Razr vs GNex mini review

rushmore · Dec 19, 2011

I paid the full $650 and am happy with the Razr.

elitegamer · Dec 19, 2011

LOL, wow you guys really hate being ics left out huh lol. i like these post keep em coming guys.

rushmore · Dec 19, 2011

elitegamer said:
LOL, wow you guys really hate being ics left out huh lol. i like these post keep em coming guys.

I am happy as is (sans ICS for now), but not so happy sinking in I paid the full price....

Prefer getting updates once the bigger bugs are out of the new OS level

PACAnesFan · Dec 19, 2011

rushmore said:
I am happy as is (sans ICS for now), but not so happy sinking in I paid the full price....

Prefer getting updates once the bigger bugs are out of the new OS level

I agree. The RAZR is a great phone. I have no regrets about getting it. Smart Actions are revolutionary; I wouldn't be surprised to see this implemented in future Android versions if the Google/Motorola merger goes through. Battery life is better then I would have expected, especially if you use Smart Actions and turn off 4G when not in use.

bikercr · Dec 19, 2011

Checked out the GNex in downtown Boston Verizon today. Phone is a piece of junk--flimsy and toy-like. Reception was bad. RAZR had 20 dB better reception in same spot. Screen response was stuttering. Visual quality excellent, and ICS very nice. Phone back cover was falling off--incredibly cheap looking. Finally, it's just too fricking big. Who wants to hold a Pop Tart up to their head?

jroc · Dec 19, 2011

I'm happy with my RAZR too. Great phone to me. Works as it should for me too.

For me reception and battery life comes first, everything else 2nd. I happen to live n work in a bad reception area.....and my history with different devices keeps me coming back to Moto.

The battery can be gotten to kinda easy on the RAZR. I posted a clip of me removing it with just my fingers. Question is will someone make an extended battery for it? Even if they do I will still go with the iTrent or Anker battery pack. Its on the smallish side and has ALOT of mAh's for the price.

mansart · Dec 19, 2011

re the size of the Gnex vs Razr. I actually don't mind the length of the Gnex, but I do find the Razr a little too wide for my hand.

Gravytrain · Dec 19, 2011

jroc said:
I'm happy with my RAZR too. Great phone to me. Works as it should for me too.

For me reception and battery life comes first, everything else 2nd. I happen to live n work in a bad reception area.....and my history with different devices keeps me coming back to Moto.

The battery can be gotten to kinda easy on the RAZR. I posted a clip of me removing it with just my fingers. Question is will someone make an extended battery for it? Even if they do I will still go with the iTrent or Anker battery pack. Its on the smallish side and has ALOT of mAh's for the price.

I ordered my anker battery yesterday, the size of that thing impressive.

Trooper · Dec 20, 2011

Gravytrain said:
I ordered my anker battery yesterday, the size of that thing impressive.

Wait whats this about the anker battery?

tom108 · Dec 20, 2011

Trooper said:
Wait whats this about the anker battery?

External I think.

rushmore · Dec 20, 2011

mansart said:
re the size of the Gnex vs Razr. I actually don't mind the length of the Gnex, but I do find the Razr a little too wide for my hand.

That the Razr is, but the postive to me offsets this (hot swap card).

Razr IMO is the best current option when considering the total package:

1. Speed
2. Battery life
3. Display is nice, but not weighed down by 720p
4. Build
5. Hot swap card
6. Radio reception
7. Call quality

Must admit though that I would rather have all this good stuff in the Bionic design, since removable battery and easy one hand use. The Bionic also has plenty of room for an external card slot- in spite of where they put it.

Of course, it would not be the Razr then.

syntrix · Dec 20, 2011

SGN reports the LTE antenna signal.

RAZR reports your evdo antenna signal.

These are two distinct things and can not be compared in the way the OP did.

rushmore · Dec 20, 2011

syntrix said:
SGN reports the LTE antenna signal.

RAZR reports your evdo antenna signal.

These are two distinct things and can not be compared in the way the OP did.

The Gnex in less covered areas and buildings is 1X and 3G, where other devices are 3G and 4G. Seems a false sense of security pegging to that and very surprised Anandtech are feeding this (great site).

No harm no foul to me, since will not own the Nexus, but still hope it works out for people that do.

you2 · Dec 20, 2011

According to anandtech it turns out that the signal strength the gnexus displays is lte; while other phones is 3g so that expalins the difference. there is also some rumor that the issue with the gnexus is an authentification issue and not actual reception (i can't find the article now but basically it indicated that verizon scheme is too sensitive and it will kick devices off the network when there is no issue) so there is hope for some improvement in gnexus behavior with software updates; though preliminary reports is that 3g signal on the gnexus is infact not as good. There has also been some (more than a few) reports of bad ear piece and other issue as well as an easily scratch screen.
-
The authentificaiton issue (if accurate) would help explain poor battery life. To be honest if at&t had matched verizon 4GB@$30 deal i would probably have gone with the skylark (basically galaxy s 2) over the razr - i don't actually have the razr yet - should have it tomorrow so I will refrain from further comments on various phones for at least a week to give honest feedback and not quick snips (yea i've decided to live with the razr for a year or so unless i return it during the 14day return period). I do hope i can cope a 14 hour day off the battery during light use and 5+ hours of heavy use (airport and stuff - will have a chance to test it next week in this mode).

bikercr said:
Checked out the GNex in downtown Boston Verizon today. Phone is a piece of junk--flimsy and toy-like. Reception was bad. RAZR had 20 dB better reception in same spot. Screen response was stuttering. Visual quality excellent, and ICS very nice. Phone back cover was falling off--incredibly cheap looking. Finally, it's just too fricking big. Who wants to hold a Pop Tart up to their head?

john30308 · Dec 20, 2011

I've had my GNex for 5 days now. I still can't get used to the form factor. It's wide, even for 6'1" me. But the buttons are the biggest problem. The volume rocker and power button oppose each other on opposite sides of the phone. You can't pick the phone up by the middle with out pressing them. And, when you try to press a button, you naturally squeeze the other side of the phone with your opposing fingers - accidentally pressing something you don't want to. It's a MAJOR form factor problem.

vnyislesv · Dec 20, 2011

i dont understand why people criticize the battery life on the razr. i work in a meat cooler, always have the phone in my pocket... ill work 5am-2pm pull it out and see 85-90% battery life. sure, no live wallpaper and all gps off... but 10-15% when in an area with no or bad signal is amazing.

overall, the battery charges fast and lasts a long time for what it is.

some people will never be happy.

pm1066 · Dec 20, 2011

syntrix said:
SGN reports the LTE antenna signal.

RAZR reports your evdo antenna signal.

These are two distinct things and can not be compared in the way the OP did.

I don't understand this. This implies the Razr has both radios on when connected toLTE. How else could it report cdma signal strength when connected to 4g?

That would explain the bad 4g battery life... :rolleyes:

syntrix · Dec 20, 2011

pm1066 said:
I don't understand this. This implies the Razr has both radios on when connected toLTE. How else could it report cdma signal strength when connected to 4g?

That would explain the bad 4g battery life...

It's the difference in what the OS reports under phone status. RAZR is just like the Bionic referenced:

AnandTech - Investigating the Galaxy Nexus LTE Signal Issue

I'm not saying it's good, bad or indifferent, I'm just saying that's how the OP compared the signal strength, but they represent two completely different signals.

syntrix · Dec 20, 2011

rushmore said:
I was a tad stunned that the reception was so poor on the Gnex. It is about 9 dBm points weaker even than the Charge that has the same radios. The signal delta is real.

Force the SGN into 3G, that will be EXACTLY the same metric reported and EXACTLY the dB. I came from a charge, and we have a few around the office. That signal is the same between all 3 phones (add the RAZR in) at my desk. See the link I just posted above for an explanation of the SGN (or maybe even ICS) and what the numbers represent under about phone -> status -> signal strength.

Still doesn't change the fact that people are getting less of a real world experience with the SGN, VZW has acknowledged and has promised a fix.

The RAZR is a damn fine phone, can't argue with Moto radios, they seem to be the clearest out of the competition!

rushmore · Dec 20, 2011

The one known I have is the Razr has the best radio reception and call quality of any device I have tested to date.

I hope the Nexus users are at least as happy as others and I with the Razr.

SolidOrange · Dec 20, 2011

i had the razr for 28 days and will attest that the reception was better than my GNex. that being said, the GNex is, by no means, bad. it is completely usable, and that's all that really matters to me. a number is just a number, and, as reported by anandtech, that number can be measured differently between devices. hopefully the GNex will get reception will improve with software updates (which Google is pushing FAST), and then i will have 0 complaints.

my only reasons for returning the razr?

it just feels awkward to hold. a few added millimeters from front to back would have been far less noticeable than the added width from side to side needed to accommodate the internals.
GNex has a non-encrypted bootloader and gets its updates straight from google. I change roms/kernels quite frequently and could not live without that ability. We will also see faster updates and resolution to bugs/issues since ours will not held up by Blur or VZ.
no removable battery. i would say that the battery life between the two devices is nearly identical. however, when my GNex dies, i can just throw my spare battery in. The only solution with a razr is to carry an anchor battery or your charger around with you all day.

they are both great devices, and the beauty of android is that we have so many great phones to choose from. :cool:

mansart · Dec 20, 2011

So after using my Gnex for a few days and not feeling entirely satisfied with it (see earlier post) I went back to Verizon to play with the Razr a bit again. As much as I love moto's build quality, I just can't go back after using ICS...and it did feel like going back. Even something as small as the buttons on the bottom made it feel a little dated. Mind you, I'm not criticizing the phone at all. In some ways I wish I had bought it first and never used the Gnex. Then I'd probably be happy as a clam, (other than the issues I mentioned previously, which are similar to those mentioned by SolidOrange). But having used the Gnex, and being an avowed early adopter, for better or for worse, I just can't go back to Gingerbread (even if only for a few months) on a phone built for Gingerbread.

If I wasn't absolutely desperate to replace my OG Droid (a phone that I loved, btw) I'd wait and see what Moto has up its sleeve for ICS. As it is, and since I'm not the kind of person who can afford to break contracts or buy off-contract, I'll just have to be happy with my Gnex (with the help, no doubt, of custom ROMs) for a coupe of years and then see what's next.

Cheers all.

bikercr · Dec 20, 2011

One thing no one has mentioned is the presence of Swype built-in on the Razr. I've been using Swype for two years now and can't tolerate hunt and peck keyboards anymore. The integrated Swype on the Razr is the best version I've ever used. I was a beta user when I had my DInc. I would not buy a smartphone without Swype now.

The battery issue is a non-issue with the new compact power packs (the Anker Slim Talk is awesome). I prefer connecting the power pack versus shutting down and fiddling with covers and batteries. The power pack, which I need fairly rarely, attaches to the Razr's back with industrial Velcro, tiny built-in stretch cord goes into the mini port, and the whole thing is good to go. Down the road, should the Razr battery need to be changed, I can do that myself--looks really simple.

rushmore · Dec 20, 2011

I like Swype too, but wish the first word selection used the most likely word, based on fequency, rather than having no apparent logic. I appreciate this may be too much overhead, but would make it much better IMO. The View I just bought also has Swype built in

jroc · Dec 21, 2011

bikercr said:
One thing no one has mentioned is the presence of Swype built-in on the Razr. I've been using Swype for two years now and can't tolerate hunt and peck keyboards anymore. The integrated Swype on the Razr is the best version I've ever used. I was a beta user when I had my DInc. I would not buy a smartphone without Swype now.

The battery issue is a non-issue with the new compact power packs (the Anker Slim Talk is awesome). I prefer connecting the power pack versus shutting down and fiddling with covers and batteries. The power pack, which I need fairly rarely, attaches to the Razr's back with industrial Velcro, tiny built-in stretch cord goes into the mini port, and the whole thing is good to go. Down the road, should the Razr battery need to be changed, I can do that myself--looks really simple.

This is an unknown or not well known pro for external battery packs. Its like hot swapping sd cards...Especially if they are as small as that Anker one. I was gonna go with the iTrent, but the Anker is really small.

Also the form factor doesnt change, no new battery covers.

Razr vs GNex mini review

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