Moto E, Moto G and Moto X Start Receiving Android 4.4.3 KitKat Update

Motorola, soon after Google released the Android 4.4.3 KitKat factory images for Nexus devices, on Tuesday announced the same update for its Moto E, Moto G and Moto X.

In a blog post, Steve Horowitz, SVP, Software Engineering, Motorola said, "We are excited to announce some icing on top of the, well, KitKat. Starting today [Tuesday], we are rolling out Android 4.4.3, KitKat, which was just released by Google."

The company notes that the latest Android 4.4.3 KitKat update for Motorola handsets will start rolling out this week, with the first recipients listed by Motorola. Moto X T-Mobile users will receive the update first, while Moto G users in the US, who bought the smartphone online (also includes Moto G 4G LTE), and the Moto G users in Brazil, will receive the first updates for the handset.

For the Moto E, US users who bought the handset online will receive the update first. The company also notes that the Moto E will be receiving the next major Android update (as yet unspecified) as well, and added, "Consider this the cherry on top."

The company has announced that the Android 4.4.3 KitKat update for Moto E, Moto G and Moto X can be expected to be rolled-out globally in the coming weeks.

According to Motorola, the new Android 4.4.3 KitKat update for Moto E, Moto G and Moto X brings an improved dialler with updated interface; stability, framework and security fixes, as well as enhancements to the power profile capabilities.

Motorola has also listed the changelog for the Android 4.4.3 KitKat update for all three Moto smartphones. The Moto E will be receiving an updated phone dialler with a new graphical layout and colours to get better consistency and usability.

The Moto G, on the other hand, will be receiving a new pause video recording feature on the viewfinder; an updated phone dialler, much like the Moto E, and access to Motorola Alert, which is an app that sends periodic alerts with the user's location to selected contacts.

Lastly, the Moto X receives camera enhancements such as improved image quality with consistent exposure and flash colouring, as well as better photos in low light conditions using front camera.

The update for Moto X also brings ability to pause video recording with a pause/resume button on the viewfinder, much like the Moto G update. The Moto X also receives the updated phone dialler and can now download the Motorola Alert app.

In addition, the Samsung Galaxy S4 Google Play Edition also started receiving Android 4.4.3 KitKat update. The new update for Galaxy S4 GPE brings usual fixes for bugs and improvements to security, and stability.

Micromax A105 Canvas With Android 4.4 KitKat Listed Online at Rs. 6,999

Micromax seems to be in a hurry to
launch more smartphones running
Android 4.4 KitKat in the Indian
market. Within 10-days, the popular
Indian handset maker has introduced -
Unite 2 and Canvas Engage , while seems
geared up to launch a third smartphone
dubbed A105 Canvas.

The Micromax A105 Canvas is now listed
on an e-commerce website priced at Rs.
6,999.
The A105 Canvas is a dual-SIM (GSM
+GSM) device with dual standby support
that runs the most recent Android 4.4.2
KitKat out-of-the-box. It comes with a
5-inch (480x800 pixels) IPS display. It is
powered by a 1.2GHz quad-core
(unspecified chipset) processor with
512MB of RAM.
The Micromax A105 Canvas comes with
4GB of inbuilt storage, which is further
expandable via microSD card (up to
32GB). It sports a 5-megapixel rear
camera with LED flash, while there is a
secondary 0.3-megapixel front-facing
camera.

On the connectivity front, the Micromax
A105 Canvas includes 3G, Wi-Fi, Micro-
USB, and Bluetooth. The smartphone
packs a 1900mAh battery with no word
talk time and standby time on the
HomeShop18 website . The Micromax A105
Canvas measures 10.5mm thick, while it
weighs 180 grams.

The Indian smartphone market has
suddenly been crowded with Android 4.4
KitKat smartphones and we can credit
Motorola to kick off the tradition with
its popular budget Moto E .

The Moto E went on sale again on
Friday; however, like previous occasions ,
the handset went out of stock pretty
quickly.

One-time Apple fanboy explains why he dumped his iPhone for a Moto X

It’s always entertaining to read what
happens when longtime iPhone devotees
switch to another platform, regardless
of whether they like their new platform
of choice
or absolutely hate everything about it .

CNN’s David Goldman, however, is a
somewhat unusual case
— he’s a self-described former “big
Apple fan” who dropped his iPhone last
year in favor of the Moto X, Motorola’s
little-bought Android phone that came
in with lesser specifications than other
Android heavyweights released last year
such as the Galaxy S4 and the HTC One.

However, if you’re expecting Goldman to
talk about how he ran screaming from
the Moto X and never looked back, then
you should prepare to be surprised —
Goldman is completely in love with
Motorola’s last flagship phone.
“It’s by far the most useful gadget I’ve
ever owned,” Goldman gushes. “I can
check the time just by taking the phone
out of my pocket. When I want to
change directions while I’m driving, I
don’t hit any buttons — I literally just
speak to my phone, ‘OK Google Now,
navigate to…’ When there’s traffic,
and I’ll miss my meeting if I don’t leave
soon, my Moto X will tell me to get going.

An app called Trigger automatically puts
my phone in vibrate mode the second I
step into my newsroom… Android’s
widgets are better and more convenient
than the iPhone’s badge notifications.
Google is far, far superior at backing up
photos than Apple. iCloud in general is a
confusing mess.”

This is certainly different from the
impressions we wrote about earlier this
week from design expert Hillel
Cooperman, who described Android’s
notification bar as “ always oozing like
an open sore” that leaves a “pile of tiny
incomprehensible turds appear at the
top of my screen, uglifying it to no
end.”

In large part, this boils down to what
you want to have from your
smartphone. The iPhone provides a
smoother, more consistent user
experience than many Android devices,
but the way that Google’s services are
so tightly integrated into Android makes
Android phones more useful for some
people. Despite the wailings of fanboys
who want to declare that one is
objectively better than the other, it
turns out that both platforms have
something valuable to offer to
different sets of users.

The same goes for Goldman’s love of
Microsoft’s Surface Pro, which he says
has essentially replaced his iPad as his
go-to tablet because of its ability to
double as a laptop. He says he doesn’t
love everything about Windows 8 but
he’s gotten used to it and besides that
he says, “there is nothing better for
watching Netflix in bed than the
Surface, with its kickstand and screen
optimized for HD videos.”

Are Goldman’s tastes for everyone?
Sales numbers suggest they certainly
aren’t but that doesn’t mean that
they’re wrong. Different users want
different things from their technology
and we should be glad that there are so
many incredible gadgets out there right
now that are competing like crazy for
our business.