Unfortunately, older Motorola devices, specifically the OMAP-based Motorola devices will be unable to take advantage of this new discovery. This means that those of you with the DROID BIONIC or the DROID RAZR XT912 are out of luck. Also, DROID RAZR HD owners, steer clear from the Android 4.1.2 OTA update that began rolling out a couple of weeks ago. Updating to 4.1.2 may ruin your chances of unlocking your bootloader via this method.

Unlocking your device’s bootloader will most likely void your warranty, but most of us understand the risks, and most of us are willing to take those risks if it means finally being able to customize our devices with no inhibitions. Motorola is the most strict about locking down their devices, and many Motorola users have been agonizingly waiting for this day to come.

While the method has been tested and proven to work, we will still have to wait until the unlocking method becomes available to the public, so stick around. With this new method, Motorola phones have just gotten a whole lot more attractive. The devices have great hardware, but unfortunately, it was the software that was holding them back. Be sure to check out our reviews for both the DROID RAZR M and DROID RAZR HD to see what these devices can do.

[via Android Community]

Starting today, AT&T and Motorola are pushing the OTA Android 4.1 update to devices, which will bring a handful of improvements over Ice Cream Sandwich, including Google Now, Project Butter, and improved notifications. Of course, Motorola has also thrown in some tweaks of its own into the mix, like Drive Smart and Quick Settings.

The RAZR M was the first Motorola device to get a bump to Jelly Bean, and that was followed by the RAZR HD and the RAZR MAXX HD. This is also AT&T’s fourth device that runs Jelly Bean, joining the Samsung Galaxy Note II, Samsung Galaxy S III, and the HTC One X+, with more to follow in the future eventually.

The ATRIX HD runs a dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor at 1.5GHz with 1GB of RAM and 8GB of internal storage (expandable microSD storage available). The update should be live anytime, so if you aren’t seeing a notification for it, head into Settings > About Phone > Software Updates to see if it’s available on your device.

Motorola’s Developer Edition smartphones come with an unlockable bootloader, with instructions available on the manufacturer’s website on how to go about unlocking your phone. And obviously, by unlocking the bootloader, your warranty will be effectively torn into little pieces. If you’re ordering the Developer Edition, though, odds are a warranty isn’t on your list of concerns.

The Motorola announcement is pretty scarce on details, with no word on when we can expect the Atrix HD Developer Edition or how much it will cost. Those interested in the handset can sign up over on Motorola’s website to receive more info as it comes available. Keep in mind that the Developer Edition will naturally be more expensive than a regular handset, as well as the cost of having to pay full price rather than a contract-subsidized fee.

The Atrix HD features a 4.5-inch HD ColorBoost LCD display with a 1280 x 720 resolution. Inside you’ll find 1GB of RAM/8GB of ROM and a 1.5GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor. There’s a microSD expansion slot with support for up to 32GB. The battery is a modest 1,780mAh, and offers up to 9 hours of talk time and 8.5 days of standby.

[via Android Community]

However, there’s a bit of a catch. Motorola isn’t just going to give you $100 because your phone isn’t receiving Jelly Bean, after all. In order to get that money, you’ll need to trade up to one of six recently-release Motorola phones. The handsets you’ll need to trade up to include the Atrix HD, DROID RAZR MAXX HD, DROID RAZR M, DROID RAZR HD, Electrify 2, or PHOTON Q. As you can see from the list posted below, quite a few Motorola phones qualify for the promotion.

Those devices that qualify include the original Electrify, the Atrix and the Atrix 4G, the DROID 3, and the DROID X2. If you don’t see your device on the left side of the list, it seems that you can expect an update to Jelly Bean at some point in the future. Motorola has set up a page on its site for interested users looking to take advantage of its trade up program.

Of course, it’s important to remember that if you’re currently on contract, early termination fees will still apply if you decide to get a new phone through Motorola’s trade up promotion. Essentially, you can look at this as a $100 rebate on an upgrade to a phone that will have or will be getting Jelly Bean, rather than getting $100 in cash as an apology for not getting an upgrade to Android 4.1. Will you be taking Motorola up on its $100 rebate offer, or will you be sticking with your current phone now that we know all of the details?

[via Android Community]

These devices reinforce the idea that Motorola has a constantly changing and churning line of devices that look rather similar but add features and more features as they’re released, month after month. This most recent line of devices stared with the RAZR, aka the DROID RAZR as it was called on Verizon, and moved on the RAZR MAXX with a larger battery and the ATRIX HD on AT&T. Now we’ve got a lot of the same features in a device ready for US Cellular as well.

This device is 0.33 inches thick and has a lovely kevlar weave coating on its back for hardcore battle. Inside you’ve got the same splash coating you’ve had with past Motorola devices, an 8 megapixel camera on the back with the ability to capture 1080p video, and you’ve got both a microUSB and microHDMI port next to one another for connection to the most recent set of Motorola devices. Connect this device to a Motorola Lapdock for Motorola’s own Webtop interface and loads of fun.

The Electrify 2 is only the second Motorola device to be released with Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich right out of the box, the ATRIX HD being the first. It’s also got a 1.2GHz dual-core processor of unknown origin (we’re assuming Qualcomm) and has a 4.3-inch LCD display with “Motorola ColorBoost” like the ATRIX HD as well.

BONUS: Check out our review of the original Motorola Electrify, also carried by US Cellular last year!

The Motorola Defy XT takes on what the T-Mobile Motorola Defy offered up at the end of 2010 and brings it into 2012 with a load of new features. The Defy XT comes with a 1GHz single-core CPU, Android 2.3 Gingerbread, and is ready to take on dust, drops, splashes, and a nice beating as well.

The Electrify 2 will cost you $199.99 after a $100 mail-in rebate and the Defy XT will ring in at $99.99 USD after rebate. These devices will both be coming out SOON as well, expect them! UPDATE: the Electrify 2 is available online later today while the Defy XT will be up on August 3rd.

Hardware

This device is as light as a 2012 top-tier device should be, is approximately the same size as the Samsung Galaxy S III in its casing, and is just as thin through most of its body as that device as well. The head of the Atrix HD is a bit thicker, just as the DROID RAZR was, and contains an 8 megapixel camera with single LED flash and 1080p video capability as well – and the media it produces with that camera is much more excellent than the RAZR’s results ever were.

Up on the side you’ve got a door that opens to microSD and microSIM card slots where you’ll put your AT&T 4G LTE card, you’ll find two silver metal buttons up on the right side for power and volume, and up top you’ve got Motorola’s microUSB/microHDMI port combo ready for use with a collection of Motorola-made accessories. These accessories are essentially the same as we saw back when we reviewed the RAZR, as you can see over on Android Community in-depth, and you can use this device with the most recent Motorola Lapdocks as well.

As you’ll see in our original announcement of this device, the Atrix HD has one of the top 5 most high definition displays on the market. It’s beaten only by the HTC Rezound, Sony XPERIA S, and the LG LU1400, and works with 720p HD ColoBoost technology as well. With a 4.5-inch display at 1280 x 720 pixel resolution, that’s 329ppi, ready to take you on a trip to retina land – as Apple would say. And yes, this is higher definition than the iPhone 4S, incase you were wondering.

You’ll find three microphone holes on this device, with three microphone drivers working to bring you what Motorola calls their CrystalTalk PLUS noise reduction on calls – and it does indeed work, with calls coming out the other end with essentially no background noise at all. The glass up front’s subtle edge curves makes for a top-class feel to the whole device, and the kevlar on the back feels like nothing else – there’s no substitution for that lovely feel.

And of course, don’t forget to check out the benchmarks. This device has a surprising set of results, considering it’s able to beat out the HTC One X in overall score in Quadrant, then loses out in a big way to the top guns in the other two tests. Have a peek here, and remember – it’s all synthetic!

Software

Motorola has pushed a whole new version of their own user interface for Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich on this device, complete with a rainbow of colors in not only the icons, but in the settings as well. You’ll find your journey through your settings, normally a place where only those well-versed in Android dare to tread, a friendly experience that anyone could feel at home with.

The home screen you’ll find using the original ICS app drawer icon, otherwise Motorola’s own additions making this device seem like a whole new experience. This includes a new circle widget that includes not just weather and time, but the amount of data you’ve used inside the month as well – quite helpful for those who don’t want overage charges, which can be hefty.

This device has a slightly new look to several elements, but for the most part the software ends up working the same as most Android 4.0 devices have over the past few months. You’ve got recent apps for great multitasking, a lovely new lock screen with the ability to head to any of three different apps as well as mute or turn on sound, and Motorola has reminded us that they’ve got a pretty awesome in-car user interface as well.

You’ll also see a new feature that essentially acts as pop-up widget for apps. As seen here for your messages app, you can view your most recent messages in a window that sits over your desktop without actually entering the app completely. A very interesting take on making the Android experience here unique.

Working with Motorola’s desktop interface hasn’t changed a whole lot, but it is still rather impressive to use. With the Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 dual-core processor running everything much more smoothly than in any Atrix before, everything will be more swift, you’ll be able to run hardcore games of all types, and your battery life will be fabulous.

Battery Life

As you can see in the shot below, we’ve had a pretty darn good experience with this device even when we’re running it through benchmarks, streaming video, and big name games. A normal day will not have you needing to recharge until you’re ready to head off to bed for the night – an overnight charge will have you working well throughout your daytime hours, no problem.

Photos and Video

This device works with an 8 megapixel camera capable of 1080p video, just like each of the other top-tier devices to have been released this year. This device does not benefit from the HTC ImageSense chip like the HTC One series does, but Qualcomm’s processor (the same one the HTC One series uses) does have hardware dedicated to image processing anyway, so you’ll have good results just so long as you’re not a wild shooter. Have a peek at some examples below.

Wrap-Up

This device is the nicest looking and nicest working Atrix that’s been released in the history of Motorola’s Atrix line. It’s extremely similar to the DROID RAZR, is carried by AT&T with their 4G LTE network for data, and is ready to be your favorite Motorola smartphone yet. We suggest actually heading to an AT&T outlet to check out their selection of devices at this point since they’ve got four titanic beasts on their hands, each of them ready for sparring.

• HTC One X
• Samsung Galaxy S III
• LG Nitro HD
• Motorola Atrix HD

Each of the above device names is linked to its full review here on SlashGear – choose your destiny!

At first glance, this device appears to suffer from a bit of the ol’ stormtrooper syndrome with the white plastic surrounding its frame combined with the blacks on its front and back. Once you’ve got your hands on it, on the other hand, you’ll find it to be more than high quality enough to tote around on a regular basis. As it was with the RAZR, so too do you have reinforced kevlar on the back and splash protection throughout, this meaning that even though there are a couple of ports (microHDMI and microUSB) up on top, you won’t have to worry too much about talking on this device in the rain.

You’ve got the AT&T globe up front along with the Motorola logo, on the back you’ve got FCC info and the Motorola logo M, an 8 megapixel camera, single LED flash, and a speaker grille near the top as well. The battery inside is not removable in the least bit at all, the right side has a power button and volume up/down made with silver metal with ridges, and the left side has a door that covers your micro SIM card and microSD card slot. The whole device is relatively thin and fairly light at 0.33″ thick and 4.94 oz (140 g).

The display, again, is 4.5-inches and inside you’ll find Android 4.0.3 Ice Cream Sandwich working with Motorola’s latest rendition of the software. Motorola has their own unique take on Android which includes a ring/vibrate switch at the lockscreen as well as four options for lockscreen shortcuts. Inside you’ll find a lovely new widget that Motorola is touting as a first, it having data usage, weather, date, and time in one set of circles.

Motorola continues their love affair with different modes of use with this device, showing off their Drive Smart abilities with an on-off switch for the environment on the first homescreen. Inside you’ll find a simple set of controls that updates their system that we’ve seen on several Atrix and Atrix-related devices in the past.

This device will cost you $99 USD on a 2-year contract with AT&T, and we’ll be giving you a full review of it soon, so stay tuned!

Steve Ballmer has spoken – Microsoft will “leave no space uncovered that is Apple’s”. Steve Wozniak, on the other and of the tech world, is speaking up on Megaupload, Microsoft, and Google Project Glass.

Over in Finland, researchers have started recording the Northern Lights in sound form. AT&T has come forth with a bit of their own speech technology with a Watson-powered speech API for developers. In their Safari case, Google will have to pay a tiny $22.5 million dollars in damages.

New Google Chrome APIs have been released for cameras while Android 4.1 Jelly Bean has been released to AOSP. Head on down to Google’s developer pages for both systems and get to work making masterpieces!

This device is rather similar to the Motorola RAZR in that it looks the same, sort of, and is thin at 8.4mm – while the RAZR was (and is) just 7.1mm. The thinnest smartphone on the market today is the ZTE Athena at 6.2mm. Of course being part of the most recent Motorola line, it’s ultra-thin but not breakable (with any normal human means) as its made with DuPont Kevlar fiber on the back, splash guard coating on the outer shell to make sure you’re not getting wet as well as on the electrical circuit boards inside. Corning Gorilla Glass covers the front for ultimate scratch resistance as well.

The ATRIX HD works with Motorola’s newest software build on top of Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, and Motorola is touting a cool new “Motorola Circle Widget” with “at-a-glance” access to your notifications, time, weather, battery, data usage, and settings. You’ve also got a feature/app called SMARTACTIONS that will allow you to change your phone’s settings based on certain situations and/or times of the day.

The back-facing camera is 8-megapixels and 1080p video while the front-facing camera has 720p video. You’ve got a microUSB and microHDMI port with easy mirroring abilities for your HDTV. This device also has CrystalTalk PLUS noise reduction which, in part, comes from its 3-mic setup, and it’s got 8GB internal storage and a microSD card slot to boot.

Finally, for carriers you’ve got AT&T with 4G LTE as mentioned above as well as Bell up in Canada – pricing and availability for Bell will be announced soon, while the AT&T version will cost you a cool $99 USD on a 2-year contract. Have a peek at our reviews of the previous ATRIX models from Motorola as well as the DROID RAZR for Verizon in the timeline below – and prepare for the AT&T version coming soon!

Inside there’s 8GB of user-storage and a microSD card slot, along with a 1,780 mAh battery. The Atrix HD measures in at 69.9 x 133.5 x 8.4 mm and weighs 140g, and is apparently clad in a soft-touch plastic, though we’re not entirely convinced by the two-tone color scheme (thankfully you can get it in regular titanium finish instead).

You also get mobile hotspot functionality – for up to five tethered devices – together with microUSB, HDMI, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS/aGPS, a 3.5mm headphone jack, and the usual bevy of sensors such as an accelerometer, proximity and ambient light. It’s splash-resistant and uses Kevlar for increased ruggedness, along with a Gorilla Glass fascia.

Motorola is seemingly aiming the Atrix HD at business users, with the Webtop app – which, with an HDMI display and Bluetooth peripherals, turns the phone into a PC replacement – coming preloaded. No news on when it will go on sale, though the AT&T logo would seemingly confirm the carrier it’s headed to.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]