Is the screen as bad as some say?

[ChilyPepper]

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?

 

[Minacious]

The quick answer: The screen is perfectly fine. It amazes people can look at this screen and say it looks bad.

 

[ChilyPepper]

Well im coming from a blackberry so I doubt it can be that bad

 

[RHChan84]

It's bad for those who look really close at it and want to see an issue. I have compared them to the Rezound and I will say the Rezound looks slightly better BUT only if you had both in your hand and both are doing the same thing. But I'll take a better radio, battery, and better build quality over a small difference in screen.

 

[Minacious]

Well im coming from a blackberry so I doubt it can be that bad

Ha!

Again, it amazes me that anyone would say the screen looks "bad", unless they have a malfunctioning display. Is it the sharpest display on the market, of course not, it isn't an HD display. I can tell you that the screen I am looking at doesn't have jagged text, no matter the zoom level.

If you'd like some specific shots of text on the screen, just ask and I will take some hi-res macro shots, or drive down to a corporate store and have a look in person.

 

[lewie61]

"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?

Absolute and utter nonsense! The Razr screen is excellent.

 

[ChilyPepper]

Ha!

Again, it amazes me that anyone would say the screen looks "bad", unless they have a malfunctioning display. Is it the sharpest display on the market, of course not, it isn't an HD display. I can tell you that the screen I am looking at doesn't have jagged text, no matter the zoom level.

If you'd like some specific shots of text on the screen, just ask and I will take some hi-res macro shots, or drive down to a corporate store and have a look in person.

Do you actually think you could? White text on a black background at a really close distance?

 

[KoukiFC3S]

I've had the Rezound, Nexus, and iPhone 4S, and I still like the display on the Razr. The colors are great. I do notice the pentile display, but it's not bothering me.

 

[pauldroidr2d2]

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?

If you are concerned about the screen, I'd recommend you visit a VZW store actually check it out yourself.

Sent from one of the following: Galaxy Nexus, Bionic or Xoom using Tapatalk.

 

[cbreze]

My screen is excellent. That review is overblown.

 

[AndroidXTC]

The screen is nice on mine.

 

[jroc]

I have owned a G Nex, have the RAZR and Rezound now...

Droid Life finally did a more reasonable review of all 3 screen techs one time. At normal viewing distances for most ppl....they all will look almost identical. When you bring them in closer...the differences start to show more.

So to me it depends on YOUR normal viewing distance, how good, bad your eyes are, what you are doing at a particular time. The ONLY time I have my phones closer than normal is in bed. I like Amoled screens now based on the colors. Between my Rezound and RAZR...I like the RAZR's better, just for the colors. And because at my normal viewing distance they all look too similar...sharpness, Pentile isnt an issue for me.

When you look for the issues, you can find them. In certain instances issues may stand out more. It was hard to see Pentile on the G Nex...until I saw certain colors on certain backgrounds. And I spent time with a Bionic...and even that screen isnt as bad as some ppl make it.

It's bad for those who look really close at it and want to see an issue. I have compared them to the Rezound and I will say the Rezound looks slightly better BUT only if you had both in your hand and both are doing the same thing. But I'll take a better radio, battery, and better build quality over a small difference in screen.

This times 1000... Its all about wants n needs. And for me...screen clarity, sharpness doesnt outweigh reception and battery life.

 

[roscko]

I have the Maxx, and yes, you can tell the difference between this phone and the Google Nexus or the Rezound.

Initially I was really bothered by it, but it was still worlds better than the 0G Droid that I was coming from.

In the end, I valued and justified the better performance and battery life of the Maxx over the other two phones' better display and have been very satisfied with that decision.

In the end, it all comes down to what you value most in a phone. You should definitely go to the store and see and try them all and see what you're willing to live with (or not) before making a decision.

 

[paul-c]

The screen on the RAZR looks great. The AMOLED really makes the colors pop. The fact that it isn't HD doesn't bother me, I save that talk for my plasma tv for now.

 

[SuperJETT]

It's a great screen. There may be better 'in certain situations', but for normal use it's awesome. If it bothers you, then you're nitpicking just to have something to complain about and should go buy something else that's going to be perfect.

 

[fatboy97]

Stop reading so much and go to a Verizon store and look at it for yourself, and by all means change the brightness of the one you are handling... normally they have them cranked up to max brightness.

 

[RHChan84]

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.

 

[experiment 626]

After about 7 hours of use your MAXX screen is going to look ALOT better than person using the Rezound or GNEX(w/stock battery) for the same length of time.

 

[RHChan84]

After about 7 hours of use your MAXX screen is going to look ALOT better than person using the Rezound or GNEX(w/stock battery) for the same length of time.

Exactly. Someone with a MAXX can still see their screen where someone with the other devices might be setting a battery warning.

 

[lewie61]

If you are concerned about the screen, I'd recommend you visit a VZW store actually check it out yourself.

Absolutely. I looked at the Rezound, the Nexus and the Razor when they came out. The Rezound screen was beautiful BUT I needed to jack the brightness all the way up for it to really look good. HTC dropped the ball here. The Nexus screen was also very sharp but, again, I felt that it shouild have been brighter at lower settings. The Razr screen, even with Pentile, just struck me as beautiful. It had deep blacks and excellent contrast and pop even at a 30% brightness level. If I would have been buying a phone at that moment, I would have narrowed the choice to the Razr or the Rezound. One last test sealed the deal. I held the Rezound up with to the store windows and let sunlight hit it and the screen pretty much disappeared much in the way that my DINC's did. Its glass surface was very glossy and that didn't help. One of the Verizon reps let me take his Razr outside and the difference was obvious. The Razr had much better visibility in daylight and, even with my polarized sunglasses on, which normally wreak havoc with phone screens, I could still see the screen well enough to use it without constantly fiddling with the phone's position. That was a critical issue for me since I use the phone when I'm out walking or jogging. I can't recommend enough testing these phones in daylight. When the Maxx came out with the larger battery buying it was a no brainer for me.