Motorola develops a phone-PC transformer

Today's best smartphones are actually hand-held computers. They run a vast variety of applications, from productivity programs to games, that mimic what laptops do. Their biggest limitations for serious work, gaming, Web surfing and multimedia are their small screens, cramped keyboards and tinny speakers.

So, what if you could use the brains and connectivity of such a hand-held computer to drive a laptop-size screen, keyboard and speakers, in doing so overcoming these limitations? Then, Motorola Mobility has devised a new phone and accessory that aim to do just that: to make the phone the only computer you need.

I've been testing this new phone, the Atrix 4G, an Android device that will cost $200 with a two-year contract and will run on AT&T's network. It's slated to be available by March 6. I've as well been testing its unusual and clever accessory called the laptop dock, which looks like a large netbook, with an 11.6-inch screen, full keyboard, touch pad, and stereo speakers. This dock, the price of which depends on when you buy it, has no processor, no file storage and no connectivity of its own. It's dormant until you plug the Atrix into a slot behind the screen.

When you dock the phone, the faux laptop comes alive. It duplicates the phone's screen on its larger display and lets you use its connectivity and apps. It as well contains a battery that charges the phone. The image of the phone's screen, and any of its apps you run, can be actual size or blown up to use the dock's larger screen.

Even more interestingly, the dock gives you access to a full, and full-screen, PC version of the Firefox Web browser. Firefox is tucked away inside the Atrix nevertheless is available only when the phone is plugged into the laptop dock or a second, smaller dock that's meant to connect to a TV or desktop monitor. The smaller dock lacks a built-in keyboard, battery or screen.

The laptop dock costs $500

The laptop dock costs $500, nevertheless AT&T will knock the price down to $300, afterwards rebates, if you buy it together you buy the phone. That brings the combined price of both devices to $500 — the same as the separate price for the dock. The smaller dock, called the multimedia dock, costs $190.

In my tests, the Atrix and the laptop dock performed as a general rule as advertised. The phone had no trouble driving the larger screen or the full Firefox browser.

I was even able to insert a flash drive into one of the dock's two USB ports and copy songs, photos, videos and documents into the phone's internal memory using the keyboard and touch pad. I edited and wrote text in an app called Quickoffice on the phone using the laptop dock's keyboard, and ran various other apps, including the popular game Angry Birds, on the larger screen.

The Firefox browser worked as normal

The Firefox browser worked as normal, using either the phone's cellular or Wi-Fi connections to access the Internet. And both the phone itself and Firefox can run Flash videos, which broadly speaking played fine.

But the combination of the phone and dock wasn't as fast, smooth or versatile as having a real laptop, although to use them you're in substance carrying around a light laptop. Many apps on the phone aren't as polished or powerful as typical PC apps, and I found them clumsier to use with the keyboard and touch pad, as opposed to the touch screen for which they were designed.

Also, other than Firefox, you can't install PC programs. You can use Web apps inside Firefox, just as Google Docs or the stripped-down Web versions of Microsoft's Office apps. For e-mail, you can either use the program based in the phone or any Web-based program via the Firefox browser, just as Gmail or Yahoo Mail. Nevertheless you can't, say, install iTunes, or PC-based games, or the full versions of Outlook or Microsoft Word.

Primitive file system

And there is only a primitive file system, limited to the capacity of the phone, which is just 16 gigabytes, with an option to expand to 48 gigabytes.

There's another problem with the laptop dock. When you make or receive a voice call during the phone is docked, you must rely on the phone's microphone and speakers, hidden behind the screen of the dock. As a result, calls sounded muffled on both ends, although the phone automatically switches into speakerphone mode. Motorola says it is working on this issue.

Phone or a PC Web browser

If you more often than not do your computing tasks on a phone or a PC Web browser, storing files in the cloud and using phone or Web-based apps, Motorola has you covered. And the fact that the dock can charge the phone is a big plus.

Well, it's one of the nicest smartphones I've tested. Its processor makes it fast, and it has a 4-inch, high-resolution screen — nearly as high as the iPhone 4's, although not quite as sharp to my eye. It runs an older version of Android, now Motorola is promising an upgrade.

The phone as well has good battery life

The phone as well has good battery life. It lasted a full day during I was testing it and Motorola claims up to nine hours of talk time. Photos and videos I took with the phone were sharp, and it has a front camera for video calls.

The Atrix as well has two other notable features. First, it can take advantage of AT&T's souped-up 3G network, which the carrier calls 4G because it can supposedly achieve 4G data speeds.

In my tests, in the D.C. and New York areas, the speed wasn't especially impressive, averaging just a bit better than 3G speeds on other AT&T phones I'd tested.

Fingerprint sensor built into the phone

There is as well a fingerprint sensor built into the phone, which you can use instead of a pass code to secure the phone. It worked fine for me.

Overall, this is a very nice Android phone that can imitate a limited version of a laptop. That may be enough for some folks, nevertheless fall short for others.