Skatter Tech

Yesterday, AT&T released information regarding availability and pricing for the upcoming Motorola Atrix 4G. The phone has been highly anticipated since the announcement in January at CES 2011. For those of you are not familiar, the Motorola Atrix 4G is the first smart phone to sport the new Tegra 2 dual-core processor with an embedded GPU. Additionally, it packs a few more neat features including a biometric scanner, a HDTV dock, and a laptop dock.

According to AT&T, the device will cost $199.99 with a new two-year contract. This is $50 higher than the leaked Amazon prices. Fortunately, the pricing is still competitive with most other smart phones such as the Apple iPhone. Considering that the Atrix 4G is much more powerful with 1 GB of RAM and 9 hours of talk time, it seems like a reasonable price-point.

AT&T will offer two bundles for those who intend to also grab accessories. The first package combines the Atrix 4G and the laptop dock for $499.99 with a two-year contract after a $100 mail-in-rebate. However, there is a catch if you’re going for this deal: it requires a special Data Pro smart phone plan and the tethering add-on. The Data Pro plan costs $25 per month for 2 GB of data and tethering tacks on another $20 per month.

Requiring these extra fees merely seems like another way for AT&T to gouge customers. The laptop dock uses the phone’s hardware (CPU, RAM, storage, GPU, etc) and it does not provide anything other than a larger screen, keyboard, and mouse. Thankfully, users can purchase the laptop dock separately, but it will still cost $499.99.

The Entertainment Access Kit is AT&T’s second bundle offering. This includes the Motorola HD Multimedia Dock, a Bluetooth keyboard, a Bluetooth mouse, and a remote control. It looks as though this bundle is available for purchase to customers at any time without extra monthly fees. Although significantly more affordable than the laptop dock, the HDTV dock still runs at a pricey at $189.99.

For those looking to pick one up, AT&T announced that it will begin accepting pre-orders on February 13, 2011, a little over a week away. Customers will begin to receive their devices on March 6th or earlier. The Atrix 4G will also reach AT&T stores and other approved retailers around the same time. Feel free to subscribe to find out when we get our hands on the device for a full review.

Links: ATT.com | Motorola.com