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Motorola's Atrix 4G coming to AT&T on March 6th for $200, bundled with Laptop Dock for $500
Don't ever say Ma Bell lacks cahones. On the same day that existing Verizon customers began pre-ordering the CDMA'd iPhone 4, AT&T has come clean with what's next on America's largest GSM network. While announced at CES 2011, pricing and release information had eluded the luscious Atrix 4G... until now, that is. AT&T will begin pre-sales for the Froyo-powered Motorola Atrix 4G Android superphone on February 13th, with the standard $199.99 + two-year contract ($50 more than we were led to believe, mind you) getting one into your grubby mitts. We're told to expect general availability on March 6th "or earlier," putting it just about in line with the date we'd heard rumored. Moreover, those looking to buy will should have a difficult time laying off of the Laptop Dock bundle, which nets you an Atrix 4G as well as a $499.99 dock for the grand total of $499.99 on contract. You heard right -- those who opt to buy the dock at a later time will be asked to shell out five Benjamins, whereas that same tally on day one will also include the phone. It should be noted, however, that the bundle only applies if you also sign your name to a Data Pro plan and tethering add-on, so be sure you're down for that monthly hit before committing in haste. Oh, and just in case you simply can't stop spending, the carrier is also offering an Entertainment Access Kit for Atrix 4G customers which includes the Motorola HD Multimedia Dock, a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse, and a remote control for $189.99.
Motorola's Atrix 4G HD Multimedia Dock spotted online next to a $60 price tag
We can't say we make a habit of checking out Fommy.com or Mobile City Online's digital shelves when searching for our mobile gear, but these obscure retailers look to be the first to come out with pricing for the Atrix 4G's HD Multimedia Dock. Fommy lists it as a straight up $59.95 charge, whereas its direct competitor is already discounting the cradle down to $49.99. Both are offering pre-orders only at this point, with no known dates of arrival, but at least we've got a ballpark figure to play with.
Motorola lifts our spirits with new Atrix 4G video
Been feeling down this cold and dreary January? Well, let Motorola "introduce" you to its new smartphone! The CES conqueror we already know as the Atrix 4G has received a fresh promo video from the mothership, highlighting its laptop and HD multimedia docks (giving us a decent peek at the docked UI for both), dual-core processor and related gaming credentials, and, of course, that gorgeous qHD screen resolution on the handset itself. It's all set to a very uplifting soundtrack, connoting all the beautiful opportunity and potential that our collective smartphone future holds. [Thanks, engadgeteer]
Motorola Atrix 4G apparently priced at $150 by Costco, too
Never would we have guessed that third-party wireless retailers would be aiming to launch AT&T's powerhouse Atrix 4G for just $150 on contract -- $200 or $250, sure, but not $150. Alas, just a few hours after AmazonWireless' peep show, we're seeing an alleged leaked screen shot of Costco's inventory system showing the same blockbuster price. Now, bear in mind that AT&T itself will probably sell the phone for at least $50 more -- third parties usually have a second ETF on top of the carrier's that allows them to subsidize a little more heavily -- but it's a good sign regardless.
Motorola will enable Atrix 4G's 1080p video recording in post-launch software update
The software on Motorola's upcoming Atrix 4G has already been subject to some stern (and premature) scrutiny, but here's some rather more concrete information about it, courtesy of the company's own spec page for the device. As it turns out, Moto intends to launch the Atrix with some of its hardware capabilities clipped -- specifically its Tegra 2-derived power to encode 1080p content -- but will deliver them to users in an update (hopefully soon) thereafter. LG's Optimus 2X, which is built around the same dual-core chip from NVIDIA, has been spending its time before launch showing off exactly what those 1080p encoding skills can deliver -- both with video recording and through its HDMI connection -- so it'll be a downer for Moto fans to learn that their hallowed new superphone won't be able to match up at launch. Then again, when we think about how often phone makers fail to tap the full potential of their hardware, maybe we should just be happy that 1080p abilities are coming to the Atrix at all, eh? [Thanks, Mr. techcrunch]
Sanjay Jha says multiple Motorola tablet sizes coming, hints at Atrix on other carriers
Can't say this is any surprise, but Sanjay Jha just confirmed on Motorola's earnings call that he "sees good reason" to eventually release an entire family of tablets at "different multiple different display sizes and price points." Specifically, Jha mentioned 7-inch tablets, and later said that consumer demographics like kids, teenagers, and "women" want different things from a tablet than enterprise and professional customers -- which sounds suspiciously like Jha doesn't think women want a single device for work and home, but we'll give him the benefit of the doubt, since he's not always the smoothest speaker. As for the Atrix, Jha simply said that "you will see our diversity in the retail channel as well with other carriers in the US," which certainly sounds like it'll hit other carriers once the AT&T exclusivity runs out. How long that exclusivity is, we don't know -- but keep in mind that the Droid Bionic is very nearly the same phone, so there's a chance a software update will bring that sweet docking action to the red side of the market in the future. And if not, we're sure the hacking community will have it covered.
Motorola Atrix 4G and Xoom tablet launching at the end of February, Droid Bionic and LTE Xoom in Q2
Motorola had one of the best CES showings of any company in recent memory, and now we've got some rough ship dates for all that new gear: CEO Sanjay Jha just announced on the company's earnings call that the Atrix 4G for AT&T and 3G Xoom for Verizon will arrive at "the end of February," while the LTE-enabled Droid Bionic and LTE Xoom will arrive at "the end of the second quarter" as previously promised. That sounds good to us -- and with that earlier Best Buy leak suggesting the Xoom will hit on February 17, we're hoping that Moto's taking a long view of when the end of February actually begins. Even better, a late February Xoom release supports those rumors that Honeycomb will be generally released in March, which is when the real Android tablet invasion will begin. It's all happening, folks. Update: Oh boy. Jha followed up his Xoom comments in the Q&A portion by hinting that the Xoom might slip to March, but that he's very confident they'll make their timeline. Fingers crossed.
Editorial: bugs on unreleased phones don't matter (update: Motorola says phones will 'ship as scheduled')
There's a story going around today about an alleged problem in the power management unit affecting Motorola's first two dual-core smartphones -- AT&T's Atrix 4G and Verizon's Droid Bionic -- that leads to a hodgepodge of issues: overheating, weird RF fluctuation, the list goes on. Sounds like a tragedy in the making, doesn't it? Worst yet, the PMU problem is said to be a "major unfixable flaw that will plaque [sic] it forever." Bummer! But let's back up and consider the facts here. First, as best we can tell, the sources are two posters in a HowardForums thread, one of which doesn't even have the information firsthand -- he was allegedly given the news "by someone who is testing the devices." Furthermore, there's really no such thing as an "unfixable" bug; you might need to peel away several layers of software and hardware to fix an issue depending on how fundamental the flaw turns out to be, but engineers have proven time and time again that "unfixable" isn't really in their vocabulary (white paint aside, of course).
Motorola Atrix 4G gets FCC approval
Motorola files dozens upon dozens of FCC certifications a year, so what makes us so sure this here IHD-P56LS1 is the might Atrix 4G for AT&T? Fair question: for one thing, it's got 850 and 1900MHz 3G (or 4G, in AT&T parlance). Furthermore, it's approved for 5GHz 802.11n WiFi, which is extraordinarily rare for a phone -- and it was a feature Moto was sure to pimp during the Atrix's CES unveiling. Oh, and finally, it's identified in the filing as model number MB860, which would be the Atrix's model number. So yeah, there's one more checkmark to tick off prior to release... which hopefully won't be too much longer, because we're seriously jonesing to do some laptop docking.
Motorola Atrix hitting March 1st, according to AT&T document leak?
Motorola said its fantastical modular dual-core smartphone the Atrix 4G would appear in the first quarter of the year -- and it's looking like the device will be as late in that first quarter as can be managed without completely bumming us out. Alleged AT&T internal documents found their way into the hands of Android Central, which specify a March 1st launch date for the handset, as well as pointing out pentaband radio frequencies which might help it roam globally but probably won't play nice with T-Mobile data. And what, pray tell, is the Atrix 4G? We'll have to assume you were living in a cave during CES if you need to ask, but we're more than willing to bring you up to speed with the hottest item of the show -- just click on this, this and this. [Thanks, Ahmad A.]
4G at CES 2011: AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile make big moves
Traditionally, CES isn't a huge mobile event -- the biggest phone news has historically been saved for MWC in February and CTIA in March -- but that changed in a huge way this week. Looks like 2011 is shaping up to be the year of 4G, and both carriers and manufacturers alike wasted no time jumping on the hype bandwagon with a variety of announcements that promise to make the next few months exciting... and really, really fast. AT&T kicked things off early in the show, but it was just the beginning of a relentless torrent of mobile news that lasted for days and ultimately left us with a pile of devices and network upgrades that should take us at least through the middle of the year. Read on for the recap!
Motorola Atrix: another look (video)
Every CES there's something so alluring that we can't help going back for seconds (or thirds). This year it happens to be the Motorola Atrix, which is undoubtedly our gadget of the show, and which Myriam already put together an in-depth hands-on for. We've been using every excuse we can to swing past Motorola's booth "on our way" to other stuff on the show floor, and we finally broke down and went in for another hands-on. Check out our video walkthrough after the break, which hopefully should help explain the transition the Atrix can make from phone to desktop to laptop to set-top box. And please excuse our enthusiasm. %Gallery-113570%
Gaming on the Motorola Atrix laptop dock... upside down
The Motorola Atrix is definitely one of the more impressive devices to launch at CES this year, but we've been wondering how stable that laptop dock is -- if the phone is prone to falling out it's really not much use at all. Well, worry no more -- we just watched a Moto rep boot up Need For Speed: Shift while docked up, and in addition to playing the game normally, he flipped the whole rig all the way over to show off how tightly the phone is docked. Video below.
NVIDIA shows us Tegra 2 gameplay on the Atrix 4G and Optimus 2X (video)
We can't imagine how this might have slipped your attention, but LG and Motorola used this year's CES to roll out the smartphone world's first dual-core devices in the shape of the Atrix 4G and Optimus 2X. Both are built around NVIDIA's 1GHz Tegra 2 chip, which has been the most popular thing out here in Vegas after the free food and shuttle rides (Moto even has the Droid Bionic, a 4.3-incher bound for Verizon, using it). But what does that extra core matter to you? Well, aside from facilitating 1080p video playback on both phones, it does make them quite formidable mobile gaming stations. NVIDIA took the time to show us a couple of games being handled with ease by the 2X and Atrix before noting that it isn't leaving it entirely up to Google to provide the compelling content for its hardware. Gaming is, after all, close to the GeForce maker's heart, and we were told that NVIDIA is working closely with developers to help them exploit the added firepower of Tegra 2 so as to deliver prettier, shinier things on screen. We were also informed of the introduction of a Tegra Zone, an Android app designed to serve as a showcase of Tegra partners' wares, whether they be video or gaming content, though you shouldn't fear the specter of fragmentation here -- it's not a separate app store, any purchases will be directed through the Android Market. Anyhow, enough talking, there's video to be watched after the break.
Motorola Atrix 4G, HD multimedia dock, and laptop dock hands-on
Earlier today, we got a complete demo and some seat time with the Motorola Atrix 4G for AT&T at Motorola's CES event, including its HD multimedia dock and laptop dock. The phone looks similar to the Samsung Vibrant, but with a black screen bezel and a tastefully patterned matte back cover. Build quality is very good, as we'd expect from a Motorola device. The QHD (960 x 540) display is gorgeous and the phone feels ultra snappy, thanks to the dual-core processor running Froyo. In fact, despite still running preliminary firmware, we recorded a blazing 2,616 score on the Quadrant test. The power button at the top back of the Atrix 4G also serves as a fingerprint reader, and there's a dual-LED flash flanking the 5 megapixel camera. Check out the gallery below and read on for the details -- and the complete demo on video -- after the break. %Gallery-112834%
Motorola Atrix 4G hits AT&T's website, complete with specs
We've already seen it announced an accessorized, and Motorola's Atrix 4G Android phone has now already turned up on AT&T's website with all the specs you've been waiting for. Those include a Tegra dual-core processor, 1GB of RAM and support for up to 48GB of memory, a 4-inch QHD display (or 960 x 540), a front-facing VGA camera and 5-megapixel with an LED flash 'round back, a 1930 mAh battery that promises nine hours of talk time, fingerprint login security, and Android 2.2 for an OS. Hit up the gallery below for a closer look. %Gallery-112791%
Motorola Atrix 4G's Laptop Dock and Webtop app turn your phone into a smartbook
Turns out Motorola's just-announced Atrix 4G for AT&T will be available with a setup they're simply calling the Laptop Dock that pairs up with an app on the phone -- Webtop -- to transform the Atrix into a full-fledged smartbook. All you do, it seems, is dock the phone into a larger, 13.9mm thick chassis -- great for those times when nothing other than a big physical keyboard will do. We don't know how much it's going to cost on top of the phone itself, but something tells us it won't be a bundled accessory. More details as we have them. %Gallery-112702%
Motorola's dual-core Atrix 4G announced for AT&T (Orange UK and Bell Mobility, too)
Noticing a trend here? First we had the Infuse 4G from Samsung, and now we've got the Atrix 4G from Motorola featuring a whopping 1GB of RAM -- so it would seem this is the device we'd had rumored as the Olympus. Announced at AT&T's CES-based Developer Summit today, the phone is the first to be unveiled for the carrier's lineup with a dual-core processor, but the fun doesn't stop there: it's got a 960 x 540 display that gives the iPhone 4's pixel density a run for its money, a fingerprint reader, support for 802.11n on both the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands, a ridiculous 1,930mAh battery that dwarfs the average 1,300 to 1,500mAh cell you see in most modern smartphones, HD video capture, and a wild set of peripherals -- HD Dock and Laptop Dock, primarily -- that allow you to use the Atrix in a "webtop mode" that bears a striking resemblance to a desktop operating system. Follow the break for the full press release! Update: It's coming to Orange UK and Bell Mobility as well, with Orange's version due Q2 2011 and Bell's "in the coming months." %Gallery-112701%
