What do you get when you cross the design of the Droid RAZR with that of the Droid 3? The Motorola Droid 4, which is already posing for its pictorial debut. DroidLife got the goods, and along with a first look at the device comes a first look at its specs…and they are enough to get any QWERTY lover excited. The Droid 4 will feature a 4-inch screen (possibly Super AMOLED as in the RAZR), a five-row illuminated keyboard, and 4G LTE. No word was spoken on the processor spec, but assumptions point to something along the lines of a 1.2GHz OMAP4430 (like the RAZR). The camera is said to be 1080p capable, but there is no mention of megapixels.
The specs seem about right for Motorola’s recent approach to smartphone design. Moto seems to be recycling a fairly standard set of hardware between their current crop of high-end models, choosing to focus on design to differentiate. We aren’t complaining. Smartphone specs have hit a brick wall for the moment (things likely will remain stagnant until the introduction of quad-core technology to handsets) and the Droid RAZR is a true feat of design, showing that it isn’t always about the internals. But the internals are still pretty great, and the RAZR design language look to continue to shape Motorola’s future lineup. Head over tot he source link below for more images and info.
While I’m usually in the “omg physical keyboard KILL IT WITH FIRE!!” camp, I will say that is a good looking keyboard…
Agreed.
Im no expert but that looks just like the Droid 3
It’s definitely different. The keyboard is a little different. Not much of an upgrade unless it’s going to have LTE and 1gb of ram.
The biggest different is that there’s no chin, which would be a welcome change for me.
Also, the shape is slightly different. When closed, Droid 3 is just a rectangle with rounded corners.
Keyboard is completely different:
– Buttons are rounded at the corners
– New SYM key, which moves the Mic key to share a key with Tab
– Shift moved to replace Alt
So, yeah. Not so different, but Droid 3 is a great phone. So updating Droid 4 to look more like the RAZR, and upgrading the internals (LTE, 1 GB of RAM) should be plenty.
Body lines are different.
I really like my Droid 2 and am up for update – any recos on whether I should wait for this?
What? I’m just now at the end of my two year D1 contract. How did you pull that off?
One year contract? You could get one of those with Verizon until they got rid of them back in April.
1 good lookin phone none the less
I feel like there is no way the Droid 4 will have physical buttons with ICS coming.
I’m thinking this phone was conceived long before ICS was ever brought to the surface at Motorola.
So do you think it won’t have ICS out of the box? I would be surprised if it didn’t. Just as surprised if the final version has physical buttons.
You’re dumb.
Nice comment, George.
@nexusphan69 – totally an assumption but I think it will come with ICS out of the box.
I sure hope it does. I’m a big physical keyboard fan. I’m still rocking my old Samsung Rouge because I like the slider so much. And looking to upgrade soon
Interesting that this will be an Ice Cream Sandwich era device and it still has capacitive buttons on the face.
On-screen buttons are optional. I am not yet convinced that’s the way to go either, so if I was in the market for a new phone right now I might still be looking at phones with physical buttons. Then again, maybe I just need to experience the on-screen ones to get the convincing I need.
Looks like the Razr but with qwerty keyboard.
I am very impressed. i like the thinness of it and the backlit keyboard is a great feature. I might look for this one in the future and hopefully they will make this 4g also.
There’s your Droid HD, folks.
not a big fan of Motorola’s keyboards. maybe it works better than it looks, but looks like it would be harder to use than the onscreen one.
judging by how backlit that black looks on the screen i dont think its a super AMOLED screen
Damn it, I just pre-ordered my RAZR, I didn’t think we would see this for at least 6 months…..oh well.
That could still be true. Just because you see a leaked image doesn’t mean it’s anywhere near release yet. Leaked info on upcoming devices always makes them look more appealing than anything currently available, but if you wait for one such device, before it’s out, something else will leak that you want to wait for, and it becomes a never ending cycle, and you never end up upgrading, so you just have to pick a spot and jump in. If anything, I’m just wondering why you’re getting a RAZR instead of waiting for the Galaxy Nexus.
maybe garlick prefers motorola? not everyone loves samsung. ill be getting the Razr over the nexus anyday.
i reckon itll be another 6months at least before the droid 4 comes out. theyre always working on phones a good 6 to 12months in advance. when one phone is released theyre already months into the design phase of its replacement…
I am not a physical keyboard person either, but it looks very nice.
Not a huge fan of physical KB’s and I’ve only had one phone (Samsung i760) that had one, but dat keyboard!
Fail !
No unlocked bootlaoder , no buy , sorry Moto .
Give us something new and fresh instead of the same old design , my OG Droid 1 is clocked at 1.1GHz right now (I know single core) .
As opposed to HTC whose phones look all the same, and Samsung, whose phones look more or less all the same? Phone design doesn’t change overmuch, it’s whats inside that counts. And your OG Droid, hardware wise, is so far behind at this point it’s not even funny. I know – I still have one as a spare. Even with it overclocked, my stock X lays into it with no problems.
Agree , HTC , Samsung , are predictable , inside does not count that much either , my Droid still makes calls , receives calls , text , runs games , flash , etc… So what it is not the latest dual core , it still works and I will wait for a better looking phone than what they are offering now . Besides 4G is months away from where I live , it is in the area but have to drive 20 miles to get to it .
Im running Liberty ROM on my Droid 3. Locked bootloaders aren’t that big of a deal.
But isn’t that just a zip GUI change not able to overclock the chip ?
*It’s a complete change of the OS but no you can’t overclock. For example, in my ROM i can take screenshots using the power button, have notification bar power/radio widget, and my stock Google browser has better window management. *
Thanks Pat for helping inform some of the misinformed public. The Liberty ROM looks great, I am currently running Steel Droid because I really like the current motoblur and some of the benefits it gives, and am loving it. It is nice to know though that the Liberty ROM exists incase I ever want to install a vanilla esq droid experience.
I am so depressed.. I just bought a droid 3!!!
Our version has a removable battery though and probably better battery life.
Bring in the Tegra 3 Droid X3!
YEESSSSS
Just a razr with a keyboard moto isn’t even trying anymore
$ame old $hit, just different day!! Yawn….!
Is Moto trying to catch up to HTC with the amount of phones they can release in a year?
Still waiting for another Global Moto Droid to replace my D2G. Verizon rep tells me there won’t be one with a LTE radio anytime soon. He says it’s because overseas does not support LTE. I’m skeptical. However, like many, I would be happy with LTE here on Verizon and whatever level of performance I get with local GSM SIMS in foreign lands.
Still waiting for another Global Moto Droid to replace my D2G. Verizon rep tells me there won’t be one with a LTE radio anytime soon. He says it’s because overseas does not support LTE. I’m skeptical about his knowledge, but I would be happy with LTE here on Verizon and whatever level of performance I get with local GSM SIMS in foreign lands. Don’t need the keyboard, but will take it if I have to for global support.
there’s nothing special about these phones anymore
Yup, RAZR with a keyboard as many mentioned. I’m sure it’s what the Droid keyboard users are looking for.
OMAP4470 clocked at 1.5-1.8, 1gig of ram, Super AMOLED (+ and/or HD) and MAKE IT A GOOGLE EXPERIENCE PHONE again, and I will pass on the Nexus for it :}
Not trying anymore??? Dualcore, LTE, and qwerty? I that would be a Verizon first right??? Im getting this in a heartbeat
This is the phone of my dreams with LTE. But on Verizon. :(
I would give up my unlimited AT&T data plan for this phone in a fraction of a heartbeat if Verizon dropped this tiered BS.
thats the best android phone I’ve ever seen! the best part is it looks nothing like an iPhone
I wish there was a powerhouse phone for Sprint with a QWERTY keyboard…preferably HTC. If only the screen would be like a little bit bigger, like at least 4.1″. It wouldn’t be overkill, and yes, something that little when it comes with the slight screen size would be noticeable for me. :)