Motorola Reveals Android 4.0 ICS Update Schedule

Many of you have been waiting for Motorola to dish out information about its plans for Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. Today, the company updated its software upgrade news page, and well, the news is probably not going to be the news that many of you wanted to hear as the manufacturer has revealed extremely long wait times for some devices while not providing any sort of window at all for others.

The news comes just a few days after we wrote two scathing posts aimed at HTC and Motorola in regards to the lack of information in regards to the Android 4.0 update for the HTC ThunderBolt and Motorola Droid Bionic. As of right now, there is only one Motorola device on the list that has seen the Android 4.0 update and that’s the Motorola Xoom Wi-Fi edition which saw the update arrive a few weeks ago. The rest of the devices have vague release windows.

Going down the list of U.S. devices we see that the MOTOROLA XOOM Family Edition will see the update in Q2 while the Motorola Photon 4G, ATRIX 4G MB860, XYBOARD 8.2 and XYBOARD 10.1 will see the update arrive sometime in Q3 of this year. This means that the soonest those of you with those devices will see the update will be April.

As for the rest of Motorola’s devices like the Droid 4, Droid RAZR MAXX, Droid RAZR, and Droid Bionic, the company says that details will be following in the future. No elaboration, no information. The first option is to get frustrated and lash out at Motorola. (Remember, I’m only angry about the lack of information for the Droid Bionic. Motorola has explained why the update process is so slow and vague and it’s understandable.)

Motorola Droid RAZR Overview:

Motorola DROID RAZR MAXX briefly out of stock on Verizon's website, now will ship February 9th

Verizon's website showed that the Motorola DROID RAZR MAXX was out of stock. The LTE enabled smartphone with the massive 3300mAh battery has been a hit for Big Red and Motorola, showing that battery life is a very important feature that handset users look at. The model was just launched on January 26th and costs $299.99 with a signed 2 year pact, although starting this Friday a BOGO promotion on the unit will start.

Before you start getting upset, there is some good news for those who were hoping to soon experience an Android smartphone that doesn't require you to be a slave to the wall socket. Verizon apparently has replenished its inventory of the Motorola DROID RAZR MAXX and shipments will start flowing again on February 9th. If you can't wait a few days for the phone, you can still check with the Verizon stores in your area, or third party retailers like Best Buy, to see if they have inventory of the device.

Other smartphones listed as out of stock on the carrier's online store include the LG Revolution (which has basically been replaced with the LG Spectrum) and the Motorola DROID X2.

Motorola DROID RAZR MAXX Hands-On:

Motorola Xoom vs BlackBerry PlayBook

The battle for tablet superiority is going to be hard-fought in 2011, with flagship releases expected from every leading manufacturer. But there are those that have already been singled out from the impressive pack of contenders and ear-marked for great things. Two of these prodigious devices are currently slugging it out for the leader of the pack badge – RIM's BlackBerry PlayBook and Motorola's XOOM .

Display
The Motorola XOOM weighs in with an amazing 10.1-inch 1080p ready display, which makes web browsing and viewing media a pleasure. RIM's offering may be smaller but it certainly isn't inferior and the PlayBook's 7.1-inch 1080P display performs admirably. It's tough to separate them but we feel the Motorola just takes the tape ahead of the PlayBook.


Drivetrain
RIM's PlayBook boasts a hugely impressive spec sheet, including a 1GHz Ti-OMAP dual-core processor and 1GB RAM, which is more than enough to keep the device flying along, under even the most heavy of burdens. Motorola's little box of tricks, the XOOM, is equally powerful though, with a dual-core 1GHz NVIDIA Tegra 2 chip and 1GB RAM. Both devices offer dedicated GPU support, enabling them to keep up with the latest games and visual requirements.

Operating System
The XOOM is the first device to be empowered by Android 3.0 (aka Honeycomb), which is a version of the hugely popular mobile OS that has been specially tailored to operate tablet PC's. Honeycomb offers redesigned apps for e-mail, web browsing and offline support for the new 3D version of the company's market leading Google Maps.

RIM's PlayBook brings something new to market though, in the form of the company's new QNX Neutrino based operating system, which looks on track to set the world alight. Both devices are cutting-edge in terms of operating software .

Cameras
Both tablets boast front and rear-facing cameras, ideal for snapping photos and video-conferencing. The XOOM offers a 5 mega-pixel rear with dual-LED flash and 2 mega-pixel front-facing effort.
The PlayBook ups the ante though, with a 5 mega-pixel rear-facing snapper and 3 mega-pixel front-facing, making it the tablet of choice for enterprise standard video-calling.

Connectivity
Motorola's XOOM comes with every conceivable connectivity option. It offers Wi-Fi (b,g,n), Bluetooth, USB 2.0 and 3G, as well as being future-proofed with support for 4G LTE.
The PlayBook, on the other hand, currently only offers support for Wi-Fi (a,b,g,n) though 3 and 4G versions are said to be in the pipeline. This needn't be a terrible encumbrance though. Even with its good points it can't take this bout from the XOOM.

So it's a pretty comprehensive victory for the Motorola XOOM, which offers everything a user could possibly want from a tablet PC, and a little bit more to boot. RIM's BlackBerry PlayBook is an amazing contender though, and it would be remiss of us to write it off when we know how solid and dependable RIM's other devices are.

Motorola ADMIRAL

Sprint has just announced the Motorola ADMIRAL, its first CDMA-based Direct Connect smartphone. The ADMIRAL runs Android 2.3 Gingerbread, and is designed to withstand harsh conditions.

The ADMIRAL is powered by a 1.2GHz, single-core processor, and features a 3.1-inch VGA (480 x 640 pixel) display. Below the screen is a full QWERTY keyboard. The ADMIRAL is built to meet the 810G Military Standard for dust, shock, vibration, solar radiation, low pressure, and high and low temperature exposure. It has a 5 megapixel camera with flash and 720p HD (1280 x 720 pixel) video capture. The ADMIRAL comes with 4GB of internal storage and can support microSD cards up to 32GB in capacity. Running Android 2.3 (Gingerbread), the Motorola Admiral offers snappy performance, decent call quality, a QWERTY keyboard, and a scratch-resistant 3.1-inch touch screen. It also supports push-to-talk, and its durable design will withstand harsh environments Responsive, functional, and tough, the Motorola Admiral makes a great workhorse phone, especially for anyone working in a tough environment. BlackBerry users will also find it a smooth transition if they want to move to the Android platform.

Unlike the fancy and attention-grabbing Motorola Droid Razr the Motorola Admiral is a middle-of-the-line phone, designed not to wow but to provide a working mobile commutation solution. And it does that job very well, with good call quality and zippy performance.

Wi-Fi only versions of Motorola XYBOARD up for pre-order now, ships January 18th

Motorola has announced that it has started to accept pre-orders for the Wi-Fi only versions of its Motorola XYBOARD tablets. Without a cellular radio, the manufacturer has dropped the "DROID" prefix from the name. There are two different versions of the tablet. One has a 10.1 inch screen while the other has an 8.2 inch panel.

The Wi-Fi only variant of the Motorola XYBOARD 10.1 is available with 16GB for $499.99 and with 32GB for $599.99. The Wi-Fi only variant of the Motorola XYBOARD 8.2 comes with 16GB for $399.99 and with 32GB for $499.99. The tablets can be pre-ordered now from Motorola at the sourcelink and are expected to ship starting January 18th. Although the prices are only $20 less than the 4G LTE enabled versions at Verizon, you won't have to pay monthly cell bills.

The Motorola XYBOARD 10.1 has a 10.1 inch screen (1280 x 800 resolution) made from Gorilla Glass and Motorola's own splash-resistant coating. A dual-core TI OMAP 4430 1.2GHz processor is under the hood. 1GB of RAM is aboard. A 5MP camera on back captures video in 720p at 30fps while a 1.3MP front-facing camera is great for video chats. Android 3.2 is pre-installed. The Motorola XYBOARD 8.2 has the same exact specs except for a smaller 8.2 inch display.

Motorola DROID RAZR MAXX appears on Verizon's computer system

Rumors about a version of the Motorola DROID RAZR carrying a larger battery could be true as the the Motorola DROID RAZR MAXX now appears in Verizon's computer system. Previously, EXIF data found in some photographs pointed to a model by that name. A Verizon customer who expressed concern over the battery life of the original DROID RAZR was told of the DROID RAZR Maxx by a Verizon employee who told him that the device will give up some of the original's svelte size in exchange for a larger, longer lasting battery. Considering that the power cell in the Motorola DROID RAZR is not removable, there could be a decent amount of demand for a version of the device with a longer talk time.

There is a chance that the new handset might have more than just a larger battery. Recently, we reported about a variant of the Motorola RAZR shipped to China Mobile, that is equipped with a 4.5 inch display offering 720p resolution and a 13MP camera. Perhaps we might see specs like that for the Motorola DROID RAZR MAXX. With the name of the phone hinting that it contains some high end specs, perhaps this DROID RAZR variant will prove worthy of its name.