MY TECHNO SPOT: Face Off Motorola Droid X2 vs Motorola Atrix 4G

Today’s Face Off pits two dual core processing Motorola smartphones one running on Verizon Wireless with the other offered up by AT&T. The Droid X2 was just released and sports a 4.3” qHD display, 1GHz dual core processor, HDMI out, 512MB of RAM, 8MP camera and 1080p video playback. It’s up against the winner of many a Face Off, the Motorola Atrix 4G offering the same 1GHz dual core processor, 1GB of RAM, 4” qHD display, HDMI out, 5MP camera, HSPA+ connectivity and the ability to expand its existence to that of a viable laptop. So who stands out in the crowd in this Face Off?

Build Quality – Motorola Droid X2
The Droid X2 is well built with quality materials, solid design and the look and feel of a high end device. The body of the phone is coated with a black soft texture coat which makes the Droid X2 feel solid when held with very little chance of the device slipping or heading south toward the pavement at an inopportune moment. The keys on the front of the phone are all physical which may take some getting use to if you’ve been using a smartphone with touch sensitive keys. The battery cover is metal, how novel, and slides into place with no problem. Above the battery cover is the hump on the back of the Droid X2 which houses the 8MP camera. Weighing 155 grams does not make the Droid X2 a feather weight but it also doesn’t feel like it’s going to pull your pants down if you run around with the handset in your pocket. All in all the Droid X2 is one of the better built smartphones available.

Display – Motorola Droid X2
The Artrix 4G and Droid X2 offer bright, clear, sharp, easy to read qHD displays that offer realistic colors making them great for watching videos, movies, gaming or viewing pictures. I’m going with the Droid X2 as my winner because I prefer the larger display at 4.3” vs the 4” display on the Atrix 4G.

Camera – Motorola Droid X2
This was a hard one to pick a winner for but since I have to pick one it’s going to be the Droid X2 for taking better pictures when the subject was in direct sunlight. Both cameras did a great job when the subject was not in direct sunlight but the Droid X2 I thought offered better color, sharpness and contrast when the subject was in direct sunlight. The colors on the long shots taken by the Droid X2 were also more realistic when compared to the Atrix 4G photos. The video sample looked the same to me on both with the colors just a bit more realistic on the Droid X2 video.

User Interface – Motorola Droid X2
Motorola has updated the version of MotoBlur on the Droid X2 vs the version on the Atrix 4G with a few new widgets and features. The new bookmark and dual clock widgets on the Droid X2 are a great additions and being able to open the main application menu and see all of your apps, recent apps or downloaded apps quickly is very convenient. There is also a separate shortcut for the Android Market in the upper right corner of the main application menu. One area of the Atrix 4G that has always bothered me is when you scroll between panels you lose the main application menu key, which is not the case on the Droid X2, however the Atrix 4G does offer the short cuts at the bottom of the display to easily move between panels which are missing on the Droid X2. Over all the updates to MotoBlur are useful and welcome additions.

Processing Power/Speed – Motorola Atrix 4G
I know the Droid X2 won the QSB test, but with a score that I have attained on previous runs with the Atrix 4G, and since the Atrix 4G won the unofficial speedtest and loaded the YouTube video’s faster and handled the flash video a bit better in the browser comparison than the Droid X2 the Atrix 4G our Processing Power/Speed winner.

Battery – Motorola Atrix 4G
The Atrix 4G offers a full day of use without the need of a wall socket making it one of the few smartphones available to accomplish this feat.

Data Speeds – Motorola Atrix 4G
While AT&T’s HSPA+ connectivity as true 4G is somewhat of a joke it still offers faster download speeds when compared to Verizon’s EVDO Rev A 3G network. The Atrix 4G also offers the ability to talk and use data services at the same time which you are unable to do on the Droid X2.

Accessories – Motorola Atrix 4G
Laptop dock, media dock, standard dock, car dock are all part of the Atrix 4G experience and unique to the Atrix 4G in this comparison. The laptop dock is a handy tool available to Atrix 4G owners and something that sets the Atrix 4G apart from the Droid X2.

Winner – Motorola Atrix 4G
The Droid X2 offers a refreshed MotoBlur UI, better camera(not by much), same processor, less RAM, larger display, shorter battery life, no expandability(laptop dock), the same OS, Android 2.2 Froyo. Maybe its just me but a battery that lasts all day, like the 1930mAh battery on the Atrix 4G is worth the refreshed UI on the Droid X2 and the additional 488MB of RAM on the Atrix 4G is worth the better, but not by much, camera on the Droid X2. Finally the fact that the Atrix 4G has quicker data transfer speeds and can be transformed into a laptop seems to out weigh the .3” in display size the Droid X2 sports. I like both of these combatants and trying to come up with a winner has been difficult but for me I’m going with the Atrix 4G.