Android 4.0 update for RAZR and RAZR MAXX becomes official

We're sure this will bring a smile to all you DROID RAZR and DROID RAZR MAXX users out there who have been waiting patiently because Motorola and Verizon has made the Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich update for these phones official.

The new Motorola page details all the new changes that will be brought by the Android 4.0 update to these phones. We have already seen this before but back then the text and the videos were in Japanese whereas this time it is in English and meant for the US audience.

The Android 4.0 update isn't exactly being pushed out right this minute but it is expected to in the next few days.

Source 1 • Source 2

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Motorola Droid RAZR HD for Verizon leaks out in blurry shots

 looks like the Motorola "Dinara" which we told you about a few hours ago won't be the only star in Motorola's lineup this summer. The LTE flavored Motorola Droid RAZR HD for Verizon Wireless has emerged in a couple of shots. When it hits the shelves in the coming months, the Android smartphone is bound to be one of the best heeled devices on the US market.

 

The rumored specs of the smartphone include a Snapdragon S4 chipset with two 1.5GHz CPU cores, 13MP camera, HD screen, which will include Android navigation buttons, and, very importantly, a 3300mAh battery like the one found in our reigning battery test champion - the Motorola Droid RAZR MAXX. Also, as you can see in the photos above, the back of the device has gone for the full kevlar treatment - there will be no plastic rim around it. The HDMI and microUSB ports will be located on the bottom side of the handset.

There is no firm info on the release date of this beast. A late summer timeframe however, is floating around. Naturally, we'll keep you posted.

Source

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ZTE Athena appears in spy shots, squeezes ICS in 6.2mm package

Some posts on social network Weibo point to an ultra-thin Android phone from ZTE in the works, codenamed Athena. The device readily beats the Motorola DROID RAZR (7.1mm) and the Huawei Ascend P1 S (6.7mm), having a profile of just 6.2mm. You'll also notice the Kevlar back of the Athena that is visible in one of the leaked photos.

The ZTE Athena should also surpass those two in processing power with its (presumably dual-core) Cortex-A15 CPU. The phone will be running Android 4.0 ICS with a custom "Miflavor UI" skin on top. The built storage is said to go up to 64GB.

   

The screen on the slender droid is reported as True HD, but there's no info on the screen size. The ZTE Athena has capacitive keys under its screen.

That's all the info available on the smartphone right now, but if anything else comes up we'll keep you updated. So, what do you think - is there a point to this race for the thinnest phone or would you rather have a juicier battery instead?

Source 1 • Source 2 (in Chinese) | Via

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Update For Motorola Droid RAZR And Non-US RAZR Rolling Out

Holiday season is OTA season! Motorola has officially announced an update for the Droid RAZR. The non-US versions, simply known as RAZR, news: The update seems to be easily root-able.

Data

• Improved 4G data connectivity
• Eliminated false SIM error messages
• Improved performance for transition between 3G and 4G connections
• Improved maintenance of network connection upon completion of a voice call
• Enhanced Wi-Fi performance

Camera

• Enhanced camera performance

Phone Stability

• Resolved general stability issues in menu access. Browser, Phone Dialer, video playback and music player reducing Force Close errors and lockups.

Other

• Improved readability for Lapdock™ email, SMS and social networking user interface menu items
• Updated group message notifications

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REVIEW :: Motorola Razr XT910 vs Galaxy Nexus GT-i9250

There's neck to neck competition between the new Motorola Razr and Google Nexus, but a clear winner does emerge.

Google and Motorola, despite being sister concerns, will compete in the Android smartphone market. Motorola has already made its top of the line Razr XT910 available in Malaysia for RM1999 RSVP While the Google-Samsung Galaxy Nexus is expected by mid December, there is no hint of the pricing as yet.

Here we've compared the specifications offered by both these handsets.

Design and looks

In terms of physical design and build Motorola Razr certainly steals the attention with its 7.1 mm slimness; while Galaxy Nexus is 8.8 mm thick. Not to forget that the back panel of the Motorola Razr is made of Kevlar plastics, which makes it strong enough to survive blows. The Galaxy Nexus comes with a larger outlook, appearing to be a mash-up of Samsung Galaxy S II and Google Nexus S.

The slimmer profile of Motorola Razr certainly looks appealing while the bigger display with thin body makes Galaxy Nexus equally desirable.

Display

Both Motorola Razr and Galaxy Nexus come with a Super Amoled display with PenTile pixel arrangement scheme. Razr comes with a 4.3 inch Super Amoled display that bears a qHD (960 x 540 pixel) resolution. However, the Razr's display has a pixel arrangement density of 256 pixels per inch.

On the other hand, the Galaxy Nexus has a 4.65 inch Super Amoled HD display with 1280 x 720 pixel native resolution, and pixel density of 316 pixels per inch. Apparently it's the Galaxy Nexus that bags eyeballs when it comes to actual display, compared to the Motorola Razr.

Software

With the Galaxy Nexus, Google debuts Android 4.0.1 Ice Cream Sandwich operating system update with a fresh interface and several new features. Motorola Razr comes with Android 2.3.5 Gingerbread and there's no information on when it'll get the Ice Cream Sandwich update.

Clearly, Galaxy Nexus wins even where software is concerned.

Processor and graphics

Both smartphones use dual core processors from Texas Instruments.

Galaxy Nexus comes with a dual-core 1.2 GHz TI OMAP 4460 mobile processor with PowerVR SGX 540 graphics chip clocked at 384 MHz.

Motorola Razr houses a 1.2 GHz TI OMAP 4430 mobile processor with PowerVR SGX 540 graphics chip and is likely to be clocked at 304 MHz. So, Galaxy Nexus might turn out to be a better graphics performer.

Camera

Google and Samsung have surprisingly packed only a 5 megapixel image sensor at the rear of the Galaxy Nexus, though it does record 1080p full HD video. The phone's front facing 1.3 megapixel camera is capable of recording 720p HD video. However, it's uncertain whether this is Galaxy Nexus' feature or Android 4.0's.

Motorola has added an 8 megapixel camera which too is capable of recording 1080p full HD video at 30 frames per second. If the 1080p full HD video recording quality is compared, then this handset might just turn out to be a clear winner.

There are no details whether Razr's front facing 1.3 megapixel camera can record 720p HD video or not.

Memory and storage

Though each smartphone carries 1 GB of RAM, there is a difference in the type of memory used. For instance, the Motorola Razr with 1.2 GHz TI OMAP 4430 is most likely to have a 1 GB LPDDR2 RAM while the Galaxy Nexus with 1.2 GHz TI OMAP 4460 will have 1GB LPDDR3 RAM.

The crucial difference lies in the higher memory bandwidth and faster performance promised by the LPDDR3 used in Galaxy Nexus, as opposed to the one used in Razr.

Motorola offers 16 GB on-board storage and a memory card slot to add up to 32 GB. Meanwhile Galaxy Nexus lags behind with 16 and 32 GB onboard storage options with no expandable memory slot.

Network and SIM

Galaxy Nexus will have an HSPA+">HSPA+ version for India, and might come with a 4G LTE chip. If that happens, then the Galaxy Nexus would offer maximum download speeds between 8 Mbps to 25 Mbps. However, the crucial difference between both handsets lies in the type of SIM used — yes, the Motorola Razr users a microSIM.

Near Field Communication, WiFi and Bluetooth

Galaxy Nexus comes with Near Field Communication support while Motorola Razr doesn't. Instead, Motorola promotes the handset along with its webtop app that allows hooking up the phone to a larger screen.

Galaxy Nexus will come with Bluetooth 3.0 while the Motorola Razr will feature Bluetooth 4.0, which as of now looks good but has no real-world advantage to it. Besides, Galaxy Nexus comes with dual-band WiFi support (2.4 GHz and 5 GHz) compared to the Razr's slower single band.

Battery

Galaxy Nexus packs a 1750 mAh battery while Motorola Razr packs a 1780 mAh battery. It may appear to be a number game but Android 4.0 ICS is expected to bring better power management compared to Android 2.3.5 Gingerbread, used in Motorola Razr.

Besides, the Motorola device comes with a non-removable battery which is why it is so thin whereas the Galaxy Nexus comes with the conventionally removable battery.

Conclusion

When compared head to head in several departments, the overall winner turns out to be Galaxy Nexus. It loses in the design, camera and storage expansion to Motorola Razr. Evidently, Galaxy Nexus would be the overall package which a keen technology enthusiast would love to possess.

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