Well, Motorola and AT&T are doing a good job of killing my desire for this thing.

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peter February 03, 2011

Well, Motorola and AT&T are doing a good job of killing my desire for this thing.

www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/att-announces-the...

The laptop dock sells for $499, which is insane. You could buy a really nice netbook for that price. Or an iPad, for that matter. You can get it bundled together with the phone for $499 total (after $100 rebate), but even that's too much (works out to about $300 for the dock and $200 for the phone).

The other dealbreaker: you are REQUIRED to sign up for a Tethering Plan if you want to use the phone with the laptop dock. So that's an extra $20.

Another frustration: AT&T has generally restricted sideloading on Android phones, and supposedly the Atrix 4G is no different.

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25 replies

ssstraub 2011-02-03 16:56:21

Someone at Motorola is doing some bad math:
Dumb screen + battery = $500?

Um, what?

4 like dislike

rmetric 2011-02-04 18:20:37

You forgot another $480 for that tethering. Ya know, the tethering from the Atrix to.... the Atrix?

1 like dislike

beau 2011-02-03 13:29:22

Carriers are frightened to cannibalize their own business, not realizing they can grab new customers from others at the same time. (Same rationale is behind other tethering charges) It's extreme short-sightedness.

3 like dislike

peter 2011-02-03 13:32:13

This is totally true. Despite my reservations about AT&T I was strongly considering switching from T-Mobile for this phone, in no small part because of the laptop dock option. I'd honestly rather put the money towards a MacBook Air.

2 like dislike

radikal 2011-02-03 13:34:24

you can still put it towards an air and then get that tethering add on, that is what should happen since they are seeming to ruin EVERYTHING

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radikal 2011-02-03 13:25:47

they need to learn! I wish they would. The phone is great. But buying docks and buying laptops for it for high prices really sucks

2 like dislike

zeke 2011-02-03 13:27:59

The upside is that the cool concepts of the Atrix are already public, so others can easily come along, do it better, and reap the rewards for it... If one of the carriers is sane enough to see the potential there, at least.

2 like dislike

radikal 2011-02-03 13:30:07

true, saying someone could do a cheaper version of the laptop dock? good thinking, HEY BELKIN, looking at you

1 like dislike

rmetric 2011-02-04 18:36:45

massive capacity universal extended battery pack, a keyboard and USB hub and mouse, easily under $100, plus no monthly charges. The display is the only tricky part, but not THAT tricky.

0 like dislike

rmetric 2011-02-04 18:50:19

Just found some portable 10" TVs for under $100, and they have batteries already. 7" screens were half that! If I were to DIY, I'd use a projector and just have a small white screen that I could flip up if no walls were around. Or video glasses.

0 like dislike

frankspin 2011-02-03 13:27:03

I thought early rumors had the laptop dock at $150? 499 is just absolutely insane, hopefully the regular dock is not the same price influx.

1 like dislike

mlong 2011-02-06 02:15:08

I had originally planned to get a Samsung Captivate (Galaxy S) until this came out at CES.

Truth be told I was going to buy it unsubsidized as I still have unlimited data. I haven't renewed my contract since '07 when I got a V3xx Razor. Got my last two phones, an HTC Tilt, and Tilt II unsubsidized.

About $400-$500 unsubsidized price for the phone and $150-200 for the Dock alone would be OK.

$500 for the Dock alone?

Just what have they been Smoking?

1 like dislike

jonursenbach 2011-02-03 13:45:23

To be honest, this thing being exclusive to AT&T pretty much killed my desire. No way am I going to renew my contract that's up in a few months for this thing.

1 like dislike

radikal 2011-02-03 13:47:58

Too bad. Maybe they will be smart and bring this down or maybe WSJ is wrong and things will change, maybe they are trying to gauge it? Set it high hoping people want it and seeing now they don't... could change things

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ThePale 2011-02-03 13:47:46

Does the laptop work without the phone? If not, it's not tethering, it's docking.

1 like dislike

peter 2011-02-03 13:52:36

The dock is useless without the phone, but AT&T states: "Laptop Dock - Firefox browser use with AT&T Mobile Broadband requires Tethering Plan."

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radikal 2011-02-03 13:55:24

it is a linux version of Firefox though and if it can run one linux program, let it run the others. People will hack that so if FF is your issue haha. Chrome and others will come. In fact it makes me wonder if other things will come

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peter 2011-02-03 13:57:01

Perhaps, but if you want to take advantage of the subsidized price you need to sign up for a 2-year agreement that includes tethering.

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radikal 2011-02-03 13:58:27

yeah. Argh this is a mess either way it sounds like

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iCello 2011-02-03 14:15:31

What????? Why are Moto and AT&T killing the most exciting product Ive seen in years?

1 like dislike

lookitsron 2011-02-04 12:48:17

D'oh. At least for me, I'd only be using the laptop dock in places I have Wi-Fi. Why must I need the dumb Tethering plan =/

Way to go, at&t. Now I remember the feeling when I figured out "From Santa" was written in handwriting much like my mom's.

1 like dislike

eawortman 2011-02-04 11:33:05

I could pretty much care less about all of the accessories. It still seems like a strong phone to me on its own. Am I missing something?

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peter 2011-02-04 13:11:22

I actually think it's a pretty good phone on its own, but I think in two months it'll be standard for a high-end Android handset. The real thing that would distinguish it is the dock.

3 like dislike

rmetric 2011-02-04 18:18:47

Moto Atrix 4G: The world's most powerful smartphone.
AT&T: Powerful enough to destroy the world's most powerful smartphone.

Will the $20 'tethering' option be necessary to run webtop? Or is this only if you buy a laptop dock?
Do we know yet if this thing will have the eFuse and locked bootloader?

Should I wait for HTC to release a dual core phone on TMobile?

0 like dislike