At CES last week, Motorola unveiled the Atrix, a convertible smart phone. The Atrix is a new form of computing, in which the processor and your data stay with you, and are plugged into accessories as needed. A variety of docks allow the Atrix to be used in the configuration of a laptop, a desktop, a media center server, and an in-car navigator, in addition to working alone as a 4G smart phone.
http://www.motorola.com/Consumers/U...ices/Atrix-Accessories-Page/Atrix-Accessories
Engadget has a good review
http://www.engadget.com/2011/01/06/motorola-atrix-4g-hd-multimedia-dock-and-laptop-dock-hands-on/
There's no word on the price of the Atrix. It's certain to be less than the cost of an iPhone and a MacBook Air, which seem to be the preferred setup for road warriors these days.
The Atrix shown at CES used Android 2.2, but it will be a while before the Atrix is shipped to consumers. By then, Motorola will upgrade to Android 2.3. The hardware specifications meet the standards for Android 3.0 as well.
With the Atrix, Motorola has entered the market for convertible phones first. There's no reason why Apple and Samsung, to name two obvious competitors, couldn't join the party.
Initially available from AT&T with support for AT&T's HSPA+ 4G network, but a version for Verizon's 3G network is in the works. No word on support for LTE.
Atrix specifications:
NVIDIA Tegra 2 Dual Core CPU @ 1GHz
1 GB of RAM
16 GB internal flash memory, up to 32 GB micro SD card
4” capacitive touchscreen, 960×540 pixels (iPhone is 3.5" 960x640)
5MP auto-focus rear camera with dual-LED flash
..also 720p video recording
0.3MP front facing camera for video chat
WiFi b/g/n, Bluetooth
weight 135 g (iPhone 137 g)
1930 mAh battery (iPhone 1420 mAh)
To be sure, there are some computing activities that won't be suitable for the Atrix. If you're rendering an animation, keeping the books for a corporation, or playing games with heavy graphics, you'll need more computing power. But for most of us, who use computers for tasks like web surfing, email, creative writing, simple photo processing, and so on, the Atrix-style of computer is likely to be enough.
What do you think? Would you be interested in a single computer that acts as phone, laptop, desktop, media server, and navigator?
http://www.motorola.com/Consumers/U...ices/Atrix-Accessories-Page/Atrix-Accessories
Engadget has a good review
http://www.engadget.com/2011/01/06/motorola-atrix-4g-hd-multimedia-dock-and-laptop-dock-hands-on/
There's no word on the price of the Atrix. It's certain to be less than the cost of an iPhone and a MacBook Air, which seem to be the preferred setup for road warriors these days.
The Atrix shown at CES used Android 2.2, but it will be a while before the Atrix is shipped to consumers. By then, Motorola will upgrade to Android 2.3. The hardware specifications meet the standards for Android 3.0 as well.
With the Atrix, Motorola has entered the market for convertible phones first. There's no reason why Apple and Samsung, to name two obvious competitors, couldn't join the party.
Initially available from AT&T with support for AT&T's HSPA+ 4G network, but a version for Verizon's 3G network is in the works. No word on support for LTE.
Atrix specifications:
NVIDIA Tegra 2 Dual Core CPU @ 1GHz
1 GB of RAM
16 GB internal flash memory, up to 32 GB micro SD card
4” capacitive touchscreen, 960×540 pixels (iPhone is 3.5" 960x640)
5MP auto-focus rear camera with dual-LED flash
..also 720p video recording
0.3MP front facing camera for video chat
WiFi b/g/n, Bluetooth
weight 135 g (iPhone 137 g)
1930 mAh battery (iPhone 1420 mAh)
To be sure, there are some computing activities that won't be suitable for the Atrix. If you're rendering an animation, keeping the books for a corporation, or playing games with heavy graphics, you'll need more computing power. But for most of us, who use computers for tasks like web surfing, email, creative writing, simple photo processing, and so on, the Atrix-style of computer is likely to be enough.
What do you think? Would you be interested in a single computer that acts as phone, laptop, desktop, media server, and navigator?