Getting the Razr because its here now?

[sean76]

I have a question and some thoughts that I'd like to share with all of you...

Question...Are any of you getting the Razr because its here now?

It's a fairly interesting question I'd say, and even more interesting coming from such a phone whore like me...Those who know me can attest to the fact that I change phones like underwear without any loyalty towards one brand...Like a teenager all over the road in Cancun on Spring Break in the 90's...hehehe

Now I know some are very into the Razr's looks, and the sleekness, and the game changing aspects it brings to the table. However, can this phone really hold its own in 2012? Things are changing so fast, we are moving faster then ever before. And the changes in the Android OS are so much more advanced then previous moves from say Froyo to Gingerbread...ICS is really going to change alot with Android...Its the biggest move we've made yet.

So with ICS on the horizon, is it wise to get a phone like the Razr that wasn't built to really run ICS? I know Motorola said ICS is coming to the Razr, and Bionic...lol! But how well will it run on these phones? We are on the eve of something big, the next crop of phones will be made for ICS, they'll have insane horsepower, no capacitive buttons to press, most likely no bezel and probably be mostly screen. I mean who knows what's really coming really soon.

So that leaves the Galaxy Nexus, is this our Future Proof phone at the moment? If it was releasing right along side Verizons media darling (Razr) would you think a little bit more about which phone to really get at this moment in time?

Usually I just go buy a new phone...Never before have I really put this much thought into my next phone. But there are such BIG players coming to bat the next few weeks, the Big 3 are the Razr, Rezound, and GNex.

Wow,,,,Decisions, Decisions...

 

[Szadzik]

I have been asking myself exactly the same question. I am more, however, concerned with the hardware aspects of the phone going into 2012 and not ICS as I do not think there will be a problem running it on the hardware. The question I have been asking myself is whether it is wise to buy this phone when I know that in a few months there will be an SGS3 and a few other phones with quad core CPUs and hardware that may be superior to the Razr in many ways.

It still seems easy for me as I upgrade my phones once a year and buy them sim free. Next year my contract will be due for renewal and then I could get something powerful. The problem is the wait.

Do I want to wait another 2 or 3 months for a phone to come out? Will it be good enough then? Will anything EVER be good enough and not become outdated in 6 months?

 

[CasKirensys]

It never matters when or what you buy, it will always be outdated in a matter of months, so I just buy the things I want. Anyway, I can't see how quad core is going to be much different yet. They need to concentrate on battery technology for a bit now IMO.

 

[Szadzik]

The thing that is starting to scare me is the PenTile matrix. I watched the PhoneArena review and looked at the photos on their website and it seems the screen is pixelated. Question is whether it is a matter of photos and video or live performance is yet to be determined. I should be getting the phone tomorrow if I am lucky or if not I will have to wait for it for two weeks until I come back from holiday.

 

[CasKirensys]

Well this is going to be much better than my current Desire HD and LG Optimus 7, so only worry I have is that handtec receive and ship the phone for me to receive tomorrow.

 

[rsgoldens]

I am also a phone whore. I don't think I am quite as bas as you, but I've been through quite a few phones. I am ordering it to get away from the Droid Charge. I am not due for an upgrade until June 2012, but it let me upgrade at $299 when I went int to pay my bill on the 28th, so I took it. I have had everything from a Blackberry to iPhone and this is my third Droid. I have to say, I will never buy Samsung again. This screen is fantastic, but the rest of the phone sucks! I had a OG Droid and Droid X, and I would go back to those in a heartbeat. The forum support for rooting is far superior in Motorola and I seem to have had better luck with them. You can't keep up and there are going to be pros and cons with every phone, but I can't wait to get this piece of junk off my hands!

 

[budwizer]

I'm getting the RAZR due to the following:

- I currently have an iPhone 4S and I want to move back to Android
- I want/need SD card storage. I have the 64GB iPhone and it is full with music, apps, etc.
- I had OG and DX and liked Motorola's build quality

I may also end up buying the Galaxy Nexus and flip between the phones. I've been eyeballing the MOTOACTV as well to augment my RAZR and for use at gym and running.

All in all I have to say it is a great time to be an Android fan as the options are varied. And to be honest I don't think there is a wrong decision as long as what you pick meets your needs. The hardware variety makes Android unique however it is the OS that makes it GREAT!

 

[cereal killer]

ICS is over rated. While its a great upgrade its nothing game changing. To me ICS is nothing more than a skinned version of any other version of Android with some added funtionality. No capicitive or hard buttons on phones does nothing for me.

Im not impressed or in need of ICS. Thats not to say I dont like it. Im only saying its not all its cracked up to be and its overhyped.

With that said, Im not going to spend thousands of dollars a year buying new phones to try and stay on top of the tech curve because that treadmill will never end. The RAZR, gnex and rezound are great purchases that will easily last through ones contract.

 

[sean76]

ICS is over rated. While its a great upgrade its nothing game changing. To me ICS is nothing more than a skinned version of any other version of Android with some added funtionality. No capicitive or hard buttons on phones does nothing for me.

Im not impressed or in need of ICS. Thats not to say I dont like it. Im only saying its not all its cracked up to be and its overhyped.

With that said, Im not going to spend thousands of dollars a year buying new phones to try and stay on top of the tech curve because that treadmill will never end. The RAZR, gnex and rezound are great purchases that will easily last through ones contract.

Alot of posts that you put up are spot on, I must give you that Cereal ...

However...You do realize that by Android moving away from Capacitive or any buttons signals a change in how manufacturers will build devices?

My point in this thread is this...its not really about keeping up with technology, because you are right about the never ending treadmill, its indeed a vicious cycle.

What its about is that we are pretty much on the heels on change...phones are not going to change a little, they're going to change alot...And ICS ushers some of that change in pretty soon...when remains to be seen...couple of weeks probably! But make no mistake, it's bringing with it some change that will change the way the OS works, and for the most part be welcomed.

Who will be obsolete first...
The Razr/Rezound /GNex???

One of those 3 is pretty much future proof because of the OS...Prob for at least a year...the other 2 as you know will not have the longest lives...

Any other time I'd agree with you, this time just feels different in the world of Android.

 

[bouchigo]

ICS is over rated. While its a great upgrade its nothing game changing. To me ICS is nothing more than a skinned version of any other version of Android with some added funtionality. No capicitive or hard buttons on phones does nothing for me.

Im not impressed or in need of ICS. Thats not to say I dont like it. Im only saying its not all its cracked up to be and its overhyped.

With that said, Im not going to spend thousands of dollars a year buying new phones to try and stay on top of the tech curve because that treadmill will never end. The RAZR, gnex and rezound are great purchases that will easily last through ones contract.

I'm guessing you've actually used/played with ICS extensively to make such bold claims.

Are we going to have to start taking your comments/opinions like the recent Razr reviewers and take them with a grain of salt?

 

[FragDroidX]

I'm guessing you've actually used/played with ICS extensively to make such bold claims.

Are we going to have to start taking your comments/opinions like the recent Razr reviewers and take them with a grain of salt?

Stop coming over here and starting trouble! ;-)

 

[sean76]

I'm guessing you've actually used/played with ICS extensively to make such bold claims.

Are we going to have to start taking your comments/opinions like the recent Razr reviewers and take them with a grain of salt?

From my book of thoughts...and I've said it before...Pretty much one person in our whole realm got to handle the GNex and ICS...and that's Rob Jackson,,,who by the way said its something he's excited about. I think Rob's been around Android enough for me to take what he says seriously and trust the fact that he did indeed say ICS is pretty Awesome.

 

[bouchigo]

Stop coming over here and starting trouble! ;-)

I'm honestly curious because I don't happen to agree with his comments in this particular situation, and I'm sure I'm not the only one.

I just don't understand how such bold claims can be made without having extensive play with new OS, but of course that's just my opinion, and I happen to think it makes pretty good sense too

 

[Szadzik]

ICS is over rated. While its a great upgrade its nothing game changing. To me ICS is nothing more than a skinned version of any other version of Android with some added funtionality. No capicitive or hard buttons on phones does nothing for me.

Im not impressed or in need of ICS. Thats not to say I dont like it. Im only saying its not all its cracked up to be and its overhyped.

With that said, Im not going to spend thousands of dollars a year buying new phones to try and stay on top of the tech curve because that treadmill will never end. The RAZR, gnex and rezound are great purchases that will easily last through ones contract.

Totally agreed.

 

[cereal killer]

Alot of posts that you put up are spot on, I must give you that Cereal ...

However...You do realize that by Android moving away from Capacitive or any buttons signals a change in how manufacturers will build devices?

My point in this thread is this...its not really about keeping up with technology, because you are right about the never ending treadmill, its indeed a vicious cycle.

What its about is that we are pretty much on the heels on change...phones are not going to change a little, they're going to change alot...And ICS ushers some of that change in pretty soon...when remains to be seen...couple of weeks probably! But make no mistake, it's bringing with it some change that will change the way the OS works, and for the most part be welcomed.

Who will be obsolete first...
The Razr/Rezound /GNex???

One of those 3 is pretty much future proof because of the OS...Prob for at least a year...the other 2 as you know will not have the longest lives...

Any other time I'd agree with you, this time just feels different in the world of Android.

I dont think the RAZR or the Rezound will become obsolete in 2 years. Heck my Droid is still not obsolete. It works great and does everything that I need it to. I can still do everything that the RAZR does minus some cool functions.

In regards to no buttons on phones anymore. It doesnt impact anyone that buys now. ICS will simply be coded to work with capacitive/hard buttons on devices that still use them

Eventually the RAZR and Rezound will not get any more support but by that time everyone will have their eye on the next big thing.

 

[sean76]

I dont think the RAZR or the Rezound will become obsolete in 2 years. Heck my Droid is still not obsolete. It works great and does everything that I need it to. I can still do everything that the RAZR does minus some cool functions.

In regards to no buttons on phones anymore. It doesnt impact anyone that buys now. ICS will simply be coded to work with capacitive/hard buttons on devices that still use them

Eventually the RAZR and Rezound will not get any more support but by that time everyone will have their eye on the next big thing.

Like I said...some of what you say is correct. And a 5yr old car does the same as a brand new car if your talking about going from point A to point B...

However...This new Car (ICS) may change things a little bit and I just think that alot of people are jumping on the Razr bandwagon because its here right now this second...and that's cool bro, sometimes you just have to jump on the train at some point.

But like I said...A bigger change is coming to Android fairly soon and I just wonder if these manufacturers are really going to live up to they're words...especially Motorola!

And forget about Google buying Motorola right now, we wont feel the effects of that until at least 6 months from now...maybe more.

Remember...this is a company that took 9 months to bring us the Bionic, to then turn around and unleash the Razr 30 days later via a press conference. Right now the Bionic is forgotten about. The Camera issues, the Black screen of death...all forgotten about by Moto, and yes VZW also....lol...November for an update? When of 2012.

So what I'm saying is that maybe the Idea of the updates coming from Google are a better, more logical way to think about when buying a phone moving forward.

You have to admit...if they were here, right now...both together getting released on Friday...which one would the Educated Android user go for?

 

[cereal killer]

You have to admit...if they were here, right now...both together getting released on Friday...which one would the Educated Android user go for?

Id still choose the RAZR. I have no desire to own the Galaxy Nexus anymore. I wont beat a dead horse but the Nexus does nothing for me.

 

[sean76]

Id still choose the RAZR. I have no desire to own the Galaxy Nexus anymore. I wont beat a dead horse but the Nexus does nothing for me.

Cool...to each his own!

And we will of course have plenty to go back and fourth about in the,,,
I just got my DROID Razr Threads...

hehehe...

 

[cereal killer]

I'm guessing you've actually used/played with ICS extensively to make such bold claims.

Are we going to have to start taking your comments/opinions like the recent Razr reviewers and take them with a grain of salt?

Nope but Ive seen and used enough iterations of Android to understand what Im looking at.

ICS will be great but lets not fool ourselves into thinking its going to have us doing back flips and shouting in the streets

 

[FragDroidX]

I'm honestly curious because I don't happen to agree with his comments in this particular situation, and I'm sure I'm not the only one.

I just don't understand how such bold claims can be made without having extensive play with new OS, but of course that's just my opinion, and I happen to think it makes pretty good sense too

Agreed. However, if you have played with Honeycomb extensively then you already have a pretty good idea of how ICS works. ICS is really just an update of Honeycomb with added functionality and an updated look. It's not really the revolution some are making it out to be. It's an exciting evolution to be sure but it's not anything we really haven't already seen.

 

[cereal killer]

Cool...to each his own!

And we will of course have plenty to go back and fourth about in the,,,
I just got my DROID Razr Threads...

hehehe...

Lol no going back and forth with me. The Nexus will be great. I just cannot stand to look at it LOL.

Thats my biggest beef with it.

 

[cereal killer]

Agreed. However, if you have played with Honeycomb extensively then you already have a pretty good idea of how ICS works. ICS is really just an update of Honeycomb with added functionality and an updated look. It's not really the revolution some are making it out to be. It's an exciting evolution to be sure but it's not anything we really haven't already seen.

See, FragDroid understands it exactly

 

[sean76]

@ Cereal and Frag ...

Thia isn't about how great and how awesome ICS will be...

Its about change, and how the adaption of it on new devices will change things.

Forget about back flips and shouting...

When every new device in 2012 comes out with the same mind set as the Nexus by being made to operate with ICS...What will happen to the last of 2011's devices that weren't made to operate with ICS?

Its different now compared to how the adaption of the OG Android phones played catch up when new software was released.

IMO...anything that comes out right now without ICS may be in Jeopardy of being forgotten about rather quickly.

The jump from Gingerbread to ICS will be a pretty big one on mobile devices IMO.

 

[Martimus]

Alot of posts that you put up are spot on, I must give you that Cereal ...

However...You do realize that by Android moving away from Capacitive or any buttons signals a change in how manufacturers will build devices?

My point in this thread is this...its not really about keeping up with technology, because you are right about the never ending treadmill, its indeed a vicious cycle.

What its about is that we are pretty much on the heels on change...phones are not going to change a little, they're going to change alot...And ICS ushers some of that change in pretty soon...when remains to be seen...couple of weeks probably! But make no mistake, it's bringing with it some change that will change the way the OS works, and for the most part be welcomed.

Who will be obsolete first...
The Razr/Rezound /GNex???

One of those 3 is pretty much future proof because of the OS...Prob for at least a year...the other 2 as you know will not have the longest lives...

Any other time I'd agree with you, this time just feels different in the world of Android.

Personally I find this to be somewhat myopic...

The buttons are honestly just window dressing and aren't truly representative of ICS. The true value of ICS lies in the OS and what it brings to the table from a functional perspective. It's already been announced that ICS will support both hard and soft buttons.

Soft buttons have certain advantages but they also can be very problematic. I've had enough tablets to know that soft buttons don't always do what they're supposed to do. Similar can be said of hard buttons as hard buttons have limited life spans. Either way, however, provides a comparable level of functionality. Some people like hard buttons while others like soft buttons. I'm certain that Google knows this! It would honestly be foolish for them to limit their technology by trying to push people into one specific technology over the other. That's the sort of herding mentality one would expect of Apple not Google.

My personal opinion is that Android will continue to support both for a long time to come...

 

[ne0lyfeism]

If the two were released side by side, I'd still be leaning pretty heavily towards the RAZR, mainly due to the many complaints I've heard from friends and family who have owned multiple Samsung devices. In nearly every case, the complaints fall into the same two buckets (i) build quality (hardware AND software) and (ii) signal issues. There is no way I'm going to stick around for 24 months with a device that has that kind of track record among my friends and family.

Additionally, the Nexus really only adds two new things - one at the OS level and one at the hardware level. The first, most obviously, is ICS; but given all that I've read and watched on it, it is additional functionality that isn't exactly earth shattering. The second is NFC, which while very cool in concept, is in its infancy in the marketplace with pretty weak adoption rates. That isn't to say that the adoption rate won't pick up in the next 24 months, but NFC has been around for quite some time, so again this isn't exactly a deal breaker either.

The best part of all this though? Choice. There is no greater feeling in having the sheer amount of choices in the Android ecosystem versus the single choice in iOS.