The Motorola Atrix HD is a good value at $99 on AT&T contract, with genuinely impressive build quality and a standout front camera, but the main camera and battery life hold it back.
Hardware
The Atrix HD feels excellent in hand. Kevlar backing and a textured strip around the sides provide grip, and the pearl white model looks sharp with the dark grey Kevlar and accents contrasting well. The speaker is loud and clear. One layout quirk: both volume and power keys are on the right side, which suits left-handed users but feels slightly off for right-handed users who have to manage both with a single thumb.
Key specs: a 4.5-inch 720×1080 HD display with Gorilla Glass and ColorBoost, a 1.5GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8960, 1GB RAM, 8GB ROM with a 32GB microSD slot, a 1780mAh battery, an 8-megapixel rear camera, a 1.3-megapixel front camera, and 4G LTE.
Display
The 4.5-inch HD display is gorgeous with responsive touch and colors that pop. The only weakness was visibility in direct sunlight, even at maximum brightness.
Camera
The front camera was a pleasant surprise: clear, handles tricky lighting well, and performs well for video chat. The main 8-megapixel camera was a disappointment. In anything short of bright outdoor conditions, shadows went dark and ambiguous while highlights blew out badly. Video recorded smoothly but with the same color and exposure issues as stills. If Motorola addresses this in a firmware update, the recommendation changes; until then, this isn’t the phone for anyone who relies on a smartphone camera as their primary shooter.
Software
Android 4.0 with Motorola’s UI. On-screen navigation buttons are a welcome choice on a non-stock device and are more customizable for root users. The lockscreen offered Camera, Phone, Messaging, and general unlock shortcuts with a quick silent/vibrate toggle. AT&T’s bloatware (AT&T Code Scanner, Family Map, Navigator, Ready2Go, Smart Wi-Fi, LiveTV) cannot be uninstalled; most of Motorola’s additions can be.
The default Motorola keyboard replaced Android 4.0’s excellent stock keyboard with an inferior version themed to look identical. The main issue: it didn’t autocorrect contractions. SwiftKey 3 was an easy fix. The launcher’s fixed home screen position (always the leftmost page, not changeable) was frustrating for anyone with multiple screens. A third-party launcher resolves this.
Connectivity and Battery
AT&T LTE peaked at 45Mbps down and 21Mbps up in good coverage areas. Call quality was clear. Battery life ranged from nearly 3 days on standby to needing a charger before lunch under heavy use. The 1780mAh battery feels undersized given what other devices of the era were offering.
Conclusion
The Atrix HD is a solid AT&T smartphone at $99 that does most things well. Build quality is strong, call quality is good, and the front camera is better than expected. The main camera fails outside of ideal lighting, and battery life under heavy use is average at best. For someone who doesn’t rely heavily on the camera, it’s a good deal. Software issues are largely fixable with third-party downloads. If Motorola pushes a camera fix via firmware, this becomes a much easier recommendation.
