Project Ara will remain in Google after the sale of Motorola

Shortly after the official announcement about Lenovo’s acquisition of Motorola, a word got out on the fate of the Project Ara modular phone. Motorola’s Advanced Technology group which developed the device, as well as its patents will remain with Google. According to people familiar with the subject, the division behind Project Ara will be integrated within the Android...

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Lenovo acquires Motorola Mobility from Google for $3 billion

Google announced that it has reached an agreement to sell Motorola Mobility to Lenovo. The Chinese electronics giant will pay approximately $2.91 billion for the smartphones business with $1.41 billion due at the deal’s closing in cash and ordinary shares, and the remaining $1.5 billion as a three-year promissory note. As part of the deal, Google will retain the bulk...

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Google admits it couldn't go 'all-in' on Moto, says it is better off with Lenovo

Larry turns the Page on Googorola chapter Google CEO Larry Page has explained the company's somewhat surprising decision to sell Motorola to Chinese manufacturer Lenovo in a deal worth $2.91 (around £1.8bn). In an official blog post, Page admitted Google was unable to devote all of its attention to reinvigorating Motorola, alongside its other commitments...

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Lenovo answers questions about the Motorola acquisition

Say hello to Lenoto? Motorola is joining the Lenovo family and here are a few tantalizing details we know: The flagships aren't going anywhere - in fact, Lenovo has nothing but praise for the Moto X, and even the Moto G. The company plans on a three-year time table to really challenge the smartphone industry with its new partnership but in that time, Lenovo...

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It's official, Google is selling Motorola Mobility to Lenovo for $2.91 billion

Google is reportedly ditching its Motorola division Chinese PC manufacturer Lenovo has agreed a deal with Google to acquire smartphone maker Motorola Mobility, it has now been confirmed. Less than three years after paying $12.5 billion (around £7.5bn, AU$14bn) to acquire Google is parting with Motorola for a mere $2.91 billion (around £1.8bn, AU$3.5bn) in...

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Google reportedly pressuring Samsung to ease up on its own apps

Magazine UX, we hardly knew ya! Following the announcement earlier this week that Google and Samsung will be licensing each other's patents, new details have come to light suggesting the Android maker might be influencing the manufacturer to back off its own customizations. Re/code reported today that the Android-based Magazine UX user interface shown off...

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AT&T offers $100 credit for every new line of service to new and existing customers

Every little bit helps (credit: AT&T) AT&T really wants more customers to join its network and its latest incentive puts money into users' pockets. AT&T is throwing $100 to new and existing customers opening a new line of service. The bonus is eligible for every new smartphone, tablet, feature phone, mobile hotspot, or Wireless Home Phone line...

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SA: Android share grows to 79% in 2013, iOS loses ground

As we already reported, 2013 is the strongest year for smartphones sales to date with more than 990 million units shipped - a steep rise from the 700 million in 2012. According to Strategy Analytics, the real winner of the blooming smartphone sales in Android, as Google's mobile OS now holds 79% of the smartphone market. This means that nearly every 4 out of 5 phones...

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Geeksphone offers two different OS' on one phone

The Geeksphone revolution made its news debut a little over a month ago, and not much was known about the device, except that it would offer multiple operating systems on a single handset. True,Geeksphone offers both Android and an "alternative os", but don't think that you'll be able to use Windows Phone or iOS as that alternative. Also the base OS of the phone...

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First leaked pictures of Windows Phone 8.1 notification center

It's no secret Microsoft is working on the Windows Phone 8.1 update that is supposed to bring notification center and intelligent voice assistant among other features. We've heard rumors and seen lots of alleged shots before, but today we finally get a glimpse of the real deal. The leaked photos show the settings of the upcoming notification center and are from an early...

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Samsung Galaxy S5 alleged 16MP camera sample leaks

An apparently test Flipboard account, @123fliptest, had posted a photo 20 days ago but suddenly that photo is garnering a lot of attention. And it's because of what's in the photo but of what's in the EXIF data. The camera that allegedly took the shot is a Samsung SM-G900V and the G900 name is known from a couple of benchmarks. One of those benchmarks was AnTuTu and...

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Moto X arrives early in UK stores

One sale now, but do you want it? When Motorola announced the Moto X was finally coming to the UK we were given a release date of February 1, but it turns out it's already here. High street retailer Phones 4U is already peddling the Motorola Moto X with contract, PAYG and SIM-free options available. The Moto X arrives with black and white colour options...

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Bluetooth: What does it really do and will it be replaced?

Are its days numbered? Bluetooth is old and it might be on the way out. It's been around since 1994 and these days it seems to be in just about anything that's even looked at a circuit board, but now there are new kids on the block. NFC, Wi-Fi Direct and more are encroaching on Bluetooth's turf, which got us wondering, is Bluetooth here to stay or are its...

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Samsung AMOLED tablets set for MWC 2014 unveiling

We've got our fingers crossed Hot on the heels of the launch of the 12.2-inch Samsung Galaxy Note Pro and Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro comes news that Samsung may be bringing the AMOLED technology that has made its phone screens so impressive over to its tablet range. Reports from Korean news site ETNews state that mass production of 8 and 10.5-inch AMOLED screens...

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16MP Galaxy S5 test shot still leaves ISOCELL questions unanswered

ISOCELL technology would give the S5 something more to shout about Data from a photo allegedly taken by a Samsung Galaxy S5 variant has provided some clues about the device's potential camera. According to the usually-reliable Twitter tipster @evleaks, the uninspiring image was shot on a Samsung SM-G900V which is expected to be the Verizon variant of the...

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LG G Pro 2 appears in a couple of leaked images

LG has officially confirmed that the successor of the LG Optimus G Pro will be called LG G Pro 2. Apart from that, the South Korean manufacturer did not reveal any other details regarding the hardware specifications and the overall design of the upcoming phablet. Fortunately, we now have a duo of leaked images, of the G Pro 2 to fill in some of the blanks. The live images...

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Nokia Black update rolling out for Lumia 520

Nokia tested the 512MB RAM waters for the Black update with the Lumia 625 and now it's rolling out the software for the most popular Windows Phone device out there, the Lumia 520. Nokia Black builds on top of Windows Phone GDR3 and brings various improvements. From GDR3, it gets Bluetooth 4.0 LE support and the ability to close apps from the app switcher menu, there's...

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Three UK confirms data loss for users

Are you getting internet on your mobile? It looks like Three's network has gone wonky this morning, as many users are finding they cannot access internet on their smartphones and tablets. Three UK tweeted: "Some customers are having internet issues. We're sorry for any inconvenience. We're working on fixing this quickly. We will update you here." We've...

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