Motorola Plans Google Android Event For Sept. 10
For the past several months, Motorola has said that it will focus its efforts around building Android-based smartphones in a bid to thwart slumping device sales and continued revenue declines.
While Motorola has yet to fully detail its plans for Android, the save-the-date invitation e-mailed to members of the press Tuesday featured the Motorola logo and the now-famous green Google Android android. The e-mail said the event will be Sept. 10 in San Francisco.
While neither Google Android nor Motorola offered additional information of what's in store for Sept. 10 in San Francisco, the event will most likely act as Motorola's official debut of its Google Android strategy.
Motorola is rumored to already have two Google Android devices and one customizable variation of Android in the pipeline. Earlier this month, details of two of the devices, the Motorola Sholes and the Motorola Morrison, surfaced.
The Motorola Morrison, a touch screen with a slide-out QWERTY keyboard, is rumored for an Oct. 21 release date on T-Mobile's network. Early specs indicate the Android-based Motorola Morrison will feature a Qualcomm MSM7201A 528MHz CPU, 256 MB of RAM and 512 MB of flash. The Motorola Morrison will also support up to a 32-GB microSDHC memory card and feature a 320 x 480 HVGA display with a three-axis four-way screen rotation accelerometer.
The Motorola Morrison will pack in a 5-megapixel camera with autofocus, white balance, geotagging and color effects; Wi-Fi support; Bluetooth 2.0 connectivity; USB 2.0 and Micro USB support; and a 3.5mm headphone jack. The Motorola Morrison also will support video recording and location services such as GPS.
Motorola's second Google Android device, the Motorola Sholes, is expected to join Verizon Wireless' network sometime later this year. According to a leaked Verizon Wireless device road map, the Sholes will hit Verizon's network in late October. The Sholes will mark the first Google Android device to hit Verizon. It will feature a 3.7-inch touch screen, besting the iPhone and HTC's other Google Android offerings.
The Motorola Sholes is expected to ship with Android 2.0, dubbed clair, and will feature a microSD/microSDHC expansion slot, a 5-megapixel camera, USB 2.0 support, GPS, a 3.5mm headphone jack, Bluetooth 2.0 and support for a host of audio and video formats.
Along with the two devices, Motorola's Sept. 10 Google Android event could also be the official unveiling of Motorola Blur, which is Motorola's customized Android user interface that can combine contacts and social networking into one easy-to-navigate pane of glass. Blur is expected to be Web-connected, meaning devices can upgrade different sections of the OS and interface over-the-air.
It's still unclear whether all of Motorola's Google Android devices will run Blur, but it appears the world will find out come Sept. 10.