SAN FRANCISCO—Watch your back, Research In Motion (RIM), because Motorola has an Android device aimed squarely at unseating BlackBerry.
Late yesterday, Motorola unveiled four mass-market Android phones and the Droid Pro, an enterprise-grade Android device with many of the same features that has made RIM’s BlackBerry devices popular with businesses.
“Motorola is ready for business,” Motorola Mobility CEO Sanjay Jha said at the device’s unveiling yesterday. Jha said the Pro will available with Verizon Wireless during the first week of November. Pricing has not yet been announced.
The Droid Pro comes equipped with QuickOffice Mobile Suite and supports both Microsoft Exchange e-mail and Gmail for business, has built-in security features including AuthenTec IPSec VPN integration and remote data wipe, and allows users to view, edit and share documents, including Microsoft Excel spreadsheets and PowerPoint presentations.
On the hardware side, the Pro has a 1 GHz processor, 3.1-inch HVGA display, 5 megapixel camera, Bluetooth and DLNA connectivity and can be used as a Wi-Fi hot spot.
Motorola worked with a number of outside companies to get the Android platform up to par for business users, including McAfee, Sybase and Quickoffice.
The Droid Pro announcement comes one day after Samsung said its entire line of Android-based Galaxy S devices would be upgraded to enterprise-grade, including its Galaxy Tab tablet.
Motorola also unveiled four new mass-market Android devices targeted at markets typically outside the early adopter crowd. The Citrus has a 3-inch touchscreen and is made of 25 percent post-consumer recycled plastic. The device will be launched with Verizon in the fourth quarter of this year. Pricing was not announced.
The Motorola Spice has a slide-out qwerty keyboard and the company’s exclusive Flashback app, which keeps track of the user’s call history, messages, calendar events and photos and videos, and maps them to a timeline. The company said the Spice will be available in Latin America first.
Motorola’s two other new mass-market Android devices, the Bravo and Flipside, will launch with AT&T by the holidays. The Bravo has an 800 MHz processor, a 3.7-inch WVGA touchscreen and will be available for $129.99 with a two-year contract and smartphone data plan.
The Flipside costs $99.99 with a two-year contract and data plan and has a slide-out qwerty keypad, 3.1-inch HVGA touchscreen and support for Microsoft Exchange.
AT&T is also getting the Motorola Flipout, which will be available for $79.99 with two-year contract and smartphone plan beginning Oct. 17.
Motorola also unveiled three new hands-free devices and said T-Mobile USA was getting the Defy, a water-resistant and dust-proof Android device.
