Last week, Motorola announced that it would be updating its line of Webtop-compatible accessories for Android smartphones, releasing the Lapdock 100. Like the original planned for the Motorola Atrix, the new Lapdock enables docked phones to run on a high-resolution screen, with a full version of Firefox for web browsing, and with a laptop-sized QWERTY keyboard. At the time of the dock’s announcement, Motorola revealed the strategy for its release on AT&T, beginning October 17, but had no more specific details for a Verizon or Sprint launch than “sometime this year”. Now a Sprint employee has released some details from an internal email, suggesting the carrier will get the Lapdock on October 21.
Since the new Lapdock 100 will be compatible with all future Webtop phones, why does it matter which carrier you get it from? Motorola hasn’t yet revealed the details of the accessory’s pricing, but there’s a good chance it will be on the pricy side of things. That means that a lot of its sales could come not as a stand-alone dock, but bundled with a compatible Motorola smartphone, with subsidies helping to keep costs down. This isn’t necessarily a given; right now we await hearing accurate news of the Lapdock’s retail price.
There’s been no update as to when Verizon might start carrying the dock, too, but if this Sprint leak is accurate, it’s likely Verizon will get the Lapdock in the near future, as well.
