I'm SOOOO glad I got the Razr

[YourMobileGuru]

How can you even say this with a straight face? I learned there are two different types of Android fans, the ones who love the overlays (Blur, Touchwiz, etc) and those who love the stock feel. My first android phone was a Fascinate. While TW does resemble an iPhone, there is no way possible that ICS does.

As far as the comment about going back to the Droid X over the GN, I have messed with the DX, have one sitting here next to me with Liberty ROM on it, looks a lot like a stock Android without all the Blur lagging it down.

As far as everyone else on here singing the praises of the RAZR, it's a great phone. However, if you are under the impression that this phone will see ICS anytime soon, don't hold your breath. By the time Motorola gets around to porting Blur to the phone, and Verizon approves the update, it will be Blur with a few ICS features sprinkled in. Samsung is already proving this with their TW port. I guarantee you will not see ICS until at least June. Motorola is already making excuses by their release stating all of the "obstacles" they will have to face to get ICS on phones. That is their way of saying "it will be a pain in the rear to get Blur integrated into these phones."

Finally, enjoy the Blur experience, because the locked bootloaders will continue to limit what the awesome Android Developers can do to truly open this phone up.

Wow, just wow. First of all Moto said that the RAZR and Bionic and XOOM will get ICS 6 weeks or so after the source code drops. While I don't necessarily think it will be quite fast it is a virtual certainty that it will be Q1. Updatig devices to ICS is a high priority for Google and now that Google owns Moto (even if they are being run independently) it will be a priority for them as well.

EDIT: Read the AC front page, Google published the source code for ICS for the Xoom yesterday, will have to be modified for the LTE version but it shows they are working on it [END EDIT]

It sounds like you haven't been paying that much attention to recent Moto phones "blur" is now just a collection of widgets and a few custom apps on top of a mostly stock launcher and Moto should have a lot easier time porting them to ICS than they did Gingerbread. Of all of the major third party UI's it is the least intrusive.

The "obstacles" are put out there so that people have more realistic expectations when it comes to porting devices, particularly older ones. The Droid X, Droud X2, Atrix and Atrix 2 will take longer and some older phones wont get updated at all. By laying out the steps involved in the process it helps people understand why their phone might take longer than others or might not end up getting upgraded at all.

And as for locked boot-loaders, all that does is slow them down. Bionic and RAZR will get the custom stuff to, it will just take a little longer.

 

[YourMobileGuru]

Exactly.. I seen a leaked version of Touch wiz with ICS and it looked like CRAP.. Seeing as how Touch wiz is like 10 times better then Motorola's custom skin I feel bad for razor owners.. Nice phone though, but I need a removable battery.. Its also funny I see all this talk about the back covers.. No nexus owners have really been complaining about that.. Its more of a challenge to get on but once mine is on it goes nowhere... I think people were just not putting them on right!

So you're gonna judge the final product based upon a leaked early build...

 

[snppr22]

I swapped out my RAZR for my Nexus on Thursday morning. In fact, I hated my RAZR so much that I returned it before the release date for the Nexus was set. I often thought my RAZR was just a bad handset, although many of the problems I noticed were also present on the store models. My Nexus has significantly better signal - from the same spot on my couch my Nexus scores better on speed tests. It is much snappier. Apps load and run much smoother and generally function better. The haptic feedback/vibrate on my RAZR felt like there were loose pieces rattling around inside. The battery was awful. The screen quality was worse than my DROID X (in my opinion, I know it wasn't, but it just looked bad). The RAZR felt awkward and made my DROID X feel like my Eris. The Nexus, while certainly plastic feel nice. It has the right dimensions and weight to feel light and solid. The screen is phenomenal and the buttons feel nicer. And the icing for me (other than ICS) is that my ibeats headphones work (the mic at least) with my Nexus.

The only thing I am nervous about is the camera. Its lightning fast, but 5MPs is a bit low. I have a DSLR and a point and shoot that I used to carry a lot. My DX let me forger the point and shoot.

Also, there seems to be a really key point being missed by many - display models are not retail models. In defense of the RAZR, most display models have the VZW tour built in and you get to the phone through that (thats how they are at the stores by me at least). They are also not always activated.

The last point that I have seen a ton that really annoys me is this thing about the back. I saw the same thing in my store. I picked it up and the back popped right off. But, the same thing happens with just about every phone sold with a back that pops off in this manner (see the Incredible). The difference is that the Incredible's back is held on when you lift it because it wraps half way around. The locking mechanism in the VZW stores puts intense pressure right in the middle of the battery door and that is the reason it comes off. Plus the doors are dirt cheap to replace, worst case. And for former DROID X owners that swapped out batteries, you know all too well that the door comes flying off when you drop it from any height above about 2 feet.

I guess you have never thought that some actually like custom UI'S. Did you know that not everyone likes the same thing? Guess that never crossed your mind.

That's why there are options. Not everyone likes what you like and vice versa. I feel bad for closed minded people.

IMO, I need removable storage since I don't want you have to stream everything and when traveling I love to have tons of music and video. It's not feasible to stream on a plane.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk

You do know that the Nexus has the same amount of storage as the RAZR, right? In fact, I could be wrong, but I believe the total space on my Nexus is larger than my RAZR. Also, the process to transfer files is much faster on the Nexus. Unless you are swapping out micro SDs (at which point it means you are traveling so much and so far you should just buy a tablet or a better laptop) there is really on minor differences in storage.

OP is completely butt hurt he got the razr instead of waiting for the Nexus. The Nexus is a beast in every possible way. It is a true Nexus, there is zero bloat besides myverizon and bac. It is butter smooth. Oh and wait, my screen doesnt turn slime green when its on auto brightness. Fyi, alot of the display phones run different software versions than the purchasable ones and are usually buggy. If you had patience you wouldnt be so outspoken.

+1 - I honestly can never own a phone that cant do simple display dimming without turning green. I went into my local VZW and b*tched up a storm when I saw that and they laughed at me and showed me the display. One of the associates pulled out his phone and tried it and began his exchange immediately.

 

[tdubrpdx]

Software is great and all but at this point the buttonless design behaves poorly with some apps, the icons are hideous, and you can't get rid of the google search bar. Motoblur on the RAZR is far from intrusive and with features like MotoCast and Smart Actions is actually quite useful. I can wait a few months for ICS to have a phone that is the very best at the things I need a phone to be able to do (Call quality, Reception, GPS). The build quality between the two is no contest.

 

[turbofan]

The only thing I am nervous about is the camera. Its lightning fast, but 5MPs is a bit low. I have a DSLR and a point and shoot that I used to carry a lot. My DX let me forger the point and shoot.

The GNex Camera WILL be better than the DX camera in every measurable category. Ignore the 5MP -- THAT ONLY MATTERS IF YOU'RE BLOWING UP THE PICTURES. Are you blowing up cell phone pictures to 14X16? Didn't think so. If you are... You're silly.

As for the OP who got all butt hurt with mttfrog's comment... Mr. Frog is one of the most level-headed, fair posters I've read. He tells it like he sees it and is careful to state things like 'in my experience' and 'I think' instead of spouting "facts." Dude, you overreacted hard core to his comment.

To the guy who said the RAZR is a Super AMOLED Plus... You're wrong. It's just Super AMOLED, still PenTile. So same screen technology as GNex, but lower resolution.

The RAZR is a SICK device. I played with one at Best Buy and thought it had to be fake, it was impossibly thin and slick. I strongly dislike the look of Blur -- to you dude who said it's basically a lightly skinned stock launcher... BACK AWAY FROM THE MOTO KOOL AID. The stock RAZR launcher has the iPhone home symbol on the dock, for cryin' out loud. But the screen was beautiful and the phone was sweet.

Samsung phones might be light and plasticky, but I find that they still feel solid and are better at taking abuse than many other phones.




Finally... To the guy that said the GNex was made obsolete by the SGSII.... Go hump a doorknob or something, that comment was ridiculous. I know, the SGSII gets better scores in quadrant or something... Who TF CARES? The GNex is a better phone than an SGS2. The SAMOLED Plus screen is nice on the GS2 but the resolution leaves a bit to be desired even so. The GNex screen is the new world standard, that's really not something up for argument (unless you like more natural colors, in which case I refer you to the LG Nitro for the best screen).

Enough for now, I suppose.

 

[trainplane3]

One phone is for everyday people, the other is for hardcore nerds. I think that's the easiest and simplest way to describe it. I have a friend with a iPhone 4 that can't wait to ditch it for a developer phone, he knows it will have a worse build quality when compared to the iPhone but he just doesn't care.
Oh and the remarks about the "crappy plastic back", watch this video. Think twice and do some research before commenting.
[YT]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ErXqnQKs-tA[/YT]

 

[turbofan]

One phone is for everyday people, the other is for hardcore nerds. I think that's the easiest and simplest way to describe it. I have a friend with a iPhone 4 that can't wait to ditch it for a developer phone, he knows it will have a worse build quality when compared to the iPhone but he just doesn't care.
Oh and the remarks about the "crappy plastic back", watch this video. Think twice and do some research before commenting.
Click to view quoted video

The video is impressive, and goes to show why Samsung phones can take a beating. I loved how my HTC Evo felt, and I used to make fun of Samsung build quality. I broke my Evo with a small drop, and my replacement cracked all over without ANY drops. Poor. My Nexus S, OTOH, I have dropped a number of times and you can't even tell.

Enough gushing over Samsung though... I know you were going for simple, but I think your description is a little too simple. A consumer who likes spiffy gadgets but isn't into geeking around with them can still enjoy the nexus (My sister loves her NS4G and she won't even let me put ADW on it or ANYTHING) and though a super geeker might get frustrated with some aspects of the RAZR, they can still enjoy the phone -- that thing is impressive.

Different strokes for different folks. I still think the RAZR should be cheaper than the GNex tho.

 

[chevyman29]

I think all the GNEX will set the world standard for is poor radio performance ! both the gsm version witch i own and the verizon version are fast gaining a rep for having subpar radio and not pulling much of a signal . ICS is great but the Gnex itself is nothing special.

 

[trainplane3]

I think all the GNEX will set the world standard for is poor radio performance ! both the gsm version witch i own and the verizon version are fast gaining a rep for having subpar radio and not pulling much of a signal . ICS is great but the Gnex itself is nothing special.

I do have to agree with that. The radios are crap so far. I was reading about one user that didn't let his LTE GN update to 4.0.2 and he hasn't had ANY signal issues yet. So it seems like software a software issue. I can't see Samsung using a worse radio than the Charge. I think some coder got lazy at some point with the update and screwed up royally. There is also a bug with the "Android OS" process that rapes battery life right now too. I hope Google comes out and acknowledges these issues so I won't even have the thought of returning the device cross my mind. It's been doing better than my Bionic did in the 3 months I had it, so I really can't complain.

 

[Breedingh8]

Doubtful, the gn got an update immediately on activation. The xoom has seen it's fair share of updates and I imagine the gn will see much more.

Keep in mind any time any android phone is updated (minus bug fixing) it's to a newer version of Android that's already been pushed to the nexus.

I never run stock, I am w my razr because of the lack of roms..hopefully with the GNEX release and some more time someone with do s ICS based rom...im keeping my razr didn't even bother stopping in vzw yet I can't return mine anyway as it was a free year early upgrade 249$ also on release day! Woot

 

[DROIDEd]

....your missing what makes a nexus what it is........SOFTWARE. Written exactly the way it is intended to run...open and free.....Molest it with Verizon/Motorola CRAPPOLA....there's your RAZR.

 

[DROIDEd]

You really think that the ICS on the GN is untouched by Verizon?
Does Verizon even claim that this is a 'pure' Google OS?
NO...because it isn't! That's what open source means...phone manufacturers adapt it to their needs. Verizon has their hands all over the ICS in the GN whether it shows or not.

 

[jimmyk0789]

Except for maybe the samoled HD screen, you can't say the hardware is the major draw. ICS is, and will eventually be available on most phones through official updates or roms.


The GN will get update to jellybean if thats what its call after the new nexus is release next year just like the the nexus one was updated to gingerbread right after the nexus s got released and the nexus is updating to ics now

Besides initially releasing with the latest and greatest version of android, I really don't see what the big hooblah is about. Most phones will probably see Jellybean roms before the GNex gets is official update from google.

 

[MrStylz]

I just wanted to throw out another perspective. It seems there is a lot of conception that the nexus is only for techie hackers. The perspective I add is that my older parents are choosing the Nexus for the latest software, future support, and replaceable batteries. After having OG DROIDS they do not want to wait months for updates. From my wife perspective, she wants the same thing as well a lagless camera...she is coming from an Eris and did not like the iPhone multitasking, no widgets and grid design. And me...I am a techie hack so fit the stereotype.

To each their own and it is great we have these choices to keep us all happy

 

[mttfrog13]

Wow, just wow. First of all Moto said that the RAZR and Bionic and XOOM will get ICS 6 weeks or so after the source code drops.....

It sounds like you haven't been paying that much attention to recent Moto phones "blur" is now just a collection of widgets and a few custom apps on top of a mostly stock launcher and Moto should have a lot easier time porting them to ICS than they did Gingerbread. Of all of the major third party UI's it is the least intrusive. .

I highly highly doubt ics will get to any phone within 6 weeks. Google even said that it will take a month to get ics to the sprint 4g version of the nexus S. In general, I think that a realistic expectation is about 3 - 4 months of lag time with motorola or htc, and 6 - 7 months of wait time with samsung although they may have gotten their act together after the galaxy s update debacle, so who knows.

I think its pretty ridiculous when you basically have to go 25 - 30% of your phone's contract with an old OS. Also you have to realize that software is only part of the picture. Even if blur was very similar to stock android, there are still considerations that need to be made in regards to compatibility with the processor, camera, touch screen resolution and updating all of the verizon bloatware. Have fun waiting on Verizon Navigator and MOTOACTV to be updated for ICS.

As for the OP who got all butt hurt with mttfrog's comment... Mr. Frog is one of the most level-headed, fair posters I've read.

That made me lol as well as other bits in ur post. I usually post in the phandroid forums but I couldn't just let bloat so much about a phone that is at least, overall, inferior.

 

[mttfrog13]

I think the screen looks better as well. People forget that the Razr screen is Super Amoled PLUS, non pentile.

The funniest posts are the ones where you realize that the person does not have the smallest darn clue of what they heck talking about(substitute darn and heck for whatever four letter words you like). If you can't look at a screen and know for a fact whether it's pentile or not then you've lost all credibility in my book. The easiest way to know whether an android screen is pentile or not it to open up the youtube app really quick and look at the red text. If it's jagged, it's pentile. The second easiest way is to find a gradient, preferably a black to grey gradient, and see if it has banding or if it is a smoother gradient. I can see it on the blue gradient next to where it says verizon wireless on my droid razr. It takes a good eye to spot this. From what i've heard, the resolution on the gnex is so high that the pentile(ness?) of it is really hard to spot. One of the first things I will be doing with my nexus is opening up the youtube app to take a look at the red text to get a feel for how affected it is by the pentile matrix and not just going off of what i've heard.

People are so wrapped up in wanting to think their phone is better than another, that's its almost like a placebo effect and they will believe what they want to believe.

 

[whiteshadow001]

I was in the same boat as all of you here, the razr is extremely nice but I felt the nexus catered more to what I wanted on my phone. Timely updates amazing screen, good build quality, awesome camera. I'm glad all of you guys like the razr, its a great phone but the nexus is for me. That's what choice is for

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk

 

[Helloneumann]

The RAZR is a keeper, I don't go into a dark room with a black screen so no blotches, custom ringtones stay with the right contacts, no reboots, no freeze ups, no signal drops, WIFI works great, I'll be keeping this phone for a while.

 

[Dreshyne2g]

I had the razor and switched to the galaxy nexus. This phone is a piece. I am returning it tomorrow. The signal is an abomination to phones. Places I got 3 to 4 bars with the razor I now get 1 with the nexus. Battery life is way better on the razor.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk


Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk

 

[YourMobileGuru]

I returned my Nexus today. Got tbe Razr. Ahhhh, much nicer. I have signal, my pics look good, the phone feels good...and The battery life is better. I think the screen looks better as well. People forget that the Razr screen is Super Amoled PLUS, non pentile.

Um no... it's penlite. It's a newer/better pentile than the Droid 3 and Bionic, but still pentile.