02/09, 6:25pm
Motorola says Android too linked to hardware
Motorola was unusually critical of its likely future acquirer Google late Wednesday in an interview. Senior enterprise business VP Christy Wyatt claimed to PCMag that Google made timely Android OS updates difficult because of its tendency to target each major release against a reference phone like the Galaxy Nexus. Since the initial release only supported that hardware, no other Android partner could get started on drivers and other code they needed to get moving.
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02/09, 4:05pm
Verizon releases slew of Android updates for gear
Verizon has just released a slew of software upgrades for its Android-powered gear, including the Droid Xyboard tablets which are getting the 1.6.0M_279 update. It promises to enhance third-party pen and native touch performance, better browsing, maintaining a data connection while swapping from Wi-Fi to broadband, and in a twist now has global roaming for data. The update is nearly 84MB.
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02/06, 10:25pm
Users still wait for Ice Cream Sandwich
Motorola has released software updates for its Droid Razr and Droid Razr Maxx smartphones, bringing a number of minor tweaks and bug fixes. The Android 2.3.6 build, which was announced in December, resolves issues related to mobile hotspot functionality and visual voice mail, while improving stability when switching through the home screen panes.
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01/29, 11:50pm
Moto RAZR Dev Edition gives what carriers won't
Motorola on Sunday night briefly teased (now pulled) a special Developer Edition of the modern RAZR. The new version will make the promised unlocked bootloader readily available so that users can easily load custom firmware or otherwise go beyond what carriers and Motorola allow. It should ship this week in Europe, and a "developer device" that may or may not be the RAZR should come to the US in "coming months."
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01/25, 3:15pm
Moto RAZR gets early Android 4 with Blur changes
Some users over on the droidrzr forum have shared images of their Motorola RAZR using Android 4.0.3. What's unique about the OS, however, other than that build number, is that this is the first instance of Android 4.0 with a very slight customization from Motorola and its own Blur interface.
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01/24, 11:05am
Droid RAZR MAXX gets confirmed release schedule
Following unintentional slips, Verizon on Tuesday confirmed that the Droid RAZR MAXX will be on shelves this Thursday, January 26. The extra-long lived 4G smartphone will be the new high-end version of the RAZR and carry the 32GB that was cut in half to lower the price for the original design. A RAZR MAXX wil cost $300 on a contract like the original 32GB version.
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01/24, 8:20am
Verizon Q4 2011 defined by iPhone
Verizon on Tuesday posted a rare loss for its fall quarter despite an otherwise upbeat result defined by the iPhone. It lost 71 cents per share through pension compensation but had its best subscriber additions in three years, adding a net 1.5 million new customers. Having shipped 4.2 million iPhones, the credit could go primarily to Apple for the record performance.
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01/14, 12:35am
Phone offers up to 21.5 hours talk time
On Wednesday, Motorola unveiled its latest high-end 4G LTE smartphones, the Droid RAZR MAXX and Droid 4. The company didn't provide a release date but has inadvertently ">posted on its own product page that the new Android hardware should ship January 26. The mentions aren't consistent but show that the date may have already been locked before CES.
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01/06, 12:20pm
Analyst shows iPhone 4S holding off rivals
The iPhone 4S held off the Galaxy Nexus for the top spot in smartphones on Verizon, Canaccord Genuity analyst T. Michael Walkley found through channel checks. Apple's newest phone still had the top sales spot on every major US carrier that sells it in December, keeping the first Android 4.0 phone at second place. As before, the only carrier where Apple didn't lead was T-Mobile, where it doesn't participate.
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01/01, 11:55pm
Verizon may drop many phones, hotspots in January
Verizon may be on the edge of replacing a large swath of its device line if a rumor floated on New Year's Day is an indicator. Among other withdrawals, a lone source for The Verge had Verizon stopping shipments of the Motorola Droid 3 in January. The exit would likely be in prep for the delayed Droid 4 launch the following month.
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12/30, 9:05pm
Motorola chat shows Lapdock staying put
Motorola's mobile device VP Christy Wyatt in an interview Friday committed her company to the Lapdock concept. In speaking with AllThingsD, she saw notebook docks like the Lapdock 100 still being important to consolidation. People don't want to be "carrying 52 cords and 52 chargers and multiple data plans," she said, so it made sense to give them a way to extend the main device they have.
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12/19, 4:15pm
Verizon readies software update for Droid RAZR
Verizon has detailed a new software update (PDF) for the Motorola Droid RAZR. A number of bugs will be addressed with this software, including the SIM Error notification and better stability in menus, the browser, the phone dialer, video playback and the music player to cut down on the Force Close errors and freezes. The camera's features and quality have also been addressed.
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12/16, 12:25pm
Droid RAZR Maxx shows up in Verizon system
An upcoming new Motorola smartphone called the Droid RAZR Maxx is nearing release, as yet another indication of its existence has been leaked, Droid-Life found. First spotted in EXIF photo data as the RAZRMax, though it has now shown up in a Verizon system as the Droid RAZR Maxx, in line with the naming scheme Motorola used years ago for its flip phone. The December 15 date isn't a shipping date, however.
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12/06, 10:05am
Analyst has Apple, Samsung win at cost of HTC, RIM
Apple and Samsung have been gradually taking over the US smartphone market, Canaccord Genuity analyst T. Michael Walkley said in a research note Tuesday. Based on channel checks e saw all three iPhone models gain real-world sell-through share in November and the iPhone 4S continue to be the top seller at AT&T, Sprint, and Verizon. Samsung had achieved a rare feat, however, and saw the Galaxy S II take the second-place spot away from the regular iPhone 4 on AT&T.
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12/05, 6:20pm
Verizon to put Galaxy Nexus at same 300 as others
A new leak supports notions that the Galaxy Nexus will cost $300 on contract. The tip to the Wall Street Journal didn't say more than to give the two-year price and have the phone on shelves in December. The price was expected given Verizon's typical policy of pricing phones like the HTC Rezound or Motorola Droid RAZR at the same level.
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12/05, 5:30am
Fujitsu unveils a super thin Android smartphone
Japan’s KDDI has announced the Fujitsu Arrows ES IS12F that measures in at just 6.7mm at its thinnest point, and 8.5mm at its thickest. The Arrow also only weighs 105 grams despite being fitted with a 4-inch (480x800) AMOLED display. This makes the device thinner than the Motorola RAZR and lighter than the Samsung Galaxy S II.
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12/02, 9:55pm
Verizon December dates may have escaped
A tentative leak may have narrowed down the release dates for Verizon's last wave of devices for 2011. The tips to Droid-Life had the Galaxy Nexus arriving a day later than widely reported, on December 9. The Motorola Droid XYBoard tablets would arrive just days later, on December 12.
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12/02, 3:20pm
Hints of bigger batteried Motorola RAZRMAX found
Motorola is believed to be working on a revised version of its Droid RAZR smartphone with a more capacious battery to deal with the power-hungry LTE network. PocketNow found some photos whose EXIF data reveals they were taken by a phone called the Droid RAZRMAX. More digging returned a story on a forum that had a Verizon employee tell the user that such a phone is coming soon.
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11/28, 10:35am
Motorola details two 720p-screened smartphones
Motorola recently introduced two Android 2.3 smartphones due for release in China. The XT928 and MT917 share hardware specs that are an upgrade even over recent devices, using the same 1.2GHz dual-core processor and 1GB of RAM but with a new 4.5-inch, 1280x720 display and an upgraded 13-megapixel camera capable of shooting 1080p video. There is also a 1.3-megapixel camera up front.
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11/21, 2:05pm
Amazon starts up Penny Pincher phone sale
Amazon has just launched a limited-time PennyPincher deal, offering all Verizon, Sprint and AT&T phones for just one cent. It started at midnight on November 21 and will finish at 11:59PM on November 28. Free, two-day shipping is included in the price. Buyers can choose from 97 handsets, with some standouts including the Droid RAZR (review), Epic Touch 4G, BlackBerry Torch 9810, and HTC Arrive. New contracts are required with each handset, however.
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11/19, 1:05pm
Galaxy Nexus 1st Android to beat iPhone 4S in web
Early benchmarks of the Galaxy Nexus have shown it to be the first Android phone that can outperform an iPhone 4S on the web. The AnandTech tests show that Google's late addition of dual-core processor support gave the phone the edge over Apple both in the SunSpider JavaScript test and Rightware's BrowserMark. The only other Android device to get close, the Droid RAZR, slightly won in one test but lost in another.
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11/13, 9:30pm
We review Motorola's Android-based RAZR rebirth
The rule of thumb for 4G Android phones in 2011 has been that they must be tanks: bulky, rounded-off devices that show exactly what sacrifice you're making to get the faster speeds. Motorola with the reborn Droid RAZR (just RAZR elsewhere in the world) not only bucks that, but has what it claims is the world's thinnest smartphone. However, it's coming into especially fierce competition with the Galaxy Nexus, Rezound, and the iPhone 4S. We'll see in our Droid RAZR review if it's competitive enough to swim with the pack.
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11/11, 12:50pm
iFixIt teardown scores Droid Razr 4 out of 10
iFixit has, once again, published one of its device teardowns, this time turning its tools on the Motorola Droid RAZR. The team found the ultra-thin 0.28-inch design of the phone cost it a strong repairability score, with the handset posting a 4 out of 10 lower than most Apple devices. This was due to a lot of glue to hold it together, an LCD fused to the glass, and lots of fairly delicate plastic throughout the construction.
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11/11, 11:25am
Droid Razr now just $111.11 at Amazon
Amazon Wireless is now offering the Motorola Droid RAZR handset at a steep discount. At $111.11, it's a savings of nearly $189 from the original $300 price tag on contract. The price is symbolic and lines up with the November 11, 11:11AM release date at Verizon's own stores.
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11/11, 10:45am
Adobe mobile Flash 11.1 already available
Adobe's plans to drop mobile Flash came quicker than expected as it rolled out the last update, Flash Player 11.1 (Android Market) late last night. The new version is a maintenance update and switches on support for 1080p Flash video on Tegra 3 devices like the ASUS Transformer Prime. Those with the Galaxy S II also see a bug fixed where video would refuse to play.
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11/10, 2:10pm
Motorola, Verizon ease up on unwanted apps in RAZR
Motorola's near-shipping Droid RAZR will back off of the tendency towards non-removable carrier apps, Electronista and others can confirm. Apps that Motorola and Verizon install, even the Blockbuster video and GoToMeeting apps, can be uninstalled outright. Others, including on other carriers, can be hidden to get rid of unwanted apps from the view without technically deleting them.
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11/07, 12:20pm
Verizon offers 4GB data for 30 dollars from Nov 8
Verizon confirmed a data plan promo on Monday to help kick off the launch of the Droid RAZR, which it now says will get its leaked November 11, 11:11AM release. Anyone with an LTE-equipped smartphone who gets a $30 data plan from November 8 will have the bandwidth cap doubled from its normal 2GB to 4GB. Existing subscribers have to ask Verizon to change the plan.
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11/04, 6:00pm
US Cellular next to jump to LTE
US Cellular has become the next major US carrier to plan out an upgrade to LTE-based 4G. The regional carrier plans to deploy the faster network starting from early 2012 and plans to cover a handful of cities in Iowa, Wisconsin, Maine, North Carolina, Texas, and Oklahoma. Among the highlight will be Des Moines, Greenville, Milauwkee, and Portland, although most will have more than one city covered.
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11/03, 6:10pm
Slips it until the 11th to maximize market hype
(Update: confirmed) Verizon may be intentionally holding off launching the Motorola Droid RAZR in stores a day until Friday, November 11. Android Central has posted an internal document showing that the smartphone would get an 11-11-11 11:11 AM arrival. The Verizon pre-release order website, however still shows November 10 as the ship date for pre-orders.
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11/01, 6:25pm
Galaxy Nexus sales focus won't start until Nov 28
An uncovered marketing focus memo has hinted that Verizon might not sell its version of the Galaxy Nexus until the end of November. The segment at Droid-Life showed the carrier only advertising the Android 4.0 phone on or around November 28, just after the Black Friday weekend following Thanksgiving. Other phones, including the iPhone 4S, Droid RAZR, and Rezound, either stop marketing then or overlap.
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10/26, 11:55am
Motorola Droid RAZR gets special pre-order tactic
Verizon on Wednesday outlined a special strategy for pre-orders of the upcoming Motorola Droid RAZR. Its extra-thin Android option will be available to pre-order on Thursday from an uncharacteristically specific 8AM. All pre-orders should ship by November 10 at the latest.
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10/26, 11:00am
Corning Lotus Glass in production for mobile gear
Corning late Tuesday said it had started producing its next-generation tough glass for mobile devices. Lotus Glass has better tolerance for heat and size than earlier technology, making it an ideal fit for future smartphone and tablet displays. The screen is built with next-generation LTPS (low-temperature poly-silicon) LCDs and OLEDs in mind, where higher resolutions and faster refresh rates could put extra wear on previous glass.
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10/24, 3:50pm
Motorola RAZR with AT&T, Rogers 3G spotted at FCC
Newly discovered FCC documents for the Droid RAZR indicate a future version of the international version, known as the RAZR, with support for GSM 850/1900MHz and WCDMA 3G bands. This could mean the device may arrive at a number of new carriers other than just Verizon, including AT&T, Rogers, and a number of Australian and Canadian carriers. The FCC's documents mention of the unique model number for the battery, SNN5899A, that only the new smartphone uses.
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10/23, 9:30pm
Verizon RAZR only locked version of device
Motorola's Enterprise Mobile Devices GM Christy Wyatt stated this weekend that the locked bootloader on the Droid RAZR was a specific Verizon problem. In speaking with Ausdroid, she said that the international version, just called the RAZR, would be Motorola's first phone since the crackdowns to have the option of unlocking the bootloader. It was up to the carriers, Wyatt said, and Verizon had chosen to disable the feature.
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10/21, 9:00am
Verizon quiet on iPhone activations in Q3 2011
Verizon on Friday posted solid results for its summer quarter that also reflected the lull before the iPhone 4S. Its core revenue was up 5.4 percent to $27.9 billion, but its profit in earnings per share more than doubled, from 23 cents per share a year ago to 49 cents. It added during the fiscal results call that about two million iPhones were activated over the summer
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10/18, 4:05pm
Motorola claims Verizon needed RAZR boot locked
Motorola in responses to fans revealed that the Droid RAZR's bootloader would stay locked and prevent customers from loading their choice of firmware. In a pre-made statement, it claimed that it had to lock the bootloader due a request from Verizon. There were also "security, safety and regulatory guidelines" that had to be met, it claimed.
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10/18, 12:55pm
Droid RAZR is first thin, long-lasting 4G phone
Motorola ended rumors and unveiled the Droid RAZR. The device aims to leap over the typically bulky limits of 4G phones: its use of a Kevlar back and a stainless steel frame help it measure 7.1mm thick at most points, thinner than even a Galaxy S II, while still being strong enough to survive common abuse, including splashes. Battery life also doesn't take the typical hit: Motorola expects 12.5 hours of calling and 8.9 hours of video.
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10/17, 4:40pm
Moto Spyder confirmed as Droid RAZR
Motorola through the teaser page for its October 18 event has unintentionally confirmed that it's launching the Droid RAZR (Spyder). A dig through the resources has shown the full design, including its thin frame and its carbon fiber-like (possibly kevlar) back. A look at the back also verifies that it will have LTE-based 4G when it reaches Verizon.
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10/10, 10:45am
Motorola and Verizon hint Xoom 2 dropping early
Motorola on Monday sent out invites for a special event in New York City on October 18 to spark new life into its mobile line. The "Faster. Thinner. Smarter. Stronger" event has few details but will have "four reasons" to be interested, according to a teaser clip (below). The headliners are expected to be the Xoom 2 and Xoom 2 Media Edition.
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10/03, 12:35pm
Droid RAZR at Nenamark, RAZR domain bought
The upcoming Droid RAZR/Droid HD/Motorola Spyder just received some benchmark tests administered by Nenamark. Other than the numbers, the listing confirms the phone will ship with a 960x540 touchscreen and get a 1.2GHz, dual-core TI OMAP4430 processor. Verizon will carry the handset, as evidenced by the carrier ID.
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09/24, 3:25pm
Motorola Spyder and Atrix 2 get more details
Two of Motorola's most important smartphones for the near future have been spotted in individual leaks. The most unique identified by This is my next, the Spyder or Droid RAZR, could have a slew of firsts. The Verizon-bound phone could be first ever device with a qHD (540x960) Super AMOLED screen and back up its Gorilla Glass front with a Kevlar body and splash-resistant coating, toughening up the entire frame for real-world use.
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06/01, 10:50pm
Nokia CEO Elop talks takeover rumors and Apple
Nokia CEO Stephen Elop's interview at D9 Wednesday night both tackled rumors of a Microsoft takeover and an explanation for why the iPhone ousted Nokia. Answering claims by Russian leaker Eldar Murtazin that Microsoft might buy Nokia's phone division, Elop called them "baseless" and that talks had never happened. He added that smartphones were only half of Nokia's business and would have left Microsoft with a large amount of phones that didn't mesh with the Windows Phone strategy.
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12/08, 5:40pm
Droid picked for free nav, keyboard, more
Time today provided a minor surprise by giving the Motorola Droid a first-place finish in its Gadget of the Year countdown (video below). The Android phone won for including free turn-by-turn GPS through Google Maps Navigation as well as having both a large (3.7-inch) touchscreen and a hardware QWERTY keyboard. In comparison, the iPhone 3GS only reached fourth place, earning the spot for popularizing augmented reality through apps like Layar and Yelp.
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09/30, 5:55pm
Ruby project was thought to be dropped
The rumored RAZR sequel, initially referred to as Ruby, has reemerged with the name Motorola V13. Reports late last year suggested the company decided to drop the entire project. However the device was recently approved by the Bluetooth SIG, likely indicating Motorola has continued to push forward with the Ruby.
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02/03, 8:25am
Moto Q4 2008 Results
Motorola on Tuesday reported further trouble for its recent fall quarter with both an immediate financial hit as well as ongoing drops in its phone shipments. The company says it posted a net loss of $3.6 billion during the three-month period ended in December and pins much of the responsibility on its Mobile Device group, whose losses ave only deepened year-over-year from $388 million in late 2007 to $595 million. Motorola blames drop on the economy and points to its 7,000 job cuts and a just-announced suspension of its usual cash dividend to shareholders as steps taken to rescue its business.
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01/30, 12:05pm
Leaders in gaming phones
The Apple iPhone and RIM BlackBerry Curve have taken the place of cheaper devices as the most popular mediums for downloading cellphone games, according to a new comScore study. The iPhone in particular is said to have accounted for 14 percent of all game downloads in November, helping to displace Motorola's RAZR -- and other low- to mid-range devices -- as a primary platform. Some 32.4 percent of iPhone users are said to have downloaded a game in the month, compared to an industry average of just 3.8 percent.
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01/20, 9:00am
LG Overtakes Motorola
Korean electronics giant LG has overtaken Motorola for the third-place spot in world phone shipments this past year, tips reportedly passed on from within the company suggest. While no public tally is available, LG is said to have internally estimated that it has shipped about 100 million phones throughout the course of 2008, putting it just ahead of an estimated 99.9 million from its American rival. The number would also edge out Sony Ericsson's 96.6 million.
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01/12, 11:15am
Motorola 50pc Job Cuts
Motorola could slash as much as half of the workforce in its mobile devices group very shortly, an apparent tip to Phone Scoop suggests. The company is reportedly set to start major layoffs this week that would drop 50 percent of the staff and is said to be dramatically scaling back its phone development as a whole. Most if not all development for smartphones is already believed to be switching exclusively to Android while Motorola's own phone introductions may scale back to as few as 12 devices per year.
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11/29, 11:50am
Moto Cancels RAZR3
Motorola is bringing its current plans for its iconic RAZR line to an end, according to a Russian claim. Accompanied by a photo of the prototype in question, the tip asserts that Motorola has shelved a device codenamed the Ruby that would likely have been titled the RAZR3. Reasons for the move are unclear, though the phone has been based on the Symbian-related UIQ interface where Motorola now plans to focus on Android and Windows Mobile as part of its bid to recover its mobile phone business, effectively dooming the current choice of operating system.
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11/19, 11:30am
iPhone 3G tops AdMob
Apple's second-wave push for the iPhone has already made it the most popular phone on the web, a study of October data from AdMob indicates. The mobile ad provider notes that total worldwide iPhone share for ad requests nearly doubled from 2.1 percent in September to 4.1 percent the following month, bringing it from fourth place to first. The previous leader, Motorola's RAZR V3, has held on to its second place spot but dropped substantially from 4.1 percent to 3.4 percent of all requests to AdMob.
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