Palm's got great hardware, and WebOS is a genuinely terrific operating system. But that's not enough anymore. While Android's got a plethora of hardware partners, Palm's trying to go it alone in a vertically integrated world. It's a numbers game, really: Palm owners have 2,000 apps available to them. The Android Marketplace has fifteen times that, and the iPhone's got 150,000. If developers have given up on WebOS—which it certainly seems like them have—consumers have no reason to stick around. Especially given that the more money Palm loses, the harder it becomes for them to innovate on the hardware or the software side.

So Palm's got great guns, they just don't have any ammo. This isn't a new revelation; John called it back in October, when it was first clear that Palm was being squeezed out by the combination of Android and iPhone. What's different today is that the financials have finally caught up to the facts.

Palm CEO Jon Rubinstein offered up his own rationale during yesterday's call, blaming his company's demise on timing:

"If we could have launched at Verizon prior to the Droid, I think we would have gotten the attention the Droid got. And since I believe we have a better product, I think we could have even done better."

Easy to say, impossible to prove. And even if Droid stole some of Palm's thunder, that's nowhere near the totality of the company's problems.

If yesterday's earnings call put Palm on life support, its grave is being dug by Wall Street, with analyst Peter Misek handing out the shovels. Misek's prediction today that Palm's stock price would hit zero within twelve months is the kind of headline-grabbing, self-fulfilling prophecy that makes me not like analysts very much. It's also effective: Palm shares are already down 25% today. And while that could make it a more attractive buyout target for Google or whomever else, that kind of transaction takes the kind of resources and time that Palm may not have.

So where does that leave Palm? Bleeding out, with more than a million phones sitting in their inventory waiting not to get sold.

And where does that leave you? If you're smart, running as far as you can in the opposite direction from Palm, knowing that once a company dies the customer support dies with it, along with any third party or internal development. Running, and lamenting the passing of the last great indie phone maker.

It'll be the first Android device of any kind with Yahoo as the main search engine, which makes sense: Android is Google's platform, so Google Search is a natural fit. But Android's also an open platform, which means that carriers can do with it what they please—including denying its creator a chunk of valuable search revenue.

AT&T's undisputed bread and butter is the iPhone, which means that appeasing Apple is high on their priority list. And it's hard to see what other advantage this move has for the carrier other than scoring a point in their patron's favor in the escalating Apple-Google feud.

There are four more AT&T Android phones on the horizon, and it'll be interesting to see how many of them follow this same track. That'll probably have something to do with the consumer response to Yahoo. In the meantime, the Backflip exposes a noticeable chink in Google's Android armor: an open system is, by definition, one you can get shut out of. [Engadget via Android Community]

UPDATE: From Motorola:

Last week, the CLIQ 1.3.18 over-the-air software update began rolling out to consumers. While the vast majority of updates were successful, a very small number of consumers reported a date error and found that, after factory resetting their device, their phone was not functioning properly. We have identified a workaround solution for these consumers, which can be found on the Motorola support forum (http://direct.motorola.com/hellomoto/us/support/tmo/index.html).

To our consumers, we apologize and are working swiftly to reconcile the situation. We are also revising the over-the-air software update so that this workaround solution is no longer needed. Consumers will be notified on their device when the revised update is available.

If you would like to provide more guidance to your readers, below is additional information for consumers:

To our consumers who downloaded the update and their device is working properly, no further action is needed. To our consumers who never received a notification to download the update, please do not take further action. You will be notified on your device when the revised update is available to you. To consumers who received an error or whose device date reads December 31, 1969, please visit the support site listed above for assistance.

The Price

The Devour runs $150, with a two-year Verizon contract. But not really. (More on that later.)

What It's Supposed to Be

When the Devour was announced, I called it a "Baby Droid with Motoblur." That's not quite right, it turns out. Despite a measurably smaller screen, the Devour is actually a bit larger than the Droid. It's a hefty, machined aluminum slab of a device that feels sturdy in your hand and a bit fat in your pocket. It's a continuation of the Droid's design philosophy, if not its actual design: The Devour obviously copies some stylistic traits, but the Droid's goldish finish and sharp edged evoke an entirely different past than the Devour's matte silver, slightly more rounded profile. A child of the 70s speaks the Droid's retrofuturistic design language; the Devour speaks more to a future-forward 90s sensibility. At any rate, it looks nice.

And it feels nice, too—gone is the Droid's lifeless slider, replaced with a springy mechanism that just begs to be fiddled with. The tapered sides give you a place to rest your index fingers during typing. Speaking of which, the Devour's keyboard, with slightly raised, perfectly rounded and neatly spaced keys, is a welcome improvement over the Droid's. And instead of a trackball or d-pad, the Devour has a small, inset touchpad on its lower-left chin. So far, so good.

Then you turn it on.

This is when it becomes clear what the Devour is meant to be, which, despite the apparent improvements, is something less than a Droid. The smaller screen—3.1 inches to the Droid's 3.7—pushes fewer pixels, too, at just 320x480 vs 854x480. The camera, which shoots 3MP photos, suffers from poor color and clarity issues to a greater extent than the already mediocre sensor of its predecessor.

And the software! Oh, the software. Here's how Jason summed up the Motoblur widget philosophy in his original Cliq review:

The four widgets of note are the status widget, the messaging widget, the happenings widget and the news/RSS widget. The news widget is self-explanatory, and really cool that a phone would have a built-in RSS reader right on the home screen, but the others are a little bit trickier. The status widget lets you update your "status" to any of your social networking sites, like Facebook or Twitter. The messages widget consolidates ALL your 1:1 messaging, like emails, SMS, DMs on Twitter or private messages on Facebook. The happenings is a feed of other people's status updates on your social networks.

Motoblur is as good here as it's ever been, aided by plenty of tweaks, faster hardware, and a more developed underlying operating system. (This is the first time we've seen it laid atop of Android 1.6; the Cliq was a 1.5 handset.) But as Motoblur has inched forward, Android has outpaced it. And unfortunately its stablemate, the Droid, is one of the best exemplars of why you don't need to mess with Android.


What was so refreshing about the Droid was that its software was essentially untouched—Android 2.0, which was at the time the newest build of the OS, had been left alone to represent Google vision for Android, without interference from Motorola or Verizon. And because Android 2.0 was so good, it took the wind out of the sails of alternative Android interfaces like HTC's Sense or Motoblur.

Motoblur's greatest sin isn't that it can be a bit confusing to navigate at first, or that it feels a bit crowded on a 3.1-inch screen, or that its inbuilt Twitter and Facebook functionality depends too much on sending you to an external browser; it's that in pursuit of a custom interface and minor, proprietary features—Flash Lite in the browser, DLNA media sharing and proprietary voice command and nav software to compete with Google's native solutions—Motorola has left Devour users with an out-of-date version of Android. Android is an OS that's fragmented, and 1.6 is one of the fragments that's getting left behind. Even some Google apps won't work on Android 1.6, like Goggles or Google Earth. (Update: Goggles apparently works on 1.6, but I can't find it in the Android Market on the Devour. Ideas?) Of course, an upgrade is possible, but a Blur-adorned Android will always lag a version or three behind vanilla Android, which seems to be assimilating many of its most important features anyway.

The redeeming factor here should be that it's cheaper than the Droid by about $50, positioned to appeal to people who might otherwise buy a messaging phone, but who don't want to put down for a Droid. But even at launch, this price positioning doesn't work.

What It Really Is

if you're a Verizon customer, holding this next to a messaging feature phone, the choice is pretty clear: go with the smartphone.Thing is, that's a false dilemma. You have other options.

Before the Devour hits shelves later this week, it will have been undermined by one of its biggest sellers. Best Buy, at launch, will be selling it for $100, alongside the Droid, also priced at $100. The $150/$200 Devour/Droid distinction will remain intact at Verizon stores, but you can probably depend on these lower prices to be an option from here on out.

What you're getting with the Devour, then, is a downgraded Droid. Sure, the keyboard is a bit better, and the styling may appeal to some people alienated by the Droid's aggressive lines, but if you're a Verizon customer, holding these two potential purchases in your hands—which, by the way, have access to the exact same smartphone plans—it's hard to imagine why you'd opt for the silver one. [Motorola]

Elegant, brushed aluminum design

Better keyboard and slider than the Droid; generally better hardware than the Cliq

Motoblur works reasonably well for social networking hounds, but later versions of Android with dedicated social apps serve just as well

Same street price as the Droid, which is just a better phone.

It's stuck on Android 1.6, rendering it incompatible with some newer apps—even apps from Google

Motorola has been balls-out Android since its resurrection—when Windows Mobile ran into delays, Jha killed product development with the OS to keep the company afloat. Motorola's less wobbly now, especially since the spinoff, so now Jha's planning things like using the Motoblur interface with Motorola's set-top boxes, just like its phones. But it's still curious to hear him openly step away from Android, the software that arguably saved Motorola, telling the WSJ, "If I had more money for R&D, I'd be developing an operating platform."

And talking more specifically about phones and Windows Phone 7, Jha says, "I'm open to it...I think I need diversity in our portfolio." Who needs diversity when you've got love? Oh, well, nevermind. [WSJ via PhoneScoop]

To me that seems a little steep, but I guess that's because I'm not the biggest fan of Motoblur, Motorola's social UI. The Backflip also has a touch panel on the back, though that doesn't function as anything more than a D-pad, along with a 3.1-inch hi-res screen and a 5MP camera (with flash) on board. It's also compatible with AT&T's speedier 7.2 HSPA 3G network.

Most importantly: if you've been stuck in an AT&T contract and worrying that the Android grass is greener, you've finally got a chance to see what all the cool kids are talking about. But maybe it's better to wait to see if one of the other four on deck is better than the Backflip.

AT&T Announces Availability of First Device on Android Platform with Motorola

HSPA 7.2 - Capable Motorola BACKFLIP Coming Soon to AT&T Stores Nationwide

Dallas, Texas, Libertyville, Illinois, February 18, 2010
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AT&T* and Motorola, Inc. (NYSE: MOT) today announced that the Motorola BACKFLIP ™ with MOTOBLUR™ will be available in AT&T stores nationwide and online at www.wireless.att.com beginning March 7.

MOTOBLUR offers AT&T customers a new way to connect to their favorite people, content and applications, whether it's work or personal email, messaging or social networking. Motorola's exclusive Android™ experience syncs contacts, posts, messages, photos and much more - from sources such as Facebook®, MySpace, Twitter®, Gmail™, Picasa, work and personal e-mail, and Last.fm - and automatically delivers them to live widgets for immediate reply, right from the home screen. And, for customers who prefer multi-tasking, AT&T's 3G network offers the added advantage of talking and surfing the Web and accessing applications at the same time.

BACKFLIP features a unique form-factor with an original reverse flip design, spacious keyboard and BACKTRACK™ touch panel, allowing the display to be hands-free while one's fingers work behind the screen. BACKFLIP runs on the nation's fastest 3G network and is powered by MOTOBLUR™, Motorola's Android-powered content delivery service created to make phones more personal and socially smart. Customers can see photos and learn more at www.att.com/backflip.

"Motorola BACKFLIP brings together the best of social networking with the nation's fastest 3G network," said David Christopher, chief marketing officer, AT&T Mobility and Consumer Markets. "With the ability to ride on our newest and fastest 3G network, access to more than 20,000 AT&T Wi-Fi hotspots, and the ability to talk and surf at the same time, BACKFLIP boasts a better Android experience."

MOTOBLUR™
MOTOBLUR keeps track of contacts so it's easy to keep up. Users can flip through messages and updates on the BACKFLIP and respond in a flash, without having to log in and out of applications. MOTOBLUR helps consumers keep a pulse on what's happening on their social and news networks. Only MOTOBLUR can sync Facebook, MySpace and Twitter with phone book and email contacts, while threading status updates and profile pics through calls, messages and address book. From the home screen, consumers can update their status to Facebook, MySpace and Twitter at once.

Finally, MOTOBLUR provides users with simplicity and peace of mind, as lost devices can be located from a secure personal information portal and GPS can be used to locate them. One user name and password brings back a user's contacts, messages and connectivity to previously configured networks and email providers.

"Motorola is proud to bring the first Android-powered device to AT&T's 3G network," said Mark Shockley, senior vice president, Motorola Mobile Devices. "AT&T customers will love the social media advantages MOTOBLUR offers as well as the innovative hardware design."

BACKFLIP is the first Motorola device to feature the new and unique BACKTRACK™ feature which gives AT&T customers the ability to navigate quickly and easily through Web sites, menus and more with a touch panel located behind the screen when the device is folded open. BACKTRACK offers a new way to scroll through the Web, texts, e-mails and news feeds without obscuring the home screen. Flip the keyboard backwards into table-top mode to listen to music, watch videos, view pictures with the digital picture frame or to turn BACKFLIP into a digital, bedside alarm clock.

BACKFLIP comes with a full HTML browser that can be viewed on the 3.1" high-res, touch screen display and makes use of 7.2 HSPA 3G technology on the nation's fastest 3G network. Android Market™ has access to more than 20,000 apps and widgets, in order to customize the device to fit each consumer's personal style. Customers can easily shoot photos and video with the BACKFLIP's 5 MP camera and flash, and upload them to their favorite photo sharing or social media site.

The Motorola BACKFLIP features Wi-Fi connectivity and AT&T customers receive AT&T Wi-Fi access at U.S. hotspots included as part of their unlimited data plan. AT&T's has the nation's largest Wi-Fi network with more than 20,000 U.S. hotspots.

Pricing and Availability
The Motorola BACKFLIP will be available March 7 at AT&T retail locations nationwide or at www.wireless.att.com for $99.99 after $100 mail-in rebate. (Pay $199.99 and after mail-in rebate receive $100 AT&T Promotion Card. Two-year agreement and smartphone data plan required.)

Whether that's for better or worse, I'll leave up to you to decide—but in the meantime it has support for Adobe Flash Lite, a 3.1-inch 320 x 480 screen and a 5.0-megapixel camera with autofocus and flash. A-GPS with turn-by-turn directions, and Wi-Fi and HSDPA connectivity.

On sale sometime in the next month or two, it'll be exclusive to T-Mobile in the US, under the name of Cliq XT, but in other parts of the world it'll be known as the Quench. Hate to say it Moto, but with Android 1.5 you're not quenching my desire for an Eclair. Full release below. [Motorola]

Today Motorola, Inc. (NYSE: MOT) announced QUENCH with MOTOBLUR, Motorola's Android-powered content delivery service, which organizes messages and synchronizes contacts to keep conversations in constant motion. QUENCH's sleek touch-screen design, combined with great navigational features such as pinch and zoom and a touch pad, as well as the inclusion of Adobe Flash Lite, make browsing the web on its 3.1" high-resolution display a breeze. Motorola QUENCH™ will be available beginning in the first quarter of 2010. In the U.S., it will be called CLIQ XT™ and be available next month exclusively through T-Mobile USA. This is the eighth Android-powered device launched by Motorola around the globe.

"As we continue to expand Motorola's portfolio of Android-powered devices, we remain committed to delivering more of what people want from their handheld devices in easier ways," said Sanjay Jha, co-CEO of Motorola and CEO of Motorola Mobile Devices and Home business. "QUENCH with MOTOBLUR showcases Motorola's design heritage by offering a compelling differentiation from the traditional Android experience, giving people an easier way to have more messaging, more Web and more music."

MOTOBLUR is Motorola's Android-powered content delivery service created to make phones more personal and socially smart. It is the first solution to sync contacts, posts, messages, photos and much more - from sources such as Facebook®, MySpace, Twitter®, Gmail™, work and personal e-mail and Last.FM - and automatically deliver them to the home screen. Content is fed into easy-to-manage streams allowing you to spend less time managing your life and more time living it.

Messaging is made easier on QUENCH with the combination of MOTOBLUR features, a palm and pocket-friendly design and Swype, a new feature that makes responding to messages and entering text easier than ever. MOTOBLUR keeps happenings, messages, news feeds and more readily available for browsing and responding on the customizable home screen. Contact information, such as email addresses, profile pictures and phone numbers, is automatically synced whenever the details change online, so there's no need to manually update.

QUENCH delivers a complete Web experience on a full touch-screen device with pinch and zoom capabilities. Navigation is enhanced with a front-facing, centrally-located touch pad, so it's easier and more intuitive to flick through the Web. Adobe Flash Lite enables rich media content such as banners and videos to be displayed and fully enjoyed on the 3.1" high-resolution display.

The innovative new connected media player on QUENCH is not only connected to the Internet but your social networks as well. QUENCH connects you to your music with a new style of media player that lets you buy and instantly download music from an MP3 store while integrating third-party apps such as TuneWiki, SoundHound, GoTV, and YouTube™. The music search feature makes finding your songs easy while synchronized lyrics in any language you choose make learning songs easier than before. Share your favorite tracks, discover new ones2, find lyrics, watch videos, and stream FM radio.

QUENCH enables clear calls using dual microphones and noise cancellation technology, while crystal clear pictures are enabled by a 5.0 megapixel camera with autofocus and LED flash. Finding information online or within the device is made even easier with voice-activated search (English only). Simply say what you are looking for and QUENCH will find contacts, serve up Google™ Web search results based on location, or launch applications. Android Market™ provides fast access to more than 20,000 apps and widgets for limitless customizations and enhancements to QUENCH. Extras such as 3G and Wi-Fi® access, aGPS and stereo Bluetooth®1 make QUENCH a solid Android-powered device.

Finally, MOTOBLUR provides end-users with convenience and peace of mind, as lost devices can be located from a secure personal information portal and even remotely erased if necessary. Then, one user name and password brings back your contacts, messages and connectivity to your previously configured networks and email providers. Plus, with over-the-air updates, Motorola has the ability to improve current features and add new ones to QUENCH, ensuring the overall experience is continually enhanced.

Availability
QUENCH with MOTOBLUR will be available in multiple regions around the globe beginning in Q1 2010. In the U.S., the device will be called CLIQ XT with MOTOBLUR and will be available exclusively through T-Mobile USA beginning next month. For specific regional availability and pricing, contact your local Motorola representative. For more information, product specifications and images of QUENCH, please visit Media Center Fact Sheets. For multimedia assets from Mobile World Congress, visit MWC 2010 Press Kit. Also, follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

It'll make them more streamlined and focused, with equal attention being placed on each side—though the handset and set-top box side will own the name and license it to the dustier wireless networking and radio systems unit. Sounds fair, considering we only care about the mobile division anyway, but apparently they're both raking in around the same amount in sales (approximately $11 billion last year each).

Honestly, I never thought I'd see the day when I could write about Moto's corporate struggles and actually be able to put a positive spin on it, but it does sound like the right decision has been made up above. [NY Times]

Megan Fox is an obvious choice, for obvious reasons (if she's your thing): She had a Motoblur, and we're a gadget blog! See? Obvious. Anyway, tweeting from a tub on her new phone, she pondered what would happen if she sent a picture of her bathing out to the world. Hijinks ensued, people were hurt, and even a gay couple somehow got distracted by the fox that is Megan Fox:

And such is the power of Fox that there were scenes that didn't make the final cut.

Then there was Beyonce, fresh off her Grammy performance, performing again for Vizio. Surrounded by Internet memes and celebrities, Twitter and what appeared to be an army of automobile assembly line robots (hopefully not ones from Toyota), she sang and sold that company's Via/Internet Apps technology. Think Internet on your HDTV, not because I say so or because that's exactly what it is, but because that's the message Vizio assaulted viewers with during the 60-second clip:

Tough love was the story for Intel's Jeffrey the Robot. The commercial was supposedly for Intel's Core processor line, but I know the truth: Robot uprising. It 20 years' time we can all look back at this commercial, when poor Jeffrey was snubbed For The Last Time by his human overlords:

Lastly, there's one we actually covered yesterday. Google. Its poignant ad about a search-happy boy in love with a French girl aired yesterday, on the Internet, which is probably fitting. We'll revisit it again here if you missed it tonight:

Sigh.

Personally, for me the ads were a bit stale this year. Even the Bud Light beer ads, which have made me laugh out loud on occasion in years past, felt a little tired. Betty White was a standout though, and there were back-to-back ads depicting grown men in their underwear. Possibly a first there. Also a first: Seeing a two-timing baby talk about eTrade while his "milk-a-holic" girl on the side blew up his shit over a webcam.

The one Bud Light ad I will give props to, however, was their Autotune bit. It's a stretch including here on Gizmodo, but we have a history with that app (iPhone, anyone?), and we'll take an opportunity here to thank Budweiser for hopefully killing the tech off for good with this Super Bowl ad:

OK, I admit it, I smiled a bit watching that a second time. Guilty.

The entire crop is over at YouTube in one convenient package (Fox's is notably absent at the moment, although they appear to be updating throughout the night).

The relative sales results, shown above and using estimates by Flurry Analytics, aren't pretty for Google. Granted, it's not an entirely fair comparison. Droid and the iPhone were marketed within an inch of their lives, and had better carrier support than the Nexus One does on T-Mobile. But even taking that into consideration, 80,000 phones in a month? That's borderline embarrassing.

If nothing else, it's a reminder that as much as we care about Google's entry into phone hardware in these parts, to the public at large they're still a niche player at best. I also wonder, though: that few units, and they still can't handle their volume of customer support complaints? Yeesh. [WSJ; Furry Analytics ]

Giz.br editor Pedro accurately describes it as a sort of keyboardless version of the Backflip we saw at CES. The front styling is a bit more garish than the Backflip's, but the size, general aesthetic, Android build (1.5) and software skin (Motoblur) all fit the Backflip/CLIQ mold. UPDATE: And given the familiar rear styling, we may have a (code)name: The Zeppelin. It's apparently hitting Brazilian streets within a month—still no word on a US release.

The more pressing question is whether or not we'll ever see this phone. Motorola's now pumping Motoblur'd handsets out through two—count 'em—major US carriers, and as a presumed budget piece, it'd fit nicely in either Verizon or AT&T's product lines, if they'd have it. But stateside, we've got nothing—that the first pics of this prototype device showed up in one of its potential markets, as opposed to its place of manufacture, and that this market is nowhere near the US, means Motorola's latest may never pass through immigration. Or maybe it will! My breath, it is bated.

Full gallery and (Portuguese) writeup at [Giz Brazil]

Apparently nobody's awake in Motorola land right now, so I'll hazard a guess at answer these questions myself, in order: Because Motorola is inexplicably obsessed with Motoblur, which can make any Android phone feel like a feature phone; less than the Droid, and probably about the same as the Droid Eris ($100 or less); the beginning of next month; and I have no idea, because this phone has more in common with the Droid than the Droid Eris does. But anyway, here's what Motorola does tell us the Devour comes with, much of which we were fully expecting:

• A touch-sensitive navigation pad
• A 3.1" capacitive touch screen (to the Droid's 3.7-inch screen)
• Pre-loaded applications such as Gmail, Google Talk, YouTube, Google Search and Google Maps with Google Maps Navigation, which implies that the software is at least Android 1.6, though hopefully 2.0 or 2.1.
• MOTOBLUR, and all the social network-y business that entails.
• An 8 GB microSD card

What we have here is a competent little phone, shrouded in artificially enforced mystery. Is it worth your time? I honestly have no idea, until we have a price. Here's the Full press release below.

UPDATE: Aaaand for a little perspective, here's what it looks like next to a Nexus One. That's a bezelly phone, right there.

Motorola DEVOUR Brings MOTOBLUR To Verizon Wireless' 3G Data Network

Video of the Motorola Devour from T3:

MOTOBLUR Service Gives Customers Home Screen Access to Content and Contacts
February 03, 2010

BASKING RIDGE, NJ, and LIBERTYVILLE, IL - Verizon Wireless and Motorola, Inc. (NYSE: MOT) today announced the availability of Motorola DEVOUR™ in March. Motorola DEVOUR will be the first Verizon Wireless phone to feature MOTOBLUR™, Motorola's unique Android™-powered content delivery service created to make wireless phones more personal and customizable.

MOTOBLUR is the first solution to sync contacts from work and personal e-mail services, including Gmail™, with posts, messages, photos and more from popular sites such as Facebook®, MySpace and Twitter. With MOTOBLUR, content is automatically delivered to the home screen and fed into easy-to-manage streams.

Key features:

* Touch-sensitive navigation pad
* 3.1" capacitive touch screen
* Pre-loaded applications such as Gmail, Google Talk™, YouTube™, Google Search™ and Google Maps™ with Google Maps Navigation.
* Android Market™ gives users access to more than 20,000 applications.
* Happenings Widget – MOTOBLUR automatically pushes status updates, wall posts and photo updates from popular social networking sites to the Happenings Widget on the home screen. Customers can flick through the latest updates and fire back responses using the slide-out full QWERTY keyboard.
* Universal Inbox – MOTOBLUR gathers texts, social network messages and e-mails into one home screen widget for quick response.
* Back-Up and Security – Contacts, log-in information, home screen customizations, e-mail and social network messages are backed up automatically on the secure MOTOBLUR portal. The portal also allows customers to use the phone's fully integrated aGPS to help locate the phone if misplaced. Remote wipe easily clears information from a lost device.
* 8 GB microSD™ card pre-installed
* Bluetooth® profiles supported: A2DP, HID, HSP, HFP, AVRCP and GAP

Service plans:

* To get the most from Motorola DEVOUR, customers will need to subscribe to a Nationwide Talk or Nationwide Talk & Text plan and a Data Package for smartphones. Nationwide Talk plans begin at $39.99 monthly access, and Nationwide Talk & Text plans begin at $59.99 monthly access. A Data Package for smartphones is $29.99 for unlimited monthly access.

(EDITOR'S NOTE: Media can access high-resolution images of Motorola DEVOUR in the Verizon Wireless Multimedia Library at www.verizonwireless.com/multimedia.)

MOTOROLA and the Stylized M Logo are registered in the US Patent & Trademark Office. Android, Google, Google Maps, Android Market, Google Search, Gmail, YouTube, Google Talk are trademarks of Google, Inc. All other product or service names are the property of their respective owners. © Motorola, Inc. 2010. All rights reserved.

We brought you the details earlier this month, but for those averse to clicking here's a recap:

Running on Android 2.0, it's got native apps multitouch on that 3.7-inch WVGA screen, takes photos with an 8-megapixel camera, records video in 720p, and has an HDMI out and a T-DMB TV tuner for watching 24 of South Korea's channels. 8GB of storage and a microSD card slot are pretty decent for storage options, and just like with its older brother the Droid, it comes with a docking station.

The smoking guns, if you will, that say this is the same Korea-only MOTOROI we spied earlier are: The FCC filing does not make mention of a slider. It also uses the Sholes codename for this phone. Then there's the "T-Mobile friendly 1700 / 2100MHz HSPA," says Engadget. Triple word score.

These bits of evidence, taken together, all but confirm T-Mobile will be the carrier that brings the phone to the U.S., possibly by March. [FCC via Cell Phone Signal via Engadget]

So how can Motorola continue with its plans to sell Android phones in China — the world's biggest mobile market — without Google's help?

By working AROUND Google, by establishing more of its own mobile services, and by partnering with local providers.

So that's what Motorola is doing.

For example, Motorola just announced it has created its own App Store for Android apps in China, called "SHOP4APPS" (or "Zhi-Jian-Yuan," which means "Place for Apps Wisdom" in Chinese).

And Motorola will let its Android subscribers pick their own search provider, including Baidu, the Chinese favorite.

Smart moves. There's no reason that the Android OS should go belly-up in China even if Google discontinues its business there. But handset makers like Motorola need to scramble to make sure they don't rely on Google services (like App Stores, search engines) to do business in China.

Yesterday, Morgan Stanley analyst Ehub Gelblum said that Google's tiff with China could potentially cost Motorola 500,000 unit sales this quarter, or $162 million in sales.

In actual fact, the MOTOROI has five ways to get those words across, with a 3x4 keypad, full QWERTY, half-QWERTY, handwriting and writing pad listed. The specs sound great, certainly improving upon the CLIQ and Droid's internals.

Running on Android 2.0, it's got native apps multitouch on that 3.7-inch WVGA screen, takes photos with an 8-megapixel camera, records video in 720p, and has an HDMI out and a T-DMB TV tuner for watching 24 of South Korea's channels. 8GB of storage and a microSD card slot are pretty decent for storage options, and just like with its older brother the Droid, it comes with a docking station.

Unless you live in Korea, it's unlikely you've read this far. It'll be on sale next month exclusive to SK Telecom, though don't hold your breath on it making a western world appearance any time soon. [Motorola]

These aren't the first rumors that have trickled out about the Motorola Shadow. One leak, a few weeks ago, pegged it as having a super-thin body and a 4.3-inch, 800 x 484 screen. These renders, of admittedly dubious provenance, suggest a more Droid-like form factor, except with a white keyboard and wrist strap.

Mobile01 also suggests that the Shadow could be a candidate for the next official Google Phone and thus the designation of Nexus Two. Maybe, but it seems a little too early for Google to be picking the Nexus One successor. And what of HTC? [Mobile01 via Engadget]

Going on, he told Laptop Mag "There's a complex set of factors, not all of them technical," which makes us wonder is he's referring to Google's thoughts on multitouch Androids. Google's motto may be "don't be evil," but giving European Nexus One owners native multitouch and ignoring other countries is frankly baffling. [Laptop Mag via Phone Arena via Engadget]

• A Motorola smartphone, powered by MOTOBLUR, with a unique form factor and an AT&T exclusive
• Dell's first smartphone, based on the Android platform and an AT&T exclusive
• A HTC smartphone, based on the Android platform, and an AT&T exclusive

Motorola's is up top, which is gonna be a MotoBlur phone. It'll be first out the gate, apparently. HTC's phones, plural, are going to be revealed later, not today, though they're all coming out in the first half of this year, so within the next couple of months. Dell's is going to be the Mini 3, which is also a new class of phone, a "nice phone":

This was inevitable. But the real question, after yesterday's Nexus One event: Will they be superphones? [ AT&T, AT&T]

All we've got for now is a crude rendering and a dubiously sourced Chinese leak, but given the recent spate of Snapdragon-powered Android phones, the specs are within the realm of plausibility: crammed into the slim body, there's a processor capable of decoding 1080p video, an 8-megapixel camera, and an HDMI port, masked by a 4.3-inch, 800 x 484 screen, as compared to the Droid's 3.7-inch display of the same resolution.

If true, this means that there's an Android phone that's at least as powerful as, and thinner than, Google's überbuzzed Nexus One sitting just over the horizon, which strikes yet another blow to the mythos of the be-all, end-all Android device. [Mobile1 via BGR]