Who ditched their GS4 for the Maxx?

[LOTL]

Did the preorder today at Best Buy Mobile for the Maxx. Not sure when they will be shipping, but i have till it ships and then 15 days after to trade it in for the GS4.

Seems like the GS4's camera may be a little better, better development options on the GS4, uSD card, removable battery, IR remote and all the gimmicky features that somewhat work.

Just curious how many here may have had a GS4 and now own the Maxx. Why you made the switch or comments on things the Maxx does better.

The guy at Best Buy Mobile almost talked me out of preordering the Maxx and couldnt be more happy with his GS4. No issues with battery life, sluggisness or signal strength.

Thought i had my mind made up between these 2 phones but??
Guess ill give the Maxx a shot, keep reading the forums and reviews and decide whether ill go for the GS4.

 

[18t]

I despise touchwiz. The camera is definitely better on gs4. As far as removable battery.... Why would you need one with a battery as big as the maxx? My wife's gs4 does the lag and I find it very annoying and unacceptable. I personally have no interest in gs4, the home button drives me nuts. I've found no use for the gimmick features on gs4. Don't be so easily swayed.

My only concerns with maxx are lack of dev support and mediocre camera.

 

[blackwizard]

My only concerns with maxx are lack of dev support

i was thinking about this earlier tonite. just look at this forum alone and see the post/thread count in the Maxx forum vs the Ultra forum. add to that that the insides, at least on the surface, appear to be the same as the Moto X. if everything works the same and there are enough users, shouldn't we have fairly decent dev support if it's also there for the Moto X?

 

[Outatime]

Because I loved my GNex so much, the S4 was going to be my next phone, without question. Or so I thought.

When I started to get closer to my upgrade date, I started following the S4 forums. I saw people complaining about the very same weaknesses that I had noticed with my GNex. Mediocre radios. Getting hot while using. Poor battery life.

When I saw the Droid Maxx info leaking out, I thought, "No way. A 1.7 gig dual core vs the 1.9 gig quad core in the S4? Why would I do this?" Then someone posted the benchmarks that were achieved on the Maxx. Faster web browsing. Faster graphics processing. It really sold me.

The radios on the Maxx are simply sick. There is a place by my house that's always been absolutely dead for me and my wife on AT&T. I maintained a solid 3G connection going through there earlier today. My old Sammy dumb phone, my Storm, my Inc, my GNex... had nothing. No service. I still had something on my Maxx.

IMHO, the S4 is a great phone. The Maxx is a game changing phone. I've posted before I think the current Moto lineup will be copied by other manufacturers in the months/years to come.

 

[lewwill]

Because I loved my GNex so much, the S4 was going to be my next phone, without question. Or so I thought.

When I started to get closer to my upgrade date, I started following the S4 forums. I saw people complaining about the very same weaknesses that I had noticed with my GNex. Mediocre radios. Getting hot while using. Poor battery life.

When I saw the Droid Maxx info leaking out, I thought, "No way. A 1.7 gig dual core vs the 1.9 gig quad core in the S4? Why would I do this?" Then someone posted the benchmarks that were achieved on the Maxx. Faster web browsing. Faster graphics processing. It really sold me.

The radios on the Maxx are simply sick. There is a place by my house that's always been absolutely dead for me and my wife on AT&T. I maintained a solid 3G connection going through there earlier today. My old Sammy dumb phone, my Storm, my Inc, my GNex... had nothing. No service. I still had something on my Maxx.

IMHO, the S4 is a great phone. The Maxx is a game changing phone. I've posted before I think the current Moto lineup will be copied by other manufacturers in the months/years to come.

Totally agree, this is the phone to beat.

 

[blackwizard]

there isn't much great dev support for the verizon S4 right now either now, that device is on lock down like for knox and there is no telling when or if they will get a bootloader unlocked again so that is a moot comparison in my opinion.

s4 wins in the camera comparison and thats about it in my opinion

i wasn't comparing it to the S4, at least i don't think i was. i was merely saying that if there happens to be support for the Moto X, then hopefully that means we'll have support for the Maxx due to the two phones being essentially the same

 

[jntdroid]

I did... but I'm switching back (and considering the One). Camera is just too important to me, and I would consider the camera a borderline fail given the timing of this device, the stature (i.e. it's their premier device for the near future), and compared to every other top-tiered phone out right now. And while Moto improved it vs. previous devices, and made it pretty quick and simple, it's incredibly inconsistent and the picture quality, even at its best, is subpar.

Also, the "ok google now" thing is very very cool... but basically a gimmick at this point. You can't text someone without touching your phone. You can't call someone without touching your phone. You can't set a calendar appointment without touching your phone. You can wake it and give it the command, which is fun and cool, but the "touchless" experience ends there unless you're doing a basic search or navigating. It's basically just easier access to the same Google Now / Voice Command system that's always been there.

That said, I loved just about everything else about it... UI, speed/performance, speaker, feel, etc. It really was about the camera for me - if it was even remotely better, I'd stick with it, because I have faith that Google Now will continue to improve and become more intuitive.

Also, to the earlier poster, I use the heck out of the IR remote on the S4 and it works perfectly... we're an Apple TV / Airplay house, so being able to use my phone to control Apple TV, alongside my TV and stereo, is a nice bonus. I've also never had issues with signal on the S4, or the S3 before it. Anyway, just my .02. Obviously the camera isn't as important to others, to whom I say this phone is an awesome choice.

 

[18t]

I did... but I'm switching back (and considering the One). Camera is just too important to me, and I would consider the camera a borderline fail given the timing of this device, the stature (i.e. it's their premier device for the near future), and compared to every other top-tiered phone out right now. And while Moto improved it vs. previous devices, and made it pretty quick and simple, it's incredibly inconsistent and the picture quality, even at its best, is subpar.

Also, the "ok google now" thing is very very cool... but basically a gimmick at this point. You can't text someone without touching your phone. You can't call someone without touching your phone. You can't set a calendar appointment without touching your phone. You can wake it and give it the command, which is fun and cool, but the "touchless" experience ends there unless you're doing a basic search or navigating. It's basically just easier access to the same Google Now / Voice Command system that's always been there.

That said, I loved just about everything else about it... UI, speed/performance, speaker, feel, etc. It really was about the camera for me - if it was even remotely better, I'd stick with it, because I have faith that Google Now will continue to improve and become more intuitive.

Also, to the earlier poster, I use the heck out of the IR remote on the S4 and it works perfectly... we're an Apple TV / Airplay house, so being able to use my phone to control Apple TV, alongside my TV and stereo, is a nice bonus. I've also never had issues with signal on the S4, or the S3 before it. Anyway, just my .02. Obviously the camera isn't as important to others, to whom I say this phone is an awesome choice.

Valid points.... The camera is a let down. I wish OEMS would focus on quality rather than trying to differentiate themselves.

As far as voice commands, they are touch less but you must wait for the scrolling blue line to finish, or atleast that is my understanding.

See here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXyCbrdQEyA&feature=youtube_gdata_player

 

[Outatime]

You can't text someone without touching your phone.

That is true. You actually have to click send.

You can't call someone without touching your phone. You can't set a calendar appointment without touching your phone.

That is not true. It will execute those commands without you touching it. It gives you a second to abort the command in case it wasn't correct.

As far as voice commands, they are touch less but you must wait for the scrolling blue line to finish, or atleast that is my understanding.

See here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXyCbrdQEyA&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Correct.

 

[jntdroid]

That is not true. It will execute those commands without you touching it. It gives you a second to abort the command in case it wasn't correct.

I apologize, I should've clarified on the phone. You have to enable speakerphone by hand, it doesn't default to enabling it. In a car hooked up to bluetooth, that's probably fine (and helpful). But anywhere else...

And on the calendar, every time I try and set a calendar appt it makes me confirm it with a touch. Maybe I'm doing something wrong...

Also, how has your experience with Play Music been? It's been very hit or miss with me, half the time with me having to interact with it after the command to get it where I want it to go.

 

[Outatime]

I apologize, I should've clarified on the phone. You have to enable speakerphone by hand, it doesn't default to enabling it. In a car hooked up to bluetooth, that's probably fine (and helpful). But anywhere else...

Somewhere, now I can't find it, there was a "default to speakerphone" setting. If I find it again I'll let you know where it was.

And on the calendar, every time I try and set a calendar appt it makes me confirm it with a touch. Maybe I'm doing something wrong...

I just confirmed it works on mine without touching. Do you let the little blue status bar go across the window?

Also, how has your experience with Play Music been? It's been very hit or miss with me, half the time with me having to interact with it after the command to get it where I want it to go.

As far as the "hands free" thing? Horrible. Absolutely terrible. Most of my music is sort of old school without tag info. The actual sound on the device is amazing for a phone. But I don't even bother trying to hands free play stuff.

 

[LOTL]

Question for those that have the Maxx. Have any of you tried recording a different phrase other than "OK Google Now"?
Or tried shortening it to "K Goog Now" or something a syllable or 2 less?

The camera thing is disappointing. Im sure ittl be an upgrade from the 8MP on my Droid X or will it? My Droid X takes decent pictures (outdoors or with good lighting indoors) and even better video and i can change the default resolution, something i read the Maxx cant.

 

[Outatime]

I don't think it will work? I was under the impression that it had to be that phrase and the "training" you do just gets it accustomed to your voice. I actually don't want to re-train it with something else... I have it pretty solid that I get it to activate 98% of the time.

jntdroid: That setting is under Settings > Touchless Control > Use Speakerphone.

 

[Trooper]

I just picked up a droid Maxx tonight. Need more time to mess around with it. Digging it so far.

 

[Trooper]

Hey guys anyone using Nova Launcher prime with this device? I am and I seem to be having an issue. It's almost as if the prime features are not fully working. Case in point double tapping on any home screen does not bring up the settings like it does on my other phones. Is anyone else experiencing this? Thanks.

 

[Outatime]

Hey Troop,

I am. You can control what Nova does with the gestures like the double tap. Nova Settings > Gestures and Buttons > Double Tap.

 

[Thom]

Hadn't played with that yet ... set double tap to toggle notification bar ... neat.

... Thom

 

[Outatime]

That's what I have mine set to

 

[18t]

Big fan of Nova prime. Love the minimal voice search button too

 

[Trooper]

Thanks that did the trick. Funny thing is, and I have been using Nova for a long time, this is the first time I had to do that!