AT&T Inc. is cozying up to Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc. as the carrier seeks to bulk up its smartphone portfolio running on Google Inc.’s Android operating system in the wake of losing its exclusive hold on Apple Inc.’s iPhone.
AT&T Mobility CEO Ralph de la Vega said the coming Motorola Atrix 4G will be the carrier’s leading device in its portfolio. Mr. de la Vega wouldn’t say how much money the carrier will spend on marketing the device, but he said it would receive amounts similar to campaigns for the iPhone.
On Thursday, AT&T said it will start selling the Motorola Atrix 4G on or before March 6 for $199.99 with a two-year contract. Presales will begin Feb. 13. AT&T’s embrace of Motorola and Android comes as it faces increasing pressure from Verizon Wireless, which began taking pre-orders for the iPhone on Thursday.
The Atrix 4G phone has a powerful dual-core processor from Nvidia Corp. and can plug into a specially designed laptop dock that can connect the phone’s interface and functionality to a personal computer. AT&T will sell the smartphone and the Motorola laptop dock in a $499.99 bundle. Separately, the laptop dock is $499.99.
– Shayndi Raice
That Atrix phone looks amazing.