Johannesburg, 18 Aug 2011
Motorola's new Atrix smartphone and Xoom tablet have entered the South African market.
The company is marketing the Atrix on the strength of its dual-core processor and Webtop application. According to Motorola, with the Webtop application, the Atrix phone can be plugged into external docks, which open its functionality onto an external HDMI monitor.
The Atrix can be plugged into either the Multimedia Dock or the Lapdock, two separate accessories. The Multimedia Dock consists of three USB ports and an HDMI port. Once the phone is plugged, it can be used to connect the phone to a large screen.
The Lapdock consists of a 11.6-inch screen, a full qwerty keyboard, stereo speakers, and a 36Wh three-cell battery. The phone can be inserted into this dock to provide the functionality of a laptop. The company adds that the Lapdock provides up to eight hours of running time.
Motorola says its Xoom tablet also features a dual-core processor and comes with a 5MP rear-facing camera and 2MP front-facing camera.
However, the Xoom's successor will make its debut in international markets soon.
Speaking at the official unveiling yesterday, Megan Nicholas, country manager for Motorola Mobility, confirmed the Xoom's successor is expected to debut in Europe and the US in the next two months, and would only arrive in SA next year.
According to Steven Ambrose, MD of Strategy Worx, the devices have the features to compete in the South African market and Weptop distinguishes the Atrix smartphone from competitors.
Ambrose describes the Xoom tablet as the leading Android tablet. He says local pricing is competitive with the benchmark iPad and undercuts the logical competitor from Samsung, the Galaxy Tab. However, he points out that the Xoom lacks the installed base of apps the iPad boasts.
Ambrose says the Atrix faces stiffer competition, as it has been released at the same time as other high-spec smartphones, and will be quickly followed by the arrival of the iPhone 5. While the Atrix has the credentials to compete, its success will depend on operator support, he says.
According to Ambrose, these products will not benefit from Google's proposed acquisition of Motorola. “There will be little or no foreseeable effect of the proposed Google acquisition until mid-2012 at the earliest, even if the purchase goes through with little delay in the US.”
Motorola says the Atrix and Xoom will be available through Vodacom, Cell C, 8ta and MTN at a recommended retail price of R5 799 and R6 599 respectively. The company adds that the Multimedia Dock is included with the phone, while the Its Lapdock will be sold separately for between R2 000 and R2 500.
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