The Swiss Army knife of smartphones

It’s a smartphone, it’s a dockable laptop, it’s a media player. It’s all those and more. It’s the Motorola Atrix, voted best new smartphone at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show.

Much more than a smartphone, this 4G phone sports a dual core processor, like many laptops. The concept is that you have the power and capability of a PC in the size of a smartphone, which docks when you want the screen size and form factor of a laptop.

What Motorola calls widgets display real-time updates of Facebook, e-mail, Twitter, calendar and other utilities, without requiring any login or application launch. A quick glance at the home screen shows you all your new updates. It can import contacts from your accounts at Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, Gmail and more.

Atrix’s media server plays streamed or downloaded music and video. The Android-based OS lets you install Android apps to extend functionality.

Atrix can use up to 48 GB of memory, has a 960 x 540 pixel screen, and front and rear cameras.

Web browsing uses Mozilla Firefox web browser and Adobe Flash Player. The lack of Flash capability is one of the big criticisms of Apple’s iPad and iPhone, so Atrix’s capability is welcome.

When you want to work on a larger screen, dock the Atrix to the Motorola Lapdock
or, connect to a television. HDMI output lets you watch your videos or use your apps on any HD television, and you can plug in a keyboard or use a wireless keyboard.

If the Atrix sells well, it could open up a new market category for a dockable, extensible smartphone. This blurring of product boundaries is good for consumer choice.