Google might use Motorola to launch Android 5.0

Posted on 21 Jan 2013 at 09:52, by Gareth Halfacree

Motorola Mobility, now a wholly-owned Google subsidiary, is rumoured to be working on the first handset to run the latest Android 5.0 Key Lime Pie operating system, to launch under the name Motorola X.

According to an unnamed source speaking to DroidForums, Motorola Mobility - once an arm of Motorola, but recently sold to Google - is planning to launch the Motorola X at Google's IO conference, typically where the company's flagship Nexus handsets and new operating systems are unveiled. The source claims the device won't be an official Nexus model, however.

That's a departure for Google, which has been concentrating on building up the Nexus brand by ensuring its latest operating systems are first available on Nexus devices, but one that is not without precedent: when the company launched Android 3.0 Honeycomb, it used a third-party device as the launch product - the Xoom tablet from, interestingly enough, Motorola.

The Motorola X will apparently include a 5in high-resolution display based on the same thin-bezel 'edge-to-edge' design as Motorola's Razr i handset. This will reduce the overall dimensions of the phone while keeping the large-format screen that has become the standard for high-end smartphones. The handset could be launching with Android 5.0 Key Lime Pie - which, like Android 4.1 Jelly Bean before it, may launch under the alternative designation Android 4.3. As it won't be a Nexus device, there's nothing to stop Motorola from including operating system customisations and additional features.

The handset's availability or pricing, or even confirmation of its existence, has yet to be announced, but an unveiling is expected at the Google IO conference in May.

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