We were left with a bitter taste in our mouths upon learning that our review of the Laptop Dock for Moto’s Atrix 4G did not have multitouch capability, making scrolling an old-fashioned affair. Well, we have learned something new, which is equally weird but leaves us the room to learn plenty more.

Several xda-developers are discussing the fact that in-store demo units of the Laptop Dock seem to mysteriously have multitouch added in, and at least one poster notes that a Motorola rep visited his local store and had multitouch working as well.

We are guessing at three odds – either these units are physically different hardware, they’re running a pre release firmware upgrade, or they’ve got a feature that was pulled at the last minute, possibly because it didn’t work very well. Unfortunately, the latter seems plausible because Motorola has indicated to us that the Laptop Dock’s hardware doesn’t support multitouch and it’s not something we can expect to be added later.

We are high on hopes.

This one’s for you, developers: XDA developer (adub007) posted a complete Motorola XOOM system dump. New and unprecedented goodies are still to be judged. Meanwhile,  feel free to download the 183MB file and start digging for yourself.

Click here to begin download.

Google has long struggled to be taken seriously by the corporate and government sectors. Earlier this year, Google sued the US government for not allowing to fairly compete for its business against Microsoft Office BPOS. While its Android Marketplace and Chrome Web Store have experienced soaring and moderate success, it now seems, Google will be taking steps to bulk up Google Apps.

Today, the company announced it will launch a Google Apps Certification Program. It’s a fully web-based program containing an online $100 exam, which will offer IT professionals the authority to “migrate to, configure, and deploy Google apps.”

The requirements according to Google:

“Before taking the exam, it is recommended that a candidate have a minimum of 3-6 years of professional IT experience, and complete at least 3 Google Apps for Business deployments. The deployments should require some technical complexity and significant data integration and migration work. You should be experienced with the use of Google Apps Directory Sync and server side migration tools, such as Google Apps Migration for Microsoft Exchange.”

Currently, the exam is offered in English, but will expand to include other languages in due course of time. Passing the test comes with a badge.

Google has released the full SDK for Android 3.0 aka Honeycomb for developers, encouraging them to begin creating and publishing applications specifically for use on tablets.
Honeycomb has been redesigned from the scratch for use on large-screen devices. Key additions include a revamped interface, improved multi-tasking, redesigned keyboard and new-look widgets.
Administration applications will be able to support encrypted storage, password expiration and password history.
Developers will be able to make use of new features in Honeycomb, like Action Bar, customised to show application features to users.
Enhanced notifications, and widgets that allow users to view content as 3D stacks, grids or lists, can also be built into apps.
Existing Android applications can be ported as well to take advantage of the holographic user interface theme in Honeycomb without changing any code.
Android 3.0 is ready to be shipped with the Motorola Xoom today in the US, and due for release in the UK in April. However, the Xoom will launch without Flash 10.1 support, which will become available soon after launch.
Several Honeycomb tablets are expected to follow Motorola’s lead.

The Atrix 4G is the hottest Android phone one this week. The crew over at ifixit tear down the phone for a look at the inside.

Motorola Atrix 4G Teardown

Verizon officially announced the pricing details for the first Honeycomb-powered device – the Motorola XOOM. It will cost  599.99 with a two year contract, while the unsubsidized price will be $799.99. The tablet is to be launched on February 24.

Big Red also announced that the cheapest 3G data plan for the Motorola XOOM is to cost $20 for 1GB, and that the tablet will be upgradeable to LTE in the second quarter of this year. The good news is that this upgrade from 3G to 4G will be free of charge.