Motorola released its first Razr handset â€" a flip phone -- in late 2004. Last year the company brought the name back with a new line of smartphones, the Droid Razr and Droid Razr Maxx. Much like the original Razr, those phones earning notoriety for their ultra-thin size.
The back of the phone is wrapped in smooth black and grey Kevlar, which makes the handset comfortable to hold and less likely to slip out of your hands or off of smooth surfaces. Kevlar also protects your phone against scratches, ultimately making it look newer a little longer than handsets encased in just a plastic shell.
The side of the phones are wrapped in a silver metal band, similar to Apple's iPhone.
Both the Droid Razr HD and Droid Razr Maxx HD are very thin. In this photo the HD (white) is sitting on top of the Maxx (black).
If you put the Droid Razr HD and Droid Razr Maxx HD side by side, chances are good you won’t be able to tell the difference between the two. Exceptionally similar in size and feel, the phones are almost identical by design.
Motorola released its first Razr handset -â€" a flip phone â€" in late 2004. Last year the company brought the name back with a new line of smartphones, the Droid Razr and Droid Razr Maxx. Much like the original Razr, those phones earned notoriety for their ultra-thin size.
Now Motorola is back with two new additions to the Razr line: the Droid Razr HD, and Droid Razr Maxx HD. As the name suggests, this year’s models are updated with high-definition screens.
Available in the United States exclusively on Verizon, both phones run on the carrier’s speedy LTE network, and have an updated look that sets them apart from last year’s models.
We spent a bit of time with the Droid Razr HD as well as the Droid Razr Maxx HD to find out if the phones live up to the iconic Razr name.
Designed For Life
If you put the Droid Razr HD and Droid Razr Maxx HD side by side, chances are good you won’t be able to tell the difference between the two. Exceptionally similar in size and feel, the phones are almost identical by design.For review purposes, we spent most of our time with the Razr Maxx HD, which sports a 30% larger battery (3300mAh vs 2,500mAh) than its HD counterpart while maintaining the same svelte form factor.
The back of the phone is wrapped in smooth black and grey Kevlar, which makes the handset comfortable to hold and less likely to slip out of your hands or off of smooth surfaces. Kevlar also protects your phone against scratches, ultimately making it look newer a little longer than handsets encased in just a plastic shell.
Much like the iPhone, a metal silver strip covers the side of the handset, which gives the handset a distinctive look and overall makes it seem a bit more durable than it might have otherwise.
A dense phone, the handset feels more like one solid device than a casing with other pieces inside. Just .33-inches thick, the phone fits easily in pockets for toting around, but feels solid enough that you’re not going to be afraid it is going to shatter if it accidentally falls out of that pocket. If it does fall out, the whole device is also encased in a water-repellant coating that will help minimize damage it gets wet.
Motorola says the Maxx can handle 21 hours of talk time, 27 hours of music streaming over LTE and 10 hours of video streaming over LTE on a single charge. While we haven’t had a 21-hour chat on the phone, during my time with the handset I never ran out of juice during the day, even the few times I forgot to charge the phone and night.
High-Definition Display
Touted in the name of the phone, both handsets sport a 4.7-inch 720p Super AMOLED display.
In general, I found that the phones lived up to their high-definition name, and was impressed with the screen quality. I was able to read the display from a number of different angles (something that can’t be said for a number of smartphones), and colors seemed bright and vivid just as you might expect on an HD screen.
Much like the Razr M, the phone has a PenTile pixel layout, which means when you look at icons up close you’ll be able to see a little pixelation around their edges. Not a huge deal for the average consumer, but if you’re a display nerd it’s something you’ll notice, and potentially be annoyed by.
Android +
Both the Droid Razr HD and Droid Razr Maxx HD come running Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich -â€" which Motorola plans to later update to Jelly Bean â€" with Motorola’s custom software, or “skin†on top of it. Since the company’s acquisition by Google, Motorola has made its own software more unobtrusive resulting in an experience close to, but not quite, pure Android.
Swiping to the right on the phone’s home screen brings up a Quick Settings menu, giving you easy access to settings you may want to adjust frequently such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and GPS.
Both phones also have Motorola’s Smartactions functionality, particularly useful for novice Android users, which automates some of your phone’s functions based on how you use it. For instance, the phone might suggest you connect to the Wi-Fi network at your office when it detects you’re in the building.
In addition to all that custom software you also get a handful of apps pre-installed on the Razr handsets. While some of those apps can be great for new Android owners who don’t know where to start in the app department, Android veterans may not like their phone to come with a ton of apps pre-installed, many of which are unremovable.
Conclusion
If you’re looking to replace a smartphone that never seems to be able to hold enough juice to make it to the end of the day, then the Droid Razr Maxx HD is the phone for you. The handset packs a serious battery in its svelte form factor, and paired with Motorola’s Smartactions is bound to make it through a typical day and well into the night without needing a charge. After using the phone for several weeks with heavy use, there was never a day the battery didn’t make it all day. At $299 with a new 2-year contract, however, the Razr Maxx HD’s price tag may be a bit difficult to swallow.That said, the Razr HD is also a solid and almost identical phone and comes in at $199 with a new 2-year agreement, $100 cheaper. For that price you forgo the extended-life battery, but a moderate smartphone user â€"- or someone who has the opportunity to plug in while at work -â€" will still likely be able to make it through the day with no problem, and will see battery-life times on par with some of the other major smartphones out there.
Let us know what you think about the Droid Razr HD and Droid Razr Maxx HD in the comments.
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