The Atrix 4G and our post-PC future

It's more innovative than even the iPad. The basic idea for the iPad (not to mention failed previous attempts at tablets, mostly by Microsoft) has been floating around since the 1980s. The iPad's triumph was in Apple's uncanny ability to sync fresh hardware capabilities with superb software and industrial design, as last week's iPad 2 intro reminded us.

[ Get the latest on the mobile explosion with "Can the Atrix 4G really become your next PC?" and "Welcome to the iPad 2: Inside Apple's new tablet" by InfoWorld's Galen Gruman. | Also see Eric Knorr's "2011: The year personal computing will reinvent itself." ]

The idea behind the Atrix is also more than a decade old -- but much more avant-garde than a tablet. Back in the late 1990s, PC manufacturers talked in hushed tones about a portable "brick" that would serve as your primary computing device and plug into various docks as needed. But that was the PDA era; mobile processors, batteries, and memory were way too wimpy for the idea to bear fruit.

Now, as with the iPad, technology has finally caught up. That's basically what the Atrix is: a brick computer you can use with a dock -- as a desktop or laptop -- or as a smartphone. (In truth, it's a little more complicated; see "Can the Atrix 4G really become your next PC?" and "Test-driving the Motorola Atrix's Lapdock" by InfoWorld's Galen Gruman for details.)

I view the Atrix as a big step toward what I call the "minimal client." The future of computing centers on an individual's data, preferences, and applications, which reside on a server in the cloud. But you need some kind of client to compute.

Unless we're headed to a future of shared kiosks (yuck) or embedded voice-interface computers everywhere (well, someday), it makes sense that the post-PC client would be a high-powered smartphone like the Atrix. It's minimal in the sense that it's a personal-size device with the docking features necessary for you to do real work using a keyboard and screen.

The iPad and iPhone are already headed in this direction. The HDMI connector announced for the iPad 2 also works with the iPhone 4, and of course, Bluetooth keyboards were supported from the beginning.

Now, I realize both iOS and Android have a way to go before they become enterprise-class desktop operating systems. The Atrix gets around that problem with Citrix's ingenious Nirvana software, which provides remote access to Linux and Firefox running on the Atrix's own docking devices, so the smartphone UI and a desktop browser run side by side. In addition, the Atrix runs Citrix Reader, enabling you to open remote Windows desktops sessions.

But these are temporary work-arounds. Android and iOS are the fastest-moving objects in tech -- and when you take into account the breakneck evolution of SaaS applications, it's clear the capability gap between mobile and desktop OSes will soon close for good.

The future, my friends, is client-server, with a client in your pocket and a server maintained by a public cloud provider or your company's data center admins. Instead of a five-year PC lifecycle, we'll have a smartphone lifecycle, although what you buy may depend on how much your employer is willing to reimburse you. I hope, at least, your boss pays for the dock.

This article, "The Atrix 4G and our post-PC future," originally appeared at InfoWorld.com. Read more of Eric Knorr's Modernizing IT blog, and for the latest business technology news, follow InfoWorld on Twitter.

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The Motorola Atrix 4G, looks like a solid beast which seems impossible to conquer. But Samsung plans to introduce the Samsung Galaxy S2 and Samsung Infuse 4G. These two smartphones from Samsung pack features that can match the Motorola Atrix.

The Motorola Atrix 4G, looks like a solid beast which seems impossible to conquer. But Samsung plans to introduce the Samsung Galaxy S2 and Samsung Infuse 4G. These two smartphones from Samsung pack features that can match the Motorola Atrix.

The Samsung Infuse 4G and Motorola Atrix 4G will go to AT&T while Samsung's Galaxy S2 is expected to be featured on T-Mobile's network.
Here is a look at the comparisons of Atrix, Galaxy S2 and Infuse 4G:
Display:
Samsung’s smartphones takes the first and second position in terms of display with the Infuse and Galaxy S2 featuring Super AMOLED Plus capacitive touchscreen displays of 4.5-inch and 4.3-inches, respectively. Resolution is 480 x 800 pixels in both. The Atrix has a 4-inch 540 x 960 pixel TFT capacitive touchscreen display.
Input features:
The Infuse 4G and Galaxy S2 have common input features like Gorilla Glass display, multi-touch input, accelerometer sensor for UI auto-rotate, touch-sensitive controls, a proximity sensor for auto turn-off and Swype text input. But Infuse uses the TouchWiz 3.0 UI compared to Galaxy S2’s TouchWiz UI 4.0 along with a gyroscope sensor. Atrix on the other hand brings a biometric fingerprint reader, Gorilla Glass display, touch sensitive controls, MOTOBLUR UI with Live Widgets, multi-touch input, accelerometer sensor for UI auto-rotate and proximity sensor for auto turn-off. 

Source: www.ibtimes.com

AT&T's dockable Atrix 4G: Impressive phone, but no genre-breaker

A lot of excitement surrounded the Motorola Atrix at the Consumer Electronics show in January. It appeared to be not just another phone, but the cornerstone of a new concept that might deliver the mobility of a smartphone and the superior usability of a laptop in a single product.

After using the Atrix itself for a day or so, I came away impressed with the phone—especially the power of its processor, the clarity of its display, its no-hard-edges design, and its compact shape. Frankly, it’s a phone I would buy.

But I’m giving low marks to the new smartphone/laptop combo device that Motorola proposes with the Atrix. I like the idea of a close bonding of the two devices, but the execution in this instance is poor.

Still, the Atrix itself is a strong addition to AT&T’s growing line up of Android phones. The phone is one of the first AT&T phones to be branded “4G”, and the connection speeds I saw from the phone, while not quite 4G-like, were much faster than the 3G speeds we’ve measured from the AT&T network in the past.

Design

The Atrix is surprisingly svelte at 0.4 inches thick. It is 2.5 inches wide and 4.6 inches tall, and weighs roughly 4.8 ounces. The front of the phone features a 4-inch qHD (Quarter High Definition) touchscreen display, with a set of physical buttons beneath the screen for menu (contextual), home, return, and search. At the top are the proximity sensor and the front-facing camera. On the right edge of the phone, you’ll find only the volume rocker; on the left bottom edge are the HDMI and USB ports. A standard 3.5mm headphone jack occupies the top edge.

The Atrix is the first phone I’ve seen that has a fingerprint recognition pad built into its back. As with many laptops, you can set up the phone to remain locked until it recognizes your unique fingerprint slide. The surface also serves as an on/off and sleep/wake button, if you choose not to use the fingerprint recognition feature. Also on the back are a 5-megapixel camera and flash, and a small speaker port at the bottom. Read more...

Source: http://www.macworld.com