Hands-on: Motorola Razr HD - A Clean Android Experience
Motorola's new Razr is back and better.
Earlier this month, Motorola unveiled three new Razr phones, all running Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich.
While it may seem odd that a company owned by Google isn't packing its phones with Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, Motorola is taking a new approach with Android that brings it closer to its parent company.
The first hands-on example of this approach is from a Razr HD, running on Rogers' LTE network in Canada. In what should please most Android enthusiasts, Motorola has done away with its MotoBlur UI customizations.
In my review of the original Razr (as in the Android model, not the flip phone), I found MotoBlur to be a distraction from the core functionality. (At this point it's important to note that my personal device is a Galaxy Nexus, so I'm partial to stock Android – or at least something very close to it.) Motorola has taken away MotoBlur and the result is a much cleaner OS that will reside on the new Razr phones.
The lightly customized version of ICS running on the Razr HD has a similar look and feel to stock Android, with an app drawer that appears to only add a favorites section. The Razr HD also incorporates the software-based buttons like the Galaxy Nexus.
Motorola's customizations have been reduced to some custom functionality, such as the allowance for quick swipes to access device settings and speed dial options, and software apps such as the much-loved Smart Actions from the original (Android) Razr.
Making a return bigger than ever is the Kevlar-backing that we so loved from the previous model. Instead of it being just a sheet of Kevlar, with the Razr HD, the entire back cover is made of that sturdy, yet pleasant-feeling soft-touch material. Phone designers should just give up on trying to make phones out of metal, plastic and glass and just go with this Kevlar stuff Motorola is using.
The original Razr (both models, I suppose) earned their titles for being exceptionally thin. While the new Razr HD, at 8.4mm thick, isn't quite as thin as the previous model, it doesn't have that camera hump. Moreover, the Razr HD takes up basically the exact same footprint as the previous model, but with a 4.7-inch screen, improving upon the old one's 4.3-inch panel. Even better is that Motorola packed a 2,500 mAh battery inside, leading the company to boast that this is a true "all-day phone."
Old vs. New:






If that one comes with unlocked bootloader on GSM, I'm all over it.
Pay the full price for the phone, and you wont =)
It will jsut be treated as a device upgrade
I don't want to keep having to keep pay full retail price every time I want to upgrade to a new phone.
not sure if family share is for everyone might work for familys, however, for individual users the plans should offer more flexibility instead of one plan fits all.
I would use ANY other company after all the shafts verizon has thrown my way.
-ex verizon customer
I still like the HUMP because I can feel which way is UP.
MC needs to improve the camera software (they did come out with an update which DID improve the camera a bit and added HDR and a few other effects). The screen is bright and colorful (compared to the SGSIII), but its color is a bit off - which I can live with.
The current Motorola phones take a about a week to get its power savings working good. After its first 100% charge, with minimal use within 2-3 hours, the phone showed 70% battery life. OUCH! People have been returning these phones... freaking out.
After two weeks, I'm usually 60%~55% battery left at the end of the day. I've gone two days without charging for 20% left.
The only thing I give BAD marks for "pure Android" is that the clock & timer adjustment isn't as easy as it should be... A numeric keyboard SHOULD always be shown so I can enter "6:45" if I want to... not spinning tiny little wheels into position.
A bit... its just like the Atrix HD. It looks fine. The Droid M has a 4.3" screen in a phone body that is just as narrow as an iPhone 4/5... that screen is very close to the edge.
But having a bigger boarder may protect the display better... I don't have data to confirm.
A TRUE Android 4.x phone has the main buttons on the display itself. I've gone from a 2yr old Samsung to the Atrix HD with the same screen as you see here and I'm good with it. I was worried at first.
They can ROTATE with the phone. So if you are Texting or using a browser and many other apps, those menu buttons can move around... which *I DO LIKE*.
I'd like to see Motorola enable the MAIN Screen/Home rotate on their regular phones like they do on their slider models. An example: http://www.techrockstar.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/Motorola-Photon-Q-1.jpg
Its borders are not too Large side and top they are one of the smallest borders on any phone...
I know there's going to be a DROID RAZR MAXX HD, but with the same battery. It'll probably draw more power, have a SLIGHTLY better screen and not last as long as my phone. In the end, I just care about the battery. Otherwise, every other Android phone pretty much does what I want/need it to do.
I have a droid X and my camera is HORRIBLE compared to the HTC Rezound and the SIII!!