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Hey all,
I have had a G2 with tmobile from practically day one (and a G1 before that). I use cyanogen roms and enjoy the crap out of my G2. Long live android and all you devs that put in absurd amounts of work and let us lay-people reap the fruits of your labor!
However, tmobile's service is driving me up the walls. I live in a metropolitan area (Seattle) yet I still drop calls like no one's business. The 4g coverage/speeds is great sometimes, and crap at other times. I've been flashing different radios, but that doesn't seem to change anything. A friend telling me that they got tmobile to waive the termination fee because of poor coverage and the TB price on wifefly recently both got my attention.
I scanned through a series of posts and searched a bit, but wasn't able to find exactly what I'm looking for, so here are my questions for any of you peeps rocking TB's who would be so kind as to answer:
1. I dig the built-in wifi hotspot on my tmobile G2. They don't get to charge me any BS extra fees. I can wifi hotspot my laptop wherever I have data coverage. Is this the same with a cm7 verizon TB or are you subject to their data gestapo charges?
2. I REALLY dig my raised-key physical keyboards (G1, G2, notice trend) but have gotten pretty good with Swype on my G2. It looks like Swype does not come stock on the TB but can it be added?
3. The camera on the G2 is RAD, if you have a tripod nearby to stabilize it on... :-/. I find it super difficult to get a non-blurry shot if the subject or myself is moving (and the earth is continually rotating, so this is a problem). How's the shutter speed/general performance of the TB camera? Does it take pretty clear photos even if the subject is moving or do they look like a blurred out spirit-realm being?
4. Similarly, I feel that the camcorder for the G2 has poor FPS for its class, as 'HD' video gets all blurred with only minimal movement. I've tweaked it a bit but it never can quite cut the cheese as a legitimate memory-capturer (). It irks me to no end that my gf's iphone 4 gets way better video quality than my G2. I want to end this nonsense. How's the camcorder on the TB? A little action shooting gonna look OK or no?
5. The rooting/flashing of the TB looks fairly straightforward. Looks like there's tons of dev support and some kickin roms. Late nights in adb shell on my laptop here I come!!! Correct me if I'm wrong.
6. Battery life sounds like an issue when you're running stock, but significantly improves with the right roms/settings (duh). I also use a charger at work, so I'm always able to give my phone some juice. No reason to freak out here, correct?
That's it, that's all. If you feel like only answering one, please do. I'm just wanting to make sure I make a good decision before I try to deal with tmobile & waiving my termination fee (FML). Even if I only get some of this info, it will help.
Thanks a ton ya'll.
Sent from my htc clay cm7 g2 w/ the xda app
To answer your question about rooting, I am a noob when it comes to understanding this stuff. I was able to successfully root my tbolt, twice I might add just by following instructions. The dev support is incredible and the roms are superb. I know the battery life thing is an issue to some people but the newest kernels out there definity make up for it. Also Verizon is getting rid of their unlimited data on the 7th so better make a quick decision.
Sent from my ADR6400L using XDA App
Thanks.
Ya, I'm planning on making a move in the next few days if I get comfortable enough with the thunderbolt and get t-mobile to take a hike.
Sent from my htc clay cm7 g2 w/ the xda app
phatone17 said:
Hey all,
I have had a G2 with tmobile from practically day one (and a G1 before that). I use cyanogen roms and enjoy the crap out of my G2. Long live android and all you devs that put in absurd amounts of work and let us lay-people reap the fruits of your labor!
However, tmobile's service is driving me up the walls. I live in a metropolitan area (Seattle) yet I still drop calls like no one's business. The 4g coverage/speeds is great sometimes, and crap at other times. I've been flashing different radios, but that doesn't seem to change anything. A friend telling me that they got tmobile to waive the termination fee because of poor coverage and the TB price on wifefly recently both got my attention.
I scanned through a series of posts and searched a bit, but wasn't able to find exactly what I'm looking for, so here are my questions for any of you peeps rocking TB's who would be so kind as to answer:
1. I dig the built-in wifi hotspot on my tmobile G2. They don't get to charge me any BS extra fees. I can wifi hotspot my laptop wherever I have data coverage. Is this the same with a cm7 verizon TB or are you subject to their data gestapo charges?
2. I REALLY dig my raised-key physical keyboards (G1, G2, notice trend) but have gotten pretty good with Swype on my G2. It looks like Swype does not come stock on the TB but can it be added?
3. The camera on the G2 is RAD, if you have a tripod nearby to stabilize it on... :-/. I find it super difficult to get a non-blurry shot if the subject or myself is moving (and the earth is continually rotating, so this is a problem). How's the shutter speed/general performance of the TB camera? Does it take pretty clear photos even if the subject is moving or do they look like a blurred out spirit-realm being?
4. Similarly, I feel that the camcorder for the G2 has poor FPS for its class, as 'HD' video gets all blurred with only minimal movement. I've tweaked it a bit but it never can quite cut the cheese as a legitimate memory-capturer (). It irks me to no end that my gf's iphone 4 gets way better video quality than my G2. I want to end this nonsense. How's the camcorder on the TB? A little action shooting gonna look OK or no?
5. The rooting/flashing of the TB looks fairly straightforward. Looks like there's tons of dev support and some kickin roms. Late nights in adb shell on my laptop here I come!!! Correct me if I'm wrong.
6. Battery life sounds like an issue when you're running stock, but significantly improves with the right roms/settings (duh). I also use a charger at work, so I'm always able to give my phone some juice. No reason to freak out here, correct?
That's it, that's all. If you feel like only answering one, please do. I'm just wanting to make sure I make a good decision before I try to deal with tmobile & waiving my termination fee (FML). Even if I only get some of this info, it will help.
Thanks a ton ya'll.
Sent from my htc clay cm7 g2 w/ the xda app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I run CM7 wifi tether all the time without worrying about data charges..I believe the stock app is free for a while as well.
Swype isn't included stock on the TB, but it can indeed be added if you sign up for their now open beta.
More than half the time if the subject is moving I am able to get a clear photo of them..just went on a safari ride down at Disney and was able to get a ton of very good pictures.
I've never had a problem with aaction shots on my TB either all my videos look crisp.
There is a lot of Dev support for such a new phone.. cyanogenmod is currently in alpha stage because of problems with 4g surviving a reboot but that's to be expected, just like the Evo. We have froyo sense roms and gb sense roms as well as sense 3.0 roms to go with our two AOSP builds that suffer from the 4g issue but if you don't reboot your phone a lot it's a non issue and data isn't that hard to toggle
If you are near a charger all the time at work you should have no problems with battery life when rooted/rom'd. There was a deal on HTC express where they were selling two 1700 mAh batteries and a wall charger that charges batteries as well as your phone.. there's debate as to whether or not they have the capacity that is claimed but they definitely last longer than the stock battery so I just keep one in my wallet.
Hope that covers everything.. if you have any more questions feel free to ask
Sent from my ThunderBolt using XDA Premium App
Regarding wifi tether : Verizon will charge $20/month starting July 7th. Unless you root, then it's free.
Sent from my ADR6300 using XDA Premium App
+1 for awesome dev support on the TB. And with the recent GB kernels the battery issues are not much a of a problem.
Here is my experience:
I rooted the OG Droid with a one-click so I was pretty nervous using ADB. I followed all the instructions and it worked just fine.
For battery life - I found a good deal on Amazon with the 1600 Seido battery and a wall charger that charges up the extra battery. I will keep the extra battery around if I am going to be out for 12+ hours, but I use my phone a ton, with Navigation and browsing, etc.
For Swype - the new Sense 3.0 ROMs (I use BAMF's which I think is the only one right now) have a "Trace" option in the keyboard. I think it is similar to Swype, but I haven't personally used either. I did find myself missing the hard keys less and less in a matter of days after upgrading though.
Good luck!
Thanks everyone. Really helpful info.
I actually used the Trace keyboard function, and will say that it is quite well implemented (first tried it on the HTC Sensation, then installed the BAMF RC3 ROM) though not as accurate as Swype.
I have been kicking around getting the Atrix as my first Android cause I love my friends HTC Incredible so much but I am on AT&T so the Atrix looks like a good one to me, but I am just wondering if this phone has any bugs that need to be worked out as far as software or hardware goes? Thanks
The bugs on the ATRIX is due to MOTOBLUR. You can set the ATRIX free if you root and unlock it
Sent from my MB860 using XDA App
My experience with the Atrix.
I've had the phone for 3 days. Overall it's an amazing device. However, since I've had it the main issue has been reboots&crashes(my phone is not rooted). The funny thing is when I'm using it, it has never rebooted or crashed, but when it's idle it tends to crash frequently(about 10 times per day). As of now, I'm still trying to figure out what's causing this. So far from what I've found on a few android forums suggests that the problem only exists on some devices. There are some Atrix phones that don't have the rebooting problem at all.
1WithSelf said:
I've had the phone for 3 days. Overall it's an amazing device. However, since I've had it the main issue has been reboots&crashes(my phone is not rooted). The funny thing is when I'm using it, it has never rebooted or crashed, but when it's idle it tends to crash frequently(about 10 times per day). As of now, I'm still trying to figure out what's causing this. So far from what I've found on a few android forums suggests that the problem only exists on some devices. There are some Atrix phones that don't have the rebooting problem at all.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh, okay so it's kind of like a Volkswagen where one is great and the other is junk? Ha ha just playin. But I take it that this is not really a common problem with this phone but you just got unlucky, and maybe another handful of people?
Or maybe like Mr flo said up above that it's all because of Motoblur?
Imo wait till October or November. There will be a whole new line up of phones coming out. The Atrix is epic but there will be better in the new future.
Sent from my MB860 using XDA App
1WithSelf said:
I've had the phone for 3 days. Overall it's an amazing device. However, since I've had it the main issue has been reboots&crashes(my phone is not rooted). The funny thing is when I'm using it, it has never rebooted or crashed, but when it's idle it tends to crash frequently(about 10 times per day). As of now, I'm still trying to figure out what's causing this. So far from what I've found on a few android forums suggests that the problem only exists on some devices. There are some Atrix phones that don't have the rebooting problem at all.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
forget trying to figure out whats wrong and exchange it for another if you can, thats something in the hardware most likely
Overall it's a solid phone, and almost every iPhone user that made the changeover usually posts that they are happy they left the iPhone for the Atrix.
In the end you are getting a dual-core phone with a 1GB of RAM and a large battery.
Plus this phone just got the BL unlocked, so that means you will have CM7 and Ice Cream Sandwich in some form (possibly even official)...
Sent from my MB860 using XDA Premium App
The ATRIX is future proof....these current and upcoming dual-core phones have only matched the ATRIX. I have a custom rom and kernel....and my ATRIX flies
Sent from my MB860 using XDA App
ccrows said:
Overall it's a solid phone, and almost every iPhone user that made the changeover usually posts that they are happy they left the iPhone for the Atrix.
In the end you are getting a dual-core phone with a 1GB of RAM and a large battery.
Plus this phone just got the BL unlocked, so that means you will have CM7 and Ice Cream Sandwich in some form (possibly even official)...
Sent from my MB860 using XDA Premium App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks a lot. How about call quality and basic phone functions, speakerphone lound and clear, ear speaker sound quality, strong or weak signal things of that nature?
rjayflo said:
The ATRIX is future proof....these current and upcoming dual-core phones have only matched the ATRIX. I have a custom rom and kernel....and my ATRIX flies
Sent from my MB860 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
"future proof" makes me happy I just realized that I just made 10 posts! Ha ha!! I'm FREE!! Now it's time for me to go into the DEVELOPMENT THREAD and cause some real trouble, ha ha.
i have had mine for about 3 days, no reboots and whatnot. I am liking the way the phone feels and works. calls are clear via bluetooth speakerphone and the regular earpiece.
ive ditched the default messaging app for chomp sms(its basically bitesms but better and smoother in alot of ways, same dev team if im not mistaken). and im not using the default launcher anymore, launcher pro seems smoother.
anyway hardwarewise the phone is awesome, even with the motoblur on it in a nonrooted oem rom. with that said i plan to root and try out some different roms in the near future
Spoontain said:
i have had mine for about 3 days, no reboots and whatnot. I am liking the way the phone feels and works. calls are clear via bluetooth speakerphone and the regular earpiece.
ive ditched the default messaging app for chomp sms(its basically bitesms but better and smoother in alot of ways, same dev team if im not mistaken). and im not using the default launcher anymore, launcher pro seems smoother.
anyway hardwarewise the phone is awesome, even with the motoblur on it in a nonrooted oem rom. with that said i plan to root and try out some different roms in the near future
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks a lot.
This is my first android phone and I love it! I've already rooted and unlocked it. I've flashed several ROM's already and have had excellent results. There have been a few reboots and connection issues but nothing to seriously complain about. My current ROM has taken care of all that and I'm getting over 30 hours of battery life without changing anything. I don't know about "future proof" with LTE coming but it will be tough to find a better phone
I have 2 in my household.
The wife's is as stock as stock can be and it is rock solid. Never had an issue with the phone. No force closes, no issues, just a solid work beast. Nearly, only nearly mind, rivals a Berry for battery life.
Mine on the other hand has gone through the wars a bit as regards reliability BUT all of those issues were my fault not the phone.
I am like most of those posting here in that I do like to play and tinker with ROMs, apps and anything else we can think of playing with. The upside is that after that learning curve I have a phone that is fantastically quick, great battery life and not really going to be left wanting for much over the next year or two as regards hardware.
Same as most android's really it is what you make of it. If you want a solid work beast, it can do that. If you want to play, you can do that.
Importantly though is that the initial learning curve has been gone through, mostly on this great forum, so if you want to root, mod, unlock the bootloader and whatever else may come make sure you research it.
There is only one rule really. If you unlock the bootloader and use the official AT&T Gingerbread update NEVER go back to Froyo. Remember that and now it is quite hard to mess up.
I know I have tried !
Wow, thanks a lot guys... I think this will be my first Android after reading what you all have said about this phone. Thanks for taking the time to give me your opinions, and to the guy that hates the phone... Dude I'm really sorry you got a dud.
etek said:
Thanks a lot. How about call quality and basic phone functions, speakerphone lound and clear, ear speaker sound quality, strong or weak signal things of that nature?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Call quality is great. No problems at all on either end.
I don't use the speqkerphone, but I seen a lot of praise for it around here.
Sound is loud enough that I don't need to ask people to repeat themselves, which is good because my hearing has never been that great...
Sent from my MB860 using XDA Premium App
etek said:
"future proof" makes me happy I just realized that I just made 10 posts! Ha ha!! I'm FREE!! Now it's time for me to go into the DEVELOPMENT THREAD and cause some real trouble, ha ha.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep find something you don't like, there are Apps and ROMs to customize the phone to your liking.
Unlike the iPhone and its "Better luck next year" attitude...
Sent from my MB860 using XDA Premium App
ccrows said:
Call quality is great. No problems at all on either end.
I don't use the speqkerphone, but I seen a lot of praise for it around here.
Sound is loud enough that I don't need to ask people to repeat themselves, which is good because my hearing has never been that great...
Sent from my MB860 using XDA Premium App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Alright, so this phone needs some serious consideration. Of Course, this phone probably didn't fly as much as it was promoted, I still guess its promotion was a little weaker than I expected.
I have been using Atrix since its launch. About 8 months and never had any issues with my phone.
Phone durability - Rock Solid, even though you can feel the plastic all around, but the phone is light in weight, and it still is very sturdy. Have dropped it a few times(Of course with a cover on top - so no scratches) but even after those many drops, phone is absolutely fine.
Screen - First qHD display. Truly amazing. I feel it better than iPhone's retina display, trust me when I say it, have used iphone 4 and exchanged it with Atrix.
Call Quality - SubPar. No noise issues. Whenever I receive a call, the person on the other end never complained.
Speakers - Loud and clear enough. Even when I put phone on speaker while driving, it is just clear. Loud enough to fill my car with voice easily.
Biggest Bonus - Unlocked Bootloader. Means, this phone is now free. With lots of Devs now coming up with new ROM's, and CM7 on its way, I have heard that MiUI is also coming to Atrix in near future, it is just an amazing feeling that how much customization is available for the phone, with Devs spending days and hours, it is just truly phenomenal.
Processor - with Dual Core 1GHz processor, this phone has got the raw power to beat up the competition. I feel, phone is fast enough to give solid competition to the upcoming new android variations, upcoming iphone and so on. As someone earlier said, it is a future proof phone, not only because it has got the Dual Core processor, but because it has got Dual Core processor, even today, there are many phones which still get released with 1GHz Single Core, I think for next couple of years 1GHz Dual Core processing speed is safe from getting extinct. Also, the fact that Atrix can now be OverClocked to 1.3GHz, man you should see this phone, just totally flying with that much power.
Camera - As promised by Motorola earlier at the time of launch, with GingerBread, phone will be able to do 1080p, and yes it does it. What else would we need?
Another Bonus - Finger Print Scanner. Just unique by itself. No more words needed to explain what it is.
Last but not Least, Battery - Solid. Usually, I have always seen people be able to get around atleast a day out of the Atrix battery easily. Now with different applications available to help us save the battery, it is even easier to get more out of it.
Webtop Dock etc... - Personally I don't use any other accessories for Atrix, so no idea, but have heard they all are also similarly amazing.
If I missed out on anything, I am pretty sure, I have got something good to say about it, as long as it is related to (M)Atrix.
If you got the phone, you should be happy. If you are thinking of getting one, go for it. If you dislike it, it is your personal choice and I am sure people will respect it.
Cheers!!!
Well Guy's!! I took your suggestion (besides that one guy) and I got the Atrix! Thank you thank you!!! I love this phone already. I have the bootloader unlocked, rooted, clockwork recovery, and the Alien ROM installed. Awesome phone, thanks so much for you help. After having the iPhone and then switching to this phone, there are so many things and so many ways to customize this phone it's insane. I almost don't know where to begin. See ya out on the forums!
I wouldn't have gone with the atrix personally. I had one. Froze a lot, soft rebooted A LOT, screen was not accurate to touch and would become unresponsive at times, not to mention it was SLOW(for being a dual core tegra phone). Like others say though, its mostly personal preference. I may have also had a bad one. I've owned many androids and I personally rate the atrix worse than a poopy aria.... its on the bottom of my list. I got my nexus s now and have never been more pleased.
Sent from my Nexus S using xda premium
I just got a Thrill 4G and Im thinking about trading it in for an Atrix. The phone is great but the battery life sucks, and I cannot see the 3D screen with sun glasses on. I live in AZ so they are on every time I go outside so that is an important deciding factor for me.
The Atrix is $49 today so Im thinking about getting one. I'd love to hold out for the SGS2, but who knows when it will be out and it will prob be $199.
So, would you buy an Atrix again if you had to do it over again?
If I wouldn't of had to sell my first ATRIX I wouldn't have. My fave phone!
Tapped from my ATRIX.
No-brainer imo --- the atrix is FAR superior; I'll admit that with stock gingerbread the phone is kinda meh....still an awesome phone but nothing mindblowing. I assume since you're here you'll be unlocking and flashing it...which makes the phone AMAZING. The 3-D stuff just seems so gimmicky to me and won't be perfected/well-implemented for a good amount of time to come.
As far as the SGS2, on paper it looks like an amazing phone but I'll have to wait to see - I had the captivate and was so disappointed with it (anyone that had that phone from the beginning knows how horrendous Samsung's support was). I hope that Samsung has learned a lot since the beginning of the GS line because a phone with such amazing hardware shouldn't have so many problems.
kisnerct said:
No-brainer imo --- the atrix is FAR superior; I'll admit that with stock gingerbread the phone is kinda meh....still an awesome phone but nothing mindblowing. I assume since you're here you'll be unlocking and flashing it...which makes the phone AMAZING. The 3-D stuff just seems so gimmicky to me and won't be perfected/well-implemented for a good amount of time to come.
As far as the SGS2, on paper it looks like an amazing phone but I'll have to wait to see - I had the captivate and was so disappointed with it (anyone that had that phone from the beginning knows how horrendous Samsung's support was). I hope that Samsung has learned a lot since the beginning of the GS line because a phone with such amazing hardware shouldn't have so many problems.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I actually know exactly what you mean because I bought my Captivate a couple days after it was released. I still have it, dont use it, but I was really happy with it after flashing ROMS on it. The development forum on that phone is fantastic.
Yes, I would never have a stock phone. Did they ever get the bootloader unlocked on this phone? I know that was the major reason that people hesitated to get it.
i love my atrix. nothing out there is better to me. im running CM7 beta on it right now. so fast.
With CM7 , everything is happy
Love it, fast, nice camera, nice speaker, good gaming performance with THD games, great community.
timbrendelaz said:
I actually know exactly what you mean because I bought my Captivate a couple days after it was released. I still have it, dont use it, but I was really happy with it after flashing ROMS on it. The development forum on that phone is fantastic.
Yes, I would never have a stock phone. Did they ever get the bootloader unlocked on this phone? I know that was the major reason that people hesitated to get it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There's an automatic bootload unlocker in this very forum I won't bash you because I missed it myself, hahaha. It worked like a charm for me though.
Here is the link::
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1182871
kisnerct said:
There's an automatic bootload unlocker in this very forum I won't bash you because I missed it myself, hahaha. It worked like a charm for me though.
Here is the link::
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1182871
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I didn't miss it because I wasn't looking for it. I don't have an Atrix and was asking a question.
Everything I've read says that the Atrix also has poor battery life. I saw a thread on a battery calibration and mod that is supposed to help. I dont want to trade ina phone with bad battery life for another phone with bad battery life.
Both have a dual core CPU but the Atrix has 1GB of RAM which is nice IMO. I cant see the Thrill 3D screen with sunglasses on which sucks to me. The 3D is very gimmicky and hurts my eyes, lol. And there is only one ROM and the dev's seems to be bailing on this phone so I don't see a very good future in the Thrill dev threads.
timbrendelaz said:
I didn't miss it because I wasn't looking for it. I don't have an Atrix and was asking a question.
Everything I've read says that the Atrix also has poor battery life. I saw a thread on a battery calibration and mod that is supposed to help. I dont want to trade ina phone with bad battery life for another phone with bad battery life.
Both have a dual core CPU but the Atrix has 1GB of RAM which is nice IMO. I cant see the Thrill 3D screen with sunglasses on which sucks to me. The 3D is very gimmicky and hurts my eyes, lol. And there is only one ROM and the dev's seems to be bailing on this phone so I don't see a very good future in the Thrill dev threads.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Bad battery life reports are the vocal minority. Most of us here consider the battery to be one of the Atrix's strong points. I can get 2 1/2 days with light usage on mine with CM7 installed on it. Thats with wifi set to never sleep, and with GPS and 3G/HSPA enabled.
I love the Atrix. Literally the only problem I have with it is the pentile display, and even then its a very minor issue.
It has a 1930mAh and all the review sites i've read say the battery life is very good. Flashing a custom rom will make it even better! People have been getting like 16-24 hrs with Wifi and everything on, constantly browsing the internet and playing games (read it on youtube)
This is my first Android phone. Came from 4 years with the iPhone. Ill tell you this...not looking back. This phone was great stock. Now running cm7, this thing is fuggin amazing... battery and performance are nothing short of great.
Sent from my MB860 using Tapatalk
timbrendelaz said:
I just got a Thrill 4G and Im thinking about trading it in for an Atrix. The phone is great but the battery life sucks, and I cannot see the 3D screen with sun glasses on. I live in AZ so they are on every time I go outside so that is an important deciding factor for me.
The Atrix is $49 today so Im thinking about getting one. I'd love to hold out for the SGS2, but who knows when it will be out and it will prob be $199.
So, would you buy an Atrix again if you had to do it over again?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Atrix is an incredibly solid device. Gotta give AT&T credit for getting a top-notch device out of Motorola.
well it sounds like you guys are quite happy with it. If the battery life is that great then it's a no-brainer for $49.99. I do believe hat Im gonna return my thrill today. It a cool phone, but im a power user and ROM flashing addict so it seems i'll fit right in.
timbrendelaz said:
well it sounds like you guys are quite happy with it. If the battery life is that great then it's a no-brainer for $49.99. I do believe hat Im gonna return my thrill today. It a cool phone, but im a power user and ROM flashing addict so it seems i'll fit right in.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good choice. The only HTC that is a solid Atrix competitor on AT&T (candybar Android w/o keyboard) is the Inspire4G, but honestly, after several HTC devices and several Moto devices, HTC may come up with cool designs and features, but Moto is great at implementing reliable, high-performing designs. I've never gotten the "oh, that is cheap" feeling with a Moto phone, while Samsung and HTC . . . meh!
Typically find out people who are complaining about battery life have heavy usage that would have even worse battery life on other phones. You had a captivate like I did, so I can tell you this phones battery kicks the **** out of the captivates....and will be even more amazing should you decide to UV it.
If you want to see a GOD AWFUL battery, **** around with an HTC inspire for about 6 hours lol.
Anyway, I think you should at least give the Atrix a try and worst case scenario you don't like it you bring it back within the 30 day window (assuming you will have one).
Sent from my MB860 using XDA App
I guess I'm the lone dissenter here. I'm not a fan of the Atrix. Maybe I got a lemon but it seems like there are a lot of problems.
The build quality is suspect. Dust and even a very small piece of cat hair has gotten under the screen. The back plate/battery cover feels cheap and creaks when I hold it. The GPS is rarely able to get a lock on my position, rendering it useless. Also, bluetooth connection is unreliable. I've tried 2 vehicle systems and 3 headsets. They are all able to pair fine, but lose connection in the middle of phone calls.
And if you've done research on the Atrix I'm sure you've read all about Motoblur and how ugly it makes the UI. It's all true. I'm on gingerbread and I have to say its hideous. The stock in-call screen, dialer and photo gallery all look like something designed by an elementary student.
Can you flash it and fix the ugliness of the UI? I'm not a techy but from what I've read the answer seems to be mixed. It would appear yes you can just as long as the OTA update of gingerbread has not been installed on the phone. If it has, you're either screwed or prepare to spend the next 3 years of your life reading up on how to hack the device.
On the positive side, believe everything you've seen about the Atrix's speed. By far the fastest phone I've ever used. The screen is nice and bright as well.
landoftherich said:
Can you flash it and fix the ugliness of the UI? I'm not a techy but from what I've read the answer seems to be mixed. It would appear yes you can just as long as the OTA update of gingerbread has not been installed on the phone. If it has, you're either screwed or prepare to spend the next 3 years of your life reading up on how to hack the device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It sounds like you might have got a lemon. But, I had the ota update and flashed it the very same day with no problems at all so it honestly isn't that difficult.
Sent from my MB860 using XDA App
landoftherich said:
I guess I'm the lone dissenter here. I'm not a fan of the Atrix. Maybe I got a lemon but it seems like there are a lot of problems.
The build quality is suspect. Dust and even a very small piece of cat hair has gotten under the screen. The back plate/battery cover feels cheap and creaks when I hold it. The GPS is rarely able to get a lock on my position, rendering it useless. Also, bluetooth connection is unreliable. I've tried 2 vehicle systems and 3 headsets. They are all able to pair fine, but lose connection in the middle of phone calls.
And if you've done research on the Atrix I'm sure you've read all about Motoblur and how ugly it makes the UI. It's all true. I'm on gingerbread and I have to say its hideous. The stock in-call screen, dialer and photo gallery all look like something designed by an elementary student.
Can you flash it and fix the ugliness of the UI? I'm not a techy but from what I've read the answer seems to be mixed. It would appear yes you can just as long as the OTA update of gingerbread has not been installed on the phone. If it has, you're either screwed or prepare to spend the next 3 years of your life reading up on how to hack the device.
On the positive side, believe everything you've seen about the Atrix's speed. By far the fastest phone I've ever used. The screen is nice and bright as well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There are many options to get rid of the stock gingerbread Motoblur look. The obvious choice is CM7, which will do away with Blur entirely, and make your phone quite a bit quicker. Most themes available in XDA will get rid of the Blur look, and there is a huge selection in the App and Theme section. I use the ext4 Homebase Rom with his Honeycomb theme, and it significantly speeds up my phone.
I would recommend the Atrix over other Android phones for a few reasons. The biggest reason why I like it so much is because of the form factor. I like the 4 inch screen more than 4.3 or 4.5 or 9.3. Battery life has been pretty good, at least as good as I can reasonably expect from a smartphone. The hardware specs are comparable to any other Android device, and if you're willing to root and flash custom Roms, you will notice a marked improvement over stock performance (which I think is true of any Android phone). What really makes this phone as slick as it is are its accessories. I just bought the lapdock from Vancouver Craigslist for $150 and I love it. I knew when I bought it that it was kind of gimmicky (like the 3D from your Thrill), but for what I need this tool for, it's been outstanding. Nothing beats watching Game of Thrones and Breaking Bad on my hour commute to work while simultaneously charging my phone!
I love my Atrix, and it's a shame the phone got such a bad wrap off the bat due poor implementation of Blur on 2.2, and encrypted bootloader. Now with the unlocked bootloader and better blur, in addition to more and more custom roms being built, this phone is coming closer to its potential. I wish it had a metal back plate, but I understand the potential of worse reception and getting hotter than the plastic cover. All in all, the only phone I would remotely consider exchanging my Atrix for would be the Sensation, and even then I think I'd really have to be sold on the idea. I hope this helps with your decision.
Cm7 is a must on the atrix. I've tried other roms but none ever worked quite right. Annoying fc & other errors - but thanks to those devs for putting in the time & effort. Blur is complete crap: I couldn't even listen to my mp3s without the music stuttering bcuz the phone was busy searching for "suggestions" of similar songs I may like. Damn you, for the unwanted marketing on my device, at&t & Motorola. For a while, I very much regretted trading in my iPhone. But now all is well. Thank you cm7 devs!
So I just got my Atrix
It has 1.2.6 as a build on it, and from reading I'm not finding too much information on that build. I don't think that I want to do the OTA to 4.1.57 though because I keep reading about bricks. I'm going to put a ROM on it, more than likely CM7 so Im not sure what good it would do to update OTA. I'll have to root it though so I guess I can get on that first but all of the root guides are for 1.8.x and up.
I know I know, you're all tired of these threads asking questions about the Evo I understand but I just have a few questions that I would like to ask before I shell out the dinero on this bad boy so please be easy on me
1. How is performance(lag/stuttering/wait times) after a couple weeks of owning the Evo?
2. Is the multitasking issue really that bad? Is it lack of RAM because of sense? Can this be fixed by OTA or custom ROMs? I've read some ROM threads and some tweaks seem to alleviate the issue but not by much.
3. How has your overall all experience with this phone been? Any bugs that are common? Radios,GPS, wifi? Software bugs?
Okay thanks guys those are the only questions I have, I'm looking at the Evo and the S3 but the Evo is the phone that's getting my attention the most and I just want to ask some questions before I pull the trigger. Sorry if I annoyed anyone by the thread, again thank you if you reply
I don't have one but am also thinking of getting one in the future. The new problem with the phone bending is a major concern to me. If you ever plan on carrying it in your pants pocket you may want to consider a different phone. If it's to be carried in a purse or shirt pocket it's probably ok....http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1679027
stellar said:
I know I know, you're all tired of these threads asking questions about the Evo I understand but I just have a few questions that I would like to ask before I shell out the dinero on this bad boy so please be easy on me
1. How is performance(lag/stuttering/wait times) after a couple weeks of owning the Evo?
2. Is the multitasking issue really that bad? Is it lack of RAM because of sense? Can this be fixed by OTA or custom ROMs? I've read some ROM threads and some tweaks seem to alleviate the issue but not by much.
3. How has your overall all experience with this phone been? Any bugs that are common? Radios,GPS, wifi? Software bugs?
Okay thanks guys those are the only questions I have, I'm looking at the Evo and the S3 but the Evo is the phone that's getting my attention the most and I just want to ask some questions before I pull the trigger. Sorry if I annoyed anyone by the thread, again thank you if you reply
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. Had mine for a week and a half and lag doesnt exist on this.
2. It is kind of a pain in the butt. Especially when going back to a web page(even if it was you last task). It reloads the whole page and puts you back at the top of the page.
3. GPS and WIFI are flawless. Quick locks and no issues. 3G is a hit or miss for some people. It seems that 3G will shut off when using wifi but has problems picking it back up. Switching airplane mode or mobile network on/off fixes it usually. Sometimes a restart is needed.
Coming from the EVO 3D, I am very happy with the phone over all. The little things seem like they could be easily fixed with a software update or a dev working their magic. The GS3 has the same internals pretty much and doesnt face the 3G connectivity issues. Hope and pray....
Good luck on what ever you choose.
Got mine on release day(in store release day, not preorder), very rarely do I see any lag in the phone.
The memory management could be better, like stated. The most annoying thing is opening the browser expecting a page to have loaded and be ready for you (I tend to switch apps while I wait for a page to load - habit officially broken.) The page has to completely reload.
Wifi has been my only issue, occasionally I have to cycle Wifi on/off to get it to pick up on my home network - oddly never happens at work, but I guess that's got something to do with my cheap router vs an enterprise class one.
I get better reception with this phone just about every where than any of my previous phones, last one I had was the Photon and now my wife has it.
I get a new device every 6 months or so and have had most of the high end Sprint phones, except the 3D. That said, this is the best of the best I have ever experienced.
As for the bending the phone if its in your pocket? I haven't had a problem with it. My guess is that some of the phones have a week spot in the chassis. If it happens, I'd take it back to Sprint.
stellar said:
I know I know, you're all tired of these threads asking questions about the Evo I understand but I just have a few questions that I would like to ask before I shell out the dinero on this bad boy so please be easy on me
1. How is performance(lag/stuttering/wait times) after a couple weeks of owning the Evo?
2. Is the multitasking issue really that bad? Is it lack of RAM because of sense? Can this be fixed by OTA or custom ROMs? I've read some ROM threads and some tweaks seem to alleviate the issue but not by much.
3. How has your overall all experience with this phone been? Any bugs that are common? Radios,GPS, wifi? Software bugs?
Okay thanks guys those are the only questions I have, I'm looking at the Evo and the S3 but the Evo is the phone that's getting my attention the most and I just want to ask some questions before I pull the trigger. Sorry if I annoyed anyone by the thread, again thank you if you reply
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've had the Evo for about 3 weeks now. I've been rooted running MeanROM for a little over a week. The multitasking was annoying at first, but you get used to it. Other than that. The phone is amazing. I actually convinced one of my apple evangelist friends to make the switch after he used my phone.
egooch said:
I've had the Evo for about 3 weeks now. I've been rooted running MeanROM for a little over a week. The multitasking was annoying at first, but you get used to it. Other than that. The phone is amazing. I actually convinced one of my apple evangelist friends to make the switch after he used my phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That should get things rolling, time to sit back and enjoy.....
I've got 2 Notes to play with as my gf and I both got new phones last week. One is going up for sale but the other is staying around as a backup device incase one of us (her) breaks our phone. I wanted to repurpose it to act as GPS and audio source in the work van. It currently runs Liquidsmooth 4.4 which I was happy with as a phone ROM.
Question is does anyone know of an even slimmer ROM since I do not need phone functions at all? Would it even make a difference if I was to strip it down to the functions I want to lighten it up?
Pretty much all I need is tablet functions, my S5 will provide wifi for streaming. Even the browser is extraneous, beyond Pandora and Play Music I won't need much besides Maps.
The device will work fine for me with full LS, but I was curious how light I could get the ROM. I've never tried such a thing.
Drew
delawaredrew said:
I've got 2 Notes to play with as my gf and I both got new phones last week. One is going up for sale but the other is staying around as a backup device incase one of us (her) breaks our phone. I wanted to repurpose it to act as GPS and audio source in the work van. It currently runs Liquidsmooth 4.4 which I was happy with as a phone ROM.
Question is does anyone know of an even slimmer ROM since I do not need phone functions at all? Would it even make a difference if I was to strip it down to the functions I want to lighten it up?
Pretty much all I need is tablet functions, my S5 will provide wifi for streaming. Even the browser is extraneous, beyond Pandora and Play Music I won't need much besides Maps.
The device will work fine for me with full LS, but I was curious how light I could get the ROM. I've never tried such a thing.
Drew
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you have TiBu, you could freeze anything you dont use. Dont want to delete as you dont really know what itty bitty things you may need for functionality.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I527 using xda app-developers app
captemo said:
If you have TiBu, you could freeze anything you dont use. Dont want to delete as you dont really know what itty bitty things you may need for functionality.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I527 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah I was thinking the same. I was hoping someone had built a ROM off the media player Samsung made but no evidence of it. For the time being I'm just gonna run LS with no unnecessary apps added. I may reinstall it with the bare minimum of GApps to further clean it up but I kinda like the idea of having a mini tablet for the work day. Because the S5 and Nexus 7 I carry just aren't enough!
It might even be a good reason to try to learn to build a ROM myself although very few people would need it. I've always wanted to try it.
So my experiment in repurposing a Note as my GPS isn't going very well. It has a fresh 4.4 install with almost no unnecessary apps. I've disabled all the apps that I can.
I use the S5 as a hotspot to feed data, since although you can cache Google Maps apparently you can't search them without data. Other free GPS apps have not panned out well either. The open source maps they use are often missing street addresses and/or whole streets. I may spend a few $ on a prepaid SIM to to solve this.
1st - Battery Life is horrible, I can't figure out why. I'm running LiquidSmooth which gave me great battery life as a phone, even using GPS didn't drain like it does now. I even bought a new battery to try to rule that out. 1 hour of driving up to Seattle today killed 50% of the battery. Perhaps the lack of cell connection is a problem here but even wifi with airplane mode enabled (yes you can do this) this setup eats battery at a rate faster than the charger can supply. I can use a 2A charger but am low on outlets and work would dislike a hardwired charger.
2nd - Frequent reboots when using any music player while using GPS. I've tried Apollo, Play Music, PowerAmp and a few I don't recall. Players work OK; GPS works ok; but together... I rarely get more than 15 minutes with no reboots. If I can't have music and GPS it defeats the point of this.
3rd - The screen just isn't bright enough, in the few sunny days we've had it is difficult to see the maps in some lights. I dislike spoken directions (see #4) so this is a real problem and likely what will doom this plan since I can't change this.
4th - Spoken directions are the same volume as whatever media I am listening to, so they regularly blare out repetitive instructions at high volume.
5th - I need a better keyboard to operate the device at a distance since Google voice search is not good at understanding addresses.
Any ideas to mitigate these issues are welcome; I especially dislike the battery and reboot problems. Perhaps I'll install the mini or micro GApps package to dump some unneeded Google Apps?
It's only been a few days but if this stuff continues I will not keep using it as I already opt to not turn it on sometimes because it likes to reboot at crucial times. Unfortunately I modded my proper GPS cradle to hold the Note so a new GPS may be in order.