Motorola Atrix 4G Mobile Minute [Video]
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atlbuc
Android Enthusiast
Ok I'll bite, like what. Motoblur sucks or the dock cost too much or maybe it has a locked bootloader. Heard it all before, like I've said before if this phone isn't for you (and not speaking to you directly just in general) then don't buy it. This phone won't please everyone.
irishtexmex
Newbie
There's no denying that the specs aren't amazing. They are. There isn't anything out there that can stand against it.
However, that video is touting features specific to the (ridiculously overpriced) docks. With the inclusion of those teasers that makes all of the dock-related complaints directly appropriate. Further, it's not like Motorola is the one crippling this out of the gate. It is very obviously their launch partner, AT&T.
youareme7
Well-Known Member
When I said I hope AT&T listens to their customers, I was referring to the dock pricing and tethering requirement. (which is the lion's share of the negative comments on the youtube vid) The phone is still monster and I'm still considering it, but they killed the lapdock IMO.
atlbuc
Android Enthusiast
That's my point, this phone is killer and if people don't want the dock or can't afford the dock then don't get it and you won't have to worry about tethering. Some people won't get the dock but will pay for tethering/HotSpot so the argument about not getting the dock because of tethering doesn't hold water in those scenarios. At 1st when I saw all the CES videos of the dock I thought it was plastic and was expecting it to be around the $150 - $200 price point but after Marcs training and how he said it was all metal and solid well I'm thinking the price for the dock Atrix combo is appropriate. Now $499 for the dock by itself is a little steep and probably priced that way so people will buy the combo deal
atlbuc
Android Enthusiast
And why wouldn't they tout those features, everyone isn't going to get the dock and they know it. It's about making money that is why people go into business. At $150 for the dock which is what people expected after somebody started the rumor, I don't know how Motorola and AT&T would have made money of this thing giving the build quality.
Do you really expect a company to not market the features of a product just because of the outcry coming from the internet. Whether you believe it or not, people WILL buy this "overpriced" peripheral, the people who can afford to. I was really hoping this phone was coming out sooner though. I cannot wait!
atlbuc
Android Enthusiast
Come on guys really, what do you think would be a fair price for the laptop dock?
irishtexmex
Newbie
Honestly, I don't think it's the pricing of the laptop dock that's bothering so many people. It's the fact that they're requiring you to purchase the data pro plan AND a tethering plan.
Is the price of the laptop dock too high? Yes. If the price of the laptop stayed the same but you didn't have to buy the tether package then I think people would still buy this thing in droves. But don't kid yourself here about it being appropriately priced. You can get a 320 GB, Core i5 laptop for the same price as the dock sans bundle. Can some people afford? Sure, and that's awesome for them. But for college kids like me who pay for just about every expense in their life, then tough luck.
EDIT: Forgot to add what I thought a good price was. I would spend $150 in a heartbeat, and probably perfectly willing to drop $200~ if it were around there. But this dock is 100% useless without the phone in it, and I can still surf the internet in a similarly sized, similarly spec'd netbook for a cheaper price.
atlbuc
Android Enthusiast
It's like you guys want something for free, honestly with devices becoming more data intensive do you honestly think that the unlimited data would last forever? Verizone may be offering unlimited data now but they will take it away. As far as the laptop is concerned, I don't compare this to a laptop and I really don't think it's a fair comparison. If I was buying this thinking it was going to be a laptop then I might look at those comparisons but that's not the case. Of course the dock is useless without the phone, it's not a laptop so why do you continue to compare it to one. $150 - $200 for the dock is ridiculous, think about the battery inside, the screen the metal the labor it cost to build the dock. Then you got Moto and AT&T in the mix and they have to make money.
binaryhellstorm
Well-Known Member
I think that $250 is a fair price for the dock. Right now I could sit down and make a 14.1 widescreen version of that dock for $250 and that is with me buying the parts in small quantities, not in bulk like Motorola. I have been in the IT and electronics field for a while and I am not going to pretend that $500 is a good price for a LCD panel, plastic/metal housing, a LI-ION power pack, and a USB keyboard and touchpad. I'm sorry it's just to much money for what you are getting.
binaryhellstorm
Well-Known Member
I think the reason that everyone is comparing it to a laptop is because the dock is essentially a laptop with most of the expensive parts missing(HDD, optical drive, motherboard/CPU, and video card). It's like a bicycle and a motorcycle, one has an internal source of power, and the other requires something else to power it, and you would expect one to cost less than the other.
irishtexmex
Newbie
I promise you that, combined with labor, that dock doesn't touch $150 to make. Easily. And I'm not asking for something for free. I'd be perfectly willing to pony up the money for the "unlimited" data plan as long as I didn't have to buy the tethering package. In fact, I have a slight inclination that you might not even be able to tether while you use it. (Probably not the case, but I wouldn't be surprised.) It's funny you tell me to not compare it to a laptop because I have been one of its biggest advocates when it comes to making no such comparison. It keeps getting brought up now because the sum of a laptop's parts + labor > the sum of the laptop dock's parts + labor.
And for me, personally, it's a moot point because I would be doing 99% of my browsing on WiFi. How come if I want to use firefox--with internet that AT&T isn't providing--I have to pay for a tethering plan?
If it's about making money then I would understand if you argued that was the point about the plan requirements, because that's exactly what US carriers do. They don't make any money off of phone sales--they make it off of subscription plans. If they sold the phone and dock for say.. $500 I'm sure it would cause people to leave other plans and join AT&T. If they did it for the rumored $150 then AT&T's towers would be shut down by the amount of people trying to join their network.
atlbuc
Android Enthusiast
1. We really don't know how much it cost to make, it's not like a cell
phone where it is being produced in mass quantities. I'm sure they are producing a lot but not as many compared to the Atrix production.
2. There isn't any official unlimited plan to choose from anymore.
3. I never said anything about making money off phones, I was talking
about the dock and I guarantee they are making money off the dock.
4. They are selling the phone and dock for $499 so I don't get what your
saying there. And of course people would jump on the dock if it were
$150 but you still would have to pay for tethering which is what
everyone is complaining about.
Look I know the dock isn't for you, cost too much and you don't want to pay for tethering so we will leave it at that.
Price-wise, it's absolutely a fair comparison, and when features are compared, it's not a slam-dunk winner. That said, people are being unfair comparing it to $500 laptops. The dock AND phone are $500, and the phone alone is $200, so really, the dock must be compared to $300 laptops to be apples-to-apples.
atlbuc
Android Enthusiast
Netbook maybe but not a laptop, this is not intended to replace a laptop.
All the smashing on the Atrix because of the dock price is hilarious. If this wasn't an option, everyone would still be super excited about it. But since this 'extra' is over priced and requires tethering (and i agree on both being ridiculous), some are jumping ship. They're gonna go get a phone with a slower processer, less ram, lower res screen, smaller battery, no ffc and no option to use a dock...just because the price of an accessory.
knappkd
Well-Known Member
Your analysis is incorrect. There are many issues that have had people on thw fence with this device. i.e. Motblur, plastic casing, locked bootloader to name a few.
The reason people have been overlooking some of the downsides is the uniqueness of it's accessories. Now that motorola is pricing them over some consumers heads causes these people to hesitate.
I myself have no problem paying for the docks. In fact, I have planned to buy multiple media docks. However, if they are gonna remove my unlmited plan then I will pass. I would be fine paying 15.00 tethering fee, but don't change my allowed data usage. This is not too much to ask of some who pays 280.00 bill each month for the past 8 years.
There are plenty of posts in the "now disinterested?" thread of people saying they aren't getting it because of the price.
Plastic casing? How many phones aren't plastic-y? This version of Blur is said to be not as "bad" as previous ones, and can be somewhat addressed with launchers anyway, yes? Not to mention, that's not a negative for everyone. And are there not workarounds to the locked bootloader? Do other phones not have this "problem"? And that really only applies to a small % of the consumers. Imagine if everyone decided to hack their phones...how many would be bricked? Looking at the big picture is the right thing to do...and the devs will probably find ways for the hackers to be happy.
Plastic casing? How many phones aren't plastic-y? This version of Blur is said to be not as "bad" as previous ones, and can be somewhat addressed with launchers anyway, yes? Not to mention, that's not a negative for everyone. And are there not workarounds to the locked bootloader? Do other phones not have this "problem"? And that really only applies to a small % of the consumers. Imagine if everyone decided to hack their phones...how many would be bricked? Looking at the big picture is the right thing to do...and the devs will probably find ways for the hackers to be happy.
knappkd
Well-Known Member
HTC has metal casings as well as motorola on some phones. The I4 definitely is not plastic.
Not as bad??? How is that encouraging. I would rather hear that it is incredible or awesome. Not as bad, does not relieve my fears. And your right, it is not a negative for everyone. I never implied it was. You are the one that said "everyone" would be super excited about this phone if not for the dock price. And I am saying NOT everyone would. Motoblur scares the hell out of me and plenty of other people.
My point is that not everyone loves this phone without the ability to use webtop app / laptop on AT&T network without changing the plan. A lot of people were only getting the atrix for this ability. Am I not getting this phone now? I don't know yet. I want to know how motoblur feels on this phone. And I definitely won't get if I have to give up my data plan. There are plenty of others that feel the same way. Just like there are plenty of people who will buy it and love it no matter what.
I am just really sick of reading so many posts about how it is wrong for people to have doubts about buying the phone now.
atlbuc
Android Enthusiast
As far as the plastic on this phone, I don't think it is going to be an issue. Marc said the feel of the phone is like that of the Motorola Bravo and the Bravo feels very solid. I would probably prefer the plastic over an all metal casing anyway as the plastic would probably be more durable and less likely to scratch as easy. My Droid bezel on the front which was metal got scratched by the Verizon rep from just putting on a case. As far as Motoblur, what is your issue with it? Some people hate Sense and others hate Blur, they both have similar functionality. They both run widgets, they both integrate your FB and Twitter contacts with your phone contacts if you want them to. Sense may be a little more stylish but they both pretty much do the same thing. You do have to use Blur's widgets, or contacts integration so I don't see what the big deal is. If you could tell me what scares the hell out of you about Blur then maybe I'll understand better. If you are not buying the laptop dock to use Webtop then you won't have to give up your current plan. There are plenty of people that are not buying the dock that are still complaining. The phone is awesome dock or not. If you are not getting the dock then I don't see peoples issue with now saying they aren't getting this phone. That leads me to believe they were planning to get the dock but not really telling us they were. Why now would you have doubts about the phone if you were never planning to get the dock. I am getting the laptop and multimedia dock, I have said this from day one. Am I extremely happy about loosing my unlimited data, no but its a trade off I'm willing to take. I will not go down without a fight. I plan on calling AT&T to try to keep my data. In the end I think I will be happy with this phone and the docks. The laptop dock isn't for everyone and neither is the phone. Everyone is talking about the locked bootloader among other things. News flash, the majority of Android and iPhone users don't care about rooting, jailbreaking and running custom ROMs. A lot of times running custom ROMs does more damage than good. I'd like to have at least root to run TBU and a few other root only apps but when I ran custom ROMs I always found myself coming back to a mostly stock custom ROM because everything just worked.
Ok, that's a handful of phones that aren't plastic out of....1000's? And plastic doesn't = poor build quality anyway. My iPhone is half plastic and feels fantastic. I like it over the feel of the IP4...a lot of that has to do with the shape of it, but not just that. Plastic and bend and flex....glass surrounded by metal is more likely to break on a drop than plastic with similar form factor.
Blur---some like it, some don't. That's from what I read, never have used it. But how is that different than any other UI? Is there one phone out there that is 100% to your liking on how you interact with it? If so, you should get it. If you use social networking, seems handy. Don't know all the details about it. Pretty sure not everyone likes sense either.
Bottom line is, the phone seems to be pretty phenomenal on its own. Better than anything else on paper. There is no option for a laptop dock with any other phone. So why get a phone with less features, just because you're not happy that you must pay for tethering if you get the dock? Just don't get the dock. If people are buying the phone and docks are sitting collecting warehouse dust, Moto/ATT will realize they've made a mistake.
Blur---some like it, some don't. That's from what I read, never have used it. But how is that different than any other UI? Is there one phone out there that is 100% to your liking on how you interact with it? If so, you should get it. If you use social networking, seems handy. Don't know all the details about it. Pretty sure not everyone likes sense either.
Bottom line is, the phone seems to be pretty phenomenal on its own. Better than anything else on paper. There is no option for a laptop dock with any other phone. So why get a phone with less features, just because you're not happy that you must pay for tethering if you get the dock? Just don't get the dock. If people are buying the phone and docks are sitting collecting warehouse dust, Moto/ATT will realize they've made a mistake.
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