Well, the once-ubiquitous Motorola RAZR (indeed, the big carriers were handing RAZRs out for free near the end of the phone’s long reign) is back, and it’s thinner than even—so thin, in fact, that Motorola is billing it as the world’s slimmest smartphone.

Running on the latest version of Android (2.3.5 “Gingerbread,” to be precise), the new Droid RAZR boasts a turbo-charged processor (1.2 GHz dual-core, meaning two processors on a single chip for better speed and efficiency), dual HD cameras (one in back capable of shooting 1080p video, with a second HD lens in front for video chat), and a jumbo 4.3-inch display.

And here’s a nice touch: “water-repellent nanocoating” for protection against “everyday spills.”

Most impressive, though, is the RAZR’s whisper-thin profile: a mere 7.1 mm at its thinnest point (the RAZR has a little speed bump-shaped ridge on its back panel back, near the top), versus 9.3 mm for the iPhone 4S. Weighing in at 4.47 ounces, the RAZR is also a bit lighter than the 4.9-ounce iPhone.

Related: iPhone or Android? 6 questions to ask yourself before deciding

Very nice, but don’t expect the Motorola RAZR to beat the iPhone 4S in the price department. The 32GB RAZR will go on sale next month on Verizon Wireless for a relatively $299, with a new two-year contract—same as the 32GB iPhone 4S.

RAZR customers should also expect to cough up at least $30 a month in data fees to connect to Verizon’s speedy 4G LTE network.

So, what do you think? Does the Droid RAZR look like a match for the iPhone 4S?

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Also this week: AT&T ditches is bargain messaging plans; Netflix streaming gets kid-friendly; I go eyes-on with a new glasses-free 3D phone; free Hulu videos on your PlayStation 3 with a magic (well, sort of) Blu-ray disc; and how to decline calls on your iPhone without making enemies.

HP kills off HP TouchPad tablet, leaves mobile WebOS platform in the lurch
Once upon a time, there was a once-great smartphone company called Palm (remember the Treo?) that had fallen behind the times in the wake of the game-changing iPhone. Palm aimed for the fences with WebOS, a gorgeous touchscreen phone interface that rivaled Apple’s, but the resulting phones didn’t hit a home run with consumers.

Then HP came along and bought the struggling Palm, pledging to take the promising WebOS platform and make it its own, starting with a series of new handsets and the enticing TouchPad tablet.

Sounds like a heartwarming story—especially for those consumers who’d taken a bet on WebOS phones like the Pre, the Veer, and the new Pre3. Except this story doesn’t have a happy ending, as a stunned tech industry learned Thursday. Read more…

Google to buy Motorola: What it means to you
Once upon a time (yes, there’s a theme here), Motorola was the mightiest cell phone maker in the world (you remember the glorious RAZR, right?), while Google was just another frog in a big pond of search engines. But then something funny happened.

Google got really good at search and advertising, and it got bigger and bigger. It also invented Android, a software platform for smartphones that gave even the mighty iPhone a run for its money.

Motorola, meanwhile, managed to kill the RAZR that had laid so many golden eggs, and it started to flounder. But then it paddled over to Android and stayed afloat, making some pretty good Android phones in the process.

Now Google says it wants to buy Motorola, and Moto couldn’t be happier. But the other companies making Android phones are feeling spurned (and what about your non-Motorola Android phone, by the way?), while others think Google had an ulterior motive for sweeping Motorola off its feet. Read more…

Whatever happened to cheap messaging plans for cell phones?
The days of getting monthly “buckets” of, say, 200 or 500 messages for your cell phone seem to be numbered, with AT&T announcing Thursday that new customers who want to text will either a) have to sign up for a pricey unlimited plan, or b) pay through the nose for each individual text or picture message. Unfortunately, there might be a trend here. Read more…

Skype offers by-the-minute Wi-Fi for iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch
Ready for some good news? If you’ve got an iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch, you can now buy Wi-Fi time at more than a million global hotspots by the minute, rather than by the hour or day—all thanks to a new Skype app. Read more…

LG Thrill review: Fuzzy outlook for a glasses-free 3D smartphone
3D without glasses? Great, right? Not so much. Read more…

Orb Blu-ray disc lets you watch Hulu videos on your PlayStation 3, no subscription required
A new Blu-ray disc for the PlayStation 3 lets you skirt around Hulu’s $8-a-month subscription fee for watching TV shows on your big-screen HDTV. But it’s not magic, and it’s not the easiest thing in the world to use. Read more…

iPhone tip: A sneakier way to send incoming calls to voice mail
There are, in fact, two ways of sending an incoming call to voice mail on the iPhone—one a bit sneakier than the other. Read more…

Netflix’s “Just for Kids”: Yes to iCarly and Big Bird, no to Rambo and Jason
Nope, Freddie Krueger and Tony Soprano aren’t invited to Netflix’s “Just for Kids” party. Read more…

Google brings (more) catalog shopping to the iPad
The new—and free—Google Catalogs app takes all the paper catalogs piled on your coffee table and puts them on the iPad, perfect for searching, tapping, and swiping. Read more…

Don’t want to download “Lion”? Try Apple’s $69 USB installation drive
Now there’s an alternative for Mac users who’d rather install Mac OS X “Lion” using good, old-fashioned packaged media: a (pricey) USB thumb drive. Read more…

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It’s huge news in the business of tech, of course—but what about for the rest of us? Is the Motorola brand name going away? Will Google become the only company making Android phones? And when will all the changes begin to happen?

Now, hold on a minute. I thought Google already made smartphones!
Well, yes and no. Google makes the Android mobile operating system—that is, the software that powers each and every Android smartphone on the market. Google then licenses its Android platform to third-party manufacturers (think Motorola, Samsung, LG, and HTC) that build the actual phones.

So, did Google just jump into the smartphone manufacturing business now that it’s buying Motorola?
Yes indeed—for a cool $12.5 billion in cash.

Does this mean the end of Motorola?
Apparently not, with Google CEO Larry Page promising that Google will run Motorola as a separate business that will continue to license the Android operating system. That being said, I’m sure Google will be taking a direct hand in the development of Motorola’s upcoming Android smartphones.

But what happens to those of us who like the Android phones built by other companies, like HTC and Samsung?
Google says that even with its planned acquisition of Motorola, the Android platform will remain “open”—meaning that LG, HTC, and Samsung (among other manufacturers) will continue to make their own Android phones.

When is all this going to happen? Today?
Nope. This morning, we’ve only seen the first step—that is, Google announcing that it’s reached an agreement to acquire Motorola (or Motorola Mobility, to be precise) for a set price ($40 a share, a 60 percent premium over Motorola’s stock price at the end of business Friday). The deal must still win the approval of Motorola’s shareholders and federal antitrust regulators, a process that will take months. Google says it hopes the acquisition will be finalized by the end of this year or early next.

What’s all this business about Google, Motorola, and patents—and do I care?
When they’re not building phones, the big players in the smartphone business—including Apple, Google, Microsoft, Nokia, HTC, you name it—are busy filing lawsuits, with each accusing the others of stealing their best smartphone ideas. By buying Motorola, Google is getting more than just a portfolio of phones: it’s also getting all of Moto’s patents, bolstering its case against Apple and any other … hey, still listening?

Sorry—I was taking a mini-nap. Too inside-baseball for me.
Yep, I don’t blame you. If you’re really curious about the whole smartphone patent battle, you can read all about it here.

Last question: Is the the Google-Motorola deal good for those of us just looking for the best phones?
Too early to tell, if you ask me. On the one hand, it will surely ratchet up its competition with Apple—and more competition usually means more innovation, and thus better smartphones.

On the other hand, one of the best qualities of the Android platform is that there’s more than one company making Android phones. The Google-Motorola deal will almost certainly shift the balance of power in the Android handset market—and a dominant, Google-owned Motorola might not be the best thing for us consumers, at least as far as competition goes.

For now, though, it’s wait-and-see time.

Have more questions about the Google-Motorola news? Ask me anything!

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The Motorola Photon 4G (available from Sprint on Sunday, July 31, $199 with a two-year contract) boasts many of the same features as its bleeding-edge Android competitors, including a huge, razor-sharp display, dual cameras (including one for video chat), and a super-fast, dual-core processor (meaning two processors on a single chip, good for speedier and more efficient performance).

What sets the Photon 4G apart, though, is its optional, $99 multimedia dock accessory, which comes with an HDMI video output and a trio of USB ports. (A similar dock is available for the Motorola-made Atrix 4G, available on AT&T.)

The dock’s video outlet lets you connect the Photon 4G to any HDMI-enabled HDTV or computer monitor, while the USB ports will easily handle a mouse and a keyboard. (The Photon is also capable of connecting to a wireless Bluetooth keyboard, which Sprint will sell you for an extra $69.)

Once you connect the so-called “HD Station” dock to a nearby HDTV—say, the one in your hotel room—and slide the Photon 4G into its cradle, the phone will give you the option of doing something pretty neat: turning your big-screen TV into a computer desktop, complete with a PC-caliber web browser.

Now, just to be clear, don’t expect your smartphone-powered HDTV to suddenly start running Microsoft Word and Photoshop. Indeed, the only PC-level application you’ll find on the Photon 4G is a custom version of the Firefox web browser—which is probably why Motorola named the Photon’s PC-on-a-TV application “WebTop” rather than, say, “PC Desktop.”

I should also note that the Photon 4G’s Firefox browser managed to surf the web at a steady, if not lightning-fast pace, while opening too many windows at once triggered a “low memory” alert.

Then again, you could do things like play Flash videos on the full YouTube website, or edit documents, presentations, and spreadsheets in Google Docs—in fact, I wrote most of this post in Google Docs using the Photon 4G’s Firefox browser.

And if you want to dive into regular smartphone apps, you can always do so using a windowed or full-screen “Mobile View” app.

So while the Photon 4G and its HD Station dock certainly don’t qualify as a PC-replacing duo, they could do the trick for a hotel-bound business traveller looking to catch up on email or spruce up a report—and all you’d need in your suitcase would be the Photon’s compact dock, a travel mouse, and a portable USB keyboard.

Very nice—and given what phones like the Photon 4G can do today, just imagine where we might be in a few more years. Maybe the days of us carrying around PCs in our pockets aren’t so far off after all.

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Well, meet the Status’s evil twin: the Motorola Droid 3, a jet-black, ultra-speedy, and feature-packed slider phone that’s all business. You won’t find the Droid 3 mingling at the beach with the laid-back Status; instead, you’ll find it hanging from Darth Vader’s utility belt.

Available now from Verizon Wireless for $199 with a two-year contract, the Droid 3 comes armed to the teeth with features.

Behold its four-inch, high-resolution (960-by-540 pixels to be exact), and utterly gorgeous display.

Witness the dual cameras: an eight-megapixel one in back (which records 1080p HD video, by the way), plus another in front for video chat.

Revel in its 1GHz, dual-core processor—in other words, two processors sitting on a single chip, good for speedier, more efficient performance.

And delight in its roomy keypad, complete with five rows of keys and crammed into a shell that’s thinner than any other QWERTY slider phone in the galaxy (according to Verizon, at least).

All very impressive, and I haven’t even mentioned the Droid 3’s rarefied status as a world phone—which means it’s compatible with CDMA cellular networks here in the States and in Asia, as well as the GSM networks that are more prevalent in Europe and Africa.

Impressive, indeed—and big. While it may well rank as the world’s thinnest QWERTY slider, the Droid 3 nonetheless makes for a large, hulking phone, one that tips the scales at nearly six ounces (more than an ounce and a half heavier than the Status, and about a full ounce heavier than the iPhone 4) while measuring a half-inch thick. Believe me, you won’t forget that the Droid 3 is squeezed into your pocket.

Then there’s the Droid 3’s keypad, with keys so flat and compact that they feel almost slippery—not a desirable quality when it comes to typing.

And for all its cutting-edge features, the Droid 3 isn’t compatible with Verizon’s brand-new, 4G LTE data network, which means you’ll have to settle for (still pretty fast) 3G data speeds.

Don’t get me wrong: the Droid 3 is an eye-popping smartphone with a Formula 1-caliber engine under its jet-black hood. And if you want to fire off texts using a full-QWERTY keypad while hopping from one continent to another and shooting HD video as you go, well … the Droid 3 is a tough to beat.

It’s also big, scary, and intimidating—perfect for those who enjoy lurking around the Death Star, demanding status reports from terrified underlings.

But if you’d rather be relaxing on the lido deck, consider the sunny, satisfying Status.

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The Motorola Atrix 4G sitting in its multimedia dock. You can get it for a penny, with a few strings attached.

Today’s big Apple rumor has it that the two-year-old iPhone 3GS might sell for free (with a two-year contract, of course) once the iPhone 5 arrives. But if you want a more recent, state-of-the-art handset and you’re willing to go the Android way, you can snag some pretty enticing smartphones right now, for next to nothing.

Nice, but is there a catch (or two) involved? Well, naturally.

The secret to getting a relatively new, mint-condition Android phone for cheap: Buying through a third-party wireless reseller. Three of the largest are Amazon Wireless, Let’s Talk, and Wirefly, and they sell a wide variety of phones (ranging from the older, bare-bones “feature” phones to the latest and greatest smartphones) at steep discounts.

Take, for example, the Motorola Atrix 4G, an Android phone with a dual-core processor (that is, two processors in a single chip, good for faster and more efficient performance), a razor-sharp four-inch display, and a front-facing camera for video chat. The Atrix was the toast of this year’s Consumer Electronics Show back in January, and it currently sells on AT&T for $99; now, though, you can snag it on Amazon Wireless for a penny.

The Sony Xperia Play, on sale for free—with a two-year contract.

Or consider the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play, a new phone with slide-out controls for mobile PlayStation games that sells for $200 on Verizon Wireless—now available on Let’s Talk for free.

Or how about last year’s hottest Android phone: the HTC Evo 4G on Sprint, selling on Wirefly for … well, nothing.

Not bad, but what’s the catch—or catches, as the case may be?

Catch No 1.: As with the big carriers, you’ll have to sign a two-year contract to get the steepest discounts from a wireless reseller—and if you break your contract, you’ll owe a hefty fee. (Your contract will be with a carrier, by the way, not the reseller.)

Catch No. 2: Wireless resellers can afford their deep discounts because they’re paid by the big carriers for every new subscriber they deliver—but they’ll lose their bounties if a subscriber decides to dial down their rate plan before a set amount of time (usually six months or so).

HTC's Evo 4G, one of last year's hottest phone, now selling for zip.

That means if you decide to lower your rate plan in the first several months of your contract (check the fine print for exact conditions before you buy), the wireless retailer from which you bought your new phone may turn around and ask for its discount back.

Bottom line: you should only buy from a third-party phone reseller if you’re willing to pick a plan and stick with it for awhile—otherwise, any initial savings you got may disappear in a puff of smoke.

OK, but what about the iPhone? Sorry, folks: Apple doesn’t allow third-party wireless retailers to sell the iPhone. (Bargain hunters should note, however, that the old iPhone 3GS is available on AT&T for $19 with a two-year contract, so long as you settle for a used handset.)

Any questions about wireless resellers? Let me know!

Full disclosure: I’m good friends with the editorial director at Let’s Talk, but no one at the company suggested I write this story—and no, I’m not a paid affiliate for any of these companies (although you may see their context-sensitive ads running on this site).

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Slated to land in Verizon Wireless’ smartphone lineup on May 26 for $199 with a two-year service agreement, the Droid X2 comes with the same jumbo-size display as its predecessor: 4.3 inches, to be exact, although its 960 by 540-pixel resolution crams in about 26 percent more pixels than the original’s display. And yes, the handset itself is still pretty bulky: think 5 by 2.6 inches, although its 0.39-inch girth is still reasonably thin. Also more-or-less the same: the X2’s eight-megapixel camera (which comes with a dual-LED flash, auto-focus, and 720p HD video recording) and mobile hotspot capabilities (good for sharing 3G data with up to five nearby Wi-Fi devices).

So, anything else to see here? Well, besides the X2’s sharper display, we’ve also got a new HDMI-enabled “Mirror Mode,” good for playing slide shows, videos, and movies stored on the Droid X2 on any HDMI-equipped TV. Not bad, but the bigger news lies under the X2’s hood: a dual-core 1GHz processor, which Moto claims is twice as fast as the processor in the Droid X.

Sadly, the main improvement that power users were likely hoping for in the Droid X2—compatibility with Verizon’s speedy new LTE data network—is missing in action, somewhat surprising given the Droid X’s elite status among its Android-powered competitors last year.

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