How to kill a good idea: Motorola’s Atrix 4G Laptop Dock to cost $500

February 3, 2011 1:24 PM
Devindra Hardawar
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Motorola’s Atrix 4G was one of our favorite devices from the Consumer Electronics Show, primarily because it had the cool ability to turn into a full-fledged ultraportable laptop when plugged into its Laptop Dock. So it’s impressive just how quickly AT&T has managed to quash my excitement for the device with the announcement of its crazy Laptop Dock pricing.

If you want the Atrix 4G’s Laptop Dock, you can either pay $499.99 to buy it bundled with the phone, or the same $499.99 to get the dock separately.

Yes, you read that right — the dock will cost the same as an iPad, even though it relies mostly on the Atrix’s hardware to function (it’s basically just a keyboard and screen shell that gets powered up by the phone). While the dock does feature a battery of its own, that’s still little reason to price it the same as a full-fledged computer.

AT&T is also forcing users to sign up for its tethering plan at $20 a month, if they want to get the Atrix bundled with the Laptop Dock. I suppose it makes sense since the dock relies on the Atrix’s network connection, but it still seems ridiculous for AT&T to demand even more money when the dock itself is overpriced.

The Atrix 4G will retail $199.99 with a two-year contract on its own, and AT&T says that preorders will begin on February 13. The phone, along with its accessories, will be available on “March 6 or earlier.”

The dock pricing is a shame, because Motorola could have really had a hit on its hands if it were priced more competitively. I was personally expecting it to be around $200 or $300, which would make it a viable option for students and other users who want a tiny ultraportable or netbook.

Check out VentureBeat’s Dean Takahashi’s hands on with the Atrix at CES below:

  • Mucho

    Have you ever wondered if the folks who run AT&T, Verizon and the likes are actually business people? A sales driven, customer loyalty, market grabbing, marketing exec will never make a mistake like that. Then again, these guys think it is them or else; after all we are behold onto them.

  • http://www.bigjobsboard.com/ Brad Jobs

    That actually looks good! But I was just surprised about those pricse. I never thought that would be the situation. lol. I was like “Wow!”. When I saw the price, I was “Ow?”.

  • sranzha

    What irks me with this author is utter lack of analysis and filled with only personal views…please analyze why are they pricing it so high? why does at&t think they are correct at pricing it this way… you got me to your page with an interesting title…but now there is nothing which will make take this jump once again even if the title is interesting…

  • http://twitter.com/vipulbhandari vipul bhandari

    So true……was so excited about the dock…….:-(

  • http://www.devindra.org Devindra Hardawar

    So it's my personal view that $500 is too expensive for a fairly simple piece of hardware? I don't think I'm alone in this opinion. There's also little to analyze at this point — we don't know if the pricing is more due to AT&T or Motorola, so any potential analysis would just be mere guesses at this point.

  • JonHubertBristol

    It's great to offer new technologies and innovations to customers but it's a plain ole shame to price it like a idiot…

  • DonSandler

    WOW! a limited capability laptop for only $720? What a deal! I just bought a netbook at Costco that runs for 10 hours and has a bazillion gigs of memory for $300.

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    [...] an imperative no doubt pushed heavily by AT&T. Seeing as how the price of the Lapdock was one if its biggest criticisms, perhaps this is a move that won’t significantly affect sales of Atrix HD in the [...]

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