Atrix users-buy again?

[jhansman]

Hi there. I am eligible for an upgrade through AT&T, who is offering this phone for a two-year re-up at $10. What I want is a nice big screen (like my wife's Captivate) on some decent hardware. It'll probably get rooted and de-bloated, so eventually it'll become a cell phone/GPS device/texter with the occasional game. The Atrix may be overkill for this, but it's gotten good reviews and looks like it can handle just about any task. Would those of you who own one buy it again? If not, why, and what else would replace it. Many thanks.

Oh, and I'm upgrading to a Moto Bravo, which I like, but will definitely become a backup.

 

[obidamnkenobi]

I thought the Atrix was universally considered pretty bad? Motoblur makes it laggy etc. From what I've heard I'd say Galaxy SII?

 

[jpeyton]

Do you have any disposable income? If I were signing a 2-year, multi-thousand-dollar contract, I would prefer paying a little extra for a phone that's bleeding edge. The Galaxy S II on AT&T is $150.

 

[gorcorps]

I thought the Atrix was universally considered pretty bad? Motoblur makes it laggy etc. From what I've heard I'd say Galaxy SII?

You're comparing a $10 phone that's years old to a $150-200 phone that came out much more recently, not exactly fair.

That said OP, I had an Atrix and thought it was decent. I rooted it but never used a different rom. The reason for this is because Motorola had a locked bootloader, and by the time they finally allowed the ability to mess with it the devs didn't seem to care. I don't think CM7 was ever officially made for it, even though a couple people were working on it since it was unlocked. Don't expect to have the freedom you have with other Android phones.

Even still, with a different launcher I thought it was a good enough replacement to my iphone 4. What it doesn't quite have is the nice big screen. It's a 4" screen which is bigger than the 3.5 of the iphone, but smaller than the 4.3 and up people consider "big" in the android world. It's also not the greatest in the color or clarity department. It has the infamous "pentile" display that some absolutely dispise even though I didn't mind it.

Do you have a budget? I would hate for you to waste an upgrade and not be happy with your choice. Might be worth going with something a little more to get the screen you want.

 

[poofyhairguy]

The Atrix 2 is $49 on Amazon Wireless. Dig in your couch and at least get the sequel.

 

[shortylickens]

Atrix 2 here. Just as a game device, not a phone.

Would buy again if not for ICS.

 

[jhansman]

The Atrix 2 is $49 on Amazon Wireless. Dig in your couch and at least get the sequel.

$79 for a family plan upgrade. I'm trying to move up from my Bravo (not too hard) without spending more than I have to. Oddly enough, AT&T seems to be offering the best deals, though they want $150 for the Galaxy IIS for a two-yr. re-up. Sigh. Too many choices...

 

[obidamnkenobi]

Spending the equivalent of one month phone bill more to get a dramatically better device that you'll use every single day for two years? Yeah, I know what I would do at least..

 

[jhansman]

Ended up opting for the Atrix 2 in my upgrade. We'll see; I have 30 to decide. Golly, I can shoot 1080p movies. Hollywood, here I come...

 

[bearxor]

I know I'm a little late here, but BB has the Atrix 2 for $50 and I think they're doing that $50 gift card thing if you buy a phone through them.

The Atrix 2 was what I was going to pick when I was looking at moving to Android in Nov.

 

[badb0y]

Never again

 

[Plester]

You got some bad info. Original atrix has a very stable Cm7 as well as a bunch of roms based on blur and cm7. Also has a stable alpha version of cm9 and miui. Several overclock kernels including a 1.6ghz version for phones that can go that high, but all will do 1.3ghz. Not the same level of dev interest as a galaxy phone but not bad at all.

The atrix 2 on the other hand has a locked bootloader with poor prospects for an unlock and very little development as a result.

I have an original atrix running cm7 with an overclock at 1.3ghz and it is very quick and capable, faster and smoother than any stock android phone i've tried including a sgs2, galaxy nexus.

 

[jhansman]

Not looking to try custom ROMs on it, just root and clean it up a bit before adding what I want/need. Besides, locked bootloader? You know some 16 yr. old coder out there is, as we speak, working his ass off to unlock it. I'll bide my time.