Motorola Droid 4 Review

When the Motorola Droid hit the scene, the whole Android landscape changed. Since then the marquee device has fallen from the spotlight, but it’s back in a big way for the fourth installment. The Motorola Droid 4 continues to improve upon the design of the QWERTY-slider handset, upping the specs yet again and adding in a first for the line, 4G LTE. Motorola has again made strides to improve the keyboard and has added in a few new software twists to round out the latest edition of the Droid. Is it the best Droid yet? Read on to find out.

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How To Root Verizon Motorola Droid 4 On Android 2.3 Gingerbread

The Droid 4 gets rooted! Motorola may have been trying hard to lock down its handsets lately but this is a seriously blow to all that effort. This comes in straight from Dan Rosenberg’s blog, but not much is known about the exploit or for that matter the success rate. What is known however, is that the root method is more or less a one click method, making it very easy for novice Android users to root their Droid 4.

So if you were lucky enough to get your hands on a Droid 4 and wished to root the device, here’s how you can do that.

Disclaimer: Please follow this guide at your own risk. Androidedz will not be liable if your device gets damaged or bricked during the process.

Requirements:

• Motorola USB Drivers: Download for 32 bit Windows | Download for 64 bit Windows.
• Root for Droid 4.

Instructions:

1. To begin, download and extract the root exploit from the link above.
2. Connect the device to the PC and make sure USB Debugging is enabled in Settings > Applications > Development.
3. Once connected, open the contents of the root exploit you extracted and run the file named run.bat, following the on screen instructions if any appear.

[VIA DAN ROSENBERG]

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How to Root & Install Custom Recovery in Motorola Xoom WiFi on Android 4.0.3 Firmware

Motorola Xoom is awesome tablet after Samsung Galaxy Tab and because of its popularity the tablet had tasted Ice cream sandwich Android 4.0.3 earlier. And the Motorola Xoom WiFi has proved all the potentials and deserves to be treated with rooting procedures. To push the custom ROM was little harder but we had brought you the rooting procedures and custom recovery. The guideline below will make you learn how to root as well as explain you to install a custom recovery. Remind you that the warranty will get canceled after rooting and the best way to restore the warranty is to re-establish the factory firmware.

You must follow the steps but first keep certain points in your mind and they are:

• You must keep backups of all the SMSs, contacts, videos, images and call logs.
• The device battery must be charged with at least 60%.
• Enable USB Debugging through Settings->Application->Development->USB Debugging.

Note: This will only work in rooted Motorola Xoom WiFi with ICS Android 4.0.3 Firmware. So root with your own risk. Techcular will not be responsible for any data loss or mishap occurs.

Pre-Requisites:

1. Computer
2. Fully charged Motorola Xoom WiFi and updated with Android 4.0.3 Firmware.
3. USB data cable

The procedure consists of three steps, first to download files and copy them on device. Secondly, install ClockworkMod Recovery on Motorola Xoom WiFi and lastly install the Superuser.

Download and copy files:

Step 1: Download Superuser package and save in computer.

Step 2: Download ClockworkMod Recovery image and save in computer by renaming it torecovery.img.

Step 3: Now use the USB cable to connect the Motorola Xoom WiFi to your PC.

Step 4: To the root of your device’s SD card copy the two files- ‘Superuser package’ and ‘ClockworkMod Recovery image’.

Step 5: After copping the files in the PC are finished then disconnect the device from the computer.

How to install ClockworkMod Recovery:

Step 1: Shut down your device and reboot into fastboot mode.

Step 2: Now connect to computer using USB cable.

Step 3: After that open a command prompt window on your PC and type the following command below which will push the recovery image into the device.

fastboot flash recovery recovery.img

Step 4: The device will reboot after the recovery image has been pushed.

Step 5: Now disconnect the device from the PC. And the ClockworkMod Recovery is installed and follow the next procedure.

How to install Superuser:

Step 1: Shut down your device and reboot into recovery mode by holding the Volume Down button as soon as you see the Motorola logo while the device is booting up.

Step 2: Select ‘Flash Zip from SD Card’ in recovery mode.

Step 3: Select ‘Choose Zip from sd card’ and then select the ‘Superuser package’.

Step 4: Now the package will be flashed to your device.

Step 5: Reboot in normal mode.

Walla! Your Motorola Xoom WiFi is now rooted and you can enjoy the custom ROM and tweaks on device.

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Verizon Now Selling 16GB Droid RAZR for $199

With the Motorola DROID RAZR MAXX lined up for a potential January 26th launch, Verizon has seen to it to drop the pricing on the standard Droid RAZR. But that isn’t the only thing that is dropping. To reach the new $199 price point storage space has been sacrificed. For the money you will find only 16GB of internal storage and no included microSD card. You will still get a handset that is one of the slimmest on the market without the extra bulk of the RAZR MAXX’s 3300mAh battery. We are guessing the newer model will take over at the $299 pricing.

[Verizon via AndroidGuys]

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Motorola to Showcase 24 Hours of Battery Might at Feb. 6 RAZR MAXX Event?

With other hardware staying the same, the only way Motorola plans to differentiate the RAZR MAXX from the original is through its 3300mAh battery. Forget that it adds a bit of thickness onto the device, this thing holds some juice! A tip has gone out that February 6th will bring us a demonstration of said juice with a Motorola event that will see the RAZR MAXX bombarded with action for 24 hours straight while attempting to maintain a single charge. With its large display and LTE radio, battery life was certainly a concern of the original RAZR and looks to be a concern of smartphone manufacturers going forward. Rumors have placed the launch of the RAZR MAXX on January 26th. It isn’t clear if news of Motorola’s demonstration has any bearing on the release of the device.

[via Engadget]

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OG Motorola Droid Receives Android 4.0 (Again) – This Time In A Less Alpha Alpha [Video]

Still hanging on to that aging Motorola Droid? Feels weird not having a number or surname after the “Droid” title but if you’re still waiting for a price drop on that superphone you’ve been eying, you may want to try out Android 4.0 in the meantime. Apparently, Ice Cream Sandwich has come a long way since we first saw an early port squeezed into the device back in December. Don’t believe me? Just check out the video below and see for yourselves.

The ROM comes courtesy of Kabaldan over on XDA Developers and although this build is still considered an alpha release, it’s nowhere near as alpha as that one port making the rounds a few months ago. If your OG Droid is rooted and you feel like throwing a new ROM for old time’s sake, just hit up the link below for the thread on XDA.

[Via XDA]

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Motorola’s Defy+ JCB Limited Edition is Really Just a Rugged Phone With a Rugged Case for the UK

The folks at Motorola have just announced a new limited edition of the Motorola DEFY+ , the rugged smartphone that’s built to take a beating or three. We’re looking at the JCB edition of the device but you’d be hard-pressed to find anything worth paying extra for here – it’s simply the same phone that’s been out in retail, except it comes with a rugged JCB case. It’ll be available in the UK. Yep, that’s it. Oh, here are the specs if you needed a reminder:

• Powered by Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) and features more than 300,000 apps from Android Market^™
• 1 GHz processor that runs 25 percent faster for efficient Web browsing and multitasking
• Water resistant, scratch resistant and dust proof to withstand all that life throws users way
• Features scratch resistant Corning^® Gorilla^® Glass
• 3.7-inch high-resolution touch screen display
• MOTOBLUR™ lets users stay in touch with friends, providing quick access to social media accounts and live widgets directly from the homescreen
• Motorola Media Link allows users to sync their media content from their desktops at home or work
• Loaded with the ability to create group emails and communication
• Adobe® Flash® Player 10 for uncompromised viewing of applications, content and videos
• 5MP camera with auto focus, flash and digital zoom
• 2GB internal; 2GB microSD card in box, expandable up to 32GB¹
• Access to Google Mobile^™ Services (Google Maps^™ with Navigation, Google Talk^™, browsing)
• 1700 mAH battery for 7.1 hours of talk time and 16 days in standby²

[Motorola]

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