As a quick refresher, this device comes with an extra large 5.3-inch WXGA HD Super AMOLED display backed with a 1.5GHz dual core processor.  It runs Android 2.3.6 Gingerbread and Samsung plans to update that to ICS later this quarter. A lot of the marketing asks you whether it’s a phone or a tablet, asserting that it’s really both. Holding the phablet (you like that?) in my hands, I did get the sense that it is a little too big, but I initially felt the same way about phones like the Galaxy S Captivate.

The build quality and industrial design is in line with the Galaxy S II and other phones in the Galaxy S smartphone series. Responsiveness was robust and using the stylus for sketching worked quite well too. I’m still not sold on the idea of a five-inch phone, but I think it’s starting to grow on me.

It’s been officially announced for AT&T in the United States and there was a big marketing campaign here in Las Vegas for the device, plastering on billboards and the sides of buses. The Samsung rep couldn’t officially say which carrier in Canada would get it (first), but he did confirm that it’s on its way to Canada too. My money’s on Bell, since they got the SII before anyone else, as well as the Galaxy Nexus.

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Easily one of the biggest stars coming out of the Consumer Electronics Show earlier this year was the Motorola ATRIX Android smartphone. On the surface, it seemed like any number of other Android smartphones, but it’s that extra functionality that really looked like it was going to be a game changer. But how does that whole docking into a multimedia centre experience really pan out in real life?

Well, I’ve taken the Bell Mobility version of the Motorola Atrix 4G, which should be largely the same as other versions sold by other carriers around the world (AT&T), out for a test drive and now I have returned with my thoughts.

Feature and Spec Highlights

Much like the Samsung Galaxy S II, the Atrix comes equipped with a dual core processor and a full 1GB of RAM. As such, the performance for the Atrix should really be no slouch. The phone initially shipped with Android 2.2 Froyo, but it has since been upgraded to Gingerbread.

The capacitive touchscreen measures 4.0-inches across the diagonal and it boasts a resolution of 540 x 960 pixels, resulting in an effective pixel density of 275ppi. That puts it just shy of Retina Display territory, but most people probably won’t notice the difference. It’s also covered in Gorilla Glass to prevent scratches and other damage. Rounding out the specs are your usual wireless radios — WiFi, 3G, Bluetooth, GPS — as well as dual cameras, 16GB internal storage, microSD expansion, and the MOTOBLUR user interface with live widgets.

General Smartphone Impressions

The first thing that struck me about this phone was its plastic construction. I wouldn’t say that it feels cheap, per se, but it is distinctly plastic with quite a slippery back. This is not unlike the Nexus S that I reviewed earlier this year too, except there’s a design on the back and there’s no curved screen.

That said, this appears to be high quality and relatively robust plastic. The other thing that struck me was the placement of the power button, which doubles as a fingerprint reader. Since they wanted the fingerprint reading functionality, the power button is placed on the back toward the top. Again, I’m more accustomed to power buttons on top or on the sides, so this took a little getting used to. It does appear to be Moto’s M.O. to do this, though, since we saw a “back” power button on the Xoom tablet too.

Aside from that, the front side looks much like most other “slate” phones in that the front is mostly all screen. Below it are the four usual touch-sensitive Android buttons. One other thing worth mentioning is the MOTOBLUR UI. I’m personally not a fan of it, but I can’t really explain why. To be fair, I like the TouchWiz UI on Samsungs and that UI has its fair share of naysayers too.

The Lapdock Experience with Webtop UI

This is really what is supposed to set the Atrix apart from all the other Android phones out there. It was a groundbreaking idea when Motorola showed it off at CES. You take your phone, you plunk it into the dock, and you get a netbook-like experience via the Webtop UI.

At least that’s the idea. It’s curious that they went with a “full” build of Firefox when it may have made more sense to go with Chrome, being all Google property and all that. In essence, Webtop is almost like an app that runs from the phone and it is an instant boot Linux-based environment. Without having enough Webtop-focused apps, however, the novelty and utility start to wear off. This is especially true in the age of Android tablets as true alternatives.

Web browsing through the Firefox browser was smooth and you are able to “transfer” your browsing session back to the phone when you undock it. I did find the “island” keyboard to be less than optimal too; the keys were wide enough and had enough key travel, but their “height” (as in the size of the J key between the U and N) was too small. The large trackpad almost got in the way too, as I found my palm accidentally grazing it from time to time while typing.

The Lapdock experience is certainly novel and it is amazing how everything “runs” off the phone itself, but this concept was revealed before Honeycomb really took off. Considering the price of the dock, this proposition isn’t as intriguing anymore.

HD Multimedia Dock

Fundamentally the same idea can be said about the HD Multimedia Dock. This allows for a mini-HDMI output to your HDTV or computer monitor, as well as several USB ports for the keyboards, mice, and other peripherals. You get the same Webtop UI as the laptop dock.

This is an interesting concept, to be sure, but I’m not convinced it’s terribly useful for day-to-day use. I can see how it’d be neat for your living room, using your HDTV as a giant monitor for web browsing and media viewing, but this may not be the most cost effective or simplest way to go about doing it.

Quadrant Standard Benchmark

To give the Atrix a proper performance test, I ran the Quadrant Standard Benchmark. The Atrix scored 2281 on this benchmark, putting it roughly within the same range as some other Android smartphones powered by dual core processors and full gigs of RAM. This is certainly no slouch when it comes to performance.

I also ran the Speedtest on Bell’s 3G (“4G”) network and had a ping of 99ms, a download speed of 2.01Mbps and an upload speed of 1.19Mbps. The download speed could certainly be better, but your mileage will certainly vary.

It should also be noted that this phone comes with a standard 1930mAh lithium-polymer battery, which is a larger capacity than much of its direct competition. In real world practice, I was easily able to get more than a day with moderate to heavy usage and multiple days with lighter usage. That’s pretty impressive.

Conclusion

I wanted to like the Atrix and the concept of the Webtop user interface and docking stations. I’m not saying that it’s a bad phone at all. The horsepower is impressive, the build quality is solid, and Webtop-ness adds a little extra oomph to the equation. However, I can’t be convinced to spend the kind of money on all these extra accessories when I’d rather spend that money on a separate device altogether.

While the high resolution 4-inch screen was fine, the colors felt quite muted and visibility was poor under more direct light. It’s hard to go back to a screen like this after experiencing the AMOLED, Super AMOLED, and Super AMOLED Plus displays from Samsung. Again, the display isn’t bad, but it does feel distinctly muted. I’m not a fan of the power button placement either.

If I had written this review six months ago, the Atrix may have been a bigger star and it may have earned a higher rating. However, in light of devices like the SGS2 and the pending arrival of Kal-El powered devices, it’s harder to recommend the Atrix today, especially with the price of the accessories. If the laptop dock were included with the phone, though, that’d be an entirely different proposition altogether.

The post Review: Motorola Atrix 4G with Lapdock and HD Multimedia Dock appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

That’s because Bell Mobility has just expanded its enhanced Mobile TV service, bringing more content from its various Bell Media partners. This is for both live television, as well as on-demand video from the likes of CTV, TSN, Comedy Network, and so on.

There are at least four packages for you to consider on your Bell smartphone (Atrix!) or tablet. Bell Mobile TV sports costs $5 a month, which gives you 10 hours of video (including data charges). That tosses in expanded TSN, TSN2, and RDS live events, as well as a range of NHl content, Canadiens content, NFL games (though that lockout could mean you’re waiting more than a year for any new games), and even the Vancouver Whitecaps.

Other packages, all of which include 10 hours of watching, range from the $5 Bell Mobile TV Variety with CTV News and live MTV to the $5 Bell Mobile HBO with on-demand HBO. For a taste of everything, the $10 Bell Tablet TV is probably a decent fit.

This all sounds well and good until you consider than ten hours of streaming is barely more than three full hockey games. With the Stanley Cup playoffs right around the corner (Go Canucks Go!), you’d be advised to be careful of overages!

[Read]

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Motorola took a little bit of wind out of its own sails by letting the AT&T event reveal the Motorola Atrix 4G, but the Motorola event a few hours later let you get up close and personal with the hot new smartphone… if you could fight past the nerdgasm to get close enough, that is.

Yes, I fought. It was quite the struggle, but I did manage to get a really good look at the laptop-like dock that you can get for the upcoming smartphone. The matte black finish and super slim profile is reminiscent of that Google Chrome OS netbook going around, but you have to realize that this is just a dock; there are no real guts in this thing. The phone does all the work.

It’s actually pretty cool that the dock doesn’t have its own power button. As soon as you plunk the Atrix 4G into the dock in the back, the dock turns on and launches into a “Webtop” interface with a real Firefox web browser and other utilities. There’s a good size keyboard and trackpad, as well as a 11.6-inch LCD display.

If you take a look at the pictures, the “docking” portion in the back is a reasonable distance away from the “laptop” display, so you can tilt it back a fair amount. You’ll also notice that the dock folds right back into the whole laptop thing, making for a blade-thin portable accessory.

If you want to go even bigger, Motorola was also showing off a multimedia dock that provides a real keyboard and HDMI output to however big a display you desire. The interface is identical to the laptop-like dock with the Webtop thing. You can even multi-task in the “mobile” view on your big screen, showing off the different apps as tabs while simultaneously doing the Webtop thing in another window.

They’re not kidding. The Motorola Atrix 4G is a real game changer. Look for it through AT&T, Bell Canada, and Orange UK in the not-so-distant future.

The post Checking out the Motorola Atrix 4G laptop dock appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

I’m partial to physical keyboards, because for the life of me, I just can’t achieve the same kind accuracy and speed on a virtual keyboard. That’s why I’m happy to hear Microsoft’s intent on bringing more QWERTY-packing Windows Phone 7 devices to the Canadian market.

Right now, the only Windows Phone 7 device officially available in Canada with a hardware keyboard is the LG Optimus Quantum (available through Bell Mobility). The other offerings, like the Samsung Focus and HTC Surround, are touchscreen-only affairs. Moving forward, Greg Milligan of Microsoft Canada says that “if you’re the type of person that loves a hardware keyboard, you’re going to see more phones like that coming out in the future.”

More specifically, he names Dell as a manufacturer coming to Canadian market in 2011. If that’s the case, then we should probably be expecting the Dell Venue Pro through a carrier in Canada in the coming months. I really like the idea of a portrait slider and while Windows Phone 7 isn’t quite “there” just yet, it’s showing a lot of potential to compete against its Android and iOS brethren.

The other major hardware keyboard-packing WP7 device is the HTC 7 Pro. That’s probably making its way to the Great White North too. “There’s a lot of excitement in this space,” says Milligan, “and we can’t wait to roll out more devices in the Canadian market.” [Redboard]

The post Canadians getting more WP7 devices with hardware keyboards appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

The HTC Desire Z does not come with one of those snazzy 1GHz processors, but it’s not exactly a slouch either with its 800MHz Qualcomm MSM 7230 and 512MB of RAM. Rounding out the specs are DLNA media sharing, a 5MP camera with 720p HD video recording, and HTC Sense UI.

I like HTC. I like Android. I like QWERTY keyboards. I like AMOLED screens, though, so it’ll be interesting to see how the Super LCD stacks up against that tech. It’s supposed to be pretty good too. Either way, Bell hasn’t announced when and how much the Desire Z will be, so just read into the “coming soon” how you will.

SOURCE: SlashPhone

The post HTC Desire Z Android phone bound for Bell Canada appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

Instead of creating a new name brand altogether, it’s going to “relaunch” the Solo Mobile brand. This repositioning and rebranding effort resurrects the Solo name from near death, since Bell has been pushing its Virgin Mobile marque a little heavier and Solo’s been lost in the mix.

The “repositioning” of Solo is not unlike what Rogers did with the Fido brand to better compete against, ironically enough, the Solos, Virgins, and Koodos of the land some time ago.

No specific details have been released about the “new” Solo Mobile brand, but it will likely offer price plans and devices that compete against Mobilicity, Public Mobile, Wind Mobile, and Chatr. That probably means cheaper devices and unlimited minutes at lower prices. Competition is getting good in Canada.

[Via Mobile Syrup]

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HTC Legend Android Smartphone

Yes, everyone is still clamoring over the pending official announcement of a new iPhone, but that doesn’t mean that other smartphones should be left out in the cold. In fact, you could get a rather legendary phone from Bell, possibly by the end of this month. From what we hear, Bell Mobility is hosting a special launch party in Montreal on May 27 and it is there that they will be hocking the new HTC Legend smartphone. The Canadian carrier has yet to announce an official release date, but a launch party is a pretty good indication.

The expectation is a ship date in early June, but that would still place the Canadian launch of the HTC Legend ahead of American carriers. No formal announcement (that we know of) has been made for the US, but the phone has made its way through the FCC offices. It’s not like Canada is first in line, however, as the HTC Legend is already being sold by Vodafone UK. Even so, it’s nice to see Canada getting the jump on the US from time to time… like in the Olympic men’s hockey and most recently NHL beating out the defending Stanley Cup champs.

The HTC Legend, as a quick refresher, comes with a 3.2-inch AMOLED touchscreen, Google Android OS 2.1, and a 5MP camera to go with its optical trackpad.

The post HTC Legend to arrive in Canada before the US appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

HTC Legend on its way to Bell Mobility?

According to the most recent rumors, the HTC Legend is on its way to Bell Mobility. We originally thought that Telus was getting it, since it already has the HTC Hero, but it seems that Bell is snatching this one up instead.

Bell has been aggressively clearing out the Palm Pre from its stockpile, so the HTC Legend could be a very good replacement as the company’s new flagship smartphone. Right now, Bell’s only Android phone is the Samsung Galaxy, so it’ll be good to see some more options on that front.

From what we hear, the HTC Legend will show up at Bell this month or next. I’m guessing it’ll be in the $150 to $200 range with a qualifying three-year contract.

The post HTC Legend on its way to Canada via Bell Mobility? appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

Samsung Messenger Phone arriving at Bell Mobility this week

Do you like descriptive names? Sure, it’s fun hearing about the Dell Streak or the BlackBerry Curve, but these names don’t really tell you anything about what these devices do. Bucking that trend is the Samsung Messenger, a phone designed with messaging in mind. How appropriate.

Even though people seem to be more interested in Windows Phone 7 Series these days, new handsets are still being developed with Windows Mobile 6.5 in tow. The Samsung Messenger is one such phone, doing the Microsoft dance alongside its QWERTY keyboard and 2.6-inch 320×320 display.

Taking on a slightly slicker appearance than the Samsung Blackjack series, the Samsung Messenger also comes with a 3.2-megapixel camera, Bluetooth, speakerphone, microSD expansion, and a super thin profile.

Also known as the GT-B7330 (not as descriptive), the Samsung Messenger will be made available through Bell Mobility starting this week. Rogers is picking it up too, but Canada’s big red isn’t launching the Messenger until May 4th. Telus will follow suit later this year. Pricing is set at $300 without a contract on Bell or $0 with a 2 year plan.

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