Atrix 4G Laptop Dock Review

Motorola brings one of the most interesting and eye opening gadgets of 2011, especially for their super smartphone Motorola Atrix 4G. Here is the laptop dock for Atrix 4G. So, what is a laptop dock and how it differs from traditional laptops?

Well, it is mainly a bit less-sized QWERTY keyboard having 11.5 inch display with a touchpad on it. It has no internal power or memory. Its main function is to transform your Atrix 4G into a netbook. You simply put Atrix to the dock and voila. You can use your smartphone in large screen using a mouse by connecting it on one of the USB ports on the Atrix 4G laptop dock. It actually brings more. It is possible to use built-in Firefox browser and play your multimedia files using the HD application and there are some other applications as well.

I think you have got the idea now. Unless you connect the Motorola phone to the laptop dock, it is useless. As soon as you plug in, it turns up and you are ready to go with all functions of Motorola Atrix 4G (in same phone size or maximized-to-laptop-screen modes) and plus a web browser, multimedia player -- on a laptop like 11.5 inch large screen.

There are other applications such as Skype, Google Voice, VoIP plus you can even make a call from directly clicking with mouse on the laptop screen dialer. Bluetooth dials are also supported.

Now, let's go into more details by starting the review of Atrix 4G laptop dock construction. It is a very thin and lightweight accessory for the phone. It even reminded me the Chrome OS laptop -- CR-48 as a design. It only weighs 2.4 pounds. Ok, I have forgotten to mention there are two USB ports and a pair of stereo speakers besides the easy to use touch pad.

Ok, let's look what we have missing here. The screen is not touchscreen enabled. So, you can not make multitouch zooms etc. You will need to use the mouse. Is it a con? No, I don't think so because it is not a tablet and does not try to be one. You can buy Motorola Xoom tablet for the best tablet experience actually.

Interesting part is the choice of Firefox over Chrome OS laptop. While Motorola has chosen Android and goes into a long term partnership with Google, I would expect the browser as Chrome.

The Atrix 4G laptop dock charges your phone while connected with its built-in battery.

The laptop dock is equipped with several nice solutions. The integrated HD media playback application functions somewhat as in Apple TV user interface, performing full-screen videos, pictures, and songs. An HD video taken on the Atrix appeared excellent on the 11.5-inch laptop screen, combined with sharp sound from the side-installed built-in stereo speakers on the rear panel of the dock. Sadly, this media player app does not play data files as a background process so that you can open another program while listening the music. Enjoy a bit of music and leave the player, you stay tuneless -- for example while you write some doc program for writing on your browser.

Additionally there is a native Pdf file reader for launching files whilst in Firefox, however for modifying word or office documents, attachments are opened on the emulation of the mobile phone's windowpane (leads to a somewhat low-res when you maximize), but usable setting for editing word files. It isn't really an ideal solution, yet it does perform the job and provides both a keyboard along with a much larger screen.

You can get the calls and see them on the laptop screen while you are working on the Atrix 4G laptop keyboard docking.

The pricing and availability. Atrix 4G currently is sold for $499 alone or you can get it as a part of subsidized bundle with the phone $300. There is a tetherin plan price of $20.

Being the first of its laptop phone dock (better to call like this), it is an innovative device but the price tag is high. If you don't have budget concerns and really want to enjoy your Atrix 4G to the full, you can buy Atrix 4G laptop dock.