My Droid RAZR MAXX Review

[Gamer03]

What was included in the box:

1. Motorola Droid RAZR MAXX with Pre–installed non–removable 3300 mAh battery

2. Wall/USB Charger

3. Pre–installed 16GB microSD card

4. Quick reference Guide

5. Product Safety & Warranty Brochure


First impressions:

1. The screen is massive and vibrant.

2. High resolution screen with vivid colors (when compared to my previous Droid's).

3. The phone is a surprisingly thin, especially since it is a 4G LTE device with a massive 3300 mAh battery (it is not much thicker than my Droid RAZR).

4. The phone is sturdy and well built.

5. The phone’s battery life is good for a power hungry 4G LTE phone (see below).


Pros:

1. Reception is good on the phone. I get faster 3G speeds than when I had my iPhone 4S.

2. The size of the RAZR MAXX is good and feels comfortable in my hand. The phone is slightly thicker than my RAZR, which is good since now it is the perfect
thickness and size especially considering it has a massive 3300 mAh battery in the device.

3. The screen is amazing. The size is outstanding for watching videos, browsing the internet, and just all around everyday use. Watching videos on the RAZR MAXX is enjoyable. When I had my iPhone 4S for a week (before I returned it), the smaller 3.5" screen made watching videos and even browsing the internet not as enjoyable.

4. The battery life is good for a 4G LTE device. In 4G LTE coverage areas, my phone is down to only 75% after almost 4.5 to 5 hours of moderate use. In 3G coverage areas, my phone is down to 50% after 13 hours of moderate use. In heavy use (3G areas), my phone is down to 50% after 7 hours. I ran my battery down to 0% (before it shut off) for the first few charges. The first charge lasted 24 hours and 35 minutes with moderate usage (browsing the internet, having the weather update every hour, checking emails, talking on the phone for 30-40 minutes, etc). The second charge lasted almost 26 hours with moderate usage.

5. The camera quality is excellent (IMHO, it gives the iPhone 4S a run for its money).

6. The 4G LTE speed tests are really fast (4G LTE won't be available in my county until sometime this year (see below for speed test results).


Cons:

1. No Ice Cream Sandwich yet (this will be coming in a future software update).

2. Long charging time (due to the size of the battery, the charging time takes anywhere between 2.5 to 3.5 hours depending how far down the battery is). So it is highly recommended that you plan enough time to charge the battery. I have found myself charging the battery overnight, so it is ready to go in the morning.


Speed tests:

4G LTE:




3G:




Wi-Fi:




Accessories that I purchased:

1. Display Protectors (3-Pack)

2. Shell/Holster Combo


NOTE: All of the following pictures were taken with my Droid RAZR MAXX:

Outside of the Bass Pro Shop:




Inside of the Bass Pro Shop:




Sawgrass:




Sunset:




Sunset Shot in Panorama Mode:

[Yankees368]

So its the Razr, only 52 days newer and with a proper battery? Right.

[Gamer03]

Originally Posted by Yankees368 So its the Razr, only 52 days newer and with a proper battery? Right.

Correct. I really liked the RAZR. But the battery life was really bad, especially in a 4G area. This is what the RAZR should have been.

Sent from my DROID RAZR MAXX using Tapatalk

[Yankees368]

Originally Posted by Gamer03 Correct. I really liked the RAZR. But the battery life was really bad, especially in a 4G area. This is what the RAZR should have been. Sent from my DROID RAZR MAXX using Tapatalk

Had the original RAZR been left as is, and the RAZR maxx either not existed, or come out several months later with other improvements, I would still be on Android.
The maxx is a slap in the face and a kick in the nuts to anyone who purchased the RAZR.

[jakson0100]

Currently still using the Razr V3 - classic!

[Quint101]

Just wanted to chime in on the review...

I got my RAZR Maxx phone this past Monday and I have to say that I am pleased with the device so far. I upgraded to the RAZR Maxx from a Droid Bionic.

Phone functionality:

• I have to agree that 3G/1X reception is rock solid. It is on par with my old Motorola W385. Reception is better than the Bionic in most spots.The Bionic beats it in LTE signal (from my use)
• Calls are clear on my end and no caller complained about the audio quality.
• The battery life is OK. It is definitely better than the Bionic (I had to use the extended battery on it to make it thru the day). So far, I have been listening to music and using social networking apps. Phone drains roughly 10% per hour in my usage so far. I let the battery drain to ~50% before I charge again (I'm paranoid about power ). I haven't drained the battery yet, but it looks like it will take 2+ hours to charge from empty.
• I like the form factor...thin and rectangular!!! The phone feels great to the hand and fits into most pockets. It is only a tad taller than the Bionic.

The phone shipped with Android 2.3.4, which I immediately was able to update to 2.3.6; I decided to keep the phone unrooted (since I'd have to downgrade to 2.3.5 first). There is definitely less Verizon bloatware on here! Also, one can hide any apps you don't want to use. Phone boots up fast compared to the Bionic (which took 2-3 minutes to boot up).

I don't know much about screen resolution, but I was blown away by the Super AMOLED screen on the RAZR Maxx... The Bionic isn't bad (it's qHD), but there is a difference!

I use the phone as a music player, it's not too shabby, I downloaded a music player that is less gimmicky than the Motorola player.

Pictures are OK, not bad at all. I haven't tested the video camera yet...

I only bought one accessory, a black glossy silicon case. It suits the phone well and obscures the serial number stickers on the back of the phone.

I have to agree that this phone is a data hog. I used 1GB of data in the 4 days I've had this phone... I am just glad I have unlimited data. I normally bill between 2 and 2.5 GB in a month.

All in all, I am happy with the phone despite some small quibbles... touchscreen (my hands tend to hate them) and the odd (and brief) data disconnects... Just happy I got this for $200 at the online leap day sale. Looks to be a keeper.

[ernesthelmer]

Nice review!!
I would like to say that with a good speaker, nice usable UI, future awesomeness of 4.0, a great battery, decent camera, amazing design, and tons of features, this should be an absolute contender for anyone needing a new phone..I would recommend this phone to anyone...

[Quint101]

Adding onto the review

I have given Smart Actions and MotoCast a spin. Not bad. I have a few Smart Actions set up, primarily for battery/power usage settings. These work well. I used a location based today and it kicked in within a few minutes of my arrival. The con with the location based Smart Actions is that the Wifi must be turned on, which is OK for some, but I usually turn it off most of the time. I will stick with it, however, since I am usually near a power source and/or I usually have enough power remaining.

MotoCast is a program that allows RAZR/RAZR Maxx users to stream content onto the phone. The caveat is the computer must be connected to the internet and be powered on. It worked flawlessly for me. It is a timely app for me since I have filled my 16GB microSD card with music. I used it to view and set a Braves picture as a my phone wallpaper. The Motorola Music player ties in the MotoCast app quite nicely. Motocast is similar to Zumocast (the app for Motorola Bionic users)

I gave the Motorola music player a spin, it is OK, but it is gimmicky. I like that you can create random playlists with the player, a la iTunes or Zune.

My other con so far is the random data drop outs, but I have been informed that this is likely a network issue and not a phone issue

All in all, I am still enjoying my phone.

[Quint101]

I decided to post some short video clips shot from this phone....
<iframe width="420" height="315" src="First RAZR MAXX video - YouTube" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="2nd RAZR MAXX Video test - YouTube" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>