Ever since CES 2011, we've been dying to get our hands on the dual-core Motorola Atrix 4G again. Lucky for us, we didn't have to wait too long. Check out our hands-on photos here.
Bonnie Cha
Bonnie Cha was a former chief correspondent for CNET Crave, covering every kind of tech toy imaginable (with a special obsession for robots and Star Wars-related stuff). When she's not scoping out stories, you can find her checking out live music or surfing in the chilly waters of Northern California.
The Motorola Atrix 4G debuted at CES 2011 and won CNET's Best of CES Award for the cell phones and smartphones category.
The Atrix 4G will ship March 6 or earlier. Pricing for the phone only is $199.99 with a two-year contract.
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Features
The Atrix 4G is one of the first smartphones in the U.S. to feature a dual-core processor. The Nvidia Tegra 2 chipset allows for faster performance and better gaming, among other things.
The Atrix runs Android 2.2 (upgradable to Android 2.3) with Motoblur and also has 1GB RAM, 16GB onboard memory, 4G support, and mobile hot-spot capabilities.
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Design
The Atrix is sleek and lightweight at 4.6 inches tall by 2.5 inches wide by 0.4 inch thick and 4.8 ounces.
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Left side
The left side features a Micro-USB port and an HDMI port.
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Top view
The top of the device houses the 3.5mm headphone jack. On the back at the top center is a power/lock button that doubles as a fingerprint scanner for extra security.
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Cameras
The Atrix 4G is equipped with two cameras. On back, there's a 5-megapixel camera with dual-LED flash, and there's a VGA camera on the front for self-portraits and video calling.
The smartphone doesn't come preloaded with a video chat client, so you're free to download the app of your choice from the Android Market. Whether you make calls over the cellular network or Wi-Fi is dependent on the app, but AT&T doesn't restrict either method.
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Picture quality
Overall, we were satisfied with the camera's picture quality. Images were mostly clear but had some graininess to them and colors could have been brighter. Recorded 720p videos looked great.
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Laptop dock
One of the cool things about the Motorola Atrix 4G is the laptop dock. This accessory lets you connect your smartphone to the laptop shell and continue using the phone with the benefit of an 11.5-inch touch screen, full keyboard, and Firefox browser.
It's a costly accessory, however. You can buy it bundled with the phone for $499.99, but that's after a $100 mail-in rebate and a two-year contract and tethering add-on. If you don't want to go the tethering route, you can buy the dock separately (no phone, Wi-Fi connection only) for $499.99.
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Good build quality
The laptop dock itself has a very high-quality finish. It features an 11.5-inch screen, a large touch pad, and two USB ports. The keyboard is a bit reminiscent of the MacBook Air.
The dock's battery is rated for 8 hours, and it will charge your smartphone when connected.
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Entertainment Access Kit
In addition to the laptop dock, AT&T will offer an Entertainment Access Kit for $189.99, which includes the Motorola HD Multimedia Dock and remote, a Bluetooth keyboard, and a wireless mouse.
