Without getting into the back and forth between atl and andrea (i didnt even read most of it..lol).
Let me establish a few more points. I have been traveling Mon-Fri for buisness for the last 10 years. So i do know a few things about packing light and selecting what one does and does not take with them wisely. One might say...i have "above average" first hand experience in that area. Fair enough?
One of the hospitals i consult with does have such a citrix webportal...meaning this thing would fully work on that hospitals system, no lap top needed.
However, at the end of my work session, i log out of that system and do a plethora of things that this lap top dock WILL NOT DO.
1) Monitor my logitech home security cameras using Microsoft Silver light (i am almost 100% sure this thing wont have silverlight).
2) Watch net flix streaming movies (android is still waiting for that).
3)Rip DVDs to the desk top to side load them onto my phone or gtab (no DVD drive)
4) Play video games all the way up to the level of Doom3/UT3004/half Life 2/Left for dead. (even tegra II cant tackle those yet).
5)Manage about 80Gs worth of storage for pictures/video and music.
You get the point..
For what is competiting for space in my suit case or lap top bag, this thing is not EVEN in the running for what it can do....and (as i said), i know something about the traveling mobile world.... I am VERY motivated in life to have fewer/smarter gadgets that do MORE with less (MORE so than the average person).
Seriously, i want a smarter phone with a LARGER (larger because i do MORE websurfing from a phone than the average person and larger IS better.....same resolution or not)..(remember 15 inch monitors that were 800x600 resolution...yes they worked fine) screen (would especially consider the infuse), not a phone with a smaller screen that requires me to carry MORE stuff with me to see its full potential.
Wow! A critical post that isn't trolling or flaming? I must be on the wrong internet
Allenfx raises some very valid questions. While there's a huge "cool" factor to the notebook dock, I don't think it will appeal to most consumers. But I don't think it was intended to. I suspect that Motorola originally had a vision of the Atrix being a business phone. You see hints of that in the Airport security commercial, but for whatever reason, they've not yet really focused their marketing in that direction.
To really understand the point of the webtop+dock, note that in the CES presentation they showed how Firefox in the webtop could use Citrix to provide access to a full Windows desktop experience. Current server virtualization trends favor companies replacing desktops with nettops that provide little more than a web browser. To CIOs who currently need to provide employees with a phone
and a PC/laptop that is only used to gain web access to the virtual corporate computing resources, Atrix plus dock could provide a lower cost solution. While this consolidation only slightly reduces acquisition cost (nettops/netbooks are dirt cheap), it cuts maintenance costs in half because IT only has to support one device instead of two.
.
EUREKA!
I see this as being a HUGE selling point of the atrix. If i were running a mid-sized company that hosted a citrix web portal..i would be STRONGLY looking at these devices.
Motorola would do well to start pushing this angle..i think it is fantastic!
Now for the guys who kept telling me "i dont get it" I think i have established by now that i do travel extensively and am all about doing more with less (not sure how that makes me in the "don't get it" crowd?).
However aside from my complete lack of use for carrying something that does less work and hamstrings me...i see one other valid point for this device (no it would not be a good thing for a kid going off to college AT ALL).
If i wanted a cheap phone and web-only type option for a 14-18 year old who already didnt have a lap top...i would be STRONGLY considering this for them. In fact...assuming these catch on...this is exactly what i would buy for 10 year old in 3 to 4 years time for his first set up. (see..i am not a hater, i just see the "big picture").
Be cautioned, i think those of you who think this will be your one device does all answer may be sorely dissappointed the first time you press a link that runs MS silverlight or has some functionality your android 2.2 phone does not support because you were thinking you had a lap top.. That $150.00 would definately be better spent going towards a netbook unless you are ONLY buying this for LIGHT web browsing or as a fancy (and expensive) interface into your phone (which is how i see it). So no..it wont be "replacing" a netbook..or ANY type of lap top device for that matter. It might be a fun gadget to supplement things, but most likely after 3 or 4 months it will wind up collecting dust in the bottom of your closet and you quietly won't be posting on the subject any more because you feel embarrassed about the wasted money. (thats how i see it going if i bought one).
Don't think Silverlight should be part of the discussion because you have no special equipment that requires it? Go try and watch the latest and greatest xbox game trailer without it and get back to me at how pissed off you are that it doesn't run. (same reason i am ditching iphone (adobe flash for watching news clips etc.).
