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[JimH]

At CES this year, one of the most innovative new products was the Motorola Atrix and its accompanying accessories.

I bought one this week to test.  It was a rocky start, but I like it now.

The phone is an Android 2.2 type and has a dual core processor.  It runs the MotoBlur UI on top of Android and I'm not a big fan of the UI.  It's not bad and lends a little eye candy but I prefer the native Android UI.



The innovation is how the phone docks.  It has a nice cradle with HDMI out so it can be used with a TV.  This requires the Bluetooth Mouse and Keyboard.



The more important dock is a screen and keyboard that looks like a laptop, but has no CPU or memory.  These it gets from the phone when you plug it in.

The idea is that the phone becomes your computer and you dock it at home or work in order to get a better screen and keyboard.  I think it's a brilliant idea, and the Atrix set of hardware is a nice first implementation.  

I had a lot of trouble getting Internet Access to work when I inserted the phone into the shell.  When I called Motorola, they said I needed to buy the $45/month tethering plan even though this wasn't mentioned in the AT&T store when I bought it, and even though I had an "unlimited" data plan for the phone.

I ended up finding a way to put it on my existing data plan at no additional charge.  Search for "XDA forum Atrix 4G" for more information.

I also had a pesky AT&T login attempt for a while whenever I tried to connect the phone when in the shell.  This eventually disappeared.

It seems that the shell must be closed when the phone is plugged in, and that you must wait something like 10 seconds before opening it or the synchronization between the two devices fails.

I now have a nice Internet connection when using the phone in its shell dock.

Amazingly, you have the phone interface displayed as a window on the shell's screen, so you can use the phone from the "laptop".  It's odd to use at first but works well.

Good article on construction:
http://www.geek.com/articles/mobile/ifixit-teardown-the-motorola-atrix-20110223/

[Daydream]

When I called Motorola, they said I needed to buy the $45/month tethering plan even though this wasn't mentioned in the AT&T store when I bought it, and even though I had an "unlimited" data plan for the phone.

Jim, are you saying that you are one of the few - if any - that got lucky enough to convince the AT&T support guys, maybe a supervisor, to put back the old unlimited data plan you had?? There is no unlimited plan officially for Atrix, even the $45 is for 4GB/month only.

I have to agree the hardware is awesome. But the data part of the plan associated with it it's in limbo. Nobody can confirm that you can keep your old unlimited plan. They could not even say that if I get the $600 no-contract version, it'll be or not unlocked on the spot. Like always the US carriers don't make it easy.

Search for "XDA forum Atrix 4G" for more information.

Interesting, so the bootloader is not signed?

[JimH]

Using the Atrix with any laptop, and a link to rooting the phone.
http://androidcommunity.com/atrix-4g-webtop-on-any-hdmi-connection-20110305/

[JimH]

Jim, are you saying that you are one of the few - if any - that got lucky enough to convince the AT&T support guys, maybe a supervisor, to put back the old unlimited data plan you had?? There is no unlimited plan officially for Atrix, even the $45 is for 4GB/month only.

I have to agree the hardware is awesome. But the data part of the plan associated with it it's in limbo. Nobody can confirm that you can keep your old unlimited plan. They could not even say that if I get the $600 no-contract version, it'll be or not unlocked on the spot. Like always the US carriers don't make it easy.

Interesting, so the bootloader is not signed?

It uses my existing plan, but doesn't work right (yet).  I need to make a wireless LAN connection first, then I can disconnect and it will work over the cell connection.  I think it's doing a handshake with an AT&T server to verify my status.

I'm not sure about rooting the phone.  It appears to be possible.

[JimH]

I took the Atrix and accessories back to AT&T today.  I couldn't get a reliable connection with my cell phone data service.

AT&T sells a tethering plan for $45/mo that probably would have worked, but I just couldn't buy it since I already had a $30/month plan for my phone.

I'm back to the Google Nexus S.  It's not quite as fast, but I prefer the Android interface without Moto Blur.

I hope Motorola and others continue with the concept of using a phone as the brain and storage of a notebook. 

[glynor]

I'm back to the Google Nexus S.

The Nexus S is really a great phone, and it is $100 at Best Buy this weekend.  Unfortunately, only with T-Mobile signup, but if you live in a T-Mobile friendly place it is a good deal.