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aliensarecool

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Feb 25, 2012
540
0
maybe because i've always liked motorola and it has a sweet screen. big, but i also have big hands....is there any major draw backs vs the iphone? the reason i went with the iphone > all other phones was because of the battery life
 

bandofbrothers

macrumors 601
Oct 14, 2007
4,779
328
Uk
maybe because i've always liked motorola and it has a sweet screen. big, but i also have big hands....is there any major draw backs vs the iphone? the reason i went with the iphone > all other phones was because of the battery life

You would be best served posting this question on an appropriate forum.

Personally i don't like Motorola in general as i find their os cumbersome and in general the handsets of cheap feel.

Hmmmm :rolleyes:
 
Last edited:

dieburnbot

macrumors 6502a
Aug 18, 2008
928
2
CA
He's talking about the razr maxx. My sisters husband has it and I played around with it. It does feel pretty cheap and android feels so 3rd world lol.
 

mrbutters

macrumors regular
Apr 12, 2012
151
0
Felt cheap? LOL. It has stainless steel sides, a Kevlar backing and Gorilla Glass. Much better build quality than the iPhone which can shatter on a drop from waist level to the ground. To the OP, I have both the Maxx and the 4s. Since I got the Maxx, I have hardly touched my iPhone. Larger screen, better battery life, 3G speeds are a joke compared to LTE etc...I would suggest you play around with it for awhile at the store. Ask for a demo on how Android works if you have never used it. Some people love it, others don't. Have to see for yourself.
 

bandofbrothers

macrumors 601
Oct 14, 2007
4,779
328
Uk
Felt cheap? LOL. It has stainless steel sides, a Kevlar backing and Gorilla Glass. Much better build quality than the iPhone which can shatter on a drop from waist level to the ground. To the OP, I have both the Maxx and the 4s. Since I got the Maxx, I have hardly touched my iPhone. Larger screen, better battery life, 3G speeds are a joke compared to LTE etc...I would suggest you play around with it for awhile at the store. Ask for a demo on how Android works if you have never used it. Some people love it, others don't. Have to see for yourself.


Any phone can shatter at any height if its caught on a sweet spot.

I agree with you about playing around with the working demo models.

This is the beauty of choice.
Theres no need to stick to one phone ,and if you have the disposable income then why not have an array of phones at ones disposal.
 

mrbutters

macrumors regular
Apr 12, 2012
151
0
Any phone can shatter at any height if its caught on a sweet spot.

Not one with stainless steel sides, a Kevlar back and Gorilla glass. Where is the weak spot? the 4s is made mostly of glass. I have seen them shatter dropped on the back. Face down, forget it.
 

chambone

macrumors 6502a
Dec 24, 2011
969
25
Netherlands
Not one with stainless steel sides, a Kevlar back and Gorilla glass. Where is the weak spot? the 4s is made mostly of glass. I have seen them shatter dropped on the back. Face down, forget it.

If a maxx falls face-down on a hard surface the front can easily break as well. It happens. Don't delude yourself.

And that kevlar back, being the ugly bear that it is, better not have the nerve to crack. It's bad enough it makes you put up with its cheap appearance.
 

chambone

macrumors 6502a
Dec 24, 2011
969
25
Netherlands
maybe because i've always liked motorola and it has a sweet screen. big, but i also have big hands....is there any major draw backs vs the iphone? the reason i went with the iphone > all other phones was because of the battery life

Well, the 4S has a better camera, a higher res screen, and fits in your pocket more easily. And personally I think Android doesn't have the usability of iOS and looks a little.. amateurish, for lack of a better word. Looks like programmers designed the icons and interface. And I think the Maxx is one of the ugliest phones around.

But if you don't care about all that or have a different opinion than mine, I'd say go for it. I don't think there really is much of a difference price wise.
 

Sylon

macrumors 68020
Feb 26, 2012
2,032
80
Michigan/Ohio, USA
Personally I like the Razr Maxx, I think its a nice looking phone. I've always wanted a bigger iPhone, for the same reasons you do, OP. The iPhone is a bit small for people with big hands. Typing on it can get annoying. They say, the reason why the iPhone is 3.5" is becuase you can hold it in one hand and touch the entire surface area of the screen with your thumb with ease. Well, with my hands, I can touch well beyond the edges of the iPhone with ease. A bigger phone would be nice.

My issue with Android is their unpoliced market and that I would be too tempted to root the phone, which with my horrible luck, would mean me breaking the damn thing, lol. I have bad luck trying to fiddle with tech. One of the reasons why I haven't done the jailbreak on my iPhone.
 

French

macrumors regular
Jan 13, 2011
198
0
I had the 4, 4S and now own the Razr Maxx.

I am EXTREMELY happy with the choice to move to the Maxx. One driver was battery life...even though the 4S is better than any previous Android phone I had used, I was having issues getting through a full day with the introduction of 5.0. I also missed my widgets a great deal. I like being able to see my calendar for a week ahead on the home screen...makes sure important things like birthdays don't sneak up on me. I like my weather widget display for similar reasons...I know when I get up what the weather will be without having to open an app.

I can.not.kill.this.battery! My number one reason for trying the Maxx and it has not failed me. Yesterday I had screen on time of 6 hours, spent 1.5 hours on the phone, used Digifit for a workout, and did a bunch of other little things throughout the day. It was on for 16 hours when I finally went to bed, and I still had 30% left.

Smart Actions are awesome...my phone automatically connects to my car bluetooth and when it does it turns off my wifi, changes my screen off time to 15 seconds, and opens Slacker Radio for me. When I get to work and the bluetooth disconnection to my car happens, it turns on my wifi, connects to my work wifi which in turn makes the phone go to silent mode/vibrate and changes the screen off time to 2 minutes. When I leave work it all puts itself back accordingly when I disconnect from work/connect to my car. When I get home it connects to my wifi here, ringer volume turns up to full and my wallpaper picture changes. And when I go to the grocery store I turn my phone on and there is my shopping app loaded for me and ready to go, and my screen off time is set to 10 minutes.

I love that I can share out any given thing as many ways as I have apps loaded. I can open a picture and share it out to Dropbox, text, email, photo editing apps, read it later lists...it's endless.

It IS a much larger phone than the iPhone which was another huge deciding factor for me, and I had some "growing pains". I can't stand the small screen of the iPhone, retina display or not, however it took me some time to adjust to the larger size of the Maxx and to stop trying to do certain things one handed. This is definitely a "give and take" thing...you want a bigger screen? Then you are giving up one handed operation. It's as simple as that. Yes you can do some things but you also run the risk of dropping it. I, however am a woman and have normal sized hands. Perhaps someone with large hands wouldn't need as much adjustment as I did.

I love that there is an app that enables my phone to be a wifi hotspot and I am not rooted. I don't abuse it...but once in a while I just need to be able to tether. Now I don't have to go through the hassle of calling to enable it on my phone for one month when I only needed to be on for 30 minutes.

I love the customization.

Things I miss on the iPhone...the camera for sure. The maxx is acceptable but NOTHING beats the iPhone...when I bought the iPhone I had basically replaced my point and shoot camera with it. I don't have that same comfort with the Maxx camera. It's acceptable, but it's not necessarily going to replace a point and shoot. However I enjoy photography. If you just want to "capture the moment" the maxx may be just fine.

The iPhone also has better fluidity. The maxx isn't bad, and there is a soak test in place right now that has improved upon something that wasn't bad to begin with...but I can't deny the iPhone has a leg up.

Yes, there are suspect applications on the market for Android...but if you use some common sense, read reviews, and really make sure you understand what the app does, you can avoid any issues. I consider myself a bit of an app focused person...I think I have a total of 270 between devices. I've never downloaded a malicious one or been hacked.

The Maxx is a SOLID piece of hardware with solid software. Even without Ice Cream Sandwich I love it...and I think Ice Cream Sandwich will make things even better. There is give and take with each device. If you want a device that keeps YOU out of trouble, and as a result is more fluid, then the iPhone is the way to go. If you want to play around with customizing your home screens, doing things with your phone you can't do with an iPhone (social media sharing is much easier on android), and have what I consider to be more of a "computer", then go for the Maxx.

So you know I also have a Macbook Air and iPad 2...it was a big decision to move away from the 4S as I am invested in the Apple ecosystem. For me, this is a perfect match of technologies. It will be better when Ice Cream Sandwich is out as the Chrome Browser is available only on ICS. Once I can move to Chrome for everything the whole bookmarks across devices thing will be nice.

In the end it's a decision only you can make but as a 4S user that converted, I'm extremely happy. My 2 priorities were better battery and bigger screen and the Maxx delivers.

If you have any specific questions feel free to take this to PM.

----------

P.S. as far as build quality goes...this has always perplexed me. The iPhone is solid, no doubt...but call me weird...I actually prefer a more plastic phone. Why? Because it's LIGHTER which means gravity becomes less of an enemy to it. The heavier the phone the more possibility of dropping it. And dropping a heavier phone would probably (almost always) result in more damage.

The Maxx is solid feeling as well. I do have a slim case on mine, but the Maxx feels no less solid than the iPhone to me. The iPhone reminds me of a little brick. The max is a larger brick I suppose, though because it's larger overall it feels less square.

But given a choice, I'd prefer the Samsung Galaxy style with more plastic which means a lighter phone.
 

3bs

macrumors 603
May 20, 2011
5,434
24
Dublin, Ireland
[/COLOR]P.S. as far as build quality goes...this has always perplexed me. The iPhone is solid, no doubt...but call me weird...I actually prefer a more plastic phone. Why? Because it's LIGHTER which means gravity becomes less of an enemy to it. The heavier the phone the more possibility of dropping it. And dropping a heavier phone would probably (almost always) result in more damage.

I also prefer plastic. Seems like we're the minority around here. Reading your review makes me want to go out and buy a Razr Maxx now! :p
 

nizmoz

macrumors 65816
Jul 7, 2008
1,410
2
Same impressions here as well. Love my maxx!

I had the 4, 4S and now own the Razr Maxx.

I am EXTREMELY happy with the choice to move to the Maxx. One driver was battery life...even though the 4S is better than any previous Android phone I had used, I was having issues getting through a full day with the introduction of 5.0. I also missed my widgets a great deal. I like being able to see my calendar for a week ahead on the home screen...makes sure important things like birthdays don't sneak up on me. I like my weather widget display for similar reasons...I know when I get up what the weather will be without having to open an app.

I can.not.kill.this.battery! My number one reason for trying the Maxx and it has not failed me. Yesterday I had screen on time of 6 hours, spent 1.5 hours on the phone, used Digifit for a workout, and did a bunch of other little things throughout the day. It was on for 16 hours when I finally went to bed, and I still had 30% left.

Smart Actions are awesome...my phone automatically connects to my car bluetooth and when it does it turns off my wifi, changes my screen off time to 15 seconds, and opens Slacker Radio for me. When I get to work and the bluetooth disconnection to my car happens, it turns on my wifi, connects to my work wifi which in turn makes the phone go to silent mode/vibrate and changes the screen off time to 2 minutes. When I leave work it all puts itself back accordingly when I disconnect from work/connect to my car. When I get home it connects to my wifi here, ringer volume turns up to full and my wallpaper picture changes. And when I go to the grocery store I turn my phone on and there is my shopping app loaded for me and ready to go, and my screen off time is set to 10 minutes.

I love that I can share out any given thing as many ways as I have apps loaded. I can open a picture and share it out to Dropbox, text, email, photo editing apps, read it later lists...it's endless.

It IS a much larger phone than the iPhone which was another huge deciding factor for me, and I had some "growing pains". I can't stand the small screen of the iPhone, retina display or not, however it took me some time to adjust to the larger size of the Maxx and to stop trying to do certain things one handed. This is definitely a "give and take" thing...you want a bigger screen? Then you are giving up one handed operation. It's as simple as that. Yes you can do some things but you also run the risk of dropping it. I, however am a woman and have normal sized hands. Perhaps someone with large hands wouldn't need as much adjustment as I did.

I love that there is an app that enables my phone to be a wifi hotspot and I am not rooted. I don't abuse it...but once in a while I just need to be able to tether. Now I don't have to go through the hassle of calling to enable it on my phone for one month when I only needed to be on for 30 minutes.

I love the customization.

Things I miss on the iPhone...the camera for sure. The maxx is acceptable but NOTHING beats the iPhone...when I bought the iPhone I had basically replaced my point and shoot camera with it. I don't have that same comfort with the Maxx camera. It's acceptable, but it's not necessarily going to replace a point and shoot. However I enjoy photography. If you just want to "capture the moment" the maxx may be just fine.

The iPhone also has better fluidity. The maxx isn't bad, and there is a soak test in place right now that has improved upon something that wasn't bad to begin with...but I can't deny the iPhone has a leg up.

Yes, there are suspect applications on the market for Android...but if you use some common sense, read reviews, and really make sure you understand what the app does, you can avoid any issues. I consider myself a bit of an app focused person...I think I have a total of 270 between devices. I've never downloaded a malicious one or been hacked.

The Maxx is a SOLID piece of hardware with solid software. Even without Ice Cream Sandwich I love it...and I think Ice Cream Sandwich will make things even better. There is give and take with each device. If you want a device that keeps YOU out of trouble, and as a result is more fluid, then the iPhone is the way to go. If you want to play around with customizing your home screens, doing things with your phone you can't do with an iPhone (social media sharing is much easier on android), and have what I consider to be more of a "computer", then go for the Maxx.

So you know I also have a Macbook Air and iPad 2...it was a big decision to move away from the 4S as I am invested in the Apple ecosystem. For me, this is a perfect match of technologies. It will be better when Ice Cream Sandwich is out as the Chrome Browser is available only on ICS. Once I can move to Chrome for everything the whole bookmarks across devices thing will be nice.

In the end it's a decision only you can make but as a 4S user that converted, I'm extremely happy. My 2 priorities were better battery and bigger screen and the Maxx delivers.

If you have any specific questions feel free to take this to PM.

----------

P.S. as far as build quality goes...this has always perplexed me. The iPhone is solid, no doubt...but call me weird...I actually prefer a more plastic phone. Why? Because it's LIGHTER which means gravity becomes less of an enemy to it. The heavier the phone the more possibility of dropping it. And dropping a heavier phone would probably (almost always) result in more damage.

The Maxx is solid feeling as well. I do have a slim case on mine, but the Maxx feels no less solid than the iPhone to me. The iPhone reminds me of a little brick. The max is a larger brick I suppose, though because it's larger overall it feels less square.

But given a choice, I'd prefer the Samsung Galaxy style with more plastic which means a lighter phone.
 

sviato

macrumors 68020
Oct 27, 2010
2,425
377
HR 9038 A
While the battery is good, I've heard that the pentile display isn't sharp at all and not even comparable to the 4/4S display. Also motorola is known for being slow with updates

I'd just wait a few weeks, there's bound to be a new motorola phone coming out
 

VulchR

macrumors 68040
Jun 8, 2009
3,358
14,217
Scotland
'MacRumors Forums > iPhone, iPod and iPad > iPhone > for some reason the razr maxx catches my eye' - This is worthy of discussion, just not here.

@OP: I hope that whatever phone you decide to use, that you will enjoy it (and that you do not take my post personally). On my part I enjoy the 4S to the point that it seems unthinkable to switch to Android, but like many I hope that future iPhones will have a larger screen.
 

nizmoz

macrumors 65816
Jul 7, 2008
1,410
2
While the battery is good, I've heard that the pentile display isn't sharp at all and not even comparable to the 4/4S display. Also motorola is known for being slow with updates

I'd just wait a few weeks, there's bound to be a new motorola phone coming out

I went from a 4 and the display is just fine. Actually BRIGHTER to me than my 4.
 

Sylon

macrumors 68020
Feb 26, 2012
2,032
80
Michigan/Ohio, USA
...and have normal sized hands. Perhaps someone with large hands wouldn't need as much adjustment as I did.



Hey hey hey, what are you trying to say? That we're freaks??? :p


Great review, very informative. I have yet to tryout the Maxx, but it wouldn't hurt to check it out when I get back home. You bit about the camera kinda turned me off to it. That was a big seller about the 4S to me, coupling that with the retina display does give the iPhone the advantage. I just hope that one day Apple will finally realize that some people would like a bigger phone. Not just for the visualness of it, but for the freaks like me with bigger hands :D
 

mrbutters

macrumors regular
Apr 12, 2012
151
0
I had the 4, 4S and now own the Razr Maxx.

I am EXTREMELY happy with the choice to move to the Maxx. One driver was battery life...even though the 4S is better than any previous Android phone I had used, I was having issues getting through a full day with the introduction of 5.0. I also missed my widgets a great deal. I like being able to see my calendar for a week ahead on the home screen...makes sure important things like birthdays don't sneak up on me. I like my weather widget display for similar reasons...I know when I get up what the weather will be without having to open an app.

I can.not.kill.this.battery! My number one reason for trying the Maxx and it has not failed me. Yesterday I had screen on time of 6 hours, spent 1.5 hours on the phone, used Digifit for a workout, and did a bunch of other little things throughout the day. It was on for 16 hours when I finally went to bed, and I still had 30% left.

Smart Actions are awesome...my phone automatically connects to my car bluetooth and when it does it turns off my wifi, changes my screen off time to 15 seconds, and opens Slacker Radio for me. When I get to work and the bluetooth disconnection to my car happens, it turns on my wifi, connects to my work wifi which in turn makes the phone go to silent mode/vibrate and changes the screen off time to 2 minutes. When I leave work it all puts itself back accordingly when I disconnect from work/connect to my car. When I get home it connects to my wifi here, ringer volume turns up to full and my wallpaper picture changes. And when I go to the grocery store I turn my phone on and there is my shopping app loaded for me and ready to go, and my screen off time is set to 10 minutes.

I love that I can share out any given thing as many ways as I have apps loaded. I can open a picture and share it out to Dropbox, text, email, photo editing apps, read it later lists...it's endless.

It IS a much larger phone than the iPhone which was another huge deciding factor for me, and I had some "growing pains". I can't stand the small screen of the iPhone, retina display or not, however it took me some time to adjust to the larger size of the Maxx and to stop trying to do certain things one handed. This is definitely a "give and take" thing...you want a bigger screen? Then you are giving up one handed operation. It's as simple as that. Yes you can do some things but you also run the risk of dropping it. I, however am a woman and have normal sized hands. Perhaps someone with large hands wouldn't need as much adjustment as I did.

I love that there is an app that enables my phone to be a wifi hotspot and I am not rooted. I don't abuse it...but once in a while I just need to be able to tether. Now I don't have to go through the hassle of calling to enable it on my phone for one month when I only needed to be on for 30 minutes.

I love the customization.

Things I miss on the iPhone...the camera for sure. The maxx is acceptable but NOTHING beats the iPhone...when I bought the iPhone I had basically replaced my point and shoot camera with it. I don't have that same comfort with the Maxx camera. It's acceptable, but it's not necessarily going to replace a point and shoot. However I enjoy photography. If you just want to "capture the moment" the maxx may be just fine.

The iPhone also has better fluidity. The maxx isn't bad, and there is a soak test in place right now that has improved upon something that wasn't bad to begin with...but I can't deny the iPhone has a leg up.

Yes, there are suspect applications on the market for Android...but if you use some common sense, read reviews, and really make sure you understand what the app does, you can avoid any issues. I consider myself a bit of an app focused person...I think I have a total of 270 between devices. I've never downloaded a malicious one or been hacked.

The Maxx is a SOLID piece of hardware with solid software. Even without Ice Cream Sandwich I love it...and I think Ice Cream Sandwich will make things even better. There is give and take with each device. If you want a device that keeps YOU out of trouble, and as a result is more fluid, then the iPhone is the way to go. If you want to play around with customizing your home screens, doing things with your phone you can't do with an iPhone (social media sharing is much easier on android), and have what I consider to be more of a "computer", then go for the Maxx.

So you know I also have a Macbook Air and iPad 2...it was a big decision to move away from the 4S as I am invested in the Apple ecosystem. For me, this is a perfect match of technologies. It will be better when Ice Cream Sandwich is out as the Chrome Browser is available only on ICS. Once I can move to Chrome for everything the whole bookmarks across devices thing will be nice.

In the end it's a decision only you can make but as a 4S user that converted, I'm extremely happy. My 2 priorities were better battery and bigger screen and the Maxx delivers.

If you have any specific questions feel free to take this to PM.

----------

P.S. as far as build quality goes...this has always perplexed me. The iPhone is solid, no doubt...but call me weird...I actually prefer a more plastic phone. Why? Because it's LIGHTER which means gravity becomes less of an enemy to it. The heavier the phone the more possibility of dropping it. And dropping a heavier phone would probably (almost always) result in more damage.

The Maxx is solid feeling as well. I do have a slim case on mine, but the Maxx feels no less solid than the iPhone to me. The iPhone reminds me of a little brick. The max is a larger brick I suppose, though because it's larger overall it feels less square.

But given a choice, I'd prefer the Samsung Galaxy style with more plastic which means a lighter phone.

Nice review and you didn't even get into how useful Motocast is! I love not having to download music, movies or photos to my phone and take up space. Open Motocast and I have everything from my computer right on my phone, awesome. It's true the screen on the Maxx snt as sharp and nice as my 4s but it's larger and I favor that more.
 

wrkactjob

macrumors 65816
Feb 29, 2008
1,357
0
London
I agree the Motorola is great for people like me with big hands. I have had no major issues with mine, find the screen clear and easy to read script. I have dropped it on a couple of occasions but with very little obvious damage.

I am still having trouble setting up email and can't locate the camera. On the whole though I would recommend the StarTac to anyone though avoid the early models as they are analogue only.
 

srf4real

macrumors 68040
Jul 25, 2006
3,001
26
paradise beach FL
maybe because i've always liked motorola and it has a sweet screen. big, but i also have big hands....is there any major draw backs vs the iphone? the reason i went with the iphone > all other phones was because of the battery life

If you go from iOS to Android, you might not be satisfied with your purchase regardless of the "shiny things".. imo.
 

LostSoul80

macrumors 68020
Jan 25, 2009
2,136
7
If you go from iOS to Android, you might not be satisfied with your purchase regardless of the "shiny things".. imo.

Totally your opinion though. People love iOS and others love Android. I can state it's true the other way round.
 

Lindenhurst

macrumors 6502a
Aug 24, 2011
612
0
Felt cheap? LOL. It has stainless steel sides, a Kevlar backing and Gorilla Glass. Much better build quality than the iPhone which can shatter on a drop from waist level to the ground. To the OP, I have both the Maxx and the 4s. Since I got the Maxx, I have hardly touched my iPhone. Larger screen, better battery life, 3G speeds are a joke compared to LTE etc...I would suggest you play around with it for awhile at the store. Ask for a demo on how Android works if you have never used it. Some people love it, others don't. Have to see for yourself.


Don't ya just love how so many people put down something without ever even seeing it for themselves? What's with that
?
 
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