Verizon's Motorola launch gets closer, but Hub is dead
Published: 2 October, 2009
READ MORE: US | Verizon | Motorola | Handset | Android
Verizon is gearing up for next week's CTIA Wireless event in San Diego, where it will show off the latest developments in its open developer program and a range of gadgets. But the question on most people's lips is - will the giant carrier launch a Motorola Android phone at last?
Originally, Verizon was expected to join Motorola's party last month, where it introduced the T-Mobile Cliq. However, the CDMA leader was a no-show, and its rumored device, known as Sholes or Tao, remained a figment of the bloggers' imagination (though a phone answering its description did recently gain FCC clearance).
The next logical time for Verizon to unveil Sholes - which looks like a more heavyweight smartphone than TMo's midrange, socially aware Cliq - was at its CTIA event, but no invites have yet been forthcoming, leading to fears of delays to the product. Though Cliq - called Dext outside T-Mobile - has made a good showing with several carriers, Motorola really needs to boost confidence that Android can turn around its handset fortunes, by announcing more than one new phone this fall and by re-establishing its old ties with the CDMA operators.
It does seem that Sholes will make its debut this year - either around CTIA as initially expected (where Motorola's co-CEO Sanjay Jha is scheduled to give an Android related presentation on Tuesday) or on December 1. More details are leaking too - as well as likely being called Verizon Tao, it will feature a processor running on a 500MHz ARM Cortex (probably from Qualcomm), a 3.7-inch, 854 x 480 WVGA capacitive touchscreen display, 5-megapixel camera with autofocus and flash, and facial recognition capability with Google image search integrated.
Most interestingly, it is rumored to carry a new user interface - not the socially oriented Motoblur seen on Cliq/Dext, nor Verizon's own web UI (which will be changed soon anyway). This suggests Motorola is working hard on an area where it has failed in the past - an effective web UI and apps platform, something that is now vital to smartphone success - and that it will collaborate closely with carriers to support their particular business models and brands.
Verizon is also expected to launch two HTC Android models this fall, and at CTIA, it will also show off the WinMo 6.5 HTC Imagio (also called Touch Diamond 2), the Nokia Shade, and the Motorola Barrage for the rugged handset space.
But it's not all about new phones. Verizon has abruptly killed off its Hub product, one of a rather curious breed of static tablets that carriers have been enthusiastic about this year - the O2 Joggler and AT&T Home Manager fall into the same broad category. The Hub, a VoIP homephone combined with web tablet, home organizer and digital photo frame, was upgraded recently to support YouTube and MySpace widgets, but that version will not see the light of day. The main problems were a confused retail strategy, a high $34.99 a month fee (for unlimited home calls, but with an upfront $199 for the gadget), and the requirement that users also had a Verizon Wireless cellphone account.
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