Mobile Pasha

Mobile Phone Blog

Archive for category Motorola

Motorola Charm, A QWERTY Candybar Android, Announced

Jul 7

Posted by looda in Android, Motorola | 1 Comment

Motorola has announced their third exclusive Android phone for T-Mobile USA.  Called the Motorola Charm, it brings an unusual form factor rarely seen with the OS into the mix: a QWERTY candybar.

Like most of Motorola’s Android releases, the squarish handset comes with the social networking-friendly MotoBlur (first phone in the US with the enhanced version of the UI), as well as Backtrack, a touch-sensitive pad along the rear that lets you perform navigational actions  without having to put your fingers to the display.  It will ship with Android 2.1 at the helm, with no word on whether a 2.2 Froyo update is forthcoming.

The Motorola Charm features a 2.8-inch touchscreen with 320 x 240 resolution, sitting above a four-row QWERTY keypad.  Slim with curved corners, it measures 98.4 x 67 x 11.4 mm and weighs 110 grams.

Details include a 3.2 megapixel fixed focus camera module (with Kodak Perfect Touch), aGPS, 3G with HSDPA, WiFi, Bluetooth 2.0, an FM tuner, a 3.5mm audio port, 512MB of onboard storage and microSD card expansion (2GB card included).  Like other Android-powered releases, it boasts  the full suite of Google services (Search, Maps, Navigation and more), multi-touch web browsing and Flash support.  Extra features include CrystalTalk Plus (which adds a second mic for improved voice calls), one-touch social media uploads and Moto Phone Portal (for accessing phone data from any web-enabled browser).

No word on pricing for the Motorola Charm, but it is expected for release during the summer.  The model will come in two colors, bronze and cabernet.

Tags: , ,

Motorola Milestone XT720 Now Official: 8MP Camera, 720p Video and More

Jun 8

Posted by looda in Android, Motorola | No Comments

Motorola has just announced the Milestone XT720 handset, meant to reach Europe for now. This handset is destined for camera lovers, as shown by cool features like the 8 megapixel sensor, 720p/24 fps video and its Xenon flash, a premiere for an Android phone.

Moto XT720 runs Android 2.1 and it’ll be available starting later this month, with potential plans for a Froyo upgrade, although this hasn’t been confirmed yet. Specs also include a 3.7 inch 480 x 854 pixel screen, a 550 MHz ARM Cortex A8 processor and a battery that provides 9 hours of talk time and 320 hours of standby.

Official sources claim that this device is a sister phone to the Motoroi and its launch in the US depends on how well the device does in the Euro region. Also, what’s the deal with that underclocked 550MHz CPU?!

Tags: , ,

Motorola FLIPOUT with MOTOBLUR: Stylishly Square & Pocket Perfect

Jun 2

Posted by looda in Android, Motorola | No Comments

Motorola today announced Motorola FLIPOUTTM with MOTOBLUR, a stylishly square and compact smartphone that’s as individual as its users. Launching in Europe from Q2 2010, FLIPOUT runs on Android 2.1 and features an innovative square pivot design that opens to reveal a five-row QWERTY keypad with a separate row for numeric keys. FLIPOUT features up to seven customizable home screens, live wallpapers and added security for exchange server users. It also offers enhanced MOTOBLUR features making it easier to follow who and what really matters to you.

Tags: ,

Motorola Flipout is a Square, Trendy Android Phone

May 11

Posted by looda in Android, Motorola | No Comments

Square phones are all the rage today, specially among teenagers, so models like the  Nokia Twist, LG Lotus and LG Elite are quite popular. Motorola couldn’t get left out of the trend, so they created the Moto Flipout square Android phone, that gets pictured below.

Motorola Flipout uses the MOTOBLUR UI and comes with a 3.1 megapixel camera, a QWERTY keyboard, a 2.8 inch display, 512 MB ROM and 256 MB RAM. There’s also a GPS on board and a 700 MHz processor.

The handset comes in 3 colour versions and it’ll hit the States in June, possibly via AT&T.

Tags: ,

Android-powered Motorola Sholes Tablet turns into MOTOROI

Jan 19

Posted by looda in Android, Motorola | No Comments

Korea just got its first Android 2.0-powered smartphone with the MOTOROI, a touchscreen handset just announced by Motorola.  Earlier rumored as the Motorola Sholes (and might still be released by that name elsewhere in the world), the device sports some similarities with their premiere Android handset, the Motorola Droid.

While it does lose the physical keyboard, the UI experience appears to be the same – you get “smart” widgets, pinch controls (which means multi-touch is supported) and five different virtual text-input methods.  Basing on the press release, Motorola is hopeful that the Droid’s worldwide success will translate well into similar results for the Korean market, widely considered as a major tech center in Asia.

Phone details include a 3.7-inch capacitive touchscreen (480 x 854 resolution), an 8.0 megapixel camera module (with autofocus, Xenon flash and 720p video capture), onboard GPS, high-speed connectivity (HSDPA, Wi-Fi), Bluetooth, microSD expansion (up to 32GB), a 3.5mm audio jack, an HDMI out and South Korean T-DMB support (for grabbing TV and radio signals).  Dimensions are 115.95 x 60.9 x 10.9 mm with a weight of only 140 grams.

Seriously, the MOTOROI sounds like it will inspire a good amount of hardware lust.  It also looks to be a serious attempt at creating an Android phone with heavy multimedia capabilities (720p support with HDMI out).  Hopefully, that aspect performs up to par.  Based on how well the rest of Android 2.0 worked on the Droid, it’s fair to expect the same topnotch results here.

The MOTOROI has a dedicated website for it (link below), but it’s entirely in Korean.  No pricing details yet, but rollout is slated for February 2010.

[MOTOROI via Motorola Media Center]

Tags: , ,

Apple iPhone and Google Nexus One beat Motorola’s Droid in touchscreen accuracy tests

Jan 12

Posted by looda in Android, HTC, Motorola, iPhone | 1 Comment

When it comes to capacitive touchscreens – like the displays found on the Apple iPhone and the Google Nexus One – it’s not always just about resolution, screen size, or whether it’s OLED or LCD. It’s good to keep in mind that a large touchscreen doesn’t do you much good if it’s not accurately interpreting your finger inputs. Well, thanks to MOTO Labs’ new touchscreen accuracy tests, we now know how the venerable iPhone and the new Nexus One fair against the popular Motorola Droid when it comes to touchscreen accuracy and sensitivity.

MOTO pitted the Apple iPhone, HTC Droid Eris, Motorola Droid, and Google Nexus One against each other in two rounds of testing to compare each handset’s touchscreen accuracy. The tests used a drawing app on each phone to trace the path of finger inputs on the touchscreens as it moved diagonally across the display. The first test used light pressure to mimic light finger-flicks and flitting taps on the on-screen keyboard. The second test used medium pressure to simulate heavier finger inputs, like scrolling through a webpage. The point of the test were to determine how closely the lines drawn on the screen matched up with the actual path of finger inputs.

The results? In both the light- and medium-pressure tests, the iPhone showed precise lines that “indicate accurate representation of finger path,” while exhibiting some loss of sensitivity at the edges of the display. Both the Google Nexus One and HTC Droid Eris showed a “fairly linear track, with some waviness,” putting both phones in the runner-up position behind the iPhone – which makes sense, seeing as how both phones are made by HTC. The worst touchscreen of the bunch was the Motorola Droid, which resulted in a “stair-stepping” pattern and “waviness” that indicates “inaccuracies in tracking travel of finger.

The takeaway here is that “all touchscreens are not created equal.” All other factors (cost, operating system, brand loyalty, etc.) being equal, if you want an accurate touchscreen, Apple’s iPhone is your best bet. If you’re willing to deal with a little inaccuracy in trade for a larger, crisper display, the Nexus One will be your phone of choice. For example, it’s easier to accurately tap a small embedded link on webpages without zooming in using an iPhone than it is on the Nexus One.

Check out the full analysis at MOTO – they have video too!

Tags: , , ,

Motorola Backflip Announced, Features Unique Controls And Design

Jan 8

Posted by looda in Android, Motorola | No Comments

Motorola’s just announced a second Motoblur handset, the Motorola Backflip, following hot on the heels of the Motorola Cliq/Dext.

The new handset features a touchscreen display, reverse flip out QWERTY keyboard and a back touchpad that works in a similar way to a trackpad on a laptop when the keyboard is open.

The idea, according to Motorola is that users will be able to navigate and scroll around the screen without actually touching it or getting their fingers in the way of what they are looking at.

The display of the Motorola BACKFLIP measures 3.1″ in diagonal and sports HVGA resolution. The handset is built around the MSM7200A Qualcomm chipset, which means a 528 MHz CPU and 256MB of RAM. The internal memory is 2GB and is expandable through the microSD card slot. The tri-band 3G with 7.2 Mbps HSDPA complements the quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE support.

The other noteworthy features of the Motorola BACKFLIP include a 5 megapixel autofocus camera, 3.5mm audio jack, Wi-Fi, GPS, USB and Bluetooth.

Motorola BACKFLIP is expected to be available in North America, Latin America, Asia and Europe starting from Q1 2010. Unfortunately there is no information about its pricing just yet.

Tags: ,

Motorola Droid firmware update v2.01 now available

Dec 9

Posted by looda in Android, Motorola | No Comments

091028_motorola_droid_008

Verizon have released a new firmware update for the Motorola Droid, bringing it from version 2, to 2.01. To download the new firmware, head over to this site.

Tags:

Motorola, UAE’s du implement mobile WiMAX network for Dubai Metro

Dec 9

Posted by looda in Motorola, Operator News | No Comments

dubai-metro

Motorola along with UAE telecom provider, du, it has launched mobile WiMAX network for Dubai Metro, providing mobile connectivity backhaul for all the WiFi traffic on train carriages and in the Metro stations.

Commenting on the implementation, which is effectively the first truly mobile WiMAX network in the country, Motorola’s Ali Amer said: “This project reaffirms Motorola’s longstanding reputation for undertaking major technology advancements and working with leading organizations. With our WiMAX technology, du will provide its customers with high-speed wireless service and all the benefits of real-time information-exchange on the go.”

Additional details about Motorola’s WiMAX offering are available from here.

Tags:

Twitter launches new Mobile Site

Dec 4

Posted by looda in BlackBerry, HTC, LG, Motorola, Nokia, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, iPhone | No Comments

twitter-mobile

Twitters new mobile web site went live today, just point your phone’s browser to mobile.twitter.com. Its got a great new look, and has some great new touches that will make your mobile experience on Twitter a bit more fun and a lot more helpful.