LAS VEGAS—Motorola Mobility did away with its usual quaint press conference at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES), instead booking a ballroom at the Venetian Hotel, where it was standing room only for yesterday’s unveiling of four new devices. The line of attendees stretched nearly a block long, and there was even concern that some would be turned away. But alas, the crowd squeezed in and Moto managed to do anything but disappoint.
Earlier in the day, Sanjay Jha, the chairman and CEO of Motorola Mobility, unveiled the Motorola Atrix 4G at AT&T’s Developer Summit; the device is compatible with AT&T’s HSPA+ network. The Atrix features a unique docking system that allows it to connect and power a laptop with full screen, keyboard and mouse.
“Most people can get through 80 percent of the day using their smartphone… but there are still tasks that benefit from a larger screen, keyboard and mouse,” Jha said.
Even beyond its unique functionality, the Atrix is an impressive smartphone. The Atrix features a dual-core processor (1Ghz each), 1GB of RAM, 16GB of internal storage (expandable up to 48GB), 5MP camera, 4-inch touchscreen, 1080p video capture, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.
For many companies, the Atrix would have been enough for one night, but Motorola has been busy and wouldn’t stop there. Jha launched directly into three more devices, including the Cliq 2, the Droid Bionic 4G, which is the company’s first LTE-capable device and yes, the Motorola Xoom, the company’s first tablet device that comes running Android 3.0 Honeycomb.
The Cliq 2 is a follow-up to the original Cliq, which comes running the company’s Motoblur UI, which the company says has been optimized for business users. Cliq 2 will be available exclusively to T-Mobile USA customers on Jan. 19 at T-Mobile retail stores.
The Droid Bionic is Motorola’s latest edition to its Verizon Wireless’ Droid family. The Bionic is a workhorse and comes ready to run on Verizon’s LTE network. The Bionic features a 4.3-inch touchscreen, dual-core processor (1Ghz each), 512 MB of RAM, 8-megapixel camera, front-facing camera, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth. Launch specifics were not immediately available.
Last but definitely not least is the Motorola Xoom, the company’s new tablet. Xoom was perhaps the hit of the night, playing to the CES crowd’s insatiable appetite for tablets. While Jha admitted the tablet is not completely market ready, it’s a far cry from half baked.
Motorola claims that the Xoom is the first tablet to come running Honeycomb, Google’s version of Android that is optimized for tablets, but LG just announced a tablet on Wednesday that comes running the same OS. Xoom features a 10.1-inch touchscreen and a 5-megapixel camera, as well as a rear-facing camera for video chat. The Xoom will ship 3G ready, but Jha says all shipments will be upgradable to LTE sometime in the second quarter.
It was an impressive night for Motorola Mobility, and maybe even a momentous one.
Earlier this week, the company began trading on the NYSE as a separate company.
