Ex-iPhone 4 owners, what do you think of the Atrix?

[CellPhoneFreak]

Ex- iPhone 4 owners, i would like to hear your opinions on the Atrix's build quality, display and speaker quality. I'm debating between this and the htc thunderbolt, but don't want to keep purchasing and returning phones - I already tried out the htc inspire and liked it overall.

Thanks...

 

[iPhoneMilk]

I'm not really a fan.. but i just got this to be a toy to keep me busy until the iPhone 5...

couple of my gripes? Well.. for one the data speeds are slower. and i've tried all the tricks.

It is indeed fast, and i enjoy it, and it handles 3D games WAY better, it does. Already play dungeon defenders and it flies. Yet the Android OS itself is STILL slower and not as solid as iPhone OS..
this is most likely because we are still on 2.2 =/

Movies.. i have NO access to any of my Digital movie and tv show purchases What so ever.. i have to jump through freaking HOOOPS to hack DRM off digital files and Re encode them JUST to get movies and tv on my phone?

This is a BASIC feature smartphones should have, and EVEN windows phone 7 has and does very well. im still shocked after all these years Android doesn't have a digital supplier what so ever other then Amazon MP3's

 

[Droid_Genius]

Yea no Netflix is a deal breaker for me and I was reading a few sites saying that issues may happen with the apps not being wrote for use with dual core and I also was worried about that battery cause Android loves letting apps run in the background. As far as hardware that thing is an animal. Going in store to play with it some more and wish that thing shipped with 2.3 and retina display is still the best even though it's a half inch smaller

 

[iPhoneMilk]

It reallyis a great phone so far ... but also the web browser is no comparison to iOS. And all the iphone has skype video calling.

 

[motionxxusxx]

Uncortunately I'll be returning mine tomorrow and going back to my iPhone 4. Wifi strength is definitely weaker than the iPhone 4. I missed the retina display and build quality of the iPhone. I will miss the integrated google services on the atrix.

 

[Loriolus]

Guys how's the reception compared to ip4? One thing that really irritates me about ip4 is the reception, and it's the major reason I'm considering the atrix. Motos in general have a very good reception along with blackberries.

 

[Droid_Genius]

Yea think I will wait to see what iPhone 5 does....I been seeing mixed reviews and little quirks that I am not ready to deal with

 

[Sobe]

Guys how's the reception compared to ip4? One thing that really irritates me about ip4 is the reception, and it's the major reason I'm considering the atrix. Motos in general have a very good reception along with blackberries.

I'm coming from the iPhone 3g, and im noticing much better reception.

 

[motionxxusxx]

Can't really say but at my house which is a weak signal area the iPhone maintains a steady connection while the atrix often drops to edge and no signal and than back to a few bars of h+.

 

[dsjr2006]

Downsides:
I'm not too happy with the screen(PenTile sucks). Clarity is good as long as it's not too close, but color & viewing angles aren't too great and the responsiveness of the screen doesn't seem to be as good as the iPhone 4, but that could be the keyboard (I've tried all of the including + Gingerbread keyboard).

Reception is strong; though, the data speeds are slower in general (could be solved by figuring out how to enable HSUPA).

Still getting used to power button/fingerprint scanner location, but I think it'll grow on me. Don't like that fingerprint being is use requires lock immediately upon screen off rather than allowing 15 minutes (could be a symptom on MS Exchange policies though).

Camera is not anywhere near as good.

Battery life great for Android, but not as good as iPhone 4.

Even though it flies, it still feels slower than iPhone and overall seems to lack the same build quality and polish.

Usual Android gripes apply (Many favorite apps not as good or missing).

Upsides:
Apps in market that could never make it into the App Store (though many are available in Cydia).

Bigger screen & just right size

HDMI out rather than Component video

MicroUSB charger now more common

Voice quality seems better after a few quick calls

Android Notifications

Fingerprint scanner

Social Networking Integration

 

[coreymcl]

I agree with many of the comments on the differences between the iPhone 4 and Android in general. What made me get an Android phone was the desire for something new. I have owned every iPhone since it's release and felt I just needed a change.

The iPhone 4 has it's flaws, including dropping calls at least for me. This is not to say the Atrix or Inspire and other Android phones don't have any flaws as they all do. Like you I am testing out the Inspire and the Atrix and seriously considered the Thunderbolt. My problem with the Thunderbolt is my concerns that the phone is not ready which might be the reason for the delays. It's such a change and new technology I'm not willing to switch carriers for it just yet.

As for the Inspire verse the Atrix it's a tough choice, both have pro's and both have con's.

For me the Atrix has the hardware spec's to handle several more releases of Andorid before it can't handle the new OS. For my use case the better external speaker and improved battery life is more important than the Sense UI, which is eye candy there's no denying it.

Plus if your an iTunes user like me Motorola has a better syncing solution for your iTunes music at least if you also use a MAC.

I hope this helps

 

[disneyluva]

My biggest gripe and frankly a deal breaker...NO VISUAL VOICEMAIL!!

 

[adum784]

After coming from the iphone, which I owned since the first one a few years back now. I can say with out a doubt. The droid OS is much better with the dual core. Not sure what a poster meant about iOS being more solid, in what way? I havent had an app crash on me yet with my droid, while that happened constantly on my iphone. And the browser Ive noticed to be MUCH more responsive then the one on my iphone. Im even using them as we speak and its not even a comparison in terms of smoothness and speed, atrix blows it away.

Cant beat the customization either, if you want to keep looking at the same grid design day in and day out be my guest. Missing apps from the marketplace is a small gripe, that will sort it self out over time. Although I miss my netflix BIG TIME. I loved that app. true multitasking is also huge. didnt realize how much i wanted it or would have utilized it before I had it. Awesome battery life on the atrix so far, used to carry my usb charger with me for my iphone, not needed for my atrix. Screen resolution is great, slightly less detailed then the iphone, but bigger, so its kind of a draw there. Reception has been the same so far, call quality is good on both.

So basically im VERY happy moving from my iphone to the atrix.
The iphone is a solid phone no doubt. but its an older generation phone now, and it shows when compared to the atrix.

 

[CellPhoneFreak]

Great responses here....let's keep it going.

 

[asuprice]

My biggest gripe and frankly a deal breaker...NO VISUAL VOICEMAIL!!

Yes there is. It's called google voice. Much better than iOS visual voicemail.

 

[kuj]

Having had the iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4, the Atrix hardware is awesome. I love the 4in screen and the overall feel of the phone. The only downside is I have a lot more touch screen mistakes. It could be due to the glass (it feels like plastic).

On the OS front, iOS is more polished in terms of looks and useability. Feature wise, Android beats it. Endless customization options. I used to be a fan of true multitasking but having come from iOS, true multitasking, IMO, is not needed. I am having to manage my apps to keep my battery in check. Some will say I don't need to manage my apps because it has 1GB of RAM, but even with 1GB of RAM, my phone has slowed down sometimes to where after pressing a button, it does not respond until maybe 5 seconds later. Hopefully the next OS update will address it.

 

[silentecho13]

I'm coming from an iPhone 4, and pretty much every iPhone released since launch.

I got bored of iOS.

What I think so far:

The build quality isn't as "plasticky" as most people say. The phone feels very solid and has a good weight to it. It does not feel cheap at all.

Speeds: The browser is quick on wifi, not so quick on HSPA (lol). My area hasn't received the backhaul as yet, so it's a little early to even comment on 4G speeds. Otherwise, the phone is very snappy and doesn't lag a bit.

Software: I love it. There is so much available, and there aren't limits that the iPhone had even while jailbreaking. The atrix is much more capable out of the box, and is further expandable by rooting. I've had no bugs so far either, and I love the widgets.

Screen: It's not terrible. It may look slightly washed out, but it isn't a dealbreaker. This is coming from a photographer who stares at screens and monitors all day, always worrying about color space and color accuracy. Trust me, the screen isn't bad.

Syncing: Heres the issue. Doubletwist (all I've tried), is a bit slow. But then again, I had about 15gb of music to transfer. It didn't transfer my playlists, but perhaps isyncr or a similar app would. That's the thing I love about android, you have options.

Camera: It's a phone, not a camera. The quality is decent, but the colors aren't as vibrant as the iPhone 4 (which has a backside illuminated sensor). The iPhone 4 wins for the camera, but it's still not a dealbreaker for me.


My advice: Just try it. Go to a store and play with it. I have no regrets.

 

[iPhoneMilk]

Hey everyone, first a quick Summary about the phones i've owned. (since the iPhone 1, many others before that)
iPhone 2G, iPhone 3G, iPhone 3Gs, Droid 1, Nexus one, iPhone 4

Now the Atrix 4G. I'm not a fanboy, just a gadget lover- And i love buying different phones and actually owning them for awhile to keep myself "informed" (I plan on getting windows phone 7 next as soon as they release a front facing camera model)

I'll start off by giving a bulleted list of my thoughts.. then finish up.
My review will be a mix of thoughts coming from the iOS environment and not solely focus on the Atrix itself 100% of the time
------------
1. Played Dungeon Defenders for awhile. crashed on my 3 times. Just completely closed out no error messages- it RUNS like a champ but it crashed out on me Mid waves.. this is NOT good.

2. Why can't I skype video chat with people?? What??

3. There's no Netflix streaming???

4. They gave us a "video chat" app called Qik for Atrix, but it only works to other Atrix phones??

5. Still to this day i am literally MIND BOGGLED as to why there is no platform for me to buy Movies and Tv Shows digitally. and if i want to use all of my iTunes content i have to jump through Flaming Hoops on fire just to get it to work on android. Same would go if it was Zune movies or TV. Android needs it's own Movie and tv store HORRIBLY bad.

6. if you've been on a retina display before you can VERY easily tell the difference in this being a downgrade of a screen to look at. that being said, it's a really nice screen compared to other android devices, i like it.

7. The phones runs SUPER smooth... i installed Advanced Task killer and guess what? Several times during the day Mysterious apps just keep showing up and start running on their own.. it's disgusting. I can't believe after all this time the android OS still doesn't even have it's foundations down.
I was replying to a text, and it crashed on me, later on in the night I noticed in Advanced task killer that "Music" was running... what? I never opened that..in addition to numerous other apps that just decided on their own that it was time to run.

8. Motoblur has GOT TO GO.. seriously. i want STOCK android OS and not this locked down Atrix garbage. (not totally upset) i just can't believe coming from a Droid 1, then a Nexus one that this is actually happening on an Android device... how could so many options in the settings be locked down? What happened to "open"

All in all, i think this is a great device everyone. for those of you who currently have iPhone 4's right now. If you're NOT like me and you don't have the money to waste on gadgets because it's my hobby, then my advice is DON'T get this device. otherwise, if you're another android owner? my advice is definitely get this it seems to be a major update from other android devices.
For those of you on iOS? there will be MANY major features that you will miss and be begging to have in your hands again..

 

[tekonus]

My biggest gripe and frankly a deal breaker...NO VISUAL VOICEMAIL!!

Yes... yes there is. Google voice.

 

[iPhoneMilk]

Yes... yes there is. Google voice.

Not everyone can get a google voice account, you still need to be invited right?

I have one already but because someone invited me, and i used up all of my invites.

 

[silentecho13]

Not everyone can get a google voice account, you still need to be invited right?

I have one already but because someone invited me, and i used up all of my invites.

I was able to just register without an invite (for voicemail).

It really kicks the iPhone's visual voicemail's ass.

 

[tekonus]

Not everyone can get a google voice account, you still need to be invited right?

I have one already but because someone invited me, and i used up all of my invites.

Nope, it's open for everybody.

 

[SysAdmNj]

Not everyone can get a google voice account, you still need to be invited right?

I have one already but because someone invited me, and i used up all of my invites.

Nope, its been wide open for a while now.

 

[iPhoneMilk]

I was able to just register without an invite (for voicemail).

It really kicks the iPhone's visual voicemail's ass.

Oh i completely agree with you, it's nice being able to access everything from a webpage.

I didn't know that they opened it up for everyone =)

 

[Droid_Genius]

later on in the night I noticed in Advanced task killer that "Music" was running... what? I never opened that..in addition to numerous other apps that just decided on their own that it was time to run.

Thats just how Android/Linux OS works, apps aren't necessarily running they are just cached for faster access to them, unfortunately that seems to lead to battery drainage. I learned quickly that I burn more battery killing apps than just leaving it be so I never installed taskers again. Like you I am used to iOS which allows us to kill apps and they wont start til we want them to.

As far as Blur, root that thing and get it off lol