The New samsung Atrix HD is the follow-up to last seasons Atrix 4G and Atrix 2 cell mobile phones for AT&T. This season, the Atrix profits a much enhanced show, a quicker processor processor, and better develop over the older mobile phones.
But the 2012 mobile phone industry is very different from 2011's, and the Atrix HD has some seriously firm competitors in AT&T's mobile phone collection with the New samsung Universe S III and the HTC One X. The Atrix HD has most of the specifications to go with the top level Operating program cell mobile phones, but does it put them together well enough to be a actual competitor?
The answer to that question is a bit of yes and a bit of no. The Atrix HD performs exceptionally well in certain areas, but doesn't quite hit the indicate in others. Luckily, its $99 cost tag creates it an excellent value, and it is one to be considered for those who don't want to invest over $200 on a new mobile phone.
Hardware :
At first look, the New samsung Atrix HD looks like it dropped from the same shrub that the New samsung Android Razr and Android Razr MAXX came from. The design of the cellphone is very just like Motorola's Verizon flagships, but the sides have been curved a bit and the overall look of the Atrix HD is a bit smoother than that of the DROID RAZRs. Luckily, Motorola's characteristic strong excellent is present and taken into account here, and the Atrix HD is certainly a well-built system. The joints are all very limited, and though the cellphone is mainly plastic material, the plastic material materials used function a smooth complete, contrary to the very shiny complete that New samsung wants for its cell mobile phones. At 140g (4.9oz), the Atrix HD isn't the least heavy cellphone available on the industry, and that certainly helps with its strong experience.
The front side of the cellphone features a new 4.5-inch HD ColorBoost TFT LCD show with 720 x 1280 p of quality. This new show features an RGB red stripe pixel structure and a pixel solidity of 330 PPI, besting the pixel solidity of almost all of the cell mobile phones available. The result of this is that pictures and written text are very sharp, and it is all but difficult to see individual p with the undressed eye.
The show itself is shiny, and shades are punchy, if perhaps a bit over soaked. Watching perspectives are fantastic, and the ColorBoost show is useful outside in natural light, but it's not quite as excellent as The lenders ClearBlack shows, which set the bar for outdoor exposure.
There is a huge black boundary that encompasses the show, and it creates the Atrix HD experience like its a bit broader than it needs to be. At 69.9mm (2.75in), the Atrix HD is nearly as huge as the New samsung Universe S III, which provides a larger 4.8-inch show. The boundary around the show on the Atrix is about twice as huge as that discovered on the New samsung, and it really seems like New samsung could have used less sized boundary to increase one-handed efficiency while still keeping the 4.5-inch show.
Above the show is a almost invisible multi-color LED alert mild next to a rather little ear piece. Next to that is a 1 mega-pixel front-facing photographic camera. The only factor below the show is a silk-screened AT&T company logo, as the Atrix HD does not have any capacitive or physical control buttons on its front side.
Like the RAZR range of cell mobile phones from New samsung, the Atrix HD is considerably slim at only 8.4mm (0.33in) wide. There is a broader tummy fat towards the top of the cellphone that homes the photographic camera and exterior presenter, as well as provides room for the 3.5mm earphone port, micro-USB slot, and micro-HDMI slot. The right side of the cellphone is house to a amount musician and power/sleep/unlock key, both of which were clicky and sensitive on my evaluation device. On the remaining you will discover a flap that conceals the micro-SIM and microSD card slot machine games. This flap is really the only part of the Atrix HD that I didn't like, as it sensed a bit poor. Luckily, it's not something that most customers will have to hassle with very often.
Usability, Contacting & Information, Browser :
Usability :
Motorola has outfitted the Atrix HD with a dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor processor which is 1.5GHz. The company won't validate which Snapdragon is inside the cellphone, but we have been able to figure out that it is indeed an S4 processor (MSM8960, to be exact), which is the same processor processor used in the New samsung Universe S III and HTC One X. The Atrix HD partners the processor processor with 1GB of RAM and contains 8GB of on board storage space.
Performance-wise, the Atrix HD does very well, as the cellphone is quick and sensitive a lot of enough time. That isn't a huge shock, as fairly much every cellphone with a Snapdragon S4 processor processor that we have examined has been a quick entertainer. Conventional assessments on the Atrix HD show it to run throat and throat with the One X and Universe S III, as well. There were a couple of issues every now and then on the Atrix HD, as certain applications would seem to take longer to start than we would normally expect, but for most intents and requirements, the Atrix HD is a quick cellphone. It also manages the newest 3D games with aplomb.
The Atrix HD is the first New samsung mobile phone to release with Operating program 4.0 Ice Lotion Food (Android 4.0.4, specifically) in the U.S., and it comes with the newest edition of Motorola's custom remaking. I'm reluctant to contact what New samsung does here a "skin," since many of the software features on the Atrix HD are very just like what you discover in inventory Operating program 4.0 Ice Lotion Food. The app launcher, connect, alert bar, exclusive key pad, and many of the program applications are drawn immediately from Google inventory promotions. That's not really amazing - New samsung Flexibility is now possessed by Search engines, after all.
Following that reasoning, it's also not a big shock that New samsung uses exclusive important factors for the returning, house, and multi-tasking features in Operating program, just like Search engines does in inventory Operating program. The important factors are chronic at all periods, and they do eat about 96 p of show real-estate, so it is a best part that the Atrix HD has a lot of p in its show.
Motorola did create a few modifications to Operating program 4.0, most significant of which are discovered in the secure show and the desltop. The secure show features two additional app strategies over what is provided in inventory Operating program, so you can easily get to the cellphone app or the texting app right from the secure show. Unfortunately, it is not possible to personalize these strategies like you can with New samsung or HTC's secure shows. The secure show does also provide a useful toggle for changing the cellphone to quiet function.
For the Atrix HD's homepages, New samsung begins you off with one board, and you are persuaded to add more when you run from right to remaining on the show. You can choose between a new empty web page, or from a variety of layouts for a pre-loaded web page with various app strategies and symbols. As compared to inventory Operating program or most other desltop implementations, the far remaining show on the Atrix HD is always the primary web page.
Motorola apparently took a web page right out of the Operating program 4.1 Jam Vegetable cook book, as symbols and symbols on the homepages will instantly move around and change themselves as you place new products on the show. The symbols will not instantly re-size as in Jam Vegetable, but the automated company does create it simpler when including products to a desltop.
Speaking of symbols, the Atrix HD has a technique new entertaining climate and time gadget that features current climate and battery power or data plan utilization. It also shows lately skipped calling and obtained information. In addition to the new gadget, New samsung has included quick-access strategies to a variety of the main program applications. When a program app like e-mail, Individuals, Phone, Schedule, or others is included to a desltop, customers can run up from the symbol to get a pop-up evaluation of the app. You can look at your e-mail mailbox, see future sessions, to-do products, favorite connections, or web browser favorites without having to go into the complete applications for each specific product. I really like this idea, and it's excellent for verifying something easily while on the go, but sometimes the pop-up windows take a bit long to fill, and it can just be quicker to start the app immediately. If New samsung types out the running duration of the pop-up windows, I could see this function becoming a fantastic option to having symbols thrown across several homepages.
Calling / Data :
The New samsung Atrix HD is a 4G LTE system, so it can handle the quickest data system available from AT&T. It also features assistance for AT&T's HSPA+ Classification 14 assistance for when you aren't in an LTE protection area. Information connections and indication party were much like other AT&T LTE gadgets I have examined lately, and contact excellent was excellent, despite the relatively little ear piece. The speaker phone was appropriately noisy as well.
Messaging :
The Atrix HD comes with a fairly standard SMS and MMS customer that looks as if it was put right from inventory Ice Lotion Food. That's not actually a bad factor, as it can handle threaded information and group discussions, and has a built-in search function. For im, the Atrix HD provides the Search engines Discuss app, but you will need to head to the Search engines Perform Shop for applications that assistance other im systems.Motorola's Atrix HD comes with Motorola's personalized e-mail app that activities a variety of improvements over the inventory e-mail customer that delivers with Operating program. It can handle POP3, IMAP, and Exchange e-mail options, and even can handle force e-mail with IMAP IDLE records. Full HTML assistance is involved, and the app has pinch-to-zoom abilities as well as several mailbox assistance and several concept management. One function that is plainly losing is any sort of discussion view, which is easily becoming a table levels function for e-mail applications nowadays. If you happen to be a Googlemail individual, the Atrix HD also contains the fantastic Googlemail app for Operating program.
Apps / App Store :
Of note here, unlike the previously members of the Atrix range, the Atrix HD does not assistance Motorola's Webtop program, so it cannot be used with Motorola's various docks and computer components. That probably won't be a big loss for many (and the micro-HDMI slot does assistance immediate replicating for using Operating program on a bigger screen), but it is something that is exciting since New samsung came out the Webtop program with the unique Atrix 4G returning in Jan of last season.
Browser :
The Atrix HD comes with the inventory Operating program 4.0 Ice Lotion Food web web browser, and that really isn't a bad factor. Using the inventory web browser, the Atrix HD obtained some of the quickest SunSpider benchmark periods I have ever seen from a mobile phone (1300ms or less), and that converted into quick web page running, sleek scrolling, and sensitive cruising.
The web browser activities mutiple an eye and can handle the Adobe Display Gamer tool if you set up it from the Search engines Perform Shop. I'm a big fan of the Firefox for Operating program web browser because of its fantastic syncing abilities, but for an out of the box surfing around experience, the Atrix HD's inventory web browser is excellent.
Camera, Battery Lifestyle, Conclusion :
Camera :
Motorola isn't usually known for putting fantastic camcorders into its cell mobile phones, and the 8 mega-pixel device on the Atrix HD is no exemption. Though the photographic camera generates appropriate pictures most of enough time, it is by no means at the top of the category nowadays. Outdoors, the Atrix HD's photographic camera battles to properly present high comparison moments, while inside pictures are generally a bit more noisy than the competition's. The Atrix HD also has very unreliable white balance when capturing in synthetic mild.The photographic camera app itself is very just like the one discovered on the Android Razr, and it gives you a few manages at your convenience. The Atrix HD doesn't come with the bevy of digital camcorders options that New samsung and HTC put into their gadgets, but it does provide tap-to-focus, a few effects and landscape ways, and a spectacular stitching function. The Atrix HD also doesn't have a devoted photographic camera key, but it is possibly to set the amount musician to breeze images. Just be very cautious of preventing the zoom lens with your hands while taking a pic with the amount musician, as the position of it is a bit challenging for a shutter key.The Atrix HD can also catch 1080p HD movie, which was about the same image excellent sensible as its pictures. It clip function features ongoing auto-focus, tap-to-focus, and zoom capability while producing, and it is possible to breeze pictures while capturing movie. Lastly, the front-facing 1 mega-pixel photographic camera works well enough for its designed purpose, and it is capable of producing 720p HD movie on its own.
Music :
Out of the box, the only ipod that comes on the Atrix HD is the Search engines Perform Songs app. I don't see that as a bad factor, as the Perform Songs app manages both in the area saved music and music that is streaming from a Search engines Songs account. The app can handle record art and playlists, and has various sound information and equalizer configurations. You can control play-back from the secure show, a desltop gadget, or the alert bar if you are not currently within the app. The exterior presenter provides a heap of amount without frame distortions, but the sound is not especially complete and the sound becomes very echoey when the Atrix is placed down on a flat working surface area. Those who have huge music collections will want to either take advantage of Google reasoning storage space in its Search engines Songs assistance or add a microSD card to the Atrix HD, as there is only 4.8GB of storage space available out of the box.
Battery :
As described previously, the Atrix HD comes with an included 1780mAh battery power that is not user-accessible or disposable. New samsung statements that battery power should be excellent for up to 9 time of talk-time or 8.5 periods of stand by. In my assessments with regular utilization, the Atrix HD generally survived about 11 or 12 time before quitting, which places it just behind the normal for cell mobile phones these days. The Atrix HD will likely get a lot of people through a normal day, but come the end of the day, a while on the battery charger will be necessary.
Final Thoughts :
The New samsung Atrix HD may not be the overall best entertainer, and definitely has its eccentricities, but for someone looking for a mobile phone in the $100 cost range, it's fairly challenging to defeat. For that cost you get a 720p show, a quick Snapdragon S4 processor processor, and the nearest factor to inventory Operating program 4.0 Ice Lotion Food that you will discover on an AT&T mobile phone. I do wish the photographic camera was better, and battery power is certainly not amazing, but aside from those mistakes, it's hard not to suggest the New samsung Atrix HD as a strong mobile phone choice.
