Motorola ATRIX HD Pro Reviews

Powerful internals, gorgeous screen, solidly built body, and a stock Android experience with just the right amount of modification -that's the Motorola Atrix HD in a nutshell. Motorola has addressed the issues of the smartphone's predecessors, thus creating one of the most complete Android packages currently on the US market. There's really quite a lot to love about the Motorola Atrix HD and very few things to frown at. Naturally, we really wish the handset offered a larger battery - its 1780mAh unit is unable to match the endurance of the other high-end offerings out there. The fact that it's not user replaceable makes matters worse as you can't carry a spare one when needed. The screen is also a bit smaller than those of some of its rivals and the difference grows even more when you consider that a part of it is reserved for the virtual buttons. Finally, both of Motorola's direct rivals - HTC and Samsung have better records when it comes to updating their smartphones. The Atrix HD can match them now when the game is ICS, but it's unclear if it will join them in the JB camp quickly enough.

Around last Fall I was thinking about biting on an upgrade. My contract was nearly up, and I wanted to feel good about extending it. I'd had an OG Droid and a few other phones in between; I'd even drifted to WebOS and BlackBerry. I looked over the options, and felt good about none of them. What did feel good was the possibility of getting a Krait-based phone in the Spring. My big worry was that even by Summer I'd be looking at paying upwards of $250 to get one, even on-contract. Turns out, I was wrong.The earliest Krait devices came out at $199 on-contract, and the number of devices that have come out since then has been impressive, and the pricing keeps getting better. With the Incredible 4G LTE we saw pricing for a Krait device hit $149; but the device didn't have the right combination of factors to merit its price. Motorola's swing puts their first Krait device at $99, and there's nothing that competes with it in the US for twice that price. The form factor isn't perfect, but it's certainly thin enough and light enough. The software isn't just inoffensive, it's a pleasure to use, which is something we're saying more and more of when discussing skinned Android builds. And the battery life reflects one of Qualcomm's Snapdragon S4's biggest advantage.

I consider the Motorola Atrix HD to be a “very good” phone: It has a large and crisp display, a fast hardware platform, a recent Android version and unique features like Smart Actions that few competitors have. That said, this is an extremely competitive environment and despite all its goodness, the Atrix HD faces a ferocious competition with the Galaxy Nexus, the HTC One X and the Galaxy S3 – all of which are more expensive by at least $100. If you are an business user, you may want to take a closer look at what Motorola has done to help IT departments integrate its phones. For the general public, the choice will be harder and things will often come down to the industrial design, or whichever financial incentives AT&T may be offering. If you want a subsidy, the Galaxy Nexus is out of the picture, at least with AT&T. From my point of view, the software is really what sets the Motorola phones apart. SmartActions is my favorite one, as it is a feature that is genuinely useful and which may help you save battery life. The MotoCast software can also be very handy if you need to access files on your home computer while on the go. I hope that this review was helpful, and if there is something that I did not cover, feel free to drop a comment below. I’ll take a look as soon as I can.

What can we say? We love the Atrix HD as a sub-$100 offering on AT&T, and can't help but marvel at what Motorola was able to deliver at that price point. If you've always wanted a RAZR on AT&T, the Atrix HD is your best bet -- and it offers a more impressive resume of specs, too. Even if you're turned off by the terrible battery life, this device could still be awfully tempting. If money is no object, we'd still recommend the HTC One X or Samsung Galaxy S III over this, but this is nonetheless Motorola's most compelling AT&T device in a long time, and it's worth a long, hard look.

Usually a $99.99 on-contract "mid-range" Android phone ends up making so many compromises it essentially ruins the phone — but that's not at all the case with the Atrix HD. Its a homely device and the camera disappoints, but Motorola didn't spend time making the Atrix HD pretty — it spent time making it work. It's still an Android 4.0 phone with LTE, a 720p LCD display, and fast performance. More importantly, the Atrix HD runs a version of Android 4.0 that's as close to stock as I've ever seen on a non-Nexus device. For most people, I would still recommend spending the extra hundred bucks and getting the Galaxy S III or the One X, but for AT&T customers who want something close to stock Android and need LTE, the Atrix HD overachieves compared to its asking price.

There’s a lot to like about the Motorola Atrix HD – especially for the price. Unfortunately, most of that likability only goes skin-deep. This isn’t the phone to get if you’re allergic to lag, because this phone’s software gets mired in molasses more often than it should. One of our team members put it rather succinctly when he said “I really want to love this phone, because I love everything else about the build, but the software is killing me. It really needs a bug-fix upgrade. ”

The Atrix HD is a solid effort from Motorola that I can't really knock for too many reasons. I would say battery life is the only real negative about the Atrix, as the battery barely makes it to dinner when used in 4G coverage areas. Also, the Atrix's lack of compatibility with Motorola's Lapdock accessories may be off-putting to some. Aside from those, the hardware is solid, the call and network performance top-notch, and the communications tools varied enough that you have no reason to ignore so-and-so's recent communique. The Atrix's media powers are also strong. It has an excellent camera and video camera, and music and video playback were enjoyable thanks to good sound quality and the beautiful display. Throw in the $99 price point and Motorola has a contender on its hands. It may lack the sex appeal of the RAZR and the battery life of the RAZR MAXX, but it is hands-down the best version of the Atrix yet.

If you can tolerate the not-so-great camera and the quick-draining battery, the Motorola Atrix HD is an excellent deal. Essentially, you get the high-end specs found in phones sold at double the price of the Atrix HD (for comparison, on Verizon the Motorola Droid Razr is $200, while the Razr Maxx is $300). It is refreshing to see a phone that doesn’t compromise on specs and design in pursuit of a low price. These days, “budget” doesn’t have to be synonymous with “inferior.”

If you’re looking for the absolute best phone on AT&T, it is not the Atrix HD. The camera isn’t fantastic, the battery life isn’t revolutionary, the screen is a tad washed out, and it’s constructed out of plastic. But if you’re looking for the best deal on AT&T, this could be it. For $100 with a two-year contract, the Atrix HD is almost as good as the iPhone 4S, Galaxy S3, and HTC One X. And in this case, “almost” isn’t a bad tradeoff for an extra $100 in your pocket. We like the Atrix HD. If you’re frugal, you will too.

Motorola's nicely updated Atrix HD Android smartphone offers a lot of bang for not much buck, although it's no longer the stellar value it once was.

This device is the nicest looking and nicest working Atrix that’s been released in the history of Motorola’s Atrix line. It’s extremely similar to the DROID RAZR, is carried by AT&T with their 4G LTE network for data, and is ready to be your favorite Motorola smartphone yet. We suggest actually heading to an AT&T outlet to check out their selection of devices at this point since they’ve got four titanic beasts on their hands, each of them ready for sparring.

For a sensible $99.99 price, the Motorola Atrix HD definitely offers a big bag of features such as an agile processor, quick 4G LTE data, and a massive and bright screen. It's not perfect, though, and the phone's camera is a good example. While it packs in tons of settings, its lackluster image quality can't be ignored. The same goes for the smartphone's short battery life. Still, if you only have $100 to spend on an AT&T handset, the Motorola Atrix HD is currently your best option. I'd snap this phone up over the $99.99 Sony Xperia Ion any day. For those who have no ties to Android, the $99.99 Nokia Lumia 900 may also fit the bill.

Oh Motorola! We were expecting so much more out of this one, especially when AT&T customers have been waiting an extensive amount of time for something other than the ATRIX 2 from last year. Aside from the larger and higher resolution display, there isn’t anything particularly compelling that we haven’t seen before on an Android driven smartphone from Motorola’s camp. However, we can’t count out the lovely $99.99 on-contract price that it’s flaunting. Much like the Sony Xperia ion before it, the $100 price point is increasingly becoming the budget high-end category for AT&T’s Android lineup – if it even exists! Donning such a stellar price point, there’s no questioning the kind of value it has to offer consumers, but it’s been too handicapped to distinguish itself as a superior device to Moto’s previous efforts. Having seen such stellar Android devices like the HTC One X and Samsung Galaxy S III, there’s just too much left to be desired with the Motorola ATRIX HD.