Droid Maxx Reviews

[Old Member]

As more and more become available and as it is released and we actually get it in our hands, I thought it would be good to post reviews.

Motorola DROID MAXX hands-on - YouTube

 

[Old Member]

What's absolutely maddening about this phone is typing "Motorola Droid Maxx" in Google search brings up results for "Droid Razr Maxx" or "Droid Razr Maxx HD". Even when I use search tools and limit the search to the last 24 hours, I still get those results. So frustrating.

 

[Outatime]

I've been searching "Droid Maxx" with quotes. Seems to work a little better.

 

[Thom]

... exactly ... and the one thing the name has going for it ... people no longer have to memorize how to spell Razr.

... Thom

 

[mistermojorizi]

What's absolutely maddening about this phone is typing "Motorola Droid Maxx" in Google search brings up results for "Droid Razr Maxx" or "Droid Razr Maxx HD". Even when I use search tools and limit the search to the last 24 hours, I still get those results. So frustrating.

droid maxx -razr

That's been doing the job pretty well. Except I still get results from craigslist, not in 1, but 2 different cities, with morons trying to hock their Droid RAZOR Maxx.

WTF is a RAZOR???????!!!

 

[mistermojorizi]

a bunch of Moto X in-depth reviews came out yesterday, which I think is a good proxy for the Droids since they share most of their software and hardware.

1. Performance

The X8 was advertised as having a "blazing fast" 155FPS score on Egypt graphics benchmark. I think that was a typo as moto X reviews peg the benchmark at 55 FPS. Sure, it's faster than an S4, which only manages a 40 or so, with all it's "specs" (LOL) but it's not the "blazing fast" 155 that Moto was advertising. I mean, I guess at least they didn't advertise, 550 FPS (*pissed*).

CPU performance: it's in the middle between the Nexus 4 (quad core FTL) and the S4/One in terms of it's raw processing power. But it matches/beats the S4 et al in browsing, javascript and other scores.

2. Camera

The shots on the X8 are inconsistent, hindered by heavy post processing done by the software. Although all the reviews said that *most* of the shots are good, for some strange reason, the phone produces a bad shot in optimal good light conditions out of nowhere. One review said, it's like you have to open the camera, and let it hang out open for 10 secs to guarantee the shot will be good. A one off quick shot in good lighting will be good something like 80% of the time though.

Low light performance is good, resulting in increased sharpness/detail, at the expense of extra noise (better than blurry). Some of the good light shots however also suffer from the extra noise.

Edit: also, the camera flash is less powerful than the S4's. Anyone know how MAXX's flash compares (hardware wise i mean)

3. Call quality - was said to be above average, but not the best. (i'm a bit surprised, thought that was one of Moto's strong suits)

4. speakerphone - loud but begins to buzz once loudness is turned up all the way (may be different on Maxx because different hardware body)

5. Battery - The X, with 22k Mah and 24hr advertised life, got somewhere between the S4 (low) and the One/Iphone (high) in terms of battery life. Tests vary from site to site, so actual numbers are meaningless. People that lived with the phone say it sometimes lasts less than 1 whole day. (my takeaway is the MAXX will *always* last 1 whole day; it will be the only phone to ever guarantee this 100%, and thus the only viable option when purchasing a new phone in 2013).

6. Screen - it has a warmer color tone than the S4/One. Described as a "pinkish" hue. The whites look yellowish, especially compared to the white color of the phone (so if buying the DUltra, which comes in white, try to stay away from white, it'll make your screen look worse by comparison). Screen has been described as "above average" otherwise. The resolution is not a problem, as everyone should logically understand already. It's just not the true colors seen on any decent LCD (except for TN varieties).

7. Software

We all know all the great things about it, so I'll stick to the 2 negatives I've read.

1st, the active display only actively displays the LAST notification. This hinders the decision making of "should i unlock the phone" - because even if the last notification is unimportant, the previous, hidden ones may be.

2nd, the touchless control (ok google now), doesn't work if you have a password (you have to unlock first)

3rd, without any authorization or notification, a reviewr's phone switched into car mode in the car and started reading incoming texts out loud. i can see quite a few problems with privacy with the feature if you are in the car with someone else (say a girlfriend, or a boss); i mean f'ing life changing problems if you get my drift.

OK, this is all i can think of, sorry for the long post, hope some other people find this useful.

 

[andy88488]

... exactly ... and the one thing the name has going for it ... people no longer have to memorize how to spell Razr.

... Thom

No, just Maxxxxxxx

 

[Old Member]

Does no one have this device in their hands yet? The Moto X is released AFTER the Maxx and a quick YouTube search for a Moto X review pulls up 15 different unboxings, reviews and comparisons with other phones like the S4 and One. You will be hard pressed to find an unboxing or thorough review anywhere for the Maxx. I'm beginning to wonder if this is an omen for this phone. No real interest, no real support, no real accessories. Anyone else getting this feeling too?

 

[landolakes]

I was wondering the same thing today. After a four hour search for unboxing, reviews, accessories and nothing to show for it I gave up. I am just watching the X review's for a fix.

 

[mistermojorizi]

it seems the only hands on time people had with this phone was at the event. no review units.

this is the closes to a review from someone that's used the phone i've seen:
http://www.howardforums.com/showthr...-(general-discussion)?p=15176964#post15176964

The guy had the droid ultra back in may, and then the maxx after that. he told us back in may that the droids will have dual core 720p, while all the major tech blogs were saying 1080p quad core s800, as late as July 22.

tl;dr: the Ultra sucked and the Maxx ruled.

 

[chrisv79]

Does no one have this device in their hands yet? The Moto X is released AFTER the Maxx and a quick YouTube search for a Moto X review pulls up 15 different unboxings, reviews and comparisons with other phones like the S4 and One. You will be hard pressed to find an unboxing or thorough review anywhere for the Maxx. I'm beginning to wonder if this is an omen for this phone. No real interest, no real support, no real accessories. Anyone else getting this feeling too?

Google is dumping a ton of $$$ into the marketing effort of the X release. They are trying to build up a lot of hype for that phone. Most phones phones don't get reviewed until a couple of days before release, so I am guessing that is the same with the maxx. I don't think it is a bad omen. Moto Droid phones have always usually had pretty good accessory support. I am not that worried, this phone just not getting the marketing push by Google that the X is.

I am still planning on sticking with the maxx for the better build quality and battery. Everything I have read so far tells me it is almost the same phone software wise to the X. I have not pre-ordered though because I do want to wait for reviews until I buy.

 

[speede541]

I just noticed this review of the Ultra on Engadget:

Motorola Droid Ultra review: a phone that doesn't need to exist

It's not an awful review, and most of it applies to the Maxx (and refers to the Maxx positively), but it carries a crappy tone from the outset ("a phone that doesn't need to exist") which makes me ask, "the why did you bother to review it?"

Cincybearcatfan wrote: What's absolutely maddening about this phone is typing "Motorola Droid Maxx" in Google search brings up results for "Droid Razr Maxx" or "Droid Razr Maxx HD".

Agreed! Should have named it the Maxxx or the Macks.

 

[speede541]

Here's an informative Moto X review from Anandtech:

AnandTech | Moto X Review

Like the Ultra review I linked to, most of what's written applies to the Maxx. But I particularly enjoy Brian King's review because he gets into the nitty gritty of the display technology vs. the competition, looks past the labels as he discusses the x8 "Octacore" concept, and even measures CPU frequencies under use.

 

[lewwill]

What's absolutely maddening about this phone is typing "Motorola Droid Maxx" in Google search brings up results for "Droid Razr Maxx" or "Droid Razr Maxx HD". Even when I use search tools and limit the search to the last 24 hours, I still get those results. So frustrating.

I use XT1080M in my sigs and it works for searches too.

 

[Optimus Prune]

Guys at the Mobile Tech Review podcast have a Maxx and talk about it. They start the podcast talking about the X. If you want to go straight to the Maxx talk skip to about the 25 minute mark. In short, love the battery life and were pleasantly surprised that the differentiated features being marketed in the X are in the Maxx.

http://hwcdn.libsyn.com/p/3/f/6/3f6...77614658&hwt=c816556a7acd0910f1590f6900a5a37c

 

[aportable]

The Verge ain't too impressed

Motorola Droid Ultra and Droid Maxx review | The Verge

 

[chrisv79]

The Verge ain't too impressed

Motorola Droid Ultra and Droid Maxx review | The Verge

A 4.7 score for the Ultra and a 6 for the Maxx!

And the entire "review" was just snarky. Somebody pissed in this guys cheerios before he wrote this.

 

[Outatime]

I am convinced that Google gave these guys something to give a VERY late review after the device was already released and pound it in their review compared to the Moto X.

I don't care. I love my Maxx. It's faster than the S4 in benchmarks that matter to me. It's battery life is beyond belief.

 

[tspangle88]

A 4.7 score for the Ultra and a 6 for the Maxx!

And the entire "review" was just snarky. Somebody pissed in this guys cheerios before he wrote this.

Wow. I don't even have mine yet, but I couldn't disagree more! I have held the X and the Maxx in my hand, and I prefer the Maxx. And does anyone seriously believe that when the X comes out on Verizon, it WON'T have VZ Navigator and all the other Verizon bloat on it? He also fails to mention that the Maxx has 32gb of storage vs 16 on the Ultra and X (on Verizon).

I don't get where he's saying that the battery life isn't that great, either. Cnet says it's better than the RAZR HD Maxx:

The phone was able to push through the CNET Labs Video Playback battery drain benchmark for 15 hours and 50 minutes. While far from the 48 hours of "mixed" use Motorola claims the Maxx is capable, this showing is well ahead of the Droid Razr Maxx HD (14 hours, 53 minutes) and substantially longer than both the HTC One (9 hours, 37 minutes) and Samsung Galaxy S4 (10 hours, 30 minutes: average).

They also called the battery life "astonishingly long". Full review here: Motorola Droid Maxx Review - Watch CNET's Video Review

There does seem to be an undercurrent of hatred for the new Droid line out there among some folks in the mobile journalism biz. They all seem to be in love with the X, maybe they resent that there's these other phones that are so similar but not as "pretty"? A lot of the venom in that review seemed to come from the author's subjective opinion of the looks of the phones.

Anyhow, I don't get the hatred.

 

[chrisv79]

There does seem to be an undercurrent of hatred for the new Droid line out there among some folks in the mobile journalism biz. They all seem to be in love with the X, maybe they resent that there's these other phones that are so similar but not as "pretty"? A lot of the venom in that review seemed to come from the author's subjective opinion of the looks of the phones.

There is a popular backlash right now against the carriers and I can understand that. Many in the tech world see the "Droid" phones as more of a Verizon brand then a Motorola or Google brand. Hence their hatred for the "Droid" branding. Don't get me wrong, I don't like most of Verizon's business practices but they are by far the best choice in my area. But my dislike for Verizon or the carrier business has no influence over how I feel about an individual device.

And for the love of god will reviewers please stop talking about the "tons" of verizon bloatware on the device. There really is not that much, has no impact on performance, and is not nearly as bad as something like TouchWiz. It's all low memory stuff and all can be disabled. It's like beating a dead horse in these reviews.

 

[speede541]

...Many in the tech world see the ''Droid" phones as more of a Verizon brand then a Motorola or Google brand. Hence their hatred for the ''Droid" branding. Don't get me wrong, I don't like most of Verizon's business practices but they are by far the best choice in my area...

^^ This ^^

I am actually in the same camp -- I'm with Verizon for exactly two reasons, AND their Droid branding has always been a turn-off. You could say I bought this phone despite it being a Droid;. I bought it on spec.

So I >a little bit< understand the disrespect, but expect it more from the user community and not a publication I admire and browse daily for their quality tech journalism. In fact, the Maxx is getting good vibes in the XDA forums, the last place I'd expect given Motorola bootloader track record.

 

[Old Member]

I can't imagine a mild curve in the back of a phone would make all the difference in the world to someone. Remember when we were sold that bill of good on the Galaxy Nexus? Something BIG is coming with the side of the Nexus showing curved.

I was excited about that and bought into it as a big selling feature. After 20 months, meh . . . and . . ? I honestlyl have to say that my Maxx feels better in my hand. More solidly built and better quality.

It is a bit bigger. I'm 6'4" and have big hands. I can see how some people would think it was uncomfortable in their hands but honestly if it was "curved" however slightly, it wouldn't change anything for people with smaller hands.

Here's the truth, and what matters to MOST people when they are being honest:
(Listed in order of priority)
1. Functionality- Can the phone do all that I need it to do quickly and efficiently. Does it lag or do some apps simply not work properly because of lack of power?

2. Camera- Does it take "good enough" pictures that you don't have to carry your DSLR camera around with you. Most of the time a camera needs to load quickly and and take action shots and low light shots decently (subjective to each user).

3. Battery Life- The more the better. No one wants to worry about using their phone. No one wants to live on a charger or carry around an extra battery if they dont' have to. That's why rooting is so HUGE in the Android community. People always want to have more functionality but tweak every last option to conserve power. It's why Juice Defender exists. While I have even made the argument why Android is superior to Apple due to interchangeable batteries, the MOST ideal would be to NEVER have to change a battery or plug in your phone and you could use it as much as you wanted to each day.

4. Screen size, resolution and clarity. Too big, a no go for some. Too small, a no go for others. 99% of consumers believe whatever they are told on commercials and are not interested in looking into facts. The truth is, there is MUCH more to pixel density and definition than even I know. What I do know is when I hold phones side by side I don't have to expand the words so big that I can see individual pixels. All I have to do is pick it up and look at the hue and coloring side by side and I can see all that I need to see.

5. Price- The cost of the phones is paramount to some. I believe it's the #1 reason why the Maxx has faced so much venom. People want champaign but have beer pocketbooks. The truth is if the Maxx had been $199 instead of $299 the reviews would have likely been different for it. But, a 32GB iPhone 5 $299 and everyone is okay with that. I would take my Maxx over an iPhone 5 100 times out of 100 for every reason listed here. But then again, you already knew that because I bought it and not the 5

I realize that the reasons above MAY be shifted up or down for different people. Price may be #1 on some people's lists instead of 5 on mine, but the truth is all of those things are how people choose their smartphones.

Just my $.002

 

[chrisv79]

3. Battery Life- The more the better. No one wants to worry about using their phone. No one wants to live on a charger or carry around an extra battery if they dont' have to. That's why rooting is so HUGE in the Android community. People always want to have more functionality but tweak every last option to conserve power. It's why Juice Defender exists. While I have even made the argument why Android is superior to Apple due to interchangeable batteries, the MOST ideal would be to NEVER have to change a battery or plug in your phone and you could use it as much as you wanted to each day.

This is so true. I was just looking at the Ultra/Maxx thread over on XDA. Remember this is a developers forum. Post after post is raving about the battery life and performance of the Maxx. Many posters stating that for the first time they don't see the need to load a ROM on the phone and many stating they don't even care if it does ever get root, that root would just be icing on the cake to an otherwise great phone. Coming from that forum that is saying something.

 

[speede541]

I can't imagine a mild curve in the back of a phone would make all the difference in the world to someone. Remember when we were sold that bill of good on the Galaxy Nexus? Something BIG is coming with the side of the Nexus showing curved.

The curved glass screen was hyped. FWIW, my Nexus on a tabletop rocks less than the Maxx. Got them both right here, and yes indeed, the Maxx is slightly more curved. I'm surprised!

 

[chrisv79]

Here are some quotes I pulled off XDA. Pretty good stuff and in general I value the reviews of real users vs. blog writers who often have an agenda.

After a few days with the MAXX, and I still feel the same way. First time buying a phone, and not care about rooting it, or even switching launchers. Battery life is just mind blowing! I went from having a charger at home, my car, and at the office, to just having 1 charger at home now. The MAXX is a power house when it comes to battery life. Touchless Control is flawless, and very responsive. The phone is a keeper that'll keep a smile on my face for a long time coming.

I picked up the droid Max the day after launch. After one day I thought I would take it back for the Moto X. after five days, you'll have to pry it from my cold dead hands.

It's simply the best phone I've ever owned, the battery life is incredible, the screen is absolutely amazing, all of the software features are nothing like I've ever used before. This is the first phone where I don't feel like I need to run a custom ROM. I would love to have root access but I will never run a custom ROM.

Ditto to EVERYTHNG you said here.
I'm 99% happy with it. If we get root, I'm up to 100% It's not a deal breaker, though. This phone is a beast... and a good looking one at that.

I'm sure Moto X will get most of the love. But I'm keeping this Maxx no matter what.

I've been a modder on Android and a Tweaker on iDevices for quite a while now.

To be completely honest, this is the first device in a long time I,m in no rush for Dev support.

I'm an artist and a visual guy, the only thing I would want from root is to be able to have a theme

Overall, the vibe over there is very positive. That was the opposite from what I was expecting, as just about any locked up device is shunned in that community. Overall, I honestly think the Maxx may be the phone of the year, but because of the Droid branding and being exclusive to VZW, it won't get the recognition it deserves by the press.