Details have just emerged about a colorful new laptop from Motorola. The Moto book 60, which leaked online recently, is expected to launch in India in the near future.

Motorola is best known for its smartphones, but the company now seems set to enter the laptop space in India. The Moto book 60 is expected to launch on April 17.

Based on what we know so far, the laptop will be limited the India market.

A report by 91Mobiles shares some details about the laptop. X user MotoFanboy shared several spec details about the Moto book 60 as well:

• 14-inch 2.8K OLED display (500 nits of brightness)
• Intel Core 7 processor
• 1.4 kg (3.08 lbs)
• Dual stereo speakers with Dolby Atmos
• Smart Connect
• 60Wh battery with 65W charging

The Moto book 60 is expected to launch alongside the Moto Pad 60 Pro and the Motorola Edge 60 Stylus.

Based on the leaked images, the Moto book 60 is a thin-and-light laptop designed to work well with the Motorola ecosystem.

Oh so colorful

The Moto book 60 looks like a nice thin-and-light laptop that runs on the latest specs from Intel. But I think the outside of the PC will get quite a bit of attention.

As the tech industry shifts more and more toward laptops that are only available in variations of gray, the Moto book 60 has at least two colorful options.

Many of the best Windows laptops are only available in a few colors. While it is possible to make a striking laptop that is black, white or gray — I'm looking at you 50th Anniversary Surface Laptop — it's always nice to have color options.

The "Wedgewood" and "Bronze Green" colors align with PANTONE counterparts. Normally I prefer when tech companies use basic color names, but I'm on board with Motorola's PANTONE-inspired naming scheme.

My only request is that Motorola pushes things even further. How about a Mocha Mousse version of the Moto book 60 inspired by the 2025 PANTONE color of the year?

When Windows Phone was shut down in 2020, the tech world wept the loss of the mobile platform. In the wake of this tragedy, Lenovo and its phone brand Motorola stepped up to create a spiritual successor to Windows Phone in the form of the ThinkPhone.

This mobile device is packed with all kinds of advanced features that make it one of the best Android phones and a fine companion piece for your Windows PC. And now's the best time to buy one as there is a sale going on the ThinkPhone, reducing the MSRP from $799.99 down to $399.99 at Lenovo US, saving buyers $300! 

Why should you buy Lenovo's ThinkPhone?

While it may not be as popular as Samsung or Apple's products, the Lenovo ThinkPhone should not be overlooked as it is jam-packed with everything a Windows user needs. Even our colleagues over at Android Central gave the Lenovo ThinkPhone a glowing review by stating that it "checks all the right boxes and not only feels like a good value, (and) it's generally an excellent phone for the price."

It is equipped with a 6.6-inch 1080p OLED display with a 144Hz refresh rate, 5,000mAh of battery life, IP68-rated waterproof protection (can only be immersed up to a depth of 1.5m for 30 minutes), and a Gorilla Glass Victus screen to protect it from being scratched. If you need to charge the ThinkPhone, it comes packaged with a compatible 68W wired charger, and it can be recharged through 15W wireless chargers.

The ThinkPhone features a Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 processor, 8GB of RAM, and 256GB of storage space — making this device an ideal tool for working remotely at home with Microsoft 365. However, you may need to rely on OneDrive still in case you need to store extra backup files, as this device does not have microSD slots to expand storage space.

The Lenovo ThinkPhone can run Android 13 the moment you take it out of the box. In addition, the device's co-developer, Motorola, states it will ship with OS updates for the next three years and security updates for four years.

It features a 50MP primary, a 13MP ultrawide camera that can act as a macro lens and a depth sensor in portrait. In addition, it has a 32MP hole-punch camera with autofocus which sits at the front so it can take selfies, and an AI-powered camera app that supports video meeting filters and is capable of recording video footage in 4K or 8K resolutions.

The ThinkPhone has everything a Windows user could ask for

What truly sets this phone apart from others in the market is the magnitude of features it has designed to make a Windows user's life easier in the workplace. This includes being able to drag items immediately from a user's Lenovo PC to a ThinkPhone using a shared clipboard, remote management tools, AI-powered defense software to repel hackers and viruses, and a dedicated incident-response team in place to aid the heads of IT departments.

The ThinkPhone can also seamlessly integrate with Microsoft products and apps, and sync with your Windows PC instead of Microsoft's Phone Link by installing Lenovo ThinkPad and pressing the Red Key. Lastly, the ThinkPhone is equipped with a functioning Walkie-Talkie feature to aid communication during business meetings via Microsoft Teams. It's also worth highlighting that the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1, while not the latest and greatest, far exceeds the type of chip you'd normally find inside a phone at this price. 

As you can imagine, an Android device this powerful and rich with features doesn't come cheap, as its MSRP usually sits at $799.99 at most retailers. However, with this early Christmas deal, you will be able to buy it for $399.99 at Lenovo US and save yourself $300 in the process.

So, if you've been hard-pressed to find one of the best mobile phones, then get on this deal while it lasts as it's one of the best deals you will find this holiday season.

Like us, the loss of Windows Phone probably haunts and taunts many of you every night. While that ship has sailed, Lenovo keeps it alive in spirit with the ThinkPhone reduced to only $399.99 at Lenovo US for a massive $300 from its MSRP.

You probably know Lenovo from its laptops, but not so much for smartphones, but things changed after it acquired Motorola in 2014. The Lenovo ThinkPhone is relatively new, but it's worth the hype if you're looking for one of the best Android phones that compliments your Windows PC.

More great Black Friday deals

• Walmart: Early Black Friday deals on practically everything
• Dell: Top deals on laptops, gaming PCs, accessories, and more
• Alienware: Up to $800 off gaming laptops and desktops
• Best Buy: Big savings on video games, accessories, and more
• HP: Up to 84% of select HP Windows PCs and accessories
• Lenovo: Up to 50% of gaming towers, laptops, and accessories
• Newegg: Save on PC gaming accessories, components, and more
• Razer: Up to 43% off laptops and accessories with free gifts
• More individual deals:
  • The Division 2 Warlords of New York Edition (Xbox) was $59.99 now $18 at Amazon
  • Xbox Series S 512GB + 3-months Xbox Game Pass Ultimate was $299.99 now $239 at Target
  • Xbox Series X + Diablo IV was $634.99 now $449.99 at Target w/ free $75 gift card

What makes ThinkPhone so special?

The Lenovo ThinkPhone has a massive 6.6-inch 1080p OLED display with a 144Hz refresh rate. Notably, it also hits a brightness of 1200 nits when pushed to the maximum. Like most smartphones, it's IP68-rated, meaning you don't have to worry about dust or falling into water (fresh water, at least).

However, it's only waterproof when fully immersed up to a depth of 1.5m and for no longer than 30 minutes, so no scuba diving.

And when life throws sticks and stones, its Gorilla Glass Victus screen protects it from scratches. Lenovo pulled all the stops with this phone when the combined hardware only weighs a surprising 189g. It's also packaged with a wired 68W charger for fast charging and supports 15W wireless charging.

The Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chipset pairs with 8GB of RAM and 256GB storage to get you through a day of remote work with Microsoft 365. Unfortunately, it doesn't have a microSD card slot for expanded storage, so stick to OneDrive for backups. It runs Android 13 out-of-the-box, and Motorola claims it'll ship OS updates for the next three years, with security updates for four years. 

The cameras aren't its strongest suit, as noted by our friends in Android Central's ThinkPhone review, though it can capture decent images in good lighting. It comes with a 50MP primary camera, a 13MP ultrawide camera that serves as a macro lens, and a depth sensor in portrait mode. Finally, a 32MP hole-punch camera with autofocus sits at the front for selfies. An AI-powered camera app supports all your favorite video meeting filters, with support for shooting video in 4K or 8K.

ThinkPhone has everything Windows users need

The ThinkPhone enjoyed a lighter deal earlier this month for $449.99 at Lenovo, but this second chance comes with an even better discount. As an avid iPhone user who's a confessed Windows fan, I'd be lying if I said I'm not highly impressed (and tempted) by the Lenovo ThinkPhone.

While it's easy to dismiss Lenovo since it's not as popular in the market as Apple or Samsung (it was only recently unveiled), it sports many features that make life easier for business-focused Windows users, like dragging items straight from your Lenovo PC to the ThinkPhone with a shared clipboard.

ThinkPhone isn't precisely a flagship smartphone, but it's specifically designed for business users as it ships with remote management tools bundled with AI-powered defenses and a dedicated incident-response team in place to empower IT department heads.

Ultimately, the real kicker is the seamless integration with Microsoft products and services, and it gets even better if you already have a Lenovo ThinkPad since you can use the Red Key to instantly sync your phone to your Windows PC rather than relying on Microsoft's Phone Link.

Finally, the icing on the cake is that the ThinkPhone ships with unique support for Microsoft Teams, fully equipped with the Walkie-Talkie feature to help communication during larger meetings. 

Ultimately, this is a fantastic deal with massive value for money that suits the theme of Black Friday. Don't miss out!

What you need to know

• Microsoft is teaming up with Motorola to bring two neat features to the Lenovo ThinkPhone.
• The features include Microsoft Teams' Walkie Talkie app in Teams and Windows 365 cloud capabilities support via Moto Connect.
• Motorola intends to ship these new capabilities to the handheld device in the coming weeks.

Motorola recently unveiled its $700 handset, the Lenovo ThinkPhone. The entry stands out from most Android competitors in the same range because Motorola had business users in mind while developing the device.

At launch, the handset shipped with a 144Hz refresh rate, impressive performance, and neat security features, all designed to provide a premium user experience. And now, Motorola is teaming up with Microsoft to ship two key features to the device.

First up is fully integrated support for Windows 365 cloud capabilities on the device designed to allow users to access their PC while on the go. For those not conversant with Windows 365, it's a streaming service that allows users subscribed to a Windows PC hosted in the cloud to access it from any device. The service is already available for commercial users across Windows 11 and Windows 10.

"ThinkPhone users can take advantage of the Windows 365 integration and stream the Windows experience directly from their ThinkPhone to a larger display by simply connecting it with a USB-C cable, and a Bluetooth® keyboard and mouse." Motorola indicated.

As such, IT admins can leverage this feature to cut costs since employees will now require the Lenovo ThinkPhone, a Windows 365 license, and a monitor to complete their office setup.

Microsoft's push-to-talk integration through the Walkie Talkie app in Teams is also making its way to the Lenovo ThinkPhone. The Red Key button on the device will now be used for "instant push-to-talk (PTT) communication capabilities." Before, it was a dedicated button that allowed users to link their handset to a ThinkPad via the Think 2 Think service.

Motorola has indicated that the features will ship to the Lenovo ThinkPhone in the coming weeks.

Could the Lenovo ThinkPhone be the next best thing?

It's apparent that the market desperately needs a handheld device that ships with all the Windows Phone and Surface Duo promises. And while the entry stacks miles behind both entries as far as its capabilities and offerings are concerned. It's interesting to see Motorola develop a keen interest in making a business-centric device.

With these productivity features shipping to the Lenovo ThinkPhone, the entry is even more attractive to technical users in this fast-paced world. It's unclear what Motorola's plans are for the future as far as handheld devices are concerned, but it's great to see the company keen to bring a wholesome experience to users.

At its full price of $499.99, the Moto Z4 leaves a bit to be desired. Luckily, Verizon customers can snag one for only $10 monthly with a 24-month payment plan and new line of service, saving you over half the regular cost of this smartphone in the process. You can also choose to buy this phone outright and still save on it, though you'd receive a monthly savings of around $11 off your bill for the next 24 months rather than purchasing it at a discounted rate.

Featuring a 48MP rear camera with Night Vision, along with a 25MP front-facing camera that does great work for selfies, the Moto Z4 is a perfect budget option if you're lucky enough to grab one during this offer. It has exceptional battery life with the ability to last for up to two days on a single charge, and it powers up quickly too with TurboPower charging. Its 6.4-inch OLED display even has an on-screen fingerprint reader to let you and only you unlock the phone with a single touch.

For everything else you need to know about the Moto Z4 before buying, head over to our Moto Z4 guide.

Microsoft has scored a victory against Google in the courts. Redmond won an appeals court ruling that could lower the rates numerous electronics makers pay to license technology for smartphones and personal computers. The appeals court in San Francisco upheld a $14.5 million jury verdict against Google for unfairly demanding excess amounts from Microsoft for patents covering Wi-Fi and video downloads.

It's a victory that will surely provide Apple, Intel and other companies the incentive to get stuck in and campaign to lower the amount of funds required to utilize essential technology in products. Charles Duan, a lawyer from consumer group Public Knowledge, which backed Microsoft, commented on the ruling:

The patents battlefield has become one of much discussion on the world stage, with multiple courts deciding whether there are grounds to uphold different rules for patents covering technologies related to developments that are unique to a specific product.

This particular case stems from a battle between Motorola and Microsoft over the Xbox console. The former demanded a cut of sales for using its Wi-Fi and video download patents. Redmond claimed this to be an astonishing amount and refused to negotiate. The company was forced to relocate a German-based facility to avoid an import ban.

The courts this week upheld a ruling against Google (and Motorola) for acting unfairly when it came to patent licensing. Microsoft will also be entitled to compensation for having to relocate its German facility to the Netherlands, as well as covering legal costs.

Source: Mercury News

It could be argued that music is an international language for human expression; happiness, love, anger, joy, envy, fear – it can all be expressed through the wonderful world of music. The Windows Phone that you carry around in your pocket is the gateway to that music, whether you use Xbox Music, Spotify, Rdio, or Beats Music.

Today, we are going to look at a pair of wireless Bluetooth headphones by SOL REPUBLIC, whose controls actually play well with the Windows Phone OS.

Background

Founded in 2011, SOL REPUBLIC set out to “enhance people’s lives through better-sounding headphones and accessories”. The company itself was funded by Kevin Lee, Scott Hix and Seth Combs; if the first name sounds familiar, that is because Kevin Lee is the son of Noel Lee , the founder and CEO of Monster Cable. For those of you who have a distaste for Monster Inc. (the company, not the Pixar film), I urge you not to associate a connection between Kevin Lee and his father.

Before releasing the SOL REPUBLIC Tracks Air headphones, the company released a number of other on-ear headphones including the Tracks, Tracks HD, and Tracks Ultra. SOL REPUBLIC is famous for their customizable headphones with which you can replace the band, cable, and even “sound engines” to create a unique masterpiece.

The Tracks Air is a collaboration between Motorola and SOL REPUBLIC themselves. The audio brand teamed up with Motorola in collaboration to create two Bluetooth based products – the Tracks AIR (wireless headphones) and the DECK (wireless speaker).

Design

Upon taking the SOL REPUBLIC Tracks Air out of the box, you immediately notice something different from other SOL REPUBLIC headphones. While, the box still includes a headphone band, “sound engines”, and optional wired cable – everything has been tweaked a bit.

The SOL REPUBLIC Tracks Air band is noticeably more rigid than other Tracks bands as it includes a metal band running throughout; this metal band helps the right earphone communicate with the left earphone. While we are sure the band is durable, we feel less confident in torture testing it the way SOL REPUBLIC does with their standard bands.

The “sound engines” or earpieces are where the big differences can be noticed. The right engine has the Bluetooth receiver, battery, and audio chip within it. The outside of the right engine has a selection of buttons and ports that can be used to manage the device.

Buttons on the right engine include a rubbery play/pause button that can also be used to rewind, fast forward, and answer calls. A silver plastic rocker switch also sits on the edge of the engine and acts as a control set for volume. Lastly, a rubberized power button with LED lights is present and notifies the user of various states through colors.

Ports on the right engine include a microUSB charging port and a plug for the right channel wired cable. The left engine is almost completely bare and simply houses the left channel wired cable port. Lastly, a microphone is embedded into the right engine just in case you need to take that important call and do not want to remove the headphones to switch to your smartphone.

The included headphone cable has been sitting in its plastic wrap since I received it with my purchase and has been unused as I am enjoying the Bluetooth ability so much. For those unfamiliar with SOL REPUBLIC headphone cables, they are quite thin, but do include a clicky pad for control volume and your music playback. The cable is a “Y design” with one wire going into your 3.5mm headphone jack and two wires – one going into each sound engine.

The overall design is the headphones are quite nice and the unit can be purchased in four colors – blue, red, white, and black. With three out of the four selections, only the color of the headband changes while the sound engines stay black. The white pair is the only pair to include not only a white headband, but also white sound engines.

Functionality

The engines slid onto the headphone band nicely and have a much more firm fit than any Tracks headphones of the past – this is so the metal contacts within the sound engine can have constant contact with the metal band within the headband itself.

The headphones were quite comfortable throughout my use, but some users do complain that the pressure on their heads from the headband is a bit too much. To remedy this, we suggest flexing the headband a bit for an extended period – this should reduce the pressure on your head.

When you are ready to get started with the Tracks Air, you can either pair them as normal or use the NFC tag built into the right engine to tap and pair your device instantly. We had no trouble using this feature on the Windows Phone we were testing with at the time.

The SOL REPUBLIC Tracks Air are advertised to last up to 15 hours of continuous playtime with a full charge. While we did not run a timed run-down rest of the headphones, I feel that I can say this number is accurate as I went for an extremely long period before being warned to recharge.

In terms of Bluetooth connectivity – we were extremely satisfied. Audiophiles note that they can notice the compression of a Bluetooth stream, but we seriously doubt that the regular person will even waste a breath. We were able to get quite a distance between our headphones and the device we were using – SOL REPUBLIC claims the headphones have a range of up to 150 feet.

Bluetooth controls were also great and due to the standardized media communications, all controls on the headphones worked perfectly with the Nokia Lumia we were using. We could easily play/pause, rewind, fast forward, and answer/end calls with a few taps. The wired cable is another story though and will only be able to play/pause your music without volume control.

When we talk about headphones, the most important thing to mention is, of course, the audio quality that the unit produces. We are going to say outright that the “audiophile” will not enjoy these headphones as they have a tendency to overpower bass and drain out the highs (and some of the mids).

We feel that these headphones are perfect for the EDM (Electronic Dance Music) fan on the go. The bass is not tight and punchy, but is instead reminiscent of music that you would hear in a club. Fans of tight bass and clear highs, will find themselves disappointed by the output of these “cans” (audiophile slang for headphones).

I have personally always referred to SOL REPUBLIC headphones as Beats by Dre headphones done correctly. SOL REPUBLIC caters to lovers of high-bass modern music and does so at a great price. If you compare the cheaper $129 Tracks HD to Beats by Dre’s Solo HD headphones – the Tracks HD simply blow the Solo HD headphones out of the water in terms of quality, sound, and value.

Conclusion

Overall, the SOL REPUBLIC Tracks Air are great headphones for the bass lover on the go. I have always used wired headphones in the past and the freedom granted by wireless headphones is well worth the $199 USD price tag.

If you like the headphones, but want to save some money by going wired, you can pick the Tracks for $99 or the Tracks HD for $129. The sound from the Tracks Air is said to be comparable between one of these two units, so essentially you are paying $70-100 more for the wireless Bluetooth functionality.

Like all products, we recommend that you stop by a local consumer electronics store such as Best Buy to try them out first as our opinions may differ. To purchase the headphones, you can check out the official SOL REPUBLIC website by clicking here.

Enjoy your music and let us know if you have ever used SOL REPUBLIC headphones – what do you think?

In case you still didn’t agree that Windows Phone is the third ecosystem in the smartphone industry, the latest validation comes from comScore’s report of the U.S. smartphone subscriber market share ending January 2014.

While Blackberry's market share is on the decline, Microsoft held steady and found themselves holding the third spot in the latest survey behind Android and Apple.

According to the report, Microsoft’s platform share (which might include a tiny bit of Windows Mobile maybe), surpassed BlackBerry in the last quarter of 2013. While Microsoft’s share at 3.2% remained steady, BlackBerry lost 0.5% share along with Android in favor of Apple which gained a 1% share. Although, it is a small fluctuation, but Windows Phone’s slow, but consistent, growth and BlackBerry’s spiral decline would expectedly widen the gap in 2014.

What is disappointing for Windows Phone fans is that Nokia is missing in the honors list of smartphone OEM market share that is led by Apple, and followed by Samsung, LG, Motorola, and HTC.

Source: comScore; Thanks Southgarden116 for the tip!

In a surprise move today, Google announced the sale of Motorola Mobility to Lenovo for $2.91 billion dollars. On the face of it, that looks like financial loss from the original $12.5 billion purchase price by Google in 2012. However, keep in mind that price for just the hardware division, as Google will retain "the vast majority" of the Motorola patent portfolio (licensing them to Lenovo).

In many ways, it’s a brilliant move. Google is better served by the patent protection, but they probably couldn’t just buy them from Motorola in 2012. Instead, they had to purchase the whole package (hardware plus patents) and get into the awkward device manufacturing game. With today’s deal, they successfully spun off the hardware but retain those patents, which is really what they wanted in the first place.

There’s another reason why this may have happened: Samsung. Grab your conspiracy hats and read on why the sale of Motorola Mobility may be a big threat to Microsoft and Apple going forward.

Google and Samsung woes

Android has surpassed Apple for smartphone market share—that is well known. Samsung sells the huge majority of those devices through their Galaxy line, upwards of 83%. That’s a similar situation to Nokia, who have 90% of the Windows Phone market. Believe it or not this is both good and bad. It’s good, because Samsung knows how to sell phones and innovate—they’re a strong collaborator. It’s bad because having one manufacturer dominate Android hardware gives them too much control.

Microsoft knew this, which is why they basically had to buy Nokia.

It’s no secret that Google and Samsung are co-dependent. Perhaps less known by consumers is how much of a threat Google views Samsung. Maybe it’s just me, but I find it very weird that Samsung held their own Android developer conference and that they have upwards of 1200 of their own APIs for Android. It’d be like Nokia pushing Microsoft out of the way saying “we got this” when it comes to core OS development. Helping is one thing. Redirecting development is another.

Ars Technica had an excellent article on this, detailing how Google is putting more and more of their core apps into Google Play (as opposed to leaving them open source). As a result, when an OEM makes an Android phone with Google, they have to pick up all of Google’s apps, which they are upwards of 70 of these days. Think Voice, Music, Maps, Calendar, even Messaging, the Camera and keyboard are all under Google’s control. In other words, Google is making Android more and more closed source. They’re doing that so any competitor would have to re-create a large chunk of the OS themselves, making it too costly to do, ergo threat avoided.

As a result, Android devices are becoming very Google-branded these days. Many in the industry believe this is to protect Google from Samsung, who are basically making Android their OS. Combine that with Samsung’s continued insistence on developing Tizen (their own proprietary operating system), and Google has a partner who dominates their Android, but may not stick around for the long term.

The last straw

At CES, Samsung made even more waves with their new Magazine UX. The new design looks a lot like Microsoft’s Live Tile system with flatter graphics and some 'inspiration' from Flipboard. According to a fascinating article on Re/code, Google execs were “dismayed by what they saw”. The reason? Samsung went too far in diverging from Google’s idea of what Android should look like. Citing un-named sources, Re/code states:

That’s pretty fascinating, as it signals a much closer alliance between Google and Samsung, notably that Samsung would back-off of the Magazine UX and even tone down their media offerings, instead bolstering Google’s Play Store and vast media library.

But one thing caught my attention and during today’s podcast, I put the two together (head to the 1h 23 min mark). Re/code said this about the new friendship between Google and Samsung:

On the very same day that report comes out, Google announces the sale of Motorola Mobility. It seems oddly coincidental. It’s well known that Samsung didn’t appreciate Google buying their own hardware division and on the surface, it looks like Samsung said to Google: ‘You want to play nice, sell off Motorola Mobility’. (One also wonders if Samsung will back off of Tizen).

With Motorola Mobility off of the table, Google retaining the patents and a closer relationship with Samsung in tow, the Mountain View juggernaut may have formed an unstoppable force. Samsung is on a leash, Google has patent protection and Microsoft and Apple have a serious threat on their hands.

This isn’t Android Central, so any time we write about Motorola they seem to be duking it out with Microsoft. It looks like we’ll be hearing less of them going forward. Mostly because Microsoft just won the second of two trials against Motorola. Details after the break.

So what did the jury in a federal court in Seattle decide? They decided that Motorola broke agreements to license certain patents at fair and reasonable rates with standard-setting bodies. For doing that, the jury awarded Microsoft $14 million dollars in damages. However, this is only half of what Microsoft wanted from Motorola. That 14 million number represents $11 million Microsoft spent building a factory in Germany to get around an import ban on Xbox 360’s and $3 million in legal fees (should have been a lawyer).

Motorola is expected to appeal this decision. Even though Google bought Motorola after these court battles with Microsoft started, many see this as a proxy fight between Google and Microsoft. Many people also suspect that Google bought Motorola for valuable patents. Not exactly working out how they hoped.

Source: Reuters

Microsoft has accused US Customs officials of refusing to adhere to the ITC's (International Trade Commission) order to block import mobile phones manufactured by Motorola, owned by Google. The ITC issued the import ban back in May 2012 after it was concluded that Motorola hardware infringed a Microsoft patent for synchronising calendar events with other computers.

Redmond complains that US Customs and Border Protection have had secret meetings with the search giant, continuing to allow Motorola mobile phones to enter the country even though Google hasn't addressed the original patent filing. Microsoft's deputy general counsel David Howard said in a statement, "Customs has a clear responsibility to carry out ITC decisions, which are reached after a full trial and rigorous legal review. Here Customs repeatedly ignored its obligation and did so based on secret discussions."

Google states that US Customs appropriately rejected Microsoft's patent claims to block Americans effectively utilising calendar functionality on mobile phones. That said, Microsoft's patent expires in April 2018. An appeal in the case is scheduled to be heard on August 6th in Washington. The ITC's role is to protect US markets from unfair competition, including the infringement of patents, but we've seen in the past how this is essentially a battleground between mobile phone manufacturers and software vendors. Google and Microsoft, along with Apple have been battling one another repeatedly.

Robert Stoll of Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP in Washington, notes that "They want to focus their efforts on terrorism, and the issues related to intellectual property is not their concern." It'll be interesting to see how this develops, if anything is to come out of the situation. We've previously looked at the Google and Microsoft lifestyle - a match made in heaven, but we're sure consumers are growing tired of reading about the same brands locking in arms. One thing's for certain: this isn't over.

Source: Bloomberg; thanks, pbroy, for the heads up!

I know what you're thinking, "Oh, not more patents!" Believe me, we wish we could simply forget about the business altogether and focus on technology and innovation, but we're talking about multiple corporations here. Microsoft is battling it out against Google and are currently in a strong position. This has been reinforced with ZTE becoming the 20th company to have taken a royalty-bearing Android license. 

Today the Munich Higher Regional Court rejected Google's (Motorola) appeal against Microsoft's injunction against Motorola, which was granted back in 2012. The patent in question is EP1304891 on "communicating multi-part messages between cellular devices using a standardized interface." The lower court's ruling has now been affirmed by the appeals court and so the injunction remains in place for the foreseeable future.

This victory yet again deals a blow to Google and Microsoft appears to continue coming out on top for now. Android handset makers will not be looking to avoid paying Microsoft licensing fees, should they be required to do so, especially with the level of enforcement success the company has experienced thus far. Not really much to see here for the time being, folks.

Developing, as usual...

Source: FOSS Patents

Motorola/Google lost a bit of ground in their patent litigation against Microsoft when the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington invalidated or dismissed thirteen of Motorola's patent infringement claims. The litigation claims that Microsoft infringed on sixteen of Motorola's patents with the Windows Phone and Xbox 360 systems.

Judge James L. Robart granted Microsoft's motion for summary judgment and that the claims were invalid as indefinite under U.S. patent law.

The ruling doesn't end the dispute between Microsoft and Motorola/Google. However, the remaining claims could be ruled invalid under the application of the law. There's no time frame on when the Court will rule on the additional patent claims. The motion ruled on today was filed ten months ago and hopefully, the remaining claims will be ruled on sooner than later to put an end to this patent war.

You can find the full brief on Judge Robart's ruling here.

Source: ZDNet

Although news on or about Windows Phone may be slow coming out today there’s still plenty going on in the tech world that’s tied to Microsoft with some residual effects for our favorite mobile OS. Instead of spamming our own site with tangential news, we figured we would just summarize in a digest. Cool?

Today’s new stories that we've found interesting are the following—

• Motorola import ban for violating Microsoft’s patent goes into effect tomorrow
• Office 2013 has an app store + hidden Metro site
• Forbes Online says Nokia stock is worth holding on to

So head past the break to catch up on some of these interesting stories making the rounds today...

No more Motorola devices in the US starting tomorrow?

With everyone suing everyone these days over patent infringements it’s hard to keep track of what’s going on and where things stand.  Microsoft and Motorola have a few cases going back and forth—the former is claiming infringement by Motorola over Exchange ActiveSync technology (“the generation of meeting requests and group scheduling from a mobile device”), the latter is charging Microsoft over the Xbox 360 and media streaming.

That first case though, dealing with Exchange ActiveSync, was ruled on two months ago by the US International Trade Commission with Motorola being found in violation of Microsoft’s patent on the syncing technology (Motorola was found not-guilty on either other counts). In short, Moto used to pay Microsoft for the license and then they stopped. We guess they were curious as to what would happen. Well, they were brought to court and they lost.

Result? If they don’t strike a deal with Microsoft they can’t sell their wares in the United States starting on July 18^th. That looks like it may go into effect although Motorola swears they have a plan in place which either involves ignoring the order, removing the sync feature in question, patching the OS to get around the technology which they don’t own a license too or just licensing it from Microsoft.

Motorola is mum on the details so it will be real interesting to see what happens. Devices impacted are of course Moto’s Android smartphones and tablets specifically the Motorola Atrix, Backflip, Bravo, Charm, Cliq, Cliq 2, Cliq XT, Defy, Devour, Droid 2, Droid 2 Global, Droid Pro, Droid X, Droid X2, Flipout, Flipside, Spice, and Xoom.

And we all know who now owns Motorola—Google. Although this spat was started before the Google-Moto acquisition we can see how this has probably turned into a bit of a proxy war between the two companies.  It should be interesting to see how this unfolds tomorrow. via Ars Technica

Office 2013 will have apps!

One of our readers, Yehia H., sent us a link with a new more Metro looking Office 2013 site which looks intended for its official launch this fall. Of course the preview (and other site) went live yesterday allowing users to take Office 2013 for a test drive (We’re using it right now. Love it.).

When you dig through the site though you can find the Marketplace for Office 2013 which evidently will allow you to plug in apps. Those apps look mostly tied to Outlook but they look hella cool like LinkedIn, Twitter, Merriam-Webster Dictionary and more odd things like Hertz car rental.

We’ve never thought about plugging in apps to our Office system but now that we think about this is a brilliant idea and fits in with the “app model” that Apple started with the iPhone. That model overtook smartphones (Google and Microsoft now have an app Marketplace) and Microsoft will have it for Windows 8 desktop—why not extend that to Office too?

You can see that site here: https://products.office.com/en-us/home?legRedir=default&CorrelationId=a5458fef-6449-4744-a823-a093ae5ef7ad&rtc=1

Forbes Online – Nokia stock worth holding on to

We’ve talked a lot lately about Nokia’s stock price—it has been disastrously low for the last few weeks and today is no better (currently holding steady at $1.73 a share). Nokia is expected to announce their earnings call very soon and no one expects the news to be good which is why you’re seeing the stock preemptively drop in preparation.

Most of our audience are die-hard fans though of the major Microsoft partner so we see the value of either holding on to stock or maybe even buying it now. Sure, Nokia will have a rough few months but long-term looks bright. If Windows Phone takes off, it Nokia who will lead the path for devices and that’s good news.

Forbes Online makes a good argument for this too noting that at $2 a share you could lose money but the long-term potential is huge as they predict stock could go over $10 and even hit $20 in a few years. If Nokia goes under, you’ll lose that money but as we’ve said before…Nokia can only go up.

We don’t own any stock ourselves nor are we well versed in giving advice but even we see this as a tempting deal. Microsoft won’t let Nokia be acquired by anyone else nor will they allow the company to just go under (that sends a bad message) so from our armchair perspective, we like what we see.

And that’s your Microsoft news roundup for the day…sound off in comments!

Motorola has been granted an injunction on Microsoft products being sold in Germany. The Xbox 360, Windows OS, Internet Explorer and Windows Media Player will all fall under the ban, should it be put into place. The injunction follows a ruling claiming the software giant had infringed two Motorola patents required to support H.264 video coding and playback.

An official statement from Motorola reads the following:

According to reports, this is just one of several cases involving around 50 properties owned by the smartphone manufacturer. Microsoft has stated that should the software giant meet the demands of Motorola an annual bill would be in the region of $4bn (£2.5bn). The manufacturer has denied this claim.

A statement from Microsoft has been published, which highlights how the company will look to appeal the decision.

Motorola cannot enforce the ruling made by the German courts until a Seattle-based judge lifts a restraining order. This restriction was put in place by Microsoft after it claimed Motorola was actively abusing its Frand-committments (pact to license innovations required for widely used technologies under "fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory" terms). A hearing is to be held on May 7th.

Source: BBC

Amongst all the recent patent litigation, Microsoft filed a complaint with the International Trade Commission claiming that Motorola violated six of their smartphone patents. An Administrative Judge has ruled in favor of Microsoft in one of these complaints and dismissed the other five. Both sides have proclaimed victory.

The patent in question deals with generating meeting requests and group scheduling from a mobile device and involves the Motorola Droid 2, Droid X, Cliq XT, Devour and Backflip. The ruling could be seen as a victory for either side.  Motorola skated on the majority of the claims but won't get off scot free.  Motorola faces importation bans and will either have to develop/tweak the technology to avoid the infringement or pay licensing fees to Microsoft.  Still, Motorola is seeing the glass half full.  Motorola's Senior VP and General Counsel stated,

In a similar statement from Microsoft's Deputy General Counsel David Howard, Microsoft claims victory in winning one of six complaints by stating,

So what does all this mean? The Administrative Judge's ruling is the first step in resolving things. The ruling will now go to the full ITC Commission, who will likely support it, and an appropriate action will be determined that may include a ban on importing the devices in question. The ITC's final ruling is then subject to a sixty day review by President Obama.

The ITC final ruling is expected by April 20, 2012. 

source: tgdaily, allthingsd

While the long term impact of Google's acquisition of Motorola (Googarola?) is still anyone's guess, one short term effect appears be to Microsoft and Nokia's benefit. Microsoft's stock rose 1.63% (up .41 points) and Nokia's stock rose 17.35% (up .93 points) in today's trading activity.

In comparison, Google's stock fell 1.16% (6.54 points) while Motorola Mobility's stock made the biggest jump at 55.78% (up 13.65 points).  We're pretty sure the jump with Motorola was due to the 63% premium Google paid for them but it is a little surprising to see Google sag. In addition, it's now been disclosed that Google has agreed to pay Motorola Mobility $2.5 billion if the deal doesn't go through, a figure that is six times the average according to Bloomberg.

Granted none of this could have a thing to do with the $12.5 Billion deal and the stock market these days may not be the best litmus test.  As crazy as Wall Street has been lately, tomorrow we may see completely opposite results. 

Still, it's nice to see Microsoft and Nokia stocks doing well.

Just as we were lamenting Motorola Mobility's position on using Windows Phone (and their stock situation), Google comes out of nowhere and buys them up out for $12.5 billion. From the press release they mention how they want to "...supercharge the Android ecosystem and will enhance competition in mobile computing. Motorola Mobility will remain a licensee of Android and Android will remain open."

Although Motorola is a dedicated manufacturer of Android devices, they also happen to have something that Google really wants--namely a large patent portfolio. Remember, Moto for all intents and purposes invented the cell phone back in the day resulting in a large arsenal of patents that Google can finally wield in defense of Android (seeing as that OS is evidently build on stolen IP). That's something that they will have to do a lot of as Microsoft is currently suing Motorola Mobility over patent infringement, meaning now they are suing Google over the same issue. That court case should get interesting, to say the least.

Google's Andy Rubin states that they remain committed to still working with other partners, although this obviously puts HTC in an odd position--they're not Microsoft's exclusive partner anymore and neither are they Google's. Various OEM partners have publicly come out in support of the deal, notably LG, Samsung, Sony-Ericsson even HTC paying lip-service with the same paraphrase of "We welcome Google‘s commitment to defending Android and its partners.” although you wonder what they have to be saying privately about the deal.

The big question is what does this actually mean? Too early to tell though clearly Google is stepping up things against Apple and to a lesser extent Microsoft. Apple already has the hardware thing down and Microsoft now has Nokia in their corner. As to our thoughts? We'll gladly take our Nokia deal over Motorola any day.

Full press release after the break.

Source: Official Google Blog; via AndroidCentral 1, 2

Google to Acquire Motorola Mobility

Combination will Supercharge Android, Enhance Competition, and Offer Wonderful User Experiences

MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA and LIBERTYVILLE, IL – AUGUST 15, 2011 – Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) and Motorola Mobility Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: MMI) today announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement under which Google will acquire Motorola Mobility for $40.00 per share in cash, or a total of about $12.5 billion, a premium of 63% to the closing price of Motorola Mobility shares on Friday, August 12, 2011. The transaction was unanimously approved by the boards of directors of both companies.

The acquisition of Motorola Mobility, a dedicated Android partner, will enable Google to supercharge the Android ecosystem and will enhance competition in mobile computing. Motorola Mobility will remain a licensee of Android and Android will remain open. Google will run Motorola Mobility as a separate business.

Larry Page, CEO of Google, said, “Motorola Mobility’s total commitment to Android has created a natural fit for our two companies. Together, we will create amazing user experiences that supercharge the entire Android ecosystem for the benefit of consumers, partners and developers. I look forward to welcoming Motorolans to our family of Googlers.”

Sanjay Jha, CEO of Motorola Mobility, said, “This transaction offers significant value for Motorola Mobility’s stockholders and provides compelling new opportunities for our employees, customers, and partners around the world. We have shared a productive partnership with Google to advance the Android platform, and now through this combination we will be able to do even more to innovate and deliver outstanding mobility solutions across our mobile devices and home businesses.”

Andy Rubin, Senior Vice President of Mobile at Google, said, “We expect that this combination will enable us to break new ground for the Android ecosystem. However, our vision for Android is unchanged and Google remains firmly committed to Android as an open platform and a vibrant open source community. We will continue to work with all of our valued Android partners to develop and distribute innovative Android-powered devices.”

The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including the receipt of regulatory approvals in the US, the European Union and other jurisdictions, and the approval of Motorola Mobility’s stockholders. The transaction is expected to close by the end of 2011 or early 2012.

Webcast Information

Google and Motorola Mobility will hold a conference call with financial analysts to discuss this announcement today at 8:30am ET. The toll-free dial-in number for the call is 877-616-4476 (conference ID: 92149124). The call will also be webcast live athttp://investor.shareholder.com/media/eventdetail.cfm?eventid=101369&CompanyID=ABEA-3VZHGF&e=1&mediaKey=A21887C59EBAAC12F1BCF4D43C080953. The webcast version of the conference call will be available through the same link following the conference call.

About Google Inc.

Google's innovative search technologies connect millions of people around the world with information every day. Founded in 1998 by Stanford Ph.D. students Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Google today is a top web property in all major global markets. Google's targeted advertising program provides businesses of all sizes with measurable results, while enhancing the overall web experience for users. Google is headquartered in Silicon Valley with offices throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia. For more information, visit www.google.com.

About Motorola Mobility

Motorola Mobility Holdings, Inc. fuses innovative technology with human insights to create experiences that simplify, connect and enrich people's lives. Our portfolio includes converged mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets; wireless accessories; end-to-end video and data delivery; and management solutions, including set-tops and data-access devices. For more information, visit motorola.com/mobility.

Way back in June, we told you that Microsoft was developing a new OS designed specifically for enterprise hardware, like pricing and inventory scanners, like the Motorola/Sprint ES400S.  Yesterday, MS made it officially available for use.  As the name implies, Windows Embedded Handheld 6.5 is built on the Windows Mobile 6.5 platform and "can take advantage of multiple screen sizes and input methods, peripherals to extend device capabilities and multiple connectivity options."  It is already set to be used on products by Motorola, Intermec and Honeywell.

MS started with version 6.5 to give its customers a clear upgrade path from the current software, to Windows Embedded Handheld 6.5, to a newer version of the OS that will be based on Windows Phone 7.  While official support for version 6.5 will last up into 2014, the newer WP7-based OS is due out in the second half of 2011, according to the big guy himself, Steve Ballmer.

Source: Microsoft

Bluetooth headphones come in a variety of shapes and sizes. I’ve had the opportunity to review several different models in the past, and they all have different strengths. My Samsung SBH600 headphones are perfect for listening to music or watching a movie for a long period of time while the Motorola S305’s are my personal favorite in terms of comfort and portability. When it comes to using Bluetooth headphones for exercising, Motorola’s S10-HD sets the bar.

Design

Like the Motorola S9 and S9-HD before it, the S10-HD is created from the ground up to be worn while active; specifically while exercising. The headphones are designed to be sweat-proof, with rubberized surfaces and buttons. The earpieces are also lined with a rubberized material to prevent slippage and increase comfort.

The buttons that control music playback and calling features run up the side of each earpiece; the lone exception being the power button, which is on the rear of the headphones. The playback control buttons are somewhat difficult to interact with due to the rubber layer over the top. An LED indicator is also located next to the power button, and is protected under the rubber layer as well. The headphones are designed to go over the ear and behind the head, with the back of the headphones “floating” over the back of your neck.

Sound Quality

The S10-HD comes with four separate ear gels that are not only different sizes, but different shapes. The result is that you should be able to find a solution that fits your ear effectively, which is an important factor for in-ear headphones. The S10-HD puts out plenty of volume, which is a must for many exercise scenarios; though the sound range isn’t as broad as I’d like, it is good enough to meet the needs of most people.

Conclusion

The Motorola S10-HD is specifically designed to be used while exercising and being active. The sound quality isn’t the best that I’ve ever heard, nor are they the most comfortable headphones on the market; but in terms of meeting the needs of someone with an active lifestyle, the S10-HD is a great choice. The S10-HD is running $79.99 and can be found at retailers such as Best Buy.

Noise cancellation in Bluetooth headsets is something that manufacturers have thrown all kinds of technology and techniques at, with mixed results. For high end headsets like the Jawbone Icon or the Plantronics Voyager Pro, noise cancellation is a top priority.

Motorola is one of those electronics companies that seem to have their fingers in every aspect of the industry. I’ve reviewed several of Motorola’s Bluetooth offerings in the past, and have met with generally favorable results. The Motorola Finiti is the follow-on to the HX1 Endeavor, which uses bone conduction technology to achieve the highest possible sound quality.

The full review follows the break.

Comfort/Usability

As with its predecessor, the HX1 Endeavor, the Finiti relies on bone conduction within the ear to provide high quality noise cancellation. The down side of this technique is that the Finiti is designed primarily for performance, not comfort. The earpiece fits down inside the ear farther than most headsets, and applies pressure in such a way that it can cause discomfort with extended use.

From a usability standpoint, the Finiti provides voice prompts for easy setup. The Finiti also allows you to respond to incoming phone calls by simply saying “answer” or “ignore”. I will say that I’m not particularly thrilled with the design of the Finiti’s buttons. Volume controls are placed along the top edge of the headset and the call button is on the back edge, with the charge port in the center of the call button (which is somewhat awkward).

Sound Quality

Motorola went all out to make the Finiti’s sound quality competitive with the best headsets on the market. CrystalTalk, three separate microphones, and bone conduction each contribute toward noise cancellation. Stealth mode can be activated at the touch of a button; converting the vibrations inside your ear to sound, allowing the Finiti to be used in extreme wind, where traditional noise cancellation techniques would be completely worthless.

Another upgrade of the Finiti over the HX1 Endeavor is support for A2DP, or Bluetooth stereo audio. Though you’re not going to get the full audio experience from a single earpiece as you would a pair of headphones, there are a few scenarios where A2DP in a single headset is handy.

Conclusion

Motorola has made great strides in the Bluetooth headset market. The Finiti is in the top two or three headsets that I’ve tested when it comes to noise cancellation and sound quality. If high-end noise cancellation is a requirement for you, the Finiti should be on your short list.

The Motorola Finiti can be purchased from a number of sources, including AT&T ($97.99) and Motorola directly ($97.49 with a 25% discount).

Two areas that really separate high end headsets from the pretenders are comfort and noise cancellation. If you think of some of the contenders in this market segment (Jawbone, Plantronics Voyager Pro, Motorola HX1) pretty much all of them are designed from the ground up to be comfortable, while noise cancellation is analogous to the engine on a shiny new sports car; you don’t see it at first glance, but that’s really the core of the product.

One of the latest Bluetooth Headsets to enter the ring is Motorola’s recently announced Oasis headset. The physical design of the Oasis is fairly close to the Voyager Pro, which is one of my all time favorite headsets. The full review is after the break.

Design

Motorola deserves some awards for the design that went into the Oasis headset. Nothing about this headset feels flimsy or cheap. Even when the boom microphone is folded away it fits into a small groove at the base of the headset and is held in place by a magnet, while this may sound like a small thing it keeps the headset in a shape that prevents it from breaking when you have it in your headset. When extended, the boom microphone and the earpiece rotate 180 degrees (not 360, though the Oasis is still perfectly usable with both ears).

The controls on the Oasis are physically located in a number of different places. The most commonly used button, the Call/End Call button is located on the boom mic itself, pressing it is as simple as squeezing the boom. Volume controls and a mute button are along the back of the device (just above the microUSB connector), with the power switch located at the top.

Comfort

The Oasis is a TrueComfort™ headset, meaning it is built with a specific focus on being comfortable for the user using a behind-the-ear design, allowing most of the weight of the headset to be supported in a manner that doesn’t put excessive pressure on your ear. Additionally, all surfaces that come in contact with your ear are thick; this spreads any pressure across a larger surface area, maximizing comfort.

Noise Cancellation

Motorola has one of the best noise cancelling headsets on the market in the HX1, though sadly the Oasis doesn’t include the HX1’s “Stealth Mode” or bone conduction technology. The Oasis handles noise cancellation through dual microphones, which is not groundbreaking by any means, though it is effective. The Oasis is also designed to allow effective communication in winds up to 12mph, which is typically a problem area for headsets.

Conclusion

The Motorola Oasis is a valuable entry into the mid to high end Bluetooth Headset market. Though I wouldn’t classify it as having the best sound quality (that distinction would go to the Jawbone or Motorola’s HX1), the Oasis is an extremely well designed headset and is among the most comfortable that I’ve tested.

The Oasis is currently available through the WPCentral store for $77.95.

Just the other day, Sprint announced they will be adding the Motorola ES400 to their lineup. Today, AT&T made a similar announcement.

The Motorola ES400 will be added to AT&T's rugged device lineup. Michael Antieri, President of Advanced Enterprise Mobility Solutions for AT&T stated, "The Motorola ES400 extends our leading portfolio of mobility devices and is an example of our commitment to helping organizations of all sizes – large and small – mobilize their business for maximum efficiency and profitability."

The Motorola ES400 uses Microsoft's new embedded OS that is built on Windows Mobile 6.5.3. It is powered by a 600mhx ARM 11 processor, has 256mb RAM and 1GB of flash memory, a 3" 640x480 touch screen, GPS/Wifi/Bluetooth and a 3.2 megapixel camera. It is a "rugged" device designed to withstand dust, shock, vibration, rain, humidity, solar radiation, altitude and temperature extremes.

No pricing and availability information was available and you can find the full press release over at AT&T.

Microsoft has filed suit against Motorola today in both the International Trade Commission and U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington. Microsoft is claiming that Motorola has infringed on nine of Microsoft's patents in their Android smartphones.

The patents in question relate to the synchronization of email, calendars and contacts, scheduling of meetings, and notifying applications of changes in signal strength and battery power.

In a brief press release Horacio Gutierrez, Microsoft's Corporate VP and Deputy General Counsel stated,"We have a responsibility to our customers, partners, and shareholders to safeguard the billions of dollars we invest each year in bringing innovative software products and services to market. Motorola needs to stop its infringement of our patented inventions in its Android smartphones."

If successful, Motorola could be on the hook for damages and have their Android smartphones banned in the U.S. No response from Motorola on the claims and if you want to sift through the 243 page Federal Court filing, you can find it here.

read: AndroidCentral

Microsoft is working another Mobile OS for enterprise devices (commercial devices) that is based on Windows Mobile 6.5.

"In the next six months we will release a new embedded OS called Windows Embedded Handheld, based on Windows Mobile 6.5 technologies ... [and] in the second half of 2011, we will release a version of Windows Embedded Handheld based on Windows Phone 7 technology," Microsoft's Steve Ballmer said via video during a Motorola enterprise smartphone launch event.

Ballmer feels this strategy will allow Microsoft to work on a clear path for enterprises to migrate their business applications to Windows Phone 7.

In reading the report over at PCMag, this sounds like a stop-gap measure until Microsoft can put out a version of Windows Phone 7 for enterprise devices sometime in 2011.

Before Windows CE garnered all that attention last month on tablets, it had always been featured prominently on rugged enterprise devices--think factories, out in the field (US Census), warehouses, etc. Forgoing  the bells and whistles of the traditional Windows Mobile, Win CE was more stripped down and geared towards business needs. WinCE is the core upon which Windows Mobile is built around.

With WM6.5.x and WP7 embedded (next year), Microsoft will continue this push by working with partners to deliver such rugged phones and devices to large companies. The first up is Motorola's ES400 (see image right) being launched on Sprint through their direct enterprise channels (i.e. you'll never see it in a store).

Interestingly, the ES400 features a skinned version of WM6.5.3 that nicely echoes the WP7 Start screen. The phone also has some nice features including an old-school PocketPC VGA screen

• 600-MHz ARM11 processor
• GSM HSPA, Sprint's CDMA EVDO
• Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g
• 3-inch, 640-by-480 touch screen
• camera/red LED scanner

Below all of that it is still WM6.5.3, but you'll have to dig deep to get it. It also features some battery-saving enhancements and it is expected to have a 3-year product life cycle (with a software upgrade in the future). See Sprint product listing here:  www.sprint.com/ES400

The reason why this is important is two fold:

1. Demonstrates Microsoft is still committed to enterprise/delivering a tailored experience--this was always their market, they plan to keep it
2. Shows there is a push back against using high-end consumer smartphones for enterprise e.g. iPhones--sometimes popular consumer devices don't have a place in the real business world

Additional reporting by George Ponder [Thanks, isaacl, for the tip]

Manufacturers of Bluetooth headsets are in an arms race of sorts in an effort to design and build a headset with the most complete noise cancellation possible. Various headsets sporting an assortment of hardware and software solutions have been marketed over the years as offering high end noise reduction and cancellation, but it has never quite been perfected.

Motorola’s latest high-end headset, the HX1 Endeavor, leverages a number of technologies to provide optimal noise cancellation and voice quality in a wide array of situations. The full review follows the break. (And you can watch TiPB's video hands-on with it at CES here.)

Features

As far as the core technologies are concerned, there isn’t anything earth-shattering about the HX1. The primary tools that Motorola utilizes are their CrystalTalk DSP (Digital Signal Processor), and a bone-conduction technology.

The big to-do about the HX1 is more about how all of the different technologies are implemented. CrystalTalk utilizes dual microphones in order to cancel out surrounding noise and does an admirable job. In my tests, I was able to have a phone conversation while listening to music in my car. Not only did the other party hear me clearly, they weren’t able to hear the music in the background.

The second piece of technology that is heavily used in order to provide the best quality call quality is the bone conduction. For the unfamiliar, bone conduction uses vibrations from the jaw or inner ear in order to better isolate the sound. The HX1 uses an earpiece that fits deeper into your ear than most headsets. The bone conduction is used in what Motorola terms “Stealth Mode”, which uses the bone conduction exclusively in order to cut out the most extreme wind noise. In testing, there was some degradation in the sound quality. My wife described it as similar to when you have water in your ears, which would seem to be pretty spot on considering the sound is being generated from vibrations in your ear.

Fit

The HX1 comes with a number of different options for customizing the headset to your ear. A standard ear hook is used in order to provide a secure fit. Because of the fact that this headset lodges fairly deep in your ear there are some comfort issues, but it wasn’t a problem for extended use.

Sound Quality

The HX1 provides some of the best noise cancellation that I’ve used. Using CrystalTalk, I was able to carry on conversations in noisy environments without any complaints from the other end of the call. Stealth Mode, while not offering the best sound quality, allows you to be understood in extreme conditions such as high winds or loud environments. Incoming calls are very easy to hear largely because of the earpiece being placed in your ear.

Conclusion

If the Motorola HX1 doesn’t provide the best noise cancellation on the market, it is definitely close to the top of a very short list. This kind of sound quality does come at a hefty premium however. At $109.95 from the WMExperts store, if you require the best sound quality in extreme noise and the price tag doesn't scare you off, the HX1 is the headset for you.

Of all the other smartphones and all the other operating systems we've looked at over the course of the third annual Smartphone Round Robin, none is as similar to Windows Mobile as Android. That's a little odd, as Windows Mobile at its core is rapidly aging, and Android is one of the newest players of the bunch. But it's true.

With Windows Mobile you get a high customizable operating system, with myriad options available to manufacturers, carriers, modders and end-users. We're constantly preaching the benefit of custom ROMs, chopped up from official releases and recompiled into smaller, faster packages. Android? Same thing. It's available on most major carriers, in several form factors (though front-facing QWERTY keyboards haven't really materialized), and with multiple versions of the operating system.

So is Android merely Windows Mobile's brother by another mother? Will its rapidly rising market share (and mind share) swallow up Windows Mobile and everyone else in its way? Let's talk about that a little after the break.

First things first: Let's revisit my sit-down with AndroidCentral's Casey Chan, where we take a look at the Sprint HTC Hero running Android 1.5, and the Motorola Droid, which at the time was running Android 2.0 but has since been updated to 2.0.1.

A new user interface paradigm (for us, anyway)

Probably the biggest difference between Windows Mobile and Android -- and the one that has taken me the longest to grow accustomed to -- is having widgets on the home screen. You previously saw widgets in this year's Round Robin on the Nokia phones Matt Miller introduced us to. The closest we've come to full widgets on either of our two Windows Mobile phones in this year's round robin -- the HD2 and Touch Pro 2 -- are in the tabs. The weather tab, Twitter tab (on Sense), the stocks tab. That sort of thing.

But those are all full-screen widgets. With Android's user interface, you get what I'll call micro widgets. Actually, they're widgets of any size. They're interactive. they can show information, like RSS feeds, clocks, weather, whatever. They can control applications in the background (like the Music tab in Sense and TouchFLO.) But they don't have to take up a whole screen to do it. They can live alongside icons, shortcuts, folders and the like.

Think of it like this: Remember in old-school Windows Mobile when you'd hit the Windows button, and you'd get the folder/explorer metaphor. From there you'd dive deeper or choose and icon to launch a program. That's Android's home screen. Only there are multiple screens (the Droid has three; the new Nexus One has five), and icons stand beside widgets and shortcuts. My favorite: contact icons on the home screen, from which you can call, text, etc. Quick and easy.

The HTC Hero

Any of you out there with an HTC Hero have Windows Mobile to thank for it. Go ahead. Find your nearest WinMo-toting friend and shake his or her hand. While it may be the HTC Hero that launched the future of HTC's custom interface -- the "Sense" UI -- we came to know and love it on Windows Mobile as TouchFLO. We're currently at TouchFLO 3D on the Touch Pro 2 and Touch Diamond 2 lines. But then came the Hero with Sense, and we all stood up and took notice.

And now the HTC HD2, the biggest, baddest Windows phone to ever walk the Earth, has its own version of Sense, which has, erm, since been ported over to just about every other Windows Mobile device out there, thanks to some enterprising fellers.

Sense may kind of look the same on Android and Windows Mobile, but they're two very different creatures. On Windows Mobile, Sense (and TouchFLO 3D) are what's known as a homescreen plug-in. You can turn it off and return to stock Windows Mobile (on WM6.5, you get what's called "Titanium, which looks a lot like the Zune HD's UI). As we learned in our interview with HTC's Eric Lin, Sense is baked into Android at a deeper level -- you can't just turn it off like a plug-in. The HTC Hero gets around that, however, though the use of "Scenes." Think of them as multiple (multiple) home screens. Don't like Sense? Change to a different scene and customize to your heart's content.

The Hero is no slouch of a phone. The particulars: Qualcomm MSM7600 proc at 528 MHz; 512MB ROM/288MB RAM; 3.2-inch HVGA (320x480) capacitive touchscreen; 5MP camera; 1500mAh battery. That said, it's already been eclipsed by the new Nexus One, in hardware (Snapdragon processor, 3.7-inch AMOLED screen) and software (Android 2.1).

Compared to the HTC HD2? No contest -- the WinMo behemoth wins hands-down. It's just too big and too powerful not to. And with it coming to T-Mobile and the possibility of it one day getting Windows Mobile 7, the HD2 should have some shelf life over the next year.

The Motorola Droid

Remember when Motorola was the pride of the Windows Mobile Standard world? More than a few of us around here were big proponents of the front-facing QWERTY Motorola Q9 series (at least when the bugs were worked out) back in the day. Then Moto kind of fell off map. We got word that development was focusing on Android (and it looks like it's going to continue to do so for some time).

Verizon announced the Droid (or the DROID) on Oct. 28, 2009. It was available a week later. A television commercial blitzkrieg followed and still continues today. "Droid Does" became the official motto as it fired shots (accurately or not) at the iPhone. You might not be a smartphone nerd, but chances are you've heard of the Droid. (It's the phone I'm most often asked a bout by civilians.)

Whereas the iPhone is sleek and svelte, the Droid's design took a different route. It's cold. (Really. Feel it.) It's angular. It's heavy. And it works. So it's kind of an odd match-up, the Droid taking on the iPhone. For our purposes, however, the Droid's nearest competition is the HTC Touch Pro 2. Both have large, high-resolution screens (3.6-inch, 480x800 for the TP2; 3.7-inch, 480x854 for the Droid), though the Droid's is capacitive and is the winner there. Both have horizontal sliding keyboards. But while the Touch Pro 2's takes up the entire length of the phone and has five rows of large keys, the Droid's keyboard is four rows deep and is hampered by the directional pad that takes up about a half-inch of real estate.

The Droid's keyboard is usable, but just barely. And it suffers from the same odd mappings that afflict the AT&T Tilt 2. But compared to the Touch Pro 2 keyboard (even AT&T's version), well, it makes you want to cry. And you will cry trying to peck out e-mails on those cramped little letters. Otherwise, the Droid is an outstanding piece of hardware. It's the best Android phone (with a physical keyboard) available today. Coretex 8 processor (same as in the iPhone and the Palm Pre). The sliding mechanism feels like it will hold up long after you're dead and gone. The screen is beautiful. The battery life -- despite being just 1390 mAh -- seems nearly endless, and the phone charges quicker than almost any other I've seen. Oh, it has other shortcomings, too -- a sub-par camera, a flaky battery door and one of the craziest hard-reset key sequences you've seen (OK, we really shouldn't count that, but we're gonna).

And that's just the hardware end. Software-wise, the Droid was on the cutting edge (until the Nexus One came along). It's actually pretty frustrating. Because aside from the keyboard and camera, the Droid is a standout device, largely worthy of all the hype.

Why Android?

I've been using Android phones (the Droid and the Nexus One) pretty heavily over the past two months. Coming from Windows Mobile, there were things that have taken some getting used to: 1. Desktop widgets, which we talked about above. 2. App management. I keep wanting to quit an app when I'm done with it. Force of habit, I guess, and most reasonable people won't have three or four Twitter clients installed at the same time. (Didn't want them all using API counts.) There are third-party task managers available, but it was a little odd not having one available by default.

The Android Market is solid. With upward of 20,000 apps, there's plenty to explore. But it does suffer from some disorganization. Do I really need 30 on-screen keyboard skins?

The single-most reason I could switch to Android full-time? Google. Integration of Google's services -- gmail, Google Voice, Google Talk, Google Navigation and the like -- is near-flawless. It's the way it's meant to be. No third-party jankiness. No push e-mail alternative. To steal the line from Apple: It just works. I've asked before whether Google will properly implement gmail and its other services on other platforms. And the more I see Android grow, the more I worry that in spite of the platform's open nature Google may well keep its best products for itself, at least for a while. We'll just have to see.

And that brings us back to Windows Mobile. The launch of Windows Mobile 6.5 and the slew of hardware that came with it is nothing to scoff at. In the WinMo world, it's a pretty big deal. But aside from the sheer hardware power of the HTC HD2, it's still lagging behind. That likely will change by the time the next Round Robin rolls around. Question is, how much farther will Android have progressed by then?

We're almost there, folks. It's the penultimate week of the third annual Smartphone Round Robin, and this week Android Central's Casey Chan teaches me a thing or three about the little green robot. I've said it many a time, but Windows Mobile and Android share a lot in common, and we're definitely going to get down to the bottom of it.

In addition, I've started a thread over at AndroidCentral.com to get the help of the Android faithful. Head on over and see what they have to say. And remember than anytime you comment in an official Smartphone Round Robin thread, you're entered to win a free smartphone from that site (up to $1,000). So get to it, boys and girls!

Oh, and check out my Android hands-on with Casey after the break.

With Christmas just around the corner, you may be looking for a headset for someone on your shopping list. If you haven’t checked it out already, take a look at the WMExperts Store Holiday Gift Guide. One of the products on the wish list of the illustrious Dieter Bohn is Motorola’s H17 Bluetooth Headset.

Motorola has been making headsets for a long time, and its product line includes some pretty impressive options. The H790 and the H15 are both solid headsets that we’ve reviewed in the past. The H17 takes a lot of design cues from the H15, most obviously the hinged boom microphone that doubles as a power switch.

Hit the link for my thoughts on the H17.

Design

As I mentioned, the hinged microphone is a fairly unique design feature. When flipped open, the headset powers on; when closed the H17 turns off. This may seem like a fairly gimmicky feature, but it really makes it easy to toggle the headset on and of.

The buttons on the headset are adequate, but not really anything to write home about. The volume control is on the top of the headset, but the controls are a little small for my taste. The call button is on the outside of the headset, and is sized well, but it doesn’t have much travel, making it a little bit difficult to use.

Usability

One feature that you won’t notice until you actually start using the headset is that Motorola included voice cues to assist you in configuring and using your headset. When first powering up the headset, you are greeted with a voice telling you to initiate the pairing sequence on your phone. Once the pairing is complete, your headset will tell you. Every time you power up the device, you are told the status of the Bluetooth connection and the battery level. These are simple things, but really make the headset intuitive and a pleasure to use.

Quality

Sound quality on the H17 depends a little bit on which earpiece you use. The headset comes with three ear hooks, and two ear “cushions.” In what I consider a weird design move by Motorola, you cannot use the hooks and cushions together. The ear cushions are designed to be worn without the ear hooks, and feature a diagonal channel that fits down into your ear to both funnel the sound and secure the headset. The thing that is really interesting is that the ear cushions actually fit all the way over the speaker, partially shielding the sound.

Noise cancellation using Motorola’s CrystalTalk technology is included, and utilizes dual microphones in an attempt to filter out extraneous noise. I’d say that the actual performance of the noise cancellation is what you would expect from a midrange Bluetooth Headset. Don’t expect the sound quality that you would expect from a Jawbone or a Plantronics Voyager Pro, but it is pretty decent and will serve most people very well.

Conclusion

This headset is perfect for people have a little trouble navigating their headset by deciphering the blink codes that an LED puts out. The voice cues and the flip action microphone make this a very simple headset to use. The included ear hooks and cushions allow you to customize the fit to meet your personal preference, though I would have liked being able to use them together.

The down side is that for the same price ($89.95) you can get a headset with better sound quality like the Voyager Pro, but the difference is all about what you want in your headset. If your priority is for a lightweight, easy to use headset; the Motorola H17 is the perfect choice.

No doubt the future of mobile technology is heading towards Head Mounted Displays (HMDs) where the user constantly can visually interact with an OS and be in touch via radio/phone, etc. to a remote location. The possible applications are myriad--military, industrial, Windows phone nerd.

That latter one were are particularly interested in as Motorola has their HMD unit nearly ready to go, as discussed in this white-paper detailing the product (warning: .PDF).

Specifically, on page 6 where Motorola states:

Golden-i?  Nice, very James Bond.  Well, we guess 2009 is out, right?  We did hear Motorola was going to return to the Windows Mobile front with WM7, so this isn't too much of a surprise, though this particular application is certainly...unique.  All I know I totally want one.

Who wants Phil or Dieter to do a full on review?

[via PPCGeeks]

Bluetooth headsets are getting thinner, smaller and lighter and Motorola has done a good job keeping pace with this trend in the Motorola H790. Measuring in at 2 inches long by 0.8 inches wide and 0.3 inches high, the H790 weighs a paltry 0.34 ounces. 

But looks aren't everything.  Follow the break to see if the H790 is just another pretty face amongst the many Bluetooth headset or if its performance compliments the sleek design of this Bluetooth headset.

Design

The Motorola H790 is small, thin and lightweight. The brushed silver finish looks really good and the overall feel of the headset is solid.

Kudos to Motorola for placing a dedicated power button on the side H790. I prefer the dedicated power button over integrating the on/off function into the multi-function button. The power button lightens the load on the multi-function button and give you a positive indication/confirmation on the headsets power status.

The volume buttons rest on the opposite side of the H790. They are thin, small but functional. A tone confirms the change in volume and samples the volume level.  The H790 has three LED lights on the face of the headset to confirm features and indicate battery levels as well as charging status.

To the top of the headset you will find a micro-USB port for charging and just above the USB port is the headsets multi-function button (Motorola refers to this as the Call Button). It might have been more convenient to users to have moved it to the face of the headset. As is, it took a little time to get used to but it performs well.

The H790 comes packaged with a ear hook, an assorted size of ear buds (small and large), wall charger and multi-language owners manual. I do wish Motorola would have included additional sized ear buds.

Performance

Motorola incorporates its CrystalTalk technology to give the H790 very good call quality. Calls came in loud and clear with no static or interference experienced. The microphone on the H790 was able to pick up my voice clearly when using normal tones and volumes. Background noise was filtered out nicely as well.

The H790 isn't loaded with features but does have the essential headset functionality most will need. Asides from the standard answer/end calls, reject calls, redial last number, and voice commands (phone dependent) you also have the ability to answer or reject a second incoming call.

The only issue experienced with call features on the H790 was with redialing and initiating voice commands. To redial a number you press and hold the Call Button until you hear a tone. To initiate voice commands, you press the Call Button and wait for a tone. Once the tone sounds you can say your command.

The delay between pressing the Call Button and hearing the tone takes a little getting used to and at first you'll doubt that you pressed the Call Button long enough. When you try to initiate voice commands by pressing the button longer, you end up redialing. I would have much preferred these commands to be opposite.

Comfort

While the performance of the H790 is very good, it won't be of any good if the headset isn't comfortable to wear. The H790 has two carry options. You have a "one size fits all" ear hook or ear buds with loops to use without the ear hook.

Both styles of wear are comfortable and it's simply a matter of personal taste as to which is better. I wear glasses and ear hooks can be a little uncomfortable so I prefer the ear buds. The ear hook method is more secure but without the hook, I never felt the H790 was going to fall off my ear.

Overall Impressions

The more I used the Motorola H790, the more I liked it. The thin, lightweight form factor helped the comfort level of the H790 and call quality was very good.

Motorola reports battery life to be approximately 5 hours of talk time and up to 168 hours of standby time. Based on the H790's performance during the review, I won't argue with Motorola's claims.

I like the dedicated power button and while the Call Button might have been more convenient on the face of the headset, it did take a little time to get used to. I do wish the button sequence for redialing and voice commands were more distinguishable.

If you need a quality built Bluetooth headset with a good feature set and very good call quality the Motorola H790 is worth a look at. Get it for $69.95 in the WMExperts Store.

While the Motorola's A3300 remains a bit of a mystery, we've picked up on reports that the A3300 has landed in China.  We feel confident to say the A3300 is a Windows Mobile phone, is 3G, and is headed to China's Telecom network. Sina.com is circulating photos of the device that clearly has Microsoft's Windows flag button on the lower left corner.

Granted we haven't seen the phone turned on to see what OS the 3.2" WQVGA screen is displaying but everything still points to Motorola not giving up, entirely, on Windows Mobile.  

Still not much information on the specs on the A3300 or if Motorola plans to release the phone outside of China. It does appear that it's fitted with a 3.5mm headphone jack.

Via WMPoweruser

The quest continues. I’ve tested Bluetooth Headphones from Sony, Jabra and a couple from Motorola; all of which have pros and cons. The perfect Bluetooth headphones for me would be comfortable to wear for an extended period of time while having the weight distributed in a way that would allow for activity without having wires running different directions.

Motorola has made a number of successful Bluetooth  headphones. The S9 model and its successor, the S9-HD both insert into the ears with a band that wraps behind the head. The S7 model has a slightly different design with only a wire going behind the head and the earpieces hooking over the ear. Motorola’s S305 are my next target and is something of a cross between the two form factors. Featuring an over-the-ear design combined with the wrap-around style, the S305 combines some of the best features in each of Motorola’s other models.

All the juicy details are after the break.

Design

Fit and design was where I had the most issue with the previous models, and that's where the S305 stands out. The S305 has a band that wraps behind the head in a similar fashion to the S9 and S9-HD; the major difference is the weight distribution. The S305 band is lightweight while the earpieces house the battery and such without adding excessive bulk or affecting comfort at all.

Sound

I find that better sound is achieved with earpieces that fit inside the ear and form a good seal; however this often has a negative impact on the comfort side of things. The S305 gives exceptional comfort but does sacrifice a little bit in the sound department. Technologically, all the pieces are in place, it’s just hard to keep the sound from essentially leaking out when that seal isn’t formed. That said, if you’re a true audiophile, you probably wouldn’t be using A2DP anyway as it can’t reproduce the sound quality that you can get from wired headphones. The bottom line is that the sound that the S305’s put out is more than enough for most people, and if you’re willing to sacrifice comfort for sound quality there are some better options out there.

When used as a hands-free device, call quality is respectable as long as you aren’t in an excessively noisy environment. I would not recommend that this be used as your primary hands-free device, but it is good enough to use if you get a call while you’re listening to your music.

Conclusion

Eureka! This is a pair of A2DP-capable headphones that I’m going to hold onto for a while. The blend of comfort, wearability, sound quality and just plain coolness makes for a winning combination. The fact that the $49.95 price tag is very competitive doesn’t hurt either. If you’re looking for a pair of Bluetooth Stereo Headphones, the Motorola S305 should be at the top of your list.

Frequent readers of this space will recall that I am on a never-ending quest to acquire the perfect Bluetooth stereo headphones. Several aspiring candidates have come and gone (Motorola’s S9-HD, Jabra’s BT3030, et al); all have left room for improvement, none have completely won me over.

And so the saga continues with another offering from Motorola, the MOTOROKR S7-HD. Not one to be constrained by standard naming conventions (where later models will have progressively higher numbers), the S7-HD is a successor to the S9/S9-HD headphones. While the S9 series is a designed as a single piece that goes behind the head and over each ear, the $69.95 S7-HD’s are of the over-the-ear variety with only a wire connecting the two earpieces.

All of the minutiae regarding the S7-HD headphones are on the other side of the break.

Features

Let’s get the routine stuff out of the way first. The S7-HD supports A2DP as well as AVRCP. The headphones feature 30mm drivers and SRS WOW for improved audio quality. Charging is accomplished through a miniUSB port; a miniUSB cable is included, but a wall charger is not.

Since the S7-HD’s fully support AVRCP, you can control your music playback without touching your phone. An outer ring located on each earpiece controls volume (left ear) and track selection (right ear). Play and pause control is handled with a more familiar button located on the right earpiece. The left ear also features your call button, in the case that you actually use these to perform phone calls.

Usability

Pairing a Windows Phone with a Bluetooth device just keeps getting easier. Not really anything to comment on here except that pairing was easy and everything worked as it should to get the headphones working with my phone. Both the Hands Free and Wireless Stereo profiles are supported.

Over all, the controls are easy enough to use. Motorola decided to forgo the common multifunction button and actually gives you a power switch with which to turn your headphones on and off. The play and call buttons could have been a little bit bigger and there isn’t much feedback when the buttons are depressed, but they are usable enough that you don’t notice after a while. The rotation controls for volume and track selection are a cool idea, but can be a little awkward to use as these headphones do go over your ears. I found myself actually rotating an earpiece off of my ear every once in a while when trying to skip to the next track or turning up the volume.

Wearability

I really (really, really) like the form factor that Motorola came up with for the S7-HD. My biggest complaint for the S9-HD’s was the fact that most of the weight resided at the back of your head, causing bouncing and fit issues (particularly when running or participating in other high impact exercises). There is no such worry here, as the only link between the two earpieces is a wire connecting the two.

Unfortunately, the wearability factor is where Motorola really dropped the ball in my opinion. The ear clips that go over and behind your ears in order to hold the earpieces in place are made of flexible plastic, which isn’t an issue by itself. My real problem is that there is no hinge or slide mechanism other than the flexibility of the plastic to customize the way that the ear hooks fit. For something that I would consider to be a high to premium level pair of headphones, I think Motorola could have done better.

Look

You’re not going to look like a total geek wearing these headphones, but they’re not the most stylish design either.

Quality

Sound quality is about what you would expect from a pair of decent headphones. As with any headphones the sound quality gets much better if a proper fit or seal can be accomplished. All of the materials are good quality, including the ear hooks. The wire connecting the earpieces is thick enough that it doesn’t tangle easily, but thin enough that it still allows for good flexibility. Weight isn’t really an issue, but the battery still gives you around 8 hours of play time.

Conclusion

Another swing and a miss as far as this perfectionist is concerned, although by a considerably smaller margin this time. The S7-HD is definitely usable, and will be my headphones of choice until I can find something that I can’t argue against. A couple of tiny complaints are all that keep the S7-HD’s from being the perfect solution. Complaint number one is the lack of any hinges on the ear hooks. I really don’t understand how those could have been left out of the design. My only other complaint is the lack of a real charger. Personally I can get by with just using USB power, but this could be a big deal for some.

If Bluetooth Stereo Headphones are your cup of tea, do some shopping over at your favorite store. You can pick up your very own Motorola S7-HD’s for $69.95.

It’s worth noting that finding this particular product on Motorola’s website is impossible. Browsing and searching have both been attempted to no avail. The packaging points you to motorola.com/S7, which gives a “Page Not Found” error. Insert morbid jokes about the demise of the Motorola giant here. If you do purchase a pair of the S7-HD’s, hold onto your manual. It might be hard to get an electronic copy from Motorola.

Motorola has been a leader in the Bluetooth headset market for years and in keeping with that tradition, the company has announced its latest BT headset, the Endeavor HX-1. Motorola is hanging the HX-1's hat on being the only Bluetooth headset to use true bone conduction technology. The headset has a "Stealth" mode that will switch off the conventional microphone and turns on an in-ear sensor that picks up bone vibrations.

The technology is similar to the popular Jawbone headsets that pick up vibrations from outside the face by contacting with the jaw bone. Motorola hasn't released a price or U.S. release date but speculation has this new headset hitting Asian markets in July.

Via Endgadget Mobile

Odd shaped Bluetooth headsets are nothing new. In the last couple of years, it seems all of the manufacturers have tried one or two headsets that threw conventional designs out the window (remember the Bluetrek UFO).  While Motorola’s H15 Bluetooth Headset isn’t the weirdest kid on the block, but there are some rather distinct features that set it apart from the others.

For the full break down, follow me.

Design

Sleek and slim are two adjectives that don’t really fit the H15. In fact it’s better described as short and stubby. The most distinctive feature of this headset is the microphone that flips out from behind the headset. This microphone gives the headset additional length, placing the microphone closer to your mouth. Additionally, the microphone functions as a power switch, turning the headset on when extended and off when closed. The biggest benefit of this design is that powering the headset down is quick and easy, allowing for battery power to be conserved. The H15 also supports a quick charge, allowing you to use the headset for up to an hour after only 15 minutes of charging time.

The H15 includes a desktop charger for an added bit of elegance. A variety of ear pieces (different sizes and shapes) are also included, giving you plenty of options to fit your ear.

Quality

I’ve always found Motorola’s Bluetooth Headsets to be well built, and the H15 is no exception. The hinge on the microphone is sturdy enough that I wasn’t concerned about it breaking, without adding additional bulk.

Motorola’s CrystalTalk technology makes another appearance, providing the noise reduction for the H15. CrystalTalk is designed to make use of dual microphones to digitally cancel extraneous noise and improve sound quality. I haven’t experienced any issues with sound quality, though I will say that I haven’t come across any noise reduction technology that was perfect.

Conclusion

Motorola puts out quality headsets, and they continue to bring it with the H15. Solid construction is a given. I have heard complaints about CrystalTalk, but I haven’t experienced any issues myself. The included accessories are plentiful; the desktop cradle adds a bit of sophistication and the ear gels give you the most comfortable fit possible. The real selling point for this headset is the innovative microphone/power switch. I for one typically forget that I’ve left my headset powered on. This problem is totally nullified with the design of the H15. A simple flick of the microphone and the headset is powered off and conserving battery life. $74.95 will get you an H15 of your very own, it doesn’t even need to be housebroken. 

We're not really expecting great financials from anyone anytime soon, and Motorola keeps that trend going. The Big M had a $291 million loss in the first quarter, with cell phone sales down 45 percent compared to the first quarter of 2008.

Moto made $5.4 billion in sales in the first quarter – $1.8 billion from phones – but failed to meet the $5.62 billion previously forecast.

Despite recent rumors of a new/old Motorola Windows phone headed to Verizon, we're really not expecting much else from Moto this year – makes sense, seeing as how Windows Mobile 6.5 is focused on touchscreen phones – and Moto's CEO says to expect "differentiated Android-based devices" on sale in time for the winter holidays. So, we'll hope for some new Windows Mobile love in 2010.

Via Moconews

A bit of a fuss is being made today over the emergence of the Motorola A4500 at the Federal Communications Commission. But here's the thing: The new documents we're looking at – radio specs and a bunch of pretty pictures – were all submitted back in October and just made available today.

Now allow us to put on our tinfoil hats for a minute: We know the A4500 (or Napoleon, or Q9n – whatever) made its way into the wild after a brief production cycle for a government contract. Hmmmmm. Government contract, docs not made available until exactly six months after the first submission ... See where we're going here?

The long and the short of it is we're really not expecting to see this thing out on Verizon – or anywhere else – anytime soon, if ever. That said, we could also be dead wrong and so we reward you with more pictures after the break, just in case.

PhoneScoop via BGR

Motorola has been maligned on this and other blogs due to some of their odd business choices over the last couple of years, in particular in regards to their Windows Mobile handhelds such as the Q series and the ever-unpopular Motosurf. Despite the apparent downturn of the Motorola monster, their other business aspects appear to be churning along nicely.

Motorola’s H780 Bluetooth Headset is one in a long and diverse line of Bluetooth headsets coming from Motorola. We’ve reviewed everything from the diminutive Mini H9 to the stylistically aggressive RAZRWIRE; and for the most part, we’ve been fairly happy with what we’ve found.

For the full review of the H780, you’ve come to the right place.

Design

The H780 is a little more bulky than many of the headsets on the market today, but not enough that it is uncomfortable or awkward to wear. The headset comes with three different sizes of rubber covers for the earpiece to allow you to customize the fit to the size of your ear.

As a departure from many of the headsets these days that present you with the minimal amount of buttons, the H780 includes an assortment. The standard oversized call button and volume controls are included on the side and top respectively. Joining these are a power switch that allows you to ensure that, yes, you actually did turn the thing off; and a noise cancellation button, which allows you to enable or disable the noise cancellation functionality.

Sound Quality

The H780 uses Motorola’s “CrystalTalk for Headsets”, which uses dual microphones and some fancy software to handle noise and echo cancellation. I found the H780 to handle noise at least as well as any other headset that I have used in a variety of situations. Also, the volume produced from the headset seems to be significantly better than any other headset that I have used. Some clipping did occur when the headset volume was at high levels.

Conclusion

The true assessment for me when I am testing a headset is whether or not I forget to go back to the headset that I normally use. By that standard, Motorola did an amazing job with the H780. The sound quality and volume make it perfect for use while driving or while talking in a busy room. For what I would consider a mid-range price tag ($69.95), Motorola delivers some high-end features.

Just when you were ready to hear the end of life rumors concerning the Motorola Q Series come true, someone throws you a curve ball. Verizon Wireless has announced that it will be re-releasing the Motorola Q9c. [via EverythingQ] The re-release brings the company's TALKS feature to the phone. Everything else appears unchanged.

TALKS for Verizon is designed to assist blind and visually impaired customers.  It is a screen reader that adds speech to the standard user interface by using Windows Mobile to convert text displayed on the handset to highly intelligible speech. Additionally, TALKS will allow users to dial contacts, add/edit contact entries, compose email, write documents in Mobile Office, and use Mobile Explorer through voice commands. 

Does this mean that we may actually see the Q line continue with the Q11? Or maybe even the Napolean? Or is the Motorola Q9c simply a convenient test model for the TALKS application? Regardless of what all of this means, it's nice to see the Motorola Q line still hanging around.

Our hope for Motorola has been waning of late. But the same can't be said for an analyst with Oppenheimer & Co., who says Moto plans to launch 10 smartphones in the second half of the year.

OK, so this is from a stocks analyst and not an actual announcement from Motorola, so we'll be taking this with a grain of salt. But we thought we saw at least one WinMo phone in those renderings late last year, so Moto might still have something else up its sleeve.

But if Moto's going to crank out 10 smartphones this year, the question remains, will they be Windows Mobile? Android? Or something else?

Associated Press via Forbes & Fierce Wireless

Motorola has tossed its hat into the rugged ring with the release of the MC55 Enterprise Digital Assistant.

The MC5590 (that's it on the left) is without a cellular radio but sports a 320x240 touchscreen, a 2400mAh battery, Windows Mobile 6.1 Classic, XScale PXA270 processor at 520 MHz, 256MB ROM/128MB RAM, microSD, a 2.0MP camera with flash and autofocus, laser scanner ... You get the idea. The MC5574 is basically the same thing, only with Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional, a GSM/EDGE radio and GPS added in.

Sure, it's not a phone you'll be picking up in a story anytime soon. But if you're in the market for something on a job site, you definitely could do worse.

Via Pocket PC Thoughts

Behold, Motorola's White Whale, otherwise known as a Q9h with WiFi. We know these things exist, albeit in very rare numbers, and a treat when we see one in the wild. This one comes to us from EverythingQ member racingxtsy, who says the phone was bought on Craigslist.

What we've got here is what for all intents and purposes on the outside appears to be a "stock" unlocked Q9h with AT&T branding running on Canada's Rogers network. GPS apparently wasn't sacrificed for the WiFi capability. One difference between it and the WiFi-less Q9h us mere mortals use (and one we hadn't seen before) is a cosmetic difference on the back, above the battery door. Pictures of that after the break, and more pics from racingxtsy here.

It appears that this is the real deal. How much would you pony up for WiFi on your Q?

Difference on the back of the Q9h with Wifi, left, and the Q9h without WiFi.

Behold, the Motorola Q9n "Napolean," what EverythingQ says some refer to as "an impressive phone, with some saying it's the best Q ever."

And you're still not going to get one.

Despite another recent shot of Napolean in the wild making the rounds, Everything Q reiterates that it's only been sold in government contracts and not to the general public — and that phones are making it into civilian hands through eBay and Craigslist.

Sorry, folks. Just have to hold out hope for the Moto Q9p(robably not going to happen), or the Q9s(eriously, give it up).

Back from the dead, the Motorola Napolean has made it into the hands of a PhoneArena reader [via], and with Verizon branding to boot.

As it stands, the Napolean will have both GSM and CDMA radios, along with a QVGA display, 2MP camera and WiFi, as well as a fingerprint sensor. Whether any of that would survive the Verizon cutting-room floor, or whether the Napolean actually will see the light of day, remains to be seen.

It's also unsure if this is just Verizon playing catch-up, as it's reportedly doing with the HTC Touch Diamond, or if this means the Moto Q line isn't dead after all.

As most can relate to, the speakerphone built into your phone is probably not the best for listening to your MP3s with. This is why it can be very handy to have Bluetooth (BT) enabled ultra compact speakers. How about throwing in actual speaker phone capabilities as well? Sound interesting? Then you will be interested in our review of the Motorola EQ5 Wireless Travel Stereo Speaker. To find out if it can live up to the name of Motorola or if this is just a good try that may not be worth the money, take a look inside.

QUALITY OF BUILD

When first opening the box, the unit is both impressive by its looks and by its small size. It feels solid. The arm in the back does feel a bit fragile, but this is mostly a first impression misconception. If the arm is bent back to far, it will simply pop out of its hinges before any damage will come to the speakers or the arm. The buttons are firm and easy to push. The front plate is a shiny black, which looks cool, but is a fingerprint magnet. The speaker grill is made of metal to help increase its durability and travelability. It also includes a 3.5mm jack so you can use the speakers with any non BT device as well, like your MP3 player or even your Nintendo DS. It boils down to a sleek design that fits right in your pocket.

EASE OF USE / SOUND QUALITY

Pairing the speakers to my phone was quick and simple. You have all the basic controls you would need including volume up and down, play / pause, fast forward / skip to next song, rewind / skip back to previous song, along with the speakerphone answer and hang-up button.

I immediately opened up Windows Media and started playing my MP3s. The sound was not a Bose "blow you away" experience, but very respectful for its compact size. The play / pause and fast forward and rewind buttons controlled Windows Media perfectly.

I then launched Sprint TV and started watching Ghostbusters. It was a lot better experience than trying to listen to it through my phone's speakerphone. It would be nice if it was able to be a little louder, but I get the impression that it would not be able to handle it without starting to distort the sound quality.

When a call comes in, you simply press the answer button and take the phone call as the Motorola EQ5 doubles as a speakerphone as well. The sound quality as a speaker may not be the best bluetooth speaker phone I have used, but does not get any complaints from me either.

SUMMARY

The Motorola EQ5 is impressive enough to show off to your friends, easy to stick in your pocket or bag when on the go, and delivers an adequate sound quality experience for its size and expectations. My only suggestion is that with an item so portable, it would have been nice if a travel pouch of any kind was included.

JUST THE FACTS

Specs

• Bluetooth wireless technology
• Play Time: Up to 8 hrs
• Battery: Rechargeable, non-replaceable
• Weight: 100g
• Dimensions: 116x65x15 mm
• Bluetooth: Version 2.0 +EDR, HFP1.5, A2DP1.2, AVRCP1.0
• Codec Support: SBC, MP3

Features

• Pocket-sized, sleek form-factor
• SRS WOW HD™ enhanced stereo performance
• Speakerphone and controls for hands-free functionality
• Noise-reduction and echo-cancellation technology for clear communication
• Bass ports for improved sound
• Discreet desk-stand
• 3.5mm jack to connect to non-Bluetooth enabled music-players
• Micro-USB connection for charging and power

The Boy Genius has scored a Sprint deathlist, with a couple of Windows Mobile phones slated to be EOL'd – that's end of life – in the coming months.

The Motorola Q9c is on the chopping block, with its execution date set for mid-June. No replacement is noted.

Also on the list is the HTC Touch Diamond, which would go the way of the dinosaurs in July. There's no replacement noted for it, either, though we'd be willing to bet we'll eventually see something off that leaked HTC lineup.

And finally there's the Palm Treo 800w, which will bite the big one in April and be replaced by the Treo Pro. The question remains exactly when.

In the music business, an album "goes platinum" once it's sold 1 million copies. In the cell phone business, well, let's just say we don't expect HTC to be rapping about how many Touch Diamonds it's moved. (Though we've got a pretty good idea how it might sound.)

During CES last month, MobileJaw got some face time with Windows Mobile Senior Product Manager Greg Sullivan at CntrStg, the companion to the main CES show. And it was there that they discussed the 11 devices running Windows Mobile that have sold more than 1 million units.

The list, in no particular order, comprises some oldies-but-goodies, as well as some of the new hotness. And remember these devices also are available worldwide, not just in the United States. Read on to find out who has made it into the Windows Mobile Platinum Club.

Samsung Omnia

Also known as the SGH-i900 (among a couple other iterations), the Omnia [full review here] was billed as a direct competitor to the iPhone. And it came armed to the teeth. A 240x400 touchscreen. 16 gigs of onboard storage. Accelerometer. 5-megapixel camera. 3G. WiFi. FM Radio. GPS. A 624 MHz processor. And so on and so forth. There was so much to see, in fact, that it took Dieter two videos to do it: A rundown of the hardware, as well as a look at the software, which included a new widgets UI.

The Omnia has only been picked up in the U.S. on Verizon, but it's done well enough overseas to push it over the 1 million-sold mark.

Motorola Q - Yes, all of them

The original Motorola Q seemed to be everywhere after its launch in spring 2006. Find a smartphone-wielding businessperson at the time, and they probably either were carrying a BlackBerry, or a Q. It was uber-popular. That said, the specs weren't all that spectacular. It was rather anemic on the memory side.

But every smartphone line has to start somewhere, and the original Q paved the way for some classics. The Q9h and Q9h Global (still one of our favorites of all-time), plus the Q9h Silver. Q9c (on Sprint). Q9m (Verizon). The more recent Q11, which hasn't been released in the States. Then there's the Q9 Napolean (canceled) and the Q8 (also canceled).

If you've hung around WMExperts long enough, you'll know that we still have quite the crush on the Q9h. It's just a solid Windows Mobile Standard (non-touchscreen) phone, with a killer keyboard and powerful processor. About the biggest strike against the Q line is that we never did get one with WiFi, despite the mythical Q9h that surfaced in late 2007. And, yes, that's really dating that phone.

Samsung Blackjack and Blackjack II

Yeah, yeah, we're going to lump these into one category. But they each passed the 1 million-sales mark on its own. The original Blackjack (SGH-i607/600) really helped push Windows Mobile into the mainstream, thanks in party to a marketing blitz by Cingular and AT&T. It seemed to ride the wave begun by the Motorola Q – namely the front-facing QWERTY keyboard and non-touchscreen form factor. The first Blackjack was plagued by a looooooonnnnnnnnnnggggggg wait for an upgrade to Windows Mobile 6.

We were pretty impressed with the Blackjack II (SGH-i617), but not quite enough to give it top billing over the Motorla Q9h. (Hey, we gave it not just one, but two chances.) But it did get the Windows Mobile 6.1 update, and we got an early look at it last April at CTIA. (Seems old hat now, but we were definitely excited at the time.) The Blackjack already has been supplanted by the Samsung Epix (which sports a touchscreen), but it'll be interesting to see if the Epix can end up with the same market share.

Audiovox SMT 5600

If you think this guy looks to be circa 2004, you're right. It is. (It even pre-dates WMExperts!) But it's Windows Mobile on a cell phone (and look how far the form factor has come). Looking back to the Engadget post on it at the time, it sported a 2.2-inch, 176-by-220 screen, Bluetooth, VGA camera and miniSD. All for the low, low price of $200 after contract.

HTC Dash

Also known by its HTC code name, Excalibur, the Dash is the little smartphone that could. The first Dash came out in the fall of 2006, and a new, all-black version recently was released and remains the only Windows Mobile phone on T-Mobile in the United States [Edit: Er, along with the Shadow and the Wing]. But don't dismiss the Dash as a platform. It long has served as Microsoft's go-to phone for testing purposes.

An update to the Dash in the form of the HTC Cavalier never came to fruition, though we may see one in the HTC Maple/3G Excalibure, as seen in a recent leak.

HTC Touch

The HTC Touch brought about a bit of a revolution for Windows Mobile. First and most obvious was the lack of a physical keyboard. Second was the appearance of TouchFlo, HTC's custom interface skinned on top of Windows Mobile. TouchFlo has evolved into TouchFlo 3D and is standard on any HTC smartphone now, though it can be turned off via the Today Screen settings.

The Touch (it's Sprint name), is also known as the Vogue, the UTStarcomm MP6900 and the XV6900 on Verizon. It was announced just months after the original iPhone came to market, a Windows Mobile answer to Apple's first foray into the cell phone market. An unlocked GSM version is available, though AT&T never picked it up, for the obvious reason of not wanting to create any competition for the iPhone. The Touch Dual followed, adding a numeric keyboard.

HTC Touch Diamond

Tuesday, May 6, 2008 – the day the smartphone landscape changed forever and ... OK, maybe that's a bit much. But the Touch Diamond took what began with the Touch – namely a keyboardless black slab with that newfangled TouchFlo UI – and put some sex appeal in it. Under the hood, the Touch Diamond sported Windows Mobile 6.1, 256 megs of ROM, 192 of RAM, and 4 gigabytes of non-removable internal storage. A 3.2MP  camera and an accelerometer rounded things out. TouchFlo also was upgraded to TouchFlo 3D. And, in the most impressive swipe at the iPhone at the time, a 480-by-640 touchscreen. Truly, this was going to be a Windows Mobile phone to be reckoned with.

But the Touch Diamond initially was launched in Europe and Asia, and early ROM versions were rife with trouble, at least for the brave few who paid a premium to import it back to the U.S. TouchFlo 3D was sluggish, and the phone lacked the U.S. 3G bands (though the importers knew that when they bought it). By the time the phone was officially released in the U.S. (it's on Sprint, Alltel, Verizon, and a few other regional carriers and also available unlocked on GSM) many of the problems had been worked out.

The Diamond series also has spawned the Touch Pro (which adds the slider keyboard, so AT&T didn't mind picking it up), the Touch HD (the beautiful phone we won't see in the U.S.), and the Diamond-like stylings are apparent in a recently leaked map of HTC's 2009 offerings.

HTC XV6800

Also known as the Titan, the XV6800 got a lot of love over the years. On Sprint it was the Mogul, and a tried and true favorite for many. Verizon also rocked it. And it was a pretty powerful slider. A 400MHz processor, 240x320 touchscreen, EVDO Rev. A, 256 megs ROM/64 megs RAM. In a word, solid.

HTC TyTN II

This phone (code named the Kaiser) basically took the XV600, upped the specs and tilted the screen. And thus was born the AT&T Tilt. Our initial take?

There was a slight scandal over the graphics drivers. But the Tilt still represented Windows Mobile in the inaugural Smartphone Experts Round Robin and did quite nicely, IOHO.

HTC P800W (aka Artemis)

The P800W largely got its due outside the U.S., with different versions for different nations. But what you got was a solid HTC touchscreen phone, circa late 2006. There was a TI OMAP 850 processor running at 201MHz, a 240-by-320 screen, 128 megs of ROM/64 megs of RAM. Again, HTC equals solid, and thus very popular in Europe.

Adding fuel to the fire that is the rumor of Motorola getting/not getting out of the Windows Mobile business, the South Florida Business Journal reported over the weekend that the big M is laying off 77 workers from its Plantation facility by the end of the first quarter. Also, "The company said it will no longer conduct new Windows mobile development at the facility."

Needless to say, that's not good news for 77 employees, and we certainly with them and their families the best. But we're not quite ready to sound the death knell for Windows Mobile on Motorola just yet (though we've got our finger on the trigger, given the bigger picture). But we just don't know Moto's intentions. If it's scaling back on Windows Mobile, then scaling back the division would be in order. But scaling back isn't the same as killing off.

So, we'll keep our fingers crossed that Moto's still got some WinMo magic up its sleeve. But time's running short, and we're going to need more than just another Q variation to keep us interested.

Via Electronista & wmpoweruser

The rumors of the untimely demise of Windows Mobile over at Motorola appear to be false. We've been hearing grumblings that Motorola was planning on cutting their development teams in half and ditching Windows Mobile for Android.

But in an interview with Computerworld.com, Brian Viscount, Motorola's Vice President of Marketing for Mobile Enterprise Computing (some title), insisted that the recent news of Windows Mobile's demise at Motorola were false. He stated Microsoft's enterprise division, "remains 100% committed to Windows Mobile".

The comments were made during an interview about Motorola's new Snap-on Mobile Payment devices that work on their enterprise-class MC-70 and MC-75 wireless handhelds, which happen to be powered by Windows Mobile. The wireless handhelds are used in retail/commercial locations to track inventory, set pricing, ordering stock and with the snap-on attachment they can be used to accept payments for merchandise.

So there is joy in Mudville tonight as it appears that Motorola will not be ditching Windows Mobile.  Now if we can only dispel the EOL rumors for the Q Series.

[VIA: wmpoweruser.com]