Motorola Xoom 3G finally gets Ice Cream Sandwich in the UK

More than a month after the European roll-out of Android 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich for Wifi-only Motorola Xoom tablets begun, the British 3G version of the Xoom is finally getting its ICS update. That’s right — until recently, the UK 3G Xoom was two versions behind the U.S. Wifi version, which recently got bumped up to Jelly Bean. We’ll just let that sink in for a second.

In any case, ​Eurodroid​ is reporting that those who’ve stuck it out with the 3G Xoom for the past year or so have been rewarded with an OTA update to Android 4.0.4, and with it the knowledge that they’re only one major version behind Xoom owners across the pond. If you’ve got a 3G Xoom, head to Settings > About tablet > Software updates and finally kiss goodbye to Honeycomb.

Now begins the wait for Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, though given the timing of this most recent update, we certainly wouldn’t hold our breath. If you’re feeling brave (and impatient), you may want to check our friendly Motorola Xoom forums for tips on rooting and flashing a Jelly Bean ROM on there manually.

Source: Eurodroid

Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE Rumored to Launch on Sprint on August 19th

Rumor has it that Sprint is planning on launching the Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE next Sunday on the 19th of August. Motorola officially announced the phone about two weeks ago claiming a Sprint launch in the “upcoming weeks.” If you’re not familiar with this device, here’s a quick rundown on its specs:

• 4.3-inch ColorBoost display (assuming qHD – 960 x 540)
• 1.5 GHz dual-core processor (assuming the Snapdragon S4)
• 1GB of RAM
• 8MP rear camera with 1080p video capture
• Front-facing HD camera
• micro HDMI with mirroring
• Sprint ID, offering an innovative way to personalize an Android smartphone with apps, widgets, ringtones and more all, in a single download
• NFC
• LTE

Minus the resolution of the device, everything else is top tier when it comes to specs. With physical QWERTY-sliders still popular to many people, I’m sure this device will be welcomed. Does this impending device appeal to any of you guys?

Source: Phonedog

False alarm; Motorola will not be releasing a new 4G LTE device this friday

 

Earlier today we reported that Motorola posted a teaser on its Facebook site indicating a new device coming Friday. While everyone assumed it would be the Motorola RAZR HD due to the numerous leaked photos, it turns out the post on Facebook was actually just a game. Becki Leonard, a spokesperson for Motorola, released a statement: “We’re sorry for the confusion, but it’s a Facebook game asking people to guess a current smartphone and not meant to come across as a new phone.”

It was an easy mistake to make as the post was quite ambiguous to begin with. It asked people to “guess the smartphone” and that clues would be revealed each day until it would ultimately be unveiled on Friday. When Facebook commenters started throwing out the RAZR HD, Becki Leonard denied the rumors and stated, “It’s a phone already on the market. It’s which current smartphone is this?”

I’m sure this news will sadden some folks as the RAZR HD has been an anticipated device from Motorola. Hopefully news of the RAZR HD’s release will leak out soon, and we’ll be sure to inform you as soon as we know.

Source: talkandroid

Verizon to Discount the Droid Razr Maxx by $100?

When it comes to Android and 4G battery life, the Droid Razr Maxx gives you the most bang for your buck. The problem is, the bang costs lots of bucks – $300 to be exact! Lucky for us, our pals over at Droid Life got their hands on some welcomed marketing material that shows the Razr Maxx as only $200 on contract. No word on when this deal is going to go into to effect but if you were holding out for a new Razr Maxx, may I suggest waiting until they drop that bad boy’s price by 100 bills. No need to call or go to the Verizon website every day, you can rest assured knowing that we will fill you in as soon as the price drops. Hopefully that will be sooner rather than later.

Source: Droid Life

Apple and Samsung trim down their lawsuits

Apple and Samsung have agreed to drop some of their current claims in the California courts. Apple has dropped half of their patent-infringement claims without prejudice, meaning they can refile those claims at a later time. Samsung even dropped five of their claims bringing their total down to just seven. No word on whether Samsung is holding on to their five claims for a later trial but one would think they probably will. Both companies are doing this in compliance with the judge’s orders in hope to make a July 30th trial date. It is believed that reducing the number of claims will make it easier for judge and jury to hear the case.

This has been an ongoing process for Apple, Samsung, HTC, Motorola, and almost everyone associated with Android. I could list more links for you but I’m sure you get the picture. These lawsuits aren’t going away anytime soon folks, but rest assured knowing that Talk Android will be here to keep you up to speed as the details unfold.

Source: All Things D

Apple Loses Another Patent Infringement Claim, This Time Surrendering Victory To Motorola

Apple has taken yet another major blow in its neverending war against competitionAndroid, this time seeing Motorola see sweet victory. Apparently federal judge Richard A. Posner has ruled that Apple’s “finger-swipe” patent infringement claim against MOTO was not the same as tapping an item on screen. His decision addresses Apple’s claim that six applications available on Motorola Mobility-made devices, including those used for browsing photographs, musical album covers and YouTube Inc. videos, infringe its touch-screen finger-tap functionality patent. Apparently, Posner didn’t want to hear any of it and shared the following:

“Apple contends that the finger swipe is equivalent to a finger tap because the two gestures are interchangeable. If consumers distinguish between the two, they are not interchangeable”.

Another day, another frivolous claim tossed out the door. Here’s hoping this is another step towards seeing the end of ridiculous lawsuits from Apple.

Source: Bloomberg

Verizon Ice Cream Sandwich roadmap leaked

We all love Android here, but there comes a point where all of us at one time or another are waiting and wondering when the latest software update will finally make its way to our device. Thanks to an anonymous Verizon employee, we now have a leaked list of upcoming Android handsets that can expect to receive ICS very soon. Here is the breakdown:

• HTC Rezound – OTA update available May 9
• Motorola RAZR – OTA update available May 21
• Motorola RAZR MAXX – OTA update available May 21
• Motorola Xoom 4G – TBA, awaiting approval
• Motorola Xoom 3G – TBA, awaiting approval

The tipster goes on to say that Big Red pushes out its OTA over a 14 day period from the release date, “in batches“, so no worries if you don’t see the update on the exact day listed. Hit the source link below for more details.

Source: reddit

Motorola looking for participants to test forthcoming Photon 4G update

Motorola doesn’t have the greatest track record when it comes to timely software updates. The Photon 4G in particular has been somewhat neglected since it launched however the good news is that things could be about to change. Motorola are planning a soak test for the device and are looking for 1,000 volunteers to lend a hand.

4/25/2012

Motorola and Sprint are happy to announce a future pre-release* update opportunity for PHOTON 4G, before it is officially released to all customers. We are recruiting 1,000 PHOTON 4G owners to test and provide feedback on a future update.

Please register for the Motorola Feedback Network to be considered.

Motorola and Sprint Community Managers

There’s no news at this time as to what the update contains however an update of any kind can only be good news, fingers crossed for the belated arrival of ICS! Perhaps this is a sign of things to come, you would hope that following being bought out by Google that Motorola would look to spruce up its update process.

Hit the link below if you’d like to sign up for the soak test.

Source: Motorola

Verizon Reportedly Has Summer And Fall Roadmap Set For 2012

While Verizon always has a stacked Android lineup, it has to ensure it has the latest and greatest devices by keeping things fresh and up to date. To that end, it looks like Big Red is all set for its Summer and Fall lineup for 2012. For starters, it does indeed plan on carrying a version of the anticipated Samsung Galaxy S III smartphone, which we’ll assume will be a 4G LTE variant and will likely arrive this summer. As a follow-up, Verizon does indeed plan on carrying yet additional Motorola DROID RAZR models, perhaps models that have a bigger screen in HD and no capacative buttons? Finally, Verizon does indeed plan on carrying a phablet-type device, but not from Samsung. Instead, HTC is reportedly working on a device with a monstrous 5-inch screen with 1080P display, a quad-core Krait CPU and an Adreno 320 GPU, HTC Sense 5 and a Scribe pen.

Well, it looks like those of you needing to upgrade your phones this year will have at least a few good options of throwing down some of your hard earned coins. You folks excited at the idea of what’s to come from Verizon?

Source: BGR

Root All Motorola Gingerbread Phones

An XDA forum member named rodrigojfuentes has come up with a method to root all Motorola phones that are currently running Gingerbread. If you have a computer running Linux, you’re ready to get started. PC and Mac users will need to run a Linux virtual machine to continue. From the command line, you just run a few commands, alter a few files, flash, and voilá… root attained! Ready to get started? You should visit XDA forum.

Source: xda forums