Motorola Atrix 4G Smartphone, Xoom Android 3.0 Tablet Impress at CES

by Clint Boulton

Sanjay Jha prepares to unveil four significant Motorola products based on Android.

Perhaps the top draw smartphone at CES thus far, the Android 2.2-based Atrix 4G has a dual-core processor, with each core running at 1 GHz, delivering up to 2GHz of processing power. The most powerful smartphone in the world? Could be.

The device sports the first qHD (quarter high-definition) display for a smartphone, which yields high resolution and 24-bit color.

The Atrix 4G even sports fingerprint-reading technology to safeguard the device

There’s more, much more. The Atrix 4G leverages Motorola’s Webtop application, running a full Mozilla Firefox 3.6 browser. Users simply connect the smartphone to a PC or laptop docking station to access their content via a larger screen.

See the gorgeous Webtop app Jha shows here, and note how the app resembles the Atrix 4G on the left. In one demo, Jha used the Atrix 4G to place a call via the Webtop application. While in the Webtop app, users can run their Android apps in a window, browse Websites, send instant messages and make phone calls.

Jeff Bradley, a senior vice president for AT&T Mobility, said we can expect the Atrix 4G during the 2011 first quarter. No pricing is available yet. Our guess is $199 to $249 for this workhorse. AT&T says it will introduce more than 20 4G devices this year.

Jha then rolled out the Motorola Cliq 2, the successor to the first Motorola Android smartphone from T-Mobile. This Android 2.2 device has a 3.7-inch touch screen with a slide-out keypad-a fine device for work and play. The Motorola Cliq 2 will be available exclusively to T-Mobile customers on Jan. 19. There is no pricing yet, but our guess is $149 to $199.

You didn’t think Motorola would let AT&T have all the 4G fun with the Atrix 4G, did you? Motorola’s dual-core processor (each 1GHz) workhorse answer for Verizon Wireless is this Droid Bionic.

Android 2.2-based Bionic’s 4.3-inch qHD-quality screen offers “console-quality graphics,” while the HDMI connectivity will let users connect the device to their HD televisions. No word yet on pricing or availability.

Motorola’s first ever tablet is the Motorola Xoom, the worst-kept tablet secret of the past month after Android forefather Andy Rubin demoed one at the AllThingsDigital show. The tablet includes the dual-core processor from the Atrix and Bionic, but sports Android 3.0 “designed from the ground up for tablets.”

Jha said Honeycomb improves widgets, multitasking, browsing, notifications and customization delivered on a 10.1-inch widescreen HD display. Moreover, while the first Xoom will launch on Verizon Wireless 3G later this quarter, the tablet will be upgradable to 4G later.

Of course, such a device must have video chat capabilities, and Xoom does. The front sports a 2-megapixel camera for video chats over WiFi or 3G/4G LTE; the back has a 5-megapixel camera that captures video in 720p HD.

Jha shows off Google Maps 5.0 for Android. The 3D capabilities were dazzling. Check them out in Google’s own demo video. No pricing is available yet. We’re guessing $599 or higher. Xoom will launch as a 3G/WiFi-enabled device in Q1 2011 with an upgrade to 4G LTE in Q2. The Xoom will be a 4G LTE/WiFi-enabled device in Q2.

Of course, the Xoom owes a bit of trail-blazing thanks to Samsung, who’s Galaxy Tab sold more than 1.5 million units in a few months. Samsung’s Omar Khan (left) and Tim Baxter, president of Samsung Electronics Consumer Business Division in the U.S., said this WiFi-only version is coming to rival the iPad this quarter. No pricing is available.

Also coming to consumers worldwide this year is the Samsung Galaxy Player, allowing users to access all of their apps from the 4-inch, crisp display.

Finally, Khan showed off the Android 2.2-based Samsung Infuse 4G, which comprises a super-thin device with a 4.5-inch screen running on AT&T’s network. The Infuse will be powered by a 1.2GHz application processor and run the Android 2.2 platform. This device is slated for launch in the second quarter of 2011.