Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Monday, June 6, 2011
Motorola Atrix 4G: Final Opinion
Finally getting my hands on the Motorola Atrix 4G seemed like a fleeting dream as I continued to wait for the rumored release time of the first week in March. With the continuing agony of Nokia delaying the E7 in the same period, there was no logical reason that Motorola would keep its word on the new phone's availability. Owning the HTC Inspire had its perks, but I was always aware of it being an inevitable stepping stone to the Atrix. Just when mid-February arrived and the E7 still remained off the virtual shelves of online vendors, I thought it best to just focus on waiting for Motorola instead. As luck would have it, the Atrix release date was not delayed but pushed AHEAD to February 22nd!! If that was not the final nail in the coffin of my hope for Nokia's E7, then I don't know what else it could have been otherwise. As I walked out of the AT&T store with the laptop dock bundle in my possession, the situation felt so surreal. After days of anticipating this mobile gem upon seeing product demonstrations at CES, I was walking on air toward my Honda and eager to speed home for the unboxing!
Holding the main component of the body in my hand evoked a sense of solid craftsmanship. Once I attached the battery door, I was convinced I had found a worthy successor to the Inspire. Despite all the plastic that went into forming the Atrix, it still maintained an acceptable heft from high-end build quality. This was certainly not reminiscent of the lightweight, hollowed Samsung Focus. The form factor with its curved corners depicted perfect dimensions in being a bit smaller than the Captivate, yet still holding on to a 4inch screen. In comparison to the HTC Inspire's blend of soft-touch plastic and metal, Atrix's overall design seemed pedestrian and almost completely devoid of character. The sloping fingerprint scanner button on the upper back of the phone provided the only redemption from being a plain touch slab immersed in total boredom.
I did have concern for GPS on the first time I used Google Navigator on a 35 minute road trip. With the music app playing in the background, the GPS signal was lost for a total of FIVE times! To make things worse, once the signal was lost there was no sign of the Atrix retrieving it again. This resulted in the inconvenience of having to quit and restart the Navigator app in the middle of the road trip...not good. Upon the return trip in my vehicle, I did find everything to work normally with music playback and route recalculations as well. I was not sure if the previous mishap could have been due to my first time using such functionality on that particular phone. Either way, I was indeed overjoyed to be reunited with the RunKeeper app for my outside cardio sessions. Just like the Milestone I had reviewed, the Atrix proved to be very accurate in tracking my running route through Downtown Norfolk and flawlessly transmitted results to my online account immediately.
Signal reception on the AT&T 3G network was no different than other phones I had used previously. No dropped calls experienced on the Atrix. However, there was that same issue with the "H" being portrayed in the upper taskbar when I had been told by an AT&T rep that 4G had not been activated for my area yet.
Call quality on the earpiece was passable for the most part, even though more volume would have been nice. For voice calls, people on the other end sounded clear with no sign of interference.
A HUGE breath of fresh air came from the loudspeaker quality being SO much improved over the Inspire 4G! There was finally an acceptable amount of vivid clarity and depth in the playback of multimedia, and the Atrix could easily rival the Captivate's speaker. Volume range also surpassed what HTC had put into the Inspire, offering a fantastic dose of audio power for movie watching and music listening. Speakerphone calls also benefited from this great speaker as well.
Watching movies on the 4inch TFT screen was not really on the same level as the Captivate's SuperAMOLED, but was acceptable nonetheless. However, I did run into a peculiar problem where the Atrix was not able to playback every movie file I had installed via USB mass storage. This was certainly upsetting considering that the Nokia N8 and Samsung Captivate had NO trouble in playing these same clips. I did take time to research every file affected to see if there was anything in common, but nothing came to fruition. While this was unfortunate, having a movie player was not the primary reason for my acquiring the Atrix. Films that did work were presented with intuitive touch controls for overall playback navigation. Aspect ratio settings were very basic and not on the same level as the Nokia N8 or the HTC Inspire. There was only one touch command that would either shrink the video down to size or expand it to fit the screen. It was very convenient to be able to resume playback from the most recent placement instead of having to start from the beginning. The interface of the Gallery did offer a feature resembling Apple's CoverFlow when the phone was turned into a landscape position.
I have to admit that the Sense UI on the Inspire did offer some welcomed benefits for a more efficient music player. On the other hand, MotoBlur hardly touched the app and basically left it in stock-like Android form unless turned landscape to reveal a CoverFlow-like interface. Since I would not have been sure if MotoBlur could have delivered in the same manner as Sense or even TouchWiz, I was glad to at least not have the music player app mutilated by mediocrity. EQ features were plentiful and presented plenty of ways to customize one's listening experience.
The camera was great for still pictures and acceptable for HD video recording, but there were two issues I found fault with. There was an occasional purplish blotch that would appear in the center of certain HD videos, and the dual LED flash sometimes cast a yellowish coloring. Aside from that, I did determine the camera to much better than what I recalled from the HTC Inspire. The user interface was simple and intuitive at best for quick operation.
My impression of the laptop dock experience was mixed at best. As much as I loved being able to use a full hardware qwerty keyboard with an Android device, there were cons that did remind me of how much improvement could be done. Basically, I took on the role as a guinea pig for this new docking technology with a full expectation of potential pitfalls...especially after having read the Engadget review. Starting with the positives: the Atrix could be used with a hardware connection to a full keyboard and bigger screen, one could monitor phone alerts on-screen via convenient pop-ups, direct interaction with the phone UI could take place within the Mobile View window which could be expanded to full screen view, a native WebTop interface allowed access to features like a flash-enabled Firefox browser and shortcuts to specific functions on a Mac-like dock. All of these benefits combined really made the laptop dock a godsend in regards to owning an Android device! No longer did I have to be at the mercy of a bluetooth keyboard driver or be limited to a phone's 4inch screen for word document editing. Instead of relying on a mobile app like DocsToGo Word to grant me access to Google Docs, I could work directly with the actual Google Docs site as a webtop app! Being able to keep an eye on alerts from my Atrix seemed like a trivial issue, but actually added to the overall convergence experience I always wanted with a smartphone. With the dock, I could almost effortlessly transform my touch slab phone into a portable netbook-like device.
After the initial perks of owning the laptop dock with the Atrix, there were indeed some unfortunate negatives to tolerate in everyday usage. First off, Engadget was 100% correct in its primary criticism of performance being sluggish. If someone wished to browse multiple tabs on Firefox with YouTube videos playing to the hilt while bouncing to Facebook and Mobile View, he was in for a rude awakening if he expected acceptable speed. While being connected to a WiFi network did offer minor redemption (if any at all), it was clear that having a separate netbook or laptop would be the best alternative for the average customer. While I typically had only the Mobile View window open with two windows for Google Docs, I still noticed minor lags in operating scroll functions with a USB mouse or deleting multiple items with the backspace key. This same scroll lag also took place with the Facebook webtop app as well as the Firefox browser. It was clear that if one wanted to do any kind of browsing or multitasking with acceptable performance, MUCH patience was required...MUCH! Through my own personal testing, I discovered that a maximum of eight windows could be open at one time before a memory error was bound to appear and ask for something to be closed. Considering the smartphone nature of the Atrix and my own paltry usage requirements in managing Google Docs, the laptop dock still was not a bad option for a full qwerty and big screen...at least not for me. Another issue I encountered involved the flash-intensive Sports Tracker website with manual uploading of run data. Whether on WiFi or the AT&T data network, there was always an error. The built-in trackpad did not offer any multitouch gestures or scrolling capability, which brought me back to the primitive method of holding down a click button on a side cursor and scrolling on the pad itself! This issue was thankfully solved by a USB mouse that could simply be plugged into one of the two available ports. Using a bluetooth mouse was another option, but I lost patience in the midst of having connectivity issues with a Microsoft model I had. At the end of the day, a small USB alternative was less of a headache for me, so I returned the bluetooth mouse and relied on primary wireless linking with my Sennheiser MM400 headset for music and voice calls. NOTE: After further use of the Sennheiser model, I eventually decided to replace it with the Nokia BH-905i. Speaking of calls, any that were made to the Atrix automatically went to the speaker if no bluetooth headset was connected. I did not have a wired headphone set with a mic that could work with the Atrix, so I was unable to test such usage. When I did use the speakerphone in a quiet setting with the laptop dock, the call quality was less than impressive in comparison to a bluetooth headset alternative. Another big issue was the Atrix sometimes not granting 3G data access for webtop apps. Upon docking the phone and opening the laptop screen, Mobile View would show a pop-up stating that my AT&T account was being verified for use with WebTop. For reasons unknown, my account would sometimes not be verified and I was treated as if I did not have the appropriate tethering data plan when I actually DID! Clicking on Facebook or Firefox or any webtop app bookmark resulted in a most irritating page loading error. The ONLY solution to this problem was to simply turn off the Atrix and power it back on...an inconvenience, but not a deal breaker. Playing back music on the speakers was not the end of the world, but audio quality was a bit too tinny for my taste, and I depended on my bluetooth headset anyway.
At one point, there was a situation with my Atrix that resulted in the phone suddenly reformatting its own 16GB of internal memory without ANY logical reason! I had written a whole separate blog post on the issue (http://www.trentsense.com/2011/03/atrix-atrocity.html), and actually contemplated replacing the Motorola altogether. But at the time, I was smitten by the laptop dock experience and had yet to get the car dock, so I chose to call AT&T and get a replacement unit sent to me instead. Luckily, I had no further problems after that.
AFTER SOFTWARE UPDATE
Just recently there was an Android software update to version 4.1.57 on my Atrix from AT&T. Listed improvements included the following:
Bluetooth Improved multimedia experience with Bluetooth devices as well as the ability to use phone with additional headsets
Fingerprint reader Improved fingerprint reader performance
Battery Improved battery performance for longer battery life
Screen Display will turn off automatically now while charging directly on wall charger
Phone stability Improved stability resulting in fewer occurrences of touch unresponsiveness and/or programs quitting unexpectedly.
Car dock Improved performance of car dock and 3.5mm jack
Upon downloading the update, I first noticed that the MotoBlur date and time widget malfunctioned constantly on the homescreen and I had to do away with it completely. However, there seemed to be an unforeseen benefit to the update in regards to the Atrix's bluetooth pairing capabilities. Late one night, I came across an Engadget article asking readers to share what they thought was the best hardware qwerty Android. After reading a most interesting comment thread, I was inspired to try again to pair and connect my pocket bluetooth keyboard. Since I didn't have any luck after my first unboxing of the Atrix, I naturally expected the same outcome only to be forced onto my laptop dock. Thankfully, I was wrong!! It took all I had not to scream and wake up the house at that moment as my key presses registered on the Atrix screen! Not expecting for luck to strike twice, I took on the attempt to pair and connect my Freedom Pro keyboard that had been collecting dust for the longest time...AND IT WORKED!!! Unfortunately, my rejoicing was to be short-lived due to one huge problem in editing with the Google Docs app. It turned out that editing was only possible when the virtual qwerty was present, so my Bluetooth keyboards were useless!
After another OTA update for full access to AT&T 4G data speeds, the date and time widget no longer malfunctioned. Honestly, I didn't really find anything faster about the so-called 4G on the Atrix in real world usage when compared to 3G. Since the data was truly 3.5G and only "rebranded" as 4G, it was a little hard to take such an upgrade seriously anyway.
After finally getting the car dock, I was convinced that my growing Atrix ecosystem was the best option for me as an Android user. It was such a convenient method to dock the phone securely in landscape mode with a simultaneous connection to the charger and car stereo, and I absolutely loved it! The car home application worked wonders for providing a finger-friendly UI to operate while driving, and the dock itself was extremely sturdy in its construction. The locking latch at the top granted easy removal of the device, although getting the Atrix in position on the mini HDMI plug took a while to get used to.
With such custom accessories surpassing the Nexus One experience, I thought I was destined to be set for life with the Motorola Atrix...but I was wrong. As much as I favored writing with the laptop dock, it could NEVER replace the convenience of a built-in keyboard for the most optimum on-the-go word processing. Having to find a desk, table top, or use my own lap with a mini USB mouse proved to be more of a nuisance at times when I just wanted to pull out my handset and begin writing at a moment's notice. Charging of the Atrix while docked and the WebTop interface simply weren't enough to keep the phone worthwhile for my own mobile productivity. At the end of the day, I still yearned for a device that could grant me a capable touch OS on a large screen with an onboard hardware keyboard. When the cumbersome laptop dock was stored in my backpack, the Atrix was no different than previous touch slabs that could not fulfill my needs as a smartphone user. With this realization, I decided to sell my entire Atrix bundle and go with another hardware alternative altogether.
With my not keeping the Atrix, that was not to declare anything negative on its part as a touch-only device for daily usage. I got the most impressive use out of the high resolution screen in showing more information for web browsing and using apps like TweetDeck. The speaker remained one of the best for listening to multimedia and speakerphone calls aloud, and the camera was suitable despite occasional purplish coloring on video footage and a urine-colored LED flash. Fingerprint scanning proved to be more of a novelty that could sometimes be unreliable. The plastic construction was solid, but still had a slippery grip requiring a rubber case to prevent likely dropping. GPS worked better than ever before with my continued usage of RunKeeper and Google Navigation. With the appropriate updates, my Atrix turned out to be a most capable and competitive unit even when locked to the AT&T network. Unfortunately, I did get to a point where I could advise against purchasing anything more than the vehicle dock. While the multimedia and laptop docks did appear to be tempting buys, the pricing was simply too much for a sluggish WebTop interface that in NO way resembled netbook speeds let alone a laptop! To get the most out of one's money, the Atrix paired with a laptop/netbook via tethering proved to be a MUCH better option in the long run.
Trent Smith
Sent from my Dell Venue Pro
http://about.me/trentsense/bio
Holding the main component of the body in my hand evoked a sense of solid craftsmanship. Once I attached the battery door, I was convinced I had found a worthy successor to the Inspire. Despite all the plastic that went into forming the Atrix, it still maintained an acceptable heft from high-end build quality. This was certainly not reminiscent of the lightweight, hollowed Samsung Focus. The form factor with its curved corners depicted perfect dimensions in being a bit smaller than the Captivate, yet still holding on to a 4inch screen. In comparison to the HTC Inspire's blend of soft-touch plastic and metal, Atrix's overall design seemed pedestrian and almost completely devoid of character. The sloping fingerprint scanner button on the upper back of the phone provided the only redemption from being a plain touch slab immersed in total boredom.
I did have concern for GPS on the first time I used Google Navigator on a 35 minute road trip. With the music app playing in the background, the GPS signal was lost for a total of FIVE times! To make things worse, once the signal was lost there was no sign of the Atrix retrieving it again. This resulted in the inconvenience of having to quit and restart the Navigator app in the middle of the road trip...not good. Upon the return trip in my vehicle, I did find everything to work normally with music playback and route recalculations as well. I was not sure if the previous mishap could have been due to my first time using such functionality on that particular phone. Either way, I was indeed overjoyed to be reunited with the RunKeeper app for my outside cardio sessions. Just like the Milestone I had reviewed, the Atrix proved to be very accurate in tracking my running route through Downtown Norfolk and flawlessly transmitted results to my online account immediately.
Signal reception on the AT&T 3G network was no different than other phones I had used previously. No dropped calls experienced on the Atrix. However, there was that same issue with the "H" being portrayed in the upper taskbar when I had been told by an AT&T rep that 4G had not been activated for my area yet.
Call quality on the earpiece was passable for the most part, even though more volume would have been nice. For voice calls, people on the other end sounded clear with no sign of interference.
A HUGE breath of fresh air came from the loudspeaker quality being SO much improved over the Inspire 4G! There was finally an acceptable amount of vivid clarity and depth in the playback of multimedia, and the Atrix could easily rival the Captivate's speaker. Volume range also surpassed what HTC had put into the Inspire, offering a fantastic dose of audio power for movie watching and music listening. Speakerphone calls also benefited from this great speaker as well.
Watching movies on the 4inch TFT screen was not really on the same level as the Captivate's SuperAMOLED, but was acceptable nonetheless. However, I did run into a peculiar problem where the Atrix was not able to playback every movie file I had installed via USB mass storage. This was certainly upsetting considering that the Nokia N8 and Samsung Captivate had NO trouble in playing these same clips. I did take time to research every file affected to see if there was anything in common, but nothing came to fruition. While this was unfortunate, having a movie player was not the primary reason for my acquiring the Atrix. Films that did work were presented with intuitive touch controls for overall playback navigation. Aspect ratio settings were very basic and not on the same level as the Nokia N8 or the HTC Inspire. There was only one touch command that would either shrink the video down to size or expand it to fit the screen. It was very convenient to be able to resume playback from the most recent placement instead of having to start from the beginning. The interface of the Gallery did offer a feature resembling Apple's CoverFlow when the phone was turned into a landscape position.
I have to admit that the Sense UI on the Inspire did offer some welcomed benefits for a more efficient music player. On the other hand, MotoBlur hardly touched the app and basically left it in stock-like Android form unless turned landscape to reveal a CoverFlow-like interface. Since I would not have been sure if MotoBlur could have delivered in the same manner as Sense or even TouchWiz, I was glad to at least not have the music player app mutilated by mediocrity. EQ features were plentiful and presented plenty of ways to customize one's listening experience.
The camera was great for still pictures and acceptable for HD video recording, but there were two issues I found fault with. There was an occasional purplish blotch that would appear in the center of certain HD videos, and the dual LED flash sometimes cast a yellowish coloring. Aside from that, I did determine the camera to much better than what I recalled from the HTC Inspire. The user interface was simple and intuitive at best for quick operation.
My impression of the laptop dock experience was mixed at best. As much as I loved being able to use a full hardware qwerty keyboard with an Android device, there were cons that did remind me of how much improvement could be done. Basically, I took on the role as a guinea pig for this new docking technology with a full expectation of potential pitfalls...especially after having read the Engadget review. Starting with the positives: the Atrix could be used with a hardware connection to a full keyboard and bigger screen, one could monitor phone alerts on-screen via convenient pop-ups, direct interaction with the phone UI could take place within the Mobile View window which could be expanded to full screen view, a native WebTop interface allowed access to features like a flash-enabled Firefox browser and shortcuts to specific functions on a Mac-like dock. All of these benefits combined really made the laptop dock a godsend in regards to owning an Android device! No longer did I have to be at the mercy of a bluetooth keyboard driver or be limited to a phone's 4inch screen for word document editing. Instead of relying on a mobile app like DocsToGo Word to grant me access to Google Docs, I could work directly with the actual Google Docs site as a webtop app! Being able to keep an eye on alerts from my Atrix seemed like a trivial issue, but actually added to the overall convergence experience I always wanted with a smartphone. With the dock, I could almost effortlessly transform my touch slab phone into a portable netbook-like device.
After the initial perks of owning the laptop dock with the Atrix, there were indeed some unfortunate negatives to tolerate in everyday usage. First off, Engadget was 100% correct in its primary criticism of performance being sluggish. If someone wished to browse multiple tabs on Firefox with YouTube videos playing to the hilt while bouncing to Facebook and Mobile View, he was in for a rude awakening if he expected acceptable speed. While being connected to a WiFi network did offer minor redemption (if any at all), it was clear that having a separate netbook or laptop would be the best alternative for the average customer. While I typically had only the Mobile View window open with two windows for Google Docs, I still noticed minor lags in operating scroll functions with a USB mouse or deleting multiple items with the backspace key. This same scroll lag also took place with the Facebook webtop app as well as the Firefox browser. It was clear that if one wanted to do any kind of browsing or multitasking with acceptable performance, MUCH patience was required...MUCH! Through my own personal testing, I discovered that a maximum of eight windows could be open at one time before a memory error was bound to appear and ask for something to be closed. Considering the smartphone nature of the Atrix and my own paltry usage requirements in managing Google Docs, the laptop dock still was not a bad option for a full qwerty and big screen...at least not for me. Another issue I encountered involved the flash-intensive Sports Tracker website with manual uploading of run data. Whether on WiFi or the AT&T data network, there was always an error. The built-in trackpad did not offer any multitouch gestures or scrolling capability, which brought me back to the primitive method of holding down a click button on a side cursor and scrolling on the pad itself! This issue was thankfully solved by a USB mouse that could simply be plugged into one of the two available ports. Using a bluetooth mouse was another option, but I lost patience in the midst of having connectivity issues with a Microsoft model I had. At the end of the day, a small USB alternative was less of a headache for me, so I returned the bluetooth mouse and relied on primary wireless linking with my Sennheiser MM400 headset for music and voice calls. NOTE: After further use of the Sennheiser model, I eventually decided to replace it with the Nokia BH-905i. Speaking of calls, any that were made to the Atrix automatically went to the speaker if no bluetooth headset was connected. I did not have a wired headphone set with a mic that could work with the Atrix, so I was unable to test such usage. When I did use the speakerphone in a quiet setting with the laptop dock, the call quality was less than impressive in comparison to a bluetooth headset alternative. Another big issue was the Atrix sometimes not granting 3G data access for webtop apps. Upon docking the phone and opening the laptop screen, Mobile View would show a pop-up stating that my AT&T account was being verified for use with WebTop. For reasons unknown, my account would sometimes not be verified and I was treated as if I did not have the appropriate tethering data plan when I actually DID! Clicking on Facebook or Firefox or any webtop app bookmark resulted in a most irritating page loading error. The ONLY solution to this problem was to simply turn off the Atrix and power it back on...an inconvenience, but not a deal breaker. Playing back music on the speakers was not the end of the world, but audio quality was a bit too tinny for my taste, and I depended on my bluetooth headset anyway.
At one point, there was a situation with my Atrix that resulted in the phone suddenly reformatting its own 16GB of internal memory without ANY logical reason! I had written a whole separate blog post on the issue (http://www.trentsense.com/2011/03/atrix-atrocity.html), and actually contemplated replacing the Motorola altogether. But at the time, I was smitten by the laptop dock experience and had yet to get the car dock, so I chose to call AT&T and get a replacement unit sent to me instead. Luckily, I had no further problems after that.
AFTER SOFTWARE UPDATE
Just recently there was an Android software update to version 4.1.57 on my Atrix from AT&T. Listed improvements included the following:
Bluetooth Improved multimedia experience with Bluetooth devices as well as the ability to use phone with additional headsets
Fingerprint reader Improved fingerprint reader performance
Battery Improved battery performance for longer battery life
Screen Display will turn off automatically now while charging directly on wall charger
Phone stability Improved stability resulting in fewer occurrences of touch unresponsiveness and/or programs quitting unexpectedly.
Car dock Improved performance of car dock and 3.5mm jack
Upon downloading the update, I first noticed that the MotoBlur date and time widget malfunctioned constantly on the homescreen and I had to do away with it completely. However, there seemed to be an unforeseen benefit to the update in regards to the Atrix's bluetooth pairing capabilities. Late one night, I came across an Engadget article asking readers to share what they thought was the best hardware qwerty Android. After reading a most interesting comment thread, I was inspired to try again to pair and connect my pocket bluetooth keyboard. Since I didn't have any luck after my first unboxing of the Atrix, I naturally expected the same outcome only to be forced onto my laptop dock. Thankfully, I was wrong!! It took all I had not to scream and wake up the house at that moment as my key presses registered on the Atrix screen! Not expecting for luck to strike twice, I took on the attempt to pair and connect my Freedom Pro keyboard that had been collecting dust for the longest time...AND IT WORKED!!! Unfortunately, my rejoicing was to be short-lived due to one huge problem in editing with the Google Docs app. It turned out that editing was only possible when the virtual qwerty was present, so my Bluetooth keyboards were useless!
After another OTA update for full access to AT&T 4G data speeds, the date and time widget no longer malfunctioned. Honestly, I didn't really find anything faster about the so-called 4G on the Atrix in real world usage when compared to 3G. Since the data was truly 3.5G and only "rebranded" as 4G, it was a little hard to take such an upgrade seriously anyway.
After finally getting the car dock, I was convinced that my growing Atrix ecosystem was the best option for me as an Android user. It was such a convenient method to dock the phone securely in landscape mode with a simultaneous connection to the charger and car stereo, and I absolutely loved it! The car home application worked wonders for providing a finger-friendly UI to operate while driving, and the dock itself was extremely sturdy in its construction. The locking latch at the top granted easy removal of the device, although getting the Atrix in position on the mini HDMI plug took a while to get used to.
With such custom accessories surpassing the Nexus One experience, I thought I was destined to be set for life with the Motorola Atrix...but I was wrong. As much as I favored writing with the laptop dock, it could NEVER replace the convenience of a built-in keyboard for the most optimum on-the-go word processing. Having to find a desk, table top, or use my own lap with a mini USB mouse proved to be more of a nuisance at times when I just wanted to pull out my handset and begin writing at a moment's notice. Charging of the Atrix while docked and the WebTop interface simply weren't enough to keep the phone worthwhile for my own mobile productivity. At the end of the day, I still yearned for a device that could grant me a capable touch OS on a large screen with an onboard hardware keyboard. When the cumbersome laptop dock was stored in my backpack, the Atrix was no different than previous touch slabs that could not fulfill my needs as a smartphone user. With this realization, I decided to sell my entire Atrix bundle and go with another hardware alternative altogether.
With my not keeping the Atrix, that was not to declare anything negative on its part as a touch-only device for daily usage. I got the most impressive use out of the high resolution screen in showing more information for web browsing and using apps like TweetDeck. The speaker remained one of the best for listening to multimedia and speakerphone calls aloud, and the camera was suitable despite occasional purplish coloring on video footage and a urine-colored LED flash. Fingerprint scanning proved to be more of a novelty that could sometimes be unreliable. The plastic construction was solid, but still had a slippery grip requiring a rubber case to prevent likely dropping. GPS worked better than ever before with my continued usage of RunKeeper and Google Navigation. With the appropriate updates, my Atrix turned out to be a most capable and competitive unit even when locked to the AT&T network. Unfortunately, I did get to a point where I could advise against purchasing anything more than the vehicle dock. While the multimedia and laptop docks did appear to be tempting buys, the pricing was simply too much for a sluggish WebTop interface that in NO way resembled netbook speeds let alone a laptop! To get the most out of one's money, the Atrix paired with a laptop/netbook via tethering proved to be a MUCH better option in the long run.
Trent Smith
Sent from my Dell Venue Pro
http://about.me/trentsense/bio
Saturday, June 4, 2011
Nexus S: Underdone Galaxy S
When the Nexus S was first announced, I honestly DREADED the concept of the device being modeled after the Galaxy S line of smartphones made by Samsung. Going from the build quality of HTC with its superior blend of soft-touch plastics and metals to the plethora of plastics on Samsung felt like a death sentence for the Google Nexus line. When I read the specs from online, I did not have high hopes for the Nexus S being a suitable successor. Lacking microSD AND a LED notification light did not work in favor of the device at all. Having 3G bands for only T-Mobile at the time of release was another negative point against Google's latest unit, and I was not going to be surprised if I never took the chance to use it. However, after news came of a Nexus S version being capable of supporting AT&T 3G, my curiosity was piqued.
It was an amazing day to FINALLY have pure vanilla Android in my hands once again! After tolerating so many custom interfaces created by numerous manufacturers who thought they knew better, I figured I could be delivered now that Nexus S supported AT&T 3G. I could instantly relive the euphoria I once had with the Nexus One, and I was eager to get started in the unboxing and forsake my Motorola Atrix 4G. After about a couple days, my previous misgivings about the Nexus S specs were verified through my own usage.
One unmistakable aspect of that phone when I unwrapped it was PLASTIC, PLASTIC, PLASTIC! As much as I hated beating a dead horse, Samsung absolutely drove me insane with its plasticky build components. At the end of the day, it was not a deal breaker, but certainly a downer when the predecessor from HTC was superior in comparison. The major cons that followed the plastic were the lack of LED notification light, microSD expansion, and a custom vehicle dock. I was previously under the impression there was no desktop dock, but was informed by a Twitter contact otherwise. Nonetheless, having a new found awareness of that dock did little to redeem the Nexus S. The glossy battery door attracted tons of fingerprints and smudges, but it was at least great to see a LED flash included with the 5 megapixel camera unit. Video chatting was never a regular activity for me, so the inclusion of the VGA front-facing camera was not a big deal at all. Tactile keys for power/standby and volume control exhibited good feedback. Small slits at the back for the speaker did cause worry for audio muffling if the phone should end up on a flat surface. While the curvature of the design seemed to be intriguing in the specs, it really did not have much presence in person. At the end of the day, this just appeared to be a design fad to me...nothing more. Having the headphone jack and micro USB port at the bottom was convenient for placing the unit in a vehicle holster.
The typical smartphone features turned out to be no different from previous models I had used. Signal reception for AT&T 3G was reliable in my local area, but I would have been lying if I said I was not a bit concerned for the Nexus S competing in a market of upcoming 4G devices. Sound quality from the earpiece on voice calls was clear, even if there was a desire for a bit more volume every now and then. Playing back music on the speaker proved to have sufficient volume, but higher levels sometimes went on the verge of being tinny. Sadly, watching movies with the same speaker did not give the same well-rounded audio impression I remembered from the Captivate. GPS was definitely a pleasant surprise after the Captivate debacle, for it turned out that Samsung could finally manufacture sound hardware! Using Google Maps and RunKeeper on a daily basis gave me absolutely no trouble in navigation or cardio tracking, and that was a HUGE relief for me! Connecting to WiFi in my home was easy as expected, and bluetooth worked with my Nokia BH-905i without any problems. Unfortunately, I was unable to pair and connect my Freedom Pro bluetooth keyboard to the Nexus S. Attaching the phone to my MacBook via USB turned the Google phone into an external hard drive and allowed me to drag and drop multimedia files. Sadly, a little over 13GB of the internal storage drive was available after the first boot...causing me to miss microSD expansion on other devices. One accessory I thought would be a godsend was the wired in-ear headphones with the attached microphone and call button. Unfortunately, the ear inserts were much too large and were the only ones provided in the retail package. The ones I already owned were too small to fit.
At the time I was using the Nexus S, I was missing the custom accessory experience I remembered from the Nexus One and its docks. Once I had returned the unit, I was surprised to find out from a Twitter contact there was indeed a Samsung dock made for the phone. On a future Best Buy outing, I noticed a custom desktop AND car dock on the sales floor for the Nexus S. I guess releasing the handset on Sprint really got Samsung to get on the ball in that regard.
Overall, the Nexus S was an underwhelming letdown due to a number of factors. The screen resolution paled in comparison to my Motorola Atrix at that time, and I didn't realize just how much resolution affected my daily usage until I set the two phones next to one another. It was eye-opening to see how much more onscreen content could be gained from the Motorola's increased resolution specs. The internal memory limitation from lack of microSD support was not a deal breaker, but more of a nuisance...and the same applied to the lack of HD video on the camera and less homescreens. To me, the absence of NFC chip implementation in local retail businesses really made that feature a needless waste of time. Future-proofing the Nexus S for use with an upcoming product not yet tried and true in the real world (at least not in my corner) was a huge risk that Google seemed to lose out on. At the end of the day, I would have been happier with a microSD card slot instead of a NFC chip I would most likely not use anyway. With those cons stacked against it, even the original Galaxy S with its TouchWiz UI appeared to be a much better option for a well-rounded user experience with acceptable specs. Unfortunately, that so-called successor to the Nexus One felt like a project that was rushed and incomplete...and no curved oleophobic display, custom docks, or stock Android UI with latest dessert-named updates could deter from such a sad conclusion. Unfortunately, my time with that review unit did cast a stigma on the allure of having stock Android UI. I could recall seeing it first when Google's Larry Page had it at a tech convention to show off new software features from the company, and I was of course intrigued. It was funny how that eventually worked out to be the total opposite to Symbian's problem on Nokia devices of great hardware with lacking software. I just was not impressed with the second Nexus device, and could only hope that Google and its next hardware manufacturing partner could deliver some kind of improvement to redeem the Nexus brand.
Trent Smith
Sent from my Dell Venue Pro
http://about.me/trentsense/bio
It was an amazing day to FINALLY have pure vanilla Android in my hands once again! After tolerating so many custom interfaces created by numerous manufacturers who thought they knew better, I figured I could be delivered now that Nexus S supported AT&T 3G. I could instantly relive the euphoria I once had with the Nexus One, and I was eager to get started in the unboxing and forsake my Motorola Atrix 4G. After about a couple days, my previous misgivings about the Nexus S specs were verified through my own usage.
One unmistakable aspect of that phone when I unwrapped it was PLASTIC, PLASTIC, PLASTIC! As much as I hated beating a dead horse, Samsung absolutely drove me insane with its plasticky build components. At the end of the day, it was not a deal breaker, but certainly a downer when the predecessor from HTC was superior in comparison. The major cons that followed the plastic were the lack of LED notification light, microSD expansion, and a custom vehicle dock. I was previously under the impression there was no desktop dock, but was informed by a Twitter contact otherwise. Nonetheless, having a new found awareness of that dock did little to redeem the Nexus S. The glossy battery door attracted tons of fingerprints and smudges, but it was at least great to see a LED flash included with the 5 megapixel camera unit. Video chatting was never a regular activity for me, so the inclusion of the VGA front-facing camera was not a big deal at all. Tactile keys for power/standby and volume control exhibited good feedback. Small slits at the back for the speaker did cause worry for audio muffling if the phone should end up on a flat surface. While the curvature of the design seemed to be intriguing in the specs, it really did not have much presence in person. At the end of the day, this just appeared to be a design fad to me...nothing more. Having the headphone jack and micro USB port at the bottom was convenient for placing the unit in a vehicle holster.
The typical smartphone features turned out to be no different from previous models I had used. Signal reception for AT&T 3G was reliable in my local area, but I would have been lying if I said I was not a bit concerned for the Nexus S competing in a market of upcoming 4G devices. Sound quality from the earpiece on voice calls was clear, even if there was a desire for a bit more volume every now and then. Playing back music on the speaker proved to have sufficient volume, but higher levels sometimes went on the verge of being tinny. Sadly, watching movies with the same speaker did not give the same well-rounded audio impression I remembered from the Captivate. GPS was definitely a pleasant surprise after the Captivate debacle, for it turned out that Samsung could finally manufacture sound hardware! Using Google Maps and RunKeeper on a daily basis gave me absolutely no trouble in navigation or cardio tracking, and that was a HUGE relief for me! Connecting to WiFi in my home was easy as expected, and bluetooth worked with my Nokia BH-905i without any problems. Unfortunately, I was unable to pair and connect my Freedom Pro bluetooth keyboard to the Nexus S. Attaching the phone to my MacBook via USB turned the Google phone into an external hard drive and allowed me to drag and drop multimedia files. Sadly, a little over 13GB of the internal storage drive was available after the first boot...causing me to miss microSD expansion on other devices. One accessory I thought would be a godsend was the wired in-ear headphones with the attached microphone and call button. Unfortunately, the ear inserts were much too large and were the only ones provided in the retail package. The ones I already owned were too small to fit.
At the time I was using the Nexus S, I was missing the custom accessory experience I remembered from the Nexus One and its docks. Once I had returned the unit, I was surprised to find out from a Twitter contact there was indeed a Samsung dock made for the phone. On a future Best Buy outing, I noticed a custom desktop AND car dock on the sales floor for the Nexus S. I guess releasing the handset on Sprint really got Samsung to get on the ball in that regard.
Overall, the Nexus S was an underwhelming letdown due to a number of factors. The screen resolution paled in comparison to my Motorola Atrix at that time, and I didn't realize just how much resolution affected my daily usage until I set the two phones next to one another. It was eye-opening to see how much more onscreen content could be gained from the Motorola's increased resolution specs. The internal memory limitation from lack of microSD support was not a deal breaker, but more of a nuisance...and the same applied to the lack of HD video on the camera and less homescreens. To me, the absence of NFC chip implementation in local retail businesses really made that feature a needless waste of time. Future-proofing the Nexus S for use with an upcoming product not yet tried and true in the real world (at least not in my corner) was a huge risk that Google seemed to lose out on. At the end of the day, I would have been happier with a microSD card slot instead of a NFC chip I would most likely not use anyway. With those cons stacked against it, even the original Galaxy S with its TouchWiz UI appeared to be a much better option for a well-rounded user experience with acceptable specs. Unfortunately, that so-called successor to the Nexus One felt like a project that was rushed and incomplete...and no curved oleophobic display, custom docks, or stock Android UI with latest dessert-named updates could deter from such a sad conclusion. Unfortunately, my time with that review unit did cast a stigma on the allure of having stock Android UI. I could recall seeing it first when Google's Larry Page had it at a tech convention to show off new software features from the company, and I was of course intrigued. It was funny how that eventually worked out to be the total opposite to Symbian's problem on Nokia devices of great hardware with lacking software. I just was not impressed with the second Nexus device, and could only hope that Google and its next hardware manufacturing partner could deliver some kind of improvement to redeem the Nexus brand.
Trent Smith
Sent from my Dell Venue Pro
http://about.me/trentsense/bio
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