RAZR

Rumor Has It, Ep. 3: The real lame-os of Silicon Valley (podcast)

Sharon Vaknin fills in for Emily this week while Emily is on vacation, definitely not thinking about tech rumors. Or maybe she is? We'll have to ask her when she's back next week.

On last week's show, Karyne bet that the Galaxy Nexus (it used to be called the Galaxy Prime) would be unveiled today at CTIA, whereas Emily voted that it won't be released. Guess what? We both were right: Samsung was going to announce the phone at CTIA, but then decided to delay the announcement, citing Steve Jobs' death as the reason for the delay. We're not sure if we believe that's truly the reason.

Also this week, and speaking of Steve Jobs, there are rumors of a Steve Jobs biopic and we wonder who will play him in the movie; for some awful reason, Motorola thought using the Razr name was still a good idea 100 years later; Microsoft is planning on releasing a next-generation console someday; the Internet is abuzz with rumors of a 10-inch Kindle Fire before the holidays; and the dumbest TV show of all time has got to be "Real Housewives of Silicon Valley"...or whatever they end up calling it. … Read more

Motorola, Verizon to debut Droid Razr Oct. 18?

Well, Monday just got a little more exciting around here.

We just received an invitation from Motorola and Verizon Wireless to come "celebrate the next big innovation from Motorola Mobility" at an event on October 18 in New York. The words "Faster. Thinner. Smarter. Stronger" are also emblazoned on the invite, so perhaps we'll finally see that rumored Droid Razr? We received an additional e-mail from Moto with the teaser video below.

The event kicks off at 9 a.m. PT/noon ET and of course, we'll be there to bring you all the … Read more

Moto Droid Razr could offer dual-core processor, LTE support

The hardware specifications for the rumored Droid Razr surfaced over the weekend at This is My Next, painting the image of a slightly evolved Droid Bionic.

The seemingly reliable details include a 4.3-inch display, a dual-core 1.2GHz processor, 1GB RAM, an 8-megapixel camera, and 4G LTE support. Although the processor's manufacturer has not been identified, it's definitely a step up from the Droid Bionic. What's more, the Super AMOLED Plus display certainly is a departure from the PenTile matrix found in other recent Motorola smartphones.

According to This is My Next's source, the handset had a code name of Spyder, but the name "Droid Razr" is referenced in the handet's "About" screen. What's more, the tipster indicates that the phone features an "HD" front-facing camera, though its resolution was not immediately known.

Comparing these new images to one that first surfaced in August, it's highly like that this is the same phone once also known as the Droid HD. Indeed, the other details match up pretty closely with each other so I wouldn't be surprised to learn that this phone has multiple names. … Read more

Motorola could marry the Droid and Razr brands

Ask any cell phone geek to name Motorola's most famous phone over the last 10 years and you're bound to hear either the Droid or Razr.

Both handsets were important in the company's history and each helped to revitalize Motorola in the ensuing years. And this week, new evidence has emerged that suggests that Moto could be combining these two iconic brands into one device.

According to EXIF data found online, the 3-megapixel image seen on the right could be from a device known as the Droid Razr. Considering how easy it is to fake EXIF data, we should consider this strictly rumor for now.

Yet, Pocketnow, which initially discovered this image, surmises that this most likely is legit and that the photo was taken at a lower resolution than it is capable of producing.

The first whispers of an ultrathin Droid first surfaced in May when Pocketnow uncovered some unannounced products being shown on a refreshed Motorola Web site. One particular model shown on the page (see below) was accompanied by the name Motorola Slimline and the caption that "Thin is Still In."

I'd love to hear your take on a proposed Droid Razr; Does this appeal to you at all? What features would you like to see in such a device? … Read more

Moto is back (and that's a good thing)

Though it battled a crowded field, Motorola emerged from CES 2011 as the clear winner in wireless. Its Xoom tablet won CNET's Best of CES award; it introduced the dual-core Droid Bionic and Atrix 4G; and its laptop dock was the most innovative smartphone accessory we've seen in a long time. You had only to visit the company's massive booth on the show floor to feel the buzz that Moto created. I tried stopping by a couple of times, but I could barely get past the crowds straining for a glimpse of the new devices.

Call me a fanboy if you must, but Moto deserved that attention. When you see as many cell phones as I do over the course of a year, only a handful really stand out from the crowd. The remaining models aren't necessarily bad, but they can be so much alike that they just start to blend together. Moto, however, offered features and power in Las Vegas that I hadn't seen before. And that's always a welcome thing for a gadget reviewer.

It's complicated Ever since I started at CNET in 2003, I've regarded the company the way a parent might look upon a bright, hard-working, but sometimes wayward child. Like a long-suffering father, I've beamed with pride as the company succeeded, shook my head in dismay as it grew complacent (remember how long it pushed the Razr?), and tore my hair out in frustration as it made terrible mistakes. And like clockwork, Moto always redeemed itself just as I was about to kick the delinquent kid out of the house. … Read more

COMPUSA.com has the Motorola Razr V3 Unlocked GSM Cell Phone for $69.96, after $10 savings.

Save $10 on the Motorola Razr V3 Unlocked GSM Cell Phone from COMPUSA.com >> Regular price is $79.96 >> Sale price is $69.96 >> Savings $10 (12.51%) >> Offer ends 30/04/10 >> Click here for deal

iPhone calls up No. 1 ranking for mobile metrics

Apple's iPhone jumped to the top spot on the AdMob Network for the month of October, with 4.1 percent of the mobile ads requested from the network, according to the AdMob Mobile Metrics Report released Wednesday.

Requests from advertisers for mobile ads targeted to iPhone users rose to 236 million in October, more than doubling from the 103 million requests recorded in the previous month. Worldwide, AdMob's mobile-ad requests for all device makers grew 13.8 percent in October, to 5.8 billion.

AdMob delivers banner and text ads to mobile devices, and these figures were analyzed … Read more

Buzz Out Loud 849: Who you callin' 'barmaid,' larper?

A friendly member of Buzztown calls up to tell us how he named his Dungeons and Dragons characters after the core Buzz team. It all seems fine and dandy until he gets to Molly. Ahem. Not cool, guy. In actual news today, earbuds can be dangerous to your health (if you use a pacemaker), Circuit City files for Chapter 11, and the iPhone tops the RAZR as the most purchased U.S. consumer handset. Take that, RAZR!

Listen now: Download today's podcast

EPISODE 849

Your earbuds could stop your pacemaker http://www.newsvine.com/_news/2008/11/09/2091277-music-headphones-can-interfere-with-heart-devices… Read more

iPhone 3G outsells BlackBerry, RAZR in Q3

Apple's iPhone 3G, which went on sale in July, displaced Motorola's Razr as the most purchased handset among consumers in Q3, according to data from NPD.

Motorola's Razr, first introduced in 2004, has been the No. 1 ranked handset for 12 straight quarters. According to NPD, the Razr V3 fell to second place behind the iPhone 3G. RIM BlackBerry Curve was third; LG Rumor was fourth; and the LG enV2 came in fifth.

Even though the first iPhone proved popular, it appears that the new version of the phone, which supports 3G network speeds, is even more … Read more