The Motorola ATRIX 4G is a pretty solid device, but it’s a rare Android phone indeed that the CyanogenMod team can’t improve with some clean, optimized software. Brave ATRIX owners can now try their hand at an early build of CyanogenMod 7.1 for the AT&T device, assuming of course that it’s already rooted with a custom recovery installed. Like most “official” CM nightlies, it’s already surprisingly stable.

When the ATRIX launched, it did so with a locked bootloader, which in most cases makes CyanogenMod impossible on account of its custom kernel. But happily, the official Gingerbread update brought an unlockable bootloader with it, in the spirit of Motorola’s more relaxed attitude towards the aftermarket. Motorola’s unlockable bootloader is contingent upon carrier approval, so while the manufacture’s AT&T phones appear to be blessed, Verizon phones (like the upcoming DROID RAZR) will continue to labor in the land of proprietary Android software.

Naturally, the CM7 port isn’t perfect yet: there are still quite a few bugs to iron out before it gets to a stable release stage. The Gingerbread 2.3.7 codebase is well-trodden, so nearly all official functions are working, but the biometric sensor and Motorola’s WebTop interface are taking a backseat to the main action. Cameras on Motorola phones tend to be alittle tricky for ROM developers, but according to some of the latest posts on RootzWiki, it’s working well at the moment. Great news for ATRIX 4G owners – how’s about an ATRIX 2 port? Take your time, CM7 devs, we know you’ve got real lives to take care of as well.

[device id=81] [via Phandroid]