Second generation brings modest improvements

Although Motorola's original Atrix 4G handset was introduced early this year, the company has already unveiled a second-generation model. The company brought the Atrix 2 to CTIA in San Diego, where Electronista had a chance to try out the refresh. Unfortunately, the company did not bring along its Lapdock 100 companion dock, but we we able to try out the Atrix 2 with stable software that should match the production models.

The updated Atrix brings a 4.3-inch display, slightly larger than its predecessor but with the same 540x960 resolution. Motorola moved away from the fuzzy-looking Pentile pixels, and we could notice the sharpness improvement when reading small text. Despite the larger screen, the phone does not feel any bulkier than the original.

The company also moved away from a dual-core Tegra 2 processor in favor of a dual-core TI OMAP chip running at 1GHz. In a few quick tests, we did not find the change to be detrimental to the smooth performance. The Android OS and Motorola's custom UI—also tweaked for the new model—did not show any lag or other performance issues.

The new display and dual-core processor help the Atrix 2 maintain a spot among the other high-end Android smartphones. The eight-megapixel camera, which is capable of capturing 1080p video, is also a welcome addition.

AT&T has yet to announce pricing details or a launch date for the Atrix 2. We are also curios to see if the Lapdock 100 arrives on the market with more of a modest price tag than its predecessor.

By Electronista Staff

Post tools:

TAGS :  

AT&T, Motorola, mobile phones, Atrix, Atrix 2