Maxx vs gNexus questions....

glasswave · May 20, 2012

Sorry for the rehash, I've done a fair bit of reading & know the obvious differences (screen, no sd on gNex, no removable battery on the maxx), but a lot of the chatter has got me a little confused.

I was originally leaning gnex for the bigger screen & because I prefer open devices, but now I am worried about bad reception. I have seen massive complaint threads about dropped calls/poor connections on other forums are they warranted?

I am wondering about the use of the devices primarily as a phone. I will use them for internet a fair amount as well. I get the feeling that the Maxx is a better phone in general. True? How is the gNex as a phone?

What are the general complaints about the gNex? I hear that some already have battery life probs, is this true? Can a Maxx battery be replaced by a technician? I am on Verizon and would be using the cdma version.

Thanks

SweatyPits · May 20, 2012

the maxx has the same screen resolution as the 3 year old droid X, along with a 1.5 year old OS, and motoblur which is a never a bonus.

the choice should be clear :listen:

trophynuts · May 20, 2012

OP everyone's mileage is different. For some people the G Nex has been a great phone.

Then for some it has been a terrible phone. It really just depends on where you're at i guess.

For me personally it has been horrible in the reception area. which also probably translates to less battery life. I don't have a complaint about battery life though because i'm always near a charger.

glasswave · May 20, 2012

trophynuts said:
OP everyone's mileage is different. For some people the G Nex has been a great phone.

Then for some it has been a terrible phone. It really just depends on where you're at i guess.

For me personally it has been horrible in the reception area. which also probably translates to less battery life. I don't have a complaint about battery life though because i'm always near a charger.

Thanks, that's my worry. Even though I am in a fairly urban city, my current home has terrible reception. I fear I may have to go with the maxx.

SweatyPits said:
the choice should be clear :listen:

And it would be, but only if the reception is clear. I need a good phone, more than anything.

jbdan · May 20, 2012

You should get the phone then and see for yourself. Unfortunately there is no possibility that anyone here can tell you what you need to do....besides you.

You have 14 days, see how it performs and come to your conclusion. Wishing you luck!

Sandroidfan · May 21, 2012

If you like Gnex but worried about signal reception, just give it try for about 10 days to see how it works for you. If not bad one, it should be fine on 3G and phone but 4G reception is not stellar IMO.

OP4500 · May 21, 2012

If you plan to root get a Gnex, I had signal issues, but after flash BAMF 1.25 and 4.0.4 radios I have no problems. Aside from battery life and a removable SD card the nexus is superior in every way.

Tim K · May 21, 2012

glasswave said:
Thanks, that's my worry. Even though I am in a fairly urban city, my current home has terrible reception. I fear I may have to go with the maxx.

And it would be, but only if the reception is clear. I need a good phone, more than anything.

Reception and call issues seem to vary for everyone. I never have problems with mine, others are on their third device and still can't make calls.

The only way to really know is to try it yourself. Honestly, if you can get the Nexus and not have reception problems, its a better phone. If you can't actually use a Nexus to make phone calls then its definitely a worse phone!

Battery life depends too much on how you use it. Wifi is a big help, the more you can be on Wifi the longer your battery will last. Screen brightness is also a drain so turn it down. The real factor though is screen on time and data usage over 3g/4g. You can do 12-15hrs on 3g/4g with 2hrs of screen on time easily. If you are streaming audio or video expect that to drop significantly.

I've had as little as a 10hr day and as long as 48 hrs on a single charge - depending on usage.

trophynuts · May 21, 2012

Sandroidfan said:
it should be fine on 3G and phone but 4G reception is not stellar IMO.

mine is horrible even on 3G when i have 4G turned off.

glasswave · May 21, 2012

Thanks for all the advice. I wish I could try first, but it is going to be a work purchase and may be quite difficult to return.

Maybe I should pick one up and try it & if I like it, then have work get me one, although there seems to be quite a bit of sample variation in manufacturing and it sounds like if you get a good one you should hold on to it.

Seems like most manufacturers are still at least a generation away from the perfect smart phone.

Thanks again

Trooper · May 21, 2012

I have both devices. If reception and call quality is number one for you, get the Maxx. If you want a tad nicer screen, ice cream sandwich, and love to root and rom, get the nexus.

jbdan · May 21, 2012

glasswave said:
Thanks for all the advice. I wish I could try first, but it is going to be a work purchase and may be quite difficult to return.

Maybe I should pick one up and try it & if I like it, then have work get me one, although there seems to be quite a bit of sample variation in manufacturing and it sounds like if you get a good one you should hold on to it.

Seems like most manufacturers are still at least a generation away from the perfect smart phone.

Thanks again

I believe that with the inconsistencies that surround this phone, the best way would be to try it. VZW gives you 14 days satisfaction guarantee. You're not going in with bad intentions you just want to make sure the phone will be reliable and satisfactory for you. That is what the 14 days are for. I might be clueless here, but does buying it for work make the purchase any different than a "non-work" or personal purchase?

glasswave · May 21, 2012

jbdan said:
I believe that with the inconsistencies that surround this phone, the best way would be to try it. VZW gives you 14 days satisfaction guarantee. You're not going in with bad intentions you just want to make sure the phone will be reliable and satisfactory for you. That is what the 14 days are for. I might be clueless here, but does buying it for work make the purchase any different than a "non-work" or personal purchase?

I work for a very large company, I have no control over where my purchasing chooses to buy the device. The purchase also must be approved by IT, which will be an utter pain. By the time one deals with the hassle of inventory tracking, purchasing and all the other bs, it's usually easier to just throw the device in drawer somewhere & start over. I see it happen all the time in large organizations like mine.

It seems like the gNex is the best choice, but the razr maxx is the safe choice. Further, with the exeption of the smaller lower rez screen, most of the razr's deficiencies can be solved via rooting.

jbdan · May 21, 2012

glasswave said:
I work for a very large company, I have no control over where my purchasing chooses to buy the device. The purchase also must be approved by IT, which will be an utter pain. By the time one deals with the hassle of inventory tracking, purchasing and all the other bs, it's usually easier to just throw the device in drawer somewhere & start over. I see it happen all the time in large organizations like mine.

It seems like the gNex is the best choice, but the razr maxx is the safe choice. Further, with the exeption of the smaller lower rez screen, most of the razr's deficiencies can be solved via rooting.

Perfect explanation. I knew I was clueless to this kind of purchase

Good luck with whatever device you end up with and it does sound like the razr maxx would be the better choice of the 2.

Tim K · May 21, 2012

glasswave said:
I work for a very large company, I have no control over where my purchasing chooses to buy the device. The purchase also must be approved by IT, which will be an utter pain. By the time one deals with the hassle of inventory tracking, purchasing and all the other bs, it's usually easier to just throw the device in drawer somewhere & start over. I see it happen all the time in large organizations like mine.

It seems like the gNex is the best choice, but the razr maxx is the safe choice. Further, with the exeption of the smaller lower rez screen, most of the razr's deficiencies can be solved via rooting.

I might suggest posting your location and seeing if any members here are in your area and can comment on reception....

TheBlackFlux · May 21, 2012

I love my gnex, but the two I've had are unreliable in the signal department. Which, no matter how you view it, is a terrible issue. I should be getting a maxx tomorrow, I just hope it works.

OP I recommend the maxx since it will be a work phone and it appears the maxx is a bit more reliable in comparison to the nexus.

sox08 · May 22, 2012

I also have both i got a maxx in the mail due to issuses with gnex data but recently moved n am literally within 100 yards of a 4g tower and have been testing signal strength on both deciding which to keep. Both unrooted gnex stock 4.0.2 4g on gets 75dbm and maxx stock 2.3.6 gets 58dbm. Which is crazy ive never seen that low but is no joke. Moto def has better radios. Ill post new signal strength if i get 4.0.4 tomorrow

Demache · May 22, 2012

It seems that signal issues aren't incredibly consistent. I was in northern Idaho this past week and apparently my Nexus could still manage to hold reasonably usable 3G and 4G signal despite being in the mountains. In fact our campsite had 1-2 bars of 4G.

Sandroidfan · May 22, 2012

sox08 said:
I also have both i got a maxx in the mail due to issuses with gnex data but recently moved n am literally within 100 yards of a 4g tower and have been testing signal strength on both deciding which to keep. Both unrooted gnex stock 4.0.2 4g on gets 75dbm and maxx stock 2.3.6 gets 58dbm. Which is crazy ive never seen that low but is no joke. Moto def has better radios. Ill post new signal strength if i get 4.0.4 tomorrow

dBm number on Nexus is maxed (smallest negative) at -75. So it could be actually better than -75dbm when it's reporting that. Also if you looked at them in 4G, nexus is the only one showing dbm of LTE signal.

TXSooner · May 23, 2012

glasswave said:
I work for a very large company, I have no control over where my purchasing chooses to buy the device. The purchase also must be approved by IT, which will be an utter pain. By the time one deals with the hassle of inventory tracking, purchasing and all the other bs, it's usually easier to just throw the device in drawer somewhere & start over. I see it happen all the time in large organizations like mine.

It seems like the gNex is the best choice, but the razr maxx is the safe choice. Further, with the exeption of the smaller lower rez screen, most of the razr's deficiencies can be solved via rooting.

That's the problem with the Razr - the deficiencies can't be solved by rooting. The bootloader is locked, you can't do anything. I am looking at trading my Razr for a GNex because I had an Incredible before and was all about ROMs.

jroc · May 23, 2012

TXSooner said:
That's the problem with the Razr - the deficiencies can't be solved by rooting. The bootloader is locked, you can't do anything. I am looking at trading my Razr for a GNex because I had an Incredible before and was all about ROMs.

1. Depends on what one considers a deficiency. I had a RAZR, tried a G Nex for 2 weeks. I no longer have a G Nex. I replaced it with a Rezound. I barely use the Rezound. The deficiencies of the G Nex were bigger than the deficiencies of the RAZR...for my wants n needs. Same for the Rezound.

We all dont have the same wants n needs. Custom ROMs is no longer a big want or need of mine. That changed for me when Froyo came out on the Droid 1. I went back to stock and have been there ever since. I still have it too.

2. The RAZR might not have ROMs in the traditional sense...with custom kernels....but there are still ROMs for it. There are RAZR centric sites and some other sites that has alot of ROM activity on them.

The boot loader isnt in the way of ROMs, just custom kernels. And its more involved to put ROMs on a RAZR. And because of no custom kernel, there are some things one has to do or deal with that IMO isnt worth it. To some ppl it is. Like I mentioned above....I put a total of 1 ROM on my Droid X1, and that happened in Dec of 2010. I got the DX1 in July 2010. I have yet to put any ROMs on my RAZR. I had it since 11-11-2011. I have yet to root my Rezound, had it since 1-14-2012. I put a total of ...zero....ROMs on my G Nex. Was testing it for reception and wanted the cleanest environment possible. My experience with the G Nex ended at 4.0.3 also. So I dont know if 4.0.4 would helped me or not.

TXSooner · May 23, 2012

jroc said:
1. Depends on what one considers a deficiency. I had a RAZR, tried a G Nex for 2 weeks. I no longer have a G Nex. I replaced it with a Rezound. I barely use the Rezound. The deficiencies of the G Nex were bigger than the deficiencies of the RAZR...for my wants n needs. Same for the Rezound.

We all dont have the same wants n needs. Custom ROMs is no longer a big want or need of mine. That changed for me when Froyo came out on the Droid 1. I went back to stock and have been there ever since. I still have it too.

2. The RAZR might not have ROMs in the traditional sense...with custom kernels....but there are still ROMs for it. There are RAZR centric sites and some other sites that has alot of ROM activity on them.

The boot loader isnt in the way of ROMs, just custom kernels. And its more involved to put ROMs on a RAZR. And because of no custom kernel, there are some things one has to do or deal with that IMO isnt worth it. To some ppl it is. Like I mentioned above....I put a total of 1 ROM on my Droid X1, and that happened in Dec of 2010. I got the DX1 in July 2010. I have yet to put any ROMs on my RAZR. I had it since 11-11-2011. I have yet to root my Rezound, had it since 1-14-2012. I put a total of ...zero....ROMs on my G Nex. Was testing it for reception and wanted the cleanest environment possible. My experience with the G Nex ended at 4.0.3 also. So I dont know if 4.0.4 would helped me or not.

Okay, you're right, not everybody has the same deficiencies. But a ton of people are flashaholics, just not Razr users (that's Motorola/Verizon's fault, not the user) When I had an Incredible I probably flashed a ROM per week. Especially with CM7 and MIUI nightly updates. So I probably did even more than that. With the Razr, the flashing isn't worth it, way too much risk involved. DroidRzr.com has the most activity but still, it isn't like a phone with an unlocked bootloader.

ac29593 · May 23, 2012

I had the nexus and made every excuse in the book to keep it....just a gorgeous phone. But it was unusable. Signal issues galore and battery life was pathetic. I returned it for the Maxx. Maxx is great, and I do not miss the additional screen real estate. I can't wait to use this phone on ICS. All things considered, I would love to have an HD screen. The phone to get in my opinion would be whatever form the MAXX HD comes in. I wouldn't trade this battery life for anything.

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