Google's Mobility unveils 3 phones to compete with iPhone and Galaxy

NEW YORK: Google Inc's Motorola Mobility on Wednesday unveiled three smartphones to help it compete with bigger rivals Apple Inc and Samsung Electronics Co for the holiday shopping season.
Verizon Wireless,
the biggest U.S. mobile provider, will sell all three devices - the
Droid Razr HD, the Droid Razr Maxx HD and the Droid Razr M, the
companies said.
The smartphones will use Google's
Android software. Motorola showed off the phones at a press event in
New York, its first big media gathering since Google bought Motorola in
May.
Together the devices would be Motorola's "big family launch" for this holiday season, Motorola Mobility Chief Executive Dennis Woodside told Reuters.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] Product
specialists display new Motorola droid phones; (L-R) Droid Razor M,
Droid Razor HD and the Droid Razor Maxx HD during a launch event in New
York, September 5, 2012. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid. The
executive said the phones would go on sale at 30 other carriers around
the world besides Verizon Wireless, which has an exclusive U.S. deal
with Motorola for the devices.
Google has disclosed little about
its plans for Motorola, which it bought primarily to use the company's
rich portfolio of patents to defend itself in legal battles with
rivals. It will keep Motorola as a separate subsidiary so that other
Android phone makers, such as Samsung, do not assume Motorola will have
an advantage in accessing Android technology.
Woodside said the
Razr brand -- lauded in 2005 as iconic but became unfashionable a few
years later and then was resurrected by Motorola last year -- will
again be a key part of Motorola's strategy going forward.
"That's
clearly going to be a big focus for us over the next couple of years,"
he said. The executive also noted that Motorola plans to bring out
"much fewer" phones than the 27 devices it made in the year before the
merger closed.
Motorola's product launch on Wednesday was part
of a flurry of mobile device launches ahead of the holiday season
throughout the industry. Earlier in the day, Nokia Oyj and Microsoft Corp
unveiled their flagship phone, the Lumia 920, which uses the latest
Windows Phone operating software. Nokia did not announce any wireless
operator partners for its device.
Amazon.com Inc is expected to unwrap new Kindle Fire tablets on Thursday, and Apple is expected to unveil the latest version of its seminal iPhone on September 12.
Motorola
Mobility's Droid Razr HD boasts a 4.7 inch screen with a sharper
picture than Motorola's previous phones. Verizon Wireless did not
announce pricing but said the device will be available in time for the
holidays.
The Razr M is a smaller phone for more cost-conscious
consumers, with a 4.3 inch display that covers most of the front of the
phone. That device will be available for $99.99 when it goes on sale at
Verizon Wireless stores next week.
The Droid Razr Maxx HD will
have similar features to the Razr HD but will boast a longer battery
life. Motorola promised that the device could run for 21 hours of phone
calls or 13 hours of video viewing.
Google Chairman Eric Schmidt
told the audience that consumers are now activating as many as 1.3
million Android phones every day. Motorola rival Samsung is the biggest
maker of phones based on Android.
Verizon Wireless is a venture of Verizon Communications and Vodafone Group Plc. - Reuters