The company removed the biometric fingerprint scanner, as well; when I asked a Motorola representative about this at CTIA, the rep said that it wasn't a widely used feature.Two days after gushing about the possibilities offered by a fingerprint reader on an Android smartphone, we learn that Motorola has removed the fingerprint reader from the Atrix 2. Needless to say, I'm disappointed.
The sensor couldn't have been a widely used feature until developers had time to write software using it, which they certainly would have done if only a manufacturer such as Motorola had shown a commitment to making the hardware available. Any developer that had written software for it just had the chair pulled out from under them, and those who were looking forward to the opportunity can now focus their attention elsewhere.
Mobile hardware is a tricky business. There is a tension between the market signals from the "make 'em cheaper" vs the "make 'em more secure" crowd. It's unfortunate for the "make 'em more secure" crowd that they lost an opportunity to vote with their wallets.
