I currently have both... since I got the Nexus 7 I've been looking for a phone with a smaller profile, so I've been checking them out side by side. Need to sell one of them pretty quick, though.
Anyway, some thoughts on the differences...
Build: Razr M wins hands down - it just feels more solid, very tight.
Downside: no removable battery or option for extended
Form Factor: M is thinner, has no plastic (well a little around the camera that you'll never touch), and is more "blocky". The kevlar back feels very nice. It just feels solid all the way around. The Inc 4G has some plastic, a good "matte" feel on the back, and is a little more ergonomic due to its curves, but is a little thicker as well. This one is completely subjective, honestly. Both are great compared to some of the mini-tablets we're seeing nowadays.
Camera: Not a surprise, but the Inc 4G wins this one. Moto has taken strides in the right direction with the camera on the M. It's faster, focuses better, and handles low-light better than previous Moto cameras, but it still falls short compared to the speed / clarity / "low-light-ability" of the Inc 4G. I have, however, noticed the Inc 4G is extremely sensitive in well lit / no flash scenarios, occasionally causing it to not focus as clearly as previous HTC devices. Don't get me wrong, that's not the norm, but snapping a quick pic isn't always as thoughtless as I'd like. But regardless, it beats the M. But don't think the M is a bad camera - it's "solid" by today's standards, and a lot better than previous phones.
Screen: I know this is subjective, but I'm finding the Inc 4G's screen much easier on the eyes. Because it's not pentile, and not SAMOLED (which can look awesome with higher resolutions), text looks more crisp, whites are much whiter, and color is more accurate. I remember with the Rezound, the phone seemed preset too dim. HTC didn't let that happen this time around as this phone gets super bright - it's easier to see in sunlight than the M. When I go back to the M, it just feels too dark to
my eyes. And yes, this is dealing with numerous brightness settings, as well as automatic.
Flipside:
Because the M is SAMOLED, colors and images tend to look warmer and "pop out" more. Some think it looks over-saturated at times, some think it looks great. Blacks are truly black, very deep and rich. It can truly look beautiful at times. But the fact of the matter is certain items (especially smaller text) look more pixelated due to the M being pentile. Moto tweaked the settings to make it a little brighter / warmer than the Maxx and Razr, but otherwise it's the same screen. It's also slightly larger than the Inc 4G's screen (edit: see next paragraph), which is nice on such a small form factor. I like the M's screen a lot. I like the Inc 4G's screen a lot as well. The Inc 4G's literally just feels easier on my eyes.
Edit / Additional Note About Screensize: Because of the M's on-screen soft keys, the actual screen real estate available for most activities is the same, or slightly longer for the Inc 4G. I'm sure if you play a movie or game or something that hides those on-screen soft keys, then it would take advantage of the full 4.3". But for day to day usage, it's a non-factor thanks to the on-screen keys.
Battery Life: Honestly, both have been great. The M has a 2000mah battery while the Inc 4G is 1700mah. But I haven't been able to tell a noticeable difference. For me and my usage, I have no problem getting a full day out of both - they're both very efficiently tweaked.
Reception:
- Voice - It's hard to comment on this as I'm in a strong Verizon area. Voice reception on both devices has been excellent. The Inc 4G's earpiece is louder, almost too loud at times, but the M is plenty loud as well. The M's external speaker has a little deeper sound to it, but it's plenty loud, as is the Inc 4G's.
- 3G data - Again, both are excellent. If you're in an area where Verizon's 3G is even remotely solid, you won't notice a difference between the two. However...
- 4G / LTE - If you live in a fringe 4G area, or somewhere that has spotty 4G coverage, you'll likely notice a difference between the two phones. My hunch is a software tweak will fix it, but the M seems to "give up" on 4G too quickly, switching back to 3G when other phones (Inc 4G included) hold onto a usable 4G connection. I live in an extremely strong 4G area, and my house is literally 100 yards (give or take) from a tower. At home, the Inc averages in the upper -60s to mid -70s on dbm's (or would that be "lower" since it should be negative? ). The M averages upper 70s to low 80s. I've never dropped down to 3G at my house, but if I'm out and about, there are times where it'll drop to 3G for no apparent reason when all other phones I've owned will hold onto 4G. If you look around there are other users experiencing similar "issues". This could be intentional on Moto's part, to help save battery life in areas where 4G is weak, but who knows. There is also some pretty solid attenuation on the M. If I pick it up in my left hand like I normally hold a phone (without a case), it bumps to around -100dbms, sometimes more. Makes sense... packed so tight with aluminum all around it. I can recreate similar attenuation on the Inc 4G, but it takes a lot of effort and holding it in unnatural ways. This could also be due to antenna positioning in each phone.
Regardless, the M is very good, but appears to have some very minor reception issues on LTE, which could simply be software related. The Inc 4G is solid as a rock - like the Rezound was before it.
Other odds and ends...
- Haptic feedback - the Inc 4G vibrates extremely hard. I don't use haptic feedback on the soft buttons, and I'm glad I don't on this phone. But when it rings / notifies / etc, it shakes whatever it's on pretty good
- Software - Sense is nice, smooth, fast, but much more intrusive than Moto's software - which is borderline stock. If you like Sense, you'll probably like it on this phone. If you like AOSP, download Nova or Apex and they run just fine. Same thing on the M
- Support / updates - Words are empty, but Google/Moto sure made it sound like the new Razr lineup would be getting updates in a much more prompt fashion than before. They said the M/RMHD/RHD would all get Jelly Bean before the end of the year. Jelly Bean is pure awesomeness, and should make them even better devices. On the Inc 4G, I would like to think it would get the Jelly Bean update. HTC's bringing it to the One Series, and the Inc 4G is basically a slightly dumbed down One phone. But they technically haven't announced it. Google / Moto seem to be pushing back on Verizon's ridiculous update schedules; HTC - who knows? If it was a scenario where I could say with 100% certainty the M would get JB by December, and Verizon would stall on the Inc 4G for another 6 months, that alone would push me to the M. Jelly Bean is simply that nice. But who the heck knows on the updates. It just feels like Verizon / HTC don't care as much about the Inc 4G as Moto/Goo/VZW do about the Razr lineup. Take that with a huge grain of salt, though.
- I'll add any more if I can think of them...