Is the screen as bad as some say?

[vinny jr]

People complain about anything, the screen on the Razr isn't bad at all. I picked up the Razr Maxx and I am a very fussy person, IMO it is the best phone out there right now. I think the screen might now be as good as the Nexus but comparing it to the entire phone I think it blows away the Samsung Nexus hands down. Too many points in the hardware dept that just isn't up to par. ICS will be ready for the Razr very soon then it will be heads above the Nexus. Just My Opinion.

 

[CannedBullets]

The screen on my Razr is pretty solid.

 

[bw13]

The screen is excellent. It has the beautiful, saturated colors of a samsung with the brightness of a motorola. It looks fantastic. Other screens look slightly better but only if you have them side by side. I love the Razr Maxx, best phone I've owned. Incredible battery life in a slim, sleek, well built package. Also, the motoblur quick contact widget is the best contact widget on the market and I won't buy another brand until someone has the same thing.

 

[pappy53]

"I am in the market for a new phone and have been considering heavily the RAZR MAXX. I currently have a Droid X. I went and looked at the phone. The display is easily the worst display as far as clarity and color of any current high end smartphone. Text is particularly terrible."
Have you made an appointment with your eye doctor yet?

 

[SoCalBIGmike]

Dude, how can you say that? Put a Nexus, RAZR & Rezound & that new LG next to each other. Its apparent! The LG actually has the nicest, brightest display.

 

[dragonsamus]

I went and checked out the RAZR Maxx today. The screen looks good. I can't see the pentile lines. Call me blind! I got the buy one get one free. Had to order them since they were sold out. I get them on Friday. Can't wait!!!

 

[missedtackle]

Between the awesome battery life and the BOGO deal, this was too good to pass up.

And I'm coming from the Blackberry Curve 8330, so the screen looks fine to me.

 

[dahacker]

A closer look at the Droid RAZR's screen | The Verge Forums

 

[jroc]

A more objective look at the RAZR's screen...

http://www.droid-life.com/2011/11/29/screen-comparison-galaxy-nexus-vs-droid-razr-vs-htc-rezound/

 

[dahacker]

A more objective look at the RAZR's screen...

http://www.droid-life.com/2011/11/29/screen-comparison-galaxy-nexus-vs-droid-razr-vs-htc-rezound/

From the article "The DROID RAZR lags behind them a bit". Guess which picture from the article is the RAZR:

I don't think an objective review is one that focuses solely on "streaming video" as a real world test case. That is maybe 2% of what I use my phone for.

I can see the Verizon Motorola commercials now. "The Droid RAZR, the best smart phone when looked at from far away."

 

[Minacious]

Again, no one here is denying that HD screens look better. They should look better, they're HD screens.

The questions was if the screen on the RAZR/MAXX is a bad screen. The answer is no, period. If you plan on using your phone while against your nose, then yes, the pixels will be quite apparent. At normal viewing distances, it is a non-issue. Even the best high-end HD televisions have discernible pixels if you are standing right in front of the screen.

If being looked for, a flaw can be found on almost anything, no matter how nice.

 

[jroc]

From the article "The DROID RAZR lags behind them a bit". Guess which picture from the article is the RAZR:

Click to view quoted image


I don't think an objective review is one that focuses solely on "streaming video" as a real world test case. That is maybe 2% of what I use my phone for.

I can see the Verizon Motorola commercials now. "The Droid RAZR, the best smart phone when looked at from far away."

Lets show the pic you didnt show:

Also from the article:

As you can see, all three of them read absolutely fine and show no distortion, pixelation or anything else that would have you complaining. Now, if you click on the image to get the full version, you will get the full effect with the PenTile hatching on the RAZR and Nexus. Does it matter all that much? To me, with these phones, no. The pixel densities are high enough that your naked eye will never be able to tell, as was the point of the picture below.

Again though, the picture above which is a slight macro shot of the screens producing black text on a white website is the more realistic situation and they all look stellar (to me anyway).

That is in reference to the first pic that you didnt show and I posted here...

The shot below is really just to show you the differences between the screen technology.

That is in reference to the pic you showed....

So....the first pic they showed was from far away?. It's from the same distance, different background or brightness. Why didnt you show both pics? Like I said, a more objective look. I gotta give Droid Life credit cuz they dogged Pentile like crazy on the DX2 and Bionic. Maybe it being able to be seen on the G Nex helped change their minds...lol.

Its not the best....but it isnt as bad as some ppl make it. And since you mentioned far away...look at those pics on your...phone.....and tell me if it looks as bad as it does on your PC... Even the phone ppl love to dog, the Bionic, its screen isnt as bad as some ppl say.

 

[dahacker]

Why didnt you show both pics?

I didn't show both pics because I understand pixel density as far as it pertains to text. The picture you love is not a realistic line density. The UPPERCASE letters are ~40 pixels high, which yields a line spacing of about 55 pixels vertically. That yields less than 18 lines of text with the phone in portrait mode.

As I noted earlier, I have good vision, so 30 lines of text even with my lower resolution Droid X is nominal for me. And I'm talking an 18 inch viewing distance. The picture I posted from the article is closer to a realistic text pixel height for phones.

Certainly if your vision is so poor you are using font sizes that yield only 18 lines of text on the Droid RAZR, then it is not going to matter what display you get.

 

[jroc]

Right....pixels and densities aside....

I had all 3 phones in that article. At my normal viewing distance...which is a lil under and over 1ft....they all look so similar its a wash for sharpness. So you mean to tell me that at 1ft, 6 inches the RAZR screen looks like it does in the pics we just posted.....okay..... .cuz from that distance all 3 look waaay too similar to me.

To the OP, this pic is the best I can find for what can pass for real world viewing:

AnandTech - Motorola Droid X2 Review - A Droid X with Tegra 2

And the screen on the DX2 some consider worse than the RAZR's. Look at that on a decent PC monitor, and tell me which screen is the worse screen..

But more than anything OP...look at and compare the phone in a store at your normal viewing distance, even compare it to the Rezound and G Nex if you can. Dont take our super zoomed in pics as gospel. Its not the best....but it isnt as bad as its made out to be online.

 

[axne1]

I was sure I was going to buy the razr maxx as my upgrade becomes available this weekend, but a few reviews I've read have said that the screen in terrible and gives a really blocky appearance on text. I'm not so much one who would be bothered by it (Mainly in it for the 4g) but is it as bad as some say? This review makes it seem extra bad:

"Unfortunately, the other thing you're still looking at is the RAZR's miserable 4.3-inch PenTile qHD display. I thought it was bad when I reviewed the original RAZR, and I think it's even worse now, especially compared to the brilliant 720p LCD displays on phones like the HTC Rezound and LG Nitro HD. Text looks jaggy, whites shift to blue when viewed off-axis, and the whole thing generally feels like the concession to thinness that it is. I'm not a huge fan of the 720p Super AMOLED PenTile display on the Galaxy Nexus either, but it's head and shoulders above the RAZR and RAZR Maxx. Motorola would have been far better off using the extra thickness of the Maxx to accommodate a better display — yes, the Maxx's battery will run all day, but you're not going to want to look at the screen for nearly that long."

Personal opinions?

????????????? Not impressed by the 720 pimped out display hum?

Sent using text to speech Galaxy Nexus.

 

[dahacker]

And the screen on the DX2 some consider worse than the RAZR's. Look at that on a decent PC monitor, and tell me which screen is the worse screen..

I haven't looked at a Droid X2 in person. I have a Droid X, which was a TFT display that rocked the RAZR's display in person. It is pretty much unviewable in full sun though.

No doubt you have to decide in person.

 

[axne1]

HD is a good selling point but with screens on the phones today, it's not a big difference. It's not like going from 480p to 1080p on a tv and it's like OMFG WOW!!! It's more like, "Cool story bro" wow...

I have watched movies on my device from stuff I have converted and stuff on netflix and I am happy the quality of the screen.

That's not true. When I watch HD video on my Gnex its eye popping great. Everyone who reviews phones will tell you that. People are lying to themselves. Coming from the 3vo Qhd screen.

Sent using text to speech Galaxy Nexus.

 

[ricebw]

Man, you people had me so worried about the Maxx screen. I got my Maxx yesterday and wow, it really looks nice. I realize it isn't a 720p display and so certain things like small text may be a bit grainier (well, I should say WILL be a bit grainier by definition) but you dang near have to get a camera out to zoom in and see the difference. All these other assertions that it has a bad screen or pentile is evil or whatever are for people who like comparing specs too much. For everyday use, the display looks great.