Product Listing

Motorola Atrix - Versatile Shapeshifter

By Wong Casandra - 27 Jun 2011
Launch SRP: S$1288

Conclusion

Is the Atrix for You?

The Atrix is picking up the pace for Motorola after a rather lacklustre Android-backed Milestone 2 - and honestly, does a pretty good job at it. The former seem to embody all that of which that constitutes a high-end smartphone - a dual-core processor, a whopping 1GB of working memory, a huge 4.0-inch qHD touchscreen and so forth. We must not forget that the Atrix also comes with some cool software features like its own MOTOBLUR UI, the Moto Phone Portal app, support for XviD and DivX files and so forth. At the end of the day, the most important thing is that the Atrix isn't just an empty bag of promises. It delivers commendably in most aspects (smooth and speedy navigation, a clear screen, no random lock-ups and crashes) while under-delivering in just a handful of aspects (Android 2.2 out-of-the-box, camera capabilities). We also considered the fact that its integration with the Lapdock was a fairly smooth and intuitive one; you simply plug in your phone and everything is pretty straightforward from there without complicated user interfaces and such. 

Nonetheless, it is myopic to view the Atrix and its ecosystem of accessories just on its own. With a market soon to be saturated with strong contenders like Samsung GALAXY S II and HTC Sensation, it is essential to pit their merits and weaknesses against the Atrix to make an informed purchase decision. Do you want a bigger SUPER AMOLED Plus screen? Do you prefer the HTC Sense UI to the TouchWiz or does the MOTOBLUR UI work for you? If you have a smaller budget to work with, it is also important to ask yourself: do you actually need the extra horsepower? Aside other deeper hardware considerations, these are some important questions that ought to be faced when more dual-core smartphones with similar specs come to our shores. At the end of the day, if you are looking for a wider mobile experience, the Atrix does fulfill that niche as it comes with two specific docks with two usage perspectives that the other competitors lack. 

The Lapdock extends the Atrix beyond the smartphone experience as it harnesses the latter's hardware to provide users with unique netbook-like usage capabilities.

To sum it up, the Atrix still stands as a worthy challenger to the brethren of existing and upcoming dual-core smartphones. With its speedy processor, we had no problems with its smooth performance, be it in day-to-day operations like surfing, navigation and even gaming. Aside its mediocre camera and fair battery performances, the Atrix still stands high on our list with its positive features. The smartphone comes at S$988 bundled with the HD Multimedia Dock and S$1288 bundled with the Lapdock.

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8.5
  • Design 8
  • Features 9
  • User-Friendliness 8.5
  • Performance 8.5
  • Value 8.5
The Good
Interesting Lapdock function
Many built-in software options
Crisp qHD 4.0-inch touchscreen
Speedy performance
The Bad
Uninspired phone design
Better battery life expected
Mediocre camera capabilities
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