Motorola will close the Texas factory where it assembles Moto X smartphones in 2014

Moto XAnd while this news isn’t surprising, it’s pretty disappointing that Motorola is closing their factory in Texas.  I was actually pretty optimistic when I saw the Moto E and thought that Lenovo’s purchase of Motorola was going in the right direction.  Unfortunately, this is a sign that Lenovo is looking at their bottom line and trying to maximize their profits.  This could mean that the Moto E is simply a hold-over from the previous regime and that things will slowly go down hill.  I’m glad that I have my Moto X, but I’m not sure what my next phone will be… maybe a Samsung… a Motorola… a HTC… a LG… or even a iPhone 6… I’m pretty open at this point (well, maybe not a Windows Phone or Blackberry).  Any suggestions?

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Motorola is closing a factory in Texas that employs 700 people to assemble its Moto X smartphones, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reports.

The plant will be shuttered before the end of the year, throwing the future of the customizable handset – and the direction of Motorola’s future flagship smartphones – into doubt. The decision was confirmed to TNW and comes four months after its $2.9 billion acquisition by Chinese manufacturer Lenovo.

According to the WSJ, Motorola will continue to produce the Moto X in China and Brazil, among other locations, but didn’t disclose whether this would include the Moto Maker devices currently handled in Texas.

When Motorola first hinted at the Moto X last summer, it said the Android smartphone would the first “designed, engineered and assembled in the USA.” It was a key part of the company’s marketing push and created a welcome narrative about bringing jobs and manufacturing back to the US.

While the device received high praise from the press, market research has suggested it wasn’t a massive success with the public. The smartphone touted unexceptional mid-to high-end components, but differentiated through Moto Maker – a website where customers could personalize the handset with different colours, materials, engravings and cases.

It was certainly novel, although the location of the Texas factory meant Moto Maker was confined to the US. Although the Moto X has subsequently been launched in other markets, Motorola has so far been unable to offer customers the same level of hardware customization.

Since Google sold Motorola, the company has launched the low-cost Moto E and a 4G-enabled version of its mid-range Moto G smartphone. It’s too early to judge how they’ve performed for Motorola, but the build quality, components and software experience represent excellent value for money.

Neither are supported by Moto Maker though, which would make it simpler for Motorola to abandon the service completely once it launches a successor to the Moto X later this year. If so, it will be an unfortunate end to an experiment that many hoped would prove the financial viability of US-based assembly.

For now though, it seems the Moto Maker service will continue as usual. Motorola didn’t disclose exactly when the factory will be shuttered – we’ll be sure to let you know when its doors finally close.

TNW

Mozilla’s Firefox OS Flame smartphone is available to pre-order for $170

Firefox OS SmartphoneThis is pretty cool – I don’t think I’ll be giving up my Moto X anytime soon for a Flame, but I’m intrigued by a phone with a OS that is basically a browser.  As a web dev, I’m all about tech inside the browser, so the idea of all apps running out of a browser means job security for me… just kidding, well, sort of, but it does mean that building apps becomes simplified in some ways.  And as someone who has done native iOS and Android development, being able to build apps in the browser that feel native would be great.  And I would normally jump at the chance to get new tech, but I definitely have too many toys laying around that need some love before I can add to the already neglected family.  Anyone else thinking about getting one?

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Mozilla today opened pre-orders for the Flame, its first official developer handset for Firefox OS. The mid-range handset can be pre-ordered right now for $170 through everbuying.com and should take roughly four weeks to ship.

The non-profit says the Flame reflects the middle-of-the-road hardware that it’ll be targeting with its partners over the next 12 months. Firefox OS is tailored towards customers in emerging markets, so it’s unsurprising to see the company avoid high-end parts for its new Flame handset.

The device features a dual-core 1.2 GHz Qualcomm MSM8210 Snapdragon processor, 8GB of internal storage and between 256 MB and 1GB of RAM (Mozilla says this is “adjustable by developer.”) There’s a 4.5-inch FWVGA display to feast your eyes on, as well as a 1800 mAh battery to keep everything ticking over.

Finally, photographers will have access to a 5-megapixel rear-facing camera with flash, alongside a 2-megapixel snapper on the front. From a design perspective, the Flame isn’t particularly memorable. Some Firefox-inspired orange accents liven it up a bit, but this is a reference design after all – it’s understated look was to be expected.

Spanish startup Geeksphone offered some of the first Firefox OS handsets over a year ago. Aimed at developers, they’ve since been superseded by commercial devices from the likes of Alcatel and ZTE. It’s rare for Mozilla to get into the hardware business, but the Flame handset is a welcome indicator of the direction it wants to take Firefox OS in.

Now, it’ll be interesting to see whether the device can grow the developer community actively working around the platform.

TNW

Surface Pro 2 vs Surface Pro 3: Price vs Features

Surface Pro 2So I’ve been looking at the Surface Pro for someone who is a WIndows user and doesn’t really want to switch over to a Mac (which would be my recommendation) or even a Chromebook.  I liked the specs on the Surface Pro 2, but they were a little pricey.  And basically, I forgot to get one, which might actually be a good thing now that the Surface Pro 3 is out.  I’ve read that the Surface Pro 2 was supposed to be a laptop replacement by combining all the functionality of a laptop and tablet.  Unfortunately, it didn’t look like consumers were really buying the marketing hype.  Now enter the Surface Pro 3 which is continuing the march towards replacing the aging PC laptop.  And more importantly to Microsoft, the Surface Pro 3 is supposed to be as attractive and sexy as a Macbook Air.  Until I see a Surface Pro 3 in-person, I can’t really say if it can topple or even be considered a true competitor to the Macbook Air in terms of looks and feel.  The real question right now is if the Surface Pro 3 is a better buy than the Surface Pro 2.  Let’s look at the differences:

Screen Size and Weight – Winner: Surface Pro 2

In terms of screen size and weight, I’m going to say the Pro 2 wins at 10.6 inches and 1.49 lbs compared to 12 inches and 1.76 lbs for the Pro 3.  I think the 10.6 inches is reasonable and the lighter form-factor is more attractive than the extra 2 inches.

Process – Winner: Surface Pro 3

The Surface Pro 2 comes with a NVIDIA Tegra 4 while the Surface Pro 3 comes with the choice of an Intel i3, i5 or i7 processor.  The Surface Pro 3 wins because consumers can select from a budget-friendly i3, a mid-range i5 or a performance-powerhouse i7.  Choices are always good, especially when you can pick the features/prices that are right for you.

Battery – Winner: Surface Pro 2

This was quite surprising – the older Surface Pro 2 has a reported battery life of 10 hours while the newer Surface Pro 3 has a reported battery life of 9 hours.  I can only imagine this is due to the change in processor, from a mobile-friendly NVIDIA Tegra to a more power-hungry Intel chip.  Also, the increased screen-size I’m sure also sucks up more power attributing to a shorter battery life.  So the Surface Pro 2 wins this round with its extra battery stamina.

Price – Winner: Surface Pro 2

It’s a pretty easy decision to pick the Surface Pro 2 with a starting price of $449 compared to a starting price of $799 for the Surface Pro 3.  I didn’t really see any major improvement that warrant such a price increase.  The better processor, bigger screen and even Apple-esque form-factor doesn’t seem compelling enough to shell out that much cash.

Conclusion – Winner: Surface Pro 2

It shouldn’t be no surprise that the winner is the Surface Pro 2 with it’s lighter form-factor, better battery life and much more reasonable price tag.  I’m really hoping there will be some good deals on the Surface Pro 2 now that the Surface Pro 3 has been announced.  I’ll update this post or report my finding on any good deals in case you’re also looking for a Windows tablet/laptop.

Upcoming Android Phones – Moto X+1 and LG G3

LG G3I have to say I’m getting pretty excited seeing the details around the new Android handsets like the Moto X+1 and LG G3.  I’ve only had my phone for like 6 months, but I’m already thinking about what to get next, especially since my Moto X is off-contract.  I’m definitely a fan of the Moto line of phones thanks to the Moto X and the mostly stock Android experience.  In fact, the added Moto apps were actually a nice addition with the low-energy notifications while the screen is off and the passive voice controls.  So Moto has a good reputation with me right now and I also like the G3 thanks to the Nexus 5.  I probably would have gotten a Nexus 5 if it actually worked on Verizon.  Well, on to the new phones… first we have the G3 which has:

  • 5.5″ QHD IPS screen
  • Snapdragon 801 chipset
  • 3GB of RAM
  • Android 4.4 KitKat
  • 13MP back facing camera
  • 2.1MP front-facing camera
  • 32GB internal storage
  • 3,000 mAh battery

Pretty nice specs right?  I definitely like the 5.5″ screen.  And with a release date of May 27, that’s just around the corner so I can’t wait to see one of these in-person and I really hope there will be support for Verizon and hopefully a stock Android experience.  Moving over to the X+1, we have:

  • 5.2-inch 1080p display
  • Quad-core 2.3 GHz Snapdragon 800 processor
  • 12-megapixel camera
  • 2GB of RAM
  • 32GB of internal storage

So the obvious differences are the smaller screen, less RAM and slower processor.  But there is something to be said about a smaller screen that will actually fit in my pocket.  And if the price off-contract is more reasonable than the G3, this definitely could be a great phone.  Of course, we won’t know how Lenovo’s purchase of Motorola will affect the X+1, so we’ll have to wait and see.  I know they’re speculating the Moto 360 will be launched at Google I/O in June, so I’m hoping they’ll also release the X+1 at the same time.  It would be a nice package to get the X+1 and 360.  And of course, there’s also the HTC One M8 but that’s obviously going to be saddled with HTC Sense UI and I really just want a stock Android experience.  I’m hoping the Android Silver program will help standardize phones amongst the manufacturers and get a nice stock experience.  Who knows, I might even be able to recommend Android Silver phones to family members instead of telling them to get an iPhone.  I am definitely happy that I switched back to Android from an iPhone and I hope others will to.

Facebook introduces ‘ask’ button for relationship statuses

Facebook Ask ButtonFacebook stalking has reached a whole new level following the introduction of an ‘ask’ button, allowing you to enquire about someone’s relationship status.

Users who have opted to leave their relationship status blank will soon be presented with a button through which friends can send a message.

You can choose whether to share your response with just the asker, or with your friends in the unlikely event you’d want your reply to be made public.

The social network began introducing ‘ask’ buttons for other sections including employer, phone number and hometowns in January, but has only now extended it to relationships.

The ask button has been rolled out across the majority of US users, and is likely to filter across the UK in coming weeks.

Earlier this year, Facebook released data proving it knows when you’re about to enter into a relationship via your interactions on the website.

Using anonymised, aggregated data, Facebook examined the average number of timeline posts shared between two people before they decided to change their status from ‘single’ to ‘in a relationship’.

During the 100 prior to this change, the researchers observed a slow but steady increase in the number of posts between the couple-to-be.

From the first day as a bona-fide couple, the amount of shared posts begins to decrease, which Facebook attributes to the couple deciding to “to spend more time together, courtship is off, and online interactions give way to more interactions in the physical world”.

Telegraph

Apple sued over disappearing iMessage texts sent to Android users

iMessageLike a Kafkaesque nightmare for the Information Age, select former iPhone users who switch over to Google’s Android mobile operating system have been suffering an iMessage fiasco without a fix — keeping texts from arriving without notifying either party of the problem. Now, Apple has been slammed with a lawsuit over its negligence to address the issue, according to a report by Bloomberg on Friday.

The problem lies in iMessage, the service rolled out in 2011 with iOS 5 that lets iPhone users communicate with each over data and Wi-Fi instead of their respective telecom networks — meaning faster messages that don’t count toward your cell plan. Denoted only by a blue bubble around the text instead of a regular green one, iMessages were seen as a technical marvel for working seamlessly within the iPhone’s native SMS client.

That is until you decide to jump ship from iOS and head over to Android, an OS now running around 80 percent of smartphones worldwide as of May 2014.

Since the 2011 rollout of iMessage, select former iPhone owners with their cell number tied up in iMessage have reported an interference in which texts sent from existing iPhone owners fall into a void in which the sender thinks thinks it was delivered and the newly minted owner of the Android handset never receives it. The issue appears to be on a device level, meaning each and every current iPhone user’s device thinks the new Android user is still using an Apple handset.

Not only is that text then lost forever — wrapped up in the iMessage account of a deactivated iPhone — but Apple has no concrete solution to prevent it from happening, an Apple tech support specialist told Adam Pash, former Lifehacker editor in chief. Pash reignited the debate around the issue Tuesday in a blog post on his personal website alleging that Apple is aware of the problem, but “is apparently clueless as how to fix it,” the Apple tech support specialist told him.

Apple declined to comment for this story.

The “iMessage purgatory” ordeal, as Pash called it, may come to a head as newly minted Samsung handset owner Adrienne Moore filed a complaint yesterday in San Jose, Calif., claiming that Apple failed to disclose its knowledge of the problem and its lack of a viable solution.

Moore is seeking class action status for her suit — meaning she is suing on behalf of a larger group and the outcome could trickle down to all affected iPhone owners, though the complaint did not specify damages.

Current fixes for the problem include deactivating iMessage in the settings panel of your iPhone before switching over the SIM card or phone number to a new Android phone — though even that has proven ineffective for numerous affected iPhone owners. Other more cumbersome fixes involve having iPhone users in your address book delete your contact and re-add it, hopefully establishing a regular connection and wiping out the iMessage relationship between the two phone numbers.

CNET

Facebook expands FbStart program

FbStartWhen Facebook launched FbStart during its recent F8 developer conference, the bootstrapping program was only open to developers who attended the conference. On Wednesday the social media giant announced FbStart has shed its exclusivity and is now open to any developer with public iOS or Android apps.

FbStart provides developers with up to $5,000 worth of developer tools for bootstrapping apps and up to $30,000 to accelerate existing apps. Developers are admitted on an application basis, but once accepted they are granted access to tools from the bevy of partner companies working with the program, as well as credits for Facebook ads and Parse services.

Transifex and HootSuite were added to the partner list Wednesday, making the eclectic mix look like this:

  • Adobe – creative services
  • Appurify – mobile app testing
  • Asana – project management
  • Blue Jeans – cloud-based video collaboration service
  • Desk.com – customer support
  • HootSuite – social media monitoring
  • MailChimp – email marketing
  • Proto.io – mobile app prototyping
  • Quip – mobile productivity tools
  • SurveyMonkey – online survey platform
  • Transifex – localization
  • UserTesting – usability testing
  • Workable – recruitment

The FBStart program is just a fraction the efforts Facebook is putting toward growing its app business. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg introduced his plans to strengthen the site’s app development platform, modeled around three core pillars: build, grow and monetize.

It seems FbStart falls into the ‘grow’ pillar, along with a new mobile Like button, also rolled out during the one-day F8 event.

ZDNet

Heroku/Node.js – parse error: Expected separator between values

nodejsAs I go through setting up a Node.js app on Heroku, I encountered some really silly issues, so I figured I would share them with the web and hopefully help someone who runs into the same problem.  This one was a really stupid mistake on my part – I’m almost embarrassed to admit that I did this.  So going through the Getting Started with Node.js on Heroku guide, I got to the section on updating the package.json file to specify which version of node to use.  And here’s where I made my mistake.  My package.json looked like this:

{
  "name": "example-app",
  "version": "0.0.0",
  "description": "", 
  "main": "app.js",
  "scripts": {},  
  "author": "", 
  "license": "ISC",
  "dependencies": {
    "express": "^4.2.0"
  }
  "engines": {
    "node": "0.10.28"
  }
}

Can you see the mistake I made?  No? I forgot a comma when I added the “engines” key to the json object.  Well, I guess I should be clear that this was the first mistake I made.  After I fixed this, I figured everything should be fine and my app would run, so I ran the git push command:

macbook$ git push heroku master

Drum roll please… “parse error: Expected separator between values…” – wanh wanh… oh yeah, I forgot to commit my changes to package.json before trying to push.  And finally, success! My app was deployed.  Again, I hope this helps someone.  Good luck with your node app.

Anyone in the US can buy Glass as long as they have it on hand

glass_framesThe Google Glass team posted that anyone in the US can now purchase a pair of Glass as long as they have them in stock.  Also looks like you can pick between sun shades or actual frames. Unfortunately, the price tag is still $1500 so it’s not anymore affordable than previously.  Pretty sure anyone who wants a pair of Glass already has one at this point, but if not, head over to google.com/glass.  Original post from Google Glass team:

Last week we told you we’d be trying out new ways to find Explorers. Well, we weren’t kidding. We learned a lot when we opened our site a few weeks ago, so we’ve decided to move to a more open beta. We’re still in the Explorer Program while we continue to improve our hardware and software, but starting today anyone in the US can buy the Glass Explorer Edition, as long as we have it on hand: google.com/glass

We’re ready to keep meeting new Explorers, and we can’t wait to hear all your experiences and feedback to continue to make Glass even better, ahead of our wider consumer release.

LG G Watch – Timeless and Waterproof

LG G WatchLG keeps chipping away at the G Watch mystery, with a new video about the Android Wear wearable ahead of its upcoming launch. The smartwatch – expected to be positioned primarily as a companion device for the new LG G3, though it will work with any Android phone or tablet – could well be officially unveiled by LG later this month, at its event on May 27th.

The new video is still scant on actual details, which LG is saving for the full launch.

However, it does name-check features like the metal body that’s waterproof for more flexibility, and show off a few of Android Wear’s screens, like the weather updates and notifications on upcoming flights. They’re powered by the Google Now engine, pulling contextual information from your various Google accounts – Calendar, Gmail, and Maps, among others – to flag up notifications when they’re most appropriate.

LG also mentions the G Watch has “a timeless look,” though it’ll be going up some well-styled competition. Motorola’s MOTO 360. That has a distinctive round display, something uncommon on today’s smartwatches.

Specifics like pricing and release dates are still unknown, though we may hear more alongside the LG G3’s official debut in London at the end of the month.

SlashGear