Looking for Hands on reports

[bigddybn]

Posted this on another forum. Coming from an iPhone 4 and was asking about comparisons. Too lazy to retype-

A few thoughts:

Phone stays snappy pretty much all the time. The only slowdown I noticed was while literally installing about a dozen apps at once. Other than that it's been butter smooth even with flash videos playing and such.

Phone does have a very strong vibrator which translates into strong haptic feedback. A plus for me.

The headphone jack doesn't get quite as loud as the iPhone but it's pretty close and plenty loud.

Forgot how handy an LED indicator light can be. Seems to support multiple colors as well.

Touchscreen glass is beveled on the edges. A nice touch. Screen is very responsive and looks great to me.

BATTERY LIFE! This is easily the best battery on any android phone I've ever used. It's keeping up with my iPhone 4 no problem and being new I'm "playing" with it a lot more than normal. Zero complaints about battery life. Will last all day no problem.

The phone has the typical capacitive touchscreen issues with a lack of ground while charging. Use the supplied motorola charger and cable if your screen is "jumpy" while charging. A normal USB cable will charge it just fine though if you don't need to play with the phone at the same time.

The textured back is quite nice to the touch. Phone has a good "feel" in the hand. Doesn't feel cheap at all.

Phone speaker is typical solid Motorola. Same for the earpiece. Sounds good all around.

Gripes:

Wish you could lock the capacitive buttons "on" anytime the screen is on. I think there is an app that does this though.

Would have preferred ports on the bottom of the phone but I understand the need for docks and such. Just a personal preference as I don't use docks.

ACCESSORIES?? Hopefully time will change this but where are all the cases? Not even a cheap "hold me over" option on Amazon yet.

Overall pretty damn happy for 50 bucks (got it at bestbuy, will be 35 after their reward zone promos.) It was this or the GS2 and I just didn't feel the GS2 was 150 better. Also didn't like the way the GS2 felt in hand. I am 6'4" and have hands to match. The Atrix 2 just felt much more solid.

 

[ejmdds]

I used to have both the EVO 4G on Sprint and Captivate on ATT. I was not happy with the fluidity and smoothness of android on either of those devices. I took a break from android with iPhone 4 for awhile and while it was very smooth and fluid I got bored pretty quickly. The iPhone is a great phone but I wanted more control and customization. I have only had this phone for a few days but so far I am very happy. The OS seems very smooth on this phone compared to the EVO and Captivate. The dual core obviously makes a huge difference. Battery life is amazing compared to the 6 hours on average I was getting with the EVO and 8 hours with the Captivate. I easily go through a whole day with my typical usage. I know everyone's usage is different but I know that in my hands it is better based on my past experiences. Build quality is excellent and i actually prefer it to the HTC phones which are built like tanks! I got mine at BestBuy and I recommend you request an actual working one to hold rather than the dummy unit because it does not do it justice. Having an LED notification light is a definite plus having had a blackberry in the past too. I looked at the SGSII while at the store but could not see other than the screen the need to pay another $150 more. Of course this is my personal preference and conclusion too, and for others the Samsung will be the obvious choice just based on the beautiful screen.

 

[Sentrix]

Coming from an HTC Thunderbolt...

I agree with what's been said here, but I can't stress enough how thrilled I am with the Atrix 2's battery life. It's by far the best I've ever seen on an Android smartphone, and that includes the OG Atrix. I was able to achieve 10 hours of use yesterday and still have 50% remaining. My Thunderbolt would most certainly be dead after that amount of time.

I love how PenTile is gone and the display on the Atrix 2 is crisp and clear: No graininess to be found. The phone's feel is slim and solid, with a textured back that adds a nice touch. As for software, I actually like Motorola's new UI enough to not install another Launcher (for now). The effects are kind of cool, plus there's never any lag. Worlds better than what Blur looked like on the OG Atrix.

Call quality has been great - the earpiece on the Atrix 2 is much louder than the Thunderbolt. Also, people I called said I now sounded clearer.

The only disappointment in my view is the camera. I like the side button addition, but it's not a shutter key. The main gripe I have with the camera is the shutter lag. Takes a while to snap a photo with the flash enabled, and the quality isn't always impressive. Almost seems to be hit-or-miss as to whether or not you're going to get a good quality photo.

Overall, though, this is the best phone you can buy for $99 anywhere.

And for those worried about data speeds, I was able to pull this down on HSPA+ in downtown Buffalo this morning:
http://www.speedtest.net/android/96027384.png

 

[giper54]

Those are great speed. I got 7 mps at the AT&T store in op by the McKinley mall.


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I am here: http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=42.762181,-78.619813

 

[giper54]

How is the reception in WNY? I am seriously considering this phone instead of jumping to Verizon to use the lte speeds.


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I am here: http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=42.762181,-78.619813

 

[bigddybn]

The only disappointment in my view is the camera. I like the side button addition, but it's not a shutter key. The main gripe I have with the camera is the shutter lag. Takes a while to snap a photo with the flash enabled, and the quality isn't always impressive. Almost seems to be hit-or-miss as to whether or not you're going to get a good quality photo.

http://www.speedtest.net/android/96027384.png

The camera button on the side does also serve as a shutter release otherwise I agree with you. The iPhone 4 had a better camera. I'm sure the 4S is even better.

 

[palmor]

New to Andriod but not new to smartphone and so far I really like the phone/OS... had old school windows mobile phones, the last being the ATT Tilt II then iPhones (3g and 4 both jailbroken ASAP). I narrowed down my choices between the Atrix 2 and SGII when I headed to the store. I wanted to look at both in person and the Atrix sold me.

Some random thoughts:

• Battery seems on par with the iPhone 4
• The screen is beautiful
• Android mail (or maybe it is mail app that comes with this phone) has a wonderful advantage over the iPhone mail.. when I have conference calls it picks up the con call number AND passcode so I can just tap and it will dial both. While I could setup numbers on the iPhone to do this I couldn't just tap from the email/meeting reminder.
• The Motorola Media Link works great.. I was able to sync iTunes playlists without an issue.
• Although I haven't made a ton of calls with it the reception and clarity seem great so far
• I haven't been in an area with the latest HSPDA+ I'm getting ~7Mbit download speed where i was getting 3-4 with the iPhone

Anyway, so far I'm really happy with it


John

 

[Sentrix]

How is the reception in WNY? I am seriously considering this phone instead of jumping to Verizon to use the lte speeds.

Flawless so far.

Looked up the AT&T coverage map though, and it looks like 4G (HSPA+) coverage seems to end right around the limits of East Aurora near the location you gave me. Too close to say for sure, you'd have to test it at your place to know for sure.

 

[sprof]

So far, no trouble with non Motorola chargers. I use a Samsung and LG chargers at home and office and a Verizon branded car charger.

 

[916x10]

Yeah, don't use a non motorola, non original charger with these new devices. They do not work well, and will cause issues with the capacitive screen.

What's your proof or evidence of that? At home I use the oem stuff but on the road I use a generic cig lighter usb adapter and a generic charger cord I got from a local cell phone shop for my old phone for $5. No issues at all here.