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Showing posts with label Motorola. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Motorola. Show all posts
Crafty developer connects Moto 360 to iPhone 6
We all know too well that Android Wear support will never officially arrive on Apple iOS. However, the crafty Android developer MohammadAG has managed to pair a Moto 360 smartwatch with iPhone 6without jailbreaking or rooting any of the devices.
The connection between the two devices has been made via the Apple Notification Center Service. The feature arrived on Cupertino’s platform via iOS 7 and is also utilized to connect a Pebble smartwatch to an iPhone. See the functionality in action below.
For the time being, it seems that only text message notifications are supported. The developer might launch the necessary watch apk at some point in the future.
Motorola is announcing something on February 25
Motorola is slowly letting people in the media know that it has something planned for February 25, which is next Wednesday. On that day, the company will be making "an exciting announcement". What it will unveil, though, is still unknown.
It's an unconventional product launch, that's for sure. Motorola is sending media outlets a mysterious box, which is set to arrive at their doorsteps on the aforementioned date. The contents of the box haven't been revealed yet, but apparently "everything you need fits inside one box".
So those who will receive these boxes will be "in the front row" for the announcement thanks to what's in the box. It's all rather puzzling.
But MWC is fast approaching, and perhaps Motorola wants to steal some thunder from Samsung and HTC, who are set to intro their new flagships at the end of next week.
The Lenovo-owned company may be presenting a successor to the Moto 360, or perhaps a new smartphone. Stay tuned and we'll find out.
Original Moto G to receive Lollipop in the coming weeks
In keeping with the company's policy to provide updates for its smartphones, Motorola is working on an Android Lollipop firmware for the first generation Moto G, released in 2013. Evidence for the update comes from owners of the device, who have started receiving a notification, prompting them to upgrade to the latest version of Motorola Update Services, in order to be notified of the update itself.
It has become common practice for manufacturers to support their high-end lines, or release updates for current generations only. Motorola, on the other hand, has had an exemplary track record, and is updating flagships and budget devices alike, both new and old. It could be argued that the company has it easy, because of its choice to stick close to stock Android, while heavier overlays undeniably require more time-consuming work.
We recently informed you of the Lollipop updates rolling out for the Moto E and Moto Maxx. However, if you own a different Motorola smartphone, you can refer to our earlier article for the complete list of planned upgrades.
Moto E and Moto Maxx getting Lollipop for real
Soak test over, now the Motorola Moto E is getting Lollipop for real. Joining the entry level handset is the flagship Motorola Moto Maxx. The Moto E update got a quick soak test in Brazil and India, while the Moto Maxx was tested in Brazil again and in Mexico.
Motorola hasn’t opened the floodgates though, the updates are continuing to roll out slowly to small test groups at first. If everything goes well, the update will expand to more users.
Moto E users should check that the Motorola Update Services on their phone is the latest version. It's on the Play Store so go do that while you wait for Android 5.0 Lollipop to come around.
Both Moto G generations have already received the update, as has the second-gen Moto X. The original Moto X is still waiting though, it turns out that unique chipset is slowing things down.
Best Buy listing fully reveals second generation Moto E
The yet to be announced second generation Moto E got fully revealed in a Best Buy product listing for Sprint Prepaid service. The upcoming smartphone is listed as Moto E 4G and sports a $99.99 price tag with no contract.
Specs-wise, the previously leaked successor of Motorola Moto E XT1021 will offer a bump in a number of key areas headed by 4G LTE connectivity. Moto E (2015) will also pack 4.5” qHD display (up from 4.3” in the original), 8GB of expandable memory, and 1GB of RAM.
The chipset of the device is listed as Qualcomm Snapdragon. We suspect that the silicon will be part of the chipmaker’s 400 family.
A 5MP main camera sans LED flash, coupled with front-facing unit for video calls will be in charge of capturing memories. Moto E (2015) will boot Android 5.0 Lollipop out of the box.
Physical measures of the new Moto E are listed as 130 x 67 x 11.9mm, while its weight tips the scale at 143 grams.
There is no word on the exact release date of the new Moto E. We doubt it will be a long wait before it goes official.
Motorola Moto E gets a price cut in India
Motorola’s entry-level Android smartphone Moto E has received a price cut in India. Originally costing at INR 6,999 ($112), the entry-level Android device is now available at INR 5,999 ($96).
Motorola has launched many other offers too. For example, you can exchange your old phones (select models only) and get discounts of up to INR 4,000 ($64) and INR 6,000 ($96) on the purchase of the second generation Moto G and Moto X respectively.
The company is also offering the Moto Deck Bluetooth speaker worth INR 8,990 ($145) for free with every purchase of the 2nd-gen Moto X. Google’s Nexus 10 tablet is also available with an exchange offer of up to INR 10,000 ($160).
Motorola is celebrating the completion of one year by Moto devices in the Indian market. The offers are valid from February 9 to 15.
Motorola COO says Samsung might lose its leadership position
Motorola, which shipped over 10 million smartphones last quarter, up a whopping 118% compared to the same period of 2013, has said that Samsung might lose its position as the world's top smartphone vendor, just like Nokia and BlackBerry.
During an interview with Forbes, Motorola COO Rick Osterloh said, "Every seven years, the person who’s been on top of the market has gone away," adding that "we are going through one of those fascinating shifts where people are starting to realize that you don’t need to pay $600 for a top-tier phone to get a top-tier experience."
He also said that the Lenovo-owned company, which focused on just 10 countries in North America, Europe and Latin America while being owned by Google, has its presence in around 50 countries now, and has plans to enter 10 or 15 more countries this year.
The company is also expected to return to profitability in four to six quarters.
Motorola Moto E beginning Lollipop soak test in India
Motorola has had a pretty nice track record when it comes to updating their devices. Moto smartphones generally run an almost stock version of Android are usually next in line after Nexus devices for OS updates. Sadly this was not the case with Android 5 Lollipop.
Progress has been slow and most of the Moto line is still waiting on a mass update. India seems to be the venue of choice when it comes to soak tests, as we have already seen a few, namely for theMoto G and later the Moto G 2014 and Moto X. Now the budget-friendly Moto E is joining the ranks as Motorola Feedback Network members are already receiving email invitations for the soak test.
So if you are among the subscribers of the feedback program and happen to be using a Moto E handset in India you are in luck. The soak test is expected to run for about two weeks and if all goes well the Moto E should see a openly distributed OTA, at least in India and join the ranks of the Moto G on the same market, which is already enjoying the Lollipop treatment.
Now with Android 5.0.2 already a reality and presumably much more stable we hope that Motorola will finally push things along and carry out a full-scale international update to its device lineup as soon as possible.
Motorola offers up to $100 discount for US customers
Motorola is having a sale on its US website, and you can save up to $100.
If you spend $499.99, you can get $100 off, or if you spend $249.99, you can get $35 off. The offer is available on Motorola devices and accessories till February 14.
For the $100 off you'd at least have to purchase the Moto X or the Nexus 6, while you'd have to at least get the Moto 360 to get the $35 off. Unfortunately, phones like the Moto G and Moto E are too inexpensive to fall under either price points.
Motorola Nexus 6 is ‘coming soon’ to Verizon Wireless
Verizon quietly listed the Motorola Nexus 6 as ‘coming soon’ in its online store. AT&T, T-Mobile, and Sprint are already selling the Android 5.0 flagship phablet in the United States.
There is no exact timeline on the release of the phablet just yet. However, Verizon has put up a page where overly anxious users can sign up for updates on the Nexus 6 availability.
Nexus 6 will be latest high-end device by Motorola to appear on the shelves of the Big Red. Verizon is already offering the highly capable Motorola Droid Turbo, as well as the 2014 Moto X.
Motorola shipped more than 10 million handsets last quarter
Motorola shipped more than 10 million smartphones during the last quarter that ended on December 31, 2014. Lenovo Group announced the achievement in its third quarter earnings report for the fiscal 2015.
Shipments of Motorola smartphones are up a whopping 118% on an annual basis. The Chicago-based company added a $1.9 billion to the revenue of Lenovo Mobile Business Group.
Overall, sales of Lenovo Mobile Business Group were $3.4 billion. However, the pre-tax income of the division came in at a negative $89 million. Lenovo announced that Motorola is on track to become profitable within 4-6 quarters after the acquisition.
Adding Motorola to its portfolio made Lenovo “a truly global player.” The Chinese giant is the third largest smartphone vendor with 6.6% market share.
Thanks to solid performance from its PC and server businesses, Lenovo recorded a consensus-beating $14.1 billion of revenue. The company’s Q3 pre-tax income before non-cash M&A-related accounting charges rose 8% to $348 million.
This year promises to be even better for Motorola, as the company is about to reenter the Chinese market. Earlier today, we found out that the Moto X (2014) has raked in 1 million pre-orders in only a few days.
The new batch of week's smartphone announcements
The week opened with the announcement of the low-end Asus ZenFone C. It's a minor update to last year's ZenFone 4, retaining the Intel chipset with a 1.2GHz dual-core CPU and 1GB of RAM. Screen size has seen a slight bump to 4.5 inches, requiring an increase in battery capacity to 2,100mAh.
Wednesday was rather eventful, with Meizu's highly-anticipated press conference. The Meizu m1 was unveiled, packing a 5-inch 720p screen and respectable hardware in a colorful body, all for $110. Camera department is where the m1 offers the most bang for its buck, offering a 13MP main sensor and a 5MP selfie snapper.
The ZTE Blade S6 is a more capable LTE-enabled 5-incher rocking a Snapdragon 615 SoC, 2GB of RAM and 16GB of expandable storage. A 13MP/5MP camera combo adds up to a respectable $250 midrange package.
The HTC Desire 526+G slides in between the last two, pricewise. For $170 the Taiwanese company will sell you a 4.7-inch qHD screen, a 1.7GHz octa-core processor, coupled with a single gig of RAM and 8GB of on-board storage. A 16GB version is available for a nominal price increase.
Samsung unveiled a new smartphone as well, pushing its range to even lower grounds. The entry-level Galaxy J1 packs a 1.2GHz dual-core processor, a modest 512MB of RAM and 4GB internal memory, thankfully expandable. The new base model runs KitKat on a 4.3-inch screen.
Motorola quietly launched an LTE-enabled version of the current Moto G, dubbed Moto G 4G (2015). Offering vanilla Android experience and timely updates, the new handset offers dual-sim functionality and retains the hardware of the non-4G version.
Motorola Moto G 4G (2015) debuts in Brazil on sale from today
A LTE-enabled variant of the Moto G (2014) has been circulating in the rumor mill for quite some time now and now it's finally become a reality. Motorola has apparently opted out of an official announcement and instead the new handset crept up on us and appeared on the manufacturer's Brazilian page and is already available to purchase.
The move was only logical since the first generation Moto G proved to be such a huge hit, both in emerging markets and even in places like the UK with the LTE upgrade only sweetening the deal even more. The budget-oriented, Moto G 4G (2015) offers a slick and clean almost pure-android experience just like its predecessors and comes with a few notable modifications over the base version.
First and foremost Motorola has decided to stick with the dual-SIM setup and make it available in the 4G variant as well. The phone comes equipped with two micro SIM slots with presumably only one capable of LTE speeds. Other notable changes over the Moto G (2014) include a larger, 2,390mAh, battery which should compensate for the increased power consumption from the new modem. Onboard storage will be 16GB with no 8GB option available and physically the smartphone will retain its compact dimensions with only about 6g of extra weight due to the beefier battery.
The rest of the internals are unchanged. The handset is still powered by a quad-core Snapdragon 400 SoC, clocked at 1.2GHz, has the same 5-inch 720p display and the same camera setup - 8MP main and 2MP front-facing shooter. A small, but significant detail to note is that the new device will be shipping with Android 5.0.2 Lollipop, while previous Moto G phones are still mostly running 4.4 KitKat and despite Motorola's best wishes are still waiting on an update.
The new Moto G 4G (2015) can already be purchased from a Brazilian retailer for BRL 899, which is about $345. This definitely seems like a premium for a device that is supposed to be budget-oriented and it is. Brazilian handset prices are traditionally very high and not representative of what smartphones costs elsewhere.
Despite its inconspicuous arrival the new Moto G 4G (2015) has all the right ingredients to continue to legacy of its predecessor and if Motorola manages to keep costs low than the handset definitely has a bright future ahead of it.
Motorola sold 3 million devices alone in India since Feb 2014
Back in February last year, Motorola made India’s largest e-commerce website Flipkart its exclusive online retail partner, and now, the Economic Times is reporting that the Lenovo-owned company has sold 3 million smartphones in the country since then, with Moto G and Moto E smartphones making up for more than half of the sales.
According to Amit Boni, head of Motorola’s India operations, the company considers India as a “critical market,” and is planning to increase its efforts in the country. Starting this year, the company will set up several Motorola experience centers that will also double up as service centers.
The report also notes that moving forward Motorola is planning to launch new handsets in India before other global markets, and may also bring Moto Maker to the country - China is the only Asian country where the create-your-own-design store is available as of now.
Deal alert : Motorola offers $140 off for purchases of $499.99 for Valentine’s Day
Motorola has just announced its Valentine’s Day promotion. If you buy from the phone maker’s website directly, you’ll be able to save as much as $140 for a purchase of at least $499.99. The details are a little bit complicated however.
It all starts on February 2 at 11 am CT. From that time and until 11:59 pm CT on the same day, you’ll be able to register for a promo code worth $140 for a $499.99 purchase, or $50 off a purchase of at least $249.99.
If you don’t get such a promo code, then you can try again on February 3, though the deals available on this day won’t be as good. The maximum savings will be $100 for a $499.99 order or $35 if you buy goods totaling at least $249.99. You can buy anything you want to take advantage of the deal, except theNexus 6, Republic Wireless’ version of the 2nd generation Moto X, and Motorola’s Extended Service Plan.
Some restrictions apply for the other devices too. There’s a limit of two per customer when it comes to theMoto X (2014), Moto G (2014), Moto G 4G, Moto E, and Moto 360. If you have successfully registered for a promo code, you’ll be able to apply it until 10:59 pm CT on February 14. This is the special website at which you can register starting on February 2.
Motorola reestablishes in the Chinese market with Moto G, X and X Pro
The absence of Motorola on the dynamic and ever-growing Chinese market has surely been felt, considering that the brand has had a long and successful history of operation in that region. After the major Moto acquisition by Lenovo last year the official plan was to limit availability to counties, where Lenovo' own smartphones aren't so well received and seeing how this is not the case on its native turf in China odds where that the Moro lineup was destined to miss the sprawling market completely.
This morning however, Rick Osterloh, the company's president, announced that Moto devices are officially hitting the Chinese market. Initial plans state that the lineup will include three smartphones - the Moto G 4G, Moto X 2014 and something dubbed the Moto X Pro, which is essentially a rebranded Nexus 6.
Motorola also plans to introduce the Moto Hint Bluetooth earpiece, the Moto 360 smartwatch, along with the Moto Maker phone customization service.
As far as availability goes The Moto X will hit the market shortly with sign-ups for the Moto G and Moto X Pro, which will most probably be available after the Chinese New Year on February 19. The Moto 360 will also come later.
Motorola promises to approach the new market with the same high level of customer service and aims to offer users "the most personal smartphone ever". Product Marketing VP Steve Sinclair, reiterated that by stating that: "When you buy a Moto phone, we don't forget about you".
Motorola has a pretty good track record of delivering speedy and stable updates to the Android platform. This, coupled with a central focus on improving productivity and general performance of devices with a only a thin software layer and an otherwise pure Android approach is a formula that has brought a lot of market success to the US company in the past. Whether or not this will roll-over to the new eastern market is anybody's guess, but Motorola seems to have all the right ingredients to shine.
Motorola Nexus 6 was only a few inches away from fingerprint sensor
The Motorola Nexus 6 apparently could have come with a fingerprint scanner on its back. This information comes straight from former Motorola CEO Dennis Woodside, speaking in an interview.
While developing the first Nexus phablet, the company considered placing a fingerprint sensor on its back, in the exact spot that is taken by the dimple housing the Motorola logo.
This didn't end up actually happening because of Apple, at least in part. See, that company purchased "the best supplier" of fingerprint recognition technology around, namely AuthenTec. So Motorola obviously couldn't use that technology.
Woodside says "the second best supplier was the only one available to everyone else in the industry and they weren't there yet", almost certainly referring to the quality of the sensors' recognition rates and ease of use.
So it looks like when it was faced with deciding between using a fingerprint scanner that wasn't the best, and not using one at all - Motorola chose the latter for the Nexus 6. It's not clear whether there are many people out there who miss such a feature in the phablet, though, so perhaps the company wasn't wrong in its choice.
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