Motorola won’t be pulling any punches during the Super Bowl this year as it prepares to run a spot that calls out Apple’s iconic 1984 Macintosh television advertisement. The reborn cell phone maker uploaded its Super Bowl commercial to YouTube today in an effort to generate some buzz — and generate some buzz it will. Motorola’s “Goodbye 1984″ ad references one of the most famous Apple commercials of all time, which compared Microsoft’s stranglehold on the PC market to Orwell’s famous novel, 1984. “2011 looks a lot like 1984,” the commercial contends, suggesting that it’s time for consumers to have choices beyond Apple’s iPad — namely, the upcoming Motorola XOOM. In any event, it’s a smart spot that is sure to make some waves and ruffle some feathers. Hit the jump for the full commercial.

UPDATE: A Motorola rep just reached out to clarify that this spot is a teaser for Motorola’s upcoming Super Bowl ad, not the actual ad, which will premier on Super Bowl Sunday.

[Via 9 to 5 Mac]

The original Motorola DROID practically saved Motorola’s wireless division (though we suppose you could argue Verizon deserves the same amount of credit, if not more). Following up on their superstar handset is the Motorola DROID 2 — couple refinements here, couple changes there. It’s nothing breathtaking, more like another option in the getting-very-crowded Android section on Verizon Wireless. Here are some first thoughts and our unboxing gallery follows:

• The handset unfortunately feels a little bit cheaper than the original. It creaks along the sides a bit, and we’re not in love with the design identity of the phone. It’s almost like Motorola went backwards when trying to make the device have a bit more mass-market appeal with the chrome, blue color scheme, and now more rounded design — feels like their vision wasn’t carried all the way through.
• The keyboard is slightly more pronounced now (the middle of each key is domed), but we have to say, it’s not the update we hoped it would be. Comparing it to the old, flat keyboard, we’re not sure what we’d pick. You can feel each key more on the new keyboard, but we’re not sure if that let’s you type any faster.
• The screen is solid — seems identical to the original DROID.
• Android 2.2 doesn’t really feel like Android 2.2 since it’s been BLUR’d and MOTO’d. We’d have loved this to be a stock Android 2.2 handset. This is basically a DROID X in a different form factor.
• All in all seems solid, and a great product refresh, though we do wish that Motorola would have pushed the bar a tad bit higher.

Click on over to our Motorola DROID 2 unboxing gallery!

Motorola has been going toe and toe with RIM over alleged patent infringement both here in the US and across the pond in the UK. Motorola’s UK case focused on BIS and BES technologies, claiming that the two messaging systems infringe upon patents that Motorola holds for an RF-based message communication system. In ruling against Motorola, the judge noted that messages from BES servers were not suitable for RF transmission and that RIM’s BIS servers are physically located in Canada and are out of the court’s jurisdiction. In a further blow to Motorola, the court held that there was no inventive step and the patent itself was declared invalid. Sorry Motorola, better luck next time, we guess.

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It’s all lawsuits and complaints galore this year with Apple against Nokia, Nokia against Apple and now Motorola against Research In Motion. Apparently, according to Motorola, RIM is violating five Motorola patents which involve Wi-Fi access, application management, power management and UI. So, Motorola decided to file a complaint with the International Trade Commission, or ITC, in hopes to block the import of any and all devices that violate its patents. We’re guessing that means virtually all new devices. And if RIM decides to side-step the issue and continue delays, Motorola’s IP attorney says:

In light of RIM’s continued unlicensed use of Motorola’s patents, RIM’s use of delay tactics in our current patent litigation, and RIM’s refusal to design out Motorola’s proprietary technology, Motorola had no choice but to file a complaint with the ITC to halt RIM’s continued infringement. Motorola will continue to take all necessary steps to protect its R&D and intellectual property.

We’re guessing, or hoping, that some licensing deals can be worked out between the two companies so things can go on business as usual. But at this point, it’s kinda looking like “If you can’t beat them, block them” on Motorola’s end. What do you guys think? Tort reform!

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Motorola has some major plans with handset releases this year and it looks like it’s off to a timely start. We just showed you guys images of the Calgary/Devour a few weeks ago, and now it’s popping up in Verizon’s system. The camera flash washes out the line item in the image, but there’s no mistaking that for anything else. Anyone excited and digging the rather bland silver color of the device?Read

While we’re busy sitting here trying to figure out how this new phone is supposed to be pronounced, South Koreans are rejoicing that this Android device has become official there. We’ve all seen this handset before as the Motorola XT701 for China, but now we know that Korea will have it through SK Telekom. The device is running Android 2.0 and supports Gmail, YouTube, Google Maps and Google Talk. Basically, anything and everything Google will be delivered on this handset for the full Android experience. Shutterbugs and weekend videographers will be happy to know the MOTOROI packs an 8 megapixel sensor camera with Xenon flash, and has a 720p HD camcorder. Add to that support for up to 32GB of storage, a 3.7″ WVGA screen, HDMI capabilities, TV out and built in radio and it looks like Korea’s first Android device is a formidable one.

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The folks over at Motorola were nice enough to give us a deep dive into the new BACKFLIP which will be available Q1. You’re all aware that it features MOTOBLUR, Motorola’s UI over Android, so as far as the OS it’s not different from the CLIQ. The big difference is the form factor: it flips backward, hence its name, to close. As you can see above, it’s “Flippin’ Brilliant.” Man, that hurt.

When it’s closed, you have the deactivated keyboard with 5MP camera and LED flash on one side, and a blank slate on the other (screen safely tucked inside). When you flip it open, it’s like having a mini-computer in your hands — the back of the screen even has a trackpad that you can scroll and click on to navigate the screen. Why? So that shiny screen doesn’t get smudgy when it doesn’t have to. You can also flip it open and set it down to watch videos and use it to play a slideshow of all your images. The bonus is that it can go into dock mode or table-side mode, just like the DROID, except you don’t need to purchase a dock for it. Looks pretty good for a mid-range phone. We just don’t have an official release date yet and there haven’t been any carrier announcements from Motorola, but they do say this will be a global device. Click on through to our gallery to check out more pics!

Click on over to our Motorola BACKFLIP hands on gallery!

After a recent major come-back, Motorola is rumored to be planning something major for CES next week. Analysts are predicting that on January 6, Motorola will be announcing an Android device for AT&T, and the only guess that leaves us with right now is the Motorola Motus. A second device is slated for Verizon Wireless, according to rumors, and if we had to bet, you’ll see the Motorola Calgary. These are just rumors for now, but we’ll see soon enough.

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It comes as no surprise to us that the Motorola DROID has been seeing some really successful sales numbers since its release. As a matter of fact, it is getting mighty close to its target of finding one million hands by the end of the fourth quarter. Actual sales figures are reported to be somewhere in the neighborhood of 700,000 to 800,000 devices sold, which is nearing Verizon and Motorola’s goal and already well over analyst predictions. If Verizon sees a big holiday push, that number can easily crawl over the one million mark. It doesn’t hurt to have a $100 million ad campaign — it’s definitely paying off, but what we want to know is how many of you contributed to those sales numbers and if you’re happy with your decision so far. Share your experience in the comments!

HowardForums member wnrussell has just leaked the first few device-on images of the Motorola Tao, codenamed the Sholes of course, and to say it’s looking sexy could be the understatement of the year. Verizon fans, get ready to start drooling. Unfortunately none of the images show the device slid open so we’ll all have to wait a bit longer to see if any hardware changes have been made to the keypad area since the prototype we showed you exclusively last month. Even still, it’s great to see device-on shots finally start to trickle out as we should be getting very close to an official announcement. Hit the jump for more shots.

Thanks, Dan!

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September is the month of the feature phone at Verizon Wireless thanks to launches of the Samsung Rogue, Samsung Intensity, Nokia Twist and soon the Motorola Entice. Our ninja just hit us with all the Entice info fit to print and those looking for a cheap phone with fair specs definitely won’t be disappointed. Those looking for anything else, on the other hand, definitely will be disappointed. The Entice is an entry level clam shell that will replace the Motorola W755 in Verizon’s lineup. Features include a 2.2-inch color display with a resolution of 176×220 pixels, 1X/EV-DO connectivity, 2 megapixel camera/camcorder, built-in music player, microSD expansion (up to 8GB), one touch access to Bluetooth, music and speaker phone, threaded messaging, 2.5 mm headset jack and support for all of the Verizon-specific services like V Cast, Chaperone, VZ navigator. The phone will be available online starting September 22nd and will appear in other channels when the current stock of W755′s has been depleted. In terms of pricing, you’re looking at $39.99 after a $50 mail in rebate and a 2-year contract, $109.99 after a $50 mail in rebate and a 1-year contract or $219.99 for full retail.  Hit the jump for the full slide, some closeups of the handset and the detailed specs.

Note to phone manufacturers: When giving press/bloggers hands on time with the handset that is the crucial first step in your rebuilding process, please do so in desirable lighting as opposed to darkness. Ambiance is great on a first date — not so much when you’re tying to check out a new phone. Moving along, we finally had some time alone with the Motorola CLIQ a short while ago and we have to say, we were pretty impressed. This is not a high-end handset by any means of course, but it’s not supposed to be. Moto set out to create a social network-friendly handset for the younger crowd and in that regard, we think the company really excelled. Where the seasoned mobile enthusiast is concerned, the CLIQ gives us a glimpse of what’s in store for higher-end handsets like the Sholes that are still forthcoming. So sit back, relax and hit the jump for our initial thoughts and a handful of dimly-lit pics and a video.

We’ll start things off by saying that the CLIQ really did impress us. The device is thin, it felt solid and it had some good heft; it’s definitely not some plastic-feeling lightweight that would shatter from a two-foot drop. This will be good news for those who were a bit worried by the plasticky look of the initial Morrison pics that leaked a while back. Our main concern with slider phones in general is the actual sliding mechanisms — they have a tendency to feel clunky and wear out quickly. With the Motorola CLIQ however, nothing feels like it was made in haste. The components look and feel great and the slider was as good as it can possibly get on a phone with this form factor. Of course, we here at BGR are more discerning about keyboards than anyone else we know, so you’ll be happy to know we were very happy with the keyboard on the CLIQ. It had just the right amount of tactile feel and the contour of the keys made the board feel like it was spaced out perfectly. Moreover, the devices we handled weren’t final production units so it can only get better when the production run slides off the line (in theory).

Onto the UI — our initial impressions of MOTOBLUR over the Android OS are great. It’s snappy, laid out quite well and very intuitive over all. Motorola did a fine job on the glass screen and it doesn’t take away from the vivid display or the experience of touching and swiping. The social networking aspects of BLUR are the highlight of Motorola’s new device of course, and Moto’s UI does a fine job of showcasing SoNet features and making it easy to interact with your contacts.

Perhaps we weren’t expecting much to start (we were assuming, given the social networking strengths, that the CLIQ was geared entirely towards teens), so that could help explain why we were so impressed after handling the phone. The true test is always seeing how we feel after a week or so with the handset so for that we’ll just have to wait for T-Mobile to start shipping review units. We tried to squeeze a release date out of Moto of course, but all we got was a reiteration that it’s due in Q4 and more specifics will be announced toward the end of this month. In the end, we think Motorola has certainly put itself back on the map with the CLIQ and its new MOTOBLUR UI, and more importantly for us, we’re hearing Moto’s next few Android handsets will take things even further. Game on.

Well what do you know? Just two days ahead of Motorola’s official entrance into Android land, two XML handsets profiles have been unearthed. Basic specs are really all we can glean from device profiles and in that regard, neither handset appears to be anything particularly special. Listed as the MB200 and MB300, each handset sports a Qualcomm MSM 7200A processor — likely clocked at 528MHz — powering a 320×480 pixel touchscreen display and GSM/WCDMA radios. The MB300 includes a 5 megapixel camera while then MB200′s shooter is apparently too insignificant to be referenced in the profile. As for what these handsets will materialize as, the MB200 is most likely the Morrison. The MB300 is a bit more of a mystery for the time being, though it could end up being the Calgary (100% speculation). We suppose it could also be a GSM variant of the Motorola Sholes, though “A855″ and “MB300″ aren’t very suggestive of twins. The bottom line is that all will be revealed on Thursday and we’ll be on hand as the drama unfolds.

[Via CellPassion]

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Hot off the press from China, it looks like Motorola might not be done with Windows Mobile just yet. We can’t say much about this tiny touchscreen handset for the time being but the Windows key in the bottom left corner is unmistakable — the A3300, should it actually reach market, will be a WinMo smartphone through and through. Beyond the OS, the only other noteworthy tidbits gleaned from these leaked images are the full touchscreen form factor, touch sensitive buttons beneath the display and the presence of a 5 megapixel camera with an LED flash. Beyond that, odds are good that if this little guy is real it will likely be confined to the Chinese market. Hit the jump for a shot of the back.

Thanks, Antony!

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We’ve been sitting on the Shules for a few months now but since renders/details and a live pic of the upcoming Moto have already been leaked, our ninja gave us the green light. Behold… Shules (no, of course that won’t be the launch name). As for additional details, first and foremost we’re told that this handset is not the Calgary we scooped exclusively last year. It’s a different handset entirely and the Calgary is still in development from what we understand. It’s also not a QWERTY retooling of the Flash, which some have speculated. Our guess is the Flash will still drop on Verizon sometime next year, just as the myTouch 3G is a full touchscreen follow up to the QWERTY-sporting G1; that’s just speculation, however. Also bear in mind that these pictures — including the one leaked yesterday — are old. This handset is a prototype and we’re hoping it has been refined a bit since these shots were taken. Of course, we’d be plenty happy to take this sexy 3.7-inch touchscreen-rocking Android phone as-is but we’d love to see the production model come a tiny bit closer to the renders. Hit the jump for a bigger version of the image above along with a couple more shots.