Motorola PRO+

Available now
31st August 2011

The Motorola PRO+ is an upgraded version of the Motorola PRO, which we suppose is pretty obvious from the name. The thing is that the PRO isn't even out yet, and with an anticipated launch date of October for the PRO+ then it's quite likely that the original PRO will be quietly canned.

We've seen Android messaging phones with QWERTY keyboards quite a few times recently, but they tend to follow the BlackBerry form factor and come with a small display in the 2.6" region. The Motorola PRO+ comes with a much larger and more usable screen, a 3.1" 480 x 640 pixel display with Gorilla Glass to protect it. The slightly unusual form factor of the PRO+ sits somewhere between a BlackBerry-style device and a standard tablet smartphone.

This is an Android 2.3 smartphone with a 5 megapixel camera on the back and a 1GHz processor and 512MB of RAM underneath. Inside is a large 1600 mAh battery that can give up to 8 hours talktime, plus all the usual Android features are here such as 3.5G support, WiFi, GPS, Bluetooth. There's a microSD slot with 4GB of internal flash memory, an FM radio and a 3.5mm audio socket too.

Most of our regulars probably know all about Android 2.3, so let's just leave it there except to say that Motorola have included some enterprise applications in addition to the standard fare, including corporate email and security tools.

We don't know how much the Motorola PRO+ will cost, but the rival BlackBerry Torch 9800 currently retails for about €400 SIM free and Motorola will need to remain competitive. Motorola say that the PRO+ should be available in Asia and Europe from October onwards.