Motorola Atrix

[Bunjiweb]

Well a lovely woman at Orange just managed to persuade me that I do need a new phone, even though there is really nothing wrong with my HTC Desire (despite just having come back from repair for the 2nd time!)... I have 7 days to try it out and decide whether it is a worthwhile upgrade, otherwise it is going back and I will wait and see what the HTC Evo-3D is like I guess..

It arrives monday, so if anyone has any questions if they are considering purchasing it, let me know and I will do my best to answer them.

Ben

[mcmiller]

I'm considering it as an alternative to my iphone, so i'd like to hear what its like and how much you paid for it?

Whats orange like as a phone provider?

[Bunjiweb]

I switched to Orange from O2 after being infuriated at the way thry treated a customer of 9 years.. I've never looked back as in my area the 3g and hsdpa coverage is far better than o2, and since their merger with T-Mobile I can jump on to their network should their be no Orange coverage.

The handset is supposed to be free on a £35 a month contract but I told the woman that if she wanted me to stay with thdm I wanted it cheaper so she went away and came back saying she could do it for free on a £30 a month contract and give me a free work amd play kit (media dock / wireless keyboard and mouse) as well as adjusting my contract to get unlimited texts, 700 mins and 'unlimited' internet.

Ben

[mcmiller]

I get 10% discount through work on orange so if the phone is good and free its very tempting

[distracted247]

I get 10% discount through work on orange so if the phone is good and free its very tempting

If you are talking about Orange perks then this has changed from 10% to 25% so give them a call to see if the new discount can be applied.

As for the Atrix I love it, I imported one from the US and the AT&T version is really locked down compared to the orange one I have just got on contract. I own 2 media docks and use them frequently, I also have the keyboard and mouse which I use with the dock in the living room.

I like the idea of the lapdock and I've been using it for a while now but I'm still unsure if I'll keep it or not. It certainly works as intended and there's no denying it is slim and light but I already have a laptop and I'm not sure if I would use the lapdock often enough to make it worthwhile.
I'm going to give it a few more weeks and make my mind up then.

I also own a Nexus S, a Galaxy S, a Desire HD and I've just returned a Galaxy S2. Out of them all I prefer the Atrix but wish that it didn't have a locked bootloader so that the dev community could really get their teeth into it and set the hardware free. Mind you if this never happens the stock orange ROM is smooth enough to keep me happy... if I had to use the AT&T version I would definately be returning the phone though!

[Nabobalis]

I wonder what it is like compared to Galaxy S 2

[Bunjiweb]

Atrix has better build quality, better screen, specs compare well, but Atrix is slightly thicker...

[SiM]

Atrix has better build quality, better screen, specs compare well, but Atrix is slightly thicker...

The atrix screen is kind of worse because it uses pentile pixels... so there are actually less subpixels than a SGS2 even though the "resolution" is higher... and the SGS2 is super amoled!

If the HTC Sensation doesn't use pentile pixels then it will be the one to go for if you want the highest res screen...

I personally dislike the fuzzy text caused by pentile pixels (on my HTC desire), so I'd prefer the SGS2 if the Sensation is pentile too.

[MadduckUK]

specs compare well,

not in reality they don't

[Bunjiweb]

Do you want to justify that comment?

I saw both these phones at gadgt show live 2011 and had extensive time to hands on and compare. The SGS2 processor, whilst having a higher lock speed is not as competant as the tegra, especially for 3d. The AMOLED screen whilst supposidely brighter in doors looked no better in reality, the atrix screen is extremely bright and vibrant and works much better out doors.

And did I mention the flimsy build quality of the SGS2.

Ben

[SiM]

Here are some benchmarks:

Nordic hardware has quite extensive testing between the Tegra 2 and Exynos here:

Ram and storage
Browsing
CPU
3D and gaming
Multitasking

Note that the article is in Swedish, but the actual performance charts are in English.

Source

(SGS2 has fps capped at 60)

IMO, it's between the Sensation and the SGS2... not considering Atrix because of the lower spec and pentile screen, but I agree SGS2 is very flimsy - especially the back cover!

[Hicks12]

atrix feels so much better in the hand then the SGS2 (IMO) as the SGS2 feels so cheap and nasty its something id associate with a <£100 phone... spec wise its great and the screen is meant to be good but its god damn expensive!

Ive just gone for the LG Optimus 2x, seems to be a huge amount of support on xda forums and performance is great, similar spec as samsung/atrix obviously the screen is a let down but im comming from a HD2 with 56k colours so im really not fussed! And the fact that i managed to get phones4u to do the Optimus 2x for £17.70 p/m on orange with 300mins/unlimited text/unlimited email/500mb data, the £17.70 was a price match to dial a phone along with throwing in what id get from quidco! Equivilant SGS2 tarrif seems to be like £30 p/m, sensation is £35 at voadafone at the minute and atrix is around the £25 mark.


Funny thing... i went in orange to look for new phone and the guy was advertising the atrix and saying how good it is, seemed like a great chap (praised windows etc, fair comments) but it seems Orange(or atleast this store sign) are detailing the atrix SOC (tegra 2) as a 2GHZ dual core processor i didnt say anything but as soon as i left i was like... WTF if tegra2 hit 2ghz i think everyone would have known about it, clearly they are doing the idiot move where they double up the number cause its dual core.. lol.

[rox0r]

I have an SGS2 and I honestly don't think it feels flimsy or cheap. And I'm not just saying that because I'm defending my purchase like a rabid fanboi, I've moved from a Desire to the SGS2 and I really do feel the SGS2 feels equally as nice. It's lighter than the Desire which is a plus but still feels to be very sturdy, it doesn't feel like it would break in my pocket.

Everyone moans about the battery cover being thin and bendy but come on, do you have the battery cover off every day or something? Yes it is quite flexible but when attached to the phone it clips in very snug and secure and they did it to trim the weight down and make the SGS2 as thin as it is, which believe me is nice in the pocket.

[mcmiller]

How are you finding the SGS2 roxor? I wouldnt mind a new phone and im torn between waiting for the iphone 4s (5) or getting one of these

[rox0r]

Honestly? I really can't fault it. The Desire was a great piece of kit but the SGS2 knocks it into a cocked hat on all fronts.

My only niggles with it were minor, I didn't like the lack of a notification LED but I've since solved that with the NoLED app.