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On display
- Thread starter n00basaurus
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- motorola droid razr
trophynuts
Extreme Android User
http://androidforums.com/motorola-d...onsolidated-thread-magazine-blog-reviews.html
engadget
boy genius
and another couple of sites have reviews already
rdalcanto
Android Enthusiast
Went to Verizon Store today to compare the screen side by side with the Bionic. The Bionic display is MUCH brighter. With the RAZR at 100% brightness, the Bionic was brighter even at 50%. I think the RAZR is going to be much more difficult to see outside in the sunlight. For some people, that may not matter. But I play a lot of sports outdoors, and need to be able to use my phone in the sun when I'm on a 3 hour bike ride, skiing, or using my phone as a GPS when Canyoneering.
The other thing that suprised me, is the Bionic is much crisper with text. On the home screen, the word "Market" underneath the icon is smaller on the Bionic (the font), and yet is much crisper. The RAZR letters appear pixelated. Greens, however, appear less pixelated on the RAZR (like the battery icon). In general though, I think the Bionic screen looks crisper, while the RAZR is more saturated and MUCH dimmer.
The other thing that suprised me, is the Bionic is much crisper with text. On the home screen, the word "Market" underneath the icon is smaller on the Bionic (the font), and yet is much crisper. The RAZR letters appear pixelated. Greens, however, appear less pixelated on the RAZR (like the battery icon). In general though, I think the Bionic screen looks crisper, while the RAZR is more saturated and MUCH dimmer.
SmokeNMirrors
Well-Known Member
The big advantage of Pentile RGBW (ala Bionic) is how much brightness it puts out. There's no screen that can touch it in that regard.
The SAMOLED-Advanced on the Razr can't match the brightness or clarity of whites. It's big advantages are being very thin and very power efficient along with excellent color saturation.
The SAMOLED-Advanced on the Razr can't match the brightness or clarity of whites. It's big advantages are being very thin and very power efficient along with excellent color saturation.
rdalcanto
Android Enthusiast
cereal killer
Android Expert
Concur.....I'd also like to add its not as saturated as the Charge and SGSII. That may or may not be desirable to some but I think its a better balance.
CasKirensys
Newbie
Brightness doesn't necessarily mean better.
rdalcanto
Android Enthusiast
Better is personal preference. The RAZR colors are more saturated. The home screen has more WOW factor because of it, IMHO. But, the Bionic is brighter, and small text on the home screen is sharper. Some will prefer the RAZR, others the Bionic. Choices are good.
FragDroidX
Android Expert
AMOLED displays are by nature dimmer than LCD's. Here is a chart for you to see the difference between them. If you notice in the chart the top is all LCD's with the Motorola displays that are PenTile RGBW being the brightest. The bottom is mostly AMOLED displays. Look how dim the Samsung SGS II and Charge are and they are considered to have the best displays currently out.
AnandTech - Apple iPhone 4S: Thoroughly Reviewed
rushmore
Extreme Android User
Watch the new device pixie dust folks- it will cloud your objective reasoning 
The display is not as bright, or as clear in sunlight as the Bionic or D3, but has the same pentile jaggies. If you prefer saturated and almost cartoon like color (kind of like Incredible), you will be fine. Due to the fact that the same pentile effect is on the Razr, I prefer the Bionic display since a lot clearer to view outside in the sun. That said, I like the saturated colors, but prefer better funtionality outside on bright days. Added: IMO, the Razr is a tad clearer than the Incredible when outside.... kind of like the SGS2.
JMO, so test out for yourself and try to snag a demo before they wire it to the display case
Had very little time, so no opinion other than it is a little wider than expected and a lot thinner than expected (wow). Will do mega test on Thursday (one "whole" hour).
Added: After thinking about it, I am not so sure which I prefer, since the display lag on certain colors IS annoying with the non samoled pentiles.
The display is not as bright, or as clear in sunlight as the Bionic or D3, but has the same pentile jaggies. If you prefer saturated and almost cartoon like color (kind of like Incredible), you will be fine. Due to the fact that the same pentile effect is on the Razr, I prefer the Bionic display since a lot clearer to view outside in the sun. That said, I like the saturated colors, but prefer better funtionality outside on bright days. Added: IMO, the Razr is a tad clearer than the Incredible when outside.... kind of like the SGS2.
JMO, so test out for yourself and try to snag a demo before they wire it to the display case
Had very little time, so no opinion other than it is a little wider than expected and a lot thinner than expected (wow). Will do mega test on Thursday (one "whole" hour).
Added: After thinking about it, I am not so sure which I prefer, since the display lag on certain colors IS annoying with the non samoled pentiles.
ne0lyfeism
Android Enthusiast
Nothing is dimming my objectivity with regards to this phone - I simply disagree with the OP and the other folks who said the RAZR screen is dimmer. My buddy has a Bionic and that screen is just awful to look at. The demo I handled yesterday was super bright with vibrant colors that popped.
So I must humbly disagree with the original assertion stated by the OP.
So I must humbly disagree with the original assertion stated by the OP.
rdalcanto
Android Enthusiast
Do you think the Charge is bright? The saturation of the colors is deceiving. According to the link posted a few replies above, the Bionic is more than twice as bright as the Charge when objective measures are used. I'm sure the RAZR will be in the 300 range as well, while the Bionic is over 600. That only really matters if you need to use your phone in the sunlight frequently.
rushmore
Extreme Android User
This is due in part to the contrast that is better on the Razr. That said, I agree that the Razr looks dimmer when compared side to side. Test the Razr in sunlight next to the Bionic. I personally think the D3 and Bionic are overkill with brightness, but look very clear in sunlight. Backed off saying I like the Bionic display better due to being clearer in sunlight for a few reasons:
1 The Razr is at least visible in sunlight (unlike the Incredible).
2 I like the saturated colors
3 Like better contrast
4 Do not like the lag some colors have with non samoled pentile, like the D3 and Bionic.
rdalcanto
Android Enthusiast
I use the "Profiles" app. I normally keep my Bionic at 25% brightness. When I go outside, I use the app to quickly set it to 100%. If I use 100% indoors, the whites almost hurt. When I played with the RAZR in the store, I thought it needed to be at, or near, 100% all the time to look good.
YMMV.
Teegunn
Android Expert
If this news about the dim-assed display is true im off the RAZR train. sounds like i have little to no reason to dump my dx2 for either the razr or gnex. sad they can't get a phone made without gimping the Damn thing one way or the other. and yes, a dim screen is gimping a phone. just as no sd card is gimping a phone.
FragDroidX
Android Expert
Do you think that the screens on the Samsung Charge, Fascinate, Galaxy S II (or any other Samsung with an AMOLED screen) are dim?
rdalcanto
Android Enthusiast
I don't think they are "gimping" the phone, brightness is just the Achilles heal of AMOLED screens, but you ARE getting saturated colors in return (if you like that sort of thing). I went to Verizon expecting to love the phone, and was getting ready to return my Bionic to Costco. But when I had them side by side, it was clear that I would not be able to use the phone the way I needed to outside. I also didn't like how pixelated text under the app icons looked. So while the battery gauge on the Bionic drives me nuts, I think the text on the RAZR would have aggrevated me more. I realized that if I was walking into Verizon in need of a 4G phone, I would actually get the Bionic over the RAZR. The guy in front of me might love the RAZR, and get that. It's all good. The only person that needs to be happy is you, the buyer. I started the thread to let others know the answer to the brightness question, which I'm sure a lot of people were wondering about as much as I was before today.
rushmore
Extreme Android User
Everything is relative, so not "dim" in general, but dimmer than the DX2, D3 and Bionic. If you want to have a decent view on the Razr when dealing with a bright day outside, you will need to crank the brightess up to 100% to get a decent view, compared to those devices at 50%. Still not close to those devices, but better than the Incredible.
Teegunn
Android Expert
yes, all those screens are far too dim. great colors, but dim with greenish whites. and the worst of all was the tbolt display which was both dim AND washed out. terrible.
Teegunn
Android Expert
Of course things are relative. I'd rather have bright and usable than dim with overly deep colors. Btw, my dx2 is both bright and has nice deep colors. my dx2 is brighter than the bionic and later released dx2's btw, and yes i have done comparisons many times to verify this. i believe moto went with a slightly different pentile display or tweaked settings to dim it slightly for some reason. I will say that in video reviews i have seen of the RAZR the display looked pretty bright, but if firsthand reports from people like the op of this thread are true, then i won't be getting this phone. I will know more once i see it in person tho.