While Motorola’s RAZR line-up was great, it didn’t have the “wow” factor that Google was looking for, at least according to Google’s CFO Patrick Pichette. Because both Motorola and Google wanted to create devices that would “wow” the community, they have been working together for over 8 months on a new generation of phones. Throughout various discussions, Motorola realized that it needed to drop its bloated UI, and go for the natural Android experience. Both sides also agreed that bigger isn’t always better, so Motorola adopted the philosophy “better is better” and nixed the philosophy “bigger is better”.

Jim Wicks said, “Certain people like a large screen, but there’s a sweet spot for consumers that we’re currently exceeding in the market.” He says that many consumers want a screen size that feels “just about right”. Motorola wants to address the needs of those people. Along with smaller screens, Motorola will also reduce the size of its bezels to reduce the size of its phones. Wicks says, “When you buy a TV, you’re not wanting a frame.”

Wicks also says that they’re not going to be participating in the spec wars that all of the other major manufacturers seem to be participating in. He says that he wants to focus more on consumers, and not the “simple way out”. He says that “spec, spec, spec” is not the answer. Wicks also said that he will focus less on carrier exclusives, like the Atrix line-up or the DROID line-up, and focus on cross-carrier brands. While those line-ups will still exist, the company will “drive a more singular expression of our brand across multiple carriers.”

[via Android Community]

It’s important to note that the term “galaxy” does benefit in some way from the fact that it’s a non-brand word as well as a brand, but so too is the word “android.” It’s also clear that the term “galaxy” has risen along essentially the same path as “Samsung Galaxy” and right along with “android”, making non-brand searches essentially irrelevant. The eclipse (however small it may be) shows that Samsung is making a massive impact on the way people see the smartphone universe.

Below we’ve gone ahead and added the term “Droid” to the mix here instead of Evans’ chart’s term search with “iPhone”. What you’re going to see is that Verizon and Motorola’s push to turn the Android universe into a DROID brand association has been far, far less successful in the long run. Back Before 2011 rolled around, the term “DROID” was just as popular and at several points more popular than Galaxy. After July of 2010, DROID was never again as popular a search term as Galaxy.

View this information set in Google Trends now!

This sort of analysis is far from perfect, of course, and really only measures how often the average citizen looks up a term they’re interested in. That does translate quite well to the power of the brand when it comes down to it, of course, this shown in recent earnings reports from Samsung, Motorola, and Google. The big G recently purchased Motorola outright and is being tipped at the moment as working to create a new “X Phone” device to pump up the Android brand as well as the perceived power of the Motorola manufacturing process.

Now we’ve only to see how well Google is at branding Motorola and bringing Android along for the ride – soon and very soon!

There has been noise in the rumorsphere for awhile that a version of the J Butterfly was headed to Verizon. Assuming the DNA is similarly spec’d as the aforementioned Butterfly, we can expect an astounding 440ppi display. This comes in light of other phablet smartphones that have been hitting the market, including Samsung’s Galaxy Note series. The J Butterfly is only available in Japan.

Also known as the DLX, the DROID DNA features a 5-inch 1920 x 1080 full HD display. Inside you’ll find a Qualcomm 1.5GHz quad-core processor and 2GB of RAM, as well as 16GB of storage space and a 2,500mAh battery to keep it all a-glow. Right now it looks like the handset runs Android 4.1 Jelly Bean.

According to the FCC filing, the DNA features Verizon’s 4G LTE radios, in addition to GSM for those times when you need to do a bit of global roaming. This information, in addition to the multiple image leaks and abounding rumors, indicates that the phablet is indeed slated to launch soon. While it doesn’t seem like it’ll be out in time to nab a nice Black Friday discount, it looks like it’ll be here in time to find its way under a few holiday trees.

[via Android Community]

The max is 0.37 inches thick and 5.54 oz (157 g) heavy while the smaller of the two is 0.33 inches thick and 5.15 oz (146 g) heavy. Have a peek at these photos to see how small that difference really, truly is. It’s as if Motorola is playing a joke on us – but the differences are there, and that battery is indeed in there with that much extra power. NOTE: We’ll be doing an extended battery test over the next few days on the MAXX HD as well – stay tuned for that!

You’d be well off taking a peek at our DROID RAZR MAXX full review to understand how these two devices are going to work for you, and make note of this fact as well: their software builds are the same. They’ve got the same version of Android, the same Motorola additions and tweaks, and the same apps. There’s no software differences between these two devices.

Remember also that Motorola has made it clear that they’ll be bringing each of these RAZR devices (including the DROID RAZR M as well) up to Jelly Bean very, very soon. That means Android 4.1 and a bit of the new Google Now system as well. The MAXX HD and the HD will be on sale at Verizon immediately if not soon nationwide as well – head out and grab one!

This device works with Android 4.0.3 Ice Cream Sandwich and has HTC’s own newest user interface on top, that being Sense 4.0 as well. This device looks and feels rather similar to the HTC Rezound, aka the highest definition smartphone on the market, and comes with its own lovely egg-like shape as well. Have a peek at our full review of the HTC Rezound and come back for a much more compact version of said device here.

Above you’ll see our newest hands-on with the device, our first look having been back earlier this year at CTIA 2012 in New Orleans. Things having changed much since then, this device still looking the same on the inside and outside, with what appears to be no significant software modifications inside either. On another note, the only difference between this and an HTC One device – HTC One S, HTC EVO 4G LTE, HTC One X, is the HTC ImageSense chip.

What you’ve got here is the next in a line of rather successful “Incredible” devices from Verizon’s DROID lineup. With HTC’s addition of the fantastic Snapdragon S4 – the same processor also sitting in the rest of the HTC One and Samsung Galaxy S III line, mind you, HTC and Verizon likely have another winner on their hands. Have a peek at the hands-on photos above and below and prepare for a full review this week!

Cellebrite is a tool used by operators to transfer customers contact information and content from one phone to another, so naturally it would see use from a myriad of different handsets. Looks like the DROID RAZR HD is in the Cellebrite systems, as the above picture shows. The XT926 model number lines up with previous information too.

As for the other specs of the device, leaked benchmarks have indicated that Motorola may be moving away from Texas Instrument’s OMAP chip in favor of Qualcomm’s Snapdragon S4. We would hazard a bet that the phone would have LTE on board, and past rumors have also pointed to a 720p display.

[via Droid-Life]

This version of the smartphone appears to be running on China Mobile and is currently running the newest version of Android Ice Cream Sandwich, that being 4.0.3 just like the Transformer TF300. This device will be coming with a dual-core 1.2GHz OMAP 4430 processor from Texas Instruments and will have an unknown amount of onboard storage when it’s released – likely 16GB. Past versions of the RAZR with Android have had 32 and 16GB iterations with a microSD card slot to expand by 32GB on the fly.

The Motorola RAZR HD will more than likely be coming with the same 3000mAh battery as the RAZR MAXX so as to keep with the theme of this phone getting bigger each time it’s released, and will also have the newest version of Motorola’s UI “Blur.” Though we’ve not seen much of the word “Blur” or Motoblur as its sometimes referred to, Motorola has continued to use their now-unnamed user interface in phones globally. See you soon, HD!

[via Android Community]

This device will likely have a 1.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor (their newest) and a lovely 4.3-inch qHD AMOLED display. Inside you’ll find 1 GB of RAM more than likely and the back will have an 8 megapixel camera (backed up by the Snapdragon’s specially tuned camera-ready architecture.) On the front there’ll be a VGA camera, inside 4G LTE, and all around Beats Audio.

This device is likely going to have a cool Adreno 225 GPU inside as well, and will be released before or during the massive set of waves that include the HTC One series. See the timeline below for additional rumors and tips on this device, and get pumped up for its release! Nothing like an HTC DROID to get your summer started right!

[via DROID Life]

At the moment, very little is known about the specs for either device except that they’ll both support Verizon’s 4G LTE network. The Droid Fighter may likely be the successor to the Droid Charge, while the LG Cayman is difficult to pinpoint given LG’s recent leaks of a bevy of upcoming Android devices.

So far, only potential launch dates have been uncovered by Droid-Life, which claims that the LG Cayman would arrive first late next month on March 29. The Droid Fighter, likely produced by Motorola, is expected to launch on April 12. We may hear more about the devices while we’re at MWC next week so make sure to stay tuned.

[via Android Community]

Hardware

The display here is a massive 540 x 960 pixels on 4-inches of space, putting this device at 275 pixels per inch. That’s quite impressive when it comes down to it, it being not quite as rich with pixels as the Galaxy Nexus (at 316 ppi) but certainly ready to contend with the DROID RAZR whose same resolution sits on a slightly larger display, putting it at just 256 ppi. At this close range you wont notice the difference unless you’re holding these devices up next to one another, but the difference is there.

Other than that you’ve got what’s actually a slightly larger device than the DROID 3, this bulk coming from the additional plastic around the edges, seeming to have been added here for stylistic purposes instead of necessity. The device is almost exactly the same height as the previous DROID QWERTY and the keyboard is similar, but quite a bit nicer when you’ve used it for a bit. While the older DROID keyboards did seem excellent when they were first brought forth on the first couple of units, the age started to show harshly on the DROID 3. Here there’s a new amount of space and a sensor-activated light surrounding the keys.

The processor is the same one that’s in the DROID RAZR and several devices that’ve been released in the past few months, that being the Texas Instruments OMAP 4430 dual-core 1.2GHz SoC. This chip will get you where you need to go and will allow you to play essentially any game you’re hankering for on the Android Market without a hitch. Consider these Quadrant Advanced results – Total 2747, CPU: 6957, Memory: 2586, I/O: 3046, 2D: 283, 3D: 862, and note the comparatively powerful results when you consider the rest of the Android devices released with this same OMAP processor very recently – looking quite similar.

Software

Inside you’ve got your regular suite of Motorola, Google, and Verizon apps, no real surprises in the mix, and all of it comes complete with Webtop. Motorola devices released inside the last year have all had their proprietary desktop-like software installed aboard, this working through your HDMI-connected display with the device itself acting as an intermediary. If you’ve got any of the suggested docks you can turn your DROID 4 into a standalone computer with your HDTV as your monitor and a USB-connected mouse and keyboard as your controllers. Alternatively you can use the DROID 4 as a trackpad to control your cursor on the display. Check out a demonstration of how this all works in our review of the Motorola Lapdock 100.

Motorola devices are connected with a series of basic cloud-connected services such as My Music which connects you to your computer at home via the web. This and the rest of the cloud suite on the DROID 4 are connected via MotoCast, a service which connects all of your Motorola devices via an interface you download for your desktop machine at MyMotoCast.com. Also prominent in the apps drawer is an instant link to your MOTOACTV, a device which acts as both a music player and a fitness tracker which you can attach to your arm, your wrist, or wherever else you’d like to carry it.

Camera

Motorola is back to having a decent beast of a camera here with 8 megapixels on the back along with 1080p video capabilities. Though it’s not the most perfect setup we’ve seen with such specifications, it certainly out-does its predecessor. Have a peek at some demonstrations of the DROID 4′s back-facing camera here and behold the loveliness.

Phone and Battery

The battery on this beast is a full 1785 mAh placing it right beside the original DROID RAZR in battery rating and capturing just about as much time in the wild as well. When you’re using this device for streaming video you’ll get a few hours out of it – enough time for about a full movie and a half. If you’re using it heavily throughout the day, you’ll get something like 6-8 hours. If you’re using it lightly, for email and web browsing exclusively that is, you’ll be getting 10 hours or more no problem. One charge a night should be good for most users.

Wrap-Up

The DROID 4 is the bulkiest device on the Verizon network here at its launch, yet at the same time it’s got the nicest keyboard Motorola has ever offered on a smartphone. If you’re so in love with the basic QWERTY DROID line that you’ve sworn off all other smartphones, it’s time to upgrade to this model. If you’re looking for the best Motorola device on Verizon, I’d recommend the RAZR MAXX. It doesn’t have a QWERTY keyboard, but it does have a battery that’ll last you until kingdom come, and you’re working with essentially the same innards as this device otherwise.

This device certainly deserves to have a spot amongst the high-end line of Android devices at its release, but will be forgettable within a few months at the dawn of the quad-core smartphone and the start of the Ice Cream Sandwich having Androids being released in bulk closer to the middle of the year. You’ve got the option of grabbing the Galaxy Nexus from Samsung on Verizon right now as well if you want the newest Android software – DROID 4 is still stuck on Android 2.3.5 Gingerbread – but that would require you to leave your beloved Motorola and go Samsung’s way, a very different beast indeed.

Inside the box here you’ll find the usual – that being the device itself, a microSIM card already installed for us, and a power cord and adapter. This device uses a microUSB cord like the past few years of DROID devices have, and it’s running Android 2.3.5 Gingerbread, the newest edition before Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. This device is set on Motorola’s timeline to be updated to Ice Cream Sandwich before the year is over, and it’s looking more and more likely that the change will be coming sooner than later – hopefully inside the first half of the year.

This device includes Government-grade encryption (FIPS 140-2) for all of your ever-loving typing needs, that being email, calendar, and contacts, and you’ll be able to use Webtop like the rest of the Motorola line from 2011. Plug it on in to the full suit of Motorola-made accessories at Verizon right this second! You’ve got Citrix Receiver on Webtop right out of the box as well for full desktop virtualization and access – how kind!

This device has a front-facing camera for video chat, a back-facing 8 megapixel camera with 1080p video, and the whole device is set for full 4G LTE access at what Verizon continues to note is 2 to 5 Mbps right here in Minneapolis and Saint Paul. We’ll be giving this device a full rundown soon – for now check out the video and the photos below. And be sure to ask any and all questions in the comments – we’re waiting to work for you!

On the back there’s an 8-megapixel camera with Full HD video recording, while a 1.3-megapixel camera is up front for video calls. The 4G connection can be shared out with up to eight WiFi-tethered devices, and there’s WiFi b/g/n and Bluetooth along with GPS.

Motorola is also pushing the Lapdock 500, complete with its full-sized keyboard and 14-inch display, for those willing to spend another $299.97 turning their smartphone into a notebook. More details in our full hands-on.

Motorola DROID 4 hands-on:

Verizon is promising an Android Ice Cream Sandwich update for the DROID 4, though there’s no timescale for its release; until then, you’ll be using Android 2.3.5 Gingerbread.

[via Android Community]

The “Droid” name has proven to be really powerful for the Android brand, and the one reaping the rewards is Verizon, which holds the rights to the name. However, after the original Droid came and gone, there were other handsets that made their splash, like the new Evo phones and HTC’s myriad models that have come out over the past couple years.

However, Droid is making a comeback, notably with the Droid Razr and Droid Razr Maxx, and with the Droid Xyboard tablet. It’s time to revive the name in a big way, and bring the Droid brand into the same path as the iPhone and the Samsung Galaxy S – numbered phones. We all know something with the number “4″ in its name is good, right? I guess we’ll find out on February 10.

[via Wireless Ground]

This is not the first time Microsoft has taken advantage of Google’s misfortune (or perhaps misstep) today, the first time being Microsoft actually taking out ads that told the world that “Putting People First” is what they’ve got to hold up. Google is being cut into here because of the Privacy Policy changes that took place recently. Now comes the double fire with the bringing back up of #DROIDRAGE.

This #DROIDRAGE keyword is being used for the second time now, the first being a very similar situation where Android was put on the spot – then also with Windows Phones as the prize for participants in the project. Twitter will be the place for battle here in the Windows Phone vs Android war, and the fight will be chipping, chipping, chipping away piece by piece. Is this what Microsoft needs to get Windows Phone into the spotlight where they believe it belongs?

[via Gotta Be Mobile]

What could have potentially been one of the best moves for the Xyboard is that its official name is the Droid Xyboard. Unfortunately, most people just end up dropping the Droid moniker, and secondly that moniker has lost a lot of its value. Motorola should have captured that brand momentum with its first tablet, the Xoom. It isn’t making nearly as big a splash now.

Nevertheless, the availability of cheaper Xyboards should spark some new interest in the company’s second big attempt to cash in on the tablet war. There are four versions of the device, broken up into 10.1-inch models and 8.2-inch models, each with either 16 GB or 32 GB. Prices range from $400 to $600, a modest decrease from the cost of their 4G LTE-equipped counterparts.

[via Unwired View]

Hardware

Before we begin, note that we’re having a look at this 10.1-inch model XYBOARD first here in this post, then the 8.2-inch version later this week! Now here in the DROID XYBOARD you’ve got Motorola’s second and most third most confortable to use tablet on the market, the 10.1-inch version only trumped by the surprisingly lightweight 8.2-inch version we’ll be reviewing later on also here on SlashGear. The 10.1-inch tablet here has a relatively bright LCD display at a standard 1280 x 800 pixel resolution. It’s covered up by a layer of reinforced Gorilla Glass, while the innards of this device share the same splash-resistant coating that the DROID RAZR does. You’ve got a microSIM card slot here, but no microSD slot like the XOOM does, the rest of your ports consisting of the standard headphones jack on top and a standardized Motorola setup of microUSB aside microHDMI ports next to one another on the bottom. This means you’ll be able to use the full rundown of Motorola devices in this current season, even though most of them are basically meant for handsets.

This tablet is only .02 inches than the thinnest tablet on the market right now, and at 599g it beats out the 730g of its predecessor, the original XOOM, by a healthy margin. In other words, you can tell the difference even without having both in your hands. You’ll have a much easier time gripping this tablet than most other tablets on the market today (if you have any trouble with any of them, that is), and the sharp-curve of the corners makes for a nice differentiation point from the rest of the world’s slates.

Software

You’ll be running Android 3.2 Honeycomb out of the box with some very BASIC additions by Motorola to make it their own. You’ll have the same Honeycomb Vanilla gallery, same camera, same interface on the whole, it’s just the icons a handful of applications that are coming from the manufacturer and Verizon. Most prominent is the MotoCast app sitting right there on your main home screen just begging you to get into Motorola’s extended world of devices via their rather nicely crafted software ecosystem – check out the DROID RAZR and the Motorola MOTOACTV reviews we’ve got to get a better idea of what it means to be part of this bigger family Motorola is promoting here.

Then it’s all about the built-in games like Madden 2012 which is, admittedly, the first sports game I’ve enjoyed on the mobile platform thus far, and that “Let’s Golf” game we’ve seen on essentially every Android device since early this year — someone did some GOOD promotion deals, I’ll tell you that much. You’ve also got Evernote which works just fine with your included sylus pen for hand-written digital notes, GoToMeeting for group chatting, and Quickoffice HD which you’ll find works more than good enough for editing your Office documents on the go. Slingbox, Skitch, VideoSurf, Dijit, and even Netflix begin to look like the devil word: “bloatware” when they’re all stacked up on two screens of unremovable apps that come with this talbet straight from the store, but they’re certainly not the worst quality apps when it comes down to it for someone looking to avoid the Android Market entirely.

You’ll find that the dual-core processor from Texas Instruments is the 1.2 GHz OMAP4 you’ve been seeing on a lot of devices with Android under the hood lately, it appearing in title to out-do the most common dual-core processor of 2011 the NVIDIA Tegra 2 1GHz, but having a look at our Quadarant Advanced benchmarks here you’ll see the increase isn’t the most fantastic in the world, but is certainly something to have a look at – pay attention to the individual numbers for a wild bit of difference:

You’ll notice one big difference: I/O has had the doors blown off between the two of these machines. You’ll not notice the difference in real life usage unless you’re REALLY attuned to the functions of the device – the ladies and gentlemen in the audience won’t be able to tell the difference. Have a peek at the device in action here in the hands-on video and know the truth:

Camera / Battery

Just like the original XOOM and the rest of the greater Android tablet family, the XYBOARD 10.1′s up time is several days strong if you’re not using it for heavy activities like streaming video. If you ARE streaming video non-stop, you’ll probably be plugged into the wall anyway, but just supposing your not: you’ve got something like 6-8 hours streaming via LTE. For those heavy users playing nothing but HD games and playing music via Google Music at the same time, you’ve got just about the same amount of uptime ahead of you.

The camera on this device is not especially good. It’s a 5-megapixel shooter, but don’t expect much better than what you got with the original XOOM. This tablet is certainly not made to be the master of the 5 megapixel shooters that the Galaxy Nexus is, nor is it ready to take on the big guns in tablet photography that the HTC Jetstream and the ASUS Transformer PRIME are, the both of them. Have a peek at some examples here and in the gallery below.

Wrap-Up

The question that’ll be popping up on most XOOM owners minds at one point or another now is this: should I upgrade? With a tablet that’s got such a similar processor and a display that’s not especially improved over the original XOOM, it’s essentially only the chassis and the fact that you can no longer use a microSD card that should sway you in one direction or the other – not to mention the money you’ll have to drop to move from one model to the next. If you’ve already got a tablet, I’ll say, this probably isn’t going to seem like much of an improvement over the model you’ve already got.

If on the other hand you’ve never used an Android tablet before, this is as good a place to start as any, as believe it or not, most Android tablets aren’t all the different from one another, regardless of their manufacturer. The biggest difference between Android tablets at the moment can be found in the ASUS Transformer Prime — therein lies the next generation of Android tablets, complete with keyboard dock that turns the thing into a laptop and a quad-core processor that beats down the whole rest of the Android world with ease. But if you’re not quite into that world yet and would like to remain in this fully connected LTE world (the Prime has no carrier affiliation as of yet), then by all means try out the XYBOARD 10.1 and Motorola your way to victory. Feel free to ask any additional questions below and I’ll do my best to answer, and another reminder: we’re reviewing the 8.2-inch version of this tablet here on SlashGear as well, soon!

For the XYBOARD 8.2, you have the choice of also picking one up with a 32GB built-in memory card for the upgraded price of $529.99, with this price and its 16GB version (listed above) bumping up to $599.99 and $699.99 at full retail price and activation required. For the 10.1-inch version of the tablet, there are three different built-in memory options, 16GB, 32, and 64, full retail prices (off-contract) coming in at $699.99, $799.99, and $899.99 respectively. We’ll be going for the 32GB at $629.99 on contract or the 64GB for $729.99 on contract, but with a healthy “this seems sort of expensive” thought at the back of our minds.

This tablet selection is what Verizon is calling the “first 4G tablet worthy of the name DROID”, and we’ll be seeing how true that is SOON. Stay tuned to SlashGear to see full reviews of both of these tablets within the next week! Or if you’re feeling frisky, head down to your local Verizon right this second to see if you’re amongst the lucky to have a store that’s jumped the gun and is offering the tablets up for sale right now!

The speculation comes from PocketNow, which discovered a series of photos with EXIF data that revealed the photos to be taken from a device called the Motorola DROID RAZRMAX. This is not to be confused with an old flip phone called the Motorola RAZR Maxx, which had an extra “x” at the end and no Droid trademark.

Additionally, some forum activity also suggest that such a device is in the works. A forum poster had revealed visiting a Verizon store and being told by an employee that a new “Razr Max” device would be coming out in the future that would be slightly thicker than the DROID RAZR and include a larger-capacity battery.

For all of you out there late to the Android party this month, The Droid 4, which was leaked in early-build photos, is expected to have a four-inch Super AMOLED Advanced display, slightly smaller than the similarly-looking Razr‘s 4.3-inch panel that uses the same display technology. The housing also takes its overall shape from the Razr, with the exception of the physical keyboard. Other features should include dual cameras, HDMI output, and full-HD 1080p video recording.

Operating system-wise, the Droid 4 is said to be running Android 2.3.5 Gingerbread. It’s rumored that Samsung recently admitted that the Galaxy Nexus launch was delayed until December 8th, on Verizon as the carrier, and Verizon has also confirmed that the Galaxy Nexus launch was pushed back towards the month of December, with the Canadian release being on December 7th. Let’s keep out fingers crossed, and we’ll update you whenever we have more information.

[via Droid Life]

This device has a similar keyboard to what we’ve seen in the DROID 3, though now with slightly more raised centers on the keys and a a bit more space around the board. The display is said by a source speaking with Droid Life exclusively to be 4 inches and they’ve decided it’s likely that it’ll be Super AMOLED Advanced. The keyboard, they say, will not just be what we’re used to from Motorola and their past QWERTYs, instead it’ll be “illuminated” – lights! Like the DROID RAZR, this device will have a non-removable battery, and also just like the RAZR, this device will be working perfectly well with the MotoACTV.

This device is said to be running Android 2.3.5 Gingerbread, likely has an 8-megapixel camera on the back capable of recording 1080p video, and has some sort of front camera likely right around 1.3-megapixels. This device will of course be running on Verizon’s 4G LTE network, and judging by the 1.2GHz dual-core OMAP4430 processor that the DROID RAZR is coming out with, we must assume that this device has something along those same lines, and it appears that the code-name for this device, “Maserati” has been tracked by Android Community back to the 27th of September. All signs point to a 2011 release. You gonna grab it?

See the gallery below for some comparative photos of similar Motorola products as of late including the DROID 3, what’s possibly the XOOM 2, DROID RAZR, and ATRIX 2.

[via Droid Life]

The MotoCast app creates a private cloud that lets you stream music, photos, and videos from your computer to your smartphone so that you can easily access those files without them having to hog a bunch of memory on your device. It streams over WiFi as well as 3G or 4G cellular networks, and in this case with the DROID RAZR, you’ll get to take advantage of the blazing fast Verizon 4G LTE network.

Your Motorola DROID RAZR with MotoCast will work with either your Mac or Windows computer. The app can sync both iTunes and Windows Media Player playlists and lets you backup your device photos and videos to iPhoto and iTunes. The below video shows MotoCast being demoed on the DROID RAZR by Motorola CEO Sanjay Jha himself during today’s press event in NYC.

The DROID RAZR is compatible with Motorola’s Lapdock 500 Pro or Lapdock 100. Both feature a slim laptop form factor that only comes to life when your DROID RAZR is docked. It allows you to use the computing power of your smartphone on the larger laptop-sized screen to watch movies, play games, edit documents, and browse the web via the full desktop version of the Firefox browser.

The device will also work with Motorola’s HD Dock or HD Station to connect to your HDTV, speakers, and other productivity peripherals or large screen entertainment devices. And when it’s connected, you can use Motorola’s Smart Controller accessory as a remote control to easily navigate your smartphone interface on your HDTV with zoom, pinch, and rotate multi-touch capability. It even lets you take and make calls with your phone remaining in the dock.

Additionally, there is a GPS navigation dock, an extended battery pack, and a Bluetooth keyboard. There’s also the Motorola ELITE SLIVER Bluetooth headset that can pair with the device for discrete hands-free talking.

The Motorola DROID RAZR is now confirmed to sport a 4.3-inch advanced qHD display, which boasts a high contrast ratio and richer color saturation than the iPhone 4S. The display is fully covered with Gorilla Glass and the chassis is indeed made with Kevlar and splash-proof. It features a 1.2GHz dual-core processor, 1GB of RAM, and an 8-megapixel rear-facing camera capable of 1080p HD video capture.

But besides the faster and more powerful specs, the DROID RAZR also boasts smarter power management with Motorola’s “SmartActions” technology that automatically performs certain actions like turning off your Bluetooth settings once you reach home to help conserve battery life. It can be customized to fit your needs and can extend battery life by 30%. It boasts 12.5 hours of talk time and 8.9 hours of video viewing.

The device will be a 4G LTE device heading to Verizon as suspected. It also features Motorola’s WebTop technology that integrates it with desktop interfaces as well as MotoCast and other enterprise features. It will also have a whole bunch of accessories available for it.

The Motorola DROID RAZR will be priced at $299 with a new two-year service agreement. Pre-orders will start on October 27 with the device to be available in stores starting November.

From what’s been tipped so far, the DROID RAZR is expected to feature a 4.3-inch display with a qHD resolution, an 8-megapixel camera capable of 1080p HD video capture, and possibly a 1.2GHz or even 1.5GHz dual-core processor with 1GB of RAM. That could make it much faster than the recently launched iPhone 4S with its 512MB of RAM.

The front of the device is said to be fully Gorilla Glass while the chassis is made of Kevlar covered in a splash-proof coating. Motorola has been teasing it with the slogan “Faster. Thinner. Smarter. Stronger.” We’ll find out just how much so in a matter of minutes, so keep it here.

As you may be aware, there’s also an Atrix 2 out there right now, complete with a lovely smooth overhaul and the newest version of Motorola’s vision for Android for a user interface. The Motorola DROID BIONIC was supposed to be the king of all machines – and if you’ve got all the Motorola machines it connects with, it certainly is. Now there’s a new device popping out, popping out tomorrow no less, that MUST be the next step in this evolution for Motorola. It’ll have Verizon 4G LTE, we can be pretty sure of that, but how will it out-do the BIONIC?

Tomorrow at NOON Eastern Time here in New York City, we’ll be with Motorola as they reveal this new “Faster Thinner Smarter Stronger” device. First have a look at the promo photo above. It was found earlier today in the teaser site for the smartphone — right now that same site has transformed into one that advertises for every recent Motorola device including the Atrix 2, the BIONIC, the XPRT, the Droid 3, and more.

This new device which we’ll continue calling the Motorola DROID RAZR is tipped to have a 4.3-inch display with qHD resolution similar to what we’ve seen on the BIONIC and the Droid X2. This device is said to have LTE on Verizon and will be the thinnest LTE device on the market when it’s released. The processor inside is yet unknown, but we’ll go ahead and guess that it’s the same dual-core 1.0GHz OMAP4 processor found in the BIONIC upgraded to 1.2GHz — perhaps though it’ll be the 1.5GHz Qualcomm dual-core chip we’ve seen in the HTC Jetstream?

Another rumor has the device using 1GB of RAM and a 960×540 pixel resolution Super AMOLED display. The camera on the back appears very likely to be the same 8-megapixel camera that the DROID BIONIC has, also capable of 1080p resolution video.

Then here’s where it gets real exciting: the front of the device is said to be fully Gorilla Glass, while the rest of the chassis is said to be Kevlar with a splashproof coating. No more poolside mishaps for you! Docks will be offered right out of the box, similar to what we’ve seen with the BIONIC and the PHOTON, and the device has been called three things: DROID RAZR, Motorola Spyder, and DROID HD. We’re guessing for the first option.

So JOIN us tomorrow, again at NOON EST, right here on SlashGear. Then stick around (or go somewhere and have a snack) and find us LIVE in HONG KONG at 10PM EST when Samsung and Google will be revealing a device running Android Ice Cream Sandwich. Don’t miss anything!

You can check out the newest teaser site over at http://reveal.motorola.com/ if you wish, and have another look at that super fabulous teaser video below – the one difference between it and the version we saw previously is the fact that it’s got a lovely new placeholder (on the site) that you can see here in this post as the main post image. What is that, hardcore metal? There’s a rumor going around that this newest generation device from Motorola will be made with Kevlar, that fantastically tough metal you’ve heard about in talks about ballistics. Plan on shooting your phone with a pistol any time soon?

UPDATE — here’s the whole dern thing! Looks nice, don’t it? Thanks for the tip, Kazimir!

We can be sure it’ll survive the drop test, without a doubt.

Is this the SINGLE device that we’ll be seeing at tomorrow’s event in NYC? Or will there be more? Is it a Motorola XOOM upgrade, is it the DROID RAZR, is it simply a showing of the ATRIX 2? We shall see! Join us at 12 NOON EST here on SlashGear for the full story!

Also don’t forget that tomorrow night is the big ICE CREAM SANDWICH reveal in Hong Kong – another event we’ll be at with bells on! That’s 10PM EST here on SlashGear as well – don’t miss it!

First let’s take a look at the football ad. This one shows off an app wich which you can watch NFL games and such, here played on the DROID BIONIC by several disparate individuals. Look at that DROID BIONIC shine!

Next there’s that rude reality show judge Simon Cowell, a fellow whom you’d be lucky to never encounter in real life, tossing competitor devices off a pier. You’ll probably not be identifying any of these phones as they’ve been disguised to look like generally crappy looking devices, but the DROID BIONIC is quite simple to identify. Will you trust the British know-it-all host and his television show app?

Finally there’s the DROID BIONIC science fiction video campaign. Originally the press was quite certain that it was Natalie Portman appearing in these ads, now it’s pretty clear that it’s not – at the same time there’s Lance Henriksen’s unmistakable voice in the background. Henriksen’s most droid-related role has been in the ALIENS series of movies where he plays several characters, most notably the robotic man by the name BISHOP.

Any of this give you the feeling you need to jump on this BIONIC train?

This device is also said to be running Android 2.3.5, this being the newest iteration of the most advanced Android handset-based operating system on the market also called Gingerbread, and there’s no current time frame for release. In fact this device hasn’t been officially released in any way shape or form quite yet, with only whispers of the device existing popping up thus far. I think we can pretty much put the rumors to rest given the obvious authenticity of these photos today, seeing that they’re rolling out with a pretty solid new-looking build in them giving us confidence that Motorola will be releasing real info in the very near future.

At the moment we can only see four photos, the back of the device looking just about as interesting as the front – it appearing to have a sort of rubbery looking battery cover and a speaker hole not unlike what we saw with the Photon 4G, while the camera setup isn’t unlike every recent DROID release from Motorola as well. The single Motorola M is present on the back in the center as it should be, and no other carrier marks can be found other than the large AT&T logo on the front at the top. Again also the glass appears to be curved around the edges, not unlike what we’ve just seen on the DROID BIONIC.

Looks like a pretty solid release, wouldn’t you say?

[via BGR]

Aesthetically it’s in keeping with the squared-off Motorola DROIDs we’ve seen recently, fronted by a bright and colorful 960 x 540 LCD panel. It’s a big display, the same as you’ll find on the HTC Sensation 4G for instance, though the extra pixels can leave the on-screen keyboard smaller what with everything Motorola has squeezed into it. 4.5-inches seems like a sweeter size considering our fingers.

Still, we can’t really fault the performance. Apps load quickly and run smoothly, webpages render fast, and there’s plenty of eye-candy. Motorola’s homescreen widgets are resizable – though not the regular Google ones, obviously – but we’re less impressed by the amount of bloatware the company installs, including Zumacast, GoToMeeting, Citrix Receiver, MOTOPRINT and more. Initial benchmarking suggests that the dual-core Texas Instruments CPU is faster than NVIDIA’s Tegra 2 but still lags behind Samsung’s 1.2GHz chip in the Galaxy S II.

DROID BIONIC Hands-on video:

The other headline feature is LTE connectivity, and that works well. So far we’ve tested it in San Francisco, Las Vegas and Phoenix, with 3G-busting data speeds in each area. Obviously it’s still very much coverage-dependent, but when you’ve got a 4G signal the DROID BIONIC really lives up to its name. The potential downside is battery life; Motorola estimates up to 650 minutes talktime or 200hrs standby from the 1,735 mAh battery, though it’s too early to say whether the BIONIC will last a full day of heavy use. It’s also worth noting that there’s no World Phone support, so the Motorola won’t play nicely with GSM networks if you’re roaming.

Elsewhere there’s an 8-megapixel rear-facing camera capable of 1080p HD video capture (which can then be played back via HDMI), with an LED flash and auto-focus. A front-facing VGA camera is above the screen. Unfortunately we’re seeing some issues with sluggish auto-focus on the main camera: it takes a while for the BIONIC to lock focus and fire off a shot, and even after that the stills are often blurred. Motorola is looking into the issue, which we’re hoping is fixable with a simple firmware update. There’s a sample 1080p HD video clip filmed using the BIONIC below.

Sample 1080p video recording:

Motorola hasn’t been shy with accessories. In addition to a desktop dock there’s a Lapdock as we saw for the ATRIX, which turns the smartphone into a notebook, a HD Station for multimedia output into your HDTV or projector, a vehicle dock and a portable HD adapter. The Lapdock is probably the most interesting of the set, an 11.6-inch display, full keyboard and trackpad for the BIONIC that, when the phone is docked, boots into Motorola’s Webtop app with a full Firefox browser, multitasking with Android apps and control over calls and messaging. If your company has Citrix Receiver support you can even log in and remotely access your desktop. Unlike with the ATRIX, however, performance seems swift enough to make the Lapdock a realistic possibility as a notebook alternative.

We’ll be putting the Verizon DROID BIONIC by Motorola – as well as all the accessories – through its paces for the full SlashGear review, including benchmarks and speed tests, so let us know what questions you have and we’ll do our best to answer them! The smartphone will go on sale on Thursday, September 8 priced at $299.99 with a new, two-year agreement, while the Lapdock will be $299.97, the HD Station $99.99 and the Webstation Adapter $29.99.

There are several factors to consider here, the first and very possibly the most important of which being that there’s a new iPhone coming to at least a couple of carriers in the next few months. Verizon is certainly on the list for future iPhone devices, so carrying a Samsung Galaxy S, perhaps the iPhone’s biggest competitor yet, may not be in the cards. On the other hand, it does appear that AT&T will be getting the Galaxy S II even though they’ve carried the iPhone for longer than any other group.

Next thing to think about is the Motorola DROID Bionic. This device is a 4.3-inch display having dual-core 4G LTE Android much in the same way the Galaxy S II is a 4.3-inch display having dual-core and possibly 4G LTE-having device of the future. Would Verizon be willing to market them both at the same time? Verizon is one gigantic group and they’re certainly not incapable of showing both the Bionic and the Galaxy S II at the same time. Only question is – since Natalie Portman is promoting the Bionic, will Mila Kunis be tapped for the GSII? We’ll see!

[via PocketNow]

This same device was seen on the 5th of this month as well in two photos, one showing the front of the device with a battery charging symbol, perhaps pointing to the idea that it needs more than your average charge during a normal day, and another showing the device’s display sitting next to the DROID Charge, showing its size to clearly be larger than the Charge’s 4.3-inch screen, this indicating a 4.5-inch display that would content with the recently revealed Samsung Hercules, also known as T-Mobile’s version of the Samsung Galaxy S II. The first of these two photos also indicates that the edges of the glass covering the display of the device could be curved slightly downward as is the trend in recent high-end smartphones utilizing the super-strong display cover known as Gorilla Glass.

Update: we’ve now got our own hands-on video and photos with the DROID BIONIC – check it out!

DROID BIONIC Hands-on:

What the newest set of photos shows is again the possibility of curved glass on the front of the device as shown by the light hitting the front lower left of the device, as well as the Verizon logo in the lower right, Motorola in the center on the top near the speaker grill, an at least reasonably bright display, four Android buttons below, and a standard looking border around the whole screen. Along the left side of the device you’ll see a recognizable microUSB and microHDMI post combination, this indicating that docks similar to that which we’ve seen on the Motorola ATRIX and Motorola PHOTON 4G will be in order – this same setup can be seen on the side of the recent DROID 3 just released on Verizon as well.

The right side of the device shows a simple volume rocker, and the back shows the same 8-megapixel camera we’ve seen in the past along with a speaker grille in the opposite corner, Motorola symbol, 4G LTE logo, Verizon logo, and “with Google” logo. All of this facing in a direction that indicates the device is meant to be held in a landscape mode, again, for docking purposes.

What do you think? Look like the Motorola device for you? Or will you be banking on the Samsung Galaxy S II with a possibility for no LTE? How about thinness? Everyone knows that the Samsung Galaxy S II is and will continue to be the thinnest smartphone on the market – does the bulk of the DROID Bionic turn you off? — Thanks for the tip Josh!

UPDATE: Additional FCC photos added in gallery below:

UPDATE 2: Videos now added to the fold courtesy of Android Community:

[via GottaBeMobile]

First let’s get our hands on this sweet Android device action: it’s the myTouch 4G Slide Hands-On and Unboxing on SlashGear! Then we’ve got a FULL REVIEW of the myTouch 4G Slide over on Android Community. They’ve ALSO got a hands-on of the Slide on Android Community if you prefer a slightly different perspective on thangs. And if this bigtime device isn’t your idea of fun, you could choose the Motorola XT316 – it’s cheep!

As for future devices, we’ve got a rundown of all the most current thought to be real specs on the Motorola DROID Bionic (a 4G LTE Verizon dual-core device on its way soon) including new screen resolution, from last night! There’s a couple Nexus Next rumors floating about: Samsung Ice Cream Sandwich from Russia for one, Google+ interaction for another!

Then of course, the tablets: Best Buy Takes Tablets Seriously – they’ve changed their whole tablet setup! Check it out!

A few columns for your edification:
How Will I Teach My Son That Han Shot First?
Relationship Me vs. Independent Me On Google+
Sony Must Announce the PlayStation 4 ASAP
Why Competing with Google+ is Impossible

See a few MUST READ articles:
Samsung demands Apple legal team be disqualified over insider knowledge fears
Sony makes PS Vita dev kits cheap to encourage “garage developers”Sony makes PS Vita dev kits cheap to encourage “garage developers”
HTC calls out Apple for competing in courts, not on products
Google+ demands your real name: Pseudonyms suspended

Then check out a few important picks from your good pal, me:
AT&T LTE Mobile Hotspot Elevate 4G and USB modem due this summer; new international data plans outed
Panasonic debuts Toughbook CF-H2 tablet for field workers
NYC and San Francisco Bay Area get Google Offers beta
AMD throws down the GPU gauntlet with Radeon HD 6990M
Fujitsu next-gen FLEPia color ereader revealed [Video]

Finally PREPARE yourself for week TWO of Tabletpalooza! Win yourself some sweet tablets in daredevil fashion!

Dig it! Would you like to see a story about your device or app appear here, or do you know a device or app you’d like to see appear here? Simply head up to your right and hit the lightbulb or email here: Send News Tips!

Hardware

Powered-off and side-by-side with the original DROID X, and beyond the color – dark gray initially, now black – you’d be hard-pressed to tell the difference between it and the DROID X2 at a casual glance. Measuring the same 5.02 x 2.58 x 0.39 inches and weighing the same 5.47 ounces, the soft-touch black chassis follows Motorola’s “blunt and aggressive” school of design and looks good for it. We could do without the bloated camera section on the back, though, which protrudes a little more than is comfortable.

Turned on, and the DROID X2′s first advance is clear. As on the HTC Sensation, Motorola has used a qHD 4.3-inch panel running at 960 x 540 resolution, versus the 854 x 480 of the DROID X. It’s a regular LCD panel rather than anything fancy like Super AMOLED, but it’s bright and clear nonetheless, only coming unstuck in direct sunlight outside.

Underneath there are four physical buttons – menu, home, back and search – while above are proximity and ambient light sensors. No front-facing camera, though, leaving you with just the 8-megapixel autofocus camera (with dual-LED flash) on the back. Oddly, Motorola has deleted the dedicated camera shortcut button. Despite the extra grunt from the dual-core processor, as on the original DROID X, the X2 can only shoot 720p, rather than 1080p Full HD.

As in the ATRIX 4G, Motorola has turned to NVIDIA and the 1GHz Tegra 2 to keep the DROID X2 ticking, pairing the chip with 512MB of RAM. That’s the same as in the original version, but half of what the ATRIX gets. Connectivity falls short too: there’s EVDO Rev.A but no LTE to take advantage of Verizon’s speedy 4G network. Similarly absent is Global Roaming support, which means the DROID X2 is limited to CDMA networks and can’t use the GSM/HSPA networks common in Europe and Asia. Still, you get WiFi b/g/n and Bluetooth, both microUSB and microHDMI ports – the latter offering screen mirroring on your HDTV – and a microSD card slot to augment the 8GB of internal storage.

Software and Performance

Motorola updated the original DROID X to Android 2.2 back in September 2010, and it seems the company isn’t willing to give up Froyo quite yet. The DROID X2 launches running the outdated version of Android – rival phones are shipping with Gingerbread – along with the custom MOTOBLUR-inspired UI.

That’s been tweaked a little since we saw it last, with the addition of categories in the applications menu – All Apps, Downloaded and Recent – as well as the ability to create your own to group together themed apps. There’s also a helicopter view of all seven homescreens just like in HTC Sense. The resizable widgets are carried over, and there’s a persistent four-icon launcher along the bottom of the homescreen (which can obviously be customized).

Social networking is catered for with a pair of homescreen widgets and a standalone app, pulling in Facebook and Twitter updates and allowing you to set your own status on both simultaneously. Verizon preloads its V CAST Music and VZ Navigator apps, along with the Blockbuster movie rental apps, while Motorola adds the Kindle app, Skype, Slacker and Quickoffice. Need for Speed Shift and Let’s Golf 2 make an appearance in trial form, as on other Tegra 2 devices we’ve seen.

It all works, but we’d gladly sacrifice MOTOBLUR for stock Android 2.3.3. Motorola has said a Gingerbread update is in the pipeline, but not committed to a release timetable as yet. As the Android Market continues to grow, and the core OS itself gains more abilities, manufacturers need to offer more than token modifications to make a good argument for customizing software. We’ve a strong suspicion that most DROID X2 owners will end up bypassing Motorola’s Twitter and Facebook support in favor of more functional third-party alternatives, for instance.

As for performance, we’re used to seeing decent benchmarking figures from the Tegra 2 and the DROID X2 follows suit. In Quadrant Advanced, it scored 2743 overall (with 7241 in CPU and 2846 in I/O), more than double the DROID X’s 1353. SmartBench 2011 brought in scores of 2775 for the X2 and 844 for the X; impressive, but still lagging behind the overclocked 1.2GHz goodness of the Galaxy S II, which managed 3830. Finally, in the SunSpider JavaScript test, the DROID X2 came in at 4182.2ms versus the DROID X’s 7596.5ms (lower is better).

Camera

Motorola promises faster camera performance with shots being grabbed faster on the X2 than on the original DROID X, even without the dedicated shortcut key. In practice we noticed things were a little more responsive, but only as long as you had decent lighting. Once things got a little darker, the lag between tapping the screen and the frame being captured increased, resulting in some underwhelming photos that lacked the crisp focus we were hoping for. Colors were bland and stills often grainy; the dual-LED flash is one of the more powerful we’ve seen, though.

As for video, just like the ATRIX 4G, Motorola has limited the DROID X2 to 720p rather than Full HD recording, despite the Tegra 2 being capable of the higher resolution. Footage is good, as long as you move the phone smoothly to avoid tearing on faster pans. Exposure adjustments are swift and there’s plenty of detail, though occasionally we noticed some hiccups in the eventual clip as if the DROID X2 was having issues writing to memory. You can play back clips directly via the HDMI connection, or upload them from the phone to YouTube for online sharing.

Phone and Battery

With many smartphones seemingly forgetting that users do still make voice calls rather than just game, browse and message, we were pleasantly surprised by the DROID X2′s in-call audio performance. Background noise was minimal and neither we nor the people we spoke to had any problems with glitchiness or audio artifacts, thanks to Motorola’s triple microphone array and DSP. The speakerphone was also solid, with plenty of volume without breaking up into boominess or noise.

The obvious omission is 4G, disappointing given how impressed we’ve been with Verizon’s LTE network so far. Data speeds were solid for a 3G-only device, but nothing outstanding, a shame given the browser is responsive and the high-resolution display so well suited to streaming video and showing full webpages.

Motorola claims up to 480 minutes of talktime or 220 hours of standby from a full charge of the DROID X2′s 1,540 mAh battery. In practice, we made it through a full day with some judicious tweaking of the four battery profile modes (Maximum, Nighttime, Performance and Custom) to adjust data use.

Wrap-Up

The original DROID X shifted the Android game forward; we even suggested that, with Android 2.2 in place, it could be the Google phone to beat. Unfortunately it seems Motorola has let that kudos go to its head in designing the DROID X2. The higher-resolution display is nice, and the dual-core processor welcome, but other elements of the smartphone fall short: the camera is still patchy unless you’re blessed with the brightest of lighting, the 720p HD limitation is frustrating, and Motorola’s decision to stick with Froyo unfathomable.

The DROID X2 has improved, but the Android marketplace – and the smartphone segment in general – has advanced more. The DROID Charge may run at WVGA but its Super AMOLED Plus display is brilliant and its LTE connectivity a real advantage; if it’s dual-core performance you’re after, the T-Mobile G2x delivers on Tegra 2′s 1080p HD video promise, while the upcoming T-Mobile Sensation 4G and Samsung Galaxy S II are even faster.

Motorola hasn’t made a bad phone, but it hasn’t made an outstanding one either, and right now that’s what it takes to stand out in the Android marketplace. With heavy hitters offering greater performance, better cameras and fresher software, it’s tough for the DROID X2 to raise its head above the crowd. Devotees of the original DROID X will find plenty to like in this incremental update, but this isn’t the class-leading smartphone it once was.

Droid X2 Unboxing and hardware walkthrough

Inside the sober black chassis there’s Qualcomm’s 1GHz CPU running Android 2.2 Froyo. Interestingly, Verizon has opted for Microsoft’s Bing search and mapping for the Revolution, rather than the more common Google offerings. That’s obviously allowed in Android’s TOS, but has previously proved a less than popular decision among buyers. It also gets a 5-megapixel camera (along with a 1.3-megapixel front webcam) rather than the 8-megapixel shooters of the Charge and ThunderBolt.

Verizon is positioning the Revolution as an entertainment phone, preloading the Netflix app and bundling a 16GB card rather than the usual 8GB, plenty for lots of video. There’s also that HDMI output for hooking the smartphone up to an HDTV. That’s welcome, as the Revolution’s 4.3-inch LCD display is nothing special compared to the Super AMOLED Plus panel on the DROID Charge.

Brightness set to 100% for both devices.

In fact, Verizon’s pricing on the Revolution is something of a curiosity. At $249.99 – with a new, two-year agreement – it’s certainly in the premium range, and yet it falls short not only of the specs we’ve seen from dual-core powerhouses elsewhere, but from the two LTE handsets Verizon already offers. We’ll be looking to find LG’s special sauce in time for the full SlashGear review, so until then enjoy the hands-on video and unboxing gallery!

LG Revolution unboxing, hands-on and comparison between DROID Charge, Thunderbolt and LG G2X (T-Mobile)

One more video getting processed…stay tune.

First impressions are, well, a distinct sense of deja-vu. The DROID X2 is obviously a sequel, but Motorola have really stuck closely to the pattern of the first-gen DROID. Dimensions are exactly the same – 5.02 x 2.58 x 0.39 inches – and the weight is almost spot on too. Thankfully Motorola hasn’t left entirely alone: you now get a 4.3-inch 960 x 540 qHD display, rather than the 854 x 480 of the first-gen handset, along with an extra core courtesy of NVIDIA’s 1GHz Tegra 2.

That’s still running Android 2.2 Froyo, however, which is a significant disappointment. Nonetheless, the faster processor means the 8-megapixel camera can now shoot Full HD 1080p rather than mere 720p [the X2 is still limited to 720p, presumably by software as with the ATRIX 4G], and apps load quickly and look great on the higher-resolution panel. Motorola also squeezes in WiFi b/g/n, though unfortunately not the necessary HSPA radio to make this a World Phone; you’re limited to using the DROID X2 within CDMA coverage. Similarly, there’s no LTE support, which is a shame given how strong Verizon’s 4G network performs.

Other than a slightly darker chassis, the main physical difference between Droid X2 vs Droid X is lack of a physical-dedicated camera button.

Dock for Droid X works fine with Droid X2!

We’ll talk more about performance and battery in the full review but off the bat, you’ll noticed a BIG difference in the Sun Spider, SmartBench2011 and Quadrant benchmarks.

SmartBench 2011

Droid X2: 2775/2423 / Droid X:  844/1499 vs. Galaxy S II (powered by Samsung 1.2Ghz dual-core): 3830/2249 [New gold start in performance!]

SunSpider

Droid X2: 4182.2 ms / Droid X: 7596.5 ms (lower is better)

Quadrant

Droid X2: total = 2743 (CPU 7241 / IO 2846) / Droid X: total=1353 (CPU 1266 / IO 3044) IO actually dropped on Droid X2!

Basically, think of the DROID X2 as the Motorola ATRIX for those uninterested in Laptop Dock accessories and simply wanting the big-screen experience in their pocket. We’ll be putting it through its paces properly in time for the full SlashGear review, so until then enjoy the live gallery and hands-on video!

Droid X2 Unboxing and hands-on comparison with original Droid X:

Hardware

In many ways the Incredible 2 is doubly familiar. Not only does it maintain the unusually molded chassis of the first Incredible, it’s also very similar to the HTC Incredible S currently on sale Europe, and which we reviewed last month.

The similarities don’t end there. The processor is still a 1GHz single-core Qualcomm chip – though the newer MSM8255, rather than the original’s QSD8650 – and 1GB of ROM space, though RAM has increased by 50-percent to 768MB and the GPU is now the Adreno 205. There’s still a WVGA, S-LCD touchscreen, though that’s grown to 4-inches, while on the back there’s still an 8-megapixel camera with dual-LED flash, autofocus and 720p HD video recording.

Now it’s accompanied by a front-facing camera, though only 1.3-megapixels and fixed-focus.

Happily one of our biggest complaints about the original Incredible, its CDMA-only radio, has been addressed with the Incredible 2. A so-called World Phone, it has both CDMA/EVDO Rev.A connectivity for use in North America, and HSPA connectivity for use when roaming abroad.

Gone is the Incredible’s optical joystick, replaced on the Incredible 2 with on-screen cursor control in Android 2.2 Froyo, and leaving space for HTC to implement its trick rotating buttons. These automatically change orientation, flicking 90-degrees when the phone is tilted onto its side. Build quality in general is good, the narrow edges making the Incredible 2 feel thinner than it actually is, though the aesthetics are still likely to divide users.

Software and Performance

Despite the twelve months in-between, Android on the Incredible 2 has only shifted a single sub-point. We criticized HTC for using Froyo on the Incredible S, and we’re criticizing them again for still failing to give the new phone Gingerbread out-of-the-box. Thankfully the addition of HTC Sense keeps the Incredible 2 feeling fresh enough until an update arrives.

As we found with the Incredible S, the single-core Snapdragon may not be the fastest processor on the market today, but it offers a good balance of power for a mainstream device. You get 3G Mobile Hotspot functionality, Flash Player 10.2 support, and SRS WOWHD pseudo-surround sound processing, which does add some extra depth to audio but isn’t going to convince you you’re listening in a theater.

Missing, though, is the HTCSense.com integration the European version of the handset gets. Verizon’s phone ‘t support the online tracking, remote access and other functionality, which takes a bite out of Sense’s usefulness. We were willing to overlook its potential impact on the timeliness of core Android OS updates when it offered legitimately unique features, but when those add-ons are stripped away then it becomes more like a mere UI reskin.

As for benchmarks, in Quadrant Pro the Incredible 2 scored 1752.

While SunSpider – the test of JavaScript performance in the browser – came in at 5728.9ms.

Camera

The DROID Incredible 2′s main camera is, like on the Thunderbolt, a solid performer. Stills are crisp and well-balanced, in daylight conditions at least, and HTC’s modified camera UI makes it easy to access the few custom settings – exposure, contrast, saturation and sharpness – on offer. There’s more noise in low-light settings, unsurprisingly, while the dual-LED flash is strong but can leave closer subjects over-exposed (and backgrounds murky). Color accuracy is fair, and we prefer it to the unnatural hues some phones produce with over-enthusiastic post processing. As for the front-facing camera, that is sufficient for video calls but not something you’d want to rely on for any meaningful photography.

720p HD video turns out well, coping admirably with low-light situations and looking generally smooth and jag-free until you start panning more quickly. Then, as with most phone cameras, you get plenty of blur and tearing. We’d prefer 1080p HD, as on the Galaxy S II, but that seems to be a limitation of the Snapdragon chipset rather than the camera itself.

Sample video recorded with Incredible 2

Phone and Battery

Audio performance on Verizon’s network was solid, with little in the way of glitches or distortion. Both we and callers could hear each other’s clearly, likely helped somewhat by the integrated noise-cancellation system. What you don’t get, of course, is 4G LTE connectivity from the HTC Thunderbolt and DROID Charge.

As with the Incredible S, the DROID Incredible 2 is capable of a day’s use on a single charge. That’s pretty much average for a current-gen smartphone, and of course you can extend runtimes by turning off some of Sense’s social networking integration or cutting back on how frequently they check for updates.

Wrap-Up

At $199.99 with a new, two-year agreement, the DROID Incredible 2 by HTC is still cheaper than Verizon’s 4G smartphones. However, as we said about the Incredible S, it’s also based on technology that is being phased out: single-core processors are being replaced with dual-cores, and the Galaxy S II (review) shows that just because you have a high-speed CPU, it doesn’t mean you can’t have solid battery life too.

Given that, we’ve have liked to have seen Verizon price the Incredible 2 a little more competitively, though the 8-megapixel camera is some consolation. Our primary concerns are the absence of 4G and dual-core, which could prove limiting further down the line when more demanding versions of Android – and more data-heavy online services – are commonplace.

Still, for a midrange handset, the DROID Incredible 2 is a logical choice. Its name may no longer quite ring true – this isn’t the “incredible” handset in the top spot of Verizon’s range – but it’s another good example of a reliable phone well suited to the mainstream audience.

DROID Incredible unboxing and hands-on

The device sports a 3.7-inch screen and will ship with a 1GHz processor. The Cliq 2 integrates a world class Android operating system with social features as well as many business features that have been left out of feature phones.

The Cliq 2 will launch in a titanium hue with a smoke gray finish the T-Mobile network January 19th.

Press Release:

Motorola Mobility and T-Mobile Announce Motorola CLIQ 2™
With advanced corporate features for work, and social and entertainment capabilities for play, CLIQ 2 is designed to help users never miss a moment

LAS VEGAS – CES – Jan. 5, 2011 — Motorola Mobility, Inc., (NYSE: MMI), and T-Mobile USA today announced the upcoming availability of Motorola CLIQ 2™ with MOTOBLUR™, a 3.7-inch touch-screen smartphone with a slide-out keypad that allows users to play hard and work hard. CLIQ 2 is the latest example of the powerful devices you can expect from Motorola that combine Android™ software and MOTOBLUR social connectivity, with the addition of new business-ready functionality.

“Smartphone users are constantly looking for a device that suits all of their needs, whether they’re in the office or at home with their families. CLIQ 2 is what these consumers are looking for, delivering on what it means to truly stay connected on their terms,” said Alain Mutricy, senior vice president, portfolio and device product management, Motorola Mobility, Inc. “With business-ready features and robust entertainment options, CLIQ 2 users will be able to make the most of every moment.”

CLIQ 2 is a 3G smartphone that benefits from faster speeds at no additional cost on the T-Mobile 4G network.* Paired with an ultra-fast 1GHz processor, CLIQ 2 is designed to keep up with the busiest careers and social lives. An intelligently designed slide-out keypad shortens the distance between keys and increases key size for fast text entry. Wi-Fi calling capabilities enable users to make calls over work or home wireless networks. CLIQ 2 helps users stay connected to their home, work and weekend lives. In addition, it helps manage them with three sets of customizable home screens that provide access to the applications, shortcuts and widgets they want, when they need them.

“We are excited to build upon the success of the original CLIQ, bringing the powerful combination of Android and social connectivity to our customers,” said Paul Cole, vice president, product management, T-Mobile USA. “With the addition of new business-ready features, the Motorola CLIQ 2 offers peace of mind with the ability to balance home and work life.”

Powered by Android 2.2, users will experience rich web content with Adobe® Flash® Player. Combined with easy access to more than 100,000 applications and games from Android Market™, the latest movie hits from the pre-loaded BLOCKBUSTER® ONDEMAND application, and favorite reads via the pre-loaded Amazon Kindle application, users can turn CLIQ 2 into an entertainment hub. CLIQ 2’s high-resolution 3.7–inch touch-screen display stretches from edge-to-edge to maximize media playback and web browsing. Share media on an even larger screen, as CLIQ 2 is DLNA-enabled, allowing users to stream and share content on other DLNA-enabled devices. In addition, customers can easily frame the moments captured on CLIQ 2 with the Print to Retail feature, which allows copies to be made at a local photo retailer.

For busy professionals, CLIQ 2 offers serious business functionality. Stay on time with robust calendar capabilities, which include the ability to propose new meeting times, reply and reply-all to groups, forward meeting notices and even check meeting participant availability. Stay connected with co-workers through the corporate directory, or network after hours by importing LinkedIn connections into the contact list. Users can work remotely on CLIQ 2 using Quickoffice® to view and edit important documents right on their phones. Even connect a laptop or other device to the Internet using CLIQ 2 as a 3G mobile hotspot or through Wi-Fi Sharing. Plus, IT departments will rest easy with advanced security features like remote locate and SD card wipe. Additional security features such as device and SD card encryption are expected to be available in early 2011.

CLIQ 2 also provides a helping hand with communication overload. MOTOBLUR helps manage email and social networking services right from the home screen without separately accessing Facebook® and Twitter®, among others. And, time won’t be wasted because customizable filters allow consumers to control the types of messages and updates displayed in their home-screen widgets.

Availability
Offered in a titanium hue with a smoke gray finish, Motorola CLIQ 2 with MOTOBLUR will be available exclusively to T-Mobile USA customers on Jan. 19 at T-Mobile retail stores, select dealers and online at http://www.t-mobile.com/cliq2-android-phone. To view images, please visit here.

The device looks incredibly thin, and from what we saw at the event, it will be one of the most powerful tablets on the market in 2011. Featuring a dual-core 1GHz processor, the device will first launch in a 3G version with a 4G version coming later in the year. It’s worth noting that it was said the 3G version can be easily upgraded to 4G once it’s made available.

The device will not only feature impressive specs, Android 3.0 Honeycomb has been completely redesigned for the larger screens of devices. Building upon Android it will feature both widgets and multitasking and everything we have come to expect from an Android OS.

Press Release:

VERIZON WIRELESS AND MOTOROLA MOBILITY ANNOUNCE MOTOROLA XOOM™ TABLET ON NATION’S LARGEST AND MOST RELIABLE 3G NETWORK

10.1-inch HD Tablet Offers Dual-Core Processing, Google’s Honeycomb Platform, and 1080p HD Video Content Support

LAS VEGAS and BASKING RIDGE, N.J. – CES – – Verizon Wireless and Motorola Mobility, Inc. (NYSE: MMI), today unveiled the innovative new tablet Motorola XOOM™ − the first device on Google’s new Android 3.0 Honeycomb operating system designed from the ground up for tablets. The Honeycomb user experience improves on Android favorites such as widgets, multi-tasking, browsing, notifications and customization and features the latest Google Mobile innovations. Boasting a dual core processor with each core running at 1 GHz, delivering up to two GHz of processing power, and 10.1-inch widescreen HD display, Motorola XOOM gives Verizon Wireless customers a new type of mobile computing experience on a stylishly thin device that is 4G LTE upgradeable.

Motorola XOOM redefines the tablet device category by providing more ways to have fun, connect with friends and stay productive on the go. It allows consumers to experience HD content right on the device, supports 1080p HD video and HDMI output to display content on larger HD screens, and plays video and other rich web content seamlessly with Adobe® Flash® Player. Motorola XOOM features a front-facing 2-megapixel camera for video chats over Wi-Fi or 3G/4G LTE, as well as a rear-facing 5-megapixel camera that captures video in 720p HD. It delivers console-like gaming performance on its 1280×800 display, and features a built-in gyroscope, barometer, e-compass, accelerometer and adaptive lighting for new types of applications. It also features Google Maps 5.0 with 3D interaction and delivers access to over 3 million Google eBooks and thousands of apps from Android Market™.
For working on the go, Motorola XOOM provides constant connectivity − including connecting to Gmail or Exchange email; opening and editing documents, spreadsheets and presentations; and viewing calendars and sending out appointments or meeting notices – with mobile broadband speeds. Its mobile hotspot capability provides an online connection for up to five other Wi-Fi-enabled devices.

“Motorola XOOM is a powerful addition to Verizon’s product lineup and builds on our combined leadership with Motorola to deliver innovative mobile devices and service on the Android platform,” said Marni Walden, vice president and chief marketing officer for Verizon Wireless. “Motorola XOOM gives consumers complete access and control of their favorite personal content and work files whether through our nationwide 3G network, or through our lightning-fast 4G LTE network as it rolls out around the country.”
“Light, powerful and fundamentally different than anything else on the market, Motorola XOOM leverages the very best technology available today to redefine what a tablet experience can be,” said Bill Ogle, chief marketing officer of Motorola Mobility. “The first device to feature software designed specifically for tablets, Motorola XOOM goes everywhere you do and delivers everything you need.”

The Motorola XOOM device will launch as a 3G/Wi-Fi-enabled device in Q1 2011 with an upgrade to 4G LTE in Q2. Starting in Q2 2011 the Motorola XOOM will be a 4G LTE/Wi-Fi- enabled device.
For more information about Verizon Wireless at CES please visit www.verizonwireless.com/ces or follow us on twitter at www.twitter.com/verizonwireless. For more information about the Motorola XOOM please visit www.verizonwireless.com/xoom.

(EDITOR’S NOTE: Media can access high-resolution images of Motorola XOOM in the Verizon Wireless Multimedia Library at www.verizonwireless.com/multimedia.)

# # #
About Verizon Wireless
Verizon Wireless operates the nation’s fastest and most advanced 4G network and largest and most reliable 3G network, and serves more than 93 million customers. Headquartered in Basking Ridge, N.J., with 80,000 employees nationwide, Verizon Wireless is a joint venture of Verizon Communications (NYSE, NASDAQ: VZ) and Vodafone (LSE, NASDAQ: VOD).  For more information, visit www.verizonwireless.com. To preview and request broadcast-quality video footage and high-resolution stills of Verizon Wireless operations, log on to the Verizon Wireless Multimedia Library at www.verizonwireless.com/multimedia.

About Motorola Mobility
Motorola Mobility, Inc. (NYSE:MMI) fuses innovative technology with human insights to create experiences that simplify, connect and enrich people’s lives. Our portfolio includes converged mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets; wireless accessories; end-to-end video and data delivery; and management solutions, including set-tops and data-access devices. For more information, visit motorola.com/mobility.

The laptop dock comes in at only 13.9 mm thick and sports a full keyboard and 11.6-inch display. This dock will ship with an onboard battery that will leave your device fully charged after its use.

The dock itself has no moving parts, no hard drive and is completely ran of the Atrix itself.

There is currently no release date for the Atrix and accompanying accessories, but when it’s launched it will appear on AT&T, Bell Canada, Orange UK.

It will officially be the first smartphone with that ships with real RAM making it possible to advertise as the world’s most powerful smartphone. The phone can even dock allowing it to essentially become a desktop computer. Running special Motorola WebTop when docked, the Atrix powers a full display just as a desktop would.

When docked the user is presented with options only seen on a desktop so far. Once the UI is completely changed to support the larger computer monitor, the user can utilize both the multi-touch controls as well as a mouse.

The video demo of the phone powering a full desktop display will be coming as well as the very first advertisement for the device.