Motorola Atrix?

[Havok]

Anyone get this phone yet? Or knows anyone who has? Just want some general feedback.

[The Kernel]

I have one at work that I've been playing with the last few days. A few comments:

- The new MOTOBLUR interface is very streamlined over the old one. The least annoying of any of the "third party" Android UIs.

- This thing is FAST. The dual core Tegra 2 really makes it snappy.

- The screen is just plain lovely. Definitely on par with the screen in the iPhone 4.

- It does tend to run a tad hot when stressed. Dual cores does that.

If I was going to buy a phone today, I would probably go with the Atrix. Overall and excellent Android device.

[Havok]

Cool thanks.

Question though, can you change the UI to another one?

[The Kernel]

If you want to run a hacked firmware you can, but I don't really recommend it. Seriously though, the new MotoBLUR on the Atrix really isn't that bad at all, so I doubt it is worth it.

[Havok]

So, an update. I bought one.

It is weird.

I've had a Sony Cybershot C902 for about, hell, maybe 4 years. Great little phone. Nice file organization. Great camera. Nice text organization. Tons of (expandable) memory. It was the first phone that did exactly what I wanted it to. Loved it. Of course after 4 years of usage by me, it was just falling apart and was getting noticeably slower.

I buy this new one... and I feel like I am taking a step back. The text messaging is done in that weird IM like conversation mode, which I don't like, but I can't change it. Is there an app for that?

I feel like I am using an actual computer, which is cool, but it already is doing computer things like freezing. And now I am wondering if I should get some anti-virus program? Is there an app for that?

The onscreen key pad is nice (I'm not going to be able to put it to the test for a while though since my thumb is still broken from my recent crash.) but it is a little 'off' for my tastes. Is there an app for that?

It is fucking fast though. Even being the first 'smart' phone I have used, I can tell that. Battery life is pretty good too considering. Do they make better longer lasting batteries though?

[Lonestar]

I buy this new one... and I feel like I am taking a step back. The text messaging is done in that weird IM like conversation mode, which I don't like, but I can't change it. Is there an app for that?

Hate to be the bearer of bad news, but that's the interface for all the major smartphone text messaging.

I feel like I am using an actual computer, which is cool, but it already is doing computer things like freezing. And now I am wondering if I should get some anti-virus program?
Is there an app for that?

Download advanced taskkiller and kill apps that are running in the background.

The onscreen key pad is nice (I'm not going to be able to put it to the test for a while though since my thumb is still broken from my recent crash.) but it is a little 'off' for my tastes. Is there an app for that?

There are multiple keyboards you can download.

It is fucking fast though. Even being the first 'smart' phone I have used, I can tell that. Battery life is pretty good too considering. Do they make better longer lasting batteries though?

Probably, I got one for the Droid X.

[Havok]

Cool thanks Lones, I'll do some investigating then.

[Lonestar]

Cool thanks Lones, I'll do some investigating then.

Android seems to have a memory leakage problem, and often times Apps won't actually turn "off" if you just hit the back or home button, which means they'll be running in the background taking up memory. Just like a real computer, if too much of the memory is being taken up it'll crash, which is why I recommended getting something like Advanced Task Killer.

[The Kernel]

Cool thanks Lones, I'll do some investigating then.

Android seems to have a memory leakage problem, and often times Apps won't actually turn "off" if you just hit the back or home button, which means they'll be running in the background taking up memory. Just like a real computer, if too much of the memory is being taken up it'll crash, which is why I recommended getting something like Advanced Task Killer.

That's not an Android problem per say. As a product manager for a pretty diverse Android portfolio, I can tell you that this is a problem with the way Android is designed.

As you know, on a normal computer your battery life can be heavily influenced by background applications. This is a fact of life on any device with true multi-tasking. Android works the same way and there are no checks and balances to prevent applications from running tasks in the background and eating up battery life or CPU cycles.

iPhone doesn't have this problem because it doesn't have any real multi-tasking--it purely has a quick app switching feature. Because multi-tasking on iOS is so limited, there is really no way for background processes to run and kill your battery life. This is a philosophical difference between Android and iOS.

[Havok]

OK, so I down loaded ATK Pro for $5.

Got any recommendations on the settings for it?

[Lonestar]

Not really I just periodically check it and kill apps that are running that I am not currently using.

[Phantasee]

There's no way to check open apps with the stock OS? Blackberry and iOS do that just fine.

[Lonestar]

This is usually quicker.

[Havok]

Yeah, it is just one button push to kill all the running apps.

[Jawawithagun]

What's the battery life on it anyway?

[Havok]

Pretty good. I charge it while I sleep and get a full day out of it. It's no worse than my Cybershot was and all I did on that was text and take pictures.

The official line is 9 hours of talk time and 10.4 days of standby. I don't know why they even lists standby. Who goes more than 1 day without using their phones for something anymore? I think they should list approximate usage times for constant texting, and constant web access.

[Phantasee]

My 3GS is dying on me, the battery isn't keeping a full charge. I'm thinking of either swapping the battery with my old 3GS (which is actually newer than this one, and hasn't been used since August, and should be okay if the water damage didn't damage the battery in addition to the cellular radio), or getting an Atrix with the webtop. I saw one today at a cellular shop and I want to get my hands on one soon.

[Jawawithagun]

Who goes more than 1 day without using their phones for something anymore?

Me.

[Phantasee]

Does your phone look like this?

[Havok]

My 3GS is dying on me, the battery isn't keeping a full charge. I'm thinking of either swapping the battery with my old 3GS (which is actually newer than this one, and hasn't been used since August, and should be okay if the water damage didn't damage the battery in addition to the cellular radio), or getting an Atrix with the webtop. I saw one today at a cellular shop and I want to get my hands on one soon.

Having had the last week to get used to it, I am certainly a fan. I also figured out what I was doing that was making it "crash" or more accurately freeze, and have stopped it, so now I am all good.

[Pu-239]

On newer versions of Android(2.2+) task killers aren't really recommended, since the OS should be able to kill a misbehaving app. Apps running in the background but sleeping shouldn't be harmful, and force killing may cause the app to try to restart and eat more battery. The OS does have a builtin means to kill apps under application settings, but truly misbehaving stuff should be removed altogether (check under about phone/battery use to identify stuff using unreasonable amounts of energy).

Also, long press home to switch between recent applications.

@Phantasee The webtop seems overpriced and half baked- I'm thinking a netbook would be more useful.

[Jawawithagun]

Does your phone look like this?

Nope.

http://www.gsmarena.com/lg_hb620t-2486.php