droid

The ho-hum era of smartphones has begun

commentary Smartphones are great. But it's time to lower your expectations, because the smartphone industry has moved from an era of revolutionary improvement to a much more bland era of incremental refinement.

Progress will continue, to be sure: screens will get better, networks will get faster, prices will come down. But these days, it's just a lot harder to come up with a smartphone that makes last year's model look like an outdated relic.

This week, we'll see what Apple has in store for the next-gen iPhone. I have no doubt it will be technically impressive … Read more

Verizon: Motorola Razr brand sticking with just us for a while

Are you not a Verizon Wireless customer but still want the Razr smartphone? Don't hold your breath.

Motorola Mobility won't be taking the Razr to another U.S. carrier any time soon, executives from Motorola and Verizon told CNET.

"It's a relationship that works really well," said Marni Walden, chief operating officer of Verizon Wireless.

Motorola CEO Dennis Woodside:"We have no plans to bring the Razr elsewhere."

The combination of the two brands has resulted in a blockbuster product in the original Droid Razr, and the juiced-up follow-on Droid Razr Maxx. On … Read more

Amazon lights a new Fire under iPad

Thursday's tech news roundup has a glow about it:

Amazon unveiled several new Kindles on Thursday. Here's the quick breakdown with links to the full first-take reviews:

• The new Kindle Fire HD comes in three flavors. There's a 7-inch model with 16 GB of memory for $199, and it ships Sept. 14. Coming out late November is a larger 8.9-inch model with 16GB of memory, selling for $299. If you want double that memory and the option for 4G LTE wireless, that'll cost $499 -- the same as a new iPad. • That 4G LTE wireless … Read more

Verizon Wireless confirms multiple Windows Phones in Q4

Verizon Wireless will be selling multiple Windows Phone 8 devices in the fourth quarter, CNET has learned.

The nation's largest carrier hasn't been the most enthusiastic partner to Microsoft and the Windows Phone platform, but Verizon appears to be more bullish.

"We'll sell multiple Windows Phones in the fourth quarter," Verizon Chief Marketing Officer Tami Erwin told CNET.

The Windows Phone platform, largely championed by Nokia and, to a lesser extent, Samsung Electronics, HTC, and LG, among others, has struggled to find an audience. Consumers instead continue to flock to Android and Apple's iOS, … Read more

Motorola gets new direction, lease on life under Google

Say hello to the new Motorola Mobility.

Motorola, which struggled as a standalone company competing in the cutthroat smartphone business, gets a second chance under Google, a parent with loads of cash and even more patience.

The changes start with Dennis Woodside, an ex-Googler who now runs Motorola. Under Woodside, the company reshuffled and brought on new key managers, shifted resources away from its basic phone business, and focused more on the smartphones it believes resonates with power users.

Today's announcement of not one, but three different Droid Razr smartphones -- Motorola's first as a part of Google … Read more

Motorola announces sleek Droid Razr M from Verizon for $99

Motorola just confirmed plans for its Droid Razr M Android mobile phone. Available from Verizon for $99 with a two-year contract starting September 13, the Razr M will feature a 4.3-inch Super AMOLED screen running nearly the entire width and length of the device for stunning visuals.

Check out our first take of the Droid Razr M

Motorola Droid Razr Maxx HD has both sharp screen and big battery

If you need a smartphone with a huge, lovely screen plus a big battery to match, Motorola says it has your number.

Its new Droid Razr Maxx HD offers a vast 4.7-inch HD Super AMOLED display (1,280x720 pixels), and the same 3,300 mAh battery pack that propelled the first Droid Razr Maxx to new heights in longevity. … Read more

Motorola announces three new Droid Razrs for Verizon

Motorola must believe that good things come in threes. Earlier today, the Google-owned handset-maker pulled the tarp off of not one, but three rumored handsets to extend its flashy Droid Razr family: the Droid Razr HD, the Droid Razr Maxx HD, and the Droid Razr M.

All three of the 4G LTE phones will start with Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich and upgrade to Android 4.1 Jelly Bean by the year's end. They also feature an 8-megapixel camera with 1080p HD recording and playback, and a 1.5GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor. The trio comes with … Read more

Apple user data uncovered by hackers

Tuesday's tech news roundup is cracking the code:

Members of the hacker activist movement AntiSec claim they accessed an FBI agent's laptop and found the unique device identification numbers for 12 million Apple iOS devices. The group posted one million of these ID numbers online. Hackers criticized the data that these UUID numbers can reveal about a user, and called into question what the data could be used for.

These UUIDs are not the same as Apple ID email and passwords used to log into iTunes accounts. Rather, these are unique serial numbers for every Apple device, and … Read more

Motorola's new phone could offer edge-to-edge screen

A few more details trickled out today regarding the new Android smartphone that Motorola is expected to unveil next week.

Citing a person familiar with the handset, Bloomberg reports that it will feature an edge-to-edge display and support 4G LTE networks. The source didn't spill any other details, except that the device will go on sale with Verizon Wireless later this year. … Read more