[Q] Samsung Galaxy S2 VS Motorola RAZR - Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Hi,
I am about to get a new phone and I have a choice between Samsung Galaxy S2 or Motorola RAZR
Which one should I get? I am leaning towards the RAZR as I am currently using the Motorola Atrix 4G and very happy
I'll be happy to get any tips and advice
Thanks!

The RAZR has a locked bootloader (unless you get the developer version) and the S2 has a pretty active development community.

Should have mentioned it before: I will be getting this phone from the company I work in, from the local network operator (Orange) so I probably won't even root the device not to mention unlocking the bootloader.
Which is better out of the box? Price is not an issue obviously

mickeycohen said:
Should have mentioned it before: I will be getting this phone from the company I work in, from the local network operator (Orange) so I probably won't even root the device not to mention unlocking the bootloader.
Which is better out of the box? Price is not an issue obviously
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What will be you main use of the fone?
Checkout each fones details and judge for yourself..

I'll be using it for everything, like my Atrix now
Communication, Calendar, Emails, Games, GPS, Camera
I compared the specs and they are almost the same.
RAZR has BT 4 VS BT 3 on SG2
SG2 has Gyro and RAZR does not
RAZR battery cannot be replace unless you take it apart and I read the battery life is not great but it does have a better screen and I do like motoblue better than touchwiz
I am really not sure which one to get which is why I asked for advice
Will be happy to get tips if anyone got a chance to use both and can give real life experience rather than a "dry" specs comparison or unboxing reviews which are quite useless...

How about the RAZR MAXX, that has a huge battery?
Also, how are they both price wise at your place?

Price is not an issue but I can only choose between the RAZR and S2. These are the 2 devices that were offered, If I could I would go for the maxx

I have a GS2 and its nice but the Razr is pretty slick in design. If you want to mod the phone go for the GS2 if you like stock go with the Razr.

Samsung SII vs Motorola Razr
I personally think both are good phones but if it was my choice I would find myself leaning more toward the Galaxy SII mainly because it is a bit easier on my eyes, nicer screen, a very active community out there and being able to access and upgrade or change the battery when ever i need were on the Razr you can’t do the same. There is no battery door on the Razr granted this allows you a bigger battery but it limits your options when it comes to system and battery troubleshooting.
I think either way generally you will be happy.... Good luck

Related

Should i stay or Should i go! the eternal question!

Hi razr guys!
I'm kinda confused right now because of the bootloader locked.
I'm asking myself if i should exchange my RAZR for a NEXUS
i watch few comparaison between both, and ok nexus have native ICS and will for sure upgraded first if a new android version is released.
Now the right question is, Does the locked bootloader of my RAZR is enough to change it?
If i take a deep breath and think, i found the RAZR way much sexy than NEXUS, performance are similar, camera is better, screen resolution is lower.
But hey, we already have ICS even with the locked bootloader, and 2 custom rom on Gingerbread.
And i heard many bug about strenght signal on the nexus.
That's why i'm confused and i'd like to have your opinion on this question.
I really hope motorola will unlock our bootloader, but if they dont is a good reason to throw my razr away?
Thanks!
If modding is more important to you and you are obsessed with an unlocked bootloader, then yes by all means you should "go"
If I could I would go. Motorola is not a company that I want to be associated with.
Amatuer flasher here. Considering coming to Razr Maxx by exchanging my Nexus. Battery life is bothering me. ICS not that different/impressive.
Seems like with a locked bootloader on the Razr, you can still root, flash, etc... What are you missing out on with a locked bootloader?
Thanks for indulging the noob questions...
rfeagan said:
Amatuer flasher here. Considering coming to Razr Maxx by exchanging my Nexus. Battery life is bothering me. ICS not that different/impressive.
Seems like with a locked bootloader on the Razr, you can still root, flash, etc... What are you missing out on with a locked bootloader?
Thanks for indulging the noob questions...
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Click to collapse
The core thing isnt that the Phone, the Razr is bad without the locked BL. It wasnt the only argument for me to buy actually. But the way which is Motorola is going is the actually Problem which I see. For me Moto is dead and I will never buy any Product from them again ... Each other but none Motorola
I will wait 1 or 2 weeks.
Friend leave the waiting is the galaxy 3 thu esto i hope
sevenup30 said:
Hi razr guys!
I'm kinda confused right now because of the bootloader locked.
I'm asking myself if i should exchange my RAZR for a NEXUS
i watch few comparaison between both, and ok nexus have native ICS and will for sure upgraded first if a new android version is released.
Now the right question is, Does the locked bootloader of my RAZR is enough to change it?
If i take a deep breath and think, i found the RAZR way much sexy than NEXUS, performance are similar, camera is better, screen resolution is lower.
But hey, we already have ICS even with the locked bootloader, and 2 custom rom on Gingerbread.
And i heard many bug about strenght signal on the nexus.
That's why i'm confused and i'd like to have your opinion on this question.
I really hope motorola will unlock our bootloader, but if they dont is a good reason to throw my razr away?
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree with others on this thread.
If you are hardcore about thoroughly customized ROMs and such, then a google experience device is the way to go.
But if you like solid build quality, performance, and long-lasting battery life - then the Maxx is just the thing for you.
Out of all the Motorola products I've owned, I contemplated between the RAZR Maxx, HTC Rezound, and the Galaxy Nexus. Spent two minutes with the Nexus and dropped it like a hot potato. Eventually made up my mind to go with the Maxx, and I'm thoroughly satisfied.
Motorola's UI has improved, and performance on the Maxx is very good. You can still root, remove bloatware and such - but with the locked bootloader, you're stuck with the kernel provided by Moto's software. It cuts down on the extent of modifications that can be made, but in the end - its your choice.
If you decide to go with the Nexus, I would heavily suggest waiting a bit, because there is suppose to be an updated "2.0" sorta-speak coming out soon. The current Nexus has its perks, but the radios aren't up to quality of Motorola and HTC.
I had the galaxy nexus and now have the maxx. I dropped calls and battery life was horrid on the gnex. I love ICS but also love battery life. The only reason I rooted the nexus was to get better battery life and faster 3-4g handoff. These are things I don't have to worry about with the maxx. Plus, I don't have any battery saver things on my maxx and last two whole days with it. On LTE the entire time. It's amazing and will be even better with ICS.
I have currently a sgs2 i9100 with ics, a tmobile sgs2 and my razr and to tell you the truth i use my razr way more than the other two. Sure i would love ics in my razr, but i can wait it will come. Im running frazers 2.4 rom and its just speedy as hell so the bootloader thing is not getting to me as much as others and i am a hardcore copulsive flasher!! But theres no way i would give up my razr just so i can flash. I would rather pony up the extra cash and by the gnex too to cure my flashing habit, but by no means i would trade it. To me the razr is superior in reception, not to mention is the best freaking phone ive used for wifi tethering, i play ps3 without a single disconnect and i dont have the LTE version. Battery life is ok, on par with my other phones, screen is beautifull, no complaints here, spec wise the razr has an sd slot(cant live without it), camera is ok, not great but ok, cant complain about pictures taken, build quality on razr is top notch, the best ive owned, call quality and speaker sound quality are also top notch. For me the razr trully is probably the only real smartphone masterpiece that motorola has developed even if it has a locked bootloader.
Sent from my XT910 using xda premium
I have both Original Razr and GNex now, GNex is way better.
1. Regarding Radio, everyone says the Moto radio is better, and I have the doubts.
I have both Razr and GNex laying at the same position at same time and press speedtest at same time. Testing like this for 20 times.
GNex's 4G speed beat Razr every time of this 20 tests. even displaying 1 bar in 4G while Razr displaying 3 bars.
I feel that it is a "tricky" in measuring the bars that give you the false connectivity. I do had many times when Razr showed 3 bars but the data did not kick in at all.
2. Regarding Battery. Yes, GNex can never beat Razr Maxx in this category. But easily beating Razr. The trick? custom kernel. On Fransco Kernel 15.1 and the phone is awesome. It costs 1% over night of 7 hours!!! Repeat after me, 1% overnight of 7 hours. of course no airplane mode etc.
3. Regarding build quality.
The immediate impression was Razr is way too sexy. But hey, it is a dust sucker. I have seen so much dust in the top of the screen where Motorola logo is (ironically!) and at the side bezel of the screen.
Yes, the Kelvar back is awesome. No competition of that, especially the back of GNex is push-ed on style.
But GNex has a removable battery.
These two were equal in my house, BEFORE MOTOROLA's recent bomb news.
So Now I am leaning to GNex.
Had a razr, loved it. Then I exchanged it for the nexus. I had the nexus for three days. After three days I returned the nexus and got my razr back. For me the razr had more pros going for it than the nexus. I can honestly say the razr is the best device I have ever owned.
Sent from my DROID RAZR using xda premium
I have owned the Nexus and the Rezound. Now I am using the Razr Maxx and I love it. It is much faster than either the Nexus or the Rezound! I have been a HTC Sense lover for quite some time now but with the Razr Maxx I feel satisfied for the first time. Hopefully it will save me money in the long run!
Reimerj
I love the razr. Its really fast and I love how thin it is. Even with the locked boot loader you can still have some great custom roms.
Sent from my DROID RAZR using xda premium
thanks for your feedback, now i'm more confused than before lol
i'm a flashmaniacs, my past desire hd could confirm you ^^. but i made a mistake in the past, i had a transformer and asus locked the bootloader, so i sold it because i was angry and a month after, some devs managed to unlock it, and now i have an A100(it's a good tablet but not like the transformer and with a locked bootloader also -_-)
as jiwengang said, the nexus have removable battery and custom kernel which increase battery life and performance i guess.But it doesn't have micro sd.
I'd love to have razr MAXX too, but i just bought the razr and the maxx isn't available in france. I'll try to test the nexus and make my own opinion (i thought about the NOTE but the big thing afraid me ).
Well i don't know if you say that in english, but in french i would say:
I have my ass between two chairs!
Lots of good insights here. Thanks everyone.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk
A lot of times if you are asking the question then you have your answer.
Sent from my Samsung Galaxy Nexus - Verizon 4G LTE.

Droid Razr Maxx or Galaxy Nexus?

Hello, I have been on sprint with an Evo 4g for a while now, but due to sprints recent coverage change for my area, I might be switching to verizon. so my question is, which would you all suggest i get? galaxy nexus? or Droid razr Maxx? any big devs going for the razr? easy root process? moto going to unlock the bootloader on it? any and all help is greatly appreciated, thanks - Matt
When I was on the same boat as you 2 days ago, I have to admit it was the toughest choice I have done in a LONG time.
As it stands your looking at this:
Galaxy Nexus Verizon
-Unlocked Bootloader bust that **** open and destroy it with mods
-Nexus phone, quicker to get updates
-Good battery life. Nothing compared to the Maxx though. But check out the battery life on the 4.0.4 leaked update, it's AWESOME.
Droid Razr Maxx
-Great battery life
-No ICS
-Locked bootloader
-To me it's a Nexus with a crazy battery & motoblur skin.
Now, IF the Razr Maxx gets ICS and an unlocked bootloader it will be: Everything pretty much equal except for these:
Great dev modding community, Nexus updates, good battery life vs. Maxx battery (best battery), great dev modding community
There, I put it in a nutshell for you.
I had the Maxx and returned and decided to return it because I didn't need all the battery it supplied and I can adjust the battery on my Nexus to fit my needs perfectly and spare. Lastly, I don't risk Moto not unlocking the bootloader, but ICS it will definitetly get. It would hurt Moto way too much to not give ICS to the Razr Maxx it's tied for the best phones on the market now the other being the GNex. My personal opinion though ICS won't matter since it's not gonna really look AOSP, Motoblur isn't ugly but it's not the nicest when AOSP ICS is on the GNex.
So it's up to you, can you have some patience with the Nexus and adjust it's battery till you get it right to your usage and make it last 18-20 hours? (More with ext. battery)? I'm in that process now. And not risk Moto not making a fully moddable phone? Take your pick, both are excellent choices. WHATEVER you do if you go GNex don't give up on the battery it's really easy to make it last without limiting yourself to 5% brightness and 2G signal. Just have to pinpoint everything and what's the problem.
Lastly, most and all radio/battery problems are easily fixed (if you have them on stock) by not even rooting. Just unlock bootloader and flash 4.0.4. Best update ever.
**I did not consider Camera and other features because both are just fine for a PHONE camera.***
Good Luck.
It all depends on what your requirements are. Personally, I'm on my phone nonstop all, so anything less than enormous battery won't work for me. Plus I have a prejudice against Samsung phones in general.
Worth noting that the Nexus doesn't have a micro SD slot (although it's NAND flash memory is very fast), and the Razr Maxx's battery is not replaceable (according to Motorola -- I've heard from some VZW reps that it can be done).
Either way, it's a gamble.
Sent from my Droid Razr Maxx
Had the Nexus for 3 days then returned it for a razr. That should tell you my opinion.
Sent from my DROID RAZR using xda premium
Adauth said:
Had the Nexus for 3 days then returned it for a razr. That should tell you my opinion.
Sent from my DROID RAZR using xda premium
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Click to collapse
Same here. Got a Nexus demo at work for 2 weeks and did not fall in love with it. I hear 4.0.4 fixes battery but twice it went from 80% to 0% overnight doing nothing but 2 email accounts. Also, the Nexus just felt strange in my hand (I have large hands). I did not like where the power button was because i hold it in my left hand to read email and my index finger kept pressing the button and blanking the screen. The Droid Razr Maxx is in similar place but my index finger ends up well below the button when holding. The Maxx feels more secure in my hand and not like it's going to fall out like with the Nexus.
I rooted and did ROMS on all my previous phones (OG Droid, Droid 2, Droid Incredible) and enjoyed doing away with BLUR on my Motorola's but I'm sure I will do the same with the MAXX. I did like the idea of having the NExus with all the latest updates and development but the Samsung phone just didn't seem as well put together as the Maxx.
My speed tests showed the Maxx faster on WIFI and 4G. The 4G fringe areas work much better after the latest update (this past week), and I was having some issues with the Nexus getting 3G network in some light areas and not with the MAXX.
had the nexus for a week. returned it.
Not sure why anyone would want an AOSP phone. It's like having generic frosted flakes.
Battery life is not an issue for me so even though i knew about the maxx, i got the razr. The nexus is just awkward, buggy and just plain. you NEED a custom rom if you get the nexus.
I prefer the HTC sense UI's over anything else. If HTC would just make a thinner, better looking phone, i would jump all over that. You gotta see a ROM with HTC 3.6 and ICS. it will blow you away. I gave my kid the Sensation XL and loaded this
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1429953
The greatest ROM i've ever seen. If you want a UI that will just make you smile everytime you use the phone, this is it. But for the RAZR, i'll take motoblur over AOSP anytime.
I don't know how you people like skins over aosp, gross
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using XDA App
MrDrumngun said:
I don't know how you people like skins over aosp, gross
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using XDA App
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For the same reason that there are tons of launchers, widgets, etcc on the market. Because AOSP means, As Obviously Super Plain as possible. Just kidding of course, but AOSP really is out of the box google. It's meant to offend no one, not step on apple toes (like samsung), and not dazzle anybody. It really reminds me of APPLE iOS.
call someone you know on both phones and ask them which sounds better. then call a voicemail with both phones and listen to playback and listen to the difference in how you sound. if everyone did this Samsung couldn't sell a single phone.
mmrox117 said:
Hello, I have been on sprint with an Evo 4g for a while now, but due to sprints recent coverage change for my area, I might be switching to verizon. so my question is, which would you all suggest i get? galaxy nexus? or Droid razr Maxx? any big devs going for the razr? easy root process? moto going to unlock the bootloader on it? any and all help is greatly appreciated, thanks - Matt
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You do realize this is a Razr forum right? Then you cant possibly expect an objective voice. Those 80% overnight drop to 0% on Nexus is simply untrue or not true for all. Maybe on that unit yes. 4G speed? I don't know. I had a test on two phones side by side and GNEx beat Razr 4 G speed EVERY time buy at least 1mb. This is based on 20ish tests.
Battery life on Razr Maxx is just KING . So original razr is simply out of this competition PERIOD .
Except it is thinnest which you can't really USE that 7.1mm to do anything . Except cutting a cheese.
Gnex is for dev. Its openness is best. Razr Max is for regular user . So depends on which type you are
Disclaimer. I own both phones.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk
The 5MP cam on the Nexus is an Absolut deal breaker for me. If it wasn’t for that, if the Nexus had an 8MP cam, it would be a fairly hard choice. But i use my phone cam like crazy so it completely ruled the Nexus out for me.
Hi all-
I ended up getting both. I got spoiled very quickly with ICS on my Xoom tablet. I have to admit that I also love ICS on the Nexus as well... However, and this is just my humble opinion.. The battery life is considerably better on the Razr than on the Nexus. Yes I have removed all of the battery draining apps. Tried several roms, Blah blah. On and on it goes. I've spent many an hour doing things that others claim to be the 'solution' to achieving great battery life on the Nexus. Well, I'm here to tell you that as far as I'm concerned, Samsung desperately needs to return to the drawing board and practice up on their battery design as that has been my number one issue with their device to date. Believe me, I got really SPOILED with the Razr's supreme battery performance. I easily achieved two days with it, yet with the Nexus I have not been able to make a full 12 hour day, and this is even with the extended battery. It isn't an ICS issue either as my Xoom plays for hours on end with little concern over battery life. I have also found that RF-wise the Razr wins hands down. I am aware of radio software improvements in ICS 4.0.4 and above. Perhaps with those updates coming down the pike some positives will be made in that area and I'm good with that.
No doubt other Nexus owners will disagree with me and that's fine. I'm only commenting on what *I* have experienced with the Nexus. Even though I have the freedom of running stock Android on the thing which truly is very very nice, I still have to confess that from a hardware standpoint my experience so far has been less than stellar.
I want to wait and see what Moto has up their sleeve with ICS once they implement it on the Razr. I may well take the leap back to it once that happens, but even with the mediocre battery life and RF performance on the Nexus, I plan on retaining it afterward if nothing else as a developer unit as I don't expect Moto to ever release the bootloader on the Razr.
The developers who are cranking out the roms for the Nexus (as well as the Xoom) are incredibly talented. It fascinates me to sit back and watch all of this in action. It makes me wonder where did all of this creativity come from prior to the emergence of smart phones.
Bottom line is that I firmly believe both handsets are worthy of ownership in their own right but I still lean towards the Razr. That's my story and I'm sticking to it!
skoone68 said:
Hi all-
I ended up getting both. I got spoiled very quickly with ICS on my Xoom tablet. I have to admit that I also love ICS on the Nexus as well... However, and this is just my humble opinion.. The battery life is considerably better on the Razr than on the Nexus. Yes I have removed all of the battery draining apps. Tried several roms, Blah blah. On and on it goes. I've spent many an hour doing things that others claim to be the 'solution' to achieving great battery life on the Nexus. Well, I'm here to tell you that as far as I'm concerned, Samsung desperately needs to return to the drawing board and practice up on their battery design as that has been my number one issue with their device to date. Believe me, I got really SPOILED with the Razr's supreme battery performance. I easily achieved two days with it, yet with the Nexus I have not been able to make a full 12 hour day, and this is even with the extended battery. It isn't an ICS issue either as my Xoom plays for hours on end with little concern over battery life. I have also found that RF-wise the Razr wins hands down. I am aware of radio software improvements in ICS 4.0.4 and above. Perhaps with those updates coming down the pike some positives will be made in that area and I'm good with that.
No doubt other Nexus owners will disagree with me and that's fine. I'm only commenting on what *I* have experienced with the Nexus. Even though I have the freedom of running stock Android on the thing which truly is very very nice, I still have to confess that from a hardware standpoint my experience so far has been less than stellar.
I want to wait and see what Moto has up their sleeve with ICS once they implement it on the Razr. I may well take the leap back to it once that happens, but even with the mediocre battery life and RF performance on the Nexus, I plan on retaining it afterward if nothing else as a developer unit as I don't expect Moto to ever release the bootloader on the Razr.
The developers who are cranking out the roms for the Nexus (as well as the Xoom) are incredibly talented. It fascinates me to sit back and watch all of this in action. It makes me wonder where did all of this creativity come from prior to the emergence of smart phones.
Bottom line is that I firmly believe both handsets are worthy of ownership in their own right but I still lean towards the Razr. That's my story and I'm sticking to it!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can you comment on the quality of *outgoing* voice quality when comparing the two handsets?
So what kind of future will a Maxx have if I buy one?
I love the things I can do with my Thunderbolt, but want the battery. Will ROM's be as diverse as my TB? I love the CM7 ROM's I have. I am just unclear as to what the bootloader will stop me from doing in the future.
Is it possible that CM9 could eventually work on it?
Are there any ROM's that have the hotspot enabled without the carrier option?
Sorry for newb questions. Just want to make sure I dont buy a phone I hate.
iolinux333 said:
Can you comment on the quality of *outgoing* voice quality when comparing the two handsets?
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Click to collapse
Having had both, didn't notice any difference
jiwengang said:
You do realize this is a Razr forum right? Then you cant possibly expect an objective voice. Those 80% overnight drop to 0% on Nexus is simply untrue or not true for all. Maybe on that unit yes. 4G speed? I don't know. I had a test on two phones side by side and GNEx beat Razr 4 G speed EVERY time buy at least 1mb. This is based on 20ish tests.
Battery life on Razr Maxx is just KING . So original razr is simply out of this competition PERIOD .
Except it is thinnest which you can't really USE that 7.1mm to do anything . Except cutting a cheese.
Gnex is for dev. Its openness is best. Razr Max is for regular user . So depends on which type you are
Disclaimer. I own both phones.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I also own both phones! I have the Razr Maxx because for work I need to have good call and sound quality and the Razr is awesome in both areas but for the inner geek I have the Nexus which can't be beat for Dev support and updates and pure fun but the sound quality is poor on calls and speaker phone. I have also had many calls where the person I am talking to can no longer hear me.
My advice! Get both!
reimerj
I had the RAZR for 2 months now.
One thing I don't like about it, is the display. The colors looks beautiful, but the text doesn't play nice with my eyes. I've heard it's because Motorola uses Pentil display. Other than the display the phone is great, with solid and premium build quality.
Get the Maxx. I got the Nexus when it came out, and I have had nothing but disappointment from it. I really wanted to love it. I wanted to have a *true* google phone... but they just skimped out too much on the hardware.
The cell antenna in it downright blows. It's unusable at my house, where the Maxx works just fine (other people with Verizon phones in my house also work fine).
The camera on the Nexus also blows. It's fine outside, or in really really well lit rooms during the day, but don't even bother trying to take pictures in any kind of low light, they just look terrible. I don't care about megapixels, but I do care about whether or not the pictures look like junk.
The battery on the Nexus blows (seeing a pattern here?). It lasts 12 hours, with very minimal use. It's aggravating to have to run and drop it on the charger as soon as I get home.
There's no SD slot on the Nexus... which didn't matter to me, but some people care. You can still copy files on and off it from windows, and 32 gigs is a lot of space for most people.
The only good thing about the Nexus is the screen, which is admittedly awesome. The Maxx's screen looks pretty good though, even side by side with the Maxx. And don't let the dimensions of the screens fool you, they're very very close in usable size - the Nexus loses a bunch of pixels for its on-screen buttons, which seem to only disappear when watching videos. The height of the screens are just about the same, the Nexus is just slightly wider.
ICS is also SO much better than gingerbread... but if you're here, you can install a ROM and do just fine with the Maxx.
Im waiting on a razr maxx to arrive fed ex tomorrow. I am coming from a samsung charge with a total bad experience. Signal,battery and gps issues. Hope this is all solved with the new phone as Im sick of hearing it from the wife. She now swears samsung off and wants a motorola because when she had the dx2 gps was never a problem.
blueis300 said:
Im waiting on a razr maxx to arrive fed ex tomorrow. I am coming from a samsung charge with a total bad experience. Signal,battery and gps issues. Hope this is all solved with the new phone as Im sick of hearing it from the wife. She now swears samsung off and wants a motorola because when she had the dx2 gps was never a problem.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Had the Droid charge too. After the lousy development, went to the Nexus Galaxy to get the A++ development. It was there, but too much plain ol AOSP for my liking. Saw a co-worker with the razr and instantly loved the blur and exchanged my phone. The 7mm thiness of the phone is just aluring to me. i love handling such a light and thin phone. The little bump on the top backside also helps to give it an angle when i lay it down. Its like the designers thought of everything.

gs3 or razr maxx?

In a nutshell my question is this. Should I just stick with my new (but unopened) Raz maxx or should I attempt to sell it in order to buy the s3 at an off contract price. Essentially, I would have to fork over an extra 100-200 bucks in order to do so but I am willing to if the difference in the maxx to the s3 is worth it.
Here are some major considerations in my decision process -
I really like the camera on the s3 and I am just iffy on the maxx's
I am also slowly learning and baby-stepping my way in rooting/Roms/ and all that good stuff I want a phone that has good flexibility in this area and a decent development community supporting it. It is my understanding that the Razr may come up a little short in this area. Am I mistaken or is this the case?
Is the razr very future proof in comparison to the s3? Obviously, the s3 is more-so but to what extent.
Any imput from someone who has owned either/or would be greatly appreciated, thanks!
You have to look at reviews of both phones, as for me my first smart phone was the gs1 then went to the Xperia arc, big mistake! My family has I phone,HTC,I don't like my gs3 is the best phone compared to the phone that I stated, however I can't say anything about the razor, look on the forms in here and see what problems both phones has, no phone is perfect but out you want battery life, go with the gs3
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda premium
No brainer...sgs3 as I've tried one x and didn't like it...It's doesn't have the technology or the class of s3!
And Motorola firmware support is really bad and you'll be waiting forever and ever!
Sent from my U8815 using Tapatalk 2
There is no way I could possibly be any happier with my gs3 except for the battery maybe lasting a little longer.
Your in the s3 section asking whether to choose the quad core beast or a dual core midget
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda premium
Yeah, what they said ^^^. You're comparing the SGS3 to what is effectively an SGS2 with an extended battery... and crappier software. No brainer, SGS3.
Haha! I just came from Razr maxx. Great great phone! The galaxy s3 is on a WHOLE NEW LEVEL. This is coming from the Tmobile version (dual core) but both galaxy are leaps and bounds better than the maxx. The only thing that is not better on the galaxy is the battery life and it's damn close!
Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2
TheBigFix said:
In a nutshell my question is this. Should I just stick with my new (but unopened) Raz maxx or should I attempt to sell it in order to buy the s3 at an off contract price. Essentially, I would have to fork over an extra 100-200 bucks in order to do so but I am willing to if the difference in the maxx to the s3 is worth it.
Here are some major considerations in my decision process -
I really like the camera on the s3 and I am just iffy on the maxx's
I am also slowly learning and baby-stepping my way in rooting/Roms/ and all that good stuff I want a phone that has good flexibility in this area and a decent development community supporting it. It is my understanding that the Razr may come up a little short in this area. Am I mistaken or is this the case?
Is the razr very future proof in comparison to the s3? Obviously, the s3 is more-so but to what extent.
Any imput from someone who has owned either/or would be greatly appreciated, thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you want real power and a lot of roms and develpment then go for a galaxy s3 if you want ammm more no removable battery then go for the razr (galaxy s2 is even better than the razr).
OMG never ever buy a motorola! Everything locked.
If you want unquestionably the best phone in the world then obviously u.e S3, but you know if you ask the same question in the One X forum they'll tell you to buy the Motorola because there's a lot of jealousy and buyers regret over there.
I own the original XT910 RAZR. It is the worst flagship Android phone I have ever used. Somewhat better after the ICS update, but not significantly enough. The MAXX's battery is a blunt force approach to Motorola's inability to optimise both the software and the hardware. The device is locked down for arbitrary reasons, and there's no indication if or when that will change. Return the MAXX, get the SIII. It's just an all- round better device (Even if I do have a soft spot for the RAZR's industrial design).
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda premium

Thinking about the RAZR MAXX GSM

Hey everyone,
I'm currently rocking a SGS2 i9100 International edition and 'm just getting tired of the battery life or lack there off. I love the tons of ROMs but to be honest I'm getting tired of the lack of stability and battery life. I just want a stable setup, great reception, pretty good camera and most importantly BATTERY LIFE!!
Most i9100 extended batteries are soo small and all the large ones end up being some cheapie far east crap that has a much lower rating.
So here are my Questions for you guys (I will also search the forums for answers)
How awesome is the battery for light-medium users?
Is the boot loader thing still an issue?
Can the phone be rooted/s-offed or whatever the term is for the RAZR?
How is the ROM support for ICS? Is GB better?
Is there a lot of development for this phone still or do you guys notice it's waning?
How's the camera/video on the phone?
How's the reception for calls and speakers? (I find my old Moto Razr V3 to still have better reception than my SGS2 and better sound too)
How's the accessories market for these?
Any flaws, issues, comments and advice concerning this phone?
Thanks for any help possible!
*goes to search the forum as well.
djpharoah said:
Thanks for any help possible!
*goes to search the forum as well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I sold my beloved GSM Galaxy Nexus for this phone. I loved the Nexus and Jelly Bean, stock, etc, but grew tired of toting two batteries with me. That and grew tired of low audio on ringers and the speakerphone. The GSM RAZR MAXX has totally fixed these issues and I've found ICS to be perfectly fine for daily use. JB is great and all, but the phone hardware, call quality, and battery life have made be a believer.
In short, I don't miss stock Google and my GNEX at all. Buy one.
[*] How awesome is the battery for light-medium users?
Easily cruises through an entire day with heavy use.
[*] Is the boot loader thing still an issue?
I don't know since I only flashed an ICS leak. I'm not into the ROM scene any more (maybe I grew up?). ICS stock is perfectly fine.
[*] Can the phone be rooted/s-offed or whatever the term is for the RAZR?
See above.
[*] How is the ROM support for ICS? Is GB better?
ICS stock is great. GB feels very old, so flash ICS on day one.
[*] Is there a lot of development for this phone still or do you guys notice it's waning?
Don't care at this point.
[*] How's the camera/video on the phone?
Typical phone quality. Ok for snapshots, not for billboard size photos and wedding photos.
[*] How's the reception for calls and speakers? (I find my old Moto Razr V3 to still have better reception than my SGS2 and better sound too)
Incredible. I get 4 bars in my basement and no dropped calls. On my GSM GNEX, I had 0/1 bar and dropped calls like crazy. The "sidetone" on Motorolas is awesome (ala home phones).
[*] How's the accessories market for these?
Ok I guess. Pick up a navigation dock for around $30 and an Atrix Webtop for ~$60. Accessories are cheap because its not the hot sexy new phone any more.
[*] Any flaws, issues, comments and advice concerning this phone?
None that I see.
See that's perfect. I too am getting tired of all these SGS2 roms and their inherit flaws/stability. I'm over ROms too because I've outgrown it. I just want a fully unlocked phone so that I don't have any limitation.
djpharoah said:
See that's perfect. I too am getting tired of all these SGS2 roms and their inherit flaws/stability. I'm over ROms too because I've outgrown it. I just want a fully unlocked phone so that I don't have any limitation.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's the thing I agree with you. My brother still has his sgs i9000 and its driving me nuts with ****ed up roms and unstable ****. I am glad I got rid of mine
Sent from my XT910 using xda premium
romdroid. said:
That's the thing I agree with you. My brother still has his sgs i9000 and its driving me nuts with ****ed up roms and unstable ****. I am glad I got rid of mine
Sent from my XT910 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah - I'm still looking for a MAXX but it's seemingly hard to find one. Anyone else got any advice?
Have a look at the official Battery Extender pack from Samsung for its Samsung Galaxy Nexus. The Nexus keeps it nice looks and has a big battery. Just like the razr maxx.
The hardware of the GNex is superior (better camera (note that this means 8 mpx > 5 mpx Oh, and by the way: 5 mpx Pictures are smaller than 8 mpx pictures, that's why they can be saved faster), bigger display, battery replaceable) and most importantly:
The software isn't bloated, old, slow or locked.
I own a Motorola Razr right now and it has very nice hardware. It looks awesome (especially in white) and isn't that expensive.
But the software... Dear god... bloated, locked, old, way too late updates from Motorola (only for US customers on time and even they had to wait for a long time), no custom roms (with some tools they are possible, but there are always some essential issues with those workarounds).
As I received my regular razr, I was pretty happy, it was fast (was GB 2.3, ICS is fast too if you unbloat it(!)), it has nice battery life (about 5-8 hours with very heavy usage and I'm talking about the regular razr, so the maxx has to be amazing) and that's why I started to think about a razr maxx. Battery life? Sure I want that!
But I will sell my razr, get a Nexus and will have nearly the same features as a razr maxx has. This will cost me some bucks more, but I will get updates way faster and longer. If google stops support for the Nexus, the unlocked bootloader will allow to install newer custom roms and therefore the latest android version. With Motorola, this is NOT the case. If Motorola says 4.0.4 was the last update, you're stuck with 4.0.4 forever or you use tools to work around these locks. But the issues raised by those tools and workarounds, destroy the hardware superiority of the razr next to other devices (you get less RAM that you really have, blame Moto!)... So... why a razr then?
- old software
- late updates and you're stuck with what you get
- bloated with so much software preinstalled and consuming precious RAM (can only be removed with root aka. tinkering with your phone for eventually a long time)
- bad camera (there is even a thread about this topic on here somewhere)
- with the latest ICS update even the webtop got removed and replaced by a standard ICS tablet mode UI (which is to be honest very good IMHO - but that's not a webtop anymore (as they advertised it), so that feature got taken (remember, you get what Motorola gives you with this phone)
tl;dr: Do NOT get a razr (maxx) and look for something like a google experience phone (e.g. GNexus). I am a razr owner and STRONGLY recommend to get another phone (because of the software - which is a shame, blame Moto).
EDIT: I have to be fair and add: GB and ICS from Motorola were and are very stable. I get very long uptimes with my razr. But again: It's slow if you don't mess with it. And if somebody says it's not slow: It's also not as fast as it could be, not as battery saving as it could be, so the bloat DEFINITELY disturbs the performance of the razr.
hihipunkt said:
Have a look at the official Battery Extender pack from Samsung for its Samsung Galaxy Nexus. The Nexus keeps it nice looks and has a big battery. Just like the razr maxx.
The hardware of the GNex is superior (better camera (note that this means 8 mpx > 5 mpx Oh, and by the way: 5 mpx Pictures are smaller than 8 mpx pictures, that's why they can be saved faster), bigger display, battery replaceable) and most importantly:
The software isn't bloated, old, slow or locked.
I own a Motorola Razr right now and it has very nice hardware. It looks awesome (especially in white) and isn't that expensive.
But the software... Dear god... bloated, locked, old, way too late updates from Motorola (only for US customers on time and even they had to wait for a long time), no custom roms (with some tools they are possible, but there are always some essential issues with those workarounds).
As I received my regular razr, I was pretty happy, it was fast (was GB 2.3, ICS is fast too if you unbloat it(!)), it has nice battery life (about 5-8 hours with very heavy usage and I'm talking about the regular razr, so the maxx has to be amazing) and that's why I started to think about a razr maxx. Battery life? Sure I want that!
But I will sell my razr, get a Nexus and will have nearly the same features as a razr maxx has. This will cost me some bucks more, but I will get updates way faster and longer. If google stops support for the Nexus, the unlocked bootloader will allow to install newer custom roms and therefore the latest android version. With Motorola, this is NOT the case. If Motorola says 4.0.4 was the last update, you're stuck with 4.0.4 forever or you use tools to work around these locks. But the issues raised by those tools and workarounds, destroy the hardware superiority of the razr next to other devices (you get less RAM that you really have, blame Moto!)... So... why a razr then?
- old software
- late updates and you're stuck with what you get
- bloated with so much software preinstalled and consuming precious RAM (can only be removed with root aka. tinkering with your phone for eventually a long time)
- bad camera (there is even a thread about this topic on here somewhere)
- with the latest ICS update even the webtop got removed and replaced by a standard ICS tablet mode UI (which is to be honest very good IMHO - but that's not a webtop anymore (as they advertised it), so that feature got taken (remember, you get what Motorola gives you with this phone)
tl;dr: Do NOT get a razr (maxx) and look for something like a google experience phone (e.g. GNexus). I am a razr owner and STRONGLY recommend to get another phone (because of the software - which is a shame, blame Moto).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the super insightful reply. That's what I wanted to hear. I will look into the GNEX.
Well I sold my GSM GNEX for the GSM RAZR MAXX, so yeah. Software is key, but not if you are changing batteries by 4pm.
ericshmerick said:
Well I sold my GSM GNEX for the GSM RAZR MAXX, so yeah. Software is key, but not if you are changing batteries by 4pm.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
True true. I'm also looking to try some new hardware and see how the reception is better with the razr.
ericshmerick said:
Well I sold my GSM GNEX for the GSM RAZR MAXX, so yeah. Software is key, but not if you are changing batteries by 4pm.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's why I already linked the battery extension from Samsung itself. The razr maxx will eventually still have a bigger battery than the GNex, but maybe the big pack from Samsung will already be big enough for djpharoah.
djpharoah said:
True true. I'm also looking to try some new hardware and see how the reception is better with the razr.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To the reception:
3G and 2G (I'm talking about the EU GSM version) reception is very good, better than most other smartphones I know of or owned.
WiFi reception is okay. It is okay if you don't cover the lower right corner of the razr. If you cover it (e.g. holding it only in the right hand in vertical mode), the reception get's very bad - another thing that deeply disappointed me. I had good reception with my earlier phones (Palm Pre and LG Optimus 2x) when I stood in front of my house. With the razr, I don't get any signal, especially if I'm holding it in my right hand. Sometimes I get disconnects IN the house (never happened before). But I have to say, that this didn't bother me so much. Google this topic, you'll see that I'm not the only one experiencing this problem.
hihipunkt said:
That's why I already linked the battery extension from Samsung itself. The razr maxx will eventually still have a bigger battery than the GNex, but maybe the big pack from Samsung will already be big enough for djpharoah.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That extended battery is a small bump in mAh and really only provides a slight advantage over the stock battery. Yes, it's better, but not close to double as is the MAXX battery.
But I'm not arguing my point (not my intent). The GNEX is a fine phone, but that extended battery won't work miracles. It's a marginal improvement in reality. You are better off carrying a spare original battery in your pocket (as I did when I had my GNEX). It's mildly annoying but will get you through a day of normal (not heavy) use. The extended battery will require a second for all day use anyway, so there's that.
...and the extended battery will only fit the Verizon GNEX (I am assuming the OP has Verizon?). On that note, the Verizon GNEX is really bad vs. the GSM version. Poor connectivity, terrible battery (compared to the GSM GNEX) just to start.
But what do I know? I have AT&T. Guess I've just read enough complaints about the CDMA GNEX vs. the RAZR MAXX to have the opinion that the RAZR is the better device.
Edit: I see the OP's title (GSM), so no Verizon GNEX. The extended battery you linked will not work with the GSM GNEX.
hihipunkt said:
Have a look at the official Battery Extender pack from Samsung for its Samsung Galaxy Nexus. The Nexus keeps it nice looks and has a big battery. Just like the razr maxx.
The hardware of the GNex is superior (better camera (note that this means 8 mpx > 5 mpx Oh, and by the way: 5 mpx Pictures are smaller than 8 mpx pictures, that's why they can be saved faster), bigger display, battery replaceable) and most importantly:
The software isn't bloated, old, slow or locked.
I own a Motorola Razr right now and it has very nice hardware. It looks awesome (especially in white) and isn't that expensive.
But the software... Dear god... bloated, locked, old, way too late updates from Motorola (only for US customers on time and even they had to wait for a long time), no custom roms (with some tools they are possible, but there are always some essential issues with those workarounds).
As I received my regular razr, I was pretty happy, it was fast (was GB 2.3, ICS is fast too if you unbloat it(!)), it has nice battery life (about 5-8 hours with very heavy usage and I'm talking about the regular razr, so the maxx has to be amazing) and that's why I started to think about a razr maxx. Battery life? Sure I want that!
But I will sell my razr, get a Nexus and will have nearly the same features as a razr maxx has. This will cost me some bucks more, but I will get updates way faster and longer. If google stops support for the Nexus, the unlocked bootloader will allow to install newer custom roms and therefore the latest android version. With Motorola, this is NOT the case. If Motorola says 4.0.4 was the last update, you're stuck with 4.0.4 forever or you use tools to work around these locks. But the issues raised by those tools and workarounds, destroy the hardware superiority of the razr next to other devices (you get less RAM that you really have, blame Moto!)... So... why a razr then?
- old software
- late updates and you're stuck with what you get
- bloated with so much software preinstalled and consuming precious RAM (can only be removed with root aka. tinkering with your phone for eventually a long time)
- bad camera (there is even a thread about this topic on here somewhere)
- with the latest ICS update even the webtop got removed and replaced by a standard ICS tablet mode UI (which is to be honest very good IMHO - but that's not a webtop anymore (as they advertised it), so that feature got taken (remember, you get what Motorola gives you with this phone)
tl;dr: Do NOT get a razr (maxx) and look for something like a google experience phone (e.g. GNexus). I am a razr owner and STRONGLY recommend to get another phone (because of the software - which is a shame, blame Moto).
EDIT: I have to be fair and add: GB and ICS from Motorola were and are very stable. I get very long uptimes with my razr. But again: It's slow if you don't mess with it. And if somebody says it's not slow: It's also not as fast as it could be, not as battery saving as it could be, so the bloat DEFINITELY disturbs the performance of the razr.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can you give me the link for the topic about the camera?
I don't think Motorola will stop the update so easily, as Google owns Motorola for now...
Stock Motorola Rom has a lot of problems like bloatwares?
I'm thinking of getting this phone too.
ZRong223 said:
Can you give me the link for the topic about the camera?
I don't think Motorola will stop the update so easily, as Google owns Motorola for now...
Stock Motorola Rom has a lot of problems like bloatwares?
I'm thinking of getting this phone too.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What has changed now that Google owns Moto? Has anything changed? Unlocked bootloaders? easier to get updates??
Also what's the camera issue?
Google bought Motorola for it's patents, not to immediately turn all Moto phones into hackable devices.
So the only thing that's changed is Google's patent portfolio got bigger.
ericshmerick said:
Google bought Motorola for it's patents, not to immediately turn all Moto phones into hackable devices.
So the only thing that's changed is Google's patent portfolio got bigger.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Right - that's what everyone says. But as of now I'm only noticing 4-5 ICS Roms for the RAZR and is that because it's hard to get a ROM going on the phone due to restrictions or just that these ROMs are so stable and awesome that the RAZR audience seens no reason to mess about?
djpharoah said:
Right - that's what everyone says. But as of now I'm only noticing 4-5 ICS Roms for the RAZR and is that because it's hard to get a ROM going on the phone due to restrictions or just that these ROMs are so stable and awesome that the RAZR audience seens no reason to mess about?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Some developers already switched to other devices (like the maker of the ROM I'm currently using (Epsilon)). The only usable/not bugged versions are just debloated and customized Moto stock roms. They work good though.
djpharoah said:
What has changed now that Google owns Moto? Has anything changed? Unlocked bootloaders? easier to get updates??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nothing really. It's rumored, that the next Moto devices (razr HD?) will have an unlocked bootloader. But for current phones, nothing really changed.
djpharoah said:
Also what's the camera issue?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ZRong223 said:
Can you give me the link for the topic about the camera?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1834550&highlight=camera
I already gave you a link to a GSMArena comparison tool (click the image on the left over the text to view other parts in detail on the right)
ZRong223 said:
I don't think Motorola will stop the update so easily, as Google owns Motorola for now...
Stock Motorola Rom has a lot of problems like bloatwares?
I'm thinking of getting this phone too.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's overloaded with bloatware. It's still usable, but it destroys so much potential of the phone. If you unbloat it, it's fast too.
And I honestly don't think, that Googles ownership of Moto will change anything related to updates. I doubt, that the razr will get Android 5. It's still far ahead, but a device that costs hundreds of €/$ and doesn't get updates? The iPhone 3GS released in 2009 got the latest iOS. The razr got out in November last year and is already outdated and no update in sight. Moto didn't even say a single word about JB for the razr.
Remember: It's not only about features, also about security. Old Android versions don't get security updates. Nobody uses Windows XP without any security updates and surfs the web. (Nearly) everyone knows that this would be suicide. On mobile phones, nobody cares all of the sudden.
ericshmerick said:
That extended battery is a small bump in mAh and really only provides a slight advantage over the stock battery. Yes, it's better, but not close to double as is the MAXX battery.
But I'm not arguing my point (not my intent). The GNEX is a fine phone, but that extended battery won't work miracles. It's a marginal improvement in reality. You are better off carrying a spare original battery in your pocket (as I did when I had my GNEX). It's mildly annoying but will get you through a day of normal (not heavy) use. The extended battery will require a second for all day use anyway, so there's that.
...and the extended battery will only fit the Verizon GNEX (I am assuming the OP has Verizon?). On that note, the Verizon GNEX is really bad vs. the GSM version. Poor connectivity, terrible battery (compared to the GSM GNEX) just to start.
But what do I know? I have AT&T. Guess I've just read enough complaints about the CDMA GNEX vs. the RAZR MAXX to have the opinion that the RAZR is the better device.
Edit: I see the OP's title (GSM), so no Verizon GNEX. The extended battery you linked will not work with the GSM GNEX.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh, I didn't know that. But there's also an extended battery for the GSM version: Samsung EB-K1F2KBUGSTD

Maxx or s iii

I currently have a RAZR maxx and I'm being offered by Verizon to switch to the s iii because of problems with recent replacement phones.
2 questions.
1. Is this a smart move? Newer phone less battery.
2. I have a very old cheap unlimited data plan. I am scared of loosing it. Could that happen? I have lost a text plan this way in the past.
Thanks in advance.
Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2
Is it an upgrade or replacement?
Upgrade will lose your plan.
Replacement will not.
Sent from my DROID RAZR using xda premium
mtunender said:
I currently have a RAZR maxx and I'm being offered by Verizon to switch to the s iii because of problems with recent replacement phones.
2 questions.
1. Is this a smart move? Newer phone less battery.
2. I have a very old cheap unlimited data plan. I am scared of loosing it. Could that happen? I have lost a text plan this way in the past.
Thanks in advance.
Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. If you are like me the less battery part will hurt way to much (granted i am running custom and it crazy battery life).
Came from an s3. I'd take the maxx any day of the week
Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2
I was on a Maxx and loved it. Switched to an S3 and liked it a lot. However I never found the love for the s3 that I had for the Maxx, so I sold it and picked up a cheap Bionic. This has been fun, but later today I am switching back to the Maxx and I'm excited. It is the phone for me.
Sent from my DROID BIONIC using xda premium
S III of cause ! ! !
Look the S III is a better phone by far but the fact that you have a Maxx and you've already experienced such good battery life on a smartphone switching to the S III or any smartphone in fact is going to be "poor" battery life in comparison.
If your looking at getting the S III you'll have to sacrifice battery life, but, in return your getting a Quad Core, better screen and camera, official Jellybean and way better development...
hmm
I own both and switch back and forth. If the MAXX was easily ROMable it would be no contest. I miss Jellybean when I use my MAXX and I miss the battery and radio when I use my S3. Both are great phones. One is hindered by a lousy radio and a small battery, the other is locked and un customizable. I tend to use the MAXX more since I live in a bit of a low lying area and get poor signal to begin with.
balaams_ass said:
I own both and switch back and forth. If the MAXX was easily ROMable it would be no contest. I miss Jellybean when I use my MAXX and I miss the battery and radio when I use my S3. Both are great phones. One is hindered by a lousy radio and a small battery, the other is locked and un customizable. I tend to use the MAXX more since I live in a bit of a low lying area and get poor signal to begin with.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
since you have both, could you do a voice quality test for what you sound like to others, that is, the quality of the microphone and sound compression algorithms on each Phone? This is an easy test, just read a few sentences into voicemail with each phone and then play back to hear which is most intelligible.
The Maxx has a great battery life. I had the Maxx for a good while and now I have the S3. I don't regret my move at all. Battery life isn't an issue for me. I don't live on my phone anymore since I got home internet now. Wireless Radio is the same as I got on my Maxx. I work in a fringed area and was surprised my S3 was working just as good getting all my calls and texts. The Wi-Fi range on the S3 is a lot better than it was on my Maxx. It's more consistent holding the Wi-Fi and is able to find Wi-Fi farther away than my Maxx did. The S3 camera is the best I've ever used. Picture and video quality are soooooooo nice compared to Motorola's camera work. Their crap sucks. Motorola don't make the best cameras. And I love the camera features on the S3. No shutter lag is great. I use my camera like everyday or every other day. The software is pretty easy to use on the S3 and I love it. The display is amazing. I was like stunned coming from the Maxx to an HD Super Amoled. I think the S3 is perfect sized for my hands and the way I use my phone. I do watch movies and youtube on there so that screen is nice for that.
I use to rock the Razr, then switched to Razr Maxx so I won't knock it too much. I don't regret changing to the S3 at all but everything is a personal preference on how you use your phone. The bottom line for me was I needed a better camera and it's nice to be back on a bigger screen and I like the new touchwiz by Samsung. It's nice to have toggles when you pull down the notification bar. The Motorola ICS UI is cool but was too plain for my taste. Keep in mind this is just my experience. I can't say it will be the same for someone else that made the same switch or vise versa.
Thank Me Later said:
The Maxx has a great battery life. I had the Maxx for a good while and now I have the S3. I don't regret my move at all. Battery life isn't an issue for me. I don't live on my phone anymore since I got home internet now. Wireless Radio is the same as I got on my Maxx. I work in a fringed area and was surprised my S3 was working just as good getting all my calls and texts. The Wi-Fi range on the S3 is a lot better than it was on my Maxx. It's more consistent holding the Wi-Fi and is able to find Wi-Fi farther away than my Maxx did. The S3 camera is the best I've ever used. Picture and video quality are soooooooo nice compared to Motorola's camera work. Their crap sucks. Motorola don't make the best cameras. And I love the camera features on the S3. No shutter lag is great. I use my camera like everyday or every other day. The software is pretty easy to use on the S3 and I love it. The display is amazing. I was like stunned coming from the Maxx to an HD Super Amoled. I think the S3 is perfect sized for my hands and the way I use my phone. I do watch movies and youtube on there so that screen is nice for that.
I use to rock the Razr, then switched to Razr Maxx so I won't knock it too much. I don't regret changing to the S3 at all but everything is a personal preference on how you use your phone. The bottom line for me was I needed a better camera and it's nice to be back on a bigger screen and I like the new touchwiz by Samsung. It's nice to have toggles when you pull down the notification bar. The Motorola ICS UI is cool but was too plain for my taste. Keep in mind this is just my experience. I can't say it will be the same for someone else that made the same switch or vise versa.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm always stunned at the thousands and thousands of detailed reviews and forum posts like this one that never mention, even in passing, how well the phone works as a TELEPHONE. As in, what does it SOUND like. I'm feeling so old now.
iolinux333 said:
I'm always stunned at the thousands and thousands of detailed reviews and forum posts like this one that never mention, even in passing, how well the phone works as a TELEPHONE. As in, what does it SOUND like. I'm feeling so old now.
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Click to collapse
As a Telephone, MY GS3 works perfect. I can hear my callers well, I receive all my calls, texts, and voicemails in real time and not a day or two late like when I was on Sprint with the Epic 4G Touch (Sprint's S2). I can truly say it's my best cell phone I've owned to date. All the other cool stuff is just a bonus
I was a little skeptical because my S2 had a horrible wireless radio. That made me move to Verizon and get a Motorola (Known for good wireless radios). It was good and all but I see nothing less on my S3. Maybe the state I live in just happens to have great towers? Maybe I just got a S3 that doesn't have radio problems. I've read a lot of people had wireless radio problems with the Galaxy Nexus on Verizon, then some had the problem with the S3, so I wasn't sure if I wanted to make the move back to a Samsung phone. But I did it and it's been a great ride so far. I can't wait for the official Jelly Bean update (when ever Verizon gets that to us lol).
I have an S3, and I am dreaming about the Razd Maxx HD, but since I'm irish, I cant get it here. So that leaves me 3 options.
1., I can stay with S3, and live with that
2., I can switch to Note2, and check how that works out for me. Never had such a huge device, I'm afraid it looks silly when I hold it to my ears.
3., I can buy a Razr Maxx, model from last year, because I really want a good battery life.
which one you suggest for me?
Aylarth said:
I have an S3, and I am dreaming about the Razd Maxx HD, but since I'm irish, I cant get it here. So that leaves me 3 options.
1., I can stay with S3, and live with that
2., I can switch to Note2, and check how that works out for me. Never had such a huge device, I'm afraid it looks silly when I hold it to my ears.
3., I can buy a Razr Maxx, model from last year, because I really want a good battery life.
which one you suggest for me?
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I roll with the S3 and I think it kicks the crap out of anything else that's dual core processor. I use to have the Razr Maxx. It doesn't even compare. Only thing better on the Maxx is the battery life. So far the most I've seen out of the S3 battery is a tad over 6 hours of "screen on time" at 13 percent battery left. But that's with 4G off for the most part. My Verizon 3G is fast enough or else I'm connected to Wi-Fi.
The Note 2 looks nice if you don't mind the size. I'm not really a stylus person with my phone so I wouldn't get the Note 2 but it's all a preference.
There's no reason to go to the Maxx. You can get extended batteries for the S3 and most likely the Note 2 since they both have removable backs. The Razr HD is cool. The S3 does have occasional lag on the dual core variants, I can't lie about that but it's nothing compared to the lag I had on my previous Maxx. The lag on that Razr annoyed the crap out of me. I seen some reviews saying it's not much different on the Razr HD. Now if you have the S3 with the quad core processor, I assume it doesn't lag much at all but I can't really say since I've never played with one.
Why are you dreaming for the Razr HD? Besides a step up in battery it seems to be a step down from the GS3 in my opinion. I've read some people rag on the GS3 wireless radio not being good for them but I have no problems with mines. My wireless radio see's nothing less than I did with my Razr Maxx. The Wi-Fi range is better on the S3.
Thank Me Later said:
I roll with the S3 and I think it kicks the crap out of anything else that's dual core processor. I use to have the Razr Maxx. It doesn't even compare. Only thing better on the Maxx is the battery life. So far the most I've seen out of the S3 battery is a tad over 6 hours of "screen on time" at 13 percent battery left. But that's with 4G off for the most part. My Verizon 3G is fast enough or else I'm connected to Wi-Fi.
The Note 2 looks nice if you don't mind the size. I'm not really a stylus person with my phone so I wouldn't get the Note 2 but it's all a preference.
There's no reason to go to the Maxx. You can get extended batteries for the S3 and most likely the Note 2 since they both have removable backs. The Razr HD is cool. The S3 does have occasional lag on the dual core variants, I can't lie about that but it's nothing compared to the lag I had on my previous Maxx. The lag on that Razr annoyed the crap out of me. I seen some reviews saying it's not much different on the Razr HD. Now if you have the S3 with the quad core processor, I assume it doesn't lag much at all but I can't really say since I've never played with one.
Why are you dreaming for the Razr HD? Besides a step up in battery it seems to be a step down from the GS3 in my opinion. I've read some people rag on the GS3 wireless radio not being good for them but I have no problems with mines. My wireless radio see's nothing less than I did with my Razr Maxx. The Wi-Fi range is better on the S3.
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The droid RAZR HD maxx scores much higher than the gs3 in quadrant (I know its kind of inconsistent but its something) and since there will most likely be a custom ROM on the device I doubt there would be much lag. I never see lag on my RAZR maxx and it scores relatively low on quadrant.
Full-Throttle Team
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prsterero said:
The droid RAZR HD maxx scores much higher than the gs3 in quadrant (I know its kind of inconsistent but its something) and since there will most likely be a custom ROM on the device I doubt there would be much lag. I never see lag on my RAZR maxx and it scores relatively low on quadrant.
Full-Throttle Team
moderator at bdhroms.freeforums.org
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I care more about actual day to day performance. Quadrant doesn't mean much to me. Not to knock it or anything I just don't really care much for it. I've had both so I can truly speak on both. There's less lag on the GS3 and the phone is much better overall to me. Obviously you can't compare battery life. Nothing beats the Maxx/Maxx HD stock battery. When it comes to extended batteries there are some bigger ones than 3,300 mAh for the S3.
You've never seen lag on the stock 211 ICS build for the Razr Maxx? That's pretty cool. With the lag issue I'm more referring to the stock builds of each phone. I'm not talking about custom roms or any over/under clocking.
Thanks for your contribution guys!
I am using a lot of tethering on my phone, so I can create a hotspot for my wifi-only tablet. Thats why the battery is a big deal for me. Other than that, I am using the phone for calls, texts, and sometimes for photos, but I can live without the last one. My GS3 is the european version so yea, it has quad core processor and no lag so far, even though WANAM is cool, I've had some troubles with his rom and with every bigger sized roms too if its about lagging. With HyperLight/HyperGalaxy ROM I have no lag at all, so thats my daily driver atm.
Why don't you just get extended batteries for when you do tethering? There's a good amount out there for the S3, at least in the USA there is. You should look up on ordering some if they got'em over there. I
Thank Me Later said:
As a Telephone, MY GS3 works perfect. I can hear my callers well, I receive all my calls, texts, and voicemails in real time and not a day or two late like when I was on Sprint with the Epic 4G Touch (Sprint's S2). I can truly say it's my best cell phone I've owned to date. All the other cool stuff is just a bonus
I was a little skeptical because my S2 had a horrible wireless radio. That made me move to Verizon and get a Motorola (Known for good wireless radios). It was good and all but I see nothing less on my S3. Maybe the state I live in just happens to have great towers? Maybe I just got a S3 that doesn't have radio problems. I've read a lot of people had wireless radio problems with the Galaxy Nexus on Verizon, then some had the problem with the S3, so I wasn't sure if I wanted to make the move back to a Samsung phone. But I did it and it's been a great ride so far. I can't wait for the official Jelly Bean update (when ever Verizon gets that to us lol).
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Thanks for telling us how others sound to you. Could you comment on how you sound to others? My experience has been that Motorola phones have always had far superior microphones and compression algorithms so I sound much clearer to the person I'm talking to, whereas Samsung phones have been ****e in comparison.
I sound fine to people I talk to. I never asked them to rank it like 1 - 10 but they say they can hear me good. There's nothing wrong with call quality or wireless radio on my S3. The 4G is actually faster on my S3 when I ran speed test app.

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