Questions about the Atrix , ... do u recommend it ?

[IceDree]

Hi guys ,

Im planning to Reitre my MileStone 1 soon & I've narrowed my choices to a short list & the Atrix is in the top of my list (for now)


I've reed allot of reviews about the Atrix (In : Android Central , Engadget , GSMarena , Phonearena , ....etc) & I've some questions about the Atrix I was hoping that you
would help me with it (from your personal experience with it), its kinda allot so please bear with me here



1 - The Atrix's Build quality :

The Build quality is very imporatant to me , Since I need a phone that can take a fall & survive from time to time

I know its plastic , but the plastic qulity is different from manufacturer to an anther (The iPhone 3G* build quality is better than the Samsung Galaxy S I9000* ,
from an experience , The MileStone's metal body is way better from the Nokia E75's , again from experience , since own both of them)
How is it compared to the Original Droid ? or the iPhone 3G* ( or even a 1st Gen. iPod Touch*) ? or the BlackBerry curve 8900* ?


I gotta admit , Im a big fan of Motorola's build quality



2 - The Atrix's screen :

You all know that the Atrix is the first phone to have the qHD display & due to the increased resolution of the screen some things looks a bit pixelelated , but my questions are

How is it compared to the Droid\MileStone regular TFT screen ? or the older iPhone screen (like the one in the OG iPhone , 3G , 3G S & iPod touch)

How is it under the sun ? is it readable\clear ?


3 - the Atrix's camera :

Well , some reviews says its bad , while others says its exelent

How is the camera'qualtiy (in capturring pictures & HD videos) ? is good ? or at least compared to the MileStone's camera



4 - The Atrix's speaker :

Again , some say its good , wihle otheres says not

How is it ? compared to the OG Droid\MileStone ?


---- Its kinda get more techincal here :



5 - How is that Dual-core 1GHz cpu

I know that Android doesn't support Dual-Core CPUs yet & that Quad-core CPUs are around the corner , but lets face it its an empty circle , waiting for the next best thing is annoying & we will end up with the same phone we have now , Plus the Atrix's spec.s are making him a future proof (well , kinda , at least for a year or two)



6 - How is the 1GB RAM ?

It is fast ?
as you know some says it uses a 512MP for the phone functions & the other 512MP is reserved for the Webtop app , while other says it uses the whole 1GB for
both (Phone & Webtop)
well , whatever it its , its allot better than the 256MP I've in my MileStone



7 - the 16GB of intrenal storage (its one of things that attracted me to the Atrix) :

can we use more than 2GB for apps ? honestly 2GB is qutie allot compared to the newer phones like the Desrie HD , Incredible S (Basically all the HTC line up) &
The Xpreia line (play , Pro , Neo & Arc) & waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay better than the MileStone's 130 MB !!! (well , thank God for Apps 2 SD)




finally :

guys do u recomend that I should get the Atrix or not ?


This pretty much all what i can think of for now !


The reason im asking all this questions is that im in a Hit or miss situation & 600 dollars is allot of money (for a phone) & I can't just go to a store & try it , since i live in Saudi Arabia & I'll have to ship it
so I need to be sure before i buy it !


So far , beside the Atrix The other phones in my list are : the HTC Mozart , HTC Surround & the Sony Ercisson Xperia Neo , but since I'll wait until Auqest (because im
outta the country now) I'll see the upcoming Motorola phones first
- The Droid\MileStone 3
- The Droid X2 (Which probably gonna be a CDMA only , but Im hoping for a GSM)
- The Bullet (Which probably gonna be a CDMA only)
- The Jet (Which probably gonna be a CDMA only)
- The Targa (which turned out to be the Droid 3's name) , but you know what im talking about

I considered other phones , like :
- HTC Incredible S , but lets face it Its not cool as the orginal & Its not much of an unpgrade from the MileStone
- HTC Sensation , For some reason , I don't like that phone at all , the same with the Galaxy S II





Finally , I wanna thank you all for taking the time to help me with this

Thank you very much , Much Appreciated it





* I'm not an iPhone or a BlackBerry user (My father owns an iPhone 3G , while the rest of my family have BlackBerries - like most of people)
* I don't have a Galaxy S I9000 , but I used one before & I didn't like it
* I DO have a 1st Gen. 16GB iPod Touch (i was an early adaptor)

 

[Terrigno]

Thats a lot you wrote right there buddy but I didnt read it all. I would get the Samsung Infuse on May 15th when it drops. It will most notibly have a bigger and better screen then the Atrix. It has a 1.2Ghz Processor but its snappy enough. This dual core processor heats up the bottom of the phone so quick that eventually Im gonna have to wear Mittens holding this thing. Thats just my expierence. Infuse Camera? 8MP, 1.3 Front. Atrix? 5MP, 2.0 Front, Ram and Internal storage? Im not sure of that, I think the Ram is half then the Atrix and if its like the Captivate, then it should have 16GB on board.

Plus, theres another big thing. The Infuse's 4G is going to be better then the Atrix's. It has a better HSPA+ and higher radio then the Atrix does.

One downfall. The main one. The build quality on the Infuse is gonna be great, but I dont think it will be as "Tough" as the Atrix.

Take that as you will. Also note that Ill be putting the Infuse in my pocket as soon as the buyer on Ebay pays me once I sell my Atrix

 

[sk8trix]

Best way to know,go to the store and use the one there as long as you can and if the rep says anything tell him you want to make sure you like before you buy.

Honestly the build quality is pretty descent even though its mostly plastic it feels really good and along with a nice plastic case you should be ok unless you're three and drop everything.The battery cover is nice and sturdy.and the back grips good so it doesn't slip off your hands

I haven't had any android phones before but did own a 3g and 3gs i clone and I'm sorry to say,the Atrix screen is almost there but not as good,however its still very bright and nice for watching movies.the quality is still very sharp and colors are vivid.

Camera 5mp is good under regular lighting once it gets a bit dark even with the flash(a bit weak) it gets grainy.Video camera is great though even for fast moving objects.you have a simple amount of settings and choices but still good enough,unless you get an app to modify your photos.

Edit** front camera is alright but if you want to take pictures with it it sucks only good for video talk.

Speaker quality is really really clear it loud but not as loud as i would have it but then again i use headphones alot.The equalizer is good as well it doesnt give you alot of presettings but it gives you a nice amount.

CPU gets warm but no in a bad way except for some users...unlucky them,but its crazy fast and handles any app you throw at it.good for games too.From what I've read it handles the webtop very well though if you're planning on using it for work or stuff like that.

RAM-havent had a problem with it at all yet,dont know about the web top i dont own it.

16GBs its okay could be more but you can put an sd card in there and add storage space you shouldnt worry about running out of space like the apple devices do.

If you can live without sideloading and other techy things yes if you want the nexus freedom then no.It depend what you intend to use it for,hope it was some help.

 

[dalvik]

1) if you are fun of Motorola's build quality you might be unpleasantly surprised to find out that back cover of the phone makes
squeaky sound (well on my and others phones as well I found a thread about it yesterday..)
Other than that I'm pretty much OK with the build quality and especially if you happend to break the glass
it will be easy to replace it since its not permanently attached to the display.

2) I don't know about droid/milestone displays but if you compare it with older iphone screens its a bit better
but you see the pixelation anyway when hold it in about 10 -15 centimeters from your eyes
especially noticeable on the battery indicator and on solid yellow/green/blue etc colors,.
i find sun legibility to be OK but not satisfying enough, If you bring up the brightnes all the way up it will improve it
but also eat your battery faster...

3) on my atrix when taking a video the colors are awfully off! it drives me crazy especially if you shooting
outdoors.. as to taking pictures i guees its OK just like any other phone.....

4) The speaker on the phone is located at the bottom back side in the way that when you hold the phone
horizontally while watching video/playing game your finger/palm will inevitably block the speaker thus
redirecting the sound in different directions as you try to move your finger and/or your palm...
overall the quality of the speaker is somewhat mediocre but the finger-blocking thing bothers me the most.

5) Dual-Core is awesome, no lag at all in any situations.. especially gaming.....

6) 1Gb ram is awesome whatever i throw at it it just eats it up

7) As far as I know android 2.2 supports installing apps to sd... but 2GB is really a lot... I just checked my phone it says 1.44gb App storage available.. and i have like 37 apps installed right now... I think outofthebox you have available like around 10gb storage you can utilize it plus of course the microsd.. but there is however a size limitation of 4GB so if you want to transfer a video file thats more than 4gb it wont accept it cuz its FAT32.

finally:
its a very subjective opinion... I am looking into getting Samsung galaxy s II but I am not
sure yet if it will support ATT 4g bands. Atrix is one of the powerful phones on the market
locked bootloader is not an issue for me.. so I think it will be the best choice at the moment.

 

[nyc_rock]

Terrigno, you cant let a thread go by without hyping the infuse!! Seriously though, it looks really sweet and I might just have to check that out. The screen still seems to big, but next to the bolt in the AC video, it didnt look huge. And its super thin. Wondering about the battery life. The GSII, looks better and more future proof. If that comes to ATT I will absolutley take that for a spin.

Anyway, in response to the question. Actually, the answer might be what I just wrote. There are some very good phones coming out, so while the Atrix is great, it might be worth waiting. But......................

1) Build quality is pretty good. Its not Iphone 4, but its good. Lets face it though, its all plastic. Battery cover exhibits no flex at all. Volume buttom is small, but it works well.
2) I dont have issue with pixilation. As a matter of fact, the screen is excellent. Text is clear, colors and good and its nice and bright. The problem I have with it is the odd resolution. 560x940 (if thats right) is having problems with some applications. For instance, Launcher pro displays widgets that are 4x1 left justified. Its just an annoyance but it makes you wonder if the extra resolution is really necessary. I think it adds to the "fragmentation" problem. I have seen the new Incredible 2's screen and it is really sharp also and it's in the standard android resolution.
4) Camera is ok. Not great. Iphone 4 is better.
5) They say its the most powerful phone on the market. The dual core 1 ghz and I gig of Ram are unmatched as far as I know. Needless to say, it works very well. The phone is a beast.

If you need to buy a phone today, then the Atrix is a great choice. Its just that, for full retail, you might want to see what these new releases are all about.

 

[neilk]

Atrix

Back in late Feb I had upgraded to an Atrix but returned it to AT&T after 5 days. I really liked the size and the display but two things kept me from keeping it. The first was I could not install my employers applications to synch with their email server (Notes) since sideloading was disabled. Second, HSUPA was disabled. I knew the HSUPA would get resolved before June per the store manager but there was the lack of built in side loading really annoyed me to the point I was committed to leaving AT&T for Verizon (Bionic). My contract with AT&T expires next month. I will wait until then and see who has what available at that time. One point now in AT&Ts favor is it looks like they have enabled sideloading on the new Infuse 4G they announced today. So I'll see how the reviews go and then check it out. Perhaps I may stay with AT&T if this is their new direction.

 

[slayerx02]

Atrix 4G

I only own an Atrix so I can't really compare it with your other choices but I can answer most of your questions.


Build Quality:
Plastic battery cover and it does creak a little (right side for me, back facing towards me) but it only happens if you're nitpicking. During normal use I don't notice it at all.
Overall for an all plastic body it feels really solid in my hand, the weight also plays a part in the feel. Not too heavy but not feather light that you feel like you can snap it into two.

Screen:
The 3GS screen doesn't even come close to the atrix's screen clarity, sharpness, and brightness.

Usable under the sun with the brightness cranked to maximum.

This maybe part of the build quality but it is worth mentioning this bad boy sports a corning gorilla glass screen, no need for ghost armor unless you absolutely abuse your phone.

Camera:
HD video looks great, pictures looks clear and sharp under ample lighting.

Quick auto focus and takes pictures really fast, you might not like the fact that it doesn't have a dedicated shutter button though.

Speaker:
Earpiece is loud and clear even at high volume settings, loud speaker doesn't crackle at max volume. GPS navigation voice on loudest setting is great.

CPU:
Ill let the smart guys over at xda-dev answer this for ya.
xda-developers - View Single Post - Dev Request: Unlock Full 1GB and both cores

In my experience the UI is super responsive with no noticeable lag or choppiness during normal use. BUT I do notice sometimes a small hesitation with the initial page swipe after a screen unlock.

RAM:
Another question for the guys at xda-dev can take.
xda-developers - View Single Post - Dev Request: Unlock Full 1GB and both cores
tl;dr the phone utilizes all 1GB of RAM. 800~for the system 200~for the GPU

This phone is FAST!

Storage:
Seems 2GB is allocated to apps, 4GB to the OS, rest for storage roughly 10GB.
Get a 16-32GB sd card and forget about it.

Worthy mentions:
the GPS receiver on this phone coupled with the compass is AMAZING! If you can receive GPS signal, navigation updates for re-routes/missed exits or turns are near instantaneous.

Fingerprint scanner is great! I hate using a pin or the pattern unlock. Scans perfect and fast.

LED Flash has a color temp closer to between 45k-50k so its not white.

Latest update upped the download speeds so its actually somewhat closer to 4G speeds where available.

Once gingerbread gets released, the hardware acceleration support will make this phone better. With these specs, I doubt this phone will be outdated anytime soon. It's all up to moto to keep it updated with the latest software though....

Should you get the Atrix?
If you need a great phone now, yes! definitely get the Atrix.

If you can wait then wait, there are always better, faster, cooler looking phones that are being released in such short periods of time now.

 

[attweco]

Best way to know,go to the store and use the one there as long as you can and if the rep says anything tell him you want to make sure you like before you buy....

Exactly!

There are some known potential defects you need to be aware of. They vary from phone to phone, so it's a crap shoot whether you will have one, some, or none of the defects.

1) "muffled voice". With this one, the folks you call can't understand your speaking because the phone muffles your voice so bad.

2) "jumpy screen". With this one, the touch screen has issues which vary from dead spots all the way to going crazy with the phone pushing its own buttons and going completely out of control.

3) Overheating. Some phones get so hot, on the back, that it's unpleasant to hold.

4) Erratic WiFi. Loss of WiFi connection.

Motorola has released OTA patches which attempt to correct some of these. Some handsets have been fixed by the patches, some have not. There has been no patch for the "jumpy screen" issue.

If you do buy an Atrix, be very sure you go over your phone carefully and often, during the 30 day trial period, to make sure you don't have a defective phone. Don't wait for software patches. Just keep returning the phone until you get one which is good.

I like my Atrix, but mine has an intermittant dead spot on the screen and the "muffled voice" issue. I plan to be moving on to a different Android device. But don't be discouraged, yourself. It's a great phone!

 

[Terrigno]

Terrigno, you cant let a thread go by without hyping the infuse!! Seriously though, it looks really sweet and I might just have to check that out. The screen still seems to big, but next to the bolt in the AC video, it didnt look huge. And its super thin. Wondering about the battery life. The GSII, looks better and more future proof. If that comes to ATT I will absolutley take that for a spin.

Anyway, in response to the question. Actually, the answer might be what I just wrote. There are some very good phones coming out, so while the Atrix is great, it might be worth waiting. But......................

1) Build quality is pretty good. Its not Iphone 4, but its good. Lets face it though, its all plastic. Battery cover exhibits no flex at all. Volume buttom is small, but it works well.
2) I dont have issue with pixilation. As a matter of fact, the screen is excellent. Text is clear, colors and good and its nice and bright. The problem I have with it is the odd resolution. 560x940 (if thats right) is having problems with some applications. For instance, Launcher pro displays widgets that are 4x1 left justified. Its just an annoyance but it makes you wonder if the extra resolution is really necessary. I think it adds to the "fragmentation" problem. I have seen the new Incredible 2's screen and it is really sharp also and it's in the standard android resolution.
4) Camera is ok. Not great. Iphone 4 is better.
5) They say its the most powerful phone on the market. The dual core 1 ghz and I gig of Ram are unmatched as far as I know. Needless to say, it works very well. The phone is a beast.

If you need to buy a phone today, then the Atrix is a great choice. Its just that, for full retail, you might want to see what these new releases are all about.

lol your right. Im anxious man. Im getting that itch again. Its gonna have more improvements over the Atrix I do know that. And about the screen size, well I had a Dell Streak. And after a couple of days it wasnt odd making a phone call on it because of the huge screen. That one had a 5" screen and would actually attract people when I was messing around in it at like restaurents and what not. And Im really into Samsungs Super Amoled displays. The best screens Ive ever seen. Super Amoled is better on Battery Life also.

 

[anon(301129)]

I ordered my Atrix online and had it brought down to Mexico when they first came out. I love the phone. Camera could be improved a bit but then I am picky.
The new updates have improved speed and responsiveness. All around... Great. Go for it.

 

[Major]

I had a Samsung Captivate before I had the Atrix, and I can tell you that the Samsung displays colors more vividly and accurately than the Motorola. The Motorola has a higher resolution, however.

You could go back and forth on which has better what, but for me the deciding factor was the overall speed and responsiveness of the device. The Captivate simply couldn't keep up with the dual core Atrix. At 1.2GHz single core, the new Samsung is still going to be slower than the Atrix for most processes. Sure, the Atrix gets warmer than most, but it's hardly unbearable. More importantly, the programming on the Captivate(TouchWiz) has more bugs and performance issues than that on the Atrix(Motoblur).

Unless Samsung has recently gotten way better at modifying the OS with its TouchWiz skin, I would stick with Motorola.

Edit: Don't forget that larger screens usually eat more battery.

 

[sk8trix]

exactly as the above post said.I go for raw power and speed not really concerned with screen display,as long as pictures come out ok im happy as far as video i need it to be good enough to film and not have it screwing up because the fps is crappy.Atrix can handle so much stuff at one time i cant complain about that little monster

Edit* Larger screen doesn't neceseraly mean higher res either.Sometimes its larger but then it comes out pixelated,although the Atrix screen is good but still not the best.

 

[InitialD#AC]

One downfall. The main one. The build quality on the Infuse is gonna be great, but I dont think it will be as "Tough" as the Atrix.

Take that as you will. Also note that Ill be putting the Infuse in my pocket as soon as the buyer on Ebay pays me once I sell my Atrix

Are you sure that you can put 4.5" INFUSE in your pocket? :-! Not my slim-fit jeans for sure!!

 

[wpbfjr]

stay away. quality control of internal components is terrible.

2 updates out of the gate to force software workarounds.

run away from atrix...

 

[DeathBringerZero]

This would be a pretty kickass phone if it had an open bootloader, but alas dumb Motorola has done wrong to us. My opinion so far is that for such a powerhouse, the phone sometimes lags or the screen is unresponsive. As for the display I can say it is pretty good. Better than the Droid X and stuff. I would probably hold out on something for later if you can. I know it's hard waiting for phones to final release, but that is just my 2 cents. Also the battery isn't marvelous like other smartphones.

 

[cajuncartfan]

The Atrix is a great phone in my opinion. I just ported back to AT&T to use it again after using the Thunderbolt for a month. The speed of this thing is awesome compared to the Thunderbolt. I have not experienced any lag at all with it. It annoyed me on the Thunderbolt that when I went to manage apps for example that it would take a few seconds to compile the list whereas the Atrix is pretty near instantaneous.

 

[IceDree]

I would get the Samsung Infuse on May 15th when it drops. It will most notibly have a bigger and better screen then the Atrix. It has a 1.2Ghz Processor but its snappy enough. This dual core processor heats up the bottom of the phone so quick that eventually Im gonna have to wear Mittens holding this thing. Thats just my expierence. Infuse Camera? 8MP, 1.3 Front. Atrix? 5MP, 2.0 Front, Ram and Internal storage? Im not sure of that, I think the Ram is half then the Atrix and if its like the Captivate, then it should have 16GB on board.

Plus, theres another big thing. The Infuse's 4G is going to be better then the Atrix's. It has a better HSPA+ and higher radio then the Atrix does.

One downfall. The main one. The build quality on the Infuse is gonna be great, but I dont think it will be as "Tough" as the Atrix.

Take that as you will. Also note that Ill be putting the Infuse in my pocket as soon as the buyer on Ebay pays me once I sell my Atrix

As much as tempting the Samsung phones (both Infuse & Galaxy S II) , but I gotta pass on this one

well , its not like I hate Samsung or something , but I had bad experiences with Samsung phones , even before android came out (so its not a software update issues , like the Galaxy S variants you have in the US)

& Im NOT gonna make that mistake again

& concerning the HSPA+ (or 4G as they call it) , Im not interested in it , as long as it got a 3G & Wi-Fi Im good !


Thanks for the Advice though , Much Appreciated

 

[IceDree]

Best way to know,go to the store and use the one there as long as you can and if the rep says anything tell him you want to make sure you like before you buy.


If you can live without sideloading and other techy things yes if you want the nexus freedom then no.It depend what you intend to use it for,hope it was some help.

As much as I would love to go to the store & try it , I CAN'T since i live in Saudi Arabia & I've to order\ship the Atrix

This why I'd to ask so many questions about it

Regarding the SideLoading & the Techy things :

SideLoading isn't a problem for me , thanks to the Android Central's Sideloader wonder machine

Techy things , Im not into flashing ROMs

Thanks

 

[IceDree]

1) if you are fun of Motorola's build quality you might be unpleasantly surprised to find out that back cover of the phone makes
squeaky sound (well on my and others phones as well I found a thread about it yesterday..)
Other than that I'm pretty much OK with the build quality and especially if you happend to break the glass
it will be easy to replace it since its not permanently attached to the display




finally:
its a very subjective opinion... I am looking into getting Samsung galaxy s II but I am not
sure yet if it will support ATT 4g bands. Atrix is one of the powerful phones on the market
locked bootloader is not an issue for me.. so I think it will be the best choice at the moment.

Isn't the Atrix suppose to have a gorilla glass ?
from my experience , Gorilla glass ain't easy to break



I agree with you on it being a subjective opinion

 

[IceDree]

If you need to buy a phone today, then the Atrix is a great choice. Its just that, for full retail, you might want to see what these new releases are all about.

Im just doing my HomeWork , Before I decide
since the Atrix is on the top of my short list (the other option is the HTC Mozart)

I'll wait until August (since Im outta the country now) & see

Thanks , much appreciated ...