Excellent phone. Better than other phones in its price range. July 26, 2012

Reviewer:  phaley06 

PROS: good call quality, fast responsive interface, excellent price, Android 4.0 OS, durable construction, pretty HD screen
CONS: non-removable battery, camera not so good in low light(even with flash on), uh...it's not free

I get a good discount on AT&T for being an LSU student, so I am sort of locked into AT&T. After scoping out the market at looking at my measly student budget, I decided that I would not pay more than $50 for a new phone. There are a few good AT&T smart phones out there for $50 or less such as the Nokia Lumia 900, Motorola Atrix HD, and LG Nitro HD which was free (at Best Buy's website with 2-year contract). The lowest price I found for the Lumia 900 was $19.99 and the Atrix HD was $49.99. I feel like all 3 of these phones are great for the money. Another phone that I liked for $49.99 was the Sony Xperia Ion, mostly because I love the look of it, but after doing further research I decided that the Sony was style over substance. Check the specs. It's basically the old LG Nitro HD with a better camera and more internal storage. But the LG is free.

The Lumia 900 looked really nice and has positive reviews all over the web, but I really like all the apps on the Android market, and I'm not sure I'm ready to try Windows on a phone yet. The LG Nitro HD is possibly the best free smartphone on the market for AT&T. It has similar features to popular Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket except with a nice HD screen and less internal storage. And it's free. However, I did not choose the Nitro because I felt an extra $50 was worth it to get a phone with much better hardware and a better operating system.

The Motorola Atrix HD is fast. I mean really fast. The internet blazes on the LTE network, and the software rarely ever lags. The touchscreen is also very responsive. It has a Snapdragon S4 processor - the same one that's in the Samsung Galaxy S III. It also has the same Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich operating system as the Galaxy S III (compared to the old Android 2.3 Gingerbread that is on the Nitro HD). Motorola has been very good about updating their phones with the latest operating systems, and I have no doubt that the Atrix HD will see updates to newer versions of Android (such as 4.1 Jellybean) in the future. I don't have the same confidence in LG, especially since the Nitro HD uses an older chip set. With the latest hardware and durable construction - Kevlar back and gorilla glass front - I feel like this phone will last me 2 years without a problem.

Great phone for AT&T--but I don't believe as good as Verizon's Droid Razr October 9, 2012

Reviewer:  Jeff Edwards "RadioJeff"  (Twin Falls, Idaho) -

Let me say up front that I work FOR an AT&T authorized retailer, but before I joined, I had (and still have) a Verizon contract and use the Samsung Galaxy Note with my work and own a Droid Razr as my personal device. When I first saw the specs and photos of the Atrix HD I thought immediately: here is AT&T's version of the Razr. I noticed how thick it was and instantly assumed it would have the same 3300 mAH batter that the Razr Maxx comes with...I was wrong. Don't get me wrong, the Atrix HD IS pretty thin, but it IS almost exactly as thick as the Maxx and obviously not as thin as the VERY thin Razr. Apple is claiming the i5 is the thinnest phone on the market today and that would be entirely incorrect. Yes, it IS thin, but not Razr thin. Okay, so the HD isn't as thin, however I still expected the battery to be bigger--but unfortunately I was incorrect about that as well. The HD has the same size as the Razr, and yet is quite a bit chunkier. Color me clearly disappointed.

With that being said, the HD really IS a great phone...in my time selling AT&T phones I don't think ANY phone has sold as many as the HD has...and by quite a large margin. Its easy to see why with Android 4.0 right out of the box and a starting price of $49.99 (with most authorized carriers) it doesn't take a rocket surgeon to discover why so many are out there. However, I feel compelled to point out that a rather large number have come back to our store with disturbing problems, a large variety in fact. From just going dead to the phone literally bricking itself (which I've never previously heard of), there seems to be an abnormally large number of problems with this device. Don't get me wrong, when it works, its an absolutely awesome phone--however, for those who have received botched models, they have a decidedly different opinion, and I can understand why. Keep that in mind before purchase.

The screen is almost flawless...a departure from the Super Amoled Razr & Maxx, the HD has an LCD HD display with color-boost, which works VERY well. I would say that the color saturation is something you'll either love or dislike. Personally I think its brilliant. Even though the colors are technically improved, they still look great. The only other phone I believe which looks AS good is the HTC One X, which essentially has the same screen only without the color-boost enhancement.

Not sure that I like the way Motorola has started to address the ICS versions of their phones...and by that I mean coming with just a Main screen and you get to populate additional screens as you see fit. I suppose I was familiar with having 5-7 screens to start with and I could add or delete at my own discretion. Not everyone will see it my way on this, so I believe its a personal matter, but I thought I'd mention it all the same.

Having had my Razr update to ICS I knew what to expect with the layout and the 4.0 version works virtually flawless (aside from previously mentioned issues). A snappy and responsibe processor allows quite fluid screen transitions (which ought to get even better with Jellybean sometime soon). Call quality is what you'd expect for a Motorola, which is to say a notch above most considering the notoriety of Motorola receivers. The camera works about as good as you'd expect, however not as good ad the GSIII or the One X (which I personally believe to be the best on ANY phone--including the i5). The one major difference between the HD and the HTC and Samsung counterparts is in the Burst Shot mode. The other phones will essentially continue to snap photos as long as you depress the shutter button, whereas the HD snaps off 6 pics in about half-a-second. Not that you'd have the need to snap more than that at a time, but to be honest, I'd rather have the option to continue snapping photos like the other two phones, but again, this is probabaly a personal choice and your opinion may differ, which is fine. Android 4.0 brags about its No Lag Shutter camera, but I honestly haven't noticed it with the HD. Both the One X and GSIII really DO take instant pics as you press the shutter, but the HD still has a lag the other two don't. It is STILL better than camera's on Android devices which were released with Gingerbread and before, but not as fast as those other two, and the iPhone 5 for that matter. Something to consider.

The form factor is great, as you'd expect. Gorilla glass up front, a nano-coating which Motorola claims makes the phone 'Splash Resistent' (NOT to be confused with WaterPROOF, which NO phone is) and the Kevlar back make the HD a tougher-than-usual device, one that just may be right for you. I recommend dropping into your local dealer to SEE the phone IN PERSON before buying (like I recommend with ALL electronic purchases), otherwise, you may end up making a different choice.

Good luck, hope my review helped!

Great phone for great price September 11, 2012

Reviewer:  Chadwick 

This is probably one of the best phones from Motorola I have seen in a while. The smart actions piece works nicely, and I now have 3 of them operating after owning the phone for a week. Tasks like turning off wifi and GPS while at work, or syncing with my car for instance.

Screen looks great, although it can be a little bit bright. The SD card slot was a bit of a pain until I realized I had to turn off phone to add a new SD card. Worked immediately afterwards. The phone doesn't feel cheap, except for the sim and SD card slot door. I switched from an iPhone 4.

Serious charging problems. Check XDA forums before you buy. June 3, 2013

Reviewer:  William R. Davis "will"  (usa) -

This phone is a real lemon. My roommate sold me his since he had an upgrade and we both ended up with the Atrix HD. His screen shattered from a simple drop onto hard carpet from 4 feet and he has had charging and screen locking problems. Mine, while in perfect physical condition fails to charge when the battery is completely depleted unlass I get lucky nad find the right time that the phone "feels" like taking a charge. I have repaced the battery with one from a Driod MAXX and during the charge-drain cycle again got into the fail to charge state.

Overall this phone has some sweet features, but if it's a brick, you cant use any of them. It's got a real bad case of PMS and this applies to both Atrix HD phones I have personally withnessed. I am glad I didn't pay full price for this tempermental toy.

Constant wifi problems and finicky battery May 16, 2013

Reviewer:  Classtoise 

The Atrix HD is an overall above average phone with problems that keep it from being anything worth writing home about.

The most telling problem about the Atrix HD is that the wifi antennae is KNOWN to be poor, but neither AT&T nor Motorola will offer any suggestions or fixes, and if the constant dropping of viable wifi signals or refusing to connect costs you money because it consistently connects to 4G when it shouldn't have to? Oh well.

As of writing this review, my Atrix HD has, without any exaggeration, had no wifi connection for a week. A literal solid 7 day or greater period with little or no wifi connection. My computer, 3DS, and other devices connect just fine. There has been no explanation as of yet. This has caused it to intermittently connect to 4G to update everything in one guy.

Furthermore, the battery has been slowly draining quicker and quicker. After a 6 hour workday with occasional checking of facebook, texts, e-mail, etc. at work, it would normally end the day at about 45-50% battery. Now, I find it a rare occasion where the same instance with the same number of apps and settings doesn't leave me at 1-2%. Again, no explanation was offered and it is well before time for an upgrade.

In short, this phone is NOT worth the hassle. Anyone trying to upsell you on it as an upgrade is likely blowing smoke to move stock of a crummy model.

Bad Screen May 1, 2013

Reviewer:  i'm.a.sasuke.fan.:) 

The phone itself is great, it has a very nice, clear HD display at to expected of. A great camera, high speed and everything. BUT, the screen cracked just from sitting in my front pocket. There is no good explanation as to why this happened except for it's a crappy screen.

Apple 5 who??? October 6, 2012

Reviewer:  Julius Hamilton 

This is the best phone i have ever purchased!! And i have owned at least 20 in the past years. I have had absolutely no problem from day one! I have a friend who purchased the new Apple 5 and we compared each phone, features of the i5-phone were impressive but it was blown away by the Atrix and thats before you add the docking station, which turns it into a navigation/gps/phone/ect. I am very pleased and recommend this phone to anyone who wants to solve all of their sell phone pro[[ASIN:B008FDF716 Motorola Atrix HD Android Phone, Black (AT&T)]]blems!!!

Frustrating device October 21, 2012

Reviewer:  W. Shain "Will in ME"  (Portland, ME) -

I have had the Atrix phone for about six weeks now. After replacing the first one because of defective software, I have been unable to get the replacement device to function fully. It will not sync with my gmail calendar, the browser does not work, and the battery life is only a few hours. The replacement drivers from Motorola will not download on my computer (I tried three or four times). I have had five hours of tech support on the phone, which has been frustrating. Motorola has the worst tech support I have yet experienced for an electronic device. None of the five problems I have reported to them has been fixed even after all this time. The tech staff is not skilled, and not fully bilingual. (They appear to have outsourced this service to somewhere in Latin America or perhaps Haiti).
I have been struggling with this device since July (it is now November). I wish I had purchased something else, and now have to live with this for two years.

Bad support December 16, 2012

Reviewer:  Liz Fuller 

I would never get another motorola product. Got the ATRIX 4G and was promised an upgrade to ICECREAM. A month before the upgrade was due Motorola quietly dropped support of the phone
Same could happen to this phone

Can't connect USB to transfer files September 7, 2012

Reviewer:  Noireh Bob  (North America) -

These phones (we have 2 of them) have problems recognizing Windows computers in order to transfer files back and forth. Of our 3 computers, the phones can only recognize one of them. I exhausted all of the suggestions from their level 2 support team and none of them work.

Horrible phone October 5, 2012

Reviewer:  T. MARSHALL "Tinkerbell411"  (Kennewick Wa USA) -

I originally bought this phone over a year ago. about 6 mo. into owning it, it started to just turn off and start over on its own several times a day. I was told I needed to shut it down just like a computer, which I did every night. It just continued to do the same thing several times a day. I finally took it back into a store and they called the 1-800 number. I was then shipped out a a battery and charger. Still same problems. THen they shipped out another replacement phone. I am still having the same problem with the new refurb phone. I found out in speaking with a worker at the store that this is a common problem. I really hate that I have to wait another year before my contract is up. OR pay $350 for another smart phone. So I am on Amazon trying to find a used phone but different one.

Learn from my issues and do not waste your money on an android atrix.