Path blog writes that users of Android 4.0 or later can use the video function in the app, which takes after Vine and Instagram in offering up to 30-second clips, with the option to add a variety of camera filters to the video before sharing with others. Path 3.4 is available to download via Google Play.
Apple is among of a number of US corporations that have agreed to change hiring practices to avoid discriminating against the long-term unemployed, says the New York Times. The pledge comes at the behest of President Obama, who is hosting a meeting of CEOs at the White House later today to promote his efforts. White House officials say that about 300 businesses have agreed to alter hiring policies, including 21 of the 50 biggest American corporations, and 47 out of the top 200.
[Update: Deal confirmed] According to a statement by Google CEO Larry Page, Google and Lenovo have negotiated a deal that will see the search engine sell its Motorola Mobility smartphone business to the Chinese manufacturer. The deal is valued at $2.91 billion dollars, with Google retaining most of the patents it acquired when it purchased the division in 2012.
Motorola will be offering the Moto X at a discount again, though unlike earlier offers, the company is cutting the price for just one hour. Android Central spotted a series of tweets from Motorola warning of an off-contract Moto X sale on January 27th that will run from 3pm to 4pm Eastern time, with the $100 discount bringing the price down to $299. Anyone missing out on the offer will be able to receive a $70 discount until February 14th.
Aereo will be launching a version of its cloud-based DVR and TV streaming service in the Greater Cincinnati region on January 21st. The 24-county areas outlined by the company includes 8 counties in Ohio, 10 counties in Kentucky, and 6 counties in Indiana, with the entire region becoming the 11th area it will be available within. Aside from the free trial month, Aereo will be charging $8 per month for access to 30 over-the-air channels and 20 hours of DVR time, though an extra $4 ups the DVR amount to 60 hours per month.
US iPhone ownership leapt to 42 percent in the fourth quarter of 2013, up from 35 percent a year ago, according to new NPD figures. Samsung phones also advanced, but from 22 percent to roughly 26 percent. LG was the only other major manufacturer to see a gain, inching ahead slightly to 8 percent. Motorola and HTC both fell under the 10 percent mark, and BlackBerry ownership shrank even further to 2 percent.
Boost Mobile, the pre-paid Sprint imprint, has announced the release of Motorola's Moto G through its nationwide retail stores and online. The first Motorola product offered by Boost Mobile since 2011, the 3G budget smartphone has a 4.5-inch HD screen made with scratch-resistant Corning Gorilla Glass, and possesses a 1.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon quad-core processor.
Google on Tuesday revealed a new version of its budget-oriented Moto G handset, a version that sports a plain vanilla version of Android 4.4 KitKat. The Moto G Google Play edition showed up on Google's Play Store on Tuesday in two configurations: one an 8GB model and the other a 16GB model. The low-cost Motorola handset is the latest addition to the Google Play edition lineup, a lineup that does not yet include the Moto G's higher-end sibling, the Moto X.
Social media service Twitter has initiated rolling out an update to its website, with the aim to mirror the aesthetic approach to that of its app versions to iOS and Android. Users will be able to personalize their profile more than previously, with the settings menu including an option to add accent colors. The navigation bar is a different color and style than before, and some icons have been redesigned.
Motorola has launched the Moto X in Europe, at its launch event in London today. The flagship Motorola smartphone, originally launched in the United States in August, makes its way across the Atlantic to join the Moto G, though unlike the American version, the European model will not offer any Moto Maker customization options, instead offering just the standard black and white-backed models.
Motorola has started rolling out Android KitKat to the Moto G in the United Kingdom. The Android 4.4.2 update, which starts rolling out today and will continue for the next week, adds the usual KitKat improvements along with a new look phone dialer, new photo editing options in the Gallery app, printing support over services such as Google Cloud Print, the new version of Hangouts, and support for the Square credit card reader.
The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has upheld an International Trade Commission ruling that found Apple didn't violate a Motorola patent on communications between devices and data networks, reports say. The ruling, issued in May, specifically dealt with Claim 12 of the patent, and whether or not it covered the deletion of apps capable of receiving push notifications. The ITC determined that Apple's implementation of status updates to halt notifications was non-infringing.
Motorola has started to offer off-contract purchasers of its Moto X flagship smartphone a free Google Chromecast. The offer comes at the same time as the company's budget-oriented Moto G goes on sale in the US through Verizon, and a week before the phone manufacturer is expected to launch the Moto X in Europe at a special event in London.
Motorola has sent out invitations to members of the press in the United Kingdom for a London-based event, at the same time as expanding the coverage of Android 4.4.2 on the Moto G. The invitation, set for January 14th, promises to announce a "new addition to the European Motorola family of products," and though the invitation does not directly state what is being revealed, it is likely that the company will be bringing the Moto X to the continent.
Apple and Samsung increased their shares of the US smartphone market based on unverified shipment data in the September-November period versus June-August, new ComScore data shows. Apple advanced 0.5 points to 41.2 percent, maintaining overall control; Samsung, though, gained 1.7 points to hit 26 percent, narrowing the gap. In distant third was Motorola, down 0.2 points to 6.7 percent. LG dropped the same amount to 6.5 percent, but swapped places with HTC, which dipped a full point to 6.4 percent.
Apple devices remained firmly in control of North American web traffic through Christmas, but the iPad lost some ground to devices from Amazon, Microsoft, and Samsung, according to new Chitika analytics. The data was collected from "tens of millions" of devices between December 20th and the 29th, and used to gauge the growth or decline of various brands. Apple's iPhone was the only smartphone to gain share, advancing 1.8 percent to 54.3 percent of the market.
Motorola is making a bigger push for sales of its flagship Moto X in the United States, by giving it a permanent price cut. The change, coming after a number of similar discounts on the smartphone, comes at the same time as reports that its cheaper stablemate, the Moto G, is being sold at Best Buy for $100 on Verizon with no contract.
Verizon is discounting Motorola's customizable Moto X handset to just $50 on contract as part of its End of Year Savings promo. The carrier is also offering discounts on a range of other Android handsets, with savings available for Samsung smartphones and tablets, HTC's 2013 flagship, and Verizon's own line of Motorola-produced Droid devices. The promo runs through December 31, and customers can save up to $200 for certain electronics.
Verizon is rolling out Android KitKat to its current range of Droid smartphones. Owners of the Droid Ultra, Droid Maxx, and Droid Mini will receive the update from today onwards, with version 4.4 of the operating system bringing a full-screen mode, camera improvements, an updated Droid Zap app, an update for Motorola Assist, and support for the Fitbit, among other items.
Motorola will tout its Moto X customizable smartphone next month in the print edition of Wired with an interactive ad that slightly mimics the company's Moto Maker customization site. Mashable reported on Thursday that about 153,490 copies of the January 2014 issue of Wired will be distributed in New York and Chicago with paper-thin electronic components integrated into a page. That page will hold Motorola's Moto X ad, which will change the color of the Moto X unit on the page with the press of a button.
Motorola has finally made a wooden backing available for the Moto X. Users of MotoMaker can choose to have a Bamboo coating on the rear of the smartphone, at a cost of $100 and an extra week on the delivery time according to TechnoBuffalo. Bamboo is currently the only option in the "Natural" category on the site, with previously-spotted options for Ebony, Rosewood, and Teak yet to be added to the backing list.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit upheld Microsoft's ban on Motorola's products that used a meeting scheduler patent. Google-owned Motorola attempted to get the ruling overturned, hoping that the court would invalidate the patent and overturn the US International Trade Commission finding holding it valid.
Motorola has updated its Touchless Control app with more voice commands, amid other changes. The app, available as an update through Google Play for compatible Motorola devices running Android KitKat, introduces the potentially-insecure option of verbally providing your security PIN to the smartphone in order to unlock it.
Deliveries of the Moto G and Moto X to customers in the United States have been delayed, because of adverse weather conditions. The manufacturing and shipping facility in Fort Worth, Texas was affected by "Winter Storm Dion," with the snow causing significant transportation issues for finished goods as well as for Motorola employees.
Following technical difficulties on Cyber Monday, Motorola has extended the holiday promotion for its Moto X handset. The company's flagship smartphone is available today and Monday for just $349, marking a $150 savings, with full customization options via the Moto Maker site, though today's stock appears to be sold out.
Motorola is offering a steep discount on its Moto X flagship smartphone on Monday. The manufacturer announced a $150 discount on the device last week that will go into effect on Cyber Monday, the day many online retailers give discounts on purchases. The phone will be available starting at $350 with the discount.
The Moto X will have options for a wood backing in the future, but not in time for Thanksgiving, according to a Reuters reporter on Twitter. Despite this, Motorola is allegedly aiming to offer the backing option to customers through Moto Maker in the coming weeks, "in time for some holiday shopping." Original sightings of the backing showed options for Ebony, Rosewood, Teak, and Bamboo, though it is not clear which of these will be offered to customers.
Motorola Mobility has announced that it is bringing the unlocked version of its Moto G smartphone to the US early in time for holiday shoppers. The company is already taking pre-orders for the unlocked GSM editions, which will ship on December 2 and carry respective prices of $179 and $199 for the 8GB and 16GB variants.
Motorola's modular smartphone has taken one more step into becoming a reality, thanks to a multi-year agreement with a manufacturing partner. 3D Systems has agreed to create a "continuous high-speed 3D printing production platform" for Project Ara, and ultimately creating modules as "Motorola's exclusive fulfillment partner" if it completes the platform's development.
Motorola surprised much of the tech world on Tuesday by revealing that the 2012 line of Droid devices would be receiving an update to Android 4.4 KitKat. The news came just a day after Android updates began rolling out for the Verizon model of the Moto X. The Google-owned manufacturer did not, however, give any information on the time frame for the new wave of updates.
Following the launch of the low-cost Moto G, a number of carriers in the United States have started to lower their prices for the Moto X. While Republic Wireless offers the device off-contract, versions as part of a two-year commitment have received price cuts, with one offer seemingly being priced at $0.01.
The Moto X could potentially head to markets further afield than the United States, after an executive reportedly hinted at a possible launch in the future. The suggestion comes shortly after the company unveiled the Moto G, a cheaper version of the handset that is enjoying a global launch for areas other than the United States over the next few weeks.
Motorola has launched its rumored Moto G smartphone at its live event in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The smartphone, a budget offering when compared to the preceding Moto X, offers a 4.5-inch, 720p, edge-to-edge display with a pixel density of 329ppi, in a device said to be the third of the cost of premium smartphones such as the Samsung Galaxy S 4.
As many expected, the Moto Maker Moto X customization feature has now expanded from AT&T to include all four major American carriers. The Moto X site now shows Verizon, Sprint, and T-Mobile as carrier options, along with AT&T. The expansion of the feature to at least Verizon was anticipated by many, as the carrier accidentally leaked a page showing off the Motorola flagship and saying it could be customized. That page, though, was quickly taken down, and the feature was put back under wraps until its proper launch today.
The Moto G could be shipping to customers the day after its expected launch on November 13th. A sales page for the phone on Amazon UK shows the device, under the previous name of the Motorola DVX, as being "due to be released on November 14th," as well as seemingly confirming a number of rumored specifications.
Verizon's own version of the Moto Maker site reportedly came online for a brief period earlier today, with a page giving the option for the customer to customize their own Moto X smartphone. The Moto Maker page, now redirecting to the front page of the Verizon online store, apparently came online the day before the store is rumored to go live for Verizon customers.
Customized versions of the Moto X could be heading to the other carriers in the near future, according to reports. Leaked images said to be from Sprint allegedly show that the Moto Maker system will be available to customers in the near future, while another rumor claims that T-Mobile will also be receiving access to it soon.
The Nokia Lumia 1520 will be heading to AT&T on November 15th. The Windows Phone device with a 20-megapixel PureView camera, six-inch 1080p IPS display, quad-core 2.2GHz processor, and 2GB of RAM will be available for $199 with a new contract, according to the Microsoft Store, with a non-contract version being sold at the same time for $549.
Motorola will be hosting an event on November 13th for the launch of the Moto G smartphone. The Google-owned device manufacturer will be showing off the successor to the Moto X during a live event later this month, with the device name having previously been confirmed courtesy of a mistake on the Motorola website and a trademark filing.
MacNN Sponsor
MacNN Newsletter
Most Popular
MacNN Sponsor
Recent Reviews
Linksys EA6900 AC Router
As AC networking begins to makes its way into more and more devices you may find yourself considering an upgrade for your home network ...
D-Link DIR-510L 802.11AC travel router
Having Internet access in hotels and other similar locations used to be a miasma of connectivity issues. If Wi-Fi was available, it wa ...
Ooma Office small business VoIP
Voice over IP (VoIP) services have been around for a very long time. Only recently has the implementation become a bit more robust, al ...
Most Commented
Popular News
