Sometimes cell-phones receive an outrageous amount of publicity and are over-hyping to the point of being a ‘mainstream’ item before it even launches. If anyone remembers the beginning of the iPhone saga, they were blasted upon all televisions telling everyone that these were the phones to own. If you didn’t have an iPhone 3g when it was released then you were behind the curve. Not only is this type of advertisement annoying but it generally does not work a person like me who always tries to find out how my electronics rate, before I purchase them. That is why I chose the new Motorola Atrix 2 to review. Fortunately, this new cell phone sort of slid under the rug and has just made it’s appearance in the AT&T show rooms this week. It seems odd that a cell phone of this caliber would not even receive the slightest bit of acknowledgement before its release but there is always the possibility that the fanfare is still to come.
Being the predecessor to the widely known Atrix 4G the new 2 has some large footsteps to follow in. This phone of course takes on the latest Andriod operating system and touts some cool new hardware too, all at the super affordable price of $99. The Atrix 2 comes standard with the normal features, like a built in OS to run your Apps, and a camera, and music player. Not to rant, but another one of my most hated cell phone antics that is displayed by carriers these days is how they think a cell phone is reasonably priced new at $299 or $399 depending on if you are qualified for a so-called ‘upgrade.’ I honestly cannot think of one positive reason a cell phone company would try to dissuade its customers from giving them money by buying a new phone, and yet also increasing their satisfaction. It’s almost like a company wants you to keep your money and be unhappy instead of just making the right decision.
Back to the phone, the Atrix 2 is being debuted as a sort of business phone. It has some quiet characteristics like the design, and tends to lean more towards a functional and useable device rather than a fun and loud phone that plays music, but fails to have some common usability features. What I am trying to say is that, I would much rather be the owner of a phone, and the company that supports it, if it is humble and doesn’t try to be something amazing. There’s no point in owning a phone that demands a learning curve for its user and is just annoying to use, possibly at the expense of a little more entertainment. When you hold the Atrix it resembles a solid slab of metal, and while that is not the most flattering adjective, the phone is fairly elegant. Again trying to be seen but not heard, the phone utilizes a 4.3 inch screen that sits under a nice all-glass front on the phone. Ergonomically this is one of the best features that a company can add to a touch phone, there just isn’t a better feeling than the smooth and luxurious feel of glass. Something to note is that the phone utilizes a couple main buttons that are non-touch screen for the Menu, Home, Back, and Search buttons. Most likely due to keeping the same feel of their best-selling precursor, the Atrix ends up coming out of the box looking stylish and smooth but not overly rambunctious in its looks. Some people love the look while others hate it, but in the end, the choice is yours.
