Motorola Nexus 6 'Shamu' full specs leak in benchmark, features QHD display

After reports suggesting the Nexus line isn't dead, and the next iteration will be released by Motorola under the code-name 'Shamu', and feature a gargantuan 5.9' display, this benchmark clarifies a lot of things up.

First of all, the 5.9' display is busted. While that might have been the plan at the beginning' that must have changed and the device we're seeing has a 5.2' display. Moreover, unlike yesterday's benchmark striking rumors of a 1080p display paired with Snapdragon 801, based on the graphics score it got, it seems that is not the case at all.

Like the past two years, it seems the Nexus will once again feature top of the line specs. With a 5.2' QHD display, paired witha 2.7 GHz Snapdragon 805, Adreno 420 and 3 GB of RAM, this device is a winner. It also has the latest OpenGL ES 3.1, 12 MP back camera with 4K video support, and 2 MP front cam, all while running Android L. Snapdragon 805 might also hint at LTE-A support. Here's the datasheet from GFXBench:

While we don't have any information concerning dimensions, build material and overall look of the device, so far so good, and this device sounds great. If Google also fits a good battery on this one, it could well compete with all other flagships including Galaxy S5 and LG G3.

Since the Nexus 5 was released in November, we might have some time to wait before we get official information about the next Nexus. Lot of details could change until then, including some or all of the specs, and it might not even be a Nexus device, so we'll have to wait and see.

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Motorola year-over-year sales double

Ever since Google acquired it, Motorola has been gaining success upon success. While the beginning was a bit shaky, now Motorola is really starting to bring it in, and the recent report only emphasizes it.

According to ABI Research, a market research firm, Motorola has sold 8.6 million smartphones in the second quarter of 2014. Considering it has sold 6.5 in Q1 2014, that's an immense improvement, and even more so if you consider Q2 2013 featured less than half the sales, that's an improvement of over 100% year-over-year.

We would guess this was mainly helped by the booming succes of the Moto G and E in emerging markets. Another thing we Motorola is doing, which might help users stay loyal, is keeping all devices including the Moto E up-to-date, which is something some OEMs tend to forget.

While that is a very impressive improvement, and is definitely showing a good trend for Motorola, you need to consider two things: First of all, 8.6 million isn't that much, considering the Galaxy S5 by itself sold 11 million in its first month. Secondly, this sales are mostly from the Moto G and Moto E. While any sale is good, the profit margin from the Moto E and G is significantly lower than from other mobiles, so Motorola's profits might not jump a similar 100%.

Nonetheless, that shows a very good trend, and selling many devices will certainly help building Motorola's brand name. All that's left is to see whether or not this will continue once Lenovo acquire it. However, considering the Nexus 6 will be produced by Moto, we can expect this trend to continue in the near future.

Source: PCWorld

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Verizon Moto X+1 to launch on September 25th

The Moto X+1 rumor mill is now working at full speed, and the latest ouput comes courtesy of the trusty Droid Life. According to the report, Verizon will officially launch its Moto X+1 on September 25th, which means launch, as the announcement would probably comes a week or two before that.

While that might very well be the case with Verizon, Motorola promised us a Summer launch date, which would mean pre-September 22nd. We would guess that would be the exact release date, probably the day in which the phone will launch on the Motorola website.

As phones tend to be announced a short while before their launch, you can expect a mid-September announcement date to reveal the full details of the upcoming handset. We already know the probable full specs of the device thanks to a specs-leak on a benchmarking website.

While for Verizon customers it might be more comfortable to buy from the carrier and perhaps a necessity (sometimes only the Verizon model supports the network), Moto Maker offers customization advantages and so you can expect to get that in the area of September 22nd. Stay tuned for more details! 

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Motorola hints at upcoming phone with "Moto Maxx" trademark

Motorola Droid Maxx

By this point we're almost confident Motorola will be the next Nexus manufacturer, with a monstrous 5.9' Nexus 6 'Shamu' coming up, and now it seems Motorola might be preparing another giant device.

Motorola's latest trademark, basically trademarking the name "Moto Maxx", has us wondering what it's about; On one hand, the trademark could smply pointing at an upcoming Motorola Droid Maxx, and will only drop the 'Droid' line.

But, another thing this could be pointing at, is perhaps Motorola will follow in LG's footsteps. As you might recall, preceding the Nexus 5's release was a pretty similar device called the G2, which was bared much resemblance to the later-announced Nexus 5. So, perhaps Motorola will do the same thing, release a Moto Maxx which would be close to the Shamu's dimensions, and afterwards release a similar Nexus 6.

Here's the trademark:

Notwithstanding, it is far more likely this is just a continuation of the Verizon-exclusive Droid Maxx line, only the 'Droid' branding will be dropped in the favor of a more minimalist name. What do you think? Keep in mind trademarks don't always make it to an actual device, and perhaps we will never see a Moto Maxx. 

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Motorola 'Shamu' a.k.a Nexus 6 probably confirmed

On Sunday we brought to you reports of a rumored device code-named 'Shamu', which might actually be the next device in the rumored-to-be-dead Nexus series. The device has an alleged huge 5.9' display, and now according to The Information, that might actually be correct.

As reported by The Information, the handset will in fact be manufactured by Motorola and sport a 5.9' display as the next Nexus (Nexus 6?). It claims to have this confirmed by three different people affiliated with the subject.  Heres the quote:

         Separately, Motorola is also getting a boost from working on an              undisclosed phone-tablet project with Google—the type of initiative which, ironically, it could not pursue as a Google subsidiary due to concerns about favoring the house-owned Android vendor over others...After Lenovo agreed to buy Motorola, Google’s Android unit began working with Motorola to develop a co-branded “Nexus” phone that’s considered to be a “phablet,” or phone-tablet, because of its large screen size, according to three people with knowledge of the matter.

But, the Nexus line was supposedly trashed in favor of Android Silver? Well, looks like actually the latter is the one being discarded. Here's the quote:

Some in [Arora's] camp wanted Silver to supersede the Nexus phone program. But with Mr. Arora’s absence, there are questions about how much firepower Google will give to the Silver program.

If you were wondering about the code-named, Google is continuing its tradition of code-naming its Nexi after aquatic animals, and 'Shamu' is the name of a killer-whale (Orca) who was the first to be captured alive. Yup, that's a big animal, quite fitting to a monstrous 5.9' device.

So, it would seem the Nexus line is here to stay. However, since such a large screen device fits a very niche category, we can't help wonder if Google has two Nexi up their sleeves for this year's release. The handsets should be unveiled around October, so stay tuned for more details.

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'Shamu' may be Nexus 6, be produced by Motorola

Since the Nexus 5 was announced back in November, now is the time of the year when we can at least expect rumors to begin concerning the next iteration, and the leak stream to start flooding. Company's usually run out of patience towards the end of the one year-cycle, so the next device (Nexus 6?) will probably be out sooner or later, probably in the next couple of months.

While earlier this year we've heard rumors of the Nexus line being cancelled completely, to be replaced by Android Silver. However, lacking concrete details about Silver, it's existence slowly dwindled out, and now we're pretty confident it will not really happen. Perhaps it was caused by confusion with the Android One (link 1, link 2).

So, according to a new leak courtesy of Android Police, Google might be dropping LG as its OEM, and hire Motorola instead, to make what would possible be a 5.9' Nexus 6, code-named 'Shamu'.

While the code-name is sensible enough, since Google is known to use aquatic names for its Nexus devices, the screen is pretty unusual. 5.9' is a very niche market, and not only is it not targeted at the main-stream market, it is also not the type of sizes Motorola tends to use. 

Actually, it sounds pretty similar to the size used on the LG G Pro 2. Perhaps an LG comeback? Keep in mind this might only be a prototype device, and things might very well change until the official release, and we'll just have to wait and see. Stay tuned for more details to come up about this device. 

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Moto X can be unlocked using a "digital tattoo"

Did you ever find yourself getting bored with the traditional way of unlocking your smartphone, do you not want to swipe each time you want to open your phone? In a new video, Motorola introduces a new way that's both fast, convenient and secure to unlock your phone, and traditional it sure is not.

In a collaboration with VivaLink, they have produced a "tattoo" which is basically a very thin and durable sticker that you put on your hand. They claim for it to be able to last through swimming, showering, exercising and basically everything you can think of, and it's usable for about 3-5 days before you need to change it.

How does it work? It seems the Tattoo uses NFC technology, in the way that you touch the sticker with your Moto X's back, and that unlocks your phone, even if it is password protected. The unlock should be instantaneous, and you can simply wave your device over the sticker to make it unlock.

According to VivaLink, the sticker is very comfortable and you will barely notice it. While I can't confirm that as I hadn't tried it yet, in my opinion it looks strange and rather un-stylish in the way it looks in the video. 

Here's the full video of the tattoo's introduction:

As far as money goes, VivaLink is selling it on its website for $10 a pack, with each pack holding 10 stickers. Let's do some math now to see how much that costs overall- At a dollar a pop, the company says each sticker is durable for 3-5 days. Let's say 3.5, since companies usually over-estimate. So, with 365 days per year, that would be about 104 stickers per year. With a phone's average life span being 2 years, that means you'll spend a total of $208.57 if you want this technology for use during your smartphone's whole life time.

Of course, $10 will give you 2 months' worth of trials, which isn't too bad if you just want to try it out and perhaps show off a little... If that convinced you to make the purchase, then head right over here.

*Note: if it was unclear, this is only available for the Moto X

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Verizon Moto G gets Android 4.4.4

After the recent soak tests on which we reported here, it now seems the Verizon version of the Moto G is now getting treated to the latest Android 4.4.4.

That marks another check on Motorola’s run for being the most up-to-date company, with almost all its 2013, 2014 devices getting KitKat and now beginning to receive the true latest, 4.4.4. That's much better than other companies, which barely update their latest flagship (LG G2 I'm looking at you).

While 4.4.4 doesn't offer much save for bug fixes and security patches, seeing an “Update is available” notification is always good for the eyes, and a company is always expected to update its flagship to the latest version possible, no matter how minor.

If you didn't get it, be a little patient since OTA update sometime takes a while to spread. You can also check manually in the settings. If you did get it, please tell us if it's the latest 4.4.4r2 version.

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Motorola device appears at FCC

Supposedly leaked Moto X+1

After a few leaked pictures of the Moto X+1 and the web rushing and gushing about it, it seems the current tide of rumors have calmed down, and no new details have surfaced about the device for a while.

However, now something sparked the rumors again: An un-known device has surfaced on the FCC site, with a strange non-letter model number of 4027. The device bares several similarities to what we expect the Moto X+1 to feature:

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Motorola's ban in Germany to be lifted

After the recent court-ruling, which banned Motorola from selling its Moto X and Moto G devices in Germany, a recent workaround by Motorola might upturn that.

As you might know,  the German court ruled Motorola's infringement on German laser-specialist firm LPKF's patent, which patented the process by which an antenna is placed on to a curved plastic design. Now, although that

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