CES 2012
The grand-daddy of consumer electronics shows takes place the week of January 9th. A lot of cell phone news is expected, from LG, Samsung, Nokia, AT&T, Sprint, and more. We'll be reporting all week from Las Vegas, with liveblogs, hands-on reports, and other news . Our CES page collects all of our CES news in one place.
Motorola Plans for Fewer Phones This Year
Motorola CEO Sanjay Jha today indicated that the company hopes to make fewer phones during 2012 in order to conserve marketing resources. In an interview with The Verge, Jha also said that Motorola needs to be able to differentiate the Motorola experience when compared to the competition. "Verizon and AT&T don't want seven stock ICS devices on their shelves. The vast majority of the changes we make to the OS are to meet the requirements that carriers have." In short, Motorola will continue to offer its own user experience on Android devices, but there will be fewer of them this year.
Hands On with the LG Spectrum for Verizon
The Spectrum is LG's new flagship 4G LTE phone from Verizon. The display is huge and HD, yet it's thinner than last year's Revolution. How does it shape up?
Lenovo Hopes to Crack U.S. Smartphone Market
Lenovo today indicated that it wants to sell smartphones in the U.S., according to an interview with Reuters. David Schmoock, Lenovo's North American chief, said, "I will spend time over the next couple of years building out the relationship with the mobile providers — AT&T, Sprint, Verizon, etc. You have to build out that network first, then that allows you to put products on the shelf." Schmook doesn't see Lenovo hitting U.S. retail stores imminently, but he is working to make it happen. Lenovo recently announced a new Android-based smartphone called LePhone 2 that will be sold in its home market of China.
Hands On with the Moto Droid 4 and Droid RAZR MAXX
Motorola has a couple of new LTE Droids here at CES. The Droid 4 brings the original Droid series in the 4G era. The Droid RAZR MAXX uses RAZR engineering to deliver unheard-of battery life. We go hands-on with both.
Motorola, Verizon Announce Droid RAZR MAXX
Motorola and Verizon today announced the Droid RAZR MAXX, a new flagship Droid RAZR phone. The MAXX boasts a massive 3300 mAh battery that can sustain 21 straight hours of talk time, yet measures only 8.9 mm thick (compared to the Droid RAZR's 7.1 mm.) The display measures 4.3 inches and uses Super AMOLED Advanced technology, like the Droid RAZR. The processor is 1.2 GHz dual-core and LTE data is included. The camera is 8-megapixel. It also contains 32 GB of internal memory. The MAXX will come to market "in the coming weeks" for $300 with two-year contract.
Verizon and Motorola Debut the Droid 4
Verizon Wireless today announced the Motorola Droid 4, the fourth-generation Android device that has a 4-inch qHD display and support for Verizon Wireless's Long Term Evolution 4G network. The Droid 4 is a sideways slider that has a full QWERTY keyboard and a dual-core 1.2GHz processor. The Droid 4 also includes a water-repellant coating; 16GB of on-board memory; an 8-megapixel camera with 1080p HD video capture and Mirror Mode to display images and video on an HDTV; and compatibility with Motorola's Lapdock accessories. It runs Android 2.3.5 Gingerbread, and will be updated to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. The Motorola Droid 4 will be available in the coming weeks. Pricing wasn't disclosed.
Verizon Wireless Announces Global JetPack
Verizon Wireless today announced the ZTE JetPack, a new mobile hotspot that will work on Verizon's CDMA/LTE networks in the U.S., as well as the GSM/HSPA networks in other countries. The JetPack can reach download speeds between 5 - 12Mbps and upload speeds between 2 and 5Mbps over LTE in the U.S. and can roam in 205 countries around the world. It includes support for up to 10 Wi-Fi devices and has an OLED display that helps users monitor the device's status. It supports most devices that have Wi-Fi on board. The JetPack will become available in the coming weeks.
LG Announces Spectrum for Verizon
LG today announced the Spectrum for Verizon, following in the footsteps of the Revolution announced at this time last year. The Spectrum sports 4G LTE and a 4.5-inch true HD IPS display, like the Nitro for AT&T. It also sports a Qualcomm 1.5 GHz dual-core processor, 8-megapixel main camera, and 1.3-megapixel front camera. Other notable features include a Corning Gorilla Glass front, 16 GB included memory card, DLNA wireless video streaming, and HDMI output via MHL. The Spectrum will be available January 19th for $200 with 2-year contract.
