The Motorola ATRIX HD has been announced with AT&T here in the US and it looks like it will also be available with our neighbors to the north. Yup, the ATRIX HD is coming to Canada and it will be arriving by way of Bell. According to details coming from the Bell announcement, the Motorola ATRIX HD will be arriving sometime this summer. No pricing has been revealed just yet. What we have learned though, the ATRIX HD will be available exclusively with Bell. Otherwise, the specs include Android 4.0 ICS and 4G LTE connectivity along with a 4.5-inch (720 x 1280) HD display with Color Boost, a dual-core 1.5GHz processor, 1GB of RAM, 8GB of internal storage, a microSD card slot, GPS, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, HDMI, DLNA, a 1.3 megapixel front-facing camera and an 8 megapixel rear-facing camera with 1080p HD video recording. Finally, similar to what we have already seen with the ATRIX HD, the Bell model will be sporting the SMARTACTIONS app which helps to “improve and personalize your mobile experience based on your usage.” That said, those with Bell and interested in the ATRIX HD should hold tight for just a while longer. Via [Bell] and [CNW]  
Earlier this morning we saw the official announcement for the Motorola Atrix HD with AT&T. And well, while the release date, pricing and specs were nice to see — it looks like Motorola has taken a little extra time to dive into one specific feature. That feature is called SMARTACTIONS, which is described as being “a free app from Motorola that suggests ways to automatically change your phone’s settings throughout the day to make your life easier.” Some of the use cases for the SMARTACTIONS app include being able to read your text messages, auto-reply to incoming calls and texts as well as provide turn-by-turn navigation when the handset is placed in the Vehicle Navigation Dock. Additionally, SMARTACTIONS can also automatically turn on the Battery Extender function when you begin to run low on power. This means that features such as GPS and background sync will be automatically disabled until you get a bit more juice. Anyway, these few examples aside, AT&T has offered up a pair of videos covering SMARTACTIONS. They can be seen above and below and offer an overview as well as the method to get started. Via [Motorola on YouTube] 
 
Those in Canada will soon have another Android handset to pick from. The handset is the RAZR V which has just recently been announced by Motorola. The RAZR V will be available with a variety of carriers including Bell, Virgin Mobile and WIND Mobile and will be available in retail outlets to include Best Buy, Future Shop and others. So far so good, especially considering the RAZR V will launch with Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. The one drawback, the handset will not be available until sometime in Q3 and as of this time, we have yet to learn any of the specifics from the carriers. Simply put, we know the handset is coming to Canada however we still need the specific release dates and prices. Anyway, while we are waiting, we do have the specs. In addition to ICS, the RAZR V will feature a 4.3-inch high-res display with Color Boost and an 8 megapixel rear-facing camera. Basically, this is the RAZR that many of the readers are already familiar with. Some of the other perks of the handset will include SmartActions, a Battery Extender, Google Play access and a thickness of just 8.4mm. Finally, the RAZR V will have a scratch-resistant display, DuPont Kevlar fiber coating for durability and a nano-coating on the exterior which should help protect against the occasional splash of water. Via [Motorola]  
Yesterday we learned that AT&T would begin offering the Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich update for the Galaxy Note as of today. And as of today, the carrier has offered up an official press release detailing the update. Simply put, those with an AT&T Galaxy Note in hand will be able to grab the update anytime they desire. In other words, this update is not coming over-the-air. Instead, users will have to grab the update using the Samsung Kies software. Samsung and AT&T have some directions for the update process, which can be found by clicking here. Otherwise, as to what you will get with this update, Android 4.0 along with the Premium Suite. The Android 4.0 side includes “NFC and Android Beam capabilities, better multitasking through the Recent Apps menu, the Face Unlock security feature and data usage monitoring.” On the Premium Suite side, this includes S Note, S Memo and My Story. These three goodies break down as follows; The S Note extends the S Pen™ capabilities to make everyday tasks and communications simpler and more professional looking. - New productivity features such as Shape Match, which refines hand-drawn shapes – such as circle, square, lines and arrows; Formula Match, which recognizes and completes complex math formulas; and Knowledge Search, which enables the user to quickly research information from a hand written note via Wolfram Alpha® database.
- To help to professionalize communications, S Note provides templates for seven commonly used documents such as an idea note, travel notes, diary entry, meeting notes and recipes. An idea note not only captures ideas, it can record the creation process and replay it in the order it was developed. Meeting notes captures agenda items and attendees and will link the meeting to a calendar entry.
- S Note also allows users to import and annotate a PDF file and convert dictated or hand- written memos to text with the Continual Voice Input and Handwriting-to-Text features.
The S Memo upgrade includes one-touch access to all S Memo features – including typing, writing, voice dictation, search and adding an image. The user can place the widget on any of the multiple home screens of the Galaxy Note, which makes accessing and using S Memo faster and easier.
My Story, which is available through Google Play™, is an S Pen optimized application that allows users to create personalized digital birthday cards, thank you notes and sympathy notes by combining hand written notes, video content, photos, text and voice.
Finally, once updated, your Galaxy Note should be showing a baseband version of I777UCLF6, which can be verified by navigating to Menu -> Settings – About phone. Via [MarketWatch]  
We have finally been given a release date for Amazing Alex, Rovio will release the game for iOS and Android in just a few days time — on July 12th. What can we say, we only hope this one will be as fun and addicting as Angry Birds was (and still is for some). You can check out the trailer for Amazing Alex below and in the meantime, make sure to pay attention to your respective app store come this Thursday. Via [Twitter @AmazingAlex] 
 
MotionX-Sleep for the iPhone was updated to version 3.0 back towards the end of June and with the new version number came a few new features. And well, given I have been using the app since before it was originally released and given I have already professed my irrational love for the app — I wanted to share some thoughts on v3.0. In short, the app has been made that much better. Of course, to qualify that statement, some of the new features were dealing with something that I regularly use the app for — sleep. Just to refresh, MotionX-Sleep v3.0 brought goodies to include a new PowerNap mode as well as the ability to set multiple alarms and a new music/white-noise mode. There was also the addition of new bar charts, the ability export data and more. But for me, the big focus here was the white-noise, multiple alarms and to a slightly lesser degree, the PowerNap mode. Beginning first with the multiple alarm mode, this one is rather simple and is just as described. You can now set a different alarm for each day of the week. Or well, different alarms based on your own criteria. In my case, that means a weekday and a weekend alarm. This means I can have the alarms set and not have to worry about making adjustments come Friday night (for Saturday morning). Or worse yet, forgetting and waking up way earlier than I would prefer. Next up, the PowerNap mode. I cannot say I use these quite as often but it is a nice addition and nice to have available. This one is also rather simple — from Alarms, choose Powernap and then create an alarm and set the time that you want to sleep for. This is done using the Sleep Duration setting. Furthermore, the Powernap section also allows for multiple alarms to be set and they can each be customized based on day, volume and the sound that will wake you. Perhaps one of the nicer new features, the white-noise. Honestly, this was a feature I did not use at first. You see, I am lucky enough to live on a lake and have my own real-life white-noise. But sometimes things can change and I have been on the road visiting friends and family for the past two weeks and well, my sleeping situation has not been as lucky. Thankfully though, I was already using MotionX-Sleep and had already updated to v3.0. This being the case, I have been making good use of the white-noise feature. This one is pretty easy to set. You turn it off or on and adjust the volume level. For me the default setting of 15% seems to work great. You can set the sound to go off automatically (the default and what I stuck with) or have it go off after a set amount of time. In my case, I have yet to hear the sound go off, which I take to be a good thing and mean that the app is working as it should. You also have plenty of options for noise — either your music or pre-set sounds. I have avoided the music, but have tested out a few of the sounds. My favorite so far, the Gentle Waves on the Beach. That being said, I will admit that while there are lots of sounds, some of them are not so great. Some of them simply do not sound as realistic as I would have hoped. But like I said, there are plenty to choose from and I am fairly certain you can find at least a few that you can rotate through. Otherwise, the MotionX-Sleep app continues to monitor my daily step count and keeps me active throughout the day with “get up and move from your chair” alerts. Finally, the MotionX-Sleep app regularly sells for $0.99, however if you follow this link — you can get it for free. Via [iOS App Store]  
Finding the exhibits that interested you inside a museum can sometimes be a daunting task. However, Google wants to make visiting a museum a much simpler experience by integrating floor plans of twenty popular museums to its growing database of indoor maps. There are over 10,000 indoor maps Google Maps users can access, and now it contains over 20 representations of popular museums across America. On your Android smartphone or tablet, simply open up Google Maps and either search for the museum or access your current location (if you are already at the museum). The indoor map service can provide turn-by-turn navigation to get you from one location to another. Google plans on adding more museum schematics to its database in the future. For now, however, several maps including “the de Young Museum in San Francisco, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Cincinnati Museum Center, the Indianapolis Museum of Art, the American Museum of Natural History and 17 Smithsonian museums” can be accessed. Via [Google Maps Blog]  
Those in China will soon be able to pick up a new iPad. Apple has come forward today with release details and it looks like those waiting will not be waiting all that much longer. According to details coming from the press release announcement, the new iPad will be available in China beginning on July 20th. And for those feeling overly excited and like they cannot wait — Apple Stores in China will begin accepting reservation requests on July 19th at 9AM local time (for pickup the following day). Otherwise, Apple has yet to announce the specific pricing for China, however we do know that the pricing will mirror the US. In other words, the 16GB Wi-Fi only model will be the lowest priced at $499. Apple will also be offering the iPad 2 at discounted rates, beginning at $399. Finally, the new iPad will be available by way of the Apple Online Store as well as with select Apple Authorized Resellers and at Apple retail stores. Via [Business Wire]  
We often live in an online world where we read company and product names more than we actually have to say them. And well, that often leads to a case where we have no real idea of how a name should be pronounced. Enter Huawei. The name looks hard and many many people cannot say it properly. I will confess to only knowing how to say it because I heard it spoken during a press event. Needless to say, the folks at Huawei must be well aware of the difficulty that people are having because they have recently released a short video teaching everyone the proper pronunciation. And at risk of offering a spoiler, the correct pronunciation is WAH-WAY. Via [YouTube] and [AndroidCentral]  | |
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