Articles about Motorola

Motorola's Moto 360 remains one of the most interesting Android Wear devices, despite being introduced a year ago. Its elegant design has been unmatched so far by most competitors and the user experience continues to be solid. However, when compared to some newer rivals, like Apple Watch, the device is showing its age, being designed with a different market in mind. A successor is much-awaited.

Today, Motorola takes the wraps off its new Moto 360, revealing a smartwatch that will appeal to a wider range of consumers, including iPhone users. The new device features a similar design to its predecessor, but improves upon the original formula by adding more powerful internals, more customization options, and a wider range of models, similar to what Apple has done with its offering.

Continue reading →

The Motorola Moto G (3rd Gen), also known as Moto G 2015, had its launch event on 28 July 2015.

Since then, there have been many reviews of this device, but there are some things about the new Moto G that you you should know about to help you decide whether this is the right phone for you.

Continue reading →

In August 2013, Motorola Mobility -- which was owned by Google at the time -- released a beautiful phone called the Moto X that focused on providing a flagship user experience instead of trying to be the best Android phone by offering the best technical specifications; in other words, it wanted the Moto X to be the iPhone of the Android world.

This first generation of the Moto X was a great hit with the bloggers and journalists who reviewed it, but it did not sell in huge numbers. In order to compete with the flagship phones from Samsung (with its huge marketing budget), which typically came with removable batteries and microSD card slots, the Moto X had to have an amazing battery life and a really great rear-facing camera. While the cameras and battery life of the Moto X were good, they were not best-in-class, and consumers voted with their wallets accordingly.

Continue reading →

While the competition is trying to catch up, Motorola's Moto 360 remains one of the best-looking Android Wear devices on the market despite being around for over nine months. It is also among the most refined, making it an attractive purchase for the smartwatch enthusiast.

The one thing that you may not like about Moto 360 is its price, which, considering that a successor is likely to be announced in the coming months, is a bit too high. Motorola has fortunately addressed this with a $100 price cut.

Continue reading →

Even though it is over nine months old at this point, the second-generation Motorola Moto X is still among the most interesting Android smartphones that you can get your hands on today. Part of its appeal are its more affordable price, lovely design, close-to-stock Android distribution and timely updates, things which few competitors can boast.

If you are considering buying a 2014 Moto X, now is the time to pull the trigger. For a limited time, Motorola is running a very attractive deal, selling the smartphone for as little as $299.99 off-contract.

Continue reading →

While choosing which iPhone to buy is a fairly simple decision -- there just aren't many options to choose from -- it's a very different matter for Android fans. The wealth of hardware manufacturers producing an endless stream of handsets means that a trip to the phone store, physical or online, can be overwhelming.

Today Google launches a new tool that can be used to home in on the perfect Android handset for you. Answer a few simple questions about the types of thing you need from a phone, and the wide selection of devices will be whittled down to those that are just right for you.

Continue reading →

I love my Nexus 6. This morning, while waking to the rush of caffeine from steaming coffee, I read headlines on the device. "I’m Phed Up With Phablets: They're too big to prevail" caught my attention. The short commentary, by Brian Rubin for ReadWrite, rails against the bigger-is-better-smartphone trend. Screen on my cellular is massive: 6 inches, and I forever promised myself to never use a phone so large -- until I did and converted. Much as I enjoy using the N6, for which I can still manage many operations one-handed, smaller would be my preference. Perhaps yours, too.

Here at BetaNews, we first raised doubts about ever-expanding screens four years ago. I still remember the discussion about the story, and more importantly the headline, before Ed Oswald wrote "Is that the Samsung Galaxy S II in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me?" In 2015, what seemed large then -- a 4.3-inch screen -- is puny. Even iPhones are bigger. Rubin rightly raises alarm about choice: "The real problem isn’t so much that there are too many phablets, but that there aren’t enough non-phablets these days -- at least none that are truly interesting".

Continue reading →

China's smartphone market has declined year-over-year for the first time in six years, according to a new report from IDC. In the first quarter of the year, shipments decreased by 4.3 percent compared to the same period from 2014, with the likes of Samsung and Lenovo posting huge drops.

Apple leads the pack in China, shipping 14.5 million iPhones in Q1 2015, 62.1 percent more than a year ago. Meanwhile, rival Samsung, which comes in fourth place, saw shipments of just 9.6 million units, a whopping 53 percent lower compared to Q1 2014.

Continue reading →

Early yesterday afternoon, LG Watch Urbane arrived from Verizon. Turnaround is quick for anyone who wants one right way, rather than waiting for Google to ship (now 1-2 days rather than by May 8). I am rushing a first-impressions review, and some comparison to the Moto 360 is mandatory. If round is your taste, consider one of these two smartwatches.

Meantime, to collect my thoughts for the review and for anyone considering the Urbane, I share something sooner. Overall, I am satisfied with the initial out-of-the-box experience. Urbane is gorgeous and looks like a traditional watch. The always-on, dimmed face contributes to the effect—without bleeding dry the charge. The watch is also more functional as a timepiece, as such. I mean, shouldn't it be?

Continue reading →

Something interesting happened in the last quarter of 2014: Apple tied with Samsung on smartphone shipments. Both players moved 74.5 million units, reaching this figure from two opposite directions. The Cupertino, Calif.-based vendor saw its iPhone shipments increase by a whopping 46.07 percent year-over-year, while its South Korean rival dealt with a 13.37 percent decline.

But, luckily for Samsung, things changed in the first quarter of 2015. According to Strategy Analytics, its smartphone shipments reached 83.2 million units, while Apple's iPhones shipped in just 61.2 million units. And just like that, Samsung is, once again, back at the top. However, it is not yet in tip-top form.

Continue reading →

A smartwatch by any other name is compromise. The question: How much are you willing to pay, if anything, for the privilege? No matter what any manufacturer promises, battery life will never be enough, particularly when daily recharging is the minimum requirement. If you use the wristwear as prescribed, no less is demanded, regardless of the device maker. None delivers daily use without sacrificing something.

Nearly all these mini-computers on the wrist aren't smart enough. You need a phone, too. Is two of one and half-dozen of the other worth the trouble? The answer depends much on your lifestyle. If you text and drive, and can't break the habit, a smartwatch could save your life or others. If your mobile handset feels like a ball and chain, adopting glance-and-go lifestyle can liberate you. But if your smartphone is practically surgically attached, for its frequent use, you shouldn't add another tech accessory. If your phone battery often runs out, because you forget to plug in, don't multiply your troubles. If you don't wear a watch now, and haven't for years, don't bother.

Continue reading →

It's April Fool's Day! This is a day where people play jokes on each other. Practical jokes can be funny if they aren't happening to you, but quite the opposite when you are the target. Oh, you put a whoopee cushion on my chair and everyone thinks I passed gas? Thanks for that. You replaced the grape jelly on my PBJ with petroleum jelly? Hilarious. I think that is poison actually, and probably a crime, but you have fun. Enjoy your wacky day.

I'm a bit of a scrooge on April Fool's Day, because I am usually the target of such jokes. I'm a busy guy, and I forget the date constantly, so all day today I will forget it is April Fool's Day. While in-person pranks with friends and family are annoying, online pranks from companies can be fun (sometimes). They have become a tradition and are admittedly hilarious. Google often leads this, and 2015 is no different. Here are some of the fake products that companies are pranking us with in 2015.

Continue reading →

When isn't a cell phone too big? The Motorola-made, Google-branded phablet answers that question for me, and may very well for you. From Samsung's introduction of the original Note, I scoffed at large-screen smartphones—and, honestly, the seemingly stereotypical gadget geeks using them. But big is better, and my arrogant attitude about phablets and the people buying them was unwarranted.

Simply stated: Nexus 6 is the best handset I have ever used. The experience is so fresh and delightful, the emotional reaction reminds of using the original iPhone that I purchased on launch day in June 2007. N6 shatters my negative preconception about phablets, particularly unwieldiness when used daily. That said, I made some lifestyle changes, including choice of clothing, to accommodate the mobile's massive size.

Continue reading →

Motorola introduced Moto Maker as a way to let customers personalize phones with all sorts of adventurous designs from wood to pigskin and all manner of other things. However, the company was also among the first to jump into the Android Wear space, bringing the new smartwatch platform to everyone. Now the two are combining.

Today the company announces that the same sort of customization is arriving for your smartwatch -- providing, of course, that it's Motorola branded. You'll get three cases and nine bands to choose from as you walk through the process. Motorola also points out that you can "complete your design by choosing one of 11 watch faces. Once you get your watch, it’s easy to swap watch faces from our collection or through Google Play".

Continue reading →

Motorola today launched the Moto Turbo smartphone in India. The Lenovo-owned manufacturer has once again partnered with the number uno e-commerce portal Flipkart to exclusively sell the handset through the online channel. Priced at Rs 41,999 ($690), the smartphone packs in some of the best specifications you can ask for in an Android device.

As for the specifications, the Moto Turbo sports a 5.2-inch AMOLED display with 565 ppi protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 3. Inside the smartphone sits a 2.7GHz quad-core Snapdragon 805 processor with 600 MHz Adreno 420 GPU, paired with 3GB of RAM and 64GB internal storage. On the camera front, the handset packs in 4K-capable, 21MP rear shooter with dual LED flash and a 2MP sensor upfront.

Continue reading →