Motorola device may add new layer to enterprise mobility management

Sure, it's called the Consumer Electronics Show, an appropriate name considering much of the technology on display is geared for personal use, but that doesn't mean a few enterprise mobility options won't be mixed in.

That's exactly the case with the Motorola Atrix, which the company launched at the tradeshow in Las Vegas.

Some experts are responding to the product's launch by predicting it may change the face of mobile business. That's because the Atrix is a virtualized smartphone that may also double as a laptop computer, possibly adding another layer of enterprise mobility management for companies.

"The Motorola Atrix smartphone introduced at the Consumer Electronics Show is the first of what may soon prove to be a broad generation of handsets that can double as a laptop computer," according to an InformationWeek report.

With the use of a specialized docking system and embedded hypervisor, the device is able to receive and run the presentation of a Windows application, among other capabilities. The dock is called a Nirvana cradle.

Citrix Systems developed the device's hypervisor as part of the company's Citrix Receiver client. The Atrix is the first smartphone to run with a Nirvana cradle, but Citrix has said it may not be the last.

The process of developing the technology began last February, according to InformationWeek, when Nirvana combined Open Kernel Labs' micro hypervisor with Citrix Receiver. That created client software that can be geared to a particular device and run either Windows or Macintosh virtualized applications.

The Atrix is dubbed the world's most powerful smartphone, with its dual-core processor. It will initially run version 2.2 of Google's Android mobile operating system.

The Nirvana cradle has an 11.6-inch screen, full keyboard and stereo speakers. It also features USB ports and an HDMI port that can connect a keyboard, mouse, speakers and an HDMI-compatible monitor or television.

Motorola's new device may be a trend-setter, but it isn't the first virtualized smartphone. LG and VMware have teamed to offer a virtualized device that promises to keep personal and business data separate and secure.

Also, a recent eWeek report highlighted a "corporate mobile sandbox" in 2011, referring to the need for mobile companies to adopt and implement virtualized mobile devices. This is necessary, eWeek reports, as more employees use devices for personal and business use.