The Atrix 2 is the
successor to the venerable Atrix and as such at least bears the name of a
top-of-the-line Android phone.
The first Atrix was definitely a favourable
phone when it was first released in Malaysia. With its successor out, other
than business like qualities, they are promoting it with free 10 EA games. Is
the Atrix 2 just another forgettable Android smartphone or does it rise above
its pedestrian appearance to become a hit? Read on to find out!
Motorola
Atrix 2
1. Meh Design
Elegance is the least you could expect from
the Atrix 2 as there are no design flourishes unlike its Razr counterpart.
Holding the smartphone, the materials don't feel high-end other than the rear
panel. It is a matte black plastic with grip-able texture that sits comfortably
on the hand without slipping at all. Motorola has kept the same Menu, Home,
Back and Search button at the same place but more importantly, they kept the status indicator light on the
upper right, which make sense as it can be spotted easily.
Motorola
kept the status indicator light on the upper right, which make sense as it can
be spotted easily.
2. Decent Display
The Atrix 2 got a little upgrade on their screen by 0.3 inches but they maintain
the same 960 X 540 qHD resolution.That resulted in its pixel density arguably
lower but personally, I have no complaints.
The
Atrix 2 got a little upgrade on their screen by 0.3 inches but they maintain
the same 960 X 540 qHD resolution
In fact, from what I can see, the LCD
display is bright and sharp. Even small texts are readable. There are barely
any noticeable pixels when skimming through pictures. Photos on the Atrix 2 are
more true-to-life than the original Atrix. The display is not fantastic but it
is actually enough for comfortable viewing. The viewing angles are great and
the visibility of the screen is good under bright sunlight.
3. Just Another Camera
The camera is another improvement made by
Motorola besides the size of display. With Atrix 2, it definitely seems like a
sharp shooter with a dedicated camera button at the side and an 8-megapixel
rear camera, right? Sadly, that’s not the case. First off, the camera button
does not act as a two stage button. Instead, it is just a one click for
immediate focus and snap. Secondly, there is no other thing to boast about the
8 megapixels lens. It can achieve fairly good shots in natural light but use it
indoors and the images are quite poor leaving me wishing for faster shutter
speed. The only thing to shout about is the camera software that is an
improvement over the stock Android camera.
Just
Another Camera
4. Games Ahoy
Motorola puts in their own unnamed custom
Ul over the Android OS to appear unique in this Android-filled world and that
includes their own widgets. I really like one of the widgets called Quick
Contacts that allows me to put my favourite contacts in it. It can be swiped
down to reveal the rest of my favourite contacts and it is easily manageable.
It is also a little bit disappointing that the Atrix 2 doesn't come with
Android 4.0 as it came quite late into the Malaysian market. However, the guys
from Motorola do compensate by giving away 10 EA titles for free with Need for
Speed Hot Pursuit and this is the most affordable dual-core smartphone in the
market.
Motorola
puts in their own unnamed custom Ul over the Android OS to appear unique in
this Android-filled world and that includes their own widgets.
