Verizon And Redbox To Take On Netflix With New Video On Demand Service

Verizon has teamed up with DVD rental service Redbox, and the two companies are working together to launch a new video ion demand service to compete with Netflix and other video on demand services.
The new video on demand service will launch in the second half of 2012, and it will be a subscription based service, which will be delivered by Verizon, and Redbox will continue to operate its DVD rental service.

When you consider the core elements the parties bring to this venture – our powerful brands; our national rental kiosk footprint; our anytime, anywhere network presence; and our mutual commitment to customer-focused innovation – it’s clear that Verizon and Redbox are a powerful entertainment team,” said Bob Mudge, president of Verizon consumer and mass business markets.
There are no details on how much the new video on demand service from Verizon and Redbox will cost, as soon as we get some more information we will let you guys know.

Rdio Launches New Android App

Rdio has announced the launch of a new Android app, and the latest version of Rdio from Android comes with a range of new features, and according to the guys from Gizmodo, this new version is better than the iOS version.
Some of the new features in the Rdio app for Android include album charts, network activity, user profiles, new releases and more, and the latest version now supports Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich.


“With the Rdio for Android redesign, we were focused on bringing Android users the best mobile music discovery application possible,” said Malthe Sigurdsson, VP of Product, Rdio. “We believe this launch further reinforces our commitment to creating the most visual, social and interactive experience of music across every platform.”
You can find out more information about the new Rdio Android app over at Rdio.

Samsung Galaxy Ace Plus To Cost £249 In The UK

Samsung recently announced the Samsung Galaxy Ace Plus, a new budget Android smartphone which is due to land in the UK shortly, and now it looks like the handset will retail for $249.99 SIM free.
One UK retailer has the Samsung Galaxy Ace Plus up for pre-order for £249.99 SIM free, although they haven’t as yet listed an actual launch date.

The Samsung Galaxy Ace Plus features a single core 1GHz processor, plus a 3.65 inch HVGA touchscreen display with a resolution of 320 x 480 pixels, plus Android 2.3 Gingerbread.
Other specifications include a 5 megapixel camera with auto-focus and an LED flash, HSDPA, WiFi and Samsung’s custom user interface, the TouchWiz UI, plus A-GPS, Bluetooth 3.0, USB 2.0, plus an accelerometer, digital compass and a proximity sensor, it comes with 3GB of built in storage, plus a microSD card slot.
You can find out more information about the SIM free Samsung Galaxy Ace Plus over at Expansys, there are no details as yet on how much the device will retail for on contract with the various mobile providers.

Android 4.0.5 Ice Cream Sandwich Coming In March

Earlier today we heard about the new Android 4.0.4 update for the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, the update is available as a download for Verizon wireless although it hasn’t been released as an OTA update as yet.
Now we have some information about the next version of Ice Cream Sandwich, Android 4.0.5, which according to details revealed by SFR will be coming to the Galaxy Nexus in March.

SFR released details of which of their handsets would be getting updated to various versions of Android, and when the updates would be released, as you can see from the photo below, Android 4.0.5 is scheduled for March.
We don’t as yet have any information on what will be included in the Android 4.0.5 update for the Samsung Galaxy nexus, as soon as we gets some more details we will let you guys know.

Motorola Droid RAZR MAXX Review

This is the Motorola Droid RAZR MAXX on Verizon. Looks a lot like the Motorola Droid RAZR on Verizon, doesn't it? Because it is. You can sum up the MAXX in a single sentence: It's a Motorola DROID RAZR, with a bigger battery. Period, end of story. The software's the same. The hardware's nearly identical. It just has a larger-capacity battery, making the phone slightly thicker.

That can't be the whole review, can it? Well, it most certainly can. Or it could be. But it's not.

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It's still big, it's still fast, and it's still got a lot of great software enhancements from Motorola. And now it has a bigger-capacity battery, that makes the phone feel better, too.	It's still got Android 2.3.5 Gingerbread. We've decided we don't like the display after all. And although the the battery's bigger, you still can't swap it out for a fresh one.
This is the Droid RAZR with a bigger batter. And it's what Motorola and Verizon should have released in November, plain and simple.

Inside this review	More info

The hands-on, versus the Droid RAZR, and other hardware stuff

By now you've probably read our full Motorola Droid RAZR review. If not, go do it now. We'll wait.
The takeaway is that it was a fast, thin phone (perhaps a tad too thin), with one major concern -- the 1780 mAh battery that couldn't be removed. As we've seen time and time again, 4G LTE data chews through a battery. It might not be an issue for everybody, and obviously devices like the iPhone have shown you can get away without removable batteries. But in the abstract, we want to be able to swap in a fresh battery.

So the Droid RAZR MAXX takes care of this by not adding a removable battery, but by nearly doubling the capacity to 3300 mAh. That's definitely a respectable number. But what's really worth shouting from the rooftops is that Motorola did it without grossly distorting the design of the phone. Whereas smartphones usually end up looking like Quasimodo when they strap on a high-capacity extended battery, the MAXX is still manages to come in at 8.99 mm at its thinnest. (The phone's just a bit thicker up by the camera, just like the original Droid RAZR.)
In other words, nearly the same phone, with nearly twice the battery life. Bazinga.
Here's our hands-on with the Droid RAZR MAXX at CES.

Youtube link for mobile viewing

So, yeah. It's the same phone, with a bigger battery. No, really. Same Motorola model number (XT912) and FCC ID (IHDP56ME1) and everything.
Here it is next to the original Droid RAZR. It's almost tough to tell which is which.

Two real questions, then, two answer about the Droid RAZR MAXX: How does it feel, and how did the battery do.

It's still a big, slightly awkward phone. It's still wide (about 2.71 inches) and tall (more than 5 inches). That hasn't changed from the original Droid RAZR. At all. They're exactly the same dimensions. But the extra 1.9 mm of thickness actually makes it feel better in the hand -- the MAXX loses a bit of its lanky feel. Hands-down, it's an improvement across the board. Looks better, feels better, and you get a big-ass battery in the process.
So, how does it perform? Exactly like the original Droid RAZR. With a higher-capacity battery. That's it. No more, no less. Oh, you'll get some great usage out of this phone, no doubt. But remember it's because there's more gas in the tank, not because you've suddenly got some magical runs-all-day engine.

That picture you see above? That's more than two days of relative un-use -- the phone just sitting around. Now something was pinging it a little more than it should have been, because other standby tests we've done have fared much better. As in, it can sit around even longer, get picked up and still be ready to go. Craziness.
In our use, we got through a tough day with relative ease -- leaving Wifi turned off and with an occasionally spotty LTE signal. Having a 3300 mAh battery will do that. At least it damed well better do it. But what we were really wanting to test was standby time. The Droid RAZR did OK when left unplugged overnight. That has as much to do with good coding as anything else. But combine that with the monster battery on the MAXX, and we're not going to freak out if we wake up and realize we forgot to charge overnight. The phone will need to have some charge, in it, of course, but the point is it's not leaking itself to death while you sleep.
Plus, the MAXX has Motorola's sweet Smart Actions feature -- a preloaded app that lets you tweak all sorts of settings and set triggers -- so you can eke out that much more usage time.
Again, none of this is surprising. Larger-capacity battery equals longer usage time. Period.

Wait -- something is different! (Only, not really)

So here's the thing: We're not digging the display on the MAXX. We're definitely noticing the PenTile makeup again, which gives things a bit of a checkered look. And that we're bothered by it on the MAXX is a little odd, since we (erm, me, in particular) were perfectly OK with the qHD display (540x960) on the original Droid RAZR. And because save for the battery battery nothing else has changed, that leaves us thinking a couple things.

1. Recent phones with 720p displays have ruined us for lower resolutions. That's possible, we suppose.
2. We gave the original Droid RAZR a pass when we reviewed it in November. Entirely possibly as well.
3. A combination of the two. This is probably the likely culprit.

Anyhoo -- the technology behind the MAXX's display hasn't changed. You've got 4.3 inches of Super AMOLED with a PenTile matrix. If you hated it before, you'll hate it now. If you thought it was OK before -- well, you might hate it now. Be sure to give it a go in stores before you buy.

The software

Hasn't. Changed. One. Bit. Still running Android 2.3.5. Still full of preloaded applications. And it's still awaiting an update to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich.

The cameras

Also unchanged. You've got an 1.3-megapixel shooter out front, and an 8MP shooter 'round back.

Front-facing camera test

Youtube link for mobile viewing

Rear-facing camera test

Youtube link for mobile viewing

The wrap-up

If we'd bought a Motorola Droid RAZR, we'd be pretty unhappy right about now. Sure, the price dropped $100 to $199. And that's all well and good. But the Droid RAZR MAXX is a better phone, released just a couple months after the original DROID RAZR, with a better battery and better feel because of it. And that's pretty damn inexcusable. 
At no point in the design process did anyone stop and say "Are we only making the RAZR thing for the sake of it being thin?" We're pretty sure someone did. And they were probably shot down. The Droid RAZR was "thinnest" for the sake of being "thinnest." (Never mind that only part of the phone was "thinnest.") The Droid RAZR MAXX is what it should have been. 
The MAXX is an above-average smartphone by just about anyone's definition. We'd probably prefer a removable battery, but the larger capacity on the MAXX lessens that pain. It wouldn't surprise us in the least to see it phase out the original Droid RAZR altogether. That's good news for new buyers, but it's gotta leave a bad taste in the mouths of the early adopters.

Motorola Droid RAZR, RAZR MAXX update pushing out

If you're the proud owner of a Motorola Droid RAZR, or it's brother with a bit bigger gas tank the Motorola Droid RAZR MAXX,   there's an OTA update ready and waiting for you.  Version 6.12.173.XT912.Verizon.en.US (there's no way we could make that one up) started slowly rolling out over the weekend and is now pushing hard and heavy, and chances are you can grab it yourself by simply going to Settings>About Phone>System Updates.  

The update itself is about 150MB in size, and updates the software to Android 2.3.6.  I know many were wanting Ice Cream Sandwich, but this update brings some welcome bug fixes and security patches, so we'll gladly take it.  The full change list, line by line:

• Mobile Hotspot will now successfully allow other devices to connect to all
• Improvements in the Mobile Hotspot security.
• VZ Navigator has been updated with the latest 3D map improvements.
• Visual Voice Mail messages can be marked as read.
• Visual Voice Mail message playback resumes when audio is switched to speaker.
• Visual Voice Mail will successfully subscribe or unsubscribe while connected with Wifi.
• Successfully press back key after playback in Visual Voice Mail without error.
• V CAST App now comes preloaded.
• MotoCast installation steps have been improved for easier use.
• Improved stability of data connectivity after Airplane Mode is disabled.
• Improved data throughput performance in low-signal 4G environments.
• Improved Battery life when using Phone Book Access Profile (PBAP) Bluetooth headsets.
• Successfully save multimedia ringtones.
• Favorite Contacts widget has been updated.
• Improved device stability when moving between home screen panels.
• Email icon has been updated for improved visibility.
• When performing an Over the Air (OTA) update, the display will correctly show the remaining download time.
• CMAS (Commercial Mobile Alert Service) feature has been added.

That's a hell of a list, and seeing improvements with 4G data connectivity is certainly something everyone likes to see.  Things should go smoothly after this one, but if you hit any snags or just want to discuss it all, be sure to hit the forums!

Droid RAZR MAXX out of stock on Verizon's website

That the Motorola Droid RAZR MAXX is popular should come as no surprise -- we just told you to buy it in our Droid RAZR MAXX review. Turns out it's so popular that it's listed as out of stock (along with the LG Revolution and Motorola DROID X2) on Verizon's website. 

Not that you're quite left standing in the cold -- Verizon's got the LG Spectrum (read our complete review) to trump the Revolution, and the Droid X2 is basically dead now with the RAZR MAXX and Droid BIONIC in the stables. But if you've got your heart set on the RAZR, we'd recommend holding out for the MAXX. Sure, Verizon's got it on its site in white, black or purple in 16GB or white or black in 32GB -- but you're going to want to hold out for the MAXX's 3300 mAh battery.

Trust us on this. If you have to wait, wait. If you can find one in stores, or at some other online retailer, do that. It's well worth the extra $50 to $100 (depending on the storage size) over the original Droid RAZR