Update: We have reached out to Motorola to confirm the availability of Jelly Bean for the Australian released handsets. While Australian users will not be eligible for a $100 rebate if Jelly Bean is not delivered, Motorola has confirmed that the RAZR M and RAZR HD will be upgraded to Jelly Bean, and more details on the timing of the update will be shared as soon as they are firmed up.
Having been a bit quiet for a while, Motorola has come out and unleashed a slew of new handsets, and the better news is that some of them are coming to Australia too.
Motorola is making three new additions to its RAZR smartphone family and we’ve got the details below.
RAZR M
This has to be a first — the RAZR M has a 4.3″ Super AMOLED display, but it’s not just that – it also spans from edge to edge. There’s no border, no bezel, just all screen. This allows the handset to be smaller than some of its competitors while still packing in large screen real-estate.
Besides this, Motorola markets the RAZR M as being easy to use for beginners as well as more advanced Android users. The phone features tutorials to help you setup and customise your phone, and no instruction manual is required. The RAZR M also features an extra long-life battery, but you can set up even further rules on the handset to squeeze even more juice from each charge.
What we know of the specs:
- S4 processor
- 1 GB of RAM
- edge-to-edge display
- Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, with a promise of Jelly Bean to come
- 8 MP camera
The RAZR M will be available in two colours — black or white — and will be available in Australia exclusively with Telstra.
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| Moto RAZR M | Moto RAZR HD |
RAZR HD
Featuring a larger, 4.7″ screen, the RAZR HD will provide long-lasting battery performance to power non-stop high definition entertainment, Motorola says. Big screen, compact handset, designed for up to 10 hours of movies and TV viewing, or 6 hours of browsing the ‘net. These are some pretty big claims and if it can meet them, this will be an impressive handset.
Even more battery intensive tasks — like running voice-guided GPS navigation — won’t kill the battery until you’ve been going for around 6 hours. I’d like to see that. Motorola are claiming that the RAZR HD will last 24 hours with average use. I haven’t seen a smartphone do that in… well… ever.
The RAZR HD’s specs are quite impressive, except for the 1GB of RAM and CPU.. I’d expect more from a device touted as being as fantastic as Motorola wants us to believe it is.
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 1.5 GHz dual-core S4 processor
- 4.7-inch Super AMOLED HD display
- LTE connectivity
- 2500mAh battery
- Android 4.0.4, with Jelly Bean on the way
- 1GB of RAM
- 32GB of internal storage
- NFC
- 8MP rear-facing camera
The RAZR HD will also be available in black and white through Telstra.
DROID RAZR MAXX HD
This is the one that isn’t — as yet — coming to Australia, though chances are you’ll be able to get your hands on it other ways if you’re keen. The RAZR MAXX HD has largely the same specs as the RAZR HD, but has 150% of the battery capacity. That’s right, Motorola are claiming this device can power on for around 32 hours of use — this on a device with LTE radios and an HD screen.
The RAZR M and RAZR HD will both be compatible with Telstra 4G LTE, and while the devices will launch with Android 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich, Motorola are advising that they will all – probably – be upgradable to Android 4.1 Jelly Bean at some point.
For ROM developers and Android hackers — like some of us — Motorola will be releasing the RAZR M and RAZR HD in a special developer edition available online only, that will have an unlockable bootloader to allow all manner of tinkering and customisation beyond the standard Android feature-set.
Those interested in registering their interest can do so at Telstra’s product page for the range.
Please, please, please Motorola, let Razr Maxx HD be available in Australia. I’M BEGGING YOU!
I’m surprised the new Razr’s aren’t quad core. And the announcement mentioned “developer editions” for people who want to “modify Android”, which I guess is where the unlocked bootloaders will be. Although I thought I read somewhere that even the developer edition of the previous Razr still isn’t unlocked. Is that right?
pity about the camera. 8MP is so last year
Lenses count more than megapickels. As long as my phone can take half-decent snaps and read QRcodes, I’m happy. I have a real camera with proper lenses for when I need to take photos that matter.
If the RAZR HD MAXX was available it would be an instant recontact with Telstra. I have the RAZR MAXX currently out of contract and love the battery life but I would drop it for the new MAXX for LTE even if it does have on screen buttons! I will be pleasantly surprised but I seriously doubt either my current MAXX and the new HD’s will get 4.1 by the years end (if ever!) Moto said the same thing last year and it took them >10months to get it out for the RAZR and so many other Motorola phones dont… Read more »
Looks like they’re taking battery-life over CPU performance. Priced right these could do well.
They certainly need to carve out some niche as they have a long way to go to catch the leaders.
Any mention of a photon Q/droid 4 device coming to Aus?
Not at this time.
Thanks. Thats a pity though. Can’t understand not one OEM having a qwerty in Australia
They don’t sell well in Australia. They are niche and with the size of our market, its not worth it to fill that niche.
Motorola seems to be heading in the right direction, at least when it comes to industrial design.
I really like their newly announced range of RAZR products. Big batteries and small bezels are a winner in my book. In fact, when you look at that Droid RAZR M, it is barely bigger than an iPhone 4/4S while having a 4.3″ screen and a 2,000 mAh battery.
Looking forward to international versions of these. I hope Aussie carriers show them some love. That’s the other thing Moto needs to work on, its carrier relationship.
i agree with everything you said… Motorola looks like they have a flagship device.. also off topic abit but i hope telstra launches a mobile wallet to use that NFC chip
That RAZR M looks sextay!