Color Me Impressed

[kidtronic]

For all the negative reviews floating around about the Droid Razr, or certain aspects of it at least, I didn't have very high expectations for the phone. But after playing with one for half an hour, it jumped back up to the top of my list. I remember reading on The Verge that the screen was a "a major disappointment" compared to even the Droid X2's screen. I was already a bit wary because in my opinion, the X2 had one of the most jagged, pixelated displays out there. But where as the latter's shortcomings were readily identifiable, I had to closely scrutinize the Razr's screen to find anything that would constitute as a flaw. The colors were vivid, the text was crisp, and the screen was bright enough. I'm starting to question whether or not they were reviewing a defective device.

While I was impressed with the screen, what really sold me was the speed. Apps opened up quicker than I had ever seen, transitions were snappy, and web browsing speeds were unrivaled. As far as I'm concerned, they should have called it the Droid Bugatti. It would have felt even faster if Motorola hadn't stuffed in so many of their superfluous screen transitions, but they didn't detract from the experience so I won't complain.

The build quality lived up to the hype. I could tell from pictures that the Razr was a looker, but it felt even better than it looked. Though it wasn't the most ergo-dynamic device I've held, the incredible thinness made up for its width. It was certainly usable with one hand, but the experience was much more enjoyable with two.

I'm still waiting for the Galaxy Nexus (and I guess I should give the Rezound a fair shot) before I choose my next phone, but at the very least, I already know I'll be happy with this in case the others disappoint. The verdict on battery life is still out and I'm sure someone who actually owns the device could give me a better idea of what to expect but so far, I'm glad I didn't ignore this phone because of a few underwhelming reviews.

 

[dmaxfan]

People should keep in mind that when people review a device its going by their personal opinion. Take everything with a grain of salt.

 

[SmokeNMirrors]

Regarding the Verge, perhaps they had a defective device but strikes me as a defective review.

 

[mzjin]

For all the negative reviews floating around about the Droid Razr, or certain aspects of it at least, I didn't have very high expectations for the phone. But after playing with one for half an hour, it jumped back up to the top of my list. I remember reading on The Verge that the screen was a "a major disappointment" compared to even the Droid X2's screen. I was already a bit wary because in my opinion, the X2 had one of the most jagged, pixelated displays out there. But where as the latter's shortcomings were readily identifiable, I had to closely scrutinize the Razr's screen to find anything that would constitute as a flaw. The colors were vivid, the text was crisp, and the screen was bright enough. I'm starting to question whether or not they were reviewing a defective device.

While I was impressed with the screen, what really sold me was the speed. Apps opened up quicker than I had ever seen, transitions were snappy, and web browsing speeds were unrivaled. As far as I'm concerned, they should have called it the Droid Bugatti. It would have felt even faster if Motorola hadn't stuffed in so many of their superfluous screen transitions, but they didn't detract from the experience so I won't complain.

The build quality lived up to the hype. I could tell from pictures that the Razr was a looker, but it felt even better than it looked. Though it wasn't the most ergo-dynamic device I've held, the incredible thinness made up for its width. It was certainly usable with one hand, but the experience was much more enjoyable with two.

I'm still waiting for the Galaxy Nexus (and I guess I should give the Rezound a fair shot) before I choose my next phone, but at the very least, I already know I'll be happy with this in case the others disappoint. The verdict on battery life is still out and I'm sure someone who actually owns the device could give me a better idea of what to expect but so far, I'm glad I didn't ignore this phone because of a few underwhelming reviews.

Ice Cream Sandwich will bring a technology Apple has used for probably about 5 years now (GPU hardware acceleration) to Android phones, which should finally allow it to be a smooth user experience.

I've played with the Droid Razr, and while it's FAST, it's not SMOOTH (like the iPhone 4S). It'll be something I deal with until ICS (or iPhone 5 rather) comes out, until then, I'm taking advantage of unlimited 4G data that I can't have with an iPHone 4S upgrade (currently using a iPhone 4).

 

[Martimus]

Regarding the Verge, perhaps they had a defective device but strikes me as a defective review.

While I think there's a definite merit to the idea that they received a defective or pre-production device, one has to wonder about the Verge.

In their iPhone 4S review they claimed that the iPhone had impressive battery life (something even Apple admits is not completely correct. And, last time I checked, still not completely fixed.).

iPhone battery life: Apple says 'a few remaining issues' persist in iOS 5.0.1 | The Verge

Of course I suppose anything is possible with these blog sites. I do have to scratch my head, however, when I read quotes like this on The Verge:

Now the first image is the iPod and the other three images are of the different Android devices. Just looking by the image you can easily see that even a known computer user or a two year old kid would know how to unlock the iPod because it simply says ‘slide to unlock’. Whereas, no where on Android device it says how to unlock or what to do? Does the user have to swipe or slide and if so which direction? User would have to keep on guessing; it’s not simple and intuitive! A user doesn’t want to play the guessing game and waste five seconds of theirlife on it. I showed it to five people in my circle who have never used a smart phone and all of them struggled for a few seconds with the Android. Android makers are firm believers that they differentiate their products from other platforms but differentiation is good if its for the better and not for the worst.

The User Interface Android V/s Apple! | The Verge Forums

Unfortunately the image referenced above cannot be linked outside of their site so I provided a link to the article above for reference. In the image they show four lock screens: An iPod, two Android phone lock screens, and one Android Honeycomb lock screen.

Who'd have thunk that having the words "Slide to Unlock" were so important to smartphone users. I guess I'm just old skool in my thinking!

 

[jroc]

Who'd have thunk that having the words "Slide to Unlock" were so important to smartphone users. I guess I'm just old skool in my thinking!

Exactly. If thats the case, Apple shoulda put "Pinch to Zoom on the browser in the corners , or 'Swipe to Move" on the home screen. But the words Slide to Unlock are all of a sudden soooo important and intuitive...

Please. The iPhone 4S and RAZR reviews have made them lose alot of credibility IMO for reviews. Like how they missed that the RAZR does have 2 noise cancelling mics. They said it only has one where they are both plain to see on the back of the RAZR, top and bottom. But they are professional reviewers...lol

 

[cereal killer]

I have renamed the Verge, The Vomit.

I'm convinced they don't actually use the units they review. Maybe turn them on. Swipe a couple times, open this, open that, try this and that out then put it down. All but 3-4 minutes.

Lazy bunch who like to pretend they are actual professionals