Motorola launched the Webtop called Motorola Lapdock 100 last year. It is a universal laptop dock for Webtop phones including the Atrix 2, Droid Bionic and Photon 4G. Lapdock 100 is quite smaller than the Atrix 4G’s axed lapdock. Now, Motorola has announced that it is going to abandon its development because of the lack of consumer adoption. Motorola has confirmed that it will no longer invest time and resources into its Webtop technology, which enabled a smartphone to recreate a laptop experience through plugging into the back of a lapdock and used as the brains for the 11.6 inch tablet, which ran with the Firefox browser. Apart form the lack of consumer interest, there was one more reason that led to the decision and the reason was that Google’s Android OS is increasingly providing a better desktop like experience.
There are some concepts, which instantly capture the imagination of the world by storm, while some do not perform that well and fades into obscurity along the way. We can say that this is what happened with Motorola’s Webtop concept. Motorola has made clear that devices from the Photon Q 4G LTE, as well as, Droid RAZR M families onward are not going to offer Webtop functionality, and also, neither will future versions. The announcement does not come as much of a surprise, because Motorola was quietly moving away from its Webtop initiative in recent years. The first indication was surfaced back in July, when Motorola excluded mention of Lapdock functionality in the Atrix HD press release. Two days late, the company explained the omission saying that it had decided to focus on a more price-conscious consumer.
The Motorola Atrix was the company’s first smartphones that featured Webtop software. It was unveiled at CES in 2011. The handset, which docked itself into the back of a lapdock prior to powering it up for a seamless transition among the 2 devices, was amongst the most standout products at the show. However, its premium price tag together with software issues failed to entice consumers and then finally, Motorola took the decision to cut all ties.
All those people, who are looking towards a similar experience that Motorola offered on its Webtop software, can go for the Padfone of ASUS, which comes with the capacity of converting your smartphone experience in a tablet and PC-like one. It is still not clear for how long Motorola will provide its support to the existing Webtop software; however, it is already outdated.
The author likes to collect information about the world of technology. He informs people that Motorola has abandoned its Webtop and Lapdock functionality.
