Help me choose a new Verizon Motorola Android Phone

A lot of people here aren't fans of Motorola... I like Motorola, but I have the Samsung Galaxy Nexus. If I were to buy a Moto device though, it would be the Razr Maxx. The extra battery life is a plus... Do you want/need the Droid 4's physical keyboard? Otherwise, Maxx is the best bet.

Here is my limited experience...I bought a Droid II Global about 18 months ago. Global is a flat requirement as we have relatives overseas and spend months there every few years. As a phone it worked very well indeed. It did not, however, have a camera so as to allow skype, about our only real high tech affectation.

About 6 months ago I updated to a Droid III (also global capable). It does have a camera for Skype BUT, Verizon pretends it will not work with Skype video. I hauled it to Charleston SC last year for a month and the Skype video worked to my home in Idaho without major problem. The phone refuses to skype in my home city though, very annoying.

The phone supports up to a 32GB SD card and comes with a lot of built in memory. I have a lot of CD bit perfect music or better on the phone that works great! In addition, the Digital to Analogue Converter (DAC) supports files that are greater than CD quality and with bluetooth, lets me stream CD quality music to any bluetooth receiver....In short, it is a very good music player.

I have had no problems with adding apps to the phone and like being able to manipulate files from or to my phone and PC like any windows system.

It is 3G (4G does not exist reliably in Europe) so download times are not state of the art but when downloaded, the device works perfectly.

I am due an upgrade in November and will move to the Droid 4 IF that device supports global service like my III does and does not backslide on the music DAC.

Another downside is that my Verizon phone came loaded with crap Apps that I cannot remove. I consider the junk to be a scam and am offended but I know of no way short of rooting (and perhaps killing the phone) to get rid of the dross.

So, it it was me, I would check out a Droid 3 or 4...

OfficeLinebacker said:

Having had my hands inside of thousands of cell phones, Motorola are the best engineered and built. I do have a problem with their policies, and how hard it is to get spare parts. But now that I'm not in the business any more, and I don't plan on having to repair my phone, I'll choose Motorola.

I'm definitely interested in the 4G speeds--do you need a data plan upgrade to get 4G (or what Verizon is calling 4G)?

Click to expand...

I would not reccommend Motorola. Best engineered and best built is your opinion, no offense. I've had a few Motorolas and had nothing but problems out of them. They do not last. My wife's HTC Eris held up better than my original Motorola Droid.

That being said...if you HAVE to have a Moto phone, go with the Razr Maxx. The battery is big enough that when you start seeing a decline in battery life (trust me, you will...it's a motorola) you should still have enough to not have to send it off and have it replaced.

Regarding 4G. You don't have to do anything to your data plan to get it. You just need a 4G capable phone. Verizon is using LTE, which is the true 4G. AT&T tried to get away with calling HSPA+ 4G, but they've now implemented an LTE technology as well in some cities and they are calling it 4G LTE.

I would go with the droid razr maxx l. You si. Ply cannot beat the battery life. Like stated before, the only other phone would be the droid 4 witch i would say only get if you need that keyboard. And the maxx is slated to get ICS Soon.

lol office, i think that was motorola's intentions all along, i would honestly rather have the MAXX than the razr, but that is just me

Love my razr. No issues with it. Had it since December.

Look online like amazon or other places. you can def find a deal for the razr maxx cheaper somewhere online. I rarely by my phones from the brick and mortar stores, with hopes of not paying full price. I understand not wanting to dish out all the foe the maxx.

The Razr has a non-removable battery. Someone mentioned the "add-on apps" that come standard, ICS will allow you to disable them, I have ICS on my tablet, nice little feature.

OfficeLinebacker said:

Thanks for all the feedback, guys. I'm leaning toward the regular RAZR.

What's the deal with battery replacement on that though? Is it like an iPhone, possible but you need tools, or what?

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Yes to your question.

FYI, there is someone selling a kit that will turn a RAZR into a RAZR MAXX (battery, back plate, etc). Since you've worked on phones before, it might be a good option to look it up and see how much it costs. I'm pretty sure it is less than $200.

Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using Tapatalk

Here's the link. Looks like it's just preorder right now...
http://www.cellphone-repair-shop.co...zr-battery-conversion-kit-to-droid-razr-maxx/

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Motorola really does have the best build quality. I've had two HTC's and I swore by them, then I picked up a Razr and it's fantastic. Unless you really need a keyboard, the Razr/Razr Maxx is the way to go. I recently picked up a Razr and I can easily get through an entire day, even with 4G turned on. If you don't want to put down the extra money for a Maxx, there's absolutely nothing wrong with a normal Razr.

Need a physical keyboard? go with Droid 4, don't need the physical keyboard and want a top notch phone cheap? go with Bionic, got $$$, go with the Maxx!

I'm considering the Maxx as well. Costco has it for $289 including an accessory pack (belt case, screen covers, car charger I think) and a dock. I'm wondering how the upcoming HTC Droid Incredible 4G will compare though.

I am itching to dump my Droid X. It can't happen soon enough. I thought it was awesome when I first got it but now there are times it won't even perform its function as a phone! I'll tap a number to dial and it won't. I'll try again and eventually when it dials it will dial multiple times depending on how many times I tried, wanting me to merge all of the calls. Then there are the random reboots. I could go on and on...

Congrats on the new (to you) phone!