Motorola Mobility (NYSE:MMI), which is being acquired by Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) for $12.5 billion, introduced the Motorola Pro+ Android 2.3 “Gingerbread” smartphone as an alternative to Research In Motion (NASDAQ:RIMM) BlackBerry devices overseas.
Available in Asia and Europe in October, the Pro+ is powered by a 1GHz processor and splits input between a 3.1-inch touch screen (640 by 480 pixels) made of Corning Gorilla Glass and a full QWERTY keyboard to satisfy users who prefer to email or text via touching or typing.
At just under 4 ounces, the handset is super light at a time when most Android smartphones weigh 5 or 6 ounces.
A true corporate road warrior handset, Pro+ users’ Exchange or Gmail email and calendars are scrollable from the home screen. Users may arrange, edit and respond to meeting invites, and access conferences with one touch.
The handset is also preloaded with Quickoffice Connect to let users create, edit and access documents. The handset, equipped with a modest 1,600-mAh battery, 4GB internal storage and 512MB of RAM, also has 3G mobile hotspot to let users connect up to five laptops or tablets to the Web.
The device has tools that will make IT administrators comfortable, too. There is remote wipe of the device and SD card, password expiration and history, and full encryption. The phone also comes loaded with 25 Exchange ActiveSync security policies, from PIN lock to auto-discovery of Exchange Servers, and other perks.
With those enterprise security specs, the Pro+ is the overseas answer to the BlackBerry, which has maintained momentum there despite falling off considerably here in the United States, largely due to the success of Android and Apple’s iPhone.
The Pro+ also followed the Motorola XPRT Android 2.2 “Froyo” enterprise phone and Motorola Photon 4G Gingerbread gadget in the United States, both of which split duties between workers and those at play.
Following this the footsteps of those U.S.-based handsets, the Pro+ has a music player complete with personalized song recommendations and videos and a photo gallery to support the 5-megapixel camera. Social widgets are also available on the home screen to let users access contacts.