motorola

Man reportedly dies from phone battery blast

A Chinese man has died after a cell phone battery exploded in his chest pocket, according to the Associated Press and other news sources.

Xiao Jinpeng, a welder, reportedly died while working at the Yingpan Iron Ore Dressing Plant in Gansu. A county official told the Xinhua News Agency that the welder had a Motorola phone in his pocket. Colleagues quoted by the agency said the phone was apparently exposed to high temperatures. Xiao suffered broken ribs, and rib fragments pierced his heart, according to reports.

A Beijing spokesman for Motorola, however, is quoted by the Associated Press as saying … Read more

Motorola upgrades to Good 5.0

The fifth version of Motorola's Good Mobile Messaging software will be out later this year with improvements to how the software handles attachments, calendar appointments and deleting massive amounts of e-mail.

If you're not using a BlackBerry, your employer might be using Good Mobile Messaging to "push" your corporate e-mail to a mobile device. Good Technology developed the product before being acquired by Motorola last year, and this is the first major release since the acquisition.

Good 5.0 lets you group e-mails by conversation, deleting those threads from hell in one fell swoop. It lets … Read more

Moto Madness: Z3, Z6, or Z8?

If you're into Moto Rizrs, as I am, you know you can buy the Z3--but you're anxiously awaiting the Z8.

But don't ignore the third in this series, the Z6. With a great feel, a solid slide, and even a separate MP3 button, this cell phone has "winner" stamped all over it.

The chrome casing is eye-catching and good-feeling (the rubberized Z3 drops a notch there) and talk time has been around five to six hours for me, with excellent reception. Browser connection is almost instantaneous. It also takes a 2GB microSD card, so you … Read more

Sprint launches the Motorola Deluxe ic902

Sprint has just released the Motorola Deluxe ic902, the latest in its line of PowerSource phones that combines the best of the Sprint and Nextel services. Weighing around 4.8 ounces, we wouldn't exactly call it a slim and stylish cell phone; it's more of a rugged and durable device made for industrial use. That said, the Deluxe ic902 does have quite a number of useful features. It utilizes Nextel for walkie-talkie services and Sprint for voice and data. The Deluxe ic902 is also the first to support Sprint's higher-end services like PowerVision--this means it has access … Read more

Moto's W385 on its way to Verizon

About this time of year, the new phones we saw at CTIA start to line up for their respective carriers. Last week, we told you that AT&T/Cingular was picking up the Samsung SGH-A717 and SGH-A727, and now Mobiledia is putting the Motorola W385 on deck for Verizon Wireless. Sporting a thin design that looks like a mashup of Moto's Razr and Krzr phones, the W385 has a low-end feature set that includes a VGA camera, a speakerphone, text and multimedia messaging, and Bluetooth. It should arrive at Verizon within the next couple of months.

Sanyo won't share the stage

Around this time each year, J.D. Power and Associates releases its study of customer satisfaction for cell phones. Last month the company named T-Mobile as the favorite carrier among consumers, but this week it turns its attention to handsets. Both Motorola and Sanyo emerged as winners, with each manufacturer spinning the results to their ends. And incidentally, companies both issued press releases that landed in my in-box.

Out of the eight manufacturers surveyed, Motorola and Sanyo tied to receive an overall satisfaction score of 726. Of the five key factors surveyed, Sanyo scored big in operation and battery functionality. … Read more

Wait...was Jack drunk-dialing on a KRZR?

I was tempted to post this yesterday morning, but opted to wait a day because I thought I'd be attacked by the "But I haven't seen the Lost finale yet and now you've spoiled it!" crowd if I did. Anyway, just for safety's sake, IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE LOST SEASON FINALE AND DON'T WANT TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS, DO NOT READ THIS POST.

Anyhoo. Those of us who did watch the Lost season finale know that in a super shocking twist at the end, it was revealed that the episode's … Read more

A green cell phone

Motorola is up to new tricks with its recent patent for a cell phone display that doubles as a solar cell. Apparently, the screen will be able to charge a cell phone's battery when the display is exposed to the sun. Though external solar-powered battery chargers are a reality, this is the first concept we've seen for a cell phone with an integrated solar panel. It's doubtful the phone would get all its juice from the sun. Rather, sunlight probably would power the handset while it's away from an electrical outlet. We have no idea which … Read more

Climber makes record cell call from Everest

You'd think that once you hit the summit of Mount Everest you might be able to count on at least a few incommunicado moments. Not these days.

British climber Rod Baber set a world record Monday for the highest-ever land-based mobile phone call and text message, according to Motorola, which is sponsoring his climb. He called from 29,035 feet at 5:37 a.m. local time using his Motorizr Z8.

Baber, who set out for Kathmandu on March 30 with a global team of climbers, made his first call to a special voice mail account. "It's … Read more

Hands on with the Razr 2; Alltel could pick up the V9m

A day after Motorola released its new Razr 2 cell phones, I got the chance to play with the handsets up close. Though I've grown quite weary of recycled Razrs, I have to admit I liked what I saw. The Razr 2 design is more a refresh of the popular thin handset than a revolution, but it wins new points for beauty. The redesigned hinge and the flattened bottom end are eye-catching, and they contribute to the overall sleek and shiny appearance. And though the V9, V9m, and V8 are just a hair's (0.07 inch) slimmer than … Read more