They say "there's no such thing as a free lunch." They also say "there's no such thing as an unlimited contract-free $45 monthly unlimited plan that offers awesome phones," so we're not terribly surprised to see that TracFone's new blowout offering -- dubbed Straight Talk -- is rife with ancient Motorolas (with a RAZR V3a thrown in for good measure, of course) and an LG flip that we're pretty sure we saw McClane use in the first Die Hard. Then again, the plan becomes the one of the cheapest for unlimited voice and text anywhere -- and if you're less heavy on the minutes you can even step down to 1,000 minutes and 1,000 texts for $30 -- so we'll let it slide. But seriously, TracFone, we expect a V9 by 2012.
Here's a fact: the world really doesn't need another mildly tweaked Aura. Sorry, it just doesn't. That being true and all, we're still pretty jazzed to see Motorola giving the ultra-luxurious handset another go with the moon-themed Celestial Edition. Word on the street has it that this here handset won't deviate much from the predecessor, but it will come pre-loaded with multimedia from the original moon landing mission, a laser etched quote honoring the 40th anniversary of the journey and a price tag that's far, far beyond stratospheric. We're told that it's all set to go on sale next month, but good luck finding one.
Sprint subsidiary Boost Mobile got first dibs, but now it's the parent's turn -- which means Sprint proper will be taking delivery of the Motorola Clutch i465 for its Direct Connect iDEN network this summer. No exact release date was given, but interest parties are welcome to sign up now to be informed when they can drop the cash -- $39.99 on contract, to be exact, after the application of a total of $70 in rebates on a new two-year agreement. The little beast gives you full QWERTY (a Motorola first for iDEN), mil-spec 810F compliance for withstanding the worst you can throw at it, Bluetooth, GPS, and a VGA camera that isn't likely to win you any photography awards. Of course, if you want it that badly, you could just make the leap to Boost today -- but otherwise, stay tuned.
While the free-market works pretty well when, uh, left alone to be free, sometimes it needs a push from a visible hand. Case in point, phone chargers, at the moment some 30 different types of chargers are used on handsets throughout Europe. Today, the European Commission received industry backing of its phone charger standard that relies on a micro-USB socket. The standard is now backed by all the majors (representing 90% of the European mobile market) including Nokia, Sony Ericsson, Motorola, Apple, LG, NEC, Qualcomm, Research in Motion, Samsung and Texas Instruments with compatible devices starting to appear in Europe next year. Or course, the micro-USB charger standard already has the blessings of CTIA, OMTP, and GSM Association which implies a broader adoption beyond Europe, someday. One charger for any mobile phone... where's the catch?
Want a sneak peek at Motorola's first Android phone? Well, you're looking in decidedly the wrong place -- but if you want to know what's coming down the pike in the company's low-end stable (and who doesn't?), look no further than our dear friends at the Bluetooth SIG. Ever since the SIG's database started offering Mr. Blurrycam-style shots of upcoming products, we've really started to warm up to their ways -- and the VE440 is the latest to roll up to the counter. There's not much to see here, but we know from the SIG filing that it's a CDMA phone destined for North American markets, so we wouldn't be surprised to see this on, say, Cricket or MetroPCS in the near future.
We've been playing with Motorola's recently-announced Endeavor HX1 for the past few hours, and we're just going to come right out with it: this is the best Bluetooth headset we've ever used. Moto claims that the HX1 is the world's first consumer headset to use "true bone conduction technology," a veiled (but obvious) reference to the external cheek-resting sensor found on Jawbone's devices -- and indeed, the Jawbone Prime is the most obvious direct competitor to the HX1. Both devices offer decent styling, feature optional earloops and a selection of earbuds for a tighter fit, are being positioned as premium headsets, and -- most importantly -- pack a ton of innovative circuitry all in the name of cutting noise in harsh surroundings. Follow the break for our quick impressions!
The last time we heard from Ivan Seidenberg, he was letting Sprint know precisely what he thought of it. This go 'round, in a new 'Charlie Rose' interview, the Verizon chief is being entirely more coy. In speaking to recent political happenings, he mentions that the communication coming from the citizens of Iran is "a great thing," and he also notes that attempts to block internet use "can't work long term" as the "power of the people will override that without any question." Sort of comical given VZW's prior persistence to cripple phones in spite of consumer backlash, but we digress. He also dodged (with great skill, might we add) questions on whether Verizon Wireless would carry the iPhone, noting that it was "Apple's decision" on whether it would build one to support the company's forthcoming LTE network. As for Android? He did confess that recent reports of a Motorola handset coming its way "might be true," which is CEO speak for "oh, that's absolutely happening." Hop on past the break for a video of the whole shakedown.
We've been hearing about this one since the wee months of the year, so it's good to see Motorola and AT&T come to the table to finally make it happen. The QA1 Karma follows the ever-popular QWERTY route, this time in a portrait slider configuration (a la Samsung Propel) with 3G, support for AT&T Navigator, a 2 megapixel camera, and a 2.5-inch QVGA display. A little like the Hint, ain't it? Find it in stores starting June 28 for $79.99 on contract after a $50 rebate. Follow the break for AT&T's unboxing (and it's even available in HD, if you're into that sort of thing).
Details are still a little light on this one, but The Wall Street Journal is reporting that both T-Mobile and Verizon will be offering Android-based phones from Motorola before the end of the year, according to "people familiar with the matter." While the Verizon phone is still a bit iffy, the T-Mobile offering seems to almost certainly be the Motorola Morrison which, as you can see above, is already pretty well acquainted with T-Mo branding. According to one of those people familiar with the matter, Verizon's Moto phone will have "similar hardware to the T-Mobile one," including a touchscreen and a slide-out keyboard, which doesn't exactly rule out Motorola's rumored Calgary slider, even if "similar" isn't the first word that springs to mind when discussing the two.
Is the world ready for a white, black, and shiny metallic blue Android phone? Well, the world may not have to be -- but we strongly suspect this picture claiming to be the Motorola "Morrison" for T-Mobile USA is real since it exactly matches the thumbnail in that leaked roadmap from a while back. We can only guess from the coloration that this is likely going to be billed as a youth device -- and Motorola's said in the past that it wants to build its Android lineup around a social networking platform, which all the kiddies are into these days -- so we're thinking this could end up being positioned below the G1 and its contemporaries / successors in T-Mobile's catalog. Would we buy it? Yeah, maybe -- the keyboard looks usable, but maybe we're still so Android-starved around here that our judgment can't be trusted.
Motorola isn't shying away from a fight here with its Endeavor HX1 Bluetooth headset -- and if there's anything the Bluetooth headset industry needs, it's some manner of controversy. The company is calling its new HX1 the "only Bluetooth headset to use true bone conduction technology," with a user activated "Stealth Mode" that switches the set from regular mic to an in-ear sensor which picks vibrations right off the bone for talking in particularly noisy environments. Jawbone, on the other hand, picks up vibrations from the outside of the face, but primarily as an "Activity Sensor," though the latest version nabs some audio from those vibrations -- both manufacturers naturally claim a military heritage to their technology. It'll take some actual testing to see who wins out, but it sounds like some good tech from Moto all the same. We do know one thing, however: no amount of in-ear stylings can ever ease your transition into general society. No word on price of a US release date for the HX1, it hits Asia in July.
Remember that Motorola i856 we told you about way back in March? It's now lost its FCC innocence, garnering external photos and a user's manual for our excited perusal. As phones go, it's nothing much to look at -- but this is iDEN we're talking about, where sliders and multimedia features are still awfully hard to come by . Indeed, the i856 has a dedicated music button right on its face, a far cry from the ultra-rugged workabout Nextels of yore. Probably not a fit for construction site types, but for your average Boost Mobile customer, this'll definitely be a win. No word on a release date or a full list of carrier partners just yet.
In terms of leaking juicy product info, we're accustomed to the Bluetooth SIG being one of the least helpful certification bodies around town, so imagine our surprise to see those guys outing the upcoming Motorola W766 (codenamed "Harmony," apparently) with some photography. This clamshell certainly isn't anything special, but we've heard from other sources that it'll likely replace the W755 -- which basically looked old the moment it was launched -- at some point in the next few months. Oh, and yes, no worries -- A2DP's in the cards.
The Casio Exilim was the big news out of Verizon this week, but it wasn't the only anticipated model to finally get announced for the carrier. The Motorola A455 Rival sorta reminds us of LG's Neon for AT&T, offering a touchscreen basically for the sole purpose of on-screen dialing so you don't need to slide out the keyboard or do anything crazy with the d-pad just to place a call; otherwise, you've got a 2 megapixel cam, EV-DO, VZ Navigator, and microSD expansion to 8GB. Even though the Neon's the doppelganger here, the Rival's priced more like the upmarket Xenon -- $99.99 on contract after rebate -- and is available now in your choice of silver and purple.
Boost Mobile's i9 stands head and shoulders above the rest of the carrier's line as its clear-cut hero device, but there's a problem -- the launch color, kind of a dark bronze, was a little bland. That's not cool for an iDEN flip this far up into the rare air, is it? Of course not, so we're glad to see that they've partnered up with Moto to bring out the so-called Stature in a second (more fitting) color, red. It's available now for exactly the same price as the original that's been available since February, $299.99.
While the free-market works pretty well when, uh, left alone to be free, sometimes it needs a push from a visible hand. Case in point, phone chargers, at the moment some 30 different types of chargers are used on handsets throughout Europe. Today, the European Commission received industry backing of its phone charger standard that relies on a micro-USB socket. The standard is now backed by all the majors (representing 90% of the European mobile market) including Nokia, Sony Ericsson, Motorola, Apple, LG, NEC, Qualcomm, Research in Motion, Samsung and Texas Instruments with compatible devices starting to appear in Europe next year. Or course, the micro-USB charger standard already has the blessings of CTIA, OMTP, and GSM Association which implies a broader adoption beyond Europe, someday. One charger for any mobile phone... where's the catch?
