Motorola Mobility announced an enhanced version of its QWERTY-enabled Motorola Pro phone destined for Europe and Asia. The Motorola Pro+ moves up to Android 2.3, is considerably lighter, and offers improved 640 x 480 resolution and Corning Gorilla glass for its 3.1-inch screen, but carries over a 1GHz processor, a five-megapixel camera, and business-oriented features.

Although Motorola Mobility makes no mention of it, the Motorola Pro+ appears to be an updated version of the Motorola Droid Pro (pictured at left), announced in October 2010.

The BlackBerry-like phone, which offers a front-facing, always-available QWERTY keypad, has lost the Droid part of its name in its new "+" incarnation. While the Droid Pro debuted in the U.S. on Verizon Wireless last November, the Pro+ is heading this October to Europe and Asia, where Motorola avoids the Droid branding.

In May, Motorola said the Droid Pro would get bumped up to Android 2.3 ("Gingerbread") this year, along with most of the other Droid phones that are still stuck with Android 2.2 ("Froyo"). The Motorola Pro+ ships with Gingerbread out of the box.

Motorola Pro+

As with the Droid Pro, the Motorola Pro+ is said to mix business with pleasure. The Pro+ is "a smartphone that you and your IT department can agree upon," says Motorola.

The key enhancement here compared to the Droid Pro is that the 3.1-inch touchscreen moves from 480 x 320 resolution to 640 x 480 pixels. In addition, Motorola has added scratch-resistant Corning Gorilla glass.

The greater resolution partially addresses a chief complaint in last November's fairly negative review of the Droid Pro by eWEEK's Clint Boulton. The actual screen dimensions haven't grown any, however, not to mention the dimensions of the cramped QWERTY keypad, which caused Boulton the most trouble.

The phone's dimensions are similar at 4.7 x 2.44 x 0.46 inches (119 x 60 x 11.65mm). However, the weight has been reduced considerably to four ounces (113 grams) from 4.73 ounces (134 grams), says Motorola.

Other details appear similar. The device is once again equipped with an unnamed 1GHz processor, offers 512MB RAM, and 4GB of flash storage, says Motorola.

The Motorola Pro+ is further equipped with Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, aGPS, a USB 2.0 port, a 3.5mm audio port, and the usual sensors. Both dual-band WCDMA and quadband GSM cellular communications are supported, as well as HSDPA 14.4Mbps downloads, says Motorola. 3G Mobile Hotspot support is also said to be available.

The five-megapixel autofocus camera is said to offer dual LED flash. A 1600mAh battery supports up to eight hours of talk and 13 days in standby, says the company. The Droid Pro, meanwhile, promised — and delivered, according to Boulton's review — only six and a half hours of talk time.

The Android 2.3 software stack is offered with Google apps including Google Maps 5.0, Google Talk, and Android Market. The phone is also preloaded with Adobe Flash Player 10.3 and Quickoffice Connect, says Motorola.

The Pro+ features Motorola's "Music" music player, which offers song lyrics, personalized recommendations for songs and videos, as well as music news and event updates. Motorola's Gallery app, meanwhile, lets users aggregate photos from social networking and photo sharing sites like Facebook and Picasa, says the company.

Business-oriented features include remote wipe of the device and any installed SD card, says Motorola. There is also password expiration and history, as well as encryption. The phone supports some 25 Exchange ActiveSync security policies, says the company.

Motorola Pro+ promotional video on YouTube
Source: Motorola Mobility
(Click to play)

Availability

The Motorola Pro+ will be available in Asia and Europe starting in October, says Motorola Mobility. A spec sheet may be found in this Motorola Pro+ announcement.

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