At CES 2012, Motorola introduces Droid 4 and Droid Razr Maxx

Motorola yesterday introduced the Droid 4, the latest handset in Verizon's popular Droid line. According to CES previews, the new smart phone sports "the greatest Android keyboard slider yet." The Droid 4 keeps the chiseled lines and QWERTY keyboard introduced on the Droid 3, and adds a 1.2GHz dual-core processor. The Droid 4, however, sticks to the older Android 2.3 Gingerbread OS. 

Other niceties? An 8-megapixel camera, a backlight feature for the keyboard, and 1GB of RAM. Over at PC World, Armando Rodriguez got an early look at the Droid 4, and he likes what he sees (sort of). 

"The thing that struck me most about the Droid 4 was how similar it looked to the Droid Razr," Rodriguez wrote. "But, while the Droid 4 may look similar to the Razr, it isn't nearly as sleek. The Droid 4 felt chunkier than the Droid 3, though its curved edges made it easy to hold. All the buttons on the phone were flush with the rest of the device, which makes it look good – but it also made the buttons a bit difficult to push." 

On a related note, Motorola has also taken the wraps off the Droid Razr Maxx, which is expected to launch – like the Droid 4 – sometime in the first quarter of 2012. So what does the Razr Maxx have over the Droid Razr, save the addition of another imaginary word? (Seriously, Motorola, we'd be just fine with the Razr Max, or even the Razor Max. No need to whomp us over the head with the extra consonants.) 

Battery life, mostly. Brian Bennett of CNET reports that the Maxx will get 21 hours of talk time, double the longevity of the first Razr. "Despite packing a beefier battery, the phone still keeps its trim 0.35-inch profile," Bennett adds. "All the other great features of the Droid Razr will be here, too, including an 8-megapixel camera and Webtop functionality." 

The Droid Razr, released last fall, won largely positive marks from critics, who praised the sharp looks and hefty-processing power of the handset. More here. In the meantime, for more tech news, follow us on Twitter @venturenaut. And don’t forget to sign up for the weekly BizTech newsletter.