Camera, Battery Life, Decision

Photographic camera

Motorola isn't usually known for putting excellent cameras into its smartphones, and the 8 megapixel unit on the Atrix Hard disk drive is no exception. Though the photographic camera produces adequate images about of the time, information technology is by no ways at the superlative of the class these days. Outdoors, the Atrix Hard disk drive's camera struggles to properly betrayal high contrast scenes, while indoor images tend to be a bit noisier than the competition's. The Atrix Hard disk drive also has very inconsistent white balance when shooting in artificial light.

The camera app itself is very similar to the one found on the Droid Razr, and it offers a scattering of controls at your fingertips. The Atrix HD doesn't come with the bevy of photography options that Samsung and HTC put into their devices, but information technology does offer tap-to-focus, a handful of effects and scene modes, and a panoramic stitch mode. The Atrix HD also doesn't have a defended photographic camera primal, only it is peradventure to set up the volume rocker to snap a moving-picture show. Simply be very conscientious of blocking the lens with your fingers while taking a pic with the book rocker, as the position of it is a scrap tricky for a shutter key.

The Atrix HD can besides capture 1080p Hard disk drive video, which was nearly the same image quality wise as its stills. The video mode features continuous autofocus, tap-to-focus, and zoom while recording, and it is possible to snap stills while shooting video. Finally, the front-facing one megapixel camera works well enough for its intended purpose, and it is capable of recording 720p Hard disk video on its ain.

Music

Out of the box, the only music player that comes on the Atrix HD is the Google Play Music app. I don't encounter that equally a bad affair, as the Play Music app handles both locally stored music and music that is streamed from a Google Music account. The app supports album art and playlists, and has various audio profiles and equalizer settings. You lot can control playback from the lock screen, a home screen widget, or the notification bar if you are not currently within the app. The external speaker offers a good amount of volume without distortion, simply the sound is not particularly full and the audio becomes very echoey when the Atrix is placed down on a flat surface. Those who have large music libraries will want to either have advantage of Google's cloud storage in its Google Music service or add a microSD bill of fare to the Atrix HD, as there is only 4.8GB of storage available out of the box.

Battery

As mentioned earlier, the Atrix HD comes with an embedded 1780mAh battery that is not user-accessible or replaceable. Motorola claims that the bombardment should exist proficient for up to 9 hours of talk fourth dimension or 8.5 days of standby. In my tests with regular usage, the Atrix Hard disk drive mostly lasted virtually eleven or 12 hours earlier calling it quits, which puts it just behind the average for smartphones today. The Atrix Hard disk drive volition likely become most people through a standard workday, just come the end of the solar day, some time on the charger will exist necessary.

Concluding Thoughts

The Motorola Atrix HD may not exist the absolute best performer, and definitely has its quirks, but for someone looking for a smartphone in the $100 price range, it's pretty tough to beat. For that toll you get a 720p display, a speedy Snapdragon S4 processor, and the closest thing to stock Android iv.0 Water ice Cream Sandwich that you can find on an AT&T smartphone. I do wish the camera was better, and the battery life is certainly non impressive, but aside from those faults, it's hard not to recommend the Motorola Atrix Hard disk drive as a solid smartphone pick.

Pros: Sharp and bright display, snappy performance, solid build quality.

Cons: Lackluster bombardment life, mediocre photographic camera, somewhat boring design.