kgkg

I am up for an upgrade. Anyone has suggestions on which one to choose?

tbhausen

I think most would ask "Note 2 or RAZR"?

menmyjeep

I agree completely! That's exactly what I am doing and actually have made up my mind to go with the Note 2. I have the first Razr Maxx now and the HD was just not enough of an update to keep me with Motorola and the on-screen buttons take away all of the extra real estate in all situations other than watching videos. I really like motorola but this update to the Razr line was disappointing to me.

Roll-Tide

I've had the s3 since it came out on Verizon and now have the Maxx hd.... I can say as far as performance they are extremely similar and I really couldn't pick a winner if I had to. Battery life is obviously a lot better on the Maxx but the camera is better (not drastically mind you) on the s3. The Maxx hd is much more comfortable to hold in my opinion than the s3...I just couldn't ever find myself loving that phone hardware wise. The build quality on the Maxx hd is world's better if you ask me... Feels solid as can be. The s3 is a damn nice phone and I have no real complaints about using it other than it was a tad too big for me. It's all plastic of course which still feels solid.. But it's still plastic so that's a personal preference thing probably. Overall, all things considered I like the Maxx hd best.

Ag76

I'm trying to decide between the Note 2 and Razr HD Maxx, but am leaning towards the Note 2. Since I work in an area that gets a weak Verizon signal, I need a device with a strong wireless radio. So I'm very interested in how the Note 2 and Razr HD Maxx compare in this regard.

Last edited by Ag76; October 21st, 2012 at 07:52 PM.

Dnomac

I'm struggling with the same decision. I like the HD for everything except for the camera. Roll-Tide, you don't think there is that much of a difference in picture quality? The pics posted online seem to be somewhat shitty.

Roll-Tide

I actually did a comparison between the iPhone 5 that I had and the s3...just took one similar with this Maxx hd.....
Iphone 5
uploadfromtaptalk1350868769232.jpg
S3
uploadfromtaptalk1350868797447.jpg
Maxx hd
uploadfromtaptalk1350868827963.jpg


To me, now that I compare them all I think the s3 might be the worst... At least in this particular comparison

Wolfedude88

Well generally speaking Motorola is usually regarding as a one of the top OEMs when talking about strong wireless radio. Samsung usually isn't regarded as the best, but I have never had issues with either.

wxman2003

I went from the Razr Maxx to the iPhone 5. iPhone 5 stays connected a lot better to LTE than the Maxx did. In fact, at home in my lower level I would always go from LTE to 3G on the Maxx. So far, no issues with iphone 5 and always stays connected to LTE even though both where showing signal strength around -105 dBm. Upload speed on LTE are much better on iPhone 5. At work on maxx on LTE, I would get upload speeds of 6 to 8 Mbs, which is not bad, but iphone 5 around 18 Mbs. Download speeds are the same. Finally on wifi, at home Maxx download speeds would top out at 20 to 25 Mbs, while iPhone 5 is over 50. iPhone 5 is the the bees knees.

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Roll-Tide

Then why are you here? Lol

dirkbonn

To be fair, you're comparing a phone released about a year (Jan, 2012) ago to a phone released less than a month ago. As fast as technology is improving do you think it's possible the LTE radio in the iPhone is improved over the LTE radio in the Maxx? I realize you had to wait until now to get an iPhone that finally has a 4G radio in it but still, wouldn't you think a 2012 model anything should be improved over a model designed in 2011?

Maybe to be fair, compair the speed of the iPhone 5 to the Razr Maxx HD? Also to be fair, you would need to compare the 2 phones in multiple locations and then take an average.

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darkcyber

There would be no question if it were me getting a new phone. I have had the Motorola Droid and Droid X, then I moved to the Samsung Galaxy Nexus (first Samsung device for me) and this is the first and last Samsung I will ever own. I absolutely hate this phone. The battery life is horrible...I finally had to purchase the Seidio 3800 mAh battery to be able to have any kind of battery life.

Then the biggest problem of all with Samsung phones is the crappy/horrible reception. This Nexus constantly is either dropping calls or my phone never even rings and just simply goes straight to voice mail. So, Samsung will never be an option for me...ever! Go with the Razr Maxx HD...Motorola makes the best radios.

Roll-Tide

Don't base your opinion of Samsung solely on the nexus.... I've had the nexus and the s3 and the s3 to me was world's better in every way than the nexus... Even signal and battery life. Overall I like the maxx hd better, but the s3 is definitely a good phone.

jkmasi

I had the Galaxy Nexus and now I have the S3 and I completely agree that the S3 is worlds better. Much better performance, better camera, etc.

jt85gt

I have the same questions right now. S3 or Razr Maxx HD

Concerns
1.I keep a phone for the full 2 years. Will the S3 make it with 2 kids banging it around.
2.Camera. Is the S3 that more superior...this should be number 1 for me to be honest. Camera.
3. Will a non-replaceable battery hurt me with the HD if 1.5yrs from now it craps out

I'm sold on the Razr HD but that camera is what is stopping me. Hearing so many negatives on the Samsung radios, and fear of build quality are what is stopping me, but I do want that camera.

Trekk

The S3 is better in different places:

1- Better camera
2- A tiny bit smoother


But overall honestly as a phone the razr hd is a better device, the screen is much better. That's my personal opinion I just switched from the Galaxy s3

carracerz14

+10000000

Couldn't agree more. Lucky Verizon send me a maxx to replace my Nexus. I will never buy another Samsung, I too had the droid x originally and thought the Nexus would be an awesome phone.

jroc

To the OP...get both...lol.

Seriously, it depends on what your wants n needs are. Ppl that value the camera more than anything will pick the GS3. I have a feeling The RAZR will have the edge for reception.

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wedgemoose

Hummm, thats funny because me and my girl were at breakfast the other day and she had zero signal (phone or data) and I was reading e-mails, surfing the web and downloading pictures like no tomorrow. While all as she could do was wait to leave so she could show me a pic she had in her e-mail account. Come to the Android side, the world is so much better where you can do with your phone what you like(not what apple thinks you should like)and where phones work better than no setting, no choice, type phones.......haha

P.S. I have Razr Maxx and she has I-5

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zenman

I've played with both of these phones during three different visits to my Verizon store. I found the display on the Maxx HD to be WAY better! The S3 is too dim (even on max brightness on phone and browswer) and had a blueish tint to it. The speaker phone on the Maxx HD is also WAY louder.

So why am I having trouble deciding? Well I've already ruled out the S3 due to the display/screen. What's making me doubt the Maxx is the camera and the lack of wireless charging ability. Wireless charging should be STANDARD on all phones these days imo. (My toothbrush has had wireless charging for YEARS) It will almost certainly be standard within a year but if I buy the phone now I'll be stuck with it for two years. I'm still pretty sure I'll get the Maxx HD though, my current contract has been up since Feb and I want something newer and faster and there's nothing coming out soon that looks like it has everything I want.

rushmore

The display issue is a settings issue and not normal. The displays use the same tech, so same good and bad points for both. Mainly good.

Too many great reviews for the GS3 including a measurement analysis showing great contrast and brightness.

zenman

Well on the GS3 they have at my Verizon store it's noticeably dimmer. It's not so noticeable when watching youtube videos but it is for most of the other things I tried. The dim screen is even noted by the CNET review. See this video at 1:28 where it's placed next to two other phones.
Samsung Galaxy S III Review - Watch CNET's Video Review

That good camera and wireless charging capability is really, really tempting me though but I loved the Maxx HD, ugh!

BigBruDa3rd

Bruh stay with the Maxx HD. The only thing the S3 has on the Maxx HD is the non screen buttons so you have more screen. The Maxx HD has better battery life, better build quality, same or better screen, and better reception where I live and this is coming from a previous S3 owner of at least 3 months. BTW the JB leak I'm running has improved the camera greatly. Focus and low light is better and before when I would take 5 of the same pic they would come out blurry or dark and 1 would be OK. Now all pics are good and some perfect. Now it still not up to par with the S3 but its pretty dam close lets just say the camera doesn't suck anymore and its a non issue.

Last edited by BigBruDa3rd; November 6th, 2012 at 01:45 AM.

zenman

Ahh, good to hear the software improved the camera! I read elsewhere that people were suspecting it could be improved with an update. Very cool, thanks for letting me know this.

jv59

I had a Thunderbolt.... What a disappointment that was. I'd never buy an HTC phone again. I upgraded to the RAZR MAXX HD. I compared it against the S3. They are both great phones. I choose the RAZR because of the extended battery life and the build quality. So far it's been an excellent phone and the battery last a very long time. It remains no less than 80% by the end of the day.

Dnomac

Would you mind posting a picture using the new software or share additional experiences with the improved software? This would be all I need to go out and get this phone tomorrow!

galpdawg

i had the s3 and just got a maxx hd. I can tell you that not having to worry when my phone will die or if i need to bring a charger/spare batter with me was worth it to switch to maxx hd. My s3 seemed to lag at time where as the maxx hd seems smooth to me. only a few stutters here and there. As far as cameras, its a cell phone they take good enough pictures in the moment. Plus the build quality of moto is superb to samsung. The gs3 feels cheap and "plasticy" but maxx hd feels solid and comfy to hold. Hope this helps

rushmore

As far as performance, same OS and chipset, so barring a custom UI issue, performance will be the same. Factor in another 1GB of ram on the GS3, this suggests if either device were to lag, it would more likely be the HD. A brand new device can seem faster, since less junk accumulation with system cache.

As far as cheap (some give) and plastic, that can be a good thing if you drop it, since there is some give to absorb energy. The rigid design of the Razr is like the iPhone, which both crack displays when dropped a lot easier than the GS3. The energy has to go somehwere when dropped. Next place besides the frame is the weakest point (display).

As far as battery issues, simply get an extended battery for the GS3 and no issue there. This would only be a valid point if the GS3 also had a fixed battery.

Regardless, both are good devices, though perspective should probably be a little more objective (if possible).

Last edited by rushmore; November 8th, 2012 at 12:17 PM. Reason: spell

syntrix

They are not the same, or else you can copy system apk's and they would work flawlessly UI != OS

It's almost analogous to compiling programs dynamically or statically. Sure you might get lucky dynamically if you go portable, but if you run statically on the cpu it was called for, you are going to have a great success rate.

Any device can "lag", why are people fixated on this? More than likely it's not ram. Worst is an IOS device, which can include Cisco and Apple If you have processes on the cpu and there's a line to get into the cpu, there's going to be a slow down, this probably has nothing to do with ram.

I'll leave it to just this, Moto HD is an EXCELLENT platform, not just for battery life! I won't touch an S3, but that's my opine, and I'll leave it to the first 6 words of this paragraph.

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jroc

You have a better chance at winning the lottery than to have every body's opinion be objective....lol.

syntrix

Fancy seeing you here, awesome!

hansangb

Clearly, you didn't live through the "will we or won't we?" upgrade saga for Moto Droid Bionic users (ICS debacle).

I switched from S3 to Maxx HD *only* because Verizon didn't unlock the GSM feature of S3. I already purchased the 3500mA battery for the S3 so the length of use was the same (of course, no doubt Maxx HD looks much better!).

S3 camera is EXTREMELY quick. You can take multiple shots like a decent DSLR!.

S3 does not have "Favorites or Smart Actions" So that's a nod to Motorola.

S3 has more functionality for home screen setup. I'm not sure why Moto default to home page being the first page after the shortcuts page. I wish I could make my median page to the my home page.

S3 allows different backgrounds for lock and home screen. Moto doesn't.

Looks...again, it's "to each his own..." but clearly the MAXX HD (to me) looks better. not as "plasticy" Some might say that MAXX HD is very much like I5 in looks.

S3 has its own Swype, but Swype (beta version) is better. Moto comes with full Swype.

Moto doesn't allow you to add the google search bar to only *one* home page. I have no idea why they did that. S3, it's up you.

HW wise, it's about the same.

S3 allows for replaceable batteries. Maxx HD doesn't. But for me, this is a non factor. By the time my battery is about to die (and can't keep a charge) I'm sure I''ll be ready for an upgrade.

Both are good phones, you probably can't go wrong with either one.

(But keep in mind, stock HD vs stock S3...battery life is not even a fair fight!!)

syntrix

HD can do the multi pic mode, like 6 of 'em in a split second.

THAT came in handy last Thursday, and all the low light ones came out awesome! (Daughter blowing out birthday candles).

hansangb

Good to know. One thing I forgot to mention. Maxx HD has the panoramic mode as well. Basically, you scroll and it will automatically take pictures and stitch them together.

Dreamliner

I've always been under the impression that Motorola has the best radios. I have been disappointed in EVERY Samsung I've ever owned...though I've heard the Note 2 is really good on signal. I really wish there was a site that would do a 'scientific' signal strength analysis.

I like my RAZR MAXX HD, but I absolutely hate AMOLED and onscreen buttons.

Sandroidfan

It's funny because that's main reason I got Razr HD over the other options. I became fan of on-screen buttons after using Gnex with stock ICS/JB. It seems I'm minority on this one. It feels like using stock OS with Nova launcher, widgetsoid toggles. It's significant step up from Gnex on battery, 4G connection, call quality but not so much on camera. Gnex camera quality was improved a bit with JB update. I hope the same happens to RHD camera with JB.

I guess OP made choice by now. Both GS3 and RHD is great phone but now DNA seems to beat both except battery life.

wedgemoose

No your not the minority. You are 100% correct. Unlike that quote, I can't stand hard keys. They are gross. I actually said I would never get another phone with them and I did. I have the DNA now and the only thing not making it a great phone is the hard buttons. They never turn on when you want. They don't shut off when you want. Holding phone sidways you look at sideways symbols. It is awful. I'm with you, on-screen is the only way to go. People that say they don't like them probably don't have them.

jroc

No, he's not in the minority, its more like a 50/50 split or the majority likes on screen buttons. I also dont like em, and I had them with a G Nex before I got a Maxx HD.

Some of us that dont like them ....just dont like them. I know I'm in the minority when I say I liked the hard buttons on my Droid X the best. Put it like this....out of every feature about ICS.....on screen buttons were probably at the bottom of the list of what I liked.

Last edited by jroc; November 27th, 2012 at 07:40 AM.

Dreamliner

On screen buttons are worthless. Using screen real estate for buttons is absolutely terrible.

Haven't you ever noticed you can physically see more web content on an iPhone 5 then on a RAZR MAXX HD...yeah.

jj2me

There are three types of buttons, as far as I can tell:
1. hard buttons
2. on-screen capacitive touch buttons (new Moto DROIDs)
3. "off-screen" capacitive touch buttons, i.e., a dedicated space for them. My LG Revolution has them. It has a 4.3" screen, always.

I didn't realize there was such a thing as on-screen buttons until I looked at these DROIDs. It's a way to advertise a bigger screen size (by about 0.3" -0.4"), a size that will only materialize when watching vids (maybe also pics and some other apps, I don't know).

Screen size (est.) most of the time:
DROID RAZR/RAZR MAXX/RAZR HD/RAZR MAXX HD: 4.3"
DROID RAZR M: 4.0"

AMTrombley0924

Can we evolve this discussion to S3 vs HD vs DNA? I'm having trouble justifying buying an HD with a powerhouse like the DNA, but I love Motorola's UI and build quality.

Also, someone mentioned the Bionic debacle...do you think its worth waiting until CTIA/MWC for any new moto hardware?

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Dreamliner

I've heard DNA owners complaining about light bleed and dust under the display. Dunno how widespread it is, but HTC is notorious for that issue.

I want a MAXX HD with a DNA screen and off screen buttons....

Sandroidfan

DNA is pretty intriguing phone and battery life seems good enough. But it's still hard for me to get over Sense UI. I think it's too heavy and too much deviation from stock android. I'm baffled that its battery usage page doesn't show any detail of each part like screen on time. Touchwiz has some stock look and UI to it at least, but new Blur is by far the best UI skin. I'm also seeing some complaints on low call volume on DNA too.

I will wait to see other 1080p screen/quad core phones early next year. HTC typically makes the first move like One X, DNA but they are quickly outdone usually by Samsung. Motorola is strong on the basics of phone, but they lack in other specs to be major player. I hope I'm wrong, but I guess they will be the last to come out with 1080p/quad core phone among major brands. Google is trying to turn them around but it's going to take some time.

pegs520

I thought about getting the DNA, but I just can't get over the battery life and storage.

It's nice being worry-free with the Maxx HD.

marky2mark

Seriously...who cares about 720p vs 1080p? You can barely tell the difference on a 52" LCD TV, how are you gonna tell the difference on a 5" screen? Same with quad core vs dual core. If I put one next to the other, you wouldn't be able to tell the difference.

007shark

Exactly, specs all look good on paper, but personal performance is the most important feature. Whenever I upgrade a phone, I first determine the features that are important to me ie: screen size, LTE, battery, performance. This usually only leaves me with a few choices. I then hop over to XDA to make sure there is some development going on and if I will be able to root and have a recovery option. Then I hop over to the local Verizon store and play around with each phone for awhile, feeling its weight and form factor in my hands. Testing the UI, speed, and fluidness, and also testing its touted features. I then always ask the salespeople on their personal perference and experience, return rate, common complaints.

To me, smartphones are major purchases. I always weigh the pros and cons of each model to how I will use it. The only real choices for me at the time of upgrade was the SGIII or the Razr HD/Razr Maxx HD. The Razr Maxx HD met my personal criteria and how I use a smartphone. Now that I have it customized to how I use it with apps for launcher, car mode, tasker, etc., I am extremely satisfied with my purchase and it should last me past my next upgrade. It is the first android smartphone that I am not worried about installing custom roms to get rid of the manufacturer's UI or to gain missing features.

On a side note, there will always be a new, "better" smartphone on the horizon as each manufacturer is releasing a new flagship phone at least once a year.

Sandroidfan

I had the same thought on screen resolution until I saw DNA in person. It wouldn't matter for the most part. But when looking at small texts, small details in pictures/videos, its better clarity is easily noticeable.

Downside is that some apps don't play nicely with 1080p resolution and it puts a lot of strain on GPU. That's why it needs quad core processor with more powerful GPU which is Adreno 320 in case of DNA. I think that's the main reason why it needs the quad core processor rather than more cores. And pretty soon apps will begin supporting full HD screen. So that's where smartphone technology is going like it has been so far whether we like it or not.

Dreamliner

Interestingly enough, whats more prevalent than the higher resolution is looking at nice uniform sub-pixels on the DNA. AMOLED is incapable of high clarity because of the sub-pixel arrangement.

I have hated every AMOLED screen phone I've ever used, but the other features of the phone outweigh the drawbacks of other phones with better screens.

I wish Motorola would move away from AMOLED, the Motorola Atrix HD uses LCD and is beautiful.

rushmore

I am on the no like side. I like having the extra 19% or so of usable space with apps.

GS3 is the better choice for me as a result.

Sandroidfan

Yeah, pentile pixel layout is hurting the sharpness on AMOLED screen. So that's another advantage going for DNA's full HD S-LCD3 screen with high ppi. But practically it's ok for most people. I don't think a lot of GS3, Razr HD owners are complaining on it.

But on the positive side, AMOLED has deeper black and contrast that LCD can't match. LCD is bound to bleeding light too. Also it's thinner because it doesn't need extra layers for light source, polarizer, etc. This probably allows for more room to put bigger battery like Maxx HD and allows thin GS3 body with removable battery.