any cool apps on android? I stop carrying my atrix for 2 days now... android is "suppose" to have more apps choices but there ain't nothing interesting in the market place that havn't already been done on iphone. suggestions?

whats with people and BBM? you choose a phone based on a messaging app? like text? buy a pager...

so would you recommend getting the atrix or waiting for the new galaxy s

Quite a large number of people stay on BB because of BBM. It seems really trival beacuse of the fact that it really is only a messaging app, but people really rely on it.

It is a great way for people to stay in cotact with each other. As it runs on data, there is not international fees (international texting fees.)

Also, people in general are more willing to give out their pin then their phone numbers. As with all messaging programs, you can delete people and block them from further contact. Something you cant do with a phone number and texting.

It is pretty common for an avid user of BBM to have 40 or more contacts.

Also, there is a group funtion as well. Sort of a "chat room" of sorts.
This is good for a group of friends who like to keep in contact in a group setting.
This is also great for businesses as this will allow everyone to update statuses of projects with ease.

What sort of apps were you looking for?

Ones that come off the top of my head (OK I looked at my phone :P) are:
Pulse Reader (2.0 just came out, really outdoes the previous version)
Google Navigation
Google Sky Map
Google Translate
Astro
Dropbox
Vignette (camera app much like the iphone one)
Handcent (better than stock messaging for sure)


As for system apps:
Titanium Backup(requires root)
JuiceDefender (requires root)
SetCPU (requires root)
Carrier-Unlock apps if they apply

Seriously there's so many apps it's hard to know what's best. I think TiBu and a file manager like Astro are must-haves, and everything else is to your personal preference. This is all excluding theming apps such as LauncherPro/ADW/GoLauncher (used with HomeSwitcher), WidgetLocker, and all the great clock apps.

How is the battery life? I'd totally jump on the Android ship if I didn't have to carry 2 batteries or be cautious of the battery at all times. My BlackBerry lasts 2+ days with ease FFS.

Batteries usually last a day which is good enough for me. If I need extended runtime I could always switch to edge mode.

bbm is supposed to come to android and iOS this year

soorce

I heard that Bell want this to be exclusive and will not be selling out the phone itself .

^yes and no
you cant buy it out right with out attaching it to a contract from a corporate store.
it is corporate policy not to do so. however, this is for all phones; not limited to Atrix.

You might be able to get it from a dealer store. ex. Best Buy, Wireless Wave, Times Telecom etc...

If you have the cash and patience to wait for the SGSII, then I would suggest the SGSII. I played with an Atrix in store and it was somewhat underwhelming. My custom-ROM captivate was snappier. MotoBlur is a POS imo.

When is the SGSII coming out? Other reports indicated mid May.

^ Not sure. I haven't heard or seen any news about any sort of release date for any specific carrier in North America. Tbh they only had a leaked prototype review about a week ago out of Russia or something. So I can't see it here in Canada by May, but I could be wrong.

I finally got my Atrix over the weekend after turn in my Desire Z.
I had Desire Z for about 3-4 months and my first impression about Atrix is - "It's FAST".

MotoBlur is not as bad as I thought. I actually like some of the Moto Widgets which u can resize freely. hTC sense is still better but I can live with it.

Finger Print scanner to unlock is neat and pretty accurate. Phone is a lot lighter than Desire. I like Desire's Z built quality better (except the hinge, lol). It's hard for 1 hand operation while checking email and because of the screen size and my short thumb (lol), it's hard to select multiple emails with 1 hand.

Default email client is a little better on Desire Z than on Atrix IMO.

Battery life is a little better with Atrix, but not by much.

I can see what other people mean by qHD LCD not as good in reading text. But it doesnt bother me much.

My download speed on HSPA+ is around 5Mbps down and .5Mbps up. on WiFi, I got about 20Mbps down and about .93Mbps up.

As for the "FAST" part, not just apps open noticeably faster, u can tell easily from video playback. It's silky smooth when scrolling around.

The phone itself is slippery to hold and I definitly need a case for this.

Anyway, I like it overall. After 7+ years not using a Moto, I finally found a Moto that I give my thumbs up.

^
Don't get too excited about Moto... I too gave up on them after the V80 and V600 that I had and only last year did I give them another shot with the Milestone... at first, I was like "Wow".... as the months went on, I realized that I was wowing Android and not Motorola. Truth is, they're slow to push out updates and the boot loader is locked. My Milestone only recently received the official Froyo update. Shame really because I really like the Atrix's hardware. The next device I buy definitely will not have a locked boot loader.

But if you're not the type of person who would install a custom ROM then what I just said doesn't matter :p

Who isn't?! :whistle::fullofwin:

But yeah you nailed it- great hardware ruined by terrible software, but to be fair to Motorola they aren't the only ones *ahemSonyahem*

That's why I haven't found any reason to upgrade my Captivate- spec for spec it's as good as any single-core phone (minus the GPS), but throw on a custom ROM and it's up there.

I wonder if the SGSII will keep like it's predecessors and leave the bootloader unlocked/easy to unlock.

^ lol. I m not. I never root my Desire Z and not planning on my Atrix. The only thing I have ever rooted was my Nook Color and Archos HT I tested.

For me, stock rom is good enough. By the time I get bore with it, I will just find something "wrong" with it and get another updated phone from BB. ;)

Hooked up phone to TV via HDMI for the first time last night, very nice. But I also found out it doesn't support Chinese characters in the Media play menu when hook up to TV.... which is a big let down for me. Stock rom also doesnt support Chinese character input which isn't a big deal....

And for anyone who cares, stock rom wont play mkv or rmvb file without extra programs. I have tested arcMedia on few other Androids (including my DesireZ, X10, etc) and none of them play rmvb/mkv smoothly like Atrix did. :)