Just when Motorola Mobility got Webtop working, word from sources is that Google ordered its demise. With the RAZR HD lacking Webtop, Verizon is selling off Lapdock 100’s for $50 out the door. We’ll explain why.
Google doesn’t want Android to be a desktop OS today. It’s clear why. Windows 8 is struggling to gain acceptance as a tablet-and-desktop operating system. Many are skeptical. Many don’t like the idea. What we have seen to-date from the Android world with “smartbooks” and “tablet netbooks” can only be tallied in the failures, not successes.
Also, Google knows that they will only get one shot on the desktop. Chrome OS is not that shot, but rather a side project aimed at offering thin clients as an experiment. Android will eventually be Google’s mainstream desktop operating system, but not for two more years… at least.
It’s no surprise, that we have to follow up our last editorial on Webtop going MIA, with the latest news; it’s dead, Jim. Sources around Google and Motorola Mobility have reported to PhoneNews.com that the orders came down from top brass to remove the feature from all new devices, including the DROID RAZR M, RAZR HD, and RAZR HD MAXX.
As we chronicled last time, we placed the Webtop platform on a deathwatch. Webtop 1.0 and 2.0 were dismal failures. Amazing technology boxed in by walls. The ability to run Linux and Android applications side-by-side was unparalleled at the time. Unfortunately, Motorola locked down Webtop, preventing any new applications from being authored. Firefox and desktop Flash were all you got. And, because of the lack of open source vetting, they didn’t run well.
Webtop 3.0, however, was a complete redesign. The platform took advantage of Android 4.0’s ability to dynamically change resolutions of apps, and enable Android apps to run full-screen. The platform eschewed desktop Linux application compatibility, but gained the ability to take nearly all Android apps, and turn them into desktop PC applications.
The Webtop interface also stalled due to poor executions in hardware. The original Lapdocks were terrible. They were oversized, and worse, not very functional. The keyboard and trackpad were both terrible; not good when you can’t access the touch screen, because the phone was secreted behind the lapdock. Worse, the position of the trackpad and keyboard made accidentally hitting the trackpad (while typing) a common occurrence. The result? You would be typing, and suddenly find text appearing in all the wrong places.
While still highly-priced, the Lapdock 100 fixed that. Word from Verizon is to execute Google’s kill order. Stores as of Friday knocked the price of Lapdock 100 units down to $49.99 out the door. A nearly $200 discount, and available to anyone, including non-Verizon customers.
It’s also important to note that Webtop 3.0 could run with an HDTV and Motorola’s HD dock, though hackers also managed to get the device working with a simple HDMI cable, and a software tweak that unlocked Bluetooth keyboard and mouse drivers to enable Webtop freely on any modern television. For YouTube, Hulu Plus, and countless other apps, this became a remarkable alternative to purchasing a set-top box.
The shame here is that Motorola had gotten it right. But, with Motorola still lagging on Android 4.0 upgrade releases, very few got to experience it properly. Bad feedback, caused by people not testing the right version, gave Google the moral high ground to execute a kill order on Webtop. Removing the Webtop platform from the Atrix HD was an opportunity for Google and Motorola to gauge community feedback. Clearly, not enough people were either aware of Webtop 3.0, or spoke loudly enough to change course.
Now folks will have to stick with Atrix 2, Droid RAZR, Droid 4, Droid Bionic, and even the lowly Motorola Photon 4G, if they want to enjoy Webtop 3.0.
Analysts at PhoneNews.com expect within the next two major Android releases, Google will integrate the ambitions of Webtop into the mainline Android platform. That said, despite the firewall, it’s clear Google is still running the show at Motorola.
I have some webtop devices, and while they are far from perfect, they work for me. I do hope the open source code (http://sourceforge.net/motorola/motorola-webtop/home/Home/) lives on in community roms for future devices possibly even beyond Motorola’s/Google’s devices.
I will be upset if I bought into webtop (which remember were incredibly high priced at launch) only to be abandoned less than a year.
Boone,
That code is old and stale. It’s from the Webtop 1.0/2.0 days. Webtop 3.0 is totally different. It’s an augmentation for Android that lets Android apps run in the >10-inch tablet orientation.
You’ll see when your phone gets upgraded to Android 4.0. That old code is a joke and why Webtop got such a bad reputation.
Webtop will live on in Ubuntu for Android. I bet Google killed Webtop in order to give Canonical some breathing room there.
Ubuntu for Android is really what Webtop 2.0 was (I wouldn’t be surprised if Motorola contracted it out to Canonical, looking at the source code), and while it’s not the same as Webtop 3.0… Ubuntu for Android is much better than anything Webtop ever offered.
I didn’t realize that sourceforge link didn’t include any of the webtop 3.0 stuff.
I have been using 3.0 for a few months (via droid 4 ICS leak) and it certainly performs better, however the “tablet” UI feels clunky without a touchscreen ( which if I could find a capacitive touchscreen to add to my lapdock 500 I would).
Moreover, with Google removing webtop entirely from the new RAZR models where does that leave people who have lapdocks?
Hopefully since webtop is basically a “switch” to change the layout to tablet mode, Android will continue to support the hardware (complete with driver support for the ethernet / webcam, etc)
Lapdocks will continue to work with existing Webtop-enabled models. All Webtop phones (as far as I am aware) will be upgraded to Android 4.0, and thus will receive Webtop 3… eventually.
I suspect Webtop 3.0 will remain as-is on Motorola phones that have it, when they are (or if they are) upgraded to Android 4.1. There’s nothing I can see in Android 4.1 that would require any significant modifications to Webtop 3.0.
[…] […]
I just hope this means that Ubuntu for Android will be a major part of Google’s plans for Android moving forward.
[…] Today 10:16 AM #123 Cause they officially ended webdock. Google Kills Off Motorola Webtop, Grabs Defeat from Jaws of Victory – Verizon Fire Sales Lapdo… Reply With Quote + Reply to […]
So, where does this leave existing Webtop 3.0 customers? Will software updates trickle in (I’m looking at you, Adobe Flash) or is this as good as it gets? As someone who talked their sister into getting a Droid Razr Maxx and the HD dock BECAUSE of Webtop just a couple of months ago this is not happy news…
Flash is not a concern with Webtop devices.
You will have to update to the latest Flash from the Google Play store, it will remain available since Flash was pre-installed on your device. However, Adobe will only offer security updates for Flash on Android going forward. It even works with Android 4.1 updates, though Adobe states it is fully unsupported.
Also, neither Firefox nor Chrome on Android support Flash. As such, you may have to use the standard Android Browser to use Flash sites properly. But, they should run in Webtop 3.0 just fine.
[…] Read […]
[…] | Phone News | BGR En Xataka | Google cierra Motorola España, a pesar de sus ventas, en su guerra global al […]
[…] Google has taken reigns over Motorola Mobility following the acquisition of the smartphone-maker, Phone News is reporting that Google forced Motorola to remove the Webtop OS from its phones and the company […]
The concept was sound and set it apart from iPhone. The pencil geeks totally screwed this product to the wall from the beginning, and customers who bought into it (like myself — Moto 4G) along with it. Right now I’m buying up some of the remaining accessories and will wait to see how the wireless wars play out over the next year. I bought mine all of 14 months ago and am astounded, and quite frankly put off, at the frantic pace of planned obsolescence and total lack of commitment to products by Moto (now Google). My device isn’t a tablet and Webtop 3.0 was not what I bought into. Just give me the ability to dock a single device and use full browser experience when I need it, and when I don’t I can make do with tablet-centric interfaces.
[…] PhoneNews Via: BGR This post has been tagged with:Google Motorola News Rumors var addthis_config = […]
[…] the Motorola Atrix into a laptop. However, google does not think alike on this second point, as have announced that there will be more laptop docks for smartphones […]
[…] ironic thing is, the RAZR just got ICS in July and just when Webtop gets fixed…Google kills it: https://phone.news/google-kill…lapdock-21328/ I guess it's understandable from a user usage and product cannibalism (chrome OS + whatever Google […]
To drop backwards compatibility from the new High End Motorola Phones from the LapDock, is an error of epic proportion! The idea of tying a Smart Phone to a Dock Station is brilliant. In the year 2000, I attended a seminar at Comdex that was hosted by Bill Gates and he introduced the concept of the Electronic Tablet and absolutely nothing was done with the idea, until Apple got hold it. The rest is history and now everyone is trying to play catch up. Bad decisions can indeed sink a Company. Someone better wake up, quickly!
Lokifish,
While much of that is correct, you could achieve Ubuntu in video out mode on just about any modern Android phone via a chroot function. Motorola took the step with Webtop 1.0 and 2.0 of implementing chroot in a manner than ordinary people could actually benefit from, and wrote embedded drivers to make it function properly.
Webtop 3.0’s tablet mode is pretty innovative in my opinion, dynamic dpi changing is not something the average Android user is ever going to pull off on their own. You’re thinking as a prosumer/hacker, you’ve got to think about the other 99% that aren’t.
[…] de RAM puede correr ICS sin mosquearse. Intuyo que el modo webtop tiene que ver (dicho sea de paso, dicen que cancelaron el concepto). Hay firmwares alternativos, pero sin el modo […]
[…] Via | Phone News […]
[…] at CNET and Phone News suggests that Google is holding the smoking gun. The Motorola statement mentioned a lack of […]
[ software tweak that unlocked Bluetooth keyboard and mouse on lapdock 100 ] : Can you please give link for details. I would like to use them in BT fashion. Thanks!
Using an HDMI cable to an HD TV without the dock is not a *hack*. It simply works, and works well. I have JB on my DROID 4 and use the HDMI cable all the time, along with a bluetooth mouse that paired flawlessly and a bluetooth keyboard. That and sticking a 64gb SD card so I have a total of 80gigs of storage space makes this a nifty little portable laptop – especially for hotels. The keyboard on the DROID 4 works well for the hotel purposes so you don’t have to lug that around. But I had to try it at home just to see how nice it would work – and it works flawless. I’m really sad to hear webtop won’t be enabled in future phones… That sucks. I really enjoyed this feature.
I’m still using it – right now in fact. The reason they killed webtop has nothing to with anything mentioned here. The real reason is twofold.
1. having a lapdock gets the user “free” 4G and that makes Verizon etc sad.
2. Lapdock replaces (or would eventually replace as the phones get more powerful) a tablet, phablet, netbook, chrome book, laptop, external keyboard and mouse, and anything else. This makes everybody else sad. The MS Surface doesn’t even compare in form and function – you still have to have a phone, sync that phone with the Surface, and pay extra for the 4G on Surface or a hotspot. What a rip off!
Lapdock was the best thing to happen to smart phones and consumers. Even now, 2014, people who see my Lapdock are jealous – they wish their iPhone 6 could do that.
If M$ was smart, they would resurrect the Lap dock – but with Windows capability. It would kick arse.
Actually Motorola did respect carrier wishes on blocking Lapdock without tethering plans. In Webtop 1.0 and 2.0 you could not use the service without a tethering plan on AT&T and Verizon.
With Webtop 3.0, Motorola subverted the tethering ban because Webtop was no longer running a non-Android OS. They convinced the carriers that Webtop was just an easier/better alternative to plugging your phone into a display, keyboard, and mouse.
Unfortunately, by then, Motorola’s acquisition by Google had sealed Webtop’s fate – and Webtop 3.0 didn’t even reach most devices by the time the decision had been made to kill the platform off.
Christopher: I am not sure I understand what you are saying here. I had an unlimited verizon plan with no tether plan running Web Top 2.0 until the OS Upgrade took the phone to Web Top 3.0 with no blockage.
Tethering checks with Webtop 1.0/2.0 were very hit and miss. I think Verizon’s may have only been in v1.0 and AT&T’s lasted through v2.0. Can’t remember really.
I know at one point they both had such restrictions because they could run “desktop” Firefox (Firefox for Linux in an eventually-2D accelerated shell), and Motorola managed to get some horrible build of Flash for Linux ARM up and running. As a result it could stream YouTube videos and other VOD services like a desktop – and the carriers balked and wanted tethering.
But once Webtop 3.0 arrived most of the carriers had thrown in the towel on fully blocking tethering, plus Android had picked up all the data-hungry VOD services at that point anyways.