Moto Atrix: What Do You Think?

[anon(41845)]

Bionic has those attributes but I lose half the RAM and have to be on VZW which until they get SVDO is a no go for me. If by summer nothing else comes up then I'm picking up the Atrix as it is the best overall package (to me) available on the network I like.

Why wait until the summer? I fully expect the Atrix to be out by the end of January or early Feb at the latest.

 

[uberspeed]

Why wait until the summer? I fully expect the Atrix to be out by the end of January or early Feb at the latest.

MWC mid Feb and CTIA late March plus divorce on going right now. I figure I can breathe by summer and have seen everything announced, hopefully...

 

[btgrave]

Here's something interesting....... I noticed on Verizon's Bionic, MOTOBLUR is a different version than that on the Atrix............a much cleaner and aesthetically pleasing version I would take over the Atrix one:

YouTube - Motorola Droid Bionic Hands-On @ CES 2011

Wonder if Motorola will bring that over to the Atrix in the future...

[I don't dislike the MOTOBLUR shown on the Atrix so far, but I do think that having a phone button and a contacts button are redundant...should've put in an internet button or a camera button.]

edit: Cliq 2 showing of MOTOBLUR starts at 2:44 (should be identical to what will be on the Atrix)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMG9JdRuuow

 

[uberspeed]

That locked bootloader issue is looming large over my head. I hope it doesn't have one but their recent record doesn't give me high hopes. If it does, back to waiting for my next phone. :-/

 

[Mayfly]

What is that trackball looking thing on the front of the phone?

 

[techh10]

Here's what I wish,

I wish this would come on sprint with a few minor changes,
I wish HTC made this BC of the dev community...yea that's pretty much it

Sent from mt HTC EVO 4G using Tapatalk

 

[btgrave]

What is that trackball looking thing on the front of the phone?

huh? If you're talking about the white circle icon, then that is the image for the apps shortcut on motorola's skin. (its on the screen)

 

[ChrisFricke]

I'm surprised there isn't more excitement surrounding the docking features. I personally think that's what really sets this phone apart. Sure it has impressive hardware specs today but the thrill will wear off as other phones are announced. Nitpicking screen and camera pixels also misses the point. I know docking itself isn't new but Motorola pulled enough elements together to make docking compelling.

This phone, to me, actually makes the first valid use case to embrace cloud computing as a platform for home "pc" use. That is a huge deal. The ability to seamlessly move your computing experience from the road, to the office, to home, is simply awesome. I'm on Verizon with 13 months left (and happy with my Incredible) so I'm not a day 1 customer but I can see good times waiting for me when its upgrade time.

For example nearly all of my work at the office is remote sessions or web apps of one kind or another so if they can figure out how to drive multiple monitors over the next year or two I could conceivably use my home phone as my business desktop. It may not happen but the fact that could even consider my freaking telephone as my computer... full time... wow!

Now take that concept forward another five to ten years and you can see how traditional PCs could become the exception for light and medium users (which is almost everyone). I've seen the demise of the PC predicted here and there over the years but to finally see some hardware that can actually pull it off (and that you can actually buy) is huge.

Am I alone here?

 

[Ezcal#AC]

Not at all, Chris. I'm with you in feeling that this might actually be able to take over everyday duties such as homework and watching TV... And to do that as a phone is incredible.

We've heard a lot of talk recently about 'moving to the cloud,' especially from the folks over at Google, with their Cr-48, but that piece of tech and the OS that's on it simply didn't feel like enough to me. This phone, however, I could seriously see myself using as my main computer, to replace my laptop. With a 32GB microSD card to hold music and pictures, as long as I can hook into my network and access my NAS, I'll be set.

I can't wait for this phone to drop! It might finally be the reason to stop buying BlackBerries...

 

[Blanco720]

It might finally be the reason to stop buying BlackBerries...

Dear god, please.

 

[john_v]

I'm surprised there isn't more excitement surrounding the docking features. I personally think that's what really sets this phone apart. Sure it has impressive hardware specs today but the thrill will wear off as other phones are announced. Nitpicking screen and camera pixels also misses the point. I know docking itself isn't new but Motorola pulled enough elements together to make docking compelling.

This phone, to me, actually makes the first valid use case to embrace cloud computing as a platform for home "pc" use. That is a huge deal. The ability to seamlessly move your computing experience from the road, to the office, to home, is simply awesome. I'm on Verizon with 13 months left (and happy with my Incredible) so I'm not a day 1 customer but I can see good times waiting for me when its upgrade time.

For example nearly all of my work at the office is remote sessions or web apps of one kind or another so if they can figure out how to drive multiple monitors over the next year or two I could conceivably use my home phone as my business desktop. It may not happen but the fact that could even consider my freaking telephone as my computer... full time... wow!

Now take that concept forward another five to ten years and you can see how traditional PCs could become the exception for light and medium users (which is almost everyone). I've seen the demise of the PC predicted here and there over the years but to finally see some hardware that can actually pull it off (and that you can actually buy) is huge.

Am I alone here?

Definitely not alone!

Not at all, Chris. I'm with you in feeling that this might actually be able to take over everyday duties such as homework and watching TV... And to do that as a phone is incredible.

We've heard a lot of talk recently about 'moving to the cloud,' especially from the folks over at Google, with their Cr-48, but that piece of tech and the OS that's on it simply didn't feel like enough to me. This phone, however, I could seriously see myself using as my main computer, to replace my laptop. With a 32GB microSD card to hold music and pictures, as long as I can hook into my network and access my NAS, I'll be set.

I can't wait for this phone to drop! It might finally be the reason to stop buying BlackBerries...

I stopped buying those recently as well...a friend gave me a torch to use, but, meh.

Back on topic, the whole docking/webtop experience could conceivably replace my laptop except for 2 programs; maybe not right away, but down the road as others have said.

 

[Etrain31]

I will definitely be getting this phone since my AT&T contract is up for renewal in April and hopefully be allowed to grandfather my unlimited data plan. Cant wait!!

 

[uberspeed]

I will definitely be getting this phone since my AT&T contract is up for renewal in April and hopefully be allowed to grandfather my unlimited data plan. Cant wait!!

Thus far they have allowed me to keep my grandfathered unlimited data plan and switch devices quite often.

 

[crea78]

Back on topic, the whole docking/webtop experience could conceivably replace my laptop except for 2 programs; maybe not right away, but down the road as others have said.

I agree, I may have to get rid of my 1st gen MacBook for the laptop dock. I hardly use it anymore, and with the laptop dock, I can take that on the road with me.

 

[crea78]

New video which was just posted on Androidandme.com showcasing the docking features of the Atrix. The run time is 1:24 and appears to be thoughtfully put together. [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4gpOQDcn7c&feature=player_embedded]YouTube - Smarter docks for MOTOROLA ATRIX[/URL]

 

[Mobutu]

I think this will be my carry over device. I'll have a new 2 year contract in March, which will carry me over until LTE is in full blown working status across several carriers. By then there will be something even sweeter.

 

[btgrave]

Some photo comparisons with the Atrix among other upcoming ones:
First Test Photos From the CES 2011 Smartphones

Looks pretty good to me. Compared to the 8MP Bionic, I'm not a super photo connoisseur, so I can't tell much difference anyways.
Can't wait!!

 

[uberspeed]

I think this will be my carry over device. I'll have a new 2 year contract in March, which will carry me over until LTE is in full blown working status across several carriers. By then there will be something even sweeter.

That's how I'm viewing this device as well, chances are I'll "settle" for this and my next one will truly have everything I want.

 

[uberspeed]

As for the cameras while the rear 5MP may be good enough for a quick pic it's the VGA FFC that I feel is rather under spec'd considering so many other things on this handset are frontrunners in their respective categories.

 

[btgrave]

As for the cameras while the rear 5MP may be good enough for a quick pic it's the VGA FFC that I feel is rather under spec'd considering so many other things on this handset are frontrunners in their respective categories.

the i*hone has a VGA FFC and no one really complains about it. I mean why waste valuable space in the device design for a possibly larger more megapixelated camera instead of optimizing the rest of the device?

Not even 10% of the people use a FFC on a regular basis. I'm more on the side of function and form utility over spec-queen

my $0.02