The Motorola Droid 4 (XT894) is a

smartphone A smartphone is a portable computer device that combines mobile telephone and computing functions into one unit. They are distinguished from feature phones by their stronger hardware capabilities and extensive mobile operating systems, whic ...

made by Motorola Mobility. It was released with Android 2.3 and can be upgraded to

Android 4.1 Android Jelly Bean, or Android 4.1 is the codename given to the tenth version of the Android mobile operating system developed by Google, spanning three major point releases (versions 4.1 through 4.3.1). Among the devices that run Android 4.1 t ...

. It was released on

Verizon Wireless Verizon is an American wireless network operator that previously operated as a separate division of Verizon Communications under the name Verizon Wireless. In a 2019 reorganization, Verizon moved the wireless products and services into the div ...

's network on February 10, 2012. It is the successor to Motorola's

Droid 3 The Motorola DROID 3 (GSM/UMTS version:Milestone 3) is a smartphone released on July 7, 2011, by Verizon Wireless running the Android 2.3 operating system by Google. It comes with 16 GB of internal storage. The smartphone does not ship with a mic ...

, and is one of the first smartphones to support

GLONASS GLONASS (russian: ГЛОНАСС, label=none, ; rus, links=no, Глобальная навигационная спутниковая система, r=Global'naya Navigatsionnaya Sputnikovaya Sistema, t=Global Navigation Satellite System) is ...

in addition to

GPS The Global Positioning System (GPS), originally Navstar GPS, is a satellite-based radionavigation system owned by the United States government and operated by the United States Space Force. It is one of the global navigation satellite sy ...

. As initially marketed by Verizon, when first launched, the Droid 4 was not capable of roaming in countries with non-

CDMA Code-division multiple access (CDMA) is a channel access method used by various radio communication technologies. CDMA is an example of multiple access, where several transmitters can send information simultaneously over a single communicatio ...

wireless networks. However, after installing the update from Android 2.3 to Android 4.0, global roaming is automatically enabled on the handsets, allowing the Droid 4 to use GSM bands and provide HSPA data connections outside the US. However, LTE speeds are only available on Verizon's CDMA network. Unlike previous versions of the phone, the Droid 4 does not have a hot-swappable battery.

Processor

The Droid 4 has a dual core TI OMAP processor with 1.2 GHz, updated from the Droid 3's dual core 1 GHz processor.

Webtop

Similarly to the

Motorola Atrix 4G The Motorola Atrix 4G (also known as MB860, ME860 in Asia market, MB861 in Korean market) is an Android-based smartphone by Motorola, introduced in CES 2011 on January 5, 2011. It was made available in the first quarter of 2011. It was introduc ...

, it has the integrated

Ubuntu Ubuntu ( ) is a Linux distribution based on Debian and composed mostly of free and open-source software. Ubuntu is officially released in three editions: '' Desktop'', ''Server'', and ''Core'' for Internet of things devices and robots. All ...

-based 'Webtop' application from Motorola. The Webtop application is launched when the phone is connected to an external display through a Laptop dock or HD multimedia dock. While in Webtop mode, the phone, operating with a similar UI to one which might be found on a typical Linux desktop, can run several applications on external display such as

Firefox Mozilla Firefox, or simply Firefox, is a free and open-source web browser developed by the Mozilla Foundation and its subsidiary, the Mozilla Corporation. It uses the Gecko rendering engine to display web pages, which implements current ...

web browser, SNS clients and 'mobile view' application enabling total access of Droid 4 and its screen. In September 2011, Motorola released the source code of Webtop application at

SourceForge SourceForge is a web service that offers software consumers a centralized online location to control and manage open-source software projects and research business software. It provides source code repository hosting, bug tracking, mirroring ...

. With the release of Android 4.0

Ice Cream Sandwich An ice cream sandwich is a frozen dessert consisting of ice cream between two biscuits, skins, wafers, or cookies. The ingredients are different around the world, with Ireland and Israel using wafers, and North America using chocolate cookie ...

for the Droid 4, the Webtop application has been replaced. Instead of the Ubuntu-based interface and applications, the Droid 4 switches to ICS's tablet mode. This allows seamless access to all of the phone's applications without moving back and forth between two user interfaces.

Updates

The Droid 4 originally came with Android 2.3 "Gingerbread" out of the box, however, Motorola gradually updated the handset to Android 4.0 "Ice Cream Sandwich" and then finally to Android 4.1 "Jelly Bean". Motorola has also released regular maintenance updates from time to time.

Unofficial

LineageOS support exists and is currently being maintained by the community, with LineageOS 14.1 ( Android 7.1.2 "Nougat") being the latest official port for the device. Currently there is an ongoing effort to port mainline Linux to the phone, with most of the devices already supported except for voice calls and the cameras. Work is being done to make the Droid 4 supported by

Maemo Leste Maemo is a software platform originally developed by Nokia, now developed by the community, for smartphones and Internet tablets. The platform comprises both the Maemo operating system and SDK. Maemo played a key role in Nokia's strategy to com ...

References

External links

* {{Linux devices Mobile phones introduced in 2012 Discontinued smartphones Android (operating system) devices Motorola Droid 4

Droid 4 The Motorola Droid 4 (XT894) is a smartphone made by Motorola Mobility. It was released with Android 2.3 and can be upgraded to Android 4.1. It was released on Verizon Wireless's network on February 10, 2012. It is the successor to Motorola's Dro ...

Verizon Wireless Slider phones