The Motorola Atrix 4G Preview
by Anand Lal Shimpi on February 13, 2011 3:18 AM ESTFinal Words
It's still too early to draw any final conclusions about the Atrix 4G, I've got a lot more testing ahead of me in the weeks to come. I've shared quite a few of my thoughts in this preview already so the least I can do is recap them.
The build quality and form factor of the Atrix 4G are both excellent. I typically prefer large screen devices on Android and the 4-inch display in this case is perfectly matched. The Atrix isn't too thick and it doesn't feel cheap either. These are the things Motorola stands for and the Atrix 4G does not disappoint.
I have to take issue with the Atrix 4G name itself. As an HSPA+ phone you don't get the same network performance on the Atrix as you would from a WiMAX or LTE device.
The PenTile LCD may be an issue for some. I'm mostly pleased with the display but I'm also not someone who is overly bothered by the PenTile grid. I do appreciate the 960 x 540 resolution in Android and that makes up for PenTile in my opinion. I realize that others won't feel the same way so if PenTile is an issue for you then this may be a deal breaker for the Atrix.
The Motoblur UI is ok. I don't consider it too much of a distraction but I also don't consider it a selling point over competing devices. I personally prefer it to the Optimus 2X UI, but I'd rather have something even closer to the stock Android interface/setup.
Motorola's Phone Portal is a neat idea. I like having the ability to look at my SMSes on my computer without having to get my phone. I'm not sure how frequently I'd use Phone Portal (I only really needed to use it for this article, so far I haven't had a real world use for it) but it's a nice feature to have.
Motorola also has the right mentality behind its hardware dock strategy for the Atrix, the only problem is pricing. The Laptop Dock is just too expensive - it realistically needs to be $199 at most. The HD Multimedia Dock is a little better if you have a HDMI monitor you can use, but it's not too useful for travel (since you have to still carry around a keyboard/mouse and you need a display with an HDMI input).
The webtop Linux environment has a lot of potential. I like the idea of being able to run a full blown desktop OS along with a desktop browser on your smartphone. Thanks to the Cortex A9s the performance surprisingly good for light browsing, but anything above and beyond that doesn't work well. While Motorola may add additional features here I'm betting we'll need a newer generation of SoCs before the webtop usage model makes practical sense.
Performance within Android is excellent thanks to NVIDIA's Tegra 2. My only complaint is the Atrix is still running Froyo and I want the GPU accelerated UI from Gingerbread. Other than some scrolling hiccups, the Atrix 4G is comfortably quick. It's my favorite Android smartphone I've used thus far. I realize that is typically how Android smartphones work. Each new flagship release is almost always the best until the next one comes along in a few months.
Minus the PenTile LCD and the arguably overconfigured Motoblur UI, I'd say the Atrix 4G is probably the best combination of build quality, feature set, battery life and performance I've seen in an Android smartphone thus far. I will reserve final judgement until I've spent more time with the device but so far that's what it feels like to me.
That being said, I am currently at MWC and I'm expecting a bunch of new Android smartphones to be announced based on TI's OMAP 4, NVIDIA's Tegra 2 and Qualcomm's 8660. While the Atrix 4G may be the best combination I've seen thus far, the year isn't even half over yet.
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evan919 - Sunday, February 13, 2011 - link
Hi Anand,The reason the Atrix 4G (and consequently the Inspire 4G) suffer from UMTS-sh upload speeds is because AT&T requests the handset manufacturer to disable HSUPA. The same thing occured with every smartphone besides the iPhone 4 on AT&Ts network. I have a Captivate that has HSUPA enabled by flashing the modem firmware with an HSUPA enabled firmware. Just a little insight. I'm enjoying the review.
http://emuneee.com/2011/02/is-att-disabling-hsupa-...
shabby - Sunday, February 13, 2011 - link
Those are just pathetic speeds, 4g my ass att. Im getting 6mbps down and 3mbps up on rogers 3g network with my captivate using bells unlocked hspa modem.FrozenAsset - Sunday, February 13, 2011 - link
Unless I'm missing something, why waste money on a dock? Can you bypass a dock completely?Can you not just provide your own keyboard / mouse and attach by USB hub or connect by Bluetooth?
It comes with it's own HDMI cable, cant you use that to connect to an HDMI monitor or TV and browse the web at the same time without also paying for tethering?
The dock I have for my Panasonic TV / iPod is a dumb dock, no chip, no software just a place to sit it and connect to the TV. Why would anyone spend that kind of money on something like that?
Mumrik - Sunday, February 13, 2011 - link
It's up to you whether you'll take this as a compliment (personally) or an insult (to the site), but Anand, you are by far the best writer at Anandtech. I'm far more likely to read every word of an article if you wrote it, and as I started to read this one I was immediately able to tell that you were the author.SpartanJet - Sunday, February 13, 2011 - link
On the "The qHD Screen: A Pentile LCD?" you have a thumbnail of both the iPhone LCD and the Atrix LCD unfortunately when you click on the thumbnail they both link to the same picture.I'm really interested in this phone but the screen seems like I'd fall into the "it would bug me" group. I pre-ordered this phone now looking at that screen I'm starting to have my doubts. I think the screens are the 2nd most important feature on these smartphones.
JCheng - Sunday, February 13, 2011 - link
What's the first most important feature?notposting - Sunday, February 13, 2011 - link
Hey Anand,I thought I remember seeing that the power button doubles as a fingerprint scanner on the Atrix but I didn't see you mention it.
Interesting perspective on how things work in the technological fields...this may be the first of it's kind but probably won't be the one that really hits that balance of price and performance just yet...nice demonstration unit though.
Also agree with the other poster...very well written article. :)
PubicTheHare - Sunday, February 13, 2011 - link
Anand,I didn't see a reference to the bootloader. I know Moto likes to lock it up (Droid X, Droid 2). Any idea if they did it with the Atrix?
If so, we can assume they will do it with the Bionic (please preview this one, too!).
Have fun at MWC!
sid1712 - Monday, February 14, 2011 - link
Anand, you've written that the OptimuxS2X has 4" Super AMOLED display instead of the IPS LCD that it has.Also, it would be great if you would give your opinion on the call quality via the earpiece and the loudspeaker quality. Do the dual microphones improve the call quality significantly ?
Cheers
TareX - Tuesday, February 15, 2011 - link
I'm extremely disappointed with the PenTile LCD.... even Samsung fixed that with the new SAMOLED PLUS displays... I knew there had to be catch with the Atrix 4G.I'm even more disappointed with the contrast and brightness... isn't anything competitive with Apple's IPS? I'm starting to believe Apple really does make the best hardware decisions.
I am disappointed.... I like Motoblur, actually. I would take it over anything LG makes. Sigh.