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Battery life is quite impressive using the 1785mAh battery, lasting a whole day on a charge. Of course, this depended greatly on what we were doing at the time - recording and playing videos can eat up battery life in just a few hours. Whereas, using the phone only for texting, and disabling most of the other wireless services, means hitting a much longer battery life.
The quoted battery life spec is around eight and a half hours of calling, but we found that mark to be a bit elusive. In general, the phone lasted all day for normal use, and needed frequent recharging when all we did was play Angry Birds and shoot videos of the kids at play.
This battery life issue is one that seems to differentiate some of the latest models. The iPhone 4S, for example, has a current issue with big battery drain on the new version of iOS, depending on what you do.
Motorola includes the usual assortment of wireless connection options, including 802.11n wireless internet for hotspots, Bluetooth (including the stereo version but not the most advanced iteration of the tech), and 4G service.
The phone goes a step beyond the original Atrix in that you can use the device as a 4G hotspot for up to eight users, an improvement over the five user limit on the Atrix.
There's a DLNA app you can use for streaming, and you can use the included USB cable to add media to the device when you connect to your computer.
Motorola is one of the few phone companies that offers a full desktop app you can install on your computer, and it's included on the phone itself - no CD required. The app is designed to make it easy to copy media to the phone and convert files to the right format.
John Brandon has covered gadgets and cars for the past 12 years having published over 12,000 articles and tested nearly 8,000 products. He's nothing if not prolific. Before starting his writing career, he led an Information Design practice at a large consumer electronics retailer in the US. His hobbies include deep sea exploration, complaining about the weather, and engineering a vast multiverse conspiracy.
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