Verizon Wireless on Monday confirmed that the DROID RAZR, RAZR MAXX, HTC Rezound, and DROID 4 will receive global roaming capabilities later this summer, enabling the handsets to access voice and data services in more than 200 countries, Droid-Life reported. “Customers will see a notification on their device when the software update is available for their device,” a Verizon spokesperson said. “After the software update, customers will be able to take their smartphone overseas and use voice service in more than 220 countries and receive data in more than 205 countries.” While the carrier didn’t give a specific timeline, there is a possibility the update may be included with the smartphone’s upcoming Ice Cream Sandwich updates, which are also slated for

OmniVision on Tuesday announced the OV16820 and OV16825 smartphone camera chips. The two sensors support up to 16-megapixels and can capture video at a 4k resolution, known as Quad Full High Definition (QFHD), at 60 frames per second. “It was an industry-wide assumption that smartphones would cut into DSC/DVC sales; but at higher resolutions, we’re seeing a very distinct divide between the two markets and both remain strong,” said Devang Patel, senior product marketing manager at OmniVision. “Industry experts have observed that mainstream DSC products are shifting to 16-megapixel resolutions and are offering improved image quality and optics. The OV16820 supports such offerings, allowing DSC/DVC manufacturers to provide consumers a high-resolution, feature-rich point and shoot photography experience, while the OV16825

The Amazon Appstore was updated on Monday to include the company’s popular Test Drive feature on Android devices. The retail giant previously allowed users to test apps using desktop browsers prior to purchasing them, but now trials can be tested on devices. “Today we begin the beta rollout of Test Drive on Android phones,” Amazon said. “Now customers can instantly try apps on their phone — where a majority of app purchases take place — without downloading or installing anything.” The Test Drive feature is currently available on more than 5,000 apps and is compatible with select Android handsets, however Amazon promises the feature will be rolled out to “many more” devices in the coming months. Read

Google has completed its $12.5 billion purchase of device maker Motorola Mobility in a deal that poses new challenges for the Internet's most powerful company as it tries to shape the future of mobile computing.

Google closed Tuesday its $12.5 billion deal for Motorola Mobility, a key manufacturer of smartphones and other devices that puts the Internet giant in head-to-head competition with Apple.

We realize there's only so much time one can spend in a day watching new trailers, viral video clips, and shaky cell phone footage of people arguing on live television. This is why every day The Atlantic Wire highlights the videos that truly earn your five minutes (or less) of attention. Today: Jimmy Fallon discusses POTUS and The Boss, Ketchup may soon be more accesible, and the trouble with retrieving the Costa Concordia.

Google Tuesday finalized its $12.5 billion deal for Motorola Mobility, a key manufacturer of smartphones and other devices which puts the Internet giant in head-to-head competition with Apple.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Google Inc completed its $12.5 billion purchase of Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc and named a new chief executive for the cellphone maker, who vowed to focus on "fewer, bigger bets." Google, which made the deal to gain access to Motorola's vast trove of technology patents, said on Tuesday that Motorola Chief Executive Sanjay Jha has stepped down and has been succeeded by Dennis Woodside, former president of Google's Americas region. Woodside oversaw planning for the Motorola integration, according to Google. Jha will be retained to help manage a transition period. ...

In line with earlier reports, Google on Tuesday finalized its acquisition of Motorola Mobility. The $12.5 billion merger was approved by regulators in China on Monday after having been given the green light by the United States Department of Justice this past February. Chinese regulators did stipulate terms for its approval, however, namely that Google must continue to make Android open-source and freely available. Former Motorola Mobility CEO Sanjay Jha has stepped down and Google’s Dennis Woodside will replace him as chief executive. “I’m excited to announce today that our Motorola Mobility deal has closed,” Google CEO Larry Page wrote in a letter published on Google’s blog. “Motorola is a great American tech company that has driven the mobile revolution, with

Asian markets rose Tuesday following a strong performance on Wall Street and on hopes EU leaders will come to an agreement on dealing with the eurozone debt crisis at an upcoming summit.

With a new update just in time for the start of the 2012 event, the official application of the French Open tennis tournament allows fans to follow all the matches and catch every serve of the tournament. The Roland-Garros 2012 app is available for free on iOS and Android devices.

A US judge said a Kodak patent allegedly infringed upon by Apple and Blackberry-maker Research In Motion (RIM) was not valid, dealing another blow to the struggling photography pioneer.

Motorola recently updated its Android release timeline and revealed that certain devices will remain on Android 2.3 rather than receiving an upgrade to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. The handsets in question are both modern and more than capable of running the latest Android operating system, however the vendor claims the latest software won’t “improve” the devices, and that’s why updates will not be released. Both the DROID 3 and DROID X2 will remain on Android 2.3, despite the fact that both handsets run dual-core NVIDIA Tegra 2 processors and were released not even a year ago. Read [1] Read [2]

Apple chief executive Tim Cook topped the list of the best-paid CEOs in the US in 2011 thanks to stock options that put him more than $300 million above his next rival, a Wall Street Journal survey showed Monday.

US shares racked up strong gains Monday with the Nasdaq adding nearly 2.5 percent helped by an Apple surge, but Facebook shares flipped below their IPO price on their first full day of trading.

Following China’s recent regulatory approval, Google’s $12.5 billion acquisition of Motorola Mobility is expected to close in the next two days. Motorola employees may not be celebrating, however. TechCrunch reported on Monday that layoffs will be hitting the manufacturer imminently. When Google purchased DoubleClick, the company had 1,600 employees, 40% of that which were laid off following the buyout. At the time Google’s acquisition was announced, Motorola Mobility had 19,000 employees. The struggling vendor has already laid off 800 employees as part of a restructuring plan, and now it looks like the company may be forced to go through another round of job cuts. Read

We realize there's only so much time one can spend in a day watching new trailers, viral video clips, and shaky cell phone footage of people arguing on live television. This is why every day The Atlantic Wire highlights the videos that truly earn your five minutes (or less) of attention. Today: Anchorman 2 trailer offers reason for cautious optimism, Russian investors are gobbling up pricey New York City real-estate, and a lone violinist charms Harris Teeter shopper in D.C.