Motorola Atrix 4G Review

The good: The Motorola Atrix 4G features a dual-core processor and a sharp qHD (quarter HD) display. The Android 2.2 smartphone has a sleek design and a 5-megapixel camera, a front-facing camera for video calls, and an HDMI port.
The bad: No 1080p HD video recording or playback at launch. You can't install non-Market third-party apps. We didn't experience great HSPA+ 4G data speeds.
The bottom line: The laptop dock is a decidedly cool (and pricey) feature, but the dual-core Motorola Atrix 4G has plenty to offer on its own. The smartphone packs speed and high-end features into a sleek package and earns its place at the top of AT&T's Android lineup.

Review:

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Motorola Atrix 4G (AT&T)

Editors' note: In addition to the review below, we also have an in-depth look at the Atrix's laptop accessory.
The review has also been updated with a clarification on third-party apps.
To say that AT&T's Android lineup was lacking would be an understatement, but fortunately, it looks like the company has finally gotten the memo. The carrier introduced three new Android handsets at CES 2011, but the one that impressed us the most was the Motorola Atrix 4G. The Android 2.2 smartphone boasts a dual-core processor (Nvidia's Tegra ... Expand full review

Photo gallery:
Motorola Atrix 4G (AT&T)

The review has also been updated with a clarification on third-party apps.
To say that AT&T's Android lineup was lacking would be an understatement, but fortunately, it looks like the company has finally gotten the memo. The carrier introduced three new Android handsets at CES 2011, but the one that impressed us the most was the Motorola Atrix 4G. The Android 2.2 smartphone boasts a dual-core processor (Nvidia's Tegra 2 chipset), 4G support, a 4-inch quarter HD display, and a front-facing camera that enables video calls over a cellular or Wi-Fi network. But wait, there's more.
Motorola designed a laptop dock and software to work with the Atrix that would allow you to still access the contents of your smartphone but provide you with a more PC-like experience. It's why we awarded the Atrix 4G our Best of CES Award in the cell phones and smartphones category, and it's why we were so thrilled when we finally received the devices to check out.
In this review, we'll focus on the Motorola Atrix 4G as a smartphone. (We've made some general observations about the laptop dock here, but CNET's laptops and Netbooks editor, Scott Stein, has delivered a closer look at the accessory to see if it's worth its steep price tag.) We can say that the Atrix excels as a smartphone. The dual-core processor delivers, and the Atrix finally brings some of the higher-end features that AT&T customers have been missing out on, such as video calls. Certainly, the laptop dock is a big selling point for the Atrix, but whether you decide to get the dock or not, you're still getting one of AT&T's best Android smartphones to date.
The Motorola Atrix 4G is expected to ship March 6 or sooner. The price for the phone alone is $199.99 with a two-year contract. AT&T will also offer a bundled package that includes the phone and laptop dock for $499.99 with a two-year contract and tethering add-on and after a $100 mail-in rebate. If you'd rather not sign up for the tethering plan, you can buy the dock separately (and use a Wi-Fi connection) from the phone for $499.99.
Design
Touch-screen smartphones are a dime a dozen, and it may seem like if you've seen one, you've seen 'em all, but that's not necessarily true. Each design has its highs and lows, and the same holds true for the Motorola Atrix 4G. Thankfully, there's much more to like than dislike here. The Atrix is sleek and lightweight at 4.6 inches tall by 2.5 inches wide by 0.4 inch thick and 4.8 ounces. The handset's slim profile makes it easy to slip into a pants pocket, and the rounded corners and tapered edges make it comfortable to hold.

The Motorola Atrix 4G is a compact and sleek device.

However, compared with the company's other recent handsets, such as the Motorola Droid X and the Motorola Cliq 2, the Atrix doesn't quite have the same premium feel to it. It's still very much a solid device but just lacks some of the finer details like a soft-touch finish on back.
On the front, you've got a 4-inch qHD (quarter high definition) capacitive touch screen with a 960x540-pixel resolution. It's comparable to the iPhone 4's 940x640-pixel Retina Display, but since the Atrix has a slightly bigger screen, the pixel density isn't as great, so text and images don't look quite as smooth as they do on the iPhone. Still, the display is sharp and vibrant. As is typical, the screen washed out a bit in bright sunlight, but we were still able to see what was on the screen.
The touch screen is very responsive, both in terms of registering our touches and switching between portrait and landscape mode. And thanks to the dual-core Nvidia Tegra 2 chipset, general navigation felt zippier compared with any smartphone we've tested recently. Even a simple task, such as pulling up the app menu, was noticeably faster than on the HTC Inspire 4G, which uses a 1GHz Snapdragon processor.
Below the display are the standard Android shortcuts: menu, home, back, and search. There's a volume rocker on the right side, and a Micro-USB port and an HDMI port on the left side. The camera and dual-LED flash are on the back, as well as the power/lock button, which sits at the top center. It's a bit of an awkward location, but the button can double as a fingerprint scanner for extra security (to use, go to Settings > Set up screen lock).

The $189.99 Entertainment Access Kit includes an HD Multimedia Dock and remote control, a Bluetooth keyboard, and a wireless mouse.

AT&T packages the Motorola Atrix 4G with an AC adapter, a USB cable, an HDMI cable, and reference material. Aside from the laptop dock bundle, which we'll talk about a bit later, AT&T also offers an Entertainment Access Kit for $189.99, which includes the Motorola HD Multimedia Dock and remote control, a Bluetooth keyboard, and a wireless mouse.
User interface
The Motorola Atrix 4G runs Android 2.2 with Motoblur. Though we weren't huge fans of Motorola's custom user interface when it first launched, the company has toned down the UI quite a bit and enhanced the customization abilities, so that it's much more useful and reduces the information overload aspect of the previous version. One thing that does irk us is that you have to sign up for a Motoblur account when you first set up the device. Afterward, you can sign in to all your other e-mail and social network accounts to import your contacts, messages, and calendar appointments.
You get seven home screens that you can personalize with various widgets and shortcuts, such as a social network feed, weather widget, and mini media player. Interestingly, Motoblur now has a function very similar to HTC's Leap screen feature where you can view all of your home screens in thumbnail view--not that we mind, since it allows you to easily switch between the screens.

Features
Obviously, one of the big draws of the Motorola Atrix 4G is the dual-core processor. The smartphone is equipped with Nvidia's Tegra 2 chipset, and if you want to get technical, this includes dual ARM Cortex A9 cores clocked at 1GHz and an ultralow-power GeForce GPU graphics processor--all this backed with 1GB of RAM. What this means for you is that you should experience snappier performance, faster browsing, and better gaming graphics, among other things.
Though we've only had the device for a short amount of time, we've certainly been impressed with what we've seen so far. In comparing the Atrix 4G with the HTC Inspire 4G, the difference in overall performance isn't significant but it is noticeable. The Atrix was always just a tick faster than the Inspire when loading apps, menus, and tasks. Games were also snappier to load, and the gameplay was quicker-paced and smoother as well.
The Atrix also handled Flash content well. Though the Atrix and Inspire loaded the media--in this case, a CNET TV video on the phone's WebKit browser--in roughly the same amount of time, the Atrix went on to play the video playlist without problem, whereas the Inspire couldn't play it at all. We'll continue to do more in-depth performance testing, but we wanted to give you an idea of what we've experienced so far.
Another feature supported by the Nvidia's Tegra 2 processor is full HD 1080p video recording and playback via HDMI. Unfortunately, this feature will not be available at launch; instead, it will come at a later time through a software update, so for now, the Atrix can only handle 720p HD video capture and playback through HDMI.

3D-enabled smartphones

 

LG recently debuted the Optimus 3D smartphone at Mobile World Congress. As amazing as the handheld might seem, it raises many questions. Namely, do we even need or want 3D-enabled smartphones?
Of course, need and want are two very different things. I don’t think anyone truly needs a 3D smartphone, and I’d be very interested to read an argument against that.
As for want, that is another story. Arguably, there are going to be at least some consumers who want a 3D smartphone. (Hey, there were at least a few units of the Microsoft Kin One and Two sold, and the LG Optimus 3D is definitely a more attractive device.) But how many consumers will truly throw down the cash for a 3D smartphone remains to be seen.
It also still remains to be seen how many consumers will even pay for a 3D TV, a device that is more arguably worth buying over a 3D smartphone. 3D has been around for a long time, but it really blew up on the scene at CES 2010. It was certainly a big point at CES 2011 this year, and it would be wrong to call 3D just a passing trend. But 3D TV sales have been rocky from the start.
Last June, the International Business Times reported that “only four percent of the TVs shipped to retailers in the first quarter of 2010 – about 1.8 million out of 46.5 million – were 3-D” and “the latest and greatest in television technology is likely to remain a niche product.” One of the biggest problems cited at the time was the lack of at-home content available for 3D TVs. Hollywood is certainly trying to make up for this gap as quick as possible. (Even that Justin Bieber movie is being shown in 3D - don’t ask why.) However, the amount of 3D content out there is still limited, and it will be even more limited on smartphones at this time.
In December, our sister site BNET found that many manufacturers were slashing 3D TV prices by up to 50%. Not for Black Friday or holiday sales, but rather because they simply weren’t selling like the hotcakes they were expected to be.
Nevertheless, 3D TV sales are still growing. Panasonic had strong 3D TV sales at least once last year. The Futuresource Consulting research firm also predicts that 3D TV sales in the U.S. will likely double in the next year to five million units sold. So there is obviously some viable interest in 3D consumer technology.
One good part about the Optimus 3D’s display is that it doesn’t require the use of any extra glasses to view 3D video playback and stills. If it did, LG might as well give up now.  However, we don’t know the carrier subsidized price point, and that could really make or break the Optimus 3D. If it is somewhere around $199 or $299, then the Optimus 3D could go mainstream. But it won’t be that low given the 3D tag gimmick that jacks up the price along with some reasonable price hiking given the advanced technology.
How well the LG Optimus 3D (and other future 3D smartphones) fares depends on the marketing as well. LG has already pointed out that the Optimus 3D can be used for capturing and viewing 3D stills and videos. In partnership with YouTube, those clips can be uploaded and shared online. However, none of that seems that original anymore given 3D point-and-shoots with HD video recording, and sharing such content also requires other users to have 3D monitors, digital frames, etc..
But before I even thought of 3D video playback, I thought of how this could be used for gaming. 3D smartphones could be marketed as competition for everything from Sony Ericsson’s Xperia Play (a.k.a. the PlayStation phone) to the upcoming Nintendo 3DS. Since the Optimus 3D and similar smartphones are really targeted at adults, there won’t (or shouldn’t be) any controversy regarding vision development problems that have already plagued the 3DS. It would be a great platform for gaming mobile app developers and take smartphones in a new direction. If LG and other smartphone manufacturers decide to take this route, then we have something fresh with more possibilities.
To wrap up, 3D smartphones will probably start popping up more over the next year or two, but sales won’t be that stellar. It’s going to take a very long time for such products to get mainstream popularity - if that ever even happens. I’m more likely to save up for a 3D TV that requires active shutter glasses than buy an expensive smartphone just for its 3D display.