Motorola 'Droid 5' appears in leaked images

As evidenced by the recent LG Enact launch, Verizon clearly thinks there's still a market for smartphones with slide-out keyboards. And now it seems the flagship Droid line might get another QWERTY slider, if leaked images from China are to be believed. The shots above appeared on Chinese social network Weibo, and appear to show a slider with Motorola and Verizon branding.

The phone purportedly includes a shock, water and dust-resistant design, NFC support and a 4.3 to 4.5-inch display. An image of the (partially disassembled) back panel also seems to show wireless charging hardware. Curiously it's got on-screen keys, as opposed to the latest Droid phones, which use capacitive buttons — and a screenshot of the camera app also shows the old-style Motorola camera layout, suggesting this device is a prototype running older software.

If the images are accurate, the "Droid 5" release could come some 18 months after the Droid 4, which launched in February 2012. On the other hand, there's the possibility that this is merely a prototype of a phone that'll never see the light of day. Hit the comments and let us know which you think it is.

Source: NewCellphonesBlog; via: Engadget

Google Now update hitting devices, bringing new and improved cards

That latest Google Now update that the official Android Google+ account teased us with a couple of days ago is now rolling out to devices, and it even brings a few more features than expected. If you need a quick refresher, the update is bringing brand new cards for car rentals, concert tickets, sharing your commute and for NCAA football scores.

The update is also improving a few other cards. Public transit cards show dramatically more information, you can now set reminders based on your searches and more information will be displayed based on what you're watching on TV. Not announced in the original post but revealed in the actual update are two other quick features — related websites for your location, and improvements to sports cards to show real-time data instead of on a 15 minute refresh interval.

This is a big update, with lots of useful improvements. Head to the Play Store at the link above to grab your update.

Thanks, mooniefresh13!

Mophie Juice Pack for Galaxy S4 now available for $99

A quick heads up that the Mophie Juice Pack for the Samsung Galaxy S4 — which we reviewed last week — is now available for $99 (plus shipping).

Our take? It's not inexpensive, and we'd still question the necessity of a battery case for a phone that has a removable battery — you can buy a spare and a nice case for less than you'll pay here. But Mophie has done a fine job with this new Juice Pack.