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So does the Razr live up to the Hype?

sean76

Android Expert
OK my Android peeps...

I'm putting up this thread for those who are curious if the Razr actually lives up to the hype.

My first post will mainly be my initial 1st impressions of the phone since getting it earlier today. As I use it more and more I'll post my thoughts on how I feel it stacks up against other LTE 4G devices.

Guys and gals feel free to chime in with your thoughts....

I'm Sure Rush and Cereal will have plenty to say....lol

OK so earlier today I grabbed myself a Droid Razr...yes I got caught up in the hype and the whole 11/11/11 thing...

My 1st impression was...wow what a cool phone!!! This is Seriously one sexy phone people ...it screams Coolness when you look at it. Yes its ridiculously thin, thinner then any phone with this amount of power under the hood!

OK speaking of the hood...yes it gets warm! Insanely warm? Nope, but warm! Ohh well, it is what it is! It's definitely something that shouldn't deter anyone away from picking up a Razr.

The screen ...yes...what about this Super Amoled screen? Honestly I don't know what the fuss has been about? Most of us phone heads have seen a Super Amoled screen before. And this one is no different, its beautiful and Vibrant....colors pop, and Blacks are super deep. Yes there are screens out there that are brighter, but if bright is your thing...LCD is a better route if that's what your looking for. And the whites are not as white as say the Bionic screen, more on the light Grey side. But the trade off is the bright vivid colors you get with this screen. For better or worse, I like it!

The camera is very good..its light years better then the Bionics! The best on the market? Nope...But very good. When you take the pic, it focuses, and snaps very quickly. I could live with it!

Build Quality is great! Put together very well IMO, solid as a rock. Also mine doesn't have the terribly loose power button, it's a little looser then I'd like, but its not a deal breaker by any means! But yes... its a tiny bit annoying.

Hows the size of the Razr?
IMO this phone is a tiny bit too wide. Too wide? No, not toooo wide. But its going to be a challenge for some to use this phone one handed unless you have fairly BIG hands.

For me, I just make it with using it one handed....But I'd recommend some trying it out in the store if your worried about it feeling to wide.

The phone runs pretty smooth...About the same as the Bionic. So no real surprises there for me! Its pretty zippy, and 4G as usual is very fast here in NYC.

I'll dig deeper into how it performs overall, along with short term battery usage in a few days or so..

As a phone it's Fantastic! The demo I used was very low while making a call. Mine on the other hand is very loud and clear as a bell. Yes some of us still use our phone to make calls...lol

Well that's my short term take on this phone so far....

More to come as I use it this weekend...
 
I've had the phone since Wednesday, I absolutely love the phone, but so far the battery life is pitiful at best. I'm hoping the battery improves, but we'll see. I also hope it's new phone syndrome, but I don't think it is. :(
 
I've had the phone since Wednesday, I absolutely love the phone, but so far the battery life is pitiful at best. I'm hoping the battery improves, but we'll see. I also hope it's new phone syndrome, but I don't think it is. :(


Nope....I don't think it's new phone syndrome at all. I had a full battery at 7pm tonight...its 11:15 here in NYC and im down to 20% after doing some minor tasks, a little internet, 2 phone calls, and a few text messages here and there...

Lol my man Rush said sooner or later the Pixie Dust would wear off everyone...He may have been right.

But to be 100% fair....a week would be a fair gauge.
 
i love it so far the screen is awesome its super fast and smooth. everyone complaining about battery life is gonna be complaining for ever bc all these new 4g phones dont have good batt life there is nothing you can do about it. if your not in a 4g area turn of 4g it will help alot
 
With Moto it Varies! Took me 3 bionics to find one with good call volume.

However...
My Razr is loud and crystal clear!

Alright thats good. I noticed with the Bionic at full volume I have to be in a quiet room by myself to actually be able to hear the person on the other end.
 
i love it so far the screen is awesome its super fast and smooth. everyone complaining about battery life is gonna be complaining for ever bc all these new 4g phones dont have good batt life there is nothing you can do about it. if your not in a 4g area turn of 4g it will help alot

I'm in the UK, so 3G only. I don't see any reason for this phone to have bad battery life, but it is indeed awful.
 
OK so like alot of people...I've been on my Razr non stop the last few hrs... lol

Some positives ...

The speaker on this thing when viewing videos or YouTube clips is awesome! Loud and clear peeps....very very good! Im very surprised they were able to fit a good loud speaker in such a thin package.

Listening quality with earphones on is real good too! Zero static while using my Skull Candy earphones to listen to Some Sirius radio...thumbs up!!!

I'm really diggin the Black and Grey keyboard! At first I was a little ehhhh...
But after using it the last couple of hours, I must say its friggin great. Moto hit the nail on the head with this one.

Negatives...

Battery dies quick! I know some may chalk it up as New phone syndrome, and it very well could be. However I won't make a final call on that until after a few days more of full charges. One good thing is the phone charges really quick!

That same stutter is there that the Bionic has. Say when you exit out of a you tube video, the screen will just stutter a bit. Since it was happening on the Bionic, I'll leave this one as probably software related.

That's it for now peeps...
 
I really don't think it's fair to try to review a device, since I have only had it for not even 24-hours yet, but I will say the most obvious item that i see is the call volume through the ear piece is awesome!

Crystal clear, crisp nice and loud! The speaker phone is very good too! People can nick-pick the display to death, but it's extremely nice as well.

This morning is my first full overnight charge, and I'll be interested to see how it holds up. I am NOT in a LTE provided area, so 3G it is for now!

As my the days progress with my new device I'll post my other thought as they come about!

Enjoy your weekend,

Matt
 
OK so like alot of people...I've been on my Razr non stop the last few hrs... lol

Some positives ...

The speaker on this thing when viewing videos or YouTube clips is awesome! Loud and clear peeps....very very good! Im very surprised they were able to fit a good loud speaker in such a thin package.

Listening quality with earphones on is real good too! Zero static while using my Skull Candy earphones to listen to Some Sirius radio...thumbs up!!!

I'm really diggin the Black and Grey keyboard! At first I was a little ehhhh...
But after using it the last couple of hours, I must say its friggin great. Moto hit the nail on the head with this one.

Negatives...

Battery dies quick! I know some may chalk it up as New phone syndrome, and it very well could be. However I won't make a final call on that until after a few days more of full charges. One good thing is the phone charges really quick!

That same stutter is there that the Bionic has. Say when you exit out of a you tube video, the screen will just stutter a bit. Since it was happening on the Bionic, I'll leave this one as probably software related.

That's it for now peeps...


Sean, I knew you would get the phone. I believe you and I have the same taste in phones. lol. I have been pretty happy with the RAZR. Not perfect, but what phone is. I am going to be setting my Smart Cast up to the extreme today. I figure Sunday. I will get a true look at day to day life is with the built in battery.
 
The more I used the Razr (two "whole" hours- wow), the less I liked using it. Seems awkward to hold and use with one hand (I do not have small hands), runs warmer than I like and the display looks weak compared to the amazing display on the Rezound. JMO.
 
I notice similar cal volumes on Bionic and Razr - not loud enough for me.

I came from a Eris and the volume on the Eris was way better then the Bionic. I always carry my ear phones with me and if I'm in a place a lot of back ground noise I have to plug in the the ear bugs and listen that way. Was not as bad with the Eris......
 
Sean, what would you say are the biggest differences (pluses mainly) over the Bionic? Obviously size, but what else?

Not trying to answer for Sean. But my opinion. The RAZR is superior when it comes to screen, camera, keyboard, and smart cast.
 
Personally I see a lot of positives with this phone!

I'm impressed with the look, the feel, the call quality, and the performance.

With respect to battery life, LTE and batteries just simply don't go well together. I've now got my phone set up to prefer known WiFi networks where possible. With WiFi connected, battery life (so far) seems to be OK.

On 4G, however, battery life seems to drop fairly quickly (and I'm in a decent 4G area). Oh well... I have a 5600mAh external battery pack that can be installed when needed to give the battery a boost. If I continue to see 4G-related battery issues I may do as others have suggested and just turn 4G off until I need it.

All in all I'm still happy with my purchase! It could have been better but it's much better than my Droid X (and I was really happy with that phone!). :cool:
 
i'm not gonna repost too many details that everyone else is talking about, but i don't have one single complaint about this phone. it's not perfect but there's no negatives that are worth typing about here.

:)
 
i just installed 109 apps and my battery is still 90%. your supposed to let it charger for 8 hrs the first time before using it and once a month let it die completly and then charge it. idk if this will make a diff or not but thats what they make iphone users do and the verizon guy said i should do the same with this phone. im not gonna be to picky with the battary life like everyone else since all phones have crappy batt life nowadays. beside batt life what i dont see anything wrong with this phone as of yet
 
I don't have it, but the one I played with had insufficient in call volume. I couldn't live with that, possibly only that unit and issues are relative to the person using the device. If I get one I'd have to make sure the volume is adequate.
 
I believe it is living up to the hype. So far I haven't had many problems. The battery seems to be good, it is light, well constructed, fast, call quality is excellent and I have yet to have any trouble with the radio when switching from 4G to 3G. I live in a 4G area but when i drive to a 3G area it switches over seemlessly. Talk and surf works well on 4G as well. Over all I am very impressed.
 
Personally I see a lot of positives with this phone!

I'm impressed with the look, the feel, the call quality, and the performance.

With respect to battery life, LTE and batteries just simply don't go well together. I've now got my phone set up to prefer known WiFi networks where possible. With WiFi connected, battery life (so far) seems to be OK.

On 4G, however, battery life seems to drop fairly quickly (and I'm in a decent 4G area). Oh well... I have a 5600mAh external battery pack that can be installed when needed to give the battery a boost. If I continue to see 4G-related battery issues I may do as others have suggested and just turn 4G off until I need it.

All in all I'm still happy with my purchase! It could have been better but it's much better than my Droid X (and I was really happy with that phone!). :cool:

First of all, 4G is useful when you use it - IE: when you turn the phone on and go browsing. There is no point in leaving it on. 3G is more than adequate for receiving push data notifications. There must be a way to keep 4G inactivate unless you turn on your phone.

Also, as I mentioned in another thread, keeping WiFi on while going about your business means your phone is constantly searching for WiFi signal. It should be fine if you're sitting still, but even then, I hate being tied to WiFi when there is cell data available.
 
i just installed 109 apps and my battery is still 90%. your supposed to let it charger for 8 hrs the first time before using it and once a month let it die completly and then charge it. idk if this will make a diff or not but thats what they make iphone users do and the verizon guy said i should do the same with this phone. im not gonna be to picky with the battary life like everyone else since all phones have crappy batt life nowadays. beside batt life what i dont see anything wrong with this phone as of yet

That's just not terribly true. The iPhone 4 I have now will idle incredibly well. If I leave it on over night off the charger, it may be at 97% in the morning. It will do its pushing through the night and it won't have much of an effect.
 
Yea....coming from a Droid X1, even tho there are a couple of things my X is better at IMO...overall this is a nice upgrade from it. And I'm glad I got it.

Its living up to the hype about Splash Guard so far...lol.
 
First of all, 4G is useful when you use it - IE: when you turn the phone on and go browsing. There is no point in leaving it on. 3G is more than adequate for receiving push data notifications. There must be a way to keep 4G inactivate unless you turn on your phone.

Also, as I mentioned in another thread, keeping WiFi on while going about your business means your phone is constantly searching for WiFi signal. It should be fine if you're sitting still, but even then, I hate being tied to WiFi when there is cell data available.

Searching for WiFi uses less power, typically, than searching for 3G/4G and, for that matter, searching for GPS satellites. While it would be nice to be able to have Smart Actions turn off WiFi when you're out of range of a known AP, in my opinion it's a small price to pay.
 
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