If you’re the proud owner of the RAZR M you should be excited to hear that Verizon has officially announced a small update (build 98.15.66) that will squash a few bugs with the device. This looks to be the exact same maintenance release that we saw soak testers get last week.  Not as exciting as a new version of Android, but fixing WiFi connectivity, video streaming and camera improvements are all welcome fixes.

The update is 80MB in size.

To check to see if the update is available, head into Settings>About Phone>Software updates.

More info.

During a conversation with PCMag, Motorola’s design chief Jim Wicks opened up about the future of their products, most importantly, those influenced by the newly formed Google exec team. Wicks make it sound as if the current state of the mobile industry, one that focuses on specs and a “bigger is better” mantra, isn’t where they are headed. They want stock Android devices that are updated quickly, phones that are the right size instead of oversized, and that reach all carriers. 

Speaking at AllThingsD’s Dive Into Mobile conference this morning, Eric Schmidt was asked about his thoughts on where Motorola stands and how we can expect to see Google use them in the future. His comments were brief but powerful, to say the least. After hearing Google’s CFO Patrick Pichette discredit any of Motorola’s near-future products as not having the “wow” factor that Google likes to see, Schmidt went the opposite direction. 

On Friday, Verizon approved the much-anticipated Jelly Bean (Android 4.1.2) update for the Motorola DROID Bionic. As is typical with Motorola updates, an initial rollout of the new firmware was pushed to members of a test group to make sure that no major issues were hanging around. Thanks to that push to testers, we now have the file for anyone willing to take the plunge and manually update ahead of time. 

The Jelly Bean (Android 4.1.2) update for the DROID Bionic has been approved by Verizon as build number 98.72.22. The update will include a number of important goodies like an immensely improved voice search, smarter notifications with actionable items, a better keyboard, and of course, Google Now. Your device should also run smoother, feature more intuitive graphics, and react quicker to touch responses thanks to Project Butter. 

With devices getting updated left and right, some apps are finding themselves no longer compatible with certain devices. But have no fear, those app developers are always working hard to make sure their apps are functioning properly. This week, the developer of FoxFi (the app that turns your phone into a free WiFi tethering machine) has added support for a good list of Motorola device running Jelly Bean, which were previously unsupported. 

Yesterday, news broke that Dan Rosenberg (@djrbliss) had unlocked bootloaders for a handful of Motorola devices including the DROID RAZR HD, RAZR MAXX HD, RAZR M, and Atrix HD, all of which are powered by Qualcomm chipsets. Today, he has released that same unlock tool so that you can free your phone from Motorola and Verizon’s clutches.

We should point out that you cannot re-lock the phone after using this tool (at this point), and it does indeed void your warranty. Also, Motorola can more than likely patch this in a software update, so you may want to weigh your options here before long. It’s risky from a warranty and replacement standpoint to say the least. As always, proceed with caution.

You definitely need to be rooted ahead of time, prior to using this tool. For those with a RAZR HD running Android 4.1.2 (the newest update), root has not been gained yet so you are out of luck for now. I can’t imagine that this won’t ever be rooted, but again as of today, there is no root method.

Update:  Dan released a root method for Android 4.1.2 that can be found here.

As we mentioned yesterday, this method does not work on OMAP powered phones, including the original RAZR, Bionic, and DROID 4. Do not attempt to use this on any of those phones.

Below, we have the basic instructions and notes from Dan. 

About a week after Motorola committed to a Q2 rollout for the Jelly Bean (Android 4.1) update of the DROID Bionic, the company has begun sending out invites for members of their Motorola Feedback Network to participate in a soak test of the new software. The invites specifically say “Jelly Bean software release,” so there isn’t any guessing to be had here.