Is Motorola already preparing to push out an updated RAZR M with a 4.5″ HD display? According to a rumor out of PhoneArena, though they aren’t even willing to back the info all that much, that is indeed the case. As expected with an updated device, the specs have been bumped slightly, introducing a dual-core Snapdragon 4 Plus processor, 16GB onboard storage, and a massive 3300mAh battery, all while maintaing a small candy bar edge-to-edge design.

Is it real? While that’s anyone’s guess, it certainly makes sense for Motorola to continue the edge-to-edge styling of the RAZR M, but with upgraded specs. I loved the RAZR M (our review), other than its poor display. If this phone had an HD display slipped into that body and a bit more RAM, it might have come close to earning a spot as one of our top 5 phones of the year. 

If for some reason our reviews weren’t enough to help you make your next smartphone or tablet purchase, feel free to check out this new video series that Verizon uploaded this morning. Each video runs about 2-minutes long and covers all of the top features of their most popular smartphones. You’ll see highlights for the Note 2, RAZR HD, DNA, Galaxy S3, etc. 

Verizon launched a new holiday promotion this morning, one that includes $50 discounts on two of their more popular phones, the RAZR HD and RAZR MAXX HD. Normally priced at $199 and $299 on contract, the RAZR HD can be had for $149 with the RAZR MAXX HD dropping in at $249 (on new 2-year contract). If you haven’t already, be sure to check out our review of these phones.

We’re also seeing discounts to the Incredible 4G LTE ($49) and DROID RAZR M ($49).

Via:  Verizon

Cheers Matt!

Back in August, we talked about a root checker that Motorola had built into devices like the RAZR and RAZR MAXX. To see if a device was rooted or had been rooted in the past, all you had to do was boot into recovery and look towards the middle of the screen for “qe” in yellow lettering followed by a 0/0, 0/1, or 1/1. If a “1″ was included at all, that meant your device had either been rooted before or was currently rooted. It was a sneaky move, to say the least. 

Motorola certainly likes to do product and feature comparisons with its competitors. They first started with the RAZR M and Google Now vs. the iPhone 5, but today’s battle goes a different direction. Instead of taking on Apple or Microsoft, Motorola is targeting the biggest Android player on the block, Samsung. I’m not sure that we’ve seen many Android manufacturers attack other Android manufacturers in the past, so this is definitely something to keep an eye on. 

Earlier this week, we wrote that Verizon was starting to push out the Jelly Bean update to owners of the RAZR HD and MAXX HD, but it was in small batches. This morning, it seems to be a wider push and we have a lot of readers writing in to say they are getting the update. With the update, owners will be able to take advantage of Google Now, enhanced notifications, Project Butter, and an improved keyboard. Beyond that, Verizon and Motorola also improved voice and data connectivity, the user experience in the calendar, and Back Up Assistant. They removed Verizon Video and Color application, but added in the suite of Amazon apps.

Go grab it!

The update is 276MB in size.

Cheers Erick, and Lee!

To help manage the massive notification light on devices like the RAZR HD, Motorola has created a Notification Light Widget that can be downloaded from Google Play for free. It’s about as simple as it sounds – tap it to turn your notification light off, tap it again to turn it back on. It should work for other devices as well, even those not made by Motorola. And even if  your device has a way to turn this off through Settings, this is a quicker shortcut that can be applied to a home screen.

Play Link

Cheers Chris!

This morning, DROID RAZR HD and RAZR MAXX HD owners are waking up to Jelly Bean. Verizon has started to push out build number 9.1.41 to devices in batches, as usual. With the update, owners will be able to take advantage of Google Now, enhanced notifications, Project Butter, and an improved keyboard. Beyond that, Verizon and Motorola also improved voice and data connectivity, the user experience in the calendar, and Back Up Assistant. They removed Verizon Video and Color application, but added in the suite of Amazon apps.

The update is 276MB in size.

Cheers Michael, Carlos, Craig, Jason, and Justin!