Are you ready for some smartpho-o-o-o-o-nes???
Today (Wednesday, September 5) is a special day in tech, as both Motorola and Nokia have events on the schedule at which the two phone giants will unveil their latest and greatest smartphones. The two companies -- both of whom once sat atop the mobile world, in the early part of the previous decade -- have struggled of late, despite solid reviews for Motorola's Droid Razr Maxx and Nokia's Lumia 900. Today, we'll see how the pair have improved on those devices, and how they'll pitch those improved gadgets to a cell phone-buying public that is suddenly enamored with Samsung, Apple and little else.
Yes, folks, we have officially entered Super Smartphone September, a month which will see almost every major phone maker debut a new, top-of-the-line device: It started with Samsung on August 29 (uh, a couple days early), with the unveiling of the Galaxy Note II; it continues today, with new phones from Nokia and Motorola; Apple will show off its new iPhone on September 12; and HTC will introduce its new phones at a recently announced event on September 19. Those five companies -- Samsung, Apple, HTC, Nokia, and Motorola -- represent five of the largest phone manufacturers in America, and are five of the most important designers and innovators in the mobile space.
In other words: Hold on to your hats, because we're about to lay our eyes on the absolute cutting edge in smartphones, all in the span of about three weeks in September. (And you thought the beginning of the NFL season was exciting!)
We've already met the Galaxy Note 2 (for a refresher, click here), and today, we'll meet new devices from Nokia and Motorola. First up will be Nokia, who recently lost its crown as the world's largest cell phone manufacturer and whose Lumia 900 was a well-reviewed Windows Phone that did not quite save Microsoft's mobile operating system, as it had been charged to do. Nokia is widely expected to introduce a new Lumia phone, one that runs a Windows Phone 8 operating system that is deeply connected with the Windows desktop version; the so-called Lumia 920 rumored to be introduced today will apparently come with standard wireless charging, an 8 megapixel camera with Nokia's PureView photography technology, and the option to choose from five different eye-popping colors. With all the different shades, an excellent camera, and the curious wireless charging mode, the Lumia 920 could catapult Nokia back into favor in the United States market -- which would be a good thing, since some analysts say that this is Nokia's last chance to regain badly-needed market share, and Windows Phone's last chance to become relevant.
The Nokia event will begin in New York City at 10 a.m. Eastern. You can watch a webcast of the presentation right here.
Motorola, meanwhile, is searching for answers after its super-slim Droid Razr and Droid Razr Maxx failed to sufficiently reignite the Razr brand name back into mass popularity. The Google-owned mobile firm had a critical darling in its Droid Razr Maxx, a thin, light Android phone with the best battery life (by far) of any smartphone on the market; consumers were not, apparently, quite so sweet on it. Motorola today will presumably show off its followup, rumored to be the Droid Razr M, with Android Ice Cream Sandwich, a 4.3-inch Super AMOLED screen and a battery that is similarly meaty to that of the Razr Maxx. Our buddies at Engadget (like the Huffington Post, owned by AOL) have several photos of the alleged next-gen Razr, as well as all the specs. You can read all about it right here.
The Motorola press conference will be live from New York starting at 2 p.m. Eastern. You can watch live video of the event when it begins here.
So, there you have it. It's a big day for new smartphones, as two old mobile titans try to reclaim their former glory in two separate events held within four hours and one mile of each other. HuffPost Tech will have coverage of all the latest from these events, so make sure you check back to see what Nokia and Motorola unveil and weigh in on what worked, and what didn't.