MotorolaDroidRazrHd
Latest
Refresh Roundup: week of October 22nd, 2012
Your smartphone and / or tablet is just begging for an update. From time to time, these mobile devices are blessed with maintenance refreshes, bug fixes, custom ROMs and anything in between, and so many of them are floating around that it's easy for a sizable chunk to get lost in the mix. To make sure they don't escape without notice, we've gathered every possible update, hack, and other miscellaneous tomfoolery we could find during the last week and crammed them into one convenient roundup. If you find something available for your device, please give us a shout at tips at engadget dawt com and let us know. Enjoy!
Droid RAZR HD and RAZR MAXX HD review
When Motorola resurrected the RAZR brand last year we didn't realize that we were looking at the new face of the company. At the time, Google had yet to officially take over the handset manufacturer, it had a deep stable of less-than-impressive devices and, while it was a moderate success, the Droid RAZR didn't exactly turn the market on its head. Still, in retrospect, it only makes sense that the RAZR would once again become the standard bearer for Moto. Even if we weren't blown away by last year's model, it was a big step in the right direction for the company, a device that featured a great mix of premium styling and performance. The new RAZR HD and MAXX HD take that basic formula and attempt to address our concerns about the display and battery life, the latter of which was already handled in dramatic fashion by the RAZR MAXX. So, how do the latest caps-happy, vowel-averse handsets from Motorola stack up against last year's incarnations and the current crop of competitors? Keep on reading after the break to find out.
Motorola's rebate site goes live: $100 credit if you need to upgrade to get Jelly Bean
During Motorola's keynote on Wednesday, the company announced a nice little bonus for loyal fans -- should your 2011-or-later handset not receive a Jelly Bean update, you'll get $100 if you upgrade to one of its new models. Well, a website for the deal has gone live and the initial Ts&Cs don't make it sound like an immediate discount, but that the Benjamin will instead be reimbursed as a gift card, carrier credit or a cash equivalent of Motorola's choice. We're still in the dark about which specific phones will be denied a taste of Android 4.1, although the list is expected "very soon." In the meantime, you can sign up at the source link below to receive details of how to update, or how to claim the rebate once the fate of your old handset has been decided.
Nokia and Motorola event roundup
Boy, what a day. September 5th has been one for the books, as five new devices from Nokia and Motorola were exposed to the public eye. We were happy to bring you extensive coverage of everything that happened today, but if you're just getting home from work you may not have had the opportunity to keep up with the goings-on. To help you navigate the feeds a little easier, we've compiled all of the essential news in one place. So kick off your shoes, grab a bite to eat and meet us below the break to get caught up on the latest smartphones!
Motorola RAZR HD global edition hits FCC with LTE included
The global edition of the still-unannounced Motorola Droid RAZR HD, also known as the XT925, was just seen getting FCC approval. This likely won't come as a shocker to many, since this device (alongside its Verizon counterpart) has been the victim of numerous leaks. What we did find as a little surprise, however, was the inclusion of LTE radios, specifically in bands 4 (AWS) and 17 (700MHz). Of course, we're not expecting to see AT&T (the US carrier that utilizes both bands) pick this particular device up -- especially since it recently launched the similarly specced Atrix HD -- but it'll be great for importers. The presence of AWS LTE indicates we'll likely be seeing the XT925 flourish in Canada, and the 2G / 3G bands will certainly make it a prime candidate for sales in other markets around the world. Head to the source link to take a look at the docs, and the More Coverage section to view the XT925's User Agent Profile. We're still expecting to see Verizon's variant (the XT926) on September 5th, though we'll likely see the global version pop up pretty soon afterward.
Motorola Droid RAZR HD guides slip out to the web, pop the hype balloon (video)
Not that we were on pins and needles wondering what Motorola's September 5th event would contain, but what vestige of mystery was left may just have been sapped away. A quartet of Motorola tutorial videos newly uncovered by YouTube user revowii walk users through the unannounced XT926, better known in unofficial circles as the Droid RAZR HD. It's all about the looks in this leak: other than the conspicuous link to Verizon, what's mostly validated here is the expected use of a customized Android 4.0 with on-screen navigation keys, much like the Atrix HD in AT&T's corner of the universe. Earlier murmurings have the Droid RAZR HD carrying the same Snapdragon S4, 720p screen and LTE as well, which could leave the CDMA voice network, NFC and possibly increased storage as the only real differences. We'll know the full truth in about two weeks' time, but those who don't mind a peek into the possible future can hop past the story break to indulge in some video time traveling.
Motorola teases mystery LTE phone, announces Friday reveal (update: no new device)
Taking to its Facebook page, Motorola has rewarded its loyal Likers with a tease: an LTE phone will be revealed on Friday, and the company will offer up a new clue about it every day leading up to the announcement. Our guess? We'd say we're ripe for a Droid RAZR HD debut on Verizon right about now. Regardless, it seems that Moto's pretty eager for this mysterious device -- we just hope it's worth the anticipation. Update: It turns out that Motorola is not actually revealing a new device on Friday. Rather, it appears the company's simply playing a game of "guess the smartphone" (the phone is already available in the US, apparently) and the answer will be unveiled on Friday.
Motorola Droid RAZR HD raises hopes during its brief encounter with the FCC?
What do we know about Motorola's Droid RAZR HD? It's likely to arrive clad in a Kevlar body, run Ice Cream Sandwich and be quick off the blocks. Now we can possibly start looking forward to a release date for such a teasing device since it's been passed fit for human consumption by the boys at the FCC. The test documents revealed it's got CDMA and GSM radios, will slurp down Verizon's LTE and pack an NFC chip -- but alas, no hint of whether we should be waiting for a version with a bigger battery.
Motorola Droid RAZR HD's backside possibly leaked: we hope you like Kevlar
We may have seen it from the front, but Motorola's rumored upcoming Droid RAZR HD now looks to have had its back subjected to the whims of Mr. Blurrycam. The overriding theme? Kevlar. Lots of Kevlar. So much so that it runs right up to the edge, making even the original Droid RAZR seem a tad restrained. A side profile shot hints that it might not be as waif-thin as that first model, which Droid Life takes as a sign (however indefinite) that Motorola could reuse the 3,300mAh mega-battery from the Droid RAZR MAXX. Sadly, the snoop providing the photos hasn't solidified rumors of a Snapdragon S4 processor, a 720p display or a 13-megapixel camera, although they're components that are increasingly par for the course in mid-2012 and later. Unverified murmurs have Verizon only shipping the Droid RAZR HD in the summer; that will give us plenty of time to figure out whether or not it can stop a bullet.
Motorola RAZR HD running ICS spotted in the wild, 720p display in tow
Last week, a Motorola engineer's Picasa album all but confirmed the existence of the Motorola Droid RAZR HD. And while we can't say his job has a future, it looks like this handset does. The latest leak includes some newly discovered blurry cam photos from China showing Motorola model MT887 running ICS. This matches the EXIF data posted by that errant engineer, which listed the RAZR HD's build as 4.0.3. According to the latest images, the RAZR HD sports a 4.3-inch display -- with an upgraded resolution of 720p -- though the other specs appear to match the current batch of RAZRs. As Android Community points out, that relatively bulky body could mean there's a 3,300mAH battery inside. That's all well and good -- unless Motorola also has a Droid HD RAZR Maxx set to launch a month after this guy. Then again, who would be so cruel as to pit your hopes for a higher-res RAZR against your dreams of an even longer-lasting smartphone?
Motorola engineer leaks Droid RAZR HD, could lose his desk
If you spent your weekend scanning Picasa for photos shot on a Motorola Droid RAZR HD smartphone, then ordinarily you'd have wasted your time. No phone by that name officially exists, and the PenTile Super AMOLED displays on both the standard Droid RAZR and the RAZR Maxx are distinctly not high definition. Surprising then, that when Blog of Mobile searched Picasa they discovered an album shot by a Motorola engineer supposedly using a RAZR HD. The photos have since been removed, leaving only the blurry desk image shown above, which is also attributed to a RAZR HD even if we can't be certain who shot it. Fortunately, the EXIF data was grabbed before the wipe, and if you glance past the break you'll see that it mentions a possible 'Vanquish' codename for the phone as a well as ICS build 4.0.3. There, just when you needed yet another reason to love EXIF.
