Move over Tecno. Motorola has announced the Moto G – a $179 smartphone with amazing specs and the lack of a contract. We’ll go straight to the specs.

At 4.5 inches, the Moto G’s HD display has a resolution of 1280 x 720 giving it 329 pixels per inch(more than the iPhone 5S). It runs Android 4.3 Jelly Bean(will be getting Android 4.4 soon)  and is powered by a 1.2GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor and 1GB of RAM. Internal storage options are 8GB and 16GB. There’s no memory card slot. Buyers of this device get 50GB free Google Drive storage for 2 years.

The Moto G boasts a 5 megapixel rear camera with LED Flash that takes pictures with an aspect ratio of 4:3 and 3.8 megapixels for pictures with an aspect ratio of 16:9(you can choose between them).  Slow motion video, burst mode, auto HDR, panorama and Tap to Focus are features of the rear camera. The front camera stands at 1.3 megapixel. Video capture on both cameras is up to 720p HD at 30fps. Video playback is at 30 fps.

Motorola Highlights features of the Moto G in this video.

 Connection options are WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0, a headset jack and  microUSB.  Internet speeds are up to 21 Mbps on HSPA+ networks.  Sorry, no 4G on this  device. For location, the Moto G uses GPS and  GLONASS.

Apart from this device running pure Android, Motorola has added  Motorola  Migrate – an app that lets you wirelessly transfer your  photos, videos, SIM  contacts and even your call and text history from  your old Android phone  to your new Moto G.

The Moto G’s 2070 mAh battery lasts 24 hours of mixed usage  according to  Motorola’s website. The smartphone comes in 7 different  colours and users  can buy flip and grip shells to protect the Moto G.

$179 is roughly N30,000. This price and spec sheet beats every Tecno phone we’ve seen this year. More importantly, you’ll be getting a phone made by Google and you’re sure of getting Android OS updates without hassles.

However, our friends at TechCabal have learnt that the Moto G will not be coming to Nigeria officially but will get to Ghana. We find this decision odd and we’re hoping our e-commerce friends will give us a good price when they eventually get it.

We’ll be looking at how this phone does in the Nigerian market. In the meantime, would you buy the Moto G at this price?

Source: Motorola

Images: TechCrunch

What if you could build your own smartphones? The same way you can build desktop computers from various parts. Motorola’s Project ARA is breaking new ground in that regard. Its goal is to “create a vibrant third-party developer ecosystem, lower the barriers to entry, increase the pace of innovation, and substantially compress development timelines.” Project ARA is developing a free, open hardware platform for creating highly modular smartphones.

Open-source can mean a lot of things to the diverse “tech” community. Open-source hardware is not a popular notion however, Motorola seems very confident about this project. They’ve met with Dave Hakkens , the creator of Phonebloks and combined forces. Phonebloks has a fast-growing community and Motorola says as they develop, the Phonebloks community will play a major role.

Promoting the idea for an open source hardware platform and their collaboration with Motorola, creator Dave Hakkens published these videos:

The design for Project Ara consists of an endoskeleton (endo) and modules.  The endo is the structural frame that holds all the modules in place. A module can be anything, from a new application processor to a new display, keyboard, an extra battery, a larger camera, a smaller speaker or a component yet to be invented. Bloks can be bought from the Bloks store and be fit right into the device. Just like you made objects from Legos.

The company will be reaching out to developers to start creating Ara modules, and expects the developer’s kit to be released in alpha this winter; interested parties can sign up to be an Ara Scout (volunteers interested in helping Project ARA  learn about how people make choices), now.

Sources: The Verge, Project Ara, Phonebloks

IDG News reported on Saturday that FujiFilm first notified Motorola Mobility in April 2011, that the phone manufacturer was infringing on four patents. It was then that the issue of patent violation began.

The Japanese imaging giants claimed to have had multiple face-to-face meetings, to workout the possibility of  licensing deal but as it seems FujiFilm was not satisfied with the results and this led to a lawsuit.

These patents relate to technologies which allow a phone to capture color pictures and convert them into monochrome; a telephone and data-transmission method; a facial detection system; and processing a high-resolution image into a lower-resolution one, IDG News revealed.

The lawsuit alleges popular Motorola handsets have infringed all or some of the patents including the Droid X, X2, 2 Global, Bionic, 3, Pro; and the Atrix 2, Electrify, Photon 4G, XPRT, Defy, Cliq 2 and Titanium handsets. FujiFilm further asks the court to find infringement in its favor, for Motorola to pay damages to be decided at trial and for Motorola to pay FujiFilm’s legal costs.

Analysis of the situation would suggest that FujiFilm is not trying to cripple sales or production of the aforementioned products, as long as the case goes in their favor. It seems as though yet another company wants a piece of the growing power that is Google.

Motorola’s Droid 4 is the 4th generation in Motorola’s Droid Series. The Droid 4 is a 0.5-inch thick, 4-inch qHD display smartphone running Google’s Android 2.3 Gingerbread.

The Droid 4′s form resembles that of the Droid Razr with a QWERTY Keyboard. The smartphone is powered by a 1.2GHz dual-core processor, 1GB of RAM and 16GB of storage. It includes a rear camera of 8Megapixel and will be able to access Verizon’s LTE services.

Verizon says the phone will be launched in the next few weeks and will eventually be updated to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich.

Source: VentureBeat

Specs of Motorola’s Droid 4 have leaked to Droid Life. It takes the form of  the Droid RAZR with a keyboard. Going by the report, it packs a 1.2GHz dual-core CPU, 1GB of RAM, 4-inch qHD screen, 16GB internal storage, microSD slot and an 8 megapixel camera with LED Flash and up to 1080p HD video. The leak also shows an HD secondary camera. The physical keyboard is a 5-row keyboard like that of the Droid 3. The keyboard is also edge-lit – which makes the keyboard brighter than your average back-lit keyboard.

It’ll run on Google’s Android 2.3.5 and we assume it’s Ice Cream Sandwich ready. The Droid 4 comes with a cover removal tool so its 1785 mAh battery will be removable. Rumors say the smartphone will be released on December 4th. We’ll keep you updated as more details unfold.

Source: The Verge

Motorola has officially unveiled the Xoom 2 and Xoom 2: the sequels to Motorola’s Xoom. The Xoom 2 runs on a 1.2GHz dual-core processor, 1GB RAM, 16GB of storage and Android 3.2. It’s a 10.1-inch device rocking a front-facing camera of 1.3 megapixel and a rear-facing camera of 5 megapixels. The display also features splash-guard protection to protect from liquid spills.

The Xoom 2 Media Edition features similar specs in RAM, processor, storage and cameras. The display however is 8.2-inch in size and has Gorilla Glass protection to protect it from scratches. There’s also a 20% improvement in graphics over the original Xoom, along with a 178 degree viewing angle, making it media friendly.

Both tablets will get Ice Cream Sandwich six weeks after Motorola receives the update from Google. No one is sure when that’ll will happen but Motorola has only announced availability in the UK AND Ireland via Carphone Warehouse.

Here’s what the Xoom 2 and the Xoom 2 Media Edition look like:

Source: Engadget

Motorola recently introduced their the Motorola RAZR – a completely revamped version of their 2004 phone by the same name. Generally known for its thinness, this latest version will be 7.1mm thin and 127g light, earning it the title of thinnest smartphone in the world. (For comparison, the old ones were about 14mm). The con ere though is it has a non-removable battery. The back of the phone is made from Kevlar fiber which makes the phone strong, Motorola goes as far as saying it makes the phone bulletproof. It also has a Gorilla glass covering the touchscreen which makes the phone scratch-free and waterproof. (Pretty cool if you ask me)

The RAZR has a 4.3 inch Super AMOLED qHD display, it’s powered by a 1.2GHz dual-core processor, comes with 1GB of RAM and 16GB of internal memory and a microSD slot if you ever need more memory. It also has an 8MP rear camera with the ability to record in 1080p HD and a 2MP front facing camera that will record 720p HD video.

It also comes with the Smart Actions app built-in which lets you do things like play music when you plug-in your headphones, turn on WiFi or reduce ringer volume when you get to school/work. This is Motorola’s idea to help reduce battery life. Battery life isn’t so bad, on a 3G network, it gives 12.5 hours of talk time and 8.9 hours of video playback.

Considering the last RAZRs weren’t smartphones, the new versions will run on Android 2.3 ‘Gingerbread’. However, it will be upgradeable by 2012 since Google just announced Android 4.0 in Hong Kong on Oct. 18th.

The phone is set to be released on Verizon in the US as the Motorola Droid RAZR; pre-orders will begin Oct. 27 and the device stores in November. It’s priced at $299 with a two-year contract with them. It will be called the Motorola RAZR in the rest of the world. It’ll be available exclusively at Rogers in Canada “sometime around the holidays” and will sell for $149 on a three-year contract and in the UK, it’ll be released Nov. 1 with pricing said to be between £400 to £454.80. No word yet on when it’s meant to go on sale in Nigeria.

Would you ditch your current smartphones for a RAZR? I remember they used to be so cool back then. Do you think Motorola can restore the RAZR to it’s former glory? Drop a comment and let us know.

[Motorola, EverythingAndroid, Gadget Spy, PCMag, PCWorld AU]

Google announced on Monday morning that it had agreed to acquire Motorola Mobility for $12.2 billion. Motorola had, since 2008, made Android its sole operating system for its smartphones.

This acquisition is very unusual for Google. Google usually buys small software startups, not large hardware companies. Google’s CEO, Larry Page says this will help it supercharge the Android ecosystem.

The acquisition also means Google will run Motorola’s home devices and video solutions divisions.

Larry Page also explained that Google’s acquisition will increase competition buy giving it a larger patent portfolio. Motorola’s patents are currently over 17,000 with 7,500 pending, he says.

““Our acquisition of Motorola will increase competition by strengthening Google’s patent portfolio, which will enable us to better protect Android from anti-competitive threats from Microsoft, Apple and other companies.”

Microsoft, Apple and RIM had recently whipped up a bag of patents at the Nortel patents auction. Google considered this anti-competitive because already manufacturers who run on Android have to pay Microsoft some royalties because Android runs on Linux’s kernel and Microsoft owns some patent parts of the kernel.

Google’s acquisition of Motorola does not mean Google will sideline other manufacturers who run on Android. Larry Page says Motorola will continue to run as a separate business.

After a lot of leaks, the Droid 3 has officialy been released in China. It’s called the Milestone 3 – the European and Asian name for the Droid. The phone is thinner than its parents, runs on Gingerbread 3.0 and shoots 1080p videos. Sliding the screen opens the Five-row QWERTY Keyboard and it launches in the US on the 7th of July. The specs are as predicted:

Dual-Core processor
4inch qHD screen
Android 2.3
16GB internal storage
8MP Camera
Front camera for video chat

The new phone carries a full 5-row QWERTY slide-out keyboard and an 8-megapixel camera which is said to be capable of 1080p HD video recording. It also apparently has both micro-HDMI and micro-USB ports though it seems to lack a dedicated camera button.

On the software end, the version of android run by the phone is still yet to be determined as the videos all say “Software Shown Not Final”.