atrix

Motorola plans fewer phones to get bigger bang for its buck

LAS VEGAS--Motorola CEO Sanjay Jha believes less may be more when it comes to the company's smartphone business.

Jha, speaking at a roundtable discussion with reporters today, said he plans to release fewer models of phones this year than in the past. The company will focus a more concentrated amount of resources on a smaller number of products with the goal of creating better products.

"There's a recognition of a lot of good ideas, but none have broken through," he said. "We're going to present fewer ideas, but we're going to push them … Read more

Apple, Amazon, Asus: Three awesome tablet choices

Apple made the tablet viable. Amazon showed that a populist concept can work. Now Asus may bring the latest wrinkle to the market.

Before we get to Asus, let's look at two of the most prominent players as of December 2011.

Apple's iPad 2:

Screen: A gorgeous 9.7 inch screen: the perfect size for me. Interface: Ditto. iOS-based interface is the gold standard. Speed: Apple's A5 chip delivers good performance for a tablet. Responsiveness: No lag to speak of jumping between apps. Apps: Plenty of those. Battery: Acceptable but worse than the original iPad. Features: Two … Read more

Motorola Atrix 2 review: A worthwhile sequel

The Motorola Atrix 2 is, on the surface, a rather incremental upgrade over the original Atrix. It has the same slab design, and since it still has a 1GHz dual-core processor and HSPA+ speeds, it's not that much faster. Yet, it does offer a number of improvements that should make Android fans happy.

It ships with Android 2.3 Gingerbread, and the Motoblur interface is not as intrusive as before. The touch screen is also bigger and crisper at 4.3 inches qHD without the Pentile display. The overall phone feels nicer in the hand, and we like the … Read more

Motorola Atrix 2 hands-on

SAN DIEGO--We had a chance to take a look at the Motorola Atrix 2 here just hours after it was announced, and while it is very similar to its predecessor, it does have a number of improvements that are worth noting.

The design, for example, seems sleeker and more striking. It has a longer and larger 4.3-inch qHD display, and Motorola bumped up the resolution to 960x540. As a result, pixels seem crisper and denser than the display on the Droid Bionic, and it seems more colorful as well. We're glad Motorola swapped out the glossy back with a more textured surface for a better feel in the hand.

On the whole though, don't expect tons of changes with the Atrix 2. It still has a dual-core 1GHz processor, albeit with TI instead of Nvidia. And no it's not an LTE phone, but AT&T did bump up the speeds to HSPA+ 21Mbps. It also has that same Webtop connectivity that turns the phone into a portable PC whenever it's docked into a corresponding Webtop accessory. Motorola says it'll be compatible with the upcoming Lapdock 100, which is smaller than the previous Lapdock and should fit more than just one Motorola handset. … Read more

Motorola Atrix 2 specs, photos look better than original

This is My Next/The Verge has the scoop on the Motorola Atrix 2, and it looks to be slightly better than the first version. According to the site, the Atrix 2 will have a 4.3-inch qHD display, an 8-megapixel auto focus camera with an LED flash, 1GB of RAM, and 8GB of onboard storage, plus a 2GB microSD card (though it can accommodate up to 32GB cards). There is no mention of LTE support, however.

Like the original Atrix, the Atrix 2 will have Webtop support with accessories that include an HD Station and a laptop dock. The … Read more

Facebook's interface changes

Instagram adds real-time filter previews to its apps, Vimeo builds a new, legal music library that video creators can tap, and Facebook updates its interface again to add instant feed updates.

Links from Wednesday's episode of Loaded:

Motorola Atrix 2 details revealed

Boy Genius Report managed to get a few leaked photos of the upcoming Motorola Atrix 2, the successor to the Motorola Atrix 4G. According to BGR's source, the Atrix 2 will have a dual-core processor, an 8-megapixel camera with 1080p HD video capture, and Android Gingerbread 2.3.5. It apparently will not have LTE.

Not much news other than that, but from the initial photos, it looks a lot like the original Atrix. We suspect the phone to launch before the end of the year, which seems pretty soon considering the first Atrix was only released early this … Read more

The 404 882: Where everyone did it in the '90s (podcast)

If you willingly choose to pay to see a movie like "Rise of the Planet of the Apes," you give up your right to complain about your fellow theater-goers. This is the lesson Wilson and I impart to our third co-host, who got suckered by the trolls on Rotten Tomatoes into seeing the pre-prequel to "Planet of the Apes."

The big news, of course, is Google's proposed acquisition of Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion, so we'll discuss what that means for existing patent trolls, Android handset competitors, and the Android platform in general.

Stick around until the end of the show, when we'll announce which two lucky listeners won our V-Moda Faders earplugs giveaway contest!

The 404 Digest for Episode 882

Google to buy Motorola Mobility for $12.5B. Air Swimmers let you fly your own fish. Rise of the Planet of the Apes: An animal-rights manifesto disguised as a prison-break movie. Weekend breaches: BART page by Anonymous.

Episode 882 Subscribe in iTunes (audio) | Subscribe in iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS Video… Read more

AT&T may deliver another Atrix 4G

If a handful of new images are to be believed, then Motorola and AT&T are readying a refreshed Atrix 4G.

The pictures, which initially surfaced on a Chinese tech forum, appear to show a slightly modified version of the smartphone. A quick glance at the overall design and we're reminded of the redesigned Droid Bionic, which should land at Verizon stores any day now.

The most noticeable changes are an 8-megapixel camera capable of recording 1080p HD video, a repositioned power button, and a redesigned earpiece. What's more, AndroidAndMe did some digging through Picasa and pieced together … Read more

AT&T: No longer just the iPhone carrier

commentary Apparently, there is life after being the exclusive iPhone carrier.

So how did AT&T fare following Verizon Wireless' first full quarter selling the iPhone? Pretty well, actually.

The wireless business was a highlight of the company's second-quarter results, as the iPhone continued to sell at a rapid clip. More important, however, were the sales of the other smartphones: Android, BlackBerry, and even Windows Phone handsets. Significantly, AT&T for the first time provided some insight into how the other smartphones performed, and they fared well.

The results show AT&T's effort over the … Read more