Motorola Atrix or HTC Inspire - Which AT&T Android Device Wins

It has been a long week for me. Being a gadget junkie, I took off on an adventure in cell phone ownership. I decided to take advantage of AT&T's new HSPA+ speeds and a phone upgrade and explore what was new in smartphones. In the past week I have used an iPhone 4, HTC Inspire and Motorola Atrix. One of those phones has won my heart and my pocketbook, but the decision was not any easy one. In the end, I am quite happy about my choice in smartphone.

I have always owned an iPhone; ever since the first unit came out a few years ago, I have flocked to the newest and greatest iDevice, and I have owned all versions of iOS devices. I was due for an upgrade, and thanks to a rooted Barnes & Noble Nook Color, I thought that an Android device might be a good direction to go in. Also, Apple has recently made some decisions regarding app store subscriptions, app approval, and product design that haven't appealed to me. So, I bit the bullet and visited my local phone store to test run both the Motorola Atrix and HTC Inspire to see if they could take the place of a beloved iPhone. Here is a tease; I sold the iPhone 4.

The HTC Inspire Experience

I first took a spin with the HTC Inspire, and to be honest, I loved it. The phone itself is fantastically designed; it feels solid and stable in your hand, and the phone is simply huge. Granted, I have large hands and had no problem holding it, but the screen is quite large and brilliantly bright. The Inspire features a 4.3 inch capacitive touch screen, aluminum unibody build, a 1GHz Snapdragon processor, 4GB of internal storage, an 8GB MicroSD (upgradable to 32GB), and a 1230 mAh Li-Ion battery.

Running the HTC inspire is Android 2.2 with the HTC Sense UI. The Sense UI is fabulous. It makes Android both fairly easy to work with and quite good looking. Granted, some Android aficionados prefer a stock Android experience, but I prefer the eye candy of the Sense UI. Topping out the experience is the HTC Sense Dashboard which acts to replace Apple's Find My iPhone service by allowing a user to remotely wipe, lock, or find the HTC Inspire.

There are drawbacks to the HTC Inspire, and the largest one was the battery life. Two days in a row, I left the house at 7:30 am with a fully charged phone and returned at 5:00 pm with a nearly dead brick. I worked most of the day and only used the phone for a few calls, web browsing during lunch and Pandora Playback during the day via WiFi. The battery simply didn't have the guts to make it through my day, and I am far from a power user. Also, the HTC Sense Dashboard never worked correctly for me. I could get my phone to ring remotely, but it never locked and I never found it online. I liked the comfort of the "Find my iPhone" app, and felt a bit naked without it.

Over all, for the price of $99 for an upgrade, the HTC Inspire is a great phone. It definitely is larger and more stunning than the iPhone, and it feels more solid and substantial. The Android Marketplace has some growing to do for me, but the Inspire would replace my iDevice easily.

The Motorola Atrix Experience

After two days with the HTC Inspire, I decided to test drive the Motorola Atrix. My first impression was not overwhelming. It is much lighter than the Inspire, it is plastic feeling - almost cheaply made. The screen is much smaller and not nearly as stunning and the Motoblur UI is downright ugly compared to HTC sense. The Atrix offers a 4.0 inch capacitive touch screen, plastic build, a Dual-Core 1GHz Terga 2 processor, 16GB of internal storage, a MicroSD slot upgradable to 32GB, and a 1930 mAh Li-Ion battery. The Motorola Atrix also has the potential to become a full fledged netbook with the addition of the Lapdock accessory or a desktop with the media dock. While these features will not appeal to everyone, they are certainly unique.

The Motorola Atrix is fast; almost too fast. I have no idea of how quickly I can do things on a smartphone, but I did not hit a wall on the Atrix; not once did it stutter or lag. Not even when I pushed the phone with game and media playing. It did get warmer than the Inspire, but it is much, much faster. Also, the Motoblur online account, which also serves as a "Find my iPhone" replacement worked perfectly. Not only could I locate my phone, but I had the option to wipe it and lock it.

The Atrix cannot compete when it comes to looks or style. Compared to the iPhone 4 and the HTC Inspire, the Motorola Atrix feels like a toy. Also, Motoblur leaves much to be desired after playing with HTC Sense. The drawbacks are all physical, and they are huge. While the iPhone looks sexy, the HTC Inspire looks sophisticated, and the Motorola Atrix simply looks cheap.

What stood out however, was the battery life. In that same 10 hour period that killed the Inspire, I still had 60 percent of a battery on the Atrix. The larger battery and smaller screen made a huge difference. Also, the comfort of locating my phone online made me feel a bit more secure. It is $100 more on contract, but it is faster, has much more storage potential, and it lasts forever on a charge.

HTC Inspire or Motorola Atrix - Who Won?

I am the proud owner of a Motorola Atrix. I know, it is not as pretty as the Inspire or the iPhone, but it is fast. Also, the battery life, for me, was a clincher. Everything about the HTC inspire was tainted by the fact that it just wouldn't work all day long. I don't know what applications are looming around the bend on the Android Marketplace, and I might never need a Dual-core smartphone, but if I do; I will have it. Also, I was pleasantly surprised to see that the bulk of the AT&T bloatware was easily removed. Maybe it was just time for me to focus on function over form for a change.