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Bionic v Razr (my take)

twistedlim

Android Expert
I took the razr out for a test drive for a couple of days and thought I would not my impressons:

1. Build quality: RAZR The Razr wins here. The fronts and side of both phones are very well built. The removable door on the bionic is a huge plus but the quality of it detracts from the overall feel/

2. Size/comfort: BIONIC The bionic wins here easily. I was somewhat suprised. I was hopeing the lighter thinner Razr would be a better phone in hand and in the pocket but the bionic is better in both regards. The feels like it was made for your hand while the Razr just feels too wide. It also feels just to wide in my pocket. While it is lighter, that is the only thing the Razr has over the bionic in this category.

3. Speed: RAZR The Razr feels faster when you come directly from the bionic but after a few hours you don't notice much of a difference. The razor does tend to scroll better so the advantage would have to go here

4. 4g reception: BIONIC Suprise again here. The Razr would cut out far more often than the Bionic. I am not sure why but it was frustrating. Maybe a bad unit but as hard is it is to believe the Bionic was better.

5. Battery: BIONIC I was hoping (based on the data VZ puts out and some user reports) that the Razr would be better. It is not. About the same or less depending on what apps you use. One thing that suprised me was that if you are listing to music or podcasts withe the Razr the mediaserver will chew up your battery. As I listen to books an hour or 2 a day this was brutal for me. And of course you can't get an extend battery for the Razr. My fears were realized here...the battery is a deal breaker for the Razr for me.

6. Screen: RAZR The Razr screen is better. How much? Well if you go from one to another you will like the Razr better. That said I do no dislike the screen of the bionic, the razr is just better.

7. Apps: PUSH No Zumocast on the Razr. Love it on my bionic. Razr does allow you to custom set up your phone for the best battery life but to tell you the truth I think it is kind of a gimmick. If you are familiar with how android phones work, this app is just more bloat in my opinion.

8. Other considerations: BIONIC I doubt with no battery to pull the developement community will not embrace this phone. (or even less so than the bionic). When the Galaxy Nexus hits the market and is open sourced it will bury any interest in root, rom development in the Razr since so many people seem to be waiting for this phone.

These are my impressions. Others may vary as they often do. I know that I would not switch my Bionic for a Razr in a straigt up trade. What you choose on a new phone is really based on what gets you going.
 
Did you own a bionic, and are you going back to it? Or are you going to pick up a nexus when it is available? Just wondering. Thanks for your thoughts btw.
 
His listed device is still the BIONIC - and yes, he definitely owns one.

Note the very last line:
I know that I would not switch my Bionic for a Razr in a straigt up trade.
 
I totally concur with the hand feel of both. Went to the store last night with a Razr in mind but could not stand how it felt in my hand. While it is very light, it is also wide and flat. The edge seemed to cut into my thumb at an awkward place. Also, the very flat back left a lot of "gap" between the phone and my hand. It felt very insecure and I actually dropped it twice in the store. I loved the way the Bionic felt in my hand and while holding it for a call. It rolls up easily into place when I pick it up. Granted, I don't have a large hand, but I was very surprised at how much better the Bionic was for holding. Kinda like when you finally get in to test drive the car of your dreams and realize you hate driving it. Bought the Bionic and we've had a wonderful first day together!
 
Not having owned a Razr, but having spent quite some time with a couple of them at the store, I have to concur with your comments regarding both the phones. And I'm surprised that Zumocast isn't available for the Razr--I wonder why.
 
Not having owned a Razr, but having spent quite some time with a couple of them at the store, I have to concur with your comments regarding both the phones. And I'm surprised that Zumocast isn't available for the Razr--I wonder why.

It has something called Motocast instead, which I believe is exactly the same thing with UI differences.
 
I totally concur with the hand feel of both. Went to the store last night with a Razr in mind but could not stand how it felt in my hand. While it is very light, it is also wide and flat. The edge seemed to cut into my thumb at an awkward place. Also, the very flat back left a lot of "gap" between the phone and my hand. It felt very insecure and I actually dropped it twice in the store. I loved the way the Bionic felt in my hand and while holding it for a call. It rolls up easily into place when I pick it up. Granted, I don't have a large hand, but I was very surprised at how much better the Bionic was for holding. Kinda like when you finally get in to test drive the car of your dreams and realize you hate driving it. Bought the Bionic and we've had a wonderful first day together!

Good to see I'm not the Lone Ranger on how the RAZR feels in the hand. I really like the RAZR (played with that and Rezound snatched from co-workers ;)), but there really is a disconcerting feeling of only the hand contact points being the thumb and a small place on a few fingers as I grip the phone normally.

It's close to being a deal breaker for me, as I know that will bother me just about every time I pick the thing up. Everything else is hunky dory except for that grip.
 
I am one of those few people who actually *talk* on my phone sometimes and holding the Razr up to my ear for any period of time would be a pain (literally) as well. Strange how you don't get any of this until you actually pick them up to compare. That's a good reason to shop around and try out different ones - I can't imagine buying a phone without that.
 
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