Recommend me an Android phone

[badb0y]

Carrier must be At&t.
I was going to buy the white iPhone but decided to give Android a shot before the next iPhones comes out in the Fall. I was looking at the Motorola Atrix 4G, any other suggestions before I go forth and buy it.

 

[vshah]

atrix is great, as long as you don't care about modding the phone. otherwise it is an awesome phone.

 

[smartpatrol]

Atrix is easily the best Android phone on AT&T.

The Samsung Focus is also great if you're interested in Windows Phone 7.

 

[Bateluer]

On AT&T, the Motorola Atrix, then the HTC Inspire 4G, then the Samsung Infuse 4G.

Ignore the 4G monikers though, AT&T's 4G is similar to TMO's except its a fraction of the speed and not enabled on all 4G devices yet.

 

[superccs]

Nexus 1 is pretty decent and loved by devs so highly rootable.

 

[FerraraZ]

I have an Atrix and its an alright device. Havent rooted it yet because I'm waiting to see the Infuse that way I can exchange my phone within 14 days of purchase if I like the Infuse.

The one thing that I really just love about the Atrix is that I have NO problem getting a full days worth use from it. The battery is completely massive and rooting it with setcpu can make it last even longer.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

Nexus 1 is pretty decent and loved by devs so highly rootable.

true but i'd pick the nexus s over that.

 

[vshah]

true but i'd pick the nexus s over that.

not a bad choice:
http://negrielectronics.com/google-nexus-s-i9020a-white-8503g-unlocked.html

personally I'd hold out for a dual core

 

[alent1234]

i have an inspire 4g and like the screen

the atrix is dual core but crappy screen
inspire 4g is last year's cpu but big screen
the new samsung is both

 

[FerraraZ]

i have an inspire 4g and like the screen

the atrix is dual core but crappy screen
inspire 4g is last year's cpu but big screen
the new samsung is both

How can you say the Atrix has a crappy screen while its a higher res than all the other phones and higher pixel density? I guess your right if you prefer the grandma style of having oversized text.

 

[alent1234]

that was the opinions on it when it first came out while checking out android central. don't believe the pixel density either since there is a company out there that will do it in software. can't remember the name but a lot of OEM's license their software

after i got my inspire i compared them and my screen looks a lot bigger than the 4" atrix. probably just the way they designed it

 

[FerraraZ]

that was the opinions on it when it first came out while checking out android central. don't believe the pixel density either since there is a company out there that will do it in software. can't remember the name but a lot of OEM's license their software

after i got my inspire i compared them and my screen looks a lot bigger than the 4" atrix. probably just the way they designed it

Or because one is 4.3 and the other is 4.

 

[alent1234]

.3 inches is not that much, it's the phone design as well. even back in the days of CRT monitors there were a few models that looked bigger than another model of the same size. you just have to make a smaller border around the screen

also complaints that the dual core was mostly hype since even parts of motoblur didn't support it

 

[s44]

How can you say the Atrix has a crappy screen while its a higher res than all the other phones and higher pixel density?

It's Pentile and a middling LCD panel. Also, no one actually much cares about density.

Infuse will have the best screen (by far), Atrix the best CPU (the only dual-core). Inspire isn't great at either but is less quirky, though I think with lower battery life.

 

[Plester]

Atrix has a great screen. The whole screen thing is purely subjective, x% love an amoled, x% hate it, etc., etc. The Atrix is the highest spec'd phone by a mile on AT&T right now and will be until a Galaxy II phone comes out. Moto has put out 2 OTA updates so far, so their commitment to the phone is very good. If you don't like the Blur thing, which I don't, you can either install a pseudo-ROM like Gingerblur or just use an alternative launcher.

Its puzzling why Atrix hating gets so much traction as it is arguably the best Android phone on the market.

 

[s44]

Its puzzling why Atrix hating get so much traction as it is arguably the best Android phone on the market.

People who care about and express opinions on this stuff tend to be those turned off by the (continuing) bootloader lockdown and the lack of custom recovery for the first month and a half of the phone's release. Oh yeah, and the lack of HSUPA on a "4G" phone -- remedied only just now. Also, the FFC was near-useless for the first few months since most of the chat apps didn't play well with Moto's quirky driver setup. (This is *finally* fixed.)

Also, a lot of the AT&T early adopters came over from the Captivate and therefore expected a lot more from the screen (and moddability).

For current US models, Atrix may be the best for the non-mod sort, though the open G2x has just as much horsepower (no cool fingerprint reader or webtop though). Problem is, the casual user may never push past single-core limits and might just be happier with a bigger, more vivid, and more contrasty screen instead. And it's hard to ignore that the SGS2 is out already abroad.

cliffs: too locked for the hardcore, not shiny enough for the casuals.

 

[boomhower]

It's a toss up between the Atrix and Inspire. I would have to get both in my hands to make a decision. While dual core is nice on paper in reality it isn't being taken advantage of a whole lot right now, the software needs to catch up.

 

[Plester]

The locked bootloader is an issue without a doubt (I came from a Captivate that I was giddily flashing every other day), but combine a pseudo-rom (de-bloating, heavy theming and some build.prop tweaks) with a launcher and widgetsoid or the like and the enthusiast can piss away nearly as much time as the owner of a phone with an unlocked bootloader.

 

[evident]

i'm in the same boat as you, leaning towards an atrix at first but now i'm holding out for that new samsung galaxy 2

 

[Monster_Munch]

You can buy an imported Galaxy S 2 and it does apparently work on AT&T

http://www.expansys-usa.com/samsung-...d-16gb-209554/

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

Give the SGS2 1 month for the devs to get a head start. Then the prices will also drop as supply starts growing with multiple worldwide releases.

The cheapest imports come from Asia. Southeast Asia to be specific. Euro launches are usually ripoffs even if they can import them. SE Asia should be able to drop the prices to the upper 600s hopefully.

Also, the N1 isn't a terrible choice if you can snag one for cheap.

But of course this is all in the land of unlocked phones which I am familiar with. Carrier phones? Haha don't ask me

Anyhow, I just bought a Nexus S. It'll hold me out til the Sensation hits with 850/1900 and gets cracked.

 

[BenSkywalker]

Its puzzling why Atrix hating gets so much traction as it is arguably the best Android phone on the market.

Lots of HTC/Samsung fans on these forums. The Atrix has been the hands down best Android phone available for months, and yet people still occasionally reccomend the Inspire which really isn't close. I can understand when the Galaxy2 hits and there is a legit competitor, but it really isn't worth debating with most of them, they have no idea what they are talking about and for the most part never even glanced at the reviews.

If you don't like the Blur thing, which I don't, you can either install a pseudo-ROM like Gingerblur or just use an alternative launcher.

The locked bootloader thing I think is way overblown. You can root, deodex and fully mod your phone, you just can't go full blown ROM. Personally I highly reccomend SPD 3D for a launcher, makes all the other launchers look like a half finished project a comp sci undergrad was working on.

 

[Krynj]

Have you heard much about the Infuse 4G?

http://www.androidcentral.com/samsung-infuse-4g

That device looks so big & beautiful. I'd be tempted to grab that if Sprint got it.

 

[alent1234]

It's a toss up between the Atrix and Inspire. I would have to get both in my hands to make a decision. While dual core is nice on paper in reality it isn't being taken advantage of a whole lot right now, the software needs to catch up.

this

i used to buy graphics cards years ago when they first came out and bought my 3GS the first day. every time i had to wait 18-24 months for the software to use the hardware. by that time something better was out.

the inspire might not be dual core but the huge screen is nice and i get compliments on it. it does everything i need it to do and performs pretty good. don't really care if a website takes 3 seconds faster on a dual core CPU

i used to read books on my iphone and the big inspire screen is a lot better for it. i'll take a big screen with smaller CPU over a smaller screen any day

usability always wins over paper specs

 

[BenSkywalker]

every time i had to wait 18-24 months for the software to use the hardware.

We have the software today, it's on TegraZone, you just can't see it because you don't have a Tegra2 part. Are there tons of it? No, but it is nothing at all like buying a new graphics card and having to wait years for it to be pushed.

i'll take a big screen with smaller CPU over a smaller screen any day

4 versus 4.3 with a lower resolution. If we were comparing it to something like the screen on the Infuse at least that would be a serious selling point, but the Inspire? TFT LCD, low resolution, although at least it isn't pentile(I would overall give its' screen the edge over the Atrix, but not by much and certainly not in the league of the SGS2/Infuse screen). If it works for you, that's cool. 1GB available for apps, 768MB of RAM, overall the Inspire is a solid entry/mid level Android phone, but selling at the same price point as the Atrix? Seems like a whole bunch too much. Doh, almost forgot the battery life, which HTC apparently did too