Motorola refreshes Droid Razr with sleek, speedy Maxx version on 4G network
’Tis the season for gadget refreshes.
Lots of companies will be putting out new versions of their electronics this spring, such as tablet computers, cellular phones and similar devices. Motorola is one of the first to refresh last year’s product.
Motorola has added another product to its flagship Droid line, the Droid Razr Maxx. The Maxx is an upgrade from the Droid Razr introduced last year, which was a refresh to the popular phone of the same name from the 2000s.
The Razr Maxx is different from last year’s model in only a few areas. It has the same look, though it’s a bit thicker than the previous model. The thicker exterior makes way for a bigger battery.
The Maxx has a sleek design with a Kevlar back (yes, the bullet-resistant stuff) and metallic and rubber edges that make it tough to crack when dropped, though I wouldn’t recommend testing it too much. It does still have a glass screen — a gorgeous glass screen, I might add. The screen is large, vibrant and sensitive, vibrating when it registers a touch.
The phone includes an 8 megapixel rear camera, with a smaller camera on the front for videoconferencing. The phone is capable of recording HD video and even includes a mini HDMI port on the top, so you can connect it to an HDTV with the right cable (which, of course, is not included).
The phone is a bit wide to feel comfortable in my hand, but it’s great for watching videos, TV shows and whatever else I want to stream from the Internet. It’s fairly lightweight, so holding it for a long phone call wasn’t much of a chore.
Looks are one thing, but everyone knows it’s what’s inside that counts.
OK, let me set up my soap box for a minute here. The Droid Razr Maxx, like many other phones, claims a large amount of battery life. I’ve seen so many claim the “talk time” is long. The Maxx, for example, claims 21 hours of “talk time.” Sure, if all you ever do with your smart phone is make phone calls, it may last 21 hours.
Let’s be honest: Who spends hundreds of dollars on a smart phone and only makes phone calls? I’m guessing the answer is “no one.” We check e-mail, we text family and friends, we listen to music, we play Angry Birds, we check the weather … you get the idea. With all that activity, no phone is going to last
the length of the “talk time” touted for it, which to me, makes the “talk time” number useless.
That said, the Maxx exceeded my expectations for battery life. I was able to use it on and off for nearly two days before I had to charge it again. That’s a few phone calls, some app use, a few Facebook alerts, a little Web surfing, and just a few videos here and there. I’m sure with more use of the Vcast, or videos app, the battery would drain faster. But for general use, the battery life was incredibly impressive. I don’t think I got 21 hours out of it, but I’d say I got a good 12-14 hours, at least. Considering I can’t get through the day without charging my personal phone, that makes the Maxx pretty darn good.
The thing that impressed me the most wasn’t the battery life. It was the speed. Yes, the 1.2 GHZ dual-core processor is speedy, and the 1GB of memory makes it even faster. But the real speed demon here is the 4G LTE network.
This is the first time I’ve really had the chance to utilize the 4G network properly, which is said to be about four times faster than the older 3G network. Verizon has only brought 4G to certain parts of the country within the last year or so. Luckily, Arkansas now has 4G in certain parts of central and Northwest Arkansas. I also took the phone with me on a trip to Dallas, which has had 4G longer.
Let me tell you, the 4G makes a HUGE difference. I had Web pages download faster on the 4G signal than on some of the Wi-fi signals I used. Apps work faster as well. The best part is downloading video. Clips from places like Youtube download in a few seconds instead of minutes.
Granted, you can do this with most of the modern phones on the 4G network, but the Maxx really seemed to take advantage of the network speed and run with it.
Bottom line, the Maxx is a nice refresh of last year’s Droid Razr. It boldly addresses the biggest complaint smart-phone users have: battery life. It also uses a fast processor and smart apps to take advantage of the latest network technology and deliver impressive speed.
It will be interesting to see how Motorola tops this next year.