Database Users

[Q] Deciding between Droid 2 and Epic4g

I'm a current sprint customer with my upgrade available October 1st. I love a lot of things about the Epic, but the build quality is just absolute garbage. The spring-loaded screen feels like it could snap off with a slight breeze. For some, this might not be a cause for concern, but build quality is really important to me.
I decided to go play around with some other phones, and following my keyboard-desires, I came upon the droid2. I had played with a droid1 significantly a couple of months ago and really liked the build quality. It was rooted/rom'd/and overclocked and the phone ran great. Which is why I was disappointed when I arrived at the Verizon store.
The droid2, at least the one they had on display, was unbelievably laggy. Unlocking, changing screens, browsing contacts, everything ran slower than my current HTC hero, which is bad (because this phone lags hard).
What I'm wondering: is this lag a real issue? Was the floor model just suffering from overuse? I've looked through a couple of threads and found some people have lag, some dont. Is there a fix? I love love love the phone, love the slightly raised keys and layout, the slide mechanism is great. But I can't spend my days waiting around for a phone to catch up to me.
Any info is greatly appreciated...

I'm not usually one to change carriers unless I am dissatisfied with the carrier, or I feel that a carrier is better.
With that said, I don't find the Droid 2 particularly laggy. Some seem to complain, but I don't really see it. I don't think Motorola's unlock animation is smooth, but it unlocks just fine. Now I'm running "Widget Locker" which replaces the lock screen; now my lock screen seems very smooth (I don't load the lock screen up with lots of widgets, just a number of sliders).
Overall, I think the Droid 2 is quick and responsive. Keep in mind that I don't use much of Moto's widgets either, and there are always other poorly coded applications you can download that can bog down your phone as well.
I think it is a solid phone, but ultimately I would go with my favorite carrier (mine currently is Verizon).

I don't have any issues with lag. Anyone that does probably has some bad apps running, much like a store model likely does. Bottom line - it's a 1GHz OMAP processor and 512MB RAM. Any speed issues will be software based, which is something we can always fix.

I haven't experienced any lag issues the couple times I've used a Droid 2. I've seen that lag though with most display phones and it's probably just from customers screwing around with settings constantly.

Well I have the droid 2 but the epic 4g does have have 4g and a front facing camera, but verizon has a overall better coverage, the droid2 is very solid in the hand and if you get a case it feels like you can use it as a weapon
With that said, now you can root and droid 2 and put on "deblurred" rom and make the phone run so much better, and yes the phones you saw in the store is laggy because overuse and people download crap on it
Sent from my DROID2 using Tapatalk

Also, amazon's pricing for the droid2 is dropping like a rock. i wish the droid2 had a 5 row keyboard though =/

Just got the Droid 2 as an exchange for the Eris - was never on my radar as my next choice, but was happy to get it as a free exchange - I find no lag, calls are made and answered instantly, and build quality is great - considering the fact that 4g isn't fully implemented yet, and the front camera is still waiting for a universal video call application, the only real differences are screen size and I believe an hdmi output - verizon has the best service, which for me is always priority number one - I am super impressed with the Droid and see no reason to change anytime soon - my two cents
Sent from my DROID2 using XDA App

So I got to compare the old with the new.

(WARNING: This is long.)
My father got word of the Nexus S (he's not much into technology) and wanted one, so I went to Best Buy today to play around with it. I figured I would compare it against my Nexus One with Gingerbread and see how big the difference is.
I wasn't expecting to be blown away by the new Nexus, since it's pretty much a standard Galaxy S device with a few niceties. It was disappointing to find out that it wasn't even convincing me to feel anything.
The Hummingbird CPU on the Nexus S is indeed as fast as it seems, but the experience doesn't feel that much faster than on my Nexus One (especially when using Launcher Pro). I suppose it would be better for Live Wallpapers, but I never caught on to that. I tested a YouTube video both in HD and standard quality, and neither stream played any better on the S though they looked a bit nicer on a bigger screen. It's a definite, hands-down improvement for mobile gaming, though.
The device itself definitely felt as plasticky as the Vibrant, but it's not terrible. However, I prefer the metallic feel of the Nexus One.
The screen is bigger and a bit brighter, but it also has a cooler color temperature, which may contribute to that brightness a bit. Colors from the camera lens seemed less saturated than those on the Nexus One, though they could also be closer to the actual results. I really liked the front-facing camera; I hope video calling takes off soon. (Has FaceTime even been open-sourced yet?)
The S booted up WAY faster than the Nexus One. I did a boot comparison and turned it on about a half-minute later by accident and it still booted before my Nexus One finished.
These differences would be acceptable for an upgrade, but I'm not sure if I'll feel comfortable with losing the microSD slot and trackball. The SD reader can really come in handy, and makes transfers super easy since tons upon tons of phones and laptops have one. (Then again, the Windows Phone 7 team decided to do something similar here as well, so it could be the sign of a trend. I hope not.) Trackball notifications were really, really nifty too, though not as important as the SD reader.
Other than T-Mobile making it unreasonably difficult for me to actually upgrade to the device, the deal-breaker for me was that it didn't seem nearly as innovative as the Nexus One was for me. I could be biased because my first experience on Android was on the G1...and we all know how wonderful that device was. Because of that, hoping onto the Nexus One was like a BIG breath of fresh air and a big reassurance that Android is an exceptional alternative to the iPhone universe. I feel even more so with devices like the G2 (the device I'm set on getting now), Droid X and MT4G, which have been HUGE upgrades from the devices that preceded them. The Nexus S, on the other hand, doesn't even have Wifi Calling (though I guess it'll get it at some point?) or HSPA+. I can't justify spending a small fortune on that.
As for my father, I'm getting him a Nexus One. Coming from an original iPhone, he, and my wallet, will definitely appreciate it.

It wasn't worth it the moment I heard it wouldn't be covered by the phone insurance and no SD card swap. G2 wasn't worth it either in my opinion

Does make you wonder about no ins coverage
I only played with one at Best Buy, but came to many of the OP's conclusions!

No insurance coverage? Wow, that's weird.

Re: boot time, were you comparing a fresh NS against a full-o-****e N1, or was it like for like?

Rusty! said:
Re: boot time, were you comparing a fresh NS against a full-o-****e N1, or was it like for like?
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Like for like; N1 is running the Gingerbread ROM that's being developed, which comes with a few apps but nothing heavy. That might have slowed its boot time a bit.

Rusty! said:
Re: boot time, were you comparing a fresh NS against a full-o-****e N1, or was it like for like?
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Click to collapse
I picked my NS from CPW yesterday and have been comparing it with my soon to be retired N1.
I've got FRG83D on the N1 (completely stock, no apps) and it takes twice as long to boot as the NS... but the NS only feels 'half done '! It's still got the old market, it can't see some apps on the market, and it feels Buggy... guess that's why the N1 doesn't have gingerbread yet... they haven't finished it!
The NS screen is nice but the back button doesn't work half the time! Wifi is more sensitive on theN1, 3g is more reliable on the NS. The NS feels a lot quicker but its hard to tell if its the phone or the OS.
I'm waiting on an official GB update for the N1 before I decide which phone goes on fleabay...

lf2k5 said:
I picked my NS from CPW yesterday and have been comparing it with my soon to be retired N1.
I've got FRG83D on the N1 (completely stock, no apps) and it takes twice as long to boot as the NS... but the NS only feels 'half done '! It's still got the old market, it can't see some apps on the market, and it feels Buggy... guess that's why the N1 doesn't have gingerbread yet... they haven't finished it!
The NS screen is nice but the back button doesn't work half the time! Wifi is more sensitive on theN1, 3g is more reliable on the NS. The NS feels a lot quicker but its hard to tell if its the phone or the OS.
I'm waiting on an official GB update for the N1 before I decide which phone goes on fleabay...
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Back button is a known issue -try and get a swap from CPWH.
To chip in my experience:
Went from a N1 with MIUI (was in love with the ROM, it's awesome, quick looks amazing etc) to Stock NS.
Have to say, N1 has been sat at home not used since the S arrived. The screen on the S is simply amazing, so responsive to touch looks fantastic. The "proper" multi-touch is great too - especially in google maps.
The S feels nice to hold - especially in landscape. The extra bulges make a big difference, it sits very nicely in the hand.
It feels a little less sturdy that the N1 does, deff lighter and doesn't feel like it'd take well to being dropped.
Still slightly worried about the screen - since no one seems to know how easily it'll scratch yet.
Speed wise, the S is quick. Navigation is about the same as N1 on MIUI (maybe a little slower), apps load wise, everything feels nippier.
The phone does lack a few features, but no doubt these will be added over the coming months - either officially or via the dev community.
It remains to be seen how the dev community will take to the S. Early days show a couple of custom roms, kernel and recovery and a few of the "bigger" names starting to work on the phone....
Is the S worth the upgrade - it depends. The overall experience IMO is better than the N1. It seems (so far) easier to get along with out. There's a few features missing - if these are must have's then the S isn't for you.
Go and have a play with one if you can.
FWIW - my fiancée is IN LOVE with the S. She normally hates smartphones, but this seems to be an exception...

You Can Have It
I just came back from Best Buy returning my Nexus S.
Yeah the touch screen had a little more snappy response
and the gpu makes it a little faster than my Nexus One
but the phone is not worth wasting a two year contract
on. Its just not much of an upgrade over the N1.
The lack of any way to move the curser was the last straw.
No track pad or track ball, no NS for me.

I did side by side tests clicking each app simultaneously and both my nexus one and the S loaded identical speeds for most everything.
I was however impressed with the quality and feel of the build of the nexus s. Much more solid and high end feeling than I thought it would be.

RogerPodacter said:
I did side by side tests clicking each app simultaneously and both my nexus one and the S loaded identical speeds for most everything.
I was however impressed with the quality and feel of the build of the nexus s. Much more solid and high end feeling than I thought it would be.
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I just got a Nexus One (traded a old netbook for it ) but had a EVO for a while now. Friend I traded with got a Nexus S so I got to play with both a lot. The bottom line is that most apps are pretty simple and would probably run fine on a 400 MHz CPU, but the apps that don't (Google Earth, Maps in 3D view, 3D gallery app, Games, etc) usually require a decent GPU to run 100% smooth, and it becomes obvious that the Adreno 200 can't keep up. It may run decently (20-30 FPS) but once you put the N1 or EVO side by side to the NS you can see that the apps are buttery smooth on second gen hardware.
It also pisses me off that I can't run a LW paper without causing the home screen to lag under 20 FPS while doing certain actions - especially the Microbes wallpaper which looks cool as hell IMO.

I say I will upgrade to watever phone Cyanogen upgrades too... and thats just being real honest loool.
Sent from my Nexus One...

Award Tour said:
usually require a decent GPU to run 100% smooth, and it becomes obvious that the Adreno 200 can't keep up. It may run decently (20-30 FPS) but once you put the N1 or EVO side by side to the NS you can see that the apps are buttery smooth on second gen hardware.
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It is not necessary the Ardeno200 to blame. Gingerbread has got a much better 3D stack they bought from outside, while the N1 and Evo are still using the old one. Currently it is not clear where the NS performance advantage is coming from.

draugaz said:
It is not necessary the Ardeno200 to blame. Gingerbread has got a much better 3D stack they bought from outside, while the N1 and Evo are still using the old one. Currently it is not clear where the NS performance advantage is coming from.
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You can replace the Nexus S with a SGS running 2.1 and you'll see the same results. Its the GPU, we all know it's that. If it wasn't for that weakness, the Nexus One would still be as speedy as the newer phones.
Sent using Tapatalk

Award Tour said:
You can replace the Nexus S with a SGS running 2.1 and you'll see the same results. Its the GPU, we all know it's that. If it wasn't for that weakness, the Nexus One would still be as speedy as the newer phones.
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Are you sure? As far as I can tell, the SGS UI is not significantly "smoother" than nexus one.
On the other hand, everyone drools how buttery smooth the WP7 devices are, and almost all of them are using Adreno200. And they even consider some "serious" 3D gaming with XBL.

Does anyone have any infos in regards to battery life on the NS? What is the battery life on the Nexus S? I think comparing battery life with the Nexus One is useless for now, since both devices are not running 2.3 yet!

draugaz said:
Are you sure? As far as I can tell, the SGS UI is not significantly "smoother" than nexus one.
On the other hand, everyone drools how buttery smooth the WP7 devices are, and almost all of them are using Adreno200. And they even consider some "serious" 3D gaming with XBL.
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Click to collapse
Yeah, I'm sure, seen it with my own eyes. The SGS suffers from weird lag to due the file system but with it fixed it runs fine, and even without it fixed it still runs smoother in things that rely on the GPU (those things I mentioned). But like I said, weird issues (like the file system lag) aside, running through a list shouldn't require a lot of power; it's when you hit apps that do need the power that you realize the difference.
...and about WP7, I agree. But this isn't WP7, and everything Google has shown so far isn't as optimized. The Adreno 200 will always be weak compared to every other high end GPU but I hope that Honeycomb w/ full HW acceleration (if it even supports the Adreno 200) can at least bring some life to it like WP7 has.

Award Tour said:
Yeah, I'm sure, seen it with my own eyes. The SGS suffers from weird lag to due the file system but with it fixed it runs fine, and even without it fixed it still runs smoother in things that rely on the GPU (those things I mentioned). But like I said, weird issues (like the file system lag) aside, running through a list shouldn't require a lot of power; it's when you hit apps that do need the power that you realize the difference.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Comparing stock for stock, when I scroll a list I can hit 100% CPU utilization on a N1, and ~84% with NS.

Is everyone happy with the atrix

I came from the samsung captivate with high hopes and well I have noticed a few things the i would rather have over the atrix
one would be the screen, items like the opening screen to the xda app comes out pixaled
the overal make of the phone is I would say is cheap compared to the captivate. It feels as it would break on the first drop not to mention the plastic back cover feel as if it would break after a few openings. Overall I am content with it but not as happy as expected
Sent from my MB860 using XDA App

Agree here. Regret to have my inspire sold.

I'm pretty happy with it, coming from an iPhone 4 (and an Evo.)
Pros:
- Screen looks great, pretty close to my i4. Yeah, if I touch my nose to the glass, I can see pixels. I'm also fine with the screen not being AMOLED over-saturated. My regular laptop isn't, my PC isn't, my Atrix lapdock isn't, my i4 isn't, my Evo isn't, my HDTV's aren't, so it doesn't really bother me that the phone looks exactly the same as everything else I own.
- It is quite fast. As an example, I tend to install or update multiple apps at once, and on my Evo (which was overclocked), it would drag the phone to being nearly unresponsive having more than 1 thing going at once.
- I'm digging the accessories so far. The DLNA feature has been great for grabbing stuff from my media server and displaying it in 720p on my TV. It's not 1080 yet, but it still looks quite good. The browser works well on the TV as well. The lapdock has been quite nifty so far as well. Barring Windows games, I've had no problem doing everything else I use my standalone laptop for.
- Battery has been amazing, compared to either my Evo or i4.
- Fingerprint scanner works extremely well, I was surprised by this, pleasantly.
- The on-screen keyboard is fantastic, right up there with the i4. Far better than any other Android I've owned to date (which is quite a few.)
Cons:
- When flipping through the screens on the phone, it hasn't been all that smooth, even after a fresh boot. It's not bad, but its like my Evo, circa launch day, prior to mods to improve its responsiveness. Might be Motoblur related?
- Data uplink is killing my latency, which if it isn't something that is fixed relatively soon, could actually be a deal breaker for me, since I do like to tether to play stuff like Bad Company 2 while at work... 130ms latency on my Evo is okay, 400 on the Atrix... isn't.
- This might sound odd, but it's so smooth that it is slippery as hell. I've had a few miraculous catches following the phone just sliding right out of my hand.
- When grabbing media for my server, I have to copy it via DLNA to the device first, THEN play it, when using the Webtop OS in either the entertainment or lapdocks. I have a feeling this will come down to someone making a crafty software fix, but who knows.
- The lapdock needs a way to hide the icon bar at the bottom to expand the browser window. If you try a Facebook game, you can't quite fit the whole game window into view, and there are other things that have a similar issue.
Overall I'm pretty happy with it, and it seems like most of the issues I have can be solved in software, one way or another.

No stock UI works that well other than Sense. I suggest getting ADW launcher and theme it like your stock UI. Its very smooth side to side etc.
One thing I noticed - this phone is flat out HORRIBLE with UI animations such as the gingerbread launcher. My captivates UI speed blows this out of the water.
They need to fix that asap.

Pretty happy so far.
Im pretty happy with it so far. I came from the LG Expo which was a WM 6.5 device. This is my first Android phone, so it was a pretty big upgrade.
If there is one thing I am slightly disappointed in is the phone's ram. The "1gb" of ram appears to be split in half between the phone and the web top environment, so either one can only access 512mb at any one time. I'm only slightly disappointed because I expected it. It's another case of misleading, but not totally false advertising...now, about my missing "G" in network speed....

Also from iPhone 4. Still haven't decided if I am going to keep it yet, overall the phone is really nice, but it still just doesn't feel as smooth/fluid/solid as the iPhone. I was really hoping a nice Tegra 2 chip would make things smooth on Android but alas I was still disappointed. The phone is fast don't get me wrong, but the UI still has plenty of places that are just ... chunky. Overall build quality of the phone is also nice, but it still doesn't feel nearly as solid in my hand as the iPhone does.

I like the phone just not sure I like it tons better than my captivate. I think a lot of people that downplay samoled screens have never owned one. Its very tough going back. Overall my phone flys using launcher pro plus with 3d animations. No slow Downs or chunkiness whatsoever.

I'm definitely happy. I @so came from the Captivate and there isn't anything I would change.
I LOVE the fact that the pixel Dr/ity is larger, therefore making everything smaller. today is going to be the first day I see how it performs out in the realworld so I hope that goes well
I'm thinking about picking up the laptock dock since you can tether for free as well... might wait a while though since I don't need it now.
Rooted/ROM Captivate
Rooted Atrix

I'm unimpressed. Of course it's fast but not noticeably faster than the inspire. I really want to keep this phone and use it as my main device but it's not looking good right now. The touch screen isn't as responsive as the captivate or the inspire. When I try to fly through things, I find the phone missing registered touches. At first, I just thought I need to get used to this device but I could do this on the inspire and captivate with no problem at all. I'm going to give this more time so we'll see how it goes. Another thing I noticed, Motorola has a load of crap that runs on the device that I'll never use (see running services) and it takes up a significant amount of memory. It'd be a pain to go through and manually end these services. Even after using a task killer, most of the services persisted.
Sent from my MB860 using XDA App

Coming from the Nexus One, which is still regarded as the baseline for a good Android device, I'd have to say I'm pretty happy with it, no regrets at all in selling my N1 to get this. Yes, I do sorely miss the stock UI and being in that comfort zone that I'll be first to get updates (even though Google has been slacking lately). With that said, the pros out number the cons.
Pros
- BLOODY fast
- Battery is 1000x better than the Nexus One. I can go a whole day on one charge and it's not an iPhone? Say it ain't so
- Screen is 1000x better than the Nexus One, and very, very close to my wife's iPhone 4
I don't know what the guy above is smoking, but the Atrix is a 1000X better than the Captivate in terms of build quality. I was sorta anxious about it being all plastic, but the phone feels rock solid. With an Otter Box Commuter on the way, I doubt I'll ever notice it was any different than my ex-N1 (with a Commuter case as well).
Neutral
- The phone isn't the prettiest, but certainly nice.
Cons
- Motoblur adds some nice touches, but overall it's slow. I'm using LauncherPro Plus which is getting me back some of my sanity.
- Doesn't come with Gingerbread out of the box :-(
- Power button location sucks
- Volume buttons are on wrong side :-(
- I know people hate trackball, but until Gingerbread makes it out to the Atrix, copy-n-paste SUCKS

I prefer this phone over my captivate 10 fold. The screen is not a big issue to me as a lot of times on the captivate screen peoples faces always had a tint of red to them. Over saturation is over saturation no matter how you look at it. The phone is also super fast in UI transitions for me and is worlds better then the captivate in that respect. Motoblur home UI used to cause all sorts of slow down but switching to launcher pro fixed all of those issues. The phone is really quick and snappy. The XDA load screen is pixelated i would assume because it is a lower res image in the first place. Also why is that even important? it's just a load screen?

Some people are just trying too hard to find any excuse to hate the phone.
tbae2 said:
The XDA load screen is pixelated i would assume because it is a lower res image in the first place. Also why is that even important? it's just a load screen?
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Click to collapse

Coming from a Nexus One (which btw was a great phone in its own right), and having had a plethora of phones including an iPhone 4 and a Captivate, I am very happy with the Atrix.
There are a lot of people making a big deal of AMOLED vs LCD. What I'd like to add is that it really is COMPLETELY A MATTER OF PERSONAL PREFERENCE! I, for one, prefer the more natural tones and higher brightness of an LCD display, but do see the draw of the higher contrast AMOLED. There are valid arguments for the pros and cons of both types of displays, and it really is best to see the two side by side in various environments to determine what works best for you.
Moving right along to the data speed: I've read a lot of posts about the data being capped and slower than 3g phones, but this has not been my experience! I used the new SIM they sent me and made sure I was on the 4G plan, and now my downloads are consistently faster than they are on the N1 and even faster than the iPhone (funny how that the iPhone still sets the benchmark).
Lastly, I want to address the performance of the phone: I think it's phenomenal! I did root and replace the stock launcher right away, but besides that everything is stock. The phone is super responsive. The transitions are seamless. Everything works great with one exception - the lock screen which takes a second to come up.
To wrap up, I think the Atrix is a very nice upgrade to my N1 and that Motorola hit a home run with this phone. Granted, we won't realize it's full potential for a few months, but I believe that the Atrix is a great platform and will have superb development support from the community!

dew.man said:
Coming from a Nexus One (which btw was a great phone in its own right), and having had a plethora of phones including an iPhone 4 and a Captivate, I am very happy with the Atrix.
There are a lot of people making a big deal of AMOLED vs LCD. What I'd like to add is that it really is COMPLETELY A MATTER OF PERSONAL PREFERENCE! I, for one, prefer the more natural tones and higher brightness of an LCD display, but do see the draw of the higher contrast AMOLED. There are valid arguments for the pros and cons of both types of displays, and it really is best to see the two side by side in various environments to determine what works best for you.
Moving right along to the data speed: I've read a lot of posts about the data being capped and slower than 3g phones, but this has not been my experience! I used the new SIM they sent me and made sure I was on the 4G plan, and now my downloads are consistently faster than they are on the N1 and even faster than the iPhone (funny how that the iPhone still sets the benchmark).
Lastly, I want to address the performance of the phone: I think it's phenomenal! I did root and replace the stock launcher right away, but besides that everything is stock. The phone is super responsive. The transitions are seamless. Everything works great with one exception - the lock screen which takes a second to come up.
To wrap up, I think the Atrix is a very nice upgrade to my N1 and that Motorola hit a home run with this phone. Granted, we won't realize it's full potential for a few months, but I believe that the Atrix is a great platform and will have superb development support from the community!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
exactly, my phone pulls the same DL speeds I could get from my captivate in my area. The only thing I'm lacking is the upload speed.

Think I'm going back to my inspire.....on another note, the Atrix's GPS is STELLAR
Sent from my MB860 using XDA App

I'm extremely happy with mine. Coming from a ton of phones recently, including iP4, Captivate, Inspire, Surround among others. It may be the perfect size of phone/screen combo for me. Atrix is super fast and I'm good with the screen.
Everyone sees it's a pentile display and all of sudden it's garbage. I don't notice pixels. Sure, maybe if I got really close and squint my eyes I might. I'll never know because I don't spend all day trying to figure out how my phone sucks. Web page loads are faster than the Inspire for me.
Battery looks to be insanely good compared to the Inspire. I'd been using mine heavily since 10am yesterday googing around with it and playing games. I didn't plug it in when I went to bed and it still said 40% when I woke up. I realize that it goes in increments of 10, but that's pretty solid.
Sound quality is excellent! Talking on the phone shows really great audio quality for me. The biggest surprise was how loud/clear the speaker is for music and nav. I couldn't be happier with the phone.

Aaron J said:
If there is one thing I am slightly disappointed in is the phone's ram. The "1gb" of ram appears to be split in half between the phone and the web top environment, so either one can only access 512mb at any one time. I'm only slightly disappointed because I expected it. It's another case of misleading, but not totally false advertising...now, about my missing "G" in network speed....
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Hey, that's interesting. How did you come to this conclusion? I can't find any place in the settings that tells exactly how much RAM is in use/available.

Happy from aa TP2 but furious about what I paid for. Horrible Service no, Signed bootloader. Capped 3g Speeds, forget about 4g that is non existent where I live although it says 4G+

sdlopez83 said:
Happy from aa TP2 but furious about what I paid for. Horrible Service no, Signed bootloader. Capped 3g Speeds, forget about 4g that is non existent where I live although it says 4G+
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Click to collapse
Just curious why you bought it if your service is so bad? We all knew the bootloader was going to be locked down because it's Moto.

I found the Inspire to be light years ahead of the Captivate, and the Atrix to be just a notch above the Inspire. Also, I like the Atrix's skinned version of Swype. I honestly didn't even know it came with Swype until last night. I was using stock the whole time. lol
As for the iPhone 4, I can see why some aren't as impressed. When it comes down to it, no phone on the market can match its polish. Some come close, but none match. For me, I just prefer Android over iOS.
Sent from my MB860 using XDA App

[Q] Does the Atrix live up to the Hype?

Ok guys ive been reading mixed comments about the Atrix that its good and that its not. I was in 2 minds whether to get the Atrix or the LG Optimus 2X. Originally I was gonne get which ever I could get my hands on 1st. Both have their pros and cons i.e. camera, ram, locked bootloader, screen quality, internal memory etc
Well I decided to get the LG and this comment made in the o2x forum sealed it
Ive been using my atrix couple weeks an am falling out of love with it fast, after yesterday it ramdomly shut off 2x an today once sofar. The screen is beging to bother me the screendoor washed out look. Allready returned lapdock, that cant even compare to a real laptop in my opion. So im looking hard at the Lg 2x for an upgrade of camera, gyroscope, performance, faster upgrade to gingerbread, real mirroring, 1080p recording an play back, 7.1 sound, totaly unlocked phone. Yes 512mb memory is trade off, but operating system will handly that, an the battery is non issue, I'll have a spare battery or a charging source anyway. Not to mention not paying 20/month to not tether, an having my data speeds throttled down to 1.5mb down an 310kb up lat of 350-800. An Atrix doesnt do LTE
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But now im stiill thinking what to do as Im so impatient and want a dual core phone asap. So I made this poll to see everyones view

Coming from a N1, there's not that much improvement. I'm satisfied, but not amazed by this phone. Still debating if I should return it and wait it out.
My impressions:
-Definitely faster, everything is much snappier, but browsing-wise there's not much of a difference.
-Screen is bright and sharp (as long as you don't put your face within inches of the screen you won't really notice the pentile display. But it's still an annoyance when you notice it)
-Camera is marginally better. Pretty disappointing for a flagship device. Plus the media gallery lags like this is a 2 year old phone when zooming in and out.
-GPS is amazing
-Pretty much Motorblur slows this phone's speed and potential. If this device was stock or able to flash truly custom ROMs, it'd be screaming in speed and blow every competitor out of the water.
Sent from my MB860 using XDA App

Custom ROMS would make it a whole lot better.

19 voters.. 2 responses.. lol
I think it lives up to the hype.. couple quirks I miss from my captivate but.. besides that the phone is solid.
Now I just got to wait for Tango to support our phones :T

Came from the LG Expo. A much better improvement than the last generation phones. The phone just beats about everything out of the expo. Only thing getting to me is that the expo's fingerprint scanner doubled as a trackpad (would've been nice to have for editing text's)

harolds said:
Custom ROMS would make it a whole lot better.
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This pretty much summed it up

I think this is a situation that there is not enough tangible usage of a dual core for majority of people. Most of people wont notice any improvements in UI speed. We need evolution of software just like in iOS that despite this same architecture people could understand what the new software is bring them.
It feels a bit like a premature technology and we are all living dreaming of tomorrow while we are beta testing for Motorola/Samsung/HTC.
Just 2 cents.

Believe what you want but I love the Atrix. Had a captivate and it doesn't compare. My phone has never rebooted or lagged- I don't know what others do to theirs but my phone is rock solid.
Sent from my MB860 using XDA App

I'm lovin mine all around. For people who return it because of locked bootloader, I'd say that you knew that when you bought it if it's a dealbreaker.

The webtop dock alone has made this phone exceed the hype. All thanks to the devs
You guys rock
Sent from my MB860 using XDA App

i have a nexus one and now and atrix and have had it for about a week and i love it. It works great, no random reboots or anything ... just smooth sailing.
I know i can not customize it like I could my N1 but I think that day will come in time. I'll wait ...

Yes, it lived up to the hype in my opinion.

Came from Nexus One. Love the Atrix. It fast and solidly built. Im not sure why everyone said motorblur slow the phone down. I use ADW launcher and it scream.

The Atrix doesn't live up to the Best of CES 2011 hype. The locked bootloader, 1080p "coming soon" recording, overpriced lapdock, overpriced multimedia dock, and good-but-not-great screen keep it from living up to the incredible hype it garnered when it was announced.
Your poll is worded slightly differently: Was the Atrix worth it?
I just came from an ancient Iphone 3g, so the Atrix is absolutely amazing in pretty much every way compared to it and finally getting to use my upgrade was absolutely worth it!
I originally tried out a Captivate for about a week back when I first came up for an upgrade last november. It kept turning itself off (not sleep, total shutdown so I wouldn't receive calls, txt, email ect.) which was a deal breaker. The useless GPS didn't help it's case either. Screen was gorgeous, speed was decent, build quality was ok, battery life was ok. Anyways, I sent the Captivate back after a week, I couldn't have a phone that didn't take phone calls.
First and foremost I love the speed. This thing is lightning fast and seems to have horsepower to burn under the hood. Second is the battery life, I get home from work most of the time with over 40% battery power remaining which is absolutely astounding, my iphone couldn't make it through a full day without getting some juice at my desk and while the captivate did, it was usually at 10-15%. I'm also using the Atrix more than either of the others because I don't feel like I have to conserve battery power to make it through the day.
After those two big features, there are a bunch of less important things that I like:
Finger print scanner is great, I can unlock the phone without even looking at it. I know this doesn't sound important, but it's surprisingly useful when I'm just trying to pull information off my phone quickly and can have it already unlocked as I'm pulling it out of my pocket.
GPS is the best I've experienced on a phone, and better than some dedicated GPS units I've had the displeasure to work with.
Build quality (contrary to some reports I've read) is quite good imo. The phone itself is very sturdy feeling when held by the sides. The back cover is a bit flimsy, but it is also what convinced me to skip getting a case for the Atrix, if it gets scratched I'll just get a new back.
Gorilla Glass is not glued to LCD. Should keep repair costs down.
HDMI out is great, webtop with working firefox extensions is awesome.
Some good, some bad:
Screen resolution is good (colors not so much). The auto-brightness seems to be set a little low imho. I only notice a pentile effect on particularly small+thin fonts.
Camera is surprisingly good in low-light and indoor conditions. Not especially great overall though, tint seems a little off. May just need to set up a custom photoshop filter to correct it.
Call quality is good in quiet conditions, very clear reception and a detailed microphone. Not so good in noisy or windy conditions, the mic picks up a lot of extraneous noise, people are often asking me what's going on or where I am now based on background noise.
I haven't had much reason to use the front facing camera...frankly with AT&T's network I think video chat is a gimmick more than anything else.
I wonder about the finger print scanner/button longevity.
I wouldn't necessarily say the Atrix is the best phone around, but it was the best phone that fit my requirements (ATT, asap, batt life, fast) and so far I like it a lot.
Running ADW Launcher and really like the Advanced Clock widget.

I took mine back and have the Nexus 1 now; I liked the speed but for the most part, my 2.3.3 phone is about as fast; the main thing slowing these phones down now is the network speeds anyway.
If I'm on a wifi network, they're all pretty much the same speed.
Living up to the hype? Definitely not. There are a lot of small problems with this phone that a lot of people don't like; to me, it feels slightly rushed.

I came from an iPhone 4 and I haven't missed the iPhone experience yet. I started with the HTC Inspire which is a nice phone but the battery is rotten and the volume from the phone was pathetic. The Atrix has been an awesome phone for me. It has pretty good battery life so far and yes there are no truly custom ROMs but Adeo (REDUX) has made the UI lag go away on my end and I know others have said the same thing. I am loving the experience of this phone.
Just know that anytime you get a phone shortly after a better one will come out. It's all user preference and what you want and what you think is important. I'm happy but guy x may not be happy. So use one and if you don't like it don't keep it.

I went from a HTC Fuze directly to the Atrix. I love it. (almost) Everything about it. I have played with the Inspire and a couple other 2.1/2.2 devices (girlfriends captivate) and this thing stomps the crap out of them. The colors are just a little off, but that's probably just me going for an extreme upgrade from the phone I had before.
The *ONLY* gripe I have about it is the locked HSUPA. But with all good things come some bad, I think I'm gonna stick it out with the Atrix. Not only that but Spectral Souls looks amazing on it

Guys, please, help me to make a right decision.
Is it possible to buy AT&T version of Motorola Atrix and use it outside US? Is it simple to unlock it? Or where do you recommend to purchase unlocked phone.
P.$.: does motorola have any plans to upgrade it 2.3/3.1 in the future? As I know it's not the trivial to customize firmware for motorola phones (my old G1 can be customized without any problems).
Thanks a lot.

The phone is great nuff said.... We are all a bit too picky but for what its worth this is really the only phone out right now that can take down the iphone 4. My iphone 4 has just been sitting on my night table since I got the Atrix. Atrix has so much more potential and the Android os is so much more pleasing than iIS. Once the bootloader gets cracked its game over!
Sent from my MB860 using XDA App

Genixoid said:
Guys, please, help me to make a right decision.
Is it possible to buy AT&T version of Motorola Atrix and use it outside US? Is it simple to unlock it? Or where do you recommend to purchase unlocked phone.
P.$.: does motorola have any plans to upgrade it 2.3/3.1 in the future? As I know it's not the trivial to customize firmware for motorola phones (my old G1 can be customized without any problems).
Thanks a lot.
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Yes, I am using Atrix on my business trips to EU using local sim cards.
Probably, but the timing of updates is another question.
Sent from my MB860 using XDA App

NS still holding it's own

I enjoyed reading this:
http://thisismynext.com/2011/05/30/coming-nexus-s/
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA Premium App

That's kind of how I feel as well after "upgrading" from an Epic 4g... I really wish something out there seemed better than the nexus, a 5 month old phone, release 5 months late on sprint, when in reality it's a year old hardware that launched on the Galaxy S last May...
I really sincerely agree with the blog and wish that a decent phone has come out since then, but all this bull**** with modified android, flaky hardware, and poor support really has me turned off from every phone except for the Nexus series.... When my contract with Sprint is up I'm likely going to be moving to the carrier with the newest Nexus, not with the best 4g coverage, fastest speeds, or newest phone.... but the one with the most reliable.
I just noticed that was posted by Chris Ziegler. I'd imagine that's the same one from Engadget, in which I find it to be very interesting that someone with so much exposure to new technology feels that way.

I agree with the article it's just makes more sense to release a product that works instead of a product that has everything but doesn't work...

This was my first smartphone. Yes, I could've waited a month and got another, and in terms of theoretical performance, better.
But I can't say I regret myself one bit, it's truly an amazing phone and all complaints I had in the beginning has been solved by the amazing devs here on XDA
I'll probably keel this phone for a long while!
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA Premium App

Thanks for the link, phillevy. This article perfectly describes the current situation on the android handset market.
Before I chose the Nexus S, I had ordered 2 HTC Desire S which I sent back because of their crappy build quality (Google brings up lots of threads about this topic). I certainly prefer the looks of the Desire S over the Nexus S, but if you buy a high-end android smartphone you also expect high end build quality. If you buy a cheap (but still very good) ZTE Blade, you can live with wobbly switches and some other flaws in build quality.
Before choosing the Nexus S, I also considered the Galaxy S2. But Samsung's lame update policy and a barely noticeable added value of the dual core processor (besides some games) made me chose the Nexus S which brought up an update notification to 2.3.4 instantly after connecting to my WLAN router.
Bottomline: I'm very satisfied with my unbranded, factory-simlock-free Nexus S. There are certainly some handsets out there which outperform the Nexus S in terms of some features, but not if you have a look at the whole package.

it just feels good knowing i'm not getting crazy, cause i moved from my old htc desire hd for the same reason. Nexus S is not the best in all functionality, but makes everything pretty much well.
DHD makes HD videos and has 8mp cam, but it can focus with that, i can only take photos from static things.
DHD has a huge screen, but somehow its lcd screen is pretty lame, with washed colors (i have a sclcd nexus, but it get a way way better screen).
DHD has dolby-s and srs, but that speaker is awful, you can make it better with several tweaks, but...
to make a long story short, despite all devices with amazing specs arriving out there, i can't see a single one that lets me a little excited... i guess i'm stuck with nexus series!

Yep I agree totally coming from a higher spec G2x. In the end the specs are important but they are not everything. Especially if the experience is degraded by bugs (G2x) or skins (anything Moto). So you get a high spec phone and keep flashing nightly ROMs until you get one that works perfectly. That's quite a waiting game to play, especially if you can just get a Nexus that works perfectly out of the box . I view custom ROMs as something that can *add* to the experience and improve the phone in many ways, but they shouldn't be *necessary* to have a working bug-free, lag-free phone. Nexus FTW.

The Nexus series is the closest you can get to "future-proof" in the smartphone world. That is what made me upgrade from the Epic. Knowing that I will get pretty much every Android update in the foreseeable future (barring any new major hardware requirements implemented by Google...which I don't see happening anytime soon).
Its nice being free from the confines of Touchwiz or MotoBlur. My Nexy is truly MY phone. I can do whatever I want with it. Its a true Android experience.
Having the latest software and the peace of mind that I won't be left in the dust is better than having slightly better hardware in my opinion. The Nexus S 4G can still hold its own. The Hummingbird is still a very high end chip.

mapin0518 said:
Yep I agree totally coming from a higher spec G2x. In the end the specs are important but they are not everything. Especially if the experience is degraded by bugs (G2x) or skins (anything Moto). So you get a high spec phone and keep flashing nightly ROMs until you get one that works perfectly. That's quite a waiting game to play, especially if you can just get a Nexus that works perfectly out of the box . I view custom ROMs as something that can *add* to the experience and improve the phone in many ways, but they shouldn't be *necessary* to have a working bug-free, lag-free phone. Nexus FTW.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1
I just came over from the G2x as well. I went through 3 of 'em, and thought my 3rd was a winner, but that one went all wonky on me too. Supposedly gonna get an update to GB and to fix the "issues" that plague it, but I'm not convinced that a software patch and GB update is gonna fix what's wrong with the G2x.
To be honest, the NS is just a better phone for how I use a phone and I probably should have gotten it in the first place.

Yup, great phone, but needs hardware acceleration asap. Browsing experience, at least compared to my old phone HTC Desire, is hilarious. It lags at rendering flash content or big pictures and scrolling through them is not smooth at all. Another thing that is bugging me is that from the 512mb RAM, 200 is used for the GPU alone, so we're left with 300mb for the system and apps, which is very low. I often find myself left with 30-50mb free RAM and when I open some demanding apps (games for example), it lags until android kills some processes by itself, lags horridly. So I finally got to the point where I need the advanced task killer app.
I am actually surprised that people coming from the Desire HD or Inspire didn't mention anything about this :|

I was on my 4th G2x and I'm done with that phone. Reboots, freezing, can't hold a data connection or Wi-Fi. I was gonna go with a myTouch 4G but decided to go back to the Nexus S. Always loved it and it does me fine.

scmurphy13 said:
I was on my 4th G2x and I'm done with that phone. Reboots, freezing, can't hold a data connection or Wi-Fi. I was gonna go with a myTouch 4G but decided to go back to the Nexus S. Always loved it and it does me fine.
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Click to collapse
Yup, glad to see there are quite a few of us that left the G2x for the NS. That phone was nothing but a headache for me (reboots and shutdowns on stock systems with no additional apps installed). I went through 2 of them and ran out of patience (plus I was on day 29 out of 30 of my remorse period so I needed to make a decision!).
I hope Google doesn't go with LG for their Nexus 3. LG has left a very bitter taste in my mouth.

mapin0518 said:
I hope Google doesn't go with LG for their Nexus 3. LG has left a very bitter taste in my mouth.
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That's what she said!
In all seriousness, I hope not either. The only thing I've ever purchased from LG that was worth a damn has been a washer and dryer.
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA Premium App

lvnatic said:
I am actually surprised that people coming from the Desire HD or Inspire didn't mention anything about this :|
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you are right, browser experience with dhd is really better, but to be honest, i was so pissed with update delay and annoying bugs that i was in cm7 for daily use!

I have come over from the G2X as well. On my second, I would get data drops like crazy.
But, I have not had a single drop since getting my Nexus S. I love this phone, and Ill probably keep until until the next Nexus phone releases

I upgraded from the Nexus S to the G2x four days before it was released. I used the G2x as my only phone for a bit over a month. Ended up selling it and coming back to the Nexus S. I did not experience any of the reboots, connection problems, or severe screen bleed that others are reporting. I simply prefer the Nexus S. That's means a lot coming from me...I'm the kind of person that upgrades phones around three times a year so I can always have the latest and greatest. I came back for four main reasons.
1) Overall smoother experience both hardware and software wise. Software felt smoother, touchscreen more responsive, and I prefer the feel of the haptic feedback.
2) Updates from Google rather than TMo. No-brainer.
3) Dramatically better battery life. No comparison at all, Nexus S blows away G2x. The NS is the only Android phone I've owned that I didn't need to carry a spare battery around for.
4) Form factor....this was the biggest reason. I'm on my phone for many hours per day. Even after a month I still disliked the feel of the G2x. I just didn't like holding it. It feels like a brick. Coming back to the NS was like a breath of fresh air, even with it's clearly inferior specs and pixelated pentile matrix. People complain of a cheap build quality, but I actually really like it. Sure it's plastic but it doesn't feel flimsy. And it's a pleasure to use. Even the way it flips around when picking it up from the base, the positioning of the power button, the curved screen. I just really like the phone. Keep your 1080p recording, HDMI out, and "Tegra Zone" (to name a few, list goes on and on). I'll keep my Nexus S.
Sent from my Nexus S using Tapatalk

mhaedo said:
***
2) Updates from Google rather than TMo. No-brainer.
***
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As G2x owners are now experiencing. The phone should have had tasty gingerbread from day 1, but didn't. T-Mo said the wait for GB wouldn't be long, but it's already been 6 or 7 weeks. Now T-Mo says "by summer", whatever that means. In theory that means by June 21.
I do miss the idea of the raw power of the G2x, but I don't miss the G2x. Perhaps the next nexus device will figure out how to utilize a multi-core processor. If so, I'll leave the NS for it.