Motorola Droid RAZR MAXX HD
Phone Scoop Review
Oct 19, 2012 by Eric M. Zeman
Motorola is gunning to take down the competition with the RAZRs redux. Phone Scoop tackles everything you wanted to know about the Droid RAZR HD and Droid RAZR MAXX HD in this full review. read review ›
User Reviews
Average Ratings
Very Good!
I want to first start by saying that I currently own an iPhone 5 and the new Razr MAXX HD. I have owned its predecessor before as well. (Razr Maxx). This device is very good but not perfect. In an overall comparison to other Android devices as well as the iPhone 5, here are the pros and cons....
Pros:
* Simultaneous Voice and Data on 3G, LTE, and WiFi (HUGE +) - you can talk on the phone and use the Internet if you are in a 3G OR LTE area w/o WiFi.
* Very large screen
* Well built - feels strong and sturdy.
* Very fast - after playing ith it for a few hours and installing about 25 Apps on it, the device has zero lag due to its 1.5Ghz Dual Core processor.
* 32GB on-board memory + 32GB Micro SD card can be added. - Expandeable memory.
* Battery - This phone is the king in the battery department. My primary reason for getting this phone vs. the Galaxy S3.
Cons:
* Screen - After comparing the quality of the screen with the iPhone 5, the iPhone's screen is much brighter and higher quality.
* Camera - Even though both phones have an 8mp camera, the quality of the pictures on the iPhone are superior to the Razr MAXX HD. I haven't taken any videos yet so I can't comment on the video quality.
* Force Closes - Although I only had played with the Razr for a few hours, I already experienced force closes in the Maps application and some other downloaded apps.
* Does not come with Jelly Bean - considering at is phone came out after JB was released, I expected it to come with JB preinstalled.
Conclusion:
If you are an Android person and don't mind less quality photos but want an overall great phone with great battery life, this phone is for you. Even though the Galaxy S3 as well as other android phones have great specs, their battery life is much less than the Razr Maxx HD. Also, the Razr MAXX HD is built much tougher than the Galaxy S3. The iPhone 5 is built well but can get scratched easily. I already have a scratch on my iPhone just by putting the case on.
Log In to rate this review or report it as inappropriate.
Outstanding!
I have had Motorola phones for about 15 or more years. Starting with the Nextel bag phones. I was always impressed with the build quality and durability. I have had a Moto Q since 2005 , one phone for 6 years. Dropped it, flying out of hand onto parking lot many times from great heights and unbelievably it would still work. So I have seen the Apples and other phones. But I want a phone that can last and live a life without breaking. When I heard about the MAXX, my friend raving about the battery. I did a lot of research for about 10 or 12 months. I did not want the extra data expense. But when texts started to not come easily on the Q recently , that was that.
I got the MAXX on line at VZ and received just as the MAXX HD came out . I wanted the better 32 Gs internal vs 16Gs and the better scrren on the HD.
Pros:
Battery: lasts 3 to 4 days with casual use. 1 day fully with constant use. 2 days with moderate use. Nice knowing you have that resource. Don't have to worry about charging or discharging.
Build Quality: feels solid; Kevlar for scratches, Gorilla Glass. Responsive touch screen
CPU: dual core 1.5 GHZ , can do two or three things at once, phone and internet or?
Google: the little microphone to speak websites, or texts, or emails. Speak normal speed and it quickly types it as your are speaking. Pretty amazing.
Maps: Again can voice speak where you are going
The circle Widgets, show if phone call missed,
Camera button is instant. Normal light awesome, video awesome
Push email with my personal website.
Phone calls awesome as usual with VZ.
have only used .151 GB data over 8 days. Bunch of downloads and lots of surfing, no video on line though. That uses up big GB.
Software: nothing to compare with, but it is quick , no delays, and all the bells of Android ICS. I am not impressed by that but my 20 year coworkers lover the phone!
Log In to rate this review or report it as inappropriate.
AD more reviews below...
Great Phone, Build Quality is 2nd to None
I don't normally rate anything 5 stars but I can't stand when people get an obviously defective device (which occurs with EVERYTHING that's manufactured, DOA's are normal) and then reviews the product based on that obviously defective device... its stupid and useless, those people apparently weren't gifted with rational thought. If it weren't for that I'd be at a 4 with this review.
Moving on, the build quality on this is outstanding which is typical for motorola. Feels like an extremely high end device, comfortable to hold, nice looking too.
Battery is also outstanding of course...if its a slow day for me I easily get through the day...if its really busy, lots of calls, text and hotspot use to the point that the screen is rarely off (frequent in my business) it will easily do everything until early afternoon (I've yet to see any phone make it through a long busy Fay for me, maxx line comes closest though thanks to the large battery).
Camera is decent but not great, I never buy phones based on camera, so not a big deal to me, but for someone that requires a top notch camera on their phone this wouldn't be for you.
Screen is crystal clear, I don't see how the resolution can get any better on a screen this size, its really is stunning and you cannot make out individuals pixels at all.
Performance wise, for an Android device its as fast as I've seen/tried...WP8 seems smoother and faster but a heck of a lot less useful then Android. So, again, for an android device, its tough to beat this phones performance.
For those, like me, that prefer a normal "ring" on a phone and not a stupid melody/song etc you will need to download a ringtone as it seems Motorola has officially ditched a normal ringtone in their stock phones. Oh well.
Being that Motorola mobility is now owned by Google its nice to know updates should be quick from here on out.
In short, if you want/need a phone that had outstanding battery life, performs very well and had excellent built quality get this phone.
Log In to rate this review or report it as inappropriate.
Phone may have latent touchscreen lockup problems
Pro: Battery life is the best. Screen size is better than most others except for Galaxy 3. Like the keyboard and ability to get to vibrate on touch. Great volumne and sound. World phone and takes an SD card. From everything I read, it was to be "the" best phone.
Con: After about 10 days of ownership, the screen seemed not to respond to my touch very well and I had to touch it several times. A day later, it just stopped responding to touch making all of the wonderful features worthless. I could not even answer a call. If this problem occurs boarding an airplane, you cannot shut the phone off nor take out the battery (since it is not removeable.) You can only do a hard reset which is hold the on switch and volumne button for 10 sec. That just manually reboots the phone but does not turn off. Hence, phone is active in receiving data and calls, but you cannot answer, nor respond to anything. This is a serious problem as it could boot the owner off a plane. Since I was one of the early owners of this phone on the Verizon network, I wonder if this issue will start to appear as more own it for more than a month. Luckily I was barely within the 14 days and marched it back to the store and completely returned it. This also speaks to a greater issue in phone design. If a battery is non removable, there should be another way the phone can be turned completely off.
I may wait to re-purchase this phone after several months in order to make sure no new issues evolve. Perhaps by then Jellybean will be out on this Motorola phone.(:
Log In to rate this review or report it as inappropriate.
Droid Razr Maxx HD - Love this phone!!
Pros:
Well built, light weight,beautiful construction and good balance while holding.
Call reception excellent and people on the other end of the call state that they can hear me loud and clear.
I had the Droid X; which I loved prior to the Razr Maxx HD is a great step forward.Easy to use, fast, very intuitive.
The screen is bright and clear and actually takes good pictures if you use the HDR setting. The screen has beautiful colors and the camera works good. I take a photo of one of the ladies at our office that a birthday party and she couldn't believe vivid and sharp my photos turn out.
Cons;
None
Summery: I waited a long time for this phone to be available and it was totally worth the wait. I do a lot of desert camping and I wanted a phone that had great battery life, that was rugged and had the latest features and the Droid Razr Maxx HD surpasses all of my needs in a new smartphone.
I couldn't be happier with my new phone; which I bought the first day that it was released on October the 18th.
Log In to rate this review or report it as inappropriate.
hide detailed ratings
Overall Good Combination of Features
Overall this has been a very good phone. The interface is very fast.
PROS:
Very clear screen.
Amazing battery life.
Fantastic cell reception.
Good call quality.
CONS:
Some screen freezes and restarts when accessing SD card contents.
Random SD card removal warning (now a known issue).
NO MORE USB MOUNT (only MTP)!
Log In to rate this review or report it as inappropriate.
hide detailed ratings
Great Phone, Gets the Job Done
My personal upgrade and my employer phone option came up at the same time...what to do? For my work phone I took the HTC Droid DNA and my personal upgrade I got the MAXX HD. Thios review is for the MAXX HD. The deal-breaker here was expandable memory. The MAXX HD was the only one of the two that took SD cards. The MAXX HD is also heavier and bulkier than the DNA but that was the trade-off on the SD card issue. Battery life is superior, but only slightly more than the smaller, lighter RAZR M, but the MAXX HD has the best looking display I've ever seen. I'm holding onto my unlimited data bundle til they "pry it from my cold, dead hands" and as such I watch a lot of video on Netflix, etc. Once again, the screen is gorgeous, for videos, for pictures, for games, you name it.
PROS:
- Did I mention the beautiful screen
- Above-above-average battery life
- Great sound quality, speakers/earbuds needed by only serious audiophiles.
- Takes up to 64GB Micro SD cards
- Very fast interface
CONS:
- As with most phones, battery life in real life is shorter than quoted in the specs
- Jelly Bean made sound controls rather tedious (separate settings for calls, text notifications, apps, music player, etc)
- The trade-off for the SD card and battery life is that this phone is heavier and bulkier
- Device froze recently, requiring the old [PWR]+[Vol Down] reboot to restart...but it's only happened once, now making me paranoid
Log In to rate this review or report it as inappropriate.
hide detailed ratings
Very Nice Phone, Superb Battery Life!
Recently upgraded to the Razr Maxx HD from the original Droid Razr. While the original was very good phone the Razr Maxx HD improves on it in several categories. The screen is excellent and the increased size and resolution is appreciated. Dimensions are basically similar but the Maxx HD actually feels better in the pocket and isn't as bulky. Battery life just kills, 80% left at the end of day with moderate to fairly heavy usage. The phone is responsive with virtually no lag time and no crash or lockup issues. Calls are clear and loud with very good reception. Motorola is probably the best in that department. Internal storage of 32GB and external SD card capable for another 32GB makes it unlikely you will ever run out of space. Excellent build quality and feel. Add Kevlar backing and Gorilla glass front and it becomes probably the most durable phone out right now.
All in all a very nice, logically implemented and extremely functional phone. After reading some of the critical reviews here I seriously doubt the writers have ever actually spent time with it or learned how to properly use it. If you are looking to upgrade there are certainly many nice phones out right now but do not pass the Razr Maxx HD up without giving it a serious look.
Log In to rate this review or report it as inappropriate.
Really Can't Beat It
I have had this phone for about 3 months and I really don't have any complaints; I had an iPhone 4 prior. First things first, the battery is definitely one of the reasons to get this phone. I can unplug my phone at 6:30am when I leave for work and be on it the entire time for my 90 min commute, be on it throughout the day with fluctuating WiFi and signal as my office building is inconsistent in service, be on it my 90 min commute home and still have anywhere from 50%-60% battery when I get home around 5:30pm. I've even come home sometimes with almost 70% battery left if I used it less throughout the day. I do have Google Now running too which can be a battery drain.
The reception will often read 4G and occasionally drop to 3G but that is pretty rare as I live in the NYC area. I will often see 1 or 2 bars of 4G but bars mean nothing on this phone as my data speed and call quality do not suffer.
The camera is definitely not good. The autofocus will show it's good for the shot and then its dark.
The speaker on the back of the phone is not in a good spot. I often have to put it face down on the couch or bed as the sound is really low and muffled otherwise.
I've had the occasional stutter or spinning circle when I go to open my menu but that is just the nature of Android OS if you ask me. The GPS is excellent for the Google Navigation.
The text messaging irks me on the phone. It doesn't like Group Messaging all that much and sometimes I get a message in a group and other times they come as individual messages. The notification icon for the texts will get stuck on a number sometimes even though all my messages are read. For time being, I've been using Verizon Messages as my texting app as it allows Group Messaging without any problems.
The few things I've mentioned are pretty small considering all things and I would recommend this phone for someone who wants excellent battery life as well as an overall excellent screen with what would be considered stock Android.
Log In to rate this review or report it as inappropriate.
Great phone, camera not so much
I purchased this phone in January 2013 after going back and forth between it and the Samsung Galaxy S3.
PROs: Battery life is great. With push email, Instagram, FB, Twitter, text messages, and Pandora running all day my battery is at about 50% by 1900.
Screen resolution and size is very nice.
Smart Actions is an awesome app. I can set my phone to detect my Wifi as soon as I get home and also set the ringer to loud. If I am in the car, it's set to bluetooth sync with my car stereo and GPS/Navigation comes on. You
Speaker volume is loud and crisp.
Calls sound great.
CONs: Camera takes awful pics. The pics come out blurry and take too long to "develop" from the time you push the button to when the pic is actually taken.
Speaker is on the back of the phone. As a result if the phone is face up the speaker is covered and all sounds are muffled.
SD card issue. My SD card was corrupted and I had to purchase a new one. Upon initial use everything was working fine and then about 2 weeks later my card wouldn't be recognized by the phone. IDK if the card konked out or if the phone caused it...
Weird glitch where the caller on the other line cant hear me once the screen locks. Doesn't happen all the time but fairly frequently.
I think most of the issues I have with this phone are software related. I don't know if its because I am rooted or due to the Jelly Bean software. For some reason my contacts app constantly force close. If I use the Favorites or People app the moment I select a name, the app force closes. Also the contact pics are small and blurry. No matter how may times I try to reset the pics they end up being blurry. Its my understanding the Google server resizes the pics automatically. Why have a large screen if u can only utilize a small portion for a caller id screen?
But overall its a great phone. With the proper software upgrades it has the potential to be even better.
Log In to rate this review or report it as inappropriate.
Have a question about this phone? Ask in the Forum ›
Ready to buy? Shop for this phone ›
