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Some Atrix 4G Impressions, Good Read.

solidkevin

Android Enthusiast
Nov 30, 2009
407
12
Samsung is a current Android leader as it boosted its sales gradually until it reached the summit. Special thanks should go to Galaxy S and its modifications. Taking into account that many companies decided to bet on Android and for some success in this segment means survival, Samsung leadership is quite an irritator. Rivals try as hard as they can to differentiate from Samsung products. Interestingly, Sony Ericsson is lagging behind as it has no investment to create modern handsets, so it packs old hardware into glossy plastic and metal. The unveiling of Sony Ericsson Arc confirms that this strategy can work at least partially. People like the looks of the model and are emotional about it, which is not bad. It is a temporary solution, because you cannot hide hardware drawbacks.

Another thing is LG and Motorola. Both companies decided to offer products different from those of Samsung. With this in mind they had to unveil products distinct from Samsung phones. They needed a unique selling point and banked on Nvidia Tegra2. We cannot expect that Samsung will get rid of its own processors (developed and produced by the company). By adopting Tegra Motorola and LG managed to get an early advantage. This phenomenon is not permanent, because in the second part of 2011 Samsung will definitely offer its own dual core processors and the competition will heat up.

In 2011 Nvidia plans to ship 15 million Tegra2 processors. It is only the beginning of the road and here we count not only phones, but tablets as well. The market is just starting to grow without damaging Samsung and its sales. That is why it does not hurry to unveil its dual core products as the current crop is still selling like hot cakes. This creates an opportunity for LG and Motorola to get their share of Samsung market and steal a bit of its limelight. For example, Motorola ATRIX 4G or its variations will remain one of the strongest Android offerings. Rivals will not be able to do anything as LG has a largely similar model.

In my article on Motorola at CES 2011 I described the features of ATRIX 4G, so without repeating myself I would rather share first impressions from the handset.

The model fits any hand well and though bulky it does not interfere with user experience. The weight is appropriate too. What else can I say? The screen is not mind boggling. Surprisingly, my first impression was that it can rival Apple iPhone 4, but after careful examination and comparison with other models I have to admit that it is rather standard. The picture in commercial samples is not that bright and sharp.
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Inside we have Android with MOTOBLUR 1.5. I liked this combination in DEFY and it impresses here too. The phone is fast and you can clearly see it when handling images. Comparison with my HTC Desire makes me feel pity that Desire is too slow. You can obviously measure performance in special parameters and compare test results. Sadly, this scientific approach is far removed from real life and shows nothing. All in all I can say that the model is fast. It is one of the fastest I tested for a long time. By the way LG Optimus X2 offers similar speed.

Battery is the weakest point according to many pundits who had no chance of testing the phone. Active use on AT&T network from midnight to midday takes away 50% of the charge, which is excellent for a new phone in active use. Let's consider it will operate at least one day. Earlier Motorola handsets were not better and the same applies to Android phones in general. So these fears are not grounded.

The ringtones are loud and make me feel extremely fine. My overall impressions coincide with those of DROID/Milestone a year ago. It is one of the best Android models and its specifications are top-notch. I cannot comment on camera, but I don't expect considerable improvements. In general we have a pleasant phone, which we can view as a flagship to wet mouths of gadget fans. I would definitely like to have one. Motorola is waking up. Well done!
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Holy crap... exactly who was using the phone from midnight to 12pm? lol Well even if that's "normal" use... 12 hours and still at 50% is HUGE, but since he said "active" use... I expect that's higher than "normal". The Droid X isn't as good and it has the best battery performance of the Android phones (at least according to Anandtech)... but then again, it has a smaller battery.

Something that I'm really looking forward to seeing in person is the screen quality with the added pixels. I'm quite anal about screen quality (one of the main reason the Fascinate repulsed me while looking at text). As a person who can't stand anything lower than 1440x900 now on a 13" screen and 1680x1050 on a 15" screen and 1920x1200 on a 17" screen... I am very concerned with DPI. If the new resolution is a big improvement over the current resolution on the jumbo-sized Android phones... then I'll be VERY happy and unable to go back. I love the iPhone 4's screen. It's really impossible for me to discern a pixel on text... and that's a very good thing.
 
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The market is just starting to grow without damaging Samsung and its sales. That is why it does not hurry to unveil its dual core products as the current crop is still selling like hot cakes.

This is a pretty dangerous move by Samsung. Given the history of Nvidia and the products they produce, if i were a competing company I would match them chip for chip as fast as I could. Nvidia is pretty good at making chips, and making very powerful ones at that.
 
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I'm assuming by midday he means noon. So if the phone lasts 12 hours with "active use" and still has 50% left that's pretty impressive.

Especially considering the QHD display and the powerful processor.

And we all know that when you are first using a phone - your use tends to be higher than your normal use after you finish downloading all your apps and you finish playing with your settings. So - half the battery at the point he is describing is pretty good.
 
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Yeah, this was definitely translated from Russian; I trust Eldar Murtazin (the previewer) though, he's had the inside scoop on smartphones since my s60 days many years ago. He always manages to get exclusives and early looks at thing no one else ever sees. Always struck me as a pretty fair reviewer too.
 
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Yeah, this was definitely translated from Russian; I trust Eldar Murtazin (the previewer) though, he's had the inside scoop on smartphones since my s60 days many years ago. He always manages to get exclusives and early looks at thing no one else ever sees. Always struck me as a pretty fair reviewer too.

+1. Eldar has been "the guy" in the smartphone biz for who knows how long.
 
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bro something is wrong with your captivate. With HEAVY use i mean HEAVY i get easy 12 hours

Maybe, oh well i am ditching it soon anyway. I noticed that battery life degraded quickly after about a month. I use an auto-kill task manager that i trust and screebl and those bought me about an extra hour or so, and i use two (weekly re-trained) batteries to make it through the day. But i use live wallpapers and many widgets, at least two on every screen, and the battery monitor reflects nothing out of the ordinary (mainly the display at around 65% of battery use). I just use it harder than most i guess and i refuse to compromise what i want the phone to look like and do to fix a short coming of the phone (sammy could have used a bigger battery).
 
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Maybe, oh well i am ditching it soon anyway. I noticed that battery life degraded quickly after about a month. I use an auto-kill task manager that i trust and screebl and those bought me about an extra hour or so, and i use two (weekly re-trained) batteries to make it through the day. But i use live wallpapers and many widgets, at least two on every screen, and the battery monitor reflects nothing out of the ordinary (mainly the display at around 65% of battery use). I just use it harder than most i guess and i refuse to compromise what i want the phone to look like and do to fix a short coming of the phone (sammy could have used a bigger battery).


I spoke to soon lol mines taking a crap today. Off the charger at 1030 heavy use today its 325 and im down to 40 % WTF
 
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