Motorola boss Dennis Woodside on Thursday finally confirmed the existence of the Moto X, the first Motorola smartphone that will launch with heavy influence from Google. Few details were shared by the executive while on stage at the D11 conference, but the tidbits he did offer were very intriguing. Woodside said the phone will be manufactured in the United States in a Fort Worth, Texas facility that used to build Nokia handsets. He also said the Moto X will feature two processors and numerous sensors that help the handset respond to context. For example, it will know when the user is driving a car, or when the phone is taken out of a pocket. Finally, he said the Moto X will launch by October and will be available across several carriers. As great as all this sounds, will any of it matter? More →
The good news with patent suits is that even when they’re successful they very rarely result in outright sales bans of popular products. And now Ars Technica reports that yet another attempt to enforce a sales ban has fallen flat on its face, this time Motorola’s attempt to stop sales of Microsoft’s Xbox. According to Ars, Motorola filed suit against Microsoft back in 2010 because its Xbox allegedly infringed upon Motorola patents that detailed technologies for “video transmission and compression as well as Wi-Fi.” Motorola’s quest against the Xbox ended this week, however, when a six-person panel at the International Trade Commission decided to toss out the company’s complaint. A Microsoft spokesperson described the ITC’s decision as “a win for Xbox customers” that “confirms our view that Google had no grounds to block our products.”
A recent filing with the Federal Communications Commission has confirmed that Google’s rumored X Phone device will be coming to Sprint later this year. The Sprint version is identified with the model number XT1056 and includes support for LTE on band 25. The device is equipped with NFC, 802.11ac Wi-Fi (or “5G Wi-Fi”) and low-energy Bluetooth 4.0. Earlier rumors suggested the X Phone will be powered by a dual-core Snapdragon S4 Pro processor and run a stock version of Android. It was previously revealed that the Motorola-built smartphone will also arrive on AT&T and Verizon with the model numbers XT1058 and XT1060, respectively. Google and Motorola are expected to announce the X Phone later this year.
The rumored X Phone being developed by Google and Motorola unit is headed to AT&T later this year. A recent filing with the Federal Communication Commission revealed that the device, which carried the codename Motorola XT1058, will support AT&T’s LTE and HSPA+ networks. The smartphone didn’t include CDMA radios for Verizon and Sprint’s networks, however a new leak suggests a CDMA model is also in the works. A configuration file reportedly from a leaked Motorola USB driver that was obtained by Droid-Life revealed a device with the codename XT1060, similar to the recently leaked AT&T model. The file also confirmed that the smartphone will be equipped with a dual-core Snapdragon 4 Pro processor and support for CDMA networks, although it isn’t clear if it will be compatible with Verizon, Sprint or perhaps both carriers.
Whether or not Google has really pulled out of its “X Phone” project with Motorola, it seems that the device will still be making its way to AT&T sometime in the near future. AndroidGuys has spotted a filing at the Federal Communications Commission showing a new Motorola phone called the “Motorola XT1058″ that looks very similar to leaked pictures of the X Phone that we saw earlier this year. The FCC filing shows that the new device will be supported by AT&T’s network, although it doesn’t give any technical specifications for the phone other than that it will support LTE, HSPA+ and Wi-Fi connectivity. Late last week we started hearing rumors that Google had backed out of its role in developing the device and would leave Motorola to finish up the project alone, which could very well reduce interest in the new phone when it’s finally released.
Google has long been rumored to be developing a high-end smartphone, codenamed the X Phone, in collaboration with its Motorola division that would be designed to push the boundaries of mobile innovation. New information suggests, however, that the company has abandoned the project because it could not achieve the level of innovation it had originally hoped for. The report comes from Chinese analyst Sun Changxu, who noted that the project has not been cancelled and instead is now being developed solely by Motorola. This could result in a device that doesn’t include the tight Google integration or stock version of Android earlier reports had indicated. While it was first reported that the X Phone would debut later this month at Google’s annual I/O Developers Conference, the latest rumors suggest the device will be announced later this year.
Google is done with boring old cell phones — the future is all about “phones-plus.” The company’s $12.4 billion Motorola acquisition has yet to bear much fruit, but all that may begin to change as Google starts to phase out Motorola’s solo efforts and launch devices that it had a hand in developing. The first such handset is the highly anticipated “X Phone,” which was pictured in a protective case on Thursday evening. As it turns out, however, a set of leaked photos published previously may in fact have already revealed the X Phone, which could be set to debut later this month. More →
Google and Motorola are working on a top-secret “X Phone” that hasn’t really been top-secret for quite some time. While we’ve heard rumblings and rumors here and there, we have yet to see any leaked photos of the mysterious smartphone. Until now — perhaps. Evleaks, who often leaks photos and accurate specs of unreleased smartphones, published four photos of an unknown Motorola handset wrapped in a protective black box to keep its design a secret. While evleaks has not been able to confirm if this is indeed the unbreakable X Phone, a model number on the back reads “XFON ATT,” which certainly suggests that it may be AT&T’s version of the upcoming handset that may revitalize Motorola. There are conflicting reports regarding when Google might unveil the new handset, but there will be plenty of time at the three-hour keynote at this year’s Google I/O conference if it’s ready in time. The leaked photos of the phone follow below. More →
If Google really only did love Motorola for its patents, then it seems the company’s relationship with the iconic mobile phone manufacturer won’t end happily ever after. A new report from Bloomberg notes that Google’s $12.4 billion investment in Motorola looks even worse this week after a federal judge ruled that Microsoft “owes only pennies in royalties per sale of each Xbox video-gaming system and Windows operating system instead of the potential billions of dollars Google sought in a patent-infringement case.” The latest blow to Motorola’s patent portfolio value comes after Google agreed with the Federal Trade Commission late last year to not use its industry standard Motorola patents as weapons in intellectual property suits. More →
U.S. District Judge James Robart on Thursday determined that Google’s Motorola Mobility unit was not entitled to the $4 billion per year it sought from Microsoft for its standard-essential patents. Motorola was seeking royalties from Microsoft’s Xbox gaming system, which utilizes the company’s technology concerning video decoding wireless connectivity. Instead of the $4 billion per year Google had valued Motorola’s patents, the judge decided that the appropriate annual payment was closer to $1.8 million. More →
It is hard not to admire Sanjay Jha’s cool genius in handling Motorola’s sale to Google. He leveraged Motorola’s old sales contacts in Asia and Latin America to push nondescript models into sales channel, creating an illusion of international traction during 2010 and early 2011. He created a shadow play of a healthy AT&T relationship, feeding expectations of substantial sales growth for Motorola’s business in the United States. For a brief time, Motorola seemed like a company in healthy shape. More →
Google CEO Larry Page dropped a tantalizing hint about what his company’s Motorola Mobility division has been working on recently by suggesting that the company’s next phones will be close to unbreakable. When asked about hints on upcoming products during an earnings call with investors on Thursday, Page said that “when you drop your phone, it shouldn’t shatter.” Page went on to say that he had “just seen Motorola’s upcoming products” and was “pretty enthusiastic” about their “real potential to invent new and better experiences.” Page’s comments come after Google Chairman Eric Schmidt this week described Motorola’s upcoming devices as “phones-plus,” although he didn’t provide any details about what new features the devices might include.
