Atrix out of the box features User friendly?

[tunie]

I'm new here and to Android; in fact I don't own an Android phone yet. I've been a long time BB user but, due to the terrible product quality issues over the last 2 years, I've opted to move on. I still have basic business function needs on my phone and I just can't tell if the Atrix or X are able to accommodate them. In addition, after reading what seems like hundreds of posts in here, it seems that the Motorola phones in general are not very business user friendly. Is that wrong?

I have apps on my BB I need, yet it doesn't seem that I would be able to download compatible apps directly to my Atrix (at&t) without messing around with the phone without "rooting" it (whatever that is). Motoblur seems to be a serious issue on the Atrix, so it appears I'll have problems syncing my contacts and emails on this phone. I also can't post and manage my social networking sites from one screen, so I'll have to flip back and forth between 2 screens to do it. Apparently sound quality is an issue, as well, and coming from a BB that doesn't ring in a network that frequently drops calls, this one -really- scares me. Lastly, as I need to do daily back-ups of my phone, it appears that's not an easy task with this phone either. The BB allows me to backup everything on my phone, including apps through BB's Desktop sw. It doesn't appear that there is any desktop sw supplied with Android phones which allows for backing up on the fly, or am I mistaken?

Overall, from everything I've read in here and on the web, this may not be the most business user friendly out-of-the-box phone I can get. Yes, I love the power and looks of the phone, but it seems the very basic things have issues. It reminds me of my BB that doesn't ring or sound alerts due to a design flaw. Makes the phone almost useless.

I'm so on the fence about what phone to move to, but I do think it should be Android. Is the X a better option for me? I haven't found email/contact syncing or sound quality issues on the web about this phone.

So very confused...but can't afford to have email/contact syncing, sound quality or backup issues. The rest of the shortcomings I guess I can deal with.

Any suggestions are so completely welcome....

 

[Bla1ze]

A lot of your concerns are concerns you are going to face with any Android device you buy, not just the Motorola Atrix.. and some of them even break down to personal preference.

Lets start by picking some of the issues off.

Motoblur: Forget most of what you read about Moto Blur.. Moto Blur is not something that can be read about to form an opinion on it. You really do need to try it before you disregard it -- it's a personal preference. Most people will say they hate Moto Blur.. yet, very few of them can give you a valid reason for hating it. Instead, they just hate it because Joe Blow also happens to hate it.

Synching & Contacts: This situation depends on you.. where are your contacts? Are they in Google? Are they housed elsewhere.. if you use GMail for all of that then essentially you have very little to worry about as that information will sync back and forth just fine. It's only when you use outside sources does this become a concern for most users. Aside from all that, the Android Market is full of options to assist with backing up information. BB is great to offer such things with their desktop software but BlackBerry App World lacks a lot of options in this area and those they do offer are pretty weak in comparison to what can be found in the Android Market.

Sound Quality: The Atrix known to have some call quality issues. That's a fact and Motorola is looking into the issue.

Daily Backups: Another one of those cases that essentially relies on more info from you.. what are you needing to back up? Documents, emails, contacts? Apps are backed up through Google, Contacts are back up through Google, Emails are backed up through Google. For anything else, there is likely an app to assist you and lets not rule out backing up essential info to your memory card for safe keeping.

Apps in general: The only apps that require root are apps that DO NOT come from the Android Market.. if you are a business user, chances are you'll have no interest in these apps anyway thus, negating the need to even bother messing with them. These apps are usually apps that revolve around people who have already rooted their device and have interest in such things -- not business users using their device as their daily driver, mission critical phone.

Again, some of the stuff your asking is going to depend on how you use your device and what you use to get those things done. A lot of options available.. worst case, try them both out.. you have a buyers remorse period on each one for a reason. If you try one and don't like it -- return it and move on.

 

[Jonneh]

Although I love my Atrix, sometimes I just wonder if it's because it's my first Android phone. In addition, maaaany users have voice quality issues with their atrix's (I have gone through 2 of them, but neither of mine had the problem. Guess I got lucky in that regard), but I haven't heard of DroidX having that issue...you might wanna check the X out.

However, honestly..(I came from BB Bold 9000), you might want to stick with a BB. I realize this is going to be an unpopular opinion, but your post really makes me think BB would be your better option for what you need/want in your phone. Sure, it's less powerful...definitely has many disadvantages in the "fun" or even "interesting" departments...but it will get most if not all of your jobs done, I think.

Good luck with whichever platform you choose!

 

[ottscay]

The X has the best sound quality of any phone I've used. Granted I've not used every phone out there, but I've tried most of the top tier ones, and the X is as good or better than any of them in call quality. That said, the voice quality problem does not seem to effect all Atrix handsets, so that may depend on your luck.

If you really want to manage your social contacts on a single page any motoblur phone should let you do that, as they have a social status widgets you can use (I don't use mine, but they should work just fine). I believe there are also social aggregater apps (and widgets) in the market that would work on any Android phone.

There are several ways you can do daily backups; Verizon does have a daily backup assistant that works on the X if you want to go that direction. Otherwise there are other services (including market based ones) that would work on the Atrix or any other Android phone.

As for your apps - what apps do you need? The Android Market has an order of magnitude more apps than the BB one, so you should be able to find an equivalent one (and that doesn't require you to root your phone). Most of them are even free, although I'm personally always a fan of paying people who produce something useful to me.

The only main advantages of the X are guaranteed sound quality and features tied to Verizon's network. Which isn't to demean it, I love mine, I'm just saying you can probably also solve many of the problems on an Atrix.

 

[robin48]

I plan on getting one this week. I have an inspire, now I want to take the Atrix for a test drive. ATT has good coverage in my area so maybe I won't have to many issues.

 

[tunie]

A lot of your concerns are concerns you are going to face with any Android device you buy, not just the Motorola Atrix.. and some of them even break down to personal preference.

Lets start by picking some of the issues off.

Motoblur: Forget most of what you read about Moto Blur.. Moto Blur is not something that can be read about to form an opinion on it.

I agree, though it is difficult not to form a negative opinion as I haven't found anything positive about it.

Synching & Contacts: This situation depends on you.. where are your contacts?

At present I sync all appointments, tasks, contacts and email from my BB to Outlook and Gmail. So I guess syncing with Outlook will be an issue unless I purchase a 3rd party app.

BlackBerry App World lacks a lot of options in this area and those they do offer are pretty weak in comparison to what can be found in the Android Market.

Agreed, though I do think it depends upon what each individuals needs are. I don't care about entertainment since my phone is a business phone. In that area, Blackberry's are ready to go out of the box. Unfortunately, their products have become so substandard that I am unable to run a business using any of their current products.

Sound Quality: The Atrix known to have some call quality issues. That's a fact and Motorola is looking into the issue.

Yes, I'd read about that, so I began investigating the Droid X.

Daily Backups: Another one of those cases that essentially relies on more info from you.. what are you needing to back up? Documents, emails, contacts?

I back up all of the above including, appointments. I don't use Google for backing up anything. I prefer to maintain all my private business documents on my desktop, so it appears I would need to purchase another 3rd party app.

Apps in general: The only apps that require root are apps that DO NOT come from the Android Market.. if you are a business user, chances are you'll have no interest in these apps anyway thus, negating the need to even bother messing with them. These apps are usually apps that revolve around people who have already rooted their device and have interest in such things -- not business users using their device as their daily driver, mission critical phone.

I hope that's correct. My needs are quite basic.

Again, some of the stuff your asking is going to depend on how you use your device and what you use to get those things done. A lot of options available.. worst case, try them both out.. you have a buyers remorse period on each one for a reason. If you try one and don't like it -- return it and move on.

I wasn't aware of a 'buyers remorse' period. Does that mean, if the phone is a problem for me I can return it for a refund or do I have to select another phone?<edit> Yes, AT&T allows a 30 day buyers remorse period. I just have to pay them $35 for a restocking fee. They're really a terrible provider, in so many ways. Still, thank you for letting me know about the buyers remorse period. AT&T has never mentioned this to me.

Thank you for taking time to impart this great information. I greatly appreciate your feedback.

 

[tunie]

Although I love my Atrix, sometimes I just wonder if it's because it's my first Android phone. In addition, maaaany users have voice quality issues with their atrix's (I have gone through 2 of them, but neither of mine had the problem. Guess I got lucky in that regard), but I haven't heard of DroidX having that issue...you might wanna check the X out.

However, honestly..(I came from BB Bold 9000), you might want to stick with a BB. I realize this is going to be an unpopular opinion, but your post really makes me think BB would be your better option for what you need/want in your phone. Sure, it's less powerful...definitely has many disadvantages in the "fun" or even "interesting" departments...but it will get most if not all of your jobs done, I think.

Good luck with whichever platform you choose!

Unpopular, yes. I have had nothing but problems with my 9000. While RIM offered to replace it with a different phone, I opted not to accept it due to the plethora of issues I read about -that- phone. I still have the Curve 8300. Takes a licking.... However, due to very poor CS and substandard products, I can't go back to RIM. I can't spend hours trying to get my phone to work while trying to run a business. In my opinion, RIM has failed in every way as a business products company. Decent software, defective phones.

Are you with AT&T? If so, I'd be interested in knowing what features they've locked on the phone.

The search is on....

 

[tunie]

The X has the best sound quality of any phone I've used. Granted I've not used every phone out there, but I've tried most of the top tier ones, and the X is as good or better than any of them in call quality. That said, the voice quality problem does not seem to effect all Atrix handsets, so that may depend on your luck.

If you really want to manage your social contacts on a single page any motoblur phone should let you do that, as they have a social status widgets you can use (I don't use mine, but they should work just fine). I believe there are also social aggregater apps (and widgets) in the market that would work on any Android phone.

There are several ways you can do daily backups; Verizon does have a daily backup assistant that works on the X if you want to go that direction. Otherwise there are other services (including market based ones) that would work on the Atrix or any other Android phone.

As for your apps - what apps do you need? The Android Market has an order of magnitude more apps than the BB one, so you should be able to find an equivalent one (and that doesn't require you to root your phone). Most of them are even free, although I'm personally always a fan of paying people who produce something useful to me.

The only main advantages of the X are guaranteed sound quality and features tied to Verizon's network. Which isn't to demean it, I love mine, I'm just saying you can probably also solve many of the problems on an Atrix.

So, it sounds like I need to purchase an app in order to do daily backups to my desktop. Is that correct? I'm on AT&T. I need excel, powerpoint and word on my phone. I can live without Outlook, but then I need to phone's native contact manager/calendar to sync with Outlook on my desktop. It's necessary that any docs I create on my phone can also be worked on on my desktop. Creating a spreadsheet on my phone that doesn't play nice with Excel on my desktop would be a huge headache for me.

I've checked out the X and while it's a beautiful piece of work, it seems more entertainment centered than anything.

Good grief...what a pain. Thank you for your help. I really appreciate all the great information. I really enjoy this forum.