Dilemma: Thunderbolt or Atrix

[jrm390]

So I've got a bit of a dilemma here. I'm currently an AT&T customer with an Iphone 3GS and i'm ready to make the jump to Android.

Originally I was going to stick with ATT and get the Atrix, but after reading some reviews I got a little hesitant and started looking elsewhere. That's when I stumbled upon the Thunderbolt.

I currently have both phones on preorder and I'm trying to decide which one I should go with. Any suggestions?

 

[jayishere]

Thunderbolt, you're already here...faster, better phone anyway. Look at Wirefly, I believe they have a review on both phones.

 

[jrm390]

Yeah I'm leaning towards the TB, the only reason I may stick with ATT is that I'm currently in a family plan which I'm the main number and my Fiance's plan isn't up for another 6 months. (not patient enough to wait.. tired of my Iphone)

So I'm not too sure how much of a hassle that will be or how much money it will cost me to switch over.

You're right though.. the reviews of the Atrix haven't been too flattering.

 

[rdubbs007]

Plus, I mean... it's Motorola. Ew.

 

[mgymnop]

So I've got a bit of a dilemma here. I'm currently an AT&T customer with an Iphone 3GS and i'm ready to make the jump to Android.

Originally I was going to stick with ATT and get the Atrix, but after reading some reviews I got a little hesitant and started looking elsewhere. That's when I stumbled upon the Thunderbolt.

I currently have both phones on preorder and I'm trying to decide which one I should go with. Any suggestions?

The Atrix is by far the faster phone but if you are not a gamer you probably don't need that anyway. The network of AT&T is 3G and maybe HSDPA but the fastest phone doesn't matter if your network is slow. Believe me I had a MT4G on T-mobile. It is a great fast phone but the network speeds I saw were never faster than 3G even if it was supposed to be HSDPA (4G). The same they saw so far for the Atrix and the AT&T network. The Thunderbolt is a slower phone but if the network is really LTE 4G and it works as supposed to then you can expect blazing fast speeds. Time will tell. If you don't live in a Verizon 4G LTE area and you have no problems with reception and speed with AT&T I would go with the Atrix. Read the reviews and look if the phone is for you. I switch probably to the Thunderbolt. I don't care about dual core: I am not a gamer. I care about good coverage and speedy internet. Additionally I like HTC phones so except Verizon postpones the release to March I go with the Thunderbolt.

 

[mgymnop]

Yeah I'm leaning towards the TB, the only reason I may stick with ATT is that I'm currently in a family plan which I'm the main number and my Fiance's plan isn't up for another 6 months. (not patient enough to wait.. tired of my Iphone)

So I'm not too sure how much of a hassle that will be or how much money it will cost me to switch over.

You're right though.. the reviews of the Atrix haven't been too flattering.

The phone itself got very good reviews just the accessories got bad reviews.

 

[jayishere]

I mean, having to use Blur alone throws out all Motorolla devices.

 

[jrm390]

The phone itself got very good reviews just the accessories got bad reviews.

Yeah to be more accurate it was the price of the accessories and the network itself that got bad reviews. I live in Northern VA just outside of DC, so I have access to Verizon LTE and ATT HSPA+. Anybody have any speed tests from Verizon in the area?

I'm pretty sure I'm going to go with the TB now, just have to figure out how all the account stuff will work. Hopefully it won't get too expensive.

 

[jrm390]

I mean, having to use Blur alone throws out all Motorolla devices.

I have very limited experience with Android, so i don't know the difference between Blur/Sense. I do however like to have control over my phone (jailbroke Iphone) and from what I read it looks like Moto/ATT make that fairly difficult.

 

[rdubbs007]

Here is what I have to say to all reviews:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWdd6_ZxX8c&feature=related

 

[ska.t73]

I have very limited experience with Android, so i don't know the difference between Blur/Sense. I do however like to have control over my phone (jailbroke Iphone) and from what I read it looks like Moto/ATT make that fairly difficult.

If that is the case then yes you will want the Thunderbolt. HTC has supported the dev community. In fact there is already root on the Thunderbolt (jailbreaking in Android speak), it was acheived on one of the review units, however they have said that as long as nothing major is changed we should be able to root the phone at launch.

This is very important to me as well and is one of the main reasons I will support HTC and the Thunderbolt. Coming from a phone that had a huge Dev community and support (OG Droid) I can't bring myself to step back to not having full control of my phone.

Motorola has not only locked down their bootloaders, but have been down right confruntational towards devs. The only Moto product I'm even going to consider buying at this point would be th Xoom.

 

[ckochinsky125]

you also have to consider that verizon just is starting their 4g network so there are bound to be some issues not to mention the fact that 4g isnt very widespread yet. Its all what you want I mean if you plan to stay with the phone for the full contract I would look towards the more future proof in the atrix since later version's of OS's and apps will be more capable of working with dual core

 

[Left Coast DJ]

Trying to decide between the Atrix vs. Thunderbolt myself. I will check both out when they're released to make my final decision. But here's what I'm looking at:

Atrix:

Pros:

• 4" form-factor will fit in my hand and pocket really well
• Enormous battery
• qHD screen with dpi that challenges Apple's Retina resolution
• Gorilla glass scratch-resistant screen

Cons:

• No 1-year contract option with AT&T
• ATT's crappy network (All of the Atrix reviews are mentioning how the Atrix network connection on 4G is slower than iPhone's 3G speeds.). Even if ATT upgrades their network, should I be locked into a 2-year contract while waiting indefinitely for ATT to bring 4G speeds?

Thunderbolt:

Pros:

• Verizon's badass LTE network
• Most likely available on a 1-year contract for an extra $70 (this probably negates Atrix's dual core feature since by the time my 1-year contract expires next year, I can get a quad, hexa, or octo core phone. lulz)
• NetFlix and Skype enabled out of the gate
• HTC Sense is supposed to be a better user experience than Motoblur

Cons:

• Giant 4.3 screen that could be like something out of Spinal Tap when in your pants pocket
• Screen resolution is suspect

 

[tigris67]

Trying to decide between the Atrix vs. Thunderbolt myself. I will check both out when they're released to make my final decision. But here's what I'm looking at:

Atrix:

Pros:

• 4" form-factor will fit in my hand and pocket really well
• Enormous battery
• qHD screen with dpi that challenges Apple's Retina resolution
• Gorilla glass scratch-resistant screen

Cons:

• No 1-year contract option with AT&T
• ATT's crappy network (All of the Atrix reviews are mentioning how the Atrix network connection on 4G is slower than iPhone's 3G speeds.). Even if ATT upgrades their network, should I be locked into a 2-year contract while waiting indefinitely for ATT to bring 4G speeds?

Thunderbolt:

Pros:

• Verizon's badass LTE network
• Most likely available on a 1-year contract for an extra $70 (this probably negates Atrix's dual core feature since by the time my 1-year contract expires next year, I can get a quad, hexa, or octo core phone. lulz)
• NetFlix and Skype enabled out of the gate
• HTC Sense is supposed to be a better user experience than Motoblur

Cons:

• Giant 4.3 screen that could be like something out of Spinal Tap when in your pants pocket
• Screen resolution is suspect

Does this mean that the Thunderbolt's screen will not be too durable and scratch easily? My housemate owns an Iphone 4 and has had it since its release. He's yet to place a screen protector on it and the screen is crystal clear with no marks or scratches on it. I was hoping I could do the same and do w/o a protector with the Bolt.

Either he's incredible careful, or the Iphone's screen durability is superb.

 

[jayishere]

I'd use a protector just to be safe no matter the phone

 

[rdubbs007]

Always use protection. Just sayin.

 

[jayishere]

That's what my health teacher taught me anyway

 

[lamoglinsgal]

I cannot stand AT&T. So there you have it.

 

[xjestersdeadx]

I mean, having to use Blur alone throws out all Motorolla devices.

Here, here. Blur is the reason I choked when I saw a review of the Atrix on a news channel. You can pay $600 or whatever for a "laptop" to dock it with...cool, yes, but with Blur on the phone, it sucks.

I'm not anti-Moto either, I'm a Droid user, have loved it, but the taking away of ROOT + Blur means I am seriously considering the TB over the Bionic as well.

 

[snuggles]

Trying to decide between the Atrix vs. Thunderbolt myself. I will check both out when they're released to make my final decision. But here's what I'm looking at:

Atrix:

Pros:

• 4" form-factor will fit in my hand and pocket really well
• Enormous battery
• qHD screen with dpi that challenges Apple's Retina resolution
• Gorilla glass scratch-resistant screen

Cons:

• No 1-year contract option with AT&T
• ATT's crappy network (All of the Atrix reviews are mentioning how the Atrix network connection on 4G is slower than iPhone's 3G speeds.). Even if ATT upgrades their network, should I be locked into a 2-year contract while waiting indefinitely for ATT to bring 4G speeds?

Thunderbolt:

Pros:

• Verizon's badass LTE network
• Most likely available on a 1-year contract for an extra $70 (this probably negates Atrix's dual core feature since by the time my 1-year contract expires next year, I can get a quad, hexa, or octo core phone. lulz)
• NetFlix and Skype enabled out of the gate
• HTC Sense is supposed to be a better user experience than Motoblur

Cons:

• Giant 4.3 screen that could be like something out of Spinal Tap when in your pants pocket
• Screen resolution is suspect

Thunderbolt PRO for me, GIANT 4.3 screen yes!!!!

 

[sean76]

This is an easy one....let the network pick the phone for you! Meaning Whatever network gives you better reception and speed where You live. I'll tell you right now I live in NYC and my at&t service has been straight terrible as of late, just damn wretched. So much so that my Lady just jumped ship from the at&t iPhone to the vzw one, and I'm bouncing too as soon as vzw gets some new Blackberry goodness in. This is just based on my experience, in the last year the network has just gone downhill. But like I said, that's just been my experience! You have to with what works well for you in your area.

 

[jrm390]

Thanks for the info. I'm picking up my Atrix today to test it out for a few days. Pretty sure I'm going with the TB, but might as well test out the Atrix. Hopefully the TB comes out within the next 30 days so I can do some side by side testing. I live right outside DC so I should be able to get the best of both networks and run some speed tests.

 

[Teegunn]

I find it funny that some think 4.3" is this HUGE phone.... it doesn't make the phone much bigger people. But it DOES make a much more useable screen size. I personally am looking for a phone coming out with a 4.5" screen. For me I believe that is the sweet spot for screen size on a phone. Any bigger then I would go towards a tablet. But coming from my Inc to my DX by FAR the biggest advantage is the extra screen real estate. Makes a big difference IMHO.

 

[ckochinsky125]

I find it funny that some think 4.3" is this HUGE phone.... it doesn't make the phone much bigger people. But it DOES make a much more useable screen size. I personally am looking for a phone coming out with a 4.5" screen. For me I believe that is the sweet spot for screen size on a phone. Any bigger then I would go towards a tablet. But coming from my Inc to my DX by FAR the biggest advantage is the extra screen real estate. Makes a big difference IMHO.

because not everyone wants a huge phone. Yes 4.3 is nice but 4 inch IMO is the sweet spot. Nobody wants a brick in their pockets when they are carrying around a phone.

 

[Wolfedude88]

because not everyone wants a huge phone. Yes 4.3 is nice but 4 inch IMO is the sweet spot. Nobody wants a brick in their pockets when they are carrying around a phone.

While I agree that the 4 inch screen on the Fascinate is nice, I thought there was a video with the Thunderbolt being almost the exact size. I personally want a bigger screen, as long as they keep the bezel small, which seems to be the key.