Motorola to drop brand name 'MOTOBLUR'

In response to public interface MOTOBLUR feedback, the company is leaving this brand name. Motorola intends to continue using custom user interface for Android-based devices.

Motorola Mobility's chief executive officer, Sanjay Jha, noted that several improperly tested third-party Android applications are responsible for the poor performance of smartphones.

Instead, he said that the Motorola Motoblur user interface would offer better power management for Android devices. At a recent launch of a smartphone with Sprint and Verizon, the company's executives refrained from talking about using the Motoblur user interface for next generation devices.

Last year, Jha stated that the company will "focus on the value proposition of products and not Motoblur as a brand name." It was later confirmed by the company's spokesperson at the launch of Photon 4G and Triumph.

As reported earlier, the company is working on a new user interface that will focus more on the interface skin and on social networking for the next generation of Android devices. It is precisely the reason why not many devices and in fact no Motorola device available in India runs it.

Motorola India's spokesperson shared, "currently there are no plans of introducing Motoblur in India."

Motorola seems to be warding off Motoblur as a name but will continue to use the optimised custom interface for the next generation of Android smartphones.

The new interface is said to be more focused on social networking. The custom interface constantly checks with Motorola's servers if the user's social network account has any updates.

Last week HTC announced the opening of its custom user interface HTC Sense to the developer community for developing apps. Many industry observers are expecting Motorola to follow in the lines of HTC and do the same for the benefit of users.

We can rest assured that all future devices from Motorola will get the UI update, but we are not sure if the same updated user interface would be made available in India as well.

source : mobileindian.com

HTC Salsa : Review

The first of HTC’s so-called Facebook phones, the HTC Salsa, arrived with plenty of fanfare at MWC 2011 back in February – the looming head of Mark Zuckerberg on the big screen, issuing a blanket blessing to all phones that prioritized Facebook integration – then left us scratching our collective heads as to whether we truly loved the social network quite enough to warrant a dedicated button for it. Now the lilac lifestyle phone is in our hands, encouraging us to detail the minutiae of our lives with everyone willing to read it. Check out as we over-share on the Salsa after the cut, in the full SlashGear review.

Hardware

Out of HTC’s two Facebook-centric phones, the Salsa is perhaps the less inspiring design-wise. Reminiscent of the HTC Legend, it has a unibody metal chassis with a plastic “chin” section, camera surround and battery cover/antenna, all finished in various shades of purple. Considering it’s intended to be a relatively budget device, build quality is surprisingly high: the 4.3 x 2.32 x 0.48 inch, 120g handset is just as creak-free as the range-topping Sensation.

Up front is a 3.4-inch 480 x 320 touchscreen, with the usual row of touch-sensitive Android keys – home, menu, back and search – underneath. On the chin, however, is the new Facebook button, a physical key which can light up depending on when HTC’s custom Facebook services can be used. A volume rocker is on the top left-hand side, above a microUSB charge/sync port, while the power/lock button is on the top edge by the 3.5mm headphones socket. Finally, there’s a dedicated camera shortcut on the right edge, a rare – and welcome – addition to HTC’s Android line-up.

HTC Salsa overview:

On the back is a 5-megapixel camera with autofocus and an LED flash, while a VGA resolution camera upfront takes care of vanity shots and video calls. Inside, HTC sensibly upgraded the original 600MHz processor for a faster 800MHz chip, obviously short of the 1GHz or higher dual-cores we’ve seen lately, but sufficient for an affordable device. It’s paired with 512MB of RAM and 512MB of ROM, along with a microSD card slot.

Connectivity includes HSPA/WCDMA 900/2100 and quadband GSM/EDGE, along with WiFi b/g/n and Bluetooth 3.0. There’s A2DP support for stereo Bluetooth audio connections, along with a g-sensor, digital compass, proximity and light sensors.

The display may run at a lower resolution than the WVGA we’re used to from current mid- to high-end Android phones – or, indeed, the qHD of the Sensation – but it’s still reasonable quality. Viewing angles are broad without discoloration or inversion, though colors are only average for a regular LCD. It’s not going to scare off Super AMOLED Plus, but it’s better than many budget Android phones we’ve seen.

read full : http://www.slashgear.com/htc-salsa-review-10158616/