Indecisive! Need help!

[Kaspern]

Hello all first time poster long time reader here =) As a gadget freak like many of you i like having the latest and greatest. I also love using my phone to its full petential, as a long tine iphone user a jailbreak is a must for me.. But at this point I am tired of the jailbreaking community with all the drama, devs not updating users of progress etc.. I am ready to move away from the controlling freaks at apple. Without a jailbreak the iphone is a device for teenagers abd people dont know 2+2..

With the many great android devices announced at ces i really cant wait to ditch the craphone.Im currently on att network with unlimited data which is a must for me along with using data and voice at the same time so even though Id love the the htc thunderbolt for the ease of rooting and loading custom roms, I think that choice is out. Atrix 4g is my 2nd choice since i can keep current plan ( i dont have many network issues with att in central florida) but then i would have to deal with motorola which is just another bad apple on the same tree along with iphones. What do u guys think? Would waiting for the wpc in february be smartest thing to do? Oh yea im also impatient lol. Thanks for any thoughts, ideas and advice.

 

[maxim6194]

I'm in the same situation, but I've got some time still until my Verizon contract is up in July. I'm looking into the Infuse and Atrix. Both have some good pros and cons, and really cant wait till they are reviewed.

AT&T

Atrix

Pros:
-Tegra 2
-Motorola quality
-1GB of DDR2 Ram
-Alot of docking capabilities
-HDMI output
-1930 mA battery

Cons:
-Only 4" screen
-5mp camera means it likely will be of less quality
-Motorblur
-0.3 Mp front camera


Infuse

Pros:
-4.5" sAMOLED+
-8mp camera and 1.3mp front camera
-1.2 gHz (Kinda pro/con)
-Looks sleeker
-1750 mA battery

Cons:
-Touchwiz
-Samsung's bad update reputation
-No Tegra 2


Inspire

Pros:
-Sense UI
-8mp Camera with dual LED flash
-HTC quality
-4.3" S-LCD

Cons:
-No front camera
-No Tegra 2
-1230 mAh battery

Verizon

Thunderbolt

Pros:
-4.3"
-Sense UI
-HTC quality
-LTE
-8mp with dual LED flash and 1.3mp front camera
-Kickstand

Cons:
-No Tegra 2
-Extra LTE charges

Bionic

Pros:
-MotoBlurless
-4.3" qHD screen
-Tegra 2
-DDR2 Ram
-8mp camera
-1930 mA battery
-LTE
-HDMI output
-Motorola quality

Cons:
-LTE extra charge
-Only 512mb ram
-Only 0.3mp front camera


Samsing LTE

Pros:
-4.3" sAMOLED+
-8mp Camera
-1.3mp Front Camera
-LTE

Cons:
-LTE Charges
-Samsungs update reputation
-Touchwiz
-No Tegra 2


Other:
(Verizons 3G coverage in Buffalo is subpar compared to AT&T, and Verizon has no plans so far of bringing LTE to Buffalo. So this would be the biggest con for me. Also, the fact that Verizon will only offer an unlimited plan would be a con for me.)

 

[Kaspern]

With the samsung though u dont have to wait for them to release the update if youre going to install a custom rom? I have never used a android phone but my friend praises them. Im not sure if i have the right idea about installing custom roms though? Thanks

 

[anon(41845)]

Personally I see the 4" screen of the Atrix a big plus. I want something bigger than my Storm (and the iPhone for that matter) but don't want the 4.3" screen size that has become so popular. For me - the 4" screen size seems perfect.

At this point - I wouldn't do anything on Samsung given their update issues. I think they are shooting themselves in the foot over the update to Froyo. The fact that 2.3 is out and many if not most of Samsung devices still have 2.1 is ridiculous.

As to the major pros of the Atrix - the docking options (HTC and samsung suck at that), the 1Ghz of DDR2 RAM (industry best) and Tegra2 chip make this the hands down winner.

 

[mullinsmcd]

Great summary Maxim, thanks!

 

[dtboos]

The Motorola Atrix will be fine. Trust me when I say it will be hacked. The good news is, comming from the iPhone, to do most things besides custom roms or overclocking the cpu (which wont be necessary), you won't need to root or unlock the bootloader. The Atrix is the most powerful phone we know of so far, so I would set your sights on that if its to your liking, and you can keep your plan.

However, wait until MWC to see if anything else is going to be released as well. You won't see the Atrix for sale until afterwards anyways.

As far as camera quality, we will have to wait and see. 5mp could be optically superior to the Bionics 8mp camera. Look at the iPhone 4's 5mp camera. Its outstanding. And you dont need more than a vga camera for video chat, so the front camera on the Atrix is a non issue to me.

 

[Kaspern]

I def agree with the ip4 camera being pretty good, i think it actually shot better pics then htc evos 4 8mp camera. The only thing was zoom quality was crap and ability to not being able to zoom in on video. Im sure capability is there but apple will wait to release a new device for that feature. Another note, I think a front facing camera is a must have these days on a smart phone.. I was sad to see no WP7 devices having those at launch.

Thanks for all the responses guys..

 

[The Hustleman]

Personally I see the 4" screen of the Atrix a big plus. I want something bigger than my Storm (and the iPhone for that matter) but don't want the 4.3" screen size that has become so popular. For me - the 4" screen size seems perfect.

At this point - I wouldn't do anything on Samsung given their update issues. I think they are shooting themselves in the foot over the update to Froyo. The fact that 2.3 is out and many if not most of Samsung devices still have 2.1 is ridiculous.

As to the major pros of the Atrix - the docking options (HTC and samsung suck at that), the 1Ghz of DDR2 RAM (industry best) and Tegra2 chip make this the hands down winner.

Not to mention samsungs crap quality!

Great phones when you get them then when you had them for a while, they go and turn to crap until you hate them!

Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk

 

[Kaspern]

Not to mention samsungs crap quality!

Great phones when you get them then when you had them for a while, they go and turn to crap until you hate them!

Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk

Yeah I loved the scheme apple used to advertise the iphone 4... Non-scratchable glass surface.. Wanna see the back and front of my iphone? Its only been 6 months... And i Have the free case from antenna-gate lol.

 

[scrounger]

Maxim, like the summary, but can you add the Bionic.

 

[Kaspern]

Not to mention samsungs crap quality!

Great phones when you get them then when you had them for a while, they go and turn to crap until you hate them!

Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk

Has samsung given a reason why they are so crappy with the updates?

 

[dtboos]

Has samsung given a reason why they are so crappy with the updates?

No real reason, just the runaround. I'd like to know why ALL of them aren't faster with updates. If you can't release updates in a timely manor, don't skin your phones, just add your own "launcher" which can be disabled.

 

[maxim6194]

^^^Done, and added the Inspire and Samsung LTE. Dont forget thats just my $0.02, so people would probably diagree on how i classified things.

 

[chief113]

How about that gorilla glass on the Atrix? Is it really scratch proof? Even though I think the Inspire is a nicer looking phone with a better camera, I would lean towards the Atrix if the screen was really scratch proof? I hate having to use a case.

 

[zhelf]

if you have to have latest and greatest i would suggest try or at least wait for the atrix while the thunderbolt and inspire are nice on 4g they are more of an evo+ type of device least they seem that way to me. The atrix is the first dual core phone and the laptop dock is freakin awesome idea its going to allow me to keep my gaming laptop home more and use the atrix as a netbook.

I have never had any issues with motorola i know they tend to lock their bootloaders and blur is awful but the build quality and devices worked great with new launchers or rooting. Samsung is slow with updates but i love their build quality my captivate runs flawless and there is always rooting to install new version since you said your not afraid to go that route. HTC while everyone loves for their openness i had a bad experience with. Had my incredible replaced 4 times for numerous reasons. Again this is not a review just an opinion so i understand your plight i am very impatient as well and am a tech junkie i buy like 4 new phones a year sometimes more if something good is out and always buying other gadgets.

 

[zhelf]

How about that gorilla glass on the Atrix? Is it really scratch proof? Even though I think the Inspire is a nicer looking phone with a better camera, I would lean towards the Atrix if the screen was really scratch proof? I hate having to use a case.

gorilla glass is not scratch proof but it is very scratch resistent! i have had numerous devices with gorilla glass never have i used a screen shield unless you drop the device a lot or keep in pocket wit change you will be fine! I have never dropped my device but it has been stored in bags or briefcases and never have i seen a scratch on gorilla glass devices. i personally hate screen shields.

 

[Kaspern]

gorilla glass is not scratch proof but it is very scratch resistent! i have had numerous devices with gorilla glass never have i used a screen shield unless you drop the device a lot or keep in pocket wit change you will be fine! I have never dropped my device but it has been stored in bags or briefcases and never have i seen a scratch on gorilla glass devices. i personally hate screen shields.

Was ip4 advertised as scratch-proof glass? Or resistent? I cannot recall.. I remember when jobs intruduced the device last year they had mentioned it being scratch proof. Maybe im wrong, either case how did the back side of my ip4 get slight scratches on it with a case on? Lol

 

[textiaac]

The Atrix will be in the top 5 phones for at least 6-12 months after its release. Aside from lack of NFC, it is one of the more future proof smartphones I have seen.

(i will repeat no smart phone has ever been hot for more than like 6 months, the atrix will be "cool" for around that plus a few months)

 

[zhelf]

Was ip4 advertised as scratch-proof glass? Or resistent? I cannot recall.. I remember when jobs intruduced the device last year they had mentioned it being scratch proof. Maybe im wrong, either case how did the back side of my ip4 get slight scratches on it with a case on? Lol

they said it was scratch proof but that is not gorilla glass that is their own blend.
i do not use cases for my devices. but if you recall there was an issue with the ip4 and slider cases scratching or cracking the glass.

again though the iphone 4 was not gorilla glass.

 

[dtboos]

they said it was scratch proof but that is not gorilla glass that is their own blend.

again though the iphone 4 was not gorilla glass.

nor was it scratch proof lol