The Motorola Conundrum

[Murph5150]

Motorola phones receive the best reception, bar none. My Galaxy S4 at work receives absolutely no signal on Verizon's network while my two coworkers, each with a different Motorola phone on Verizon, get between 1 and 2 bars of signal and can send and receive calls. But here's my gripe.

My Samsung S4 is flawless for gaming and multitasking thanks to its speedy quad core 1.9 GHz processor and 2GB of RAM. Motorola's Droid Maxx might be the closest contender to the S4. Excellent battery life, 2GB of RAM, but a watered down processor - 1.7 GHz dual core. The Moto X is basically the same, but with much less battery capacity.

I'm not knowledgeable about Motorola's X8 Mobile Computing System which evidently helps the phone perform better.

I have no desire to upgrade to the S5. Samsung didn't make nearly enough enhancements to it over the S4. The HTC M8 has been a consideration as well as the yet to be released LG G3. But I don't know how the signal strength is on LG or HTC. Can anyone offer any feedback based on experience?

Thanks!

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[JRDroid]

A couple reasons you shouldn't consider the 1.7 Ghz dual core X8 a disadvantage:
1. There is a coprocessor that handles background tasks, reducing the workload for main processor
2. Motorola's build of Android is much, much lighter than Samsung's build and runs flawlessly on the X8
3. Motorola put more effort into optimizing their build of Android for their custom SoC than most companies do

I also wouldn't rule out the G2. It is fairly inexpensive now, and as far as specs and performance go, it is much closer to the S5 than it is the S4. The Snapdragon 800 (what is in the G2) was a fairly substantial improvement over the 600 (what is in the S4). The 801 (in the SGS5) is a mild refresh of the 800 (G2).

I haven't used an M8, but I used an M7 for about 6 months, a Moto X for about 5 months, currently have a Note 3, I've used my wife's G2 (which she got a month ago) a lot, and have a G2 on the way for myself. Sense is a great skin of Android. There are aspects of it that are superior to stock. HTC hardware feels great in the hand, and the speakers sound awesome. However, HTC phones are huge relative to their phone size. The M8 is substantially taller and thicker than the G2 and only 1 mm wider than a G2, but the G2 has a substantially larger screen than the M8. I think the IR blasters that HTC, LG, and Samsung are doing are great, I use it all the time, but I also think HTC has the worst remote app of the three. The G2's camera is superior to the M8's in almost every situation. LG's interface isn't bad. I'm not a huge fan of their launcher, but it is better than the TouchWiz launcher and I use Nova on pretty much everything anyway.

Overall, I think that LG's are superior to HTC's, but that doesn't mean the HTC's are bad phones, they aren't. They are actually quite good, its just that the LG phones are excellent. Motorola's are fantastic too. There are two main reasons I ditched the Moto X, one of which the Droid Maxx addresses: Screen size and camera. I really have never been a big fan of the 4.7" screen size. It is an awkward middle ground for me, too big to be super easy to use one handed yet too small to offer a truly great multi-media and gaming experience. I prefer phones either between 4"-4.3" or 5"+. The Droid Maxx addresses this weakness of the Moto X by offering a 5" screen. The cameras on the Motorolas are terrible though. I use my phone's camera all the time. It is my primary camera, so I need something that is good. When I had my HTC One, I used the camera all the time, every day. When I switched to the Moto X, I found myself taking fewer and fewer pictures until I realized I would go a week plus without opending the camera because I was never happy with the pictures it took. Now that I have a Note 3, I'm using the camera much more again, and the G2 has a slightly better camera than the Note (at least in my opinion, based on my personal side by side comparisons of photos taken at the same time on both phones).

 

[sting7k]

The "X8 Computing system" is as follows;
Dual-core Snapdragon CPU
Quad-core Adreno GPU
Motion Coprocessor (low power processor core that constantly monitors orientation and movement of the device).
Natural Language Coprocessor (low power processor core that constantly listens for voice activation as well as translates voice commands on the device without needing to fire up the main CPU).

The Moto X essentially runs stock Android, unlike most other devices. The modifications that Motorola has added are essentially apps instead of a skin or something running on top of Android; such as active display and touchless control.

The Moto X has no performance issues for me. All the other extra processors extend battery life and enable the X to keep up with all the other flagship phones. There's no reason to fire up a 2.5Ghz CPU core to determine the orientation of the device; the sensors don't need that kind of horse power and it's a waste of battery life. Spec sheets mean very little now with how much power these devices have. That 2GB of RAM is really the biggest thing keeping it in the game. You won't even notice 1Ghz speed increase in daily use just swiping around, phone processors are approaching overkill at this point. All that extra 1Ghz of speeds gets you is a little big better gaming performance and faster battery drain in every day use.

 

[z33dev33l]

Motorola is so far ahead of the game in the android market on quality and integrity alone but so many people are blind to it because Samsung crams a more powerful processor under their hideous touchwiz and garbage build quality.

 

[Murph5150]

Great feedback guys, thank you. I've definitely learned something new regarding Motorola's computing process. PC Mag did say that the LG G2 gets fantastic reception, so I might hold off for the G3. But thanks to the great advice, Motorola is back in the equation.

Sent from my SCH-I545 using AC Forums mobile app

 

[Tsepz_GP]

Motorola is so far ahead of the game in the android market on quality and integrity alone but so many people are blind to it because Samsung crams a more powerful processor under their hideous touchwiz and garbage build quality.

People who hate Samsung always make me laugh with statements such as the above.

If TouchWiz was as awful as you try make it out to be and build quality just as bad then Samsung wouldn't be where they are, simple.

They have mastered creating the best allround package of a smartphone, with excellent Camera, Display, Audio HW, Battery life, Productivity tools etc... There's no compromise.

To the OP
I'd say wait for the G3 and Note 4 to arrive, if the S5 is anything to go by the Note 4 will be an absolute powerhouse of a thing.

 

[zorak950]

All the flagships these days are powerful enough to do whatever you'd want. I'd encourage you to focus more on design than specs: buy something you enjoy using.

 

[z33dev33l]

People who hate Samsung always make me laugh with statements such as the above.

If TouchWiz was as awful as you try make it out to be and build quality just as bad then Samsung wouldn't be where they are, simple.

They have mastered creating the best allround package of a smartphone, with excellent Camera, Display, Audio HW, Battery life, Productivity tools etc... There's no compromise.

To the OP
I'd say wait for the G3 and Note 4 to arrive, if the S5 is anything to go by the Note 4 will be an absolute powerhouse of a thing.

Fanboys make me laugh. Samsung made the most marketable android phone and their advertising, like Apple's, appeals to those less knowledgeable. They used to back their pretty meh phones up with great support and quality control. Now, a ton of GS4s were shipped with broken USB ports, when reported, they were made to ship them back in even if they didn't have another phone and go 11 days without a phone while Samsung fixed a known issue. That's not the samsung that they were before they got too big to care about people. I remember when Samsung first released the Behold 2 and they said that EVERY samsung device would get EVERY android update to come out. They are a batch of liars, they're the apple of the Android world.

 

[Tsepz_GP]

Fanboys make me laugh. Samsung made the most marketable android phone and their advertising, like Apple's, appeals to those less knowledgeable. They used to back their pretty meh phones up with great support and quality control. Now, a ton of GS4s were shipped with broken USB ports, when reported, they were made to ship them back in even if they didn't have another phone and go 11 days without a phone while Samsung fixed a known issue. That's not the samsung that they were before they got too big to care about people. I remember when Samsung first released the Behold 2 and they said that EVERY samsung device would get EVERY android update to come out. They are a batch of liars, they're the apple of the Android world.

Fanboys make me laugh to I find it hard to be a fan for a single company hence why I use a variety of devices that run Windows, OSX, Android and iOS.

What you've done is simply tell me a story of when Samsung messed up, like ANY OTHER manufacturer, and lie like any other manufacturer, there's a lot I can say about how Motorola and how they dropped MILLIONS of us on their retreat back to the USA between 2008 and now, people waiting upto 1.5months for phones to be fixed, the utter lack of support etc... Same for HTC who in many regions have been On and Off, we could go on and on and on, pointless argument.

 

[z33dev33l]

Perhaps I've just grown accustomed to Nokia's quality and customer support. Doesn't change the fact that their phones still feel like toys and sell on their marketing alone to most people. Most people who buy galaxies don't even know they're buying an android phone.

 

[zorak950]

I'm with Tsepz. Apple makes fantastic devices. So does Samsung. Both have some issues, but so does every manufacturer. That's the beauty of choice: you get to pick based on your own priorities and preferences.

 

[z33dev33l]

I can agree with Apple making exceptional devices, certainly the best of their kind. Regarding Android though, there are several OEMs who do the job much better but who are just awful at advertising.

 

[Tsepz_GP]

Perhaps I've just grown accustomed to Nokia's quality and customer support. Doesn't change the fact that their phones still feel like toys and sell on their marketing alone to most people. Most people who buy galaxies don't even know they're buying an android phone.

You see where I am, Nokia customer support is pretty much gone, while on the other hand Samsung now have ADH, a system where they give you two free repairs for damaged screens and water damage, no question asked on top the typical free swap out if the phone is faulty. Then there's ADH Premium for the Note range where you get ADH benefits PLUS they replace your Note (phone or tablet) if its lost or stolen the 1st time, no questions asked, this applies to the whole African continent, and other regions, so if I aware I'd be careful about talking down Samsung support as it is increasingly getting far better.

As for quality, this is a key marketing area, I doubt Samsung would've leaped frogged Nokia the way they have their quality is so poor, I have an S2 that has been in use since 2011 and still running and looking good, quality seems great, but I guess thats down to usage patterns and so on.

 

[z33dev33l]

You see where I am, Nokia customer support is pretty much gone, while on the other hand Samsung now have ADH, a system where they give you two free repairs for damaged screens and water damage, no question asked on top the typical free swap out if the phone is faulty. Then there's ADH Premium for the Note range where you get ADH benefits PLUS they replace your Note (phone or tablet) if its lost or stolen the 1st time, no questions asked, this applies to the whole African continent, and other regions, so if I aware I'd be careful about talking down Samsung support as it is increasingly getting far better.

As for quality, this is a key marketing area, I doubt Samsung would've leaped frogged Nokia the way they have their quality is so poor, I have an S2 that has been in use since 2011 and still running and looking good, quality seems great, but I guess thats down to usage patterns and so on.

Really? Because I'm dealing with Nokia support now and called and informed them that my phone was damaged because of my son. Not only were they nice enough to offer to repair it for free, they sent me a loaner phone (With a card on file just in case of course) and overnighted me a Lumia 920 to use while my 1020 is being repaired. This is a 1020 by the way that they sent me as a developer device for free and had no obligations to whatsoever.

I guess Samsung may not be as awful in Africa but here in the US, they have hands down the absolute worst support of any OEM I've dealt with and I've dealt with quite a few. ADH repair seems to be something local as pulling it up doesn't have anywhere else showing up. In the U.S. they're awful and when I was in Europe, they were awful.

 

[Tsepz_GP]

Here you go, a bit of info on ADH:
Home | Samsung Repairs

Right now its in Africa and if I'm not mistake some other developing economies like Brazil and India, don't quote me on that though as I was half listening when the rep blabbered on and on about the whole thing.

Hopefully Samsung support will get better in the USA, strange they didn't introduce ADH and ADH Premium that side as it would be a major trump card over Apple.

 

[Ry]

Motorola is so far ahead of the game in the android market on quality and integrity alone but so many people are blind to it because Samsung crams a more powerful processor under their hideous touchwiz and garbage build quality.

...no. It's because Samsung has bigger marketing budget.

 

[roadkizzle]

People who hate Samsung always make me laugh with statements such as the above.

If TouchWiz was as awful as you try make it out to be and build quality just as bad then Samsung wouldn't be where they are, simple.

They have mastered creating the best allround package of a smartphone, with excellent Camera, Display, Audio HW, Battery life, Productivity tools etc... There's no compromise.

To the OP
I'd say wait for the G3 and Note 4 to arrive, if the S5 is anything to go by the Note 4 will be an absolute powerhouse of a thing.

The reason Samsung sells so many phones is the same reason why Bud Light is the second largest beer brand in the world.

Marketing, marketing, marketing. People will buy whatever name they know, and Samsung has been great at keeping their name at the forefront of peoples minds through their marketing.

I had a Galaxy S2 after my iPhone 3g, Motorola Bravo, and Motorola Atrix. The S2 was easily my least favorite phone bar none I've ever owned. It had a smooth processor, but the phone constantly creaked when any pressure was applied, and had some noticeable flexibility that should NOT have existed. The screen was horrible coming at a time where other manufacturers were already using qHD screens, and the color saturation was the worst even compared to other Amoled devices. I personally HATED Touchwiz, and would have happily gone back to Motoblur instead.

Samsung sold phones because the screens had so much bright and unnatural colors that you were stuck using a cartoon. The processor was good but Samsung's software has always overloaded them.