Is Lenovo planning a Motorola Lapdock Moto Mod for the Moto Z line?

by Alan Friedman / Aug 08, 2018, 11:06 AM

Is Lenovo planning a Motorola Lapdock Moto Mod for the Moto Z line?

You might recall that in early 2011, Motorola released what it called "the most powerful smartphone in the world," the Atrix 4G. The phone was among the first to be powered by a dual-core processor, and it also was equipped with one of the first fingerprint scanners to be found on a phone. Unlike today's snappy biometric readers, the scanner on the Atrix performed so poorly that it set back the use of fingerprint scanners on handsets by two years.

Another feature that Motorola offered allowed the Atrix 4G to dock and power with the Motorola Lapdock accessory (click on our review here). The Lapdock featured an 11.6-inch screen, and would run a completely different UI when the Atrix was connected to it. Quite pricey ($500 if purchased separately, $300 with the phone), the Lapdock never really caught on.

Will there be an Act II for the Lapdock? Images of a new computer-esque UI posted by reliable tipster Evan Blass on his Twitter page today (see the image at the top of this article), allegedly are the work of a graphic designer toiling for Lenovo. Apparently, the company was, or is, working on a product called the Moto ModBook. As Evan pointed out in his tweet, the wallpaper is similar to the design used on the Moto Z2 line. That could mean that this is a project no longer being considered, or it could mean nothing of the sort.

If Lenovo does green-light the production of a Moto ModBook, we wonder if history will repeat itself; after all, the currently available Moto Mods aren't exactly flying off the shelves. Perhaps the upcoming 5G Moto Mod for the soon-to-launch Moto Z3 has provided Lenovo with the incentive to keep the modular accessory line available for at least another generation or two.

The Motorola Lapdock for 2011's Motorola Atrix 4G

source: @evleaks

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7 Comments

1. blac.inc

Posts: 59; Member since: May 16, 2018

I have yet to see any of the Moto mods in person, let alone a Moto phone itself.

posted on Aug 08, 2018, 12:21 PM 0

2. Atechguy0

Posts: 918; Member since: Aug 03, 2018

Clearly you haven't been going to any carriers, or you have but have closed your eyes. Putting that aside I would love to see this turn itself into a Chrome tablet or Chromebook. So running Android and Chrome OS. Now that would be really cool.

posted on Aug 08, 2018, 1:23 PM 1

3. blac.inc

Well obviously you’re going to see them at a carrier store, right? And you cannot tell me you see a lot of people with these. And I was talking from a personal standpoint, so don’t bother trying me.

posted on Aug 08, 2018, 3:48 PM 1

7. DurTeeDee

Posts: 151; Member since: Sep 05, 2014

Well maybe you should own one, I know I do. And still have yet to have seen someone else with one out in the wild

posted on Aug 09, 2018, 9:34 AM 0

4. Zylam

Posts: 1813; Member since: Oct 20, 2010

Could be the productivity mode of the upcoming Tab 5 series.

posted on Aug 08, 2018, 4:36 PM 0

5. tacarat

Posts: 854; Member since: Apr 22, 2013

The lapdock was cool, but I rarely used mine. For the price a netbook would have been better.

posted on Aug 08, 2018, 6:33 PM 0

6. buccob

Posts: 2963; Member since: Jun 19, 2012

I loved the idea, but the execution was poor.... I actually had the multimedia dock and used it extensively, even for presentations at work... I think the main issue with the Atrix's docks was that it only worked with that particular device... and no further compatibility was added to the newer models.... that is the advantage of the current moto mods... They should have done this new "lapdock" sooner with early Mods... and the newer Moto devices would have made it more powerful... If they are smart, they will do something like the prototype shown by Razer... And probably that is why the new moto has the fingerprint reader at the side like the Razer phone and Xperia devices... so it can be plugged to the touchpad area of a Lapdock Mod