We were fortunate enough to get invited to the Motorola Press Conference here at CES and are we glad we got to be apart of it. Motorola had 4 device announcements for us today. We are going to collaborate all of the post into this one post, so sit back and check out where Motorola is heading, we think it is in the right direction.
First we will start with the Xoom, which is Motorola’s offering into the tablet world. The Xoom will be running Android’s Honeycomb specifically designed for tablets with a completely redesigned interface. The interface looks like a step in the right direction for the tablet OS from Google. The tablet has a 10 inch screen and when looking at it close up appears the same size as the main competition the iPad.
The Xoom will be launched with 3G but will be upgradable to all 4G later on. The back has a matte finish and you have black all the way around. Very sleek looking device, so lets get into the goodies equipped.
1080p HD support, first tablet with Honeycomb software, dual-core 1GHz processor, and a wide range of docking options Dimensions 249.1mm (h) x 167.8mm (w) x 12.9mm (d) Display 10.1” 1280×800 resolution Weight 730 g Processor NVIDIA® Tegra™ 2: 1GHz dual-core processor Battery Up to 10 hour video playback Connectivity 3.5mm, micro USB 2.0 HS, Corporate Sync, Wi-Fi 2.4GHz & 5GHz 802.11b/g/n, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR + HID Network 3G, 4G LTE upgradeable, 802.11n w/Personal Hotspot Messaging/Web/Apps Email (Corporate Sync, Google Mail, POP3/IMAP embedded, Push Email, Yahoo Mail) WebKit w/ Flash Audio AAC, AAC+, AMR NB, AMR WB, MP3, XMF Video 720p capture/1080p playback/streaming, H.263, H.264, MPEG4 Camera 5 MP rear-facing camera with dual LED flash/2MP front-facing camera Memory 32GB on board user memory, SDNext lets move on to the Atrix. The Atrix is a phone that will be available through AT&T, and LTE capable. The Atrix has a 4 inch qHD (Quarter High Definition 960×540) display, runs a dual core 1GHz processor, 1GB of RAM, rear camera at 5MP and 720P recording, and a front camera that is a VGA resolution. For storage you have 16GB onboard and a card slot that will support up to a 32GB Micro SD card.
Now that we have the specs out of the way, let’s talk about what is so cool about this phone other than the fact that it is a powerhouse. Motorola has positioned this device to lock in a dock with HDMI ports to hook up to an external display, and that allows your phone to turn into a complete desktop computer with a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse. There are apps that install on the phone, (like the full version of Firefox running flash), and it allows you to work on the web while also using your phone fully functional plugged into the dock from the machine you are working from.
They have designed a complete UI hub for all your media to be easily viewed when plugged into a TV and full 1080p support is offered also. We watched them use this machine as a desktop, web browsing and with the apps running it was very snappy. The 1080p content played back on a 47 inch screen was more than impressive coming from a phone. Motorola is positioning this as the device that you will use everywhere. Everything is on the phone, then when you get home you dock it and you are good to go with everything plugged into a hub right there.
Not only did they announce that the dock will work with an external monitor, they have designed a complete netbook style computer that is basically a dock for the phone. You pop your phone in the back, then open the screen to the laptop and all your data is there. Also while you are using the phone it works normally through the machine when plugged into the external monitor. The 11 inch laptop dock looks just like your normal everyday laptop or netbook and it boots up quick once the phone is docked in.
The Atrix is a really revolutionary device no doubt, but lets move on to the Droid Bionic. Motorola’s latest Droid for Verizon is being positioned as the device that offers unparalleled speed compared to other devices. It also has the qHD screen but this one is larger coming in at 4.3 inches. Dual core processors aboard, 512MB of RAM, 8MB rear camera for stills and 720P video recording. You will be able to video chat on this device also, but Motorola is saying that you will not be able to video chat unless you are on WiFi or have a 4G connection available on any of their devices.
Storage is at the same with 16GB internal and a MicroSD slot for up to 32GB. This device is one of Verizon’s heavy hitters, and even though you will not be able to use the dock on this device, it is defiantly a powerhouse and we can’t wait to get it and hook it up to Verizon’s LTE network and let it scream.
Last but not least is the Motorola Cliq 2, for T-Mobile. The hardware has been changed a bit and looks a lot less cheap, and the version of Blur has been updated. This phone has a 3.7” 854×480 display and for storage is 512MB RAM x 1 GB ROM, up to 1GB user available memory, 2 GB microSD card loaded, microSD card expansion slot for up to 32 GB. All these phones are running 2.2 Froyo and there are plans for the Atrix and Bionic to be upgraded to 2.3 Gingerbread.
