Torn between the S3 and Razr Maxx HD

zenman · Nov 8, 2012

I'm really torn between the S3 and Razr Maxx HD. A couple of questions:

1. I noticed in the store that the S3's screen is quite dim. I would definitely want to use it at max brightness most of the time. I rarely make phone calls and mostly use my phone for texting, emails and compulsively checking facebook. Will the battery hold up for an entire day in this scenario? (I realize there are bigger batteries available but every one I've seen in youtube videos make the phone way too thick)

2. How is the music audio quality through the headphones?

The fact the S3 had wireless charging coming down the pike is HUGE for me!
To be honest if the Razr had wireless charging capability I would have already bought it.

Thanks!
Zenman

Max_Headroom · Nov 8, 2012

1. I noticed in the store that the S3's screen is quite dim. I would definitely want to use it at max brightness most of the time. I rarely make phone calls and mostly use my phone for texting, emails and compulsively checking facebook. Will the battery hold up for an entire day in this scenario?

I have my screen on max all the time, i don't use it much for gaming but do use it a lot on-line and to send texs & calls, the standard battery is fine.

Sandroidfan · Nov 8, 2012

Why don't you consider HTC Droid DNA? There is also Note 2 coming soon if you don't mind slightly larger phone. The spec on GS3 and RHD is not top notch any more.

Jimmy W · Nov 8, 2012

S3 all the way bro! FTW!

AntimonyER · Nov 8, 2012

I would choose the HD Maxx. Lots of reports of dropped calls with the S3, and the new Blur isn't bad at all. Plus that battery life!

Max_Headroom · Nov 8, 2012

AntimonyER said:
I would choose the HD Maxx. Lots of reports of dropped calls with the S3, and the new Blur isn't bad at all. Plus that battery life!

Would you really want to own something that ugly and with the Motorola (sounds like the name of a toy manufacturer) logo proudly showing near the ear piece ?

AntimonyER · Nov 8, 2012

Max_Headroom said:
Would you really want to own something that ugly and with the Motorola (sounds like the name of a toy manufacturer) logo proudly showing near the ear piece ?

After dealing with crappy Samsung radios for the past year... Yes, yes I would

Bearcats · Nov 8, 2012

Sandroidfan said:
Why don't you consider HTC Droid DNA? There is also Note 2 coming soon if you don't mind slightly larger phone. The spec on GS3 and RHD is not top notch any more.

When is the DNA going to be launched in the US. The just released Butterfly in Japan mid October with no real concrete dates for any other releases...?

because I love my HTC Original Droid and would buy HTC again given my use.

However its battery size is smaller with the tech specs of the screen dictating why it can be smaller...but still raises concern.

dennygreen · Nov 8, 2012

not having used or seen a maxx hd, at the moment I'd probably take one over my gs3 that I've had since July.

my signal is perfect at work, but horrible at home a block away from where I work.

I'll use 60% of my battery in 9.5 hours at work, while listening to music and podcasts all day, texting, browsing etc on lte.

then I'll get home and the remaining 40% will be gone by 8 pm. even though I switch to wifi and barely use it.

Max_Headroom · Nov 8, 2012

dennygreen said:
then I'll get home and the remaining 40% will be gone by 8 pm. even though I switch to wifi and barely use it.

I plug mine in when i get home. :rolleyes:

Bearcats · Nov 8, 2012

Max_Headroom said:
Would you really want to own something that ugly and with the Motorola (sounds like the name of a toy manufacturer) logo proudly showing near the ear piece ?

Cars have logos.
Computers have logos

Stuff have logos. I am not sure why this is an issue? In the US it might say Verizon or ATT in that spot?

If the form factor is ugly..I can get that..but I dont get the Motorola on the speaker. When I hear Motorola, I think of old school two way radios...not toys.

zenman · Nov 8, 2012

Sandroidfan, yea that HTC DNA could be awesome. I'm a little concerned about its battery though, only 2020mah (?!) is the rumor. With a screen that big there could be some fast battery draining going on. If it has wireless charging capability I could be very tempted. I know some people don't care about that feature but I think it's awesome and I'm guessing it will surely be standard within a year or two.

The CNET user reviews of the S3 has only 3 stars. The Maxx HD has nearly 5 full stars. Of course the Maxx HD is much newer and these ratings might not stay so high. The people in the Maxx HD forum sure seem happy with their phone though.

One thing there is near universal agreement on is that the camera on the S3 blows away the Maxx HD's camera.

jbdan · Nov 8, 2012

zenman said:
I'm really torn between the S3 and Razr Maxx HD. A couple of questions:

1. I noticed in the store that the S3's screen is quite dim. I would definitely want to use it at max brightness most of the time. I rarely make phone calls and mostly use my phone for texting, emails and compulsively checking facebook. Will the battery hold up for an entire day in this scenario? (I realize there are bigger batteries available but every one I've seen in youtube videos make the phone way too thick)

2. How is the music audio quality through the headphones?

The fact the S3 had wireless charging coming down the pike is HUGE for me!
To be honest if the Razr had wireless charging capability I would have already bought it.

Thanks!
Zenman

Hiya Zenman. I can't tell you which to choose, no one can actually but you

As to your questions:

1. The sgs3 screen is brighter than the razrhd maxx when I compared them in store. It's still amoled pentile so beware in direct sunlight....not the best or as good as LCD. I use my max brightness about 10% of a day. The battery life will be somewhere between horrible and super duper fantastic. My experience is the latter and then some.

2. I think it is excellent.

What it really boils down to is this: what is the most important feature/s of the phone to you and are you willing to sacrifice $35 re-stocking fee (sometimes you can get away without having to pay this I have numerous times) to try the phone for 14 days and see if it is for you? When it comes to signal strength moto is know for A++ and Sammy is known for mediocre at best. However, my or the wifes SGS3 has no such issues and we have multiple friends with moto devices in which we've been able to compare with. There is no difference so far

Wishing you luck you can't go wrong with either imo!

Max_Headroom · Nov 8, 2012

Bearcats said:
When I hear Motorola, I think of old school two way radios.

I rest my case.

Sandroidfan · Nov 8, 2012

zenman said:
Sandroidfan, yea that HTC DNA could be awesome. I'm a little concerned about its battery though, only 2020mah (?!) is the rumor. With a screen that big there could be some fast battery draining going on. If it has wireless charging capability I could be very tempted. I know some people don't care about that feature but I think it's awesome and I'm guessing it will surely be standard within a year or two.

The CNET user reviews of the S3 has only 3 stars. The Maxx HD has nearly 5 full stars. Of course the Maxx HD is much newer and these ratings might not stay so high. The people in the Maxx HD forum sure seem happy with their phone though.

One thing there is near universal agreement on is that the camera on the S3 blows away the Maxx HD's camera.

2020mAh is the battery size in J butterfly for Japan. We don't know yet how big battery DNA will have until HTC/Verizon event next week. I think I saw somewhere it's rumored to have 2500mAh and hope it's true. 2020mah is way too small for DNA. Historically HTC didn't do well on battery performance but they seem to be slowly improving on it.

And I wouldn't pay too much attention to CNET reviews for smart-phones.

dennygreen · Nov 8, 2012

Max_Headroom said:
I plug mine in when i get home.

yeah I don't have a problem putting it on the charger for a bit during the day at work so I can make it through the evening without it dying. It just sucks on days that I can't or I forget.

If the signal didn't suck so bad at home I wouldn't have to worry about it killing my battery so ridiculously fast when I get home.

victek · Nov 8, 2012

Sandroidfan said:
We don't know yet how big battery DNA will have until HTC/Verizon event next week.

Do you know the date of the event? I'm very interested in the DNA as well and I'm hoping it's going to be released in time for Black Friday shopping.

rivera02 · Nov 9, 2012

victek said:
Do you know the date of the event? I'm very interested in the DNA as well and I'm hoping it's going to be released in time for Black Friday shopping.

November 13th

zenman · Nov 9, 2012

Well I went back and played with the two phones again today. I thought the sound quality through the headphones (Watching/listening to youtube videos) was better on the S3 than the Razr. I had expected it to be the opposite. Considering the S3's superior camera, and also the inductive charging, and now the better audio quality (Although the Razr's speaker is better) I almost bought the S3 BUT...the screen just doesn't look much better than my Droid Incredible 1, and some screens look worse. I also ran speedtest.net on both of them and the Razr was way, way faster. So now I attempt to be as Zen as possible and wait for the HTC DNA, to be continued...

Zenman

Bearcats · Nov 9, 2012

victek said:
Do you know the date of the event? I'm very interested in the DNA as well and I'm hoping it's going to be released in time for Black Friday shopping.

rivera02 said:
November 13th

Is this just an event saying "The phone is coming" or is this a true release event and you can start buying within the week kinda thing?

Given that online media and the salt you give it, as of late October there was not a plan in place for US rollout of the Butterfly?

DevssrT · Nov 9, 2012

Ive had my GS3 for a little over a month now and love it. The battery life is decent but you just have to be careful with the apps running in the background.

I leave my screen on auto-brightness, listen to music commuting to and from work, text throughout the day, some browsing, and I through a typical 10 hr work day with about 60-70% left.

As for sound quality, the stock earbuds are pretty decent - but I am a bit of an audiophile and went with the Klipsch S4A headphones (work specifically with android phones) but downloaded the Jays headset control instead of the android one and it works fine with adjusting volume, listening to music via double twist, voice commands, etc.

As for audio quality, best ear buds I've owned - only ones better were the Dr. Dre beats but they break rather easily.

Good luck making your decision!

Not the Droid · Nov 9, 2012

Since nobody is going to man up and say it...

The S3 screen seemed dim to you because it IS dim. Anything under 60-75% brightness and the screen is unusable, not just because it is too dark, but because the hideous blue tint of the AMOLED completely ruins the experience. At 60-75% brightness I'm lucky to get 3-4 hours of screen time out of it doing even the most basic tasks. I like my S3, but it is plain foolish for folks to ignore its shortcomings.

I wouldn't put too much stock in wireless charging. The S3 already takes a ridiculously long time to charge via USB->computer (5-6 hours), so I imagine the wireless will be even slower.

DFIDDZ · Nov 9, 2012

Hi. I own the S3 and the RAZR HD both for about 3 weeks now.

A few thoughts.

The camera is better on the S3.

The battery life is better on the RAZR HD. Keep in mind this is not the MAXX model.

The build is a lot better on the RAZR. It just feels a lot more solid and fits better in my hands.

Screen wise the RAZR screen is brighter but I prefer the S3 screen just due to the size.

As for apps, or systems they're both similar. They both have pros and cons and this is android, there's ways to customize anything you want.

Call quality is great on the RAZR, can't comment on the S3 as I rarely use it for calls.

If I had to keep just one I'd probably go with the RAZR but I'm glad I don't have to choose.

Hope that helps.

Max_Headroom · Nov 9, 2012

Not the Droid said:
Since nobody is going to man up and say it...

The S3 screen seemed dim to you because it IS dim. Anything under 60-75% brightness and the screen is unusable, not just because it is too dark, but because the hideous blue tint of the AMOLED completely ruins the experience. At 60-75% brightness I'm lucky to get 3-4 hours of screen time out of it doing even the most basic tasks. .

How can you complain 3 - 4 hours constant use with the screen set at 75% plus illumination, you should have bought as laptop not a phone :rolleyes:

I recently had a major service on my car, it took 1.5 hours, i used the garages free Wi-Fi to visit many sites both reading and posting in them, i used 25% of my battery, this equates to 4.5 hours using 75%, something doesn't tally with your story.

victek · Nov 11, 2012

Bearcats said:
Is this just an event saying "The phone is coming" or is this a true release event and you can start buying within the week kinda thing?

Given that online media and the salt you give it, as of late October there was not a plan in place for US rollout of the Butterfly?

The announcement for the DNA seems to be coming:

Verizon makes the Droid DNA official | Android Central

Torn between the S3 and Razr Maxx HD

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