Review: Motorola Atrix 4G
Music
The Atrix 4G's music player isn't much different from the original music player that debuted with Android 1.0 a million years ago. It offers basic library organization. If you want to add music to the microSD card, you have several options: 1. Pull out the card, stick it in your PC and drag-and-drop files directly onto the card; 2. Connect the Atrix 4G via USB and choose "USB Mode" when the Atrix 4G connects to the PC; 3. Use third-party software such as doubleTwist (separate download). Once your media is loaded, you're good to go.
The stock media player is bare bones, but it does get the job done. You can sort through your playlists, artists, albums and songs easily enough, and album art comes through properly when tagged to the music. The media player can be sent to the background while you do other things such as browse the web or check Twitter. It goes without saying that the music player has a decent widget for the home screen, as well.
Video
There is a Blockbuster application preinstalled on the Atrix, but not a dedicated video player app. You can rent movies from BlockBuster for $4 for a 24-hour window. Movies cost $15 to $20 to buy.
I side-loaded three movies. Two of them played back with no problems in the music player app, but one wouldn't play at all. The two that worked looked great on the Atrix 4G's display, though a darker room is the best place to watch. Using the docks, the Atrix can set HD video content to an HDTV or the laptop dock. HD video content is limited to 720p, but looks pretty good on an HDTV. I noticed some mild, momentary freezing during playback via a TV. The laptop dock makes for a much better viewing experience than the device itself when it comes to video content. I can definitely see people using the laptop dock to watch movies on a plane, etc.
The Atrix 4G also has AT&T's Live TV service on board. Live TV lets you stream video clips over AT&T's 3G network.
The other big media features are the MediaShare software and HDMI out port. MediaShare ties together with DLNA and can let Atrix 4G users access or send content to/from the Atrix and other DLNA-equipped devices. It works with protected and unprotected content.
Motorola Atrix 4G
