Motorola slices out Razr smartphone bootloader lock

'Developer Edition' handset in-bound

Motorola is to offer Europeans a version of its new Razr smartphone with an unlocked bootloader.

The Android 2.3 Gingerbread-running Razr Developer Edition will be made available directly from Motorola through its online shop for €499 (£418) and buyers are warned that the handset will come "without any warranty".

It also alerted potential users to the fact that the unlocked phone will not support DRM-protected content

Motorola is taking orders now, but didn't say when the Razr Developer Edition will ship.

It did say the handset will only be sent to customers in the EU, but it promised to make a version of the unlockable Razr to buyers in the US in due course.

The new Razr's unlocked bootloader code means its easy for Android and handset hackers to gain root access to the device, ostensibly for installing custom versions of the Google OS. ®