Help Me Decide!!

[bschinkel]

Ok, after years and years of being on Sprint, I'm jumping ship to Verizon (I want that LTE!!!).
There are basically 2 devices I'm looking at: Droid Maxx and Galaxy Nexus.
I've done some hands on with both and I just can't decide. I'm wondering if anyone has any suggestions, I use my phone mainly for texting/emailing/taking pictures of the kids. I do some gaming on it as well. And a TON of web browsing.

I'm also wondering about the Maxx camera... I've seen some picture comparisons and it seems that while the Maxx has more megapixels (8) the pictures didn't look so hot. Now I understand a update did some improvement to the camera but how much?

Any input you can give me will be great!
Thanks!

 

[Zman1001]

It depends on what you want.

If you have no ill will feelings towards Motorola or Samsung, it makes it a little bit easier.

If you want a phone that you can root / hack / etc, then go with Samsung, because we all know that Motorola looks the bootloader down.

If battery is your biggest concern, go with Motorola MAXX. You can not go wrong.

I have heard (but can not say experienced) that the Motorola Maxx has a better radio than Samsung, which means you will get better call quality and connection with the Motorola. Again, I have only heard this, and can not speak from personal experience, other than to say that my MAXX connects without problem at my house, even when not connected to the network extender.

Regarding the camera. It is a phone, not a camera, so no matter which camera you use, it will not be the same as a stand alone camera. My Maxx takes good pictures, or at least good enough pictures for me, but then again, I did not buy it to be my only camera, I bought it for a phone.

I had the Droid X for 18 months from Motorola and really liked it. I chose the X over any other manufacturer (HTC / LG / Samsung) solely on looks. I did not like how the other phones looked. With 3G, I could get a full day on that phone with normal use, including emails, internet use at night after work, checking gmail, and work email constantly, checking sports scores, etc.


With the Maxx, I now get 2 full days out of it, with the same usage. I would say that I normally spend at least 3 hours on the internet a day (messing around after I get home from work), but by no means am I a heavy user.

Good luck. I personally do not think you will go wrong with either phone. I personally like the Motorola look / build, but to each their own.

 

[CSI Guy]

I went with the Maxx because of the Battery and build quality.

 

[ThirstyTurtle]

Rooting is no problem on the RAZR if you're interested. In fact it's way easier than my Incredible, Droid X, or Incredible 2 were. Took 10 minutes, haha.

I've TRIED running the battery down on this thing, I can't burn it in one day and I'm a pretty heavy user.

I was torn between both as well but ultimately the Nexus didn't feel as good in my hand and didn't seem as responsive in my opinion.

 

[Wobblin30]

I use my phone mainly for texting/emailing/taking pictures of the kids. I do some gaming on it as well. And a TON of web browsing.

Based on what you use the phone for, I would lean towards the Maxx. Having had both, the Maxx blows the Nexus away in terms of battery life. Camera wise, I would give the edge to the Maxx although the zero shutter lag on the Nexus was pretty sweet. Build quality definately goes to the Maxx. Why Samsung continues to use cheap plastic for their phones baffles me.

My biggest issue with the Nexus was the radio; dropped signals were constant despite living in a strong 4g area. The speaker quallity is subpar at best. At the end of the day I need a phone that works when I want it to and the Nexus failed to deliver for me. I have no regrets on making the swap and with ICS coming down the road, the Maxx will be hard to beat.

 

[fatboy97]

Those are the two devices I was trying to look at when my upgrade became available a few weeks ago... I've looked at the Galaxy Nexus for a while after that came out... and have had a rooted Android before this so I knew what stock Android looked like and even a few variation of AOSP (Android Open Source Project) ROMs.

The GN might have a better screen, but I preferred the larger battery and solid radio by Motorola... and even though this is my first Motorola Android device I really feel good about my choice now two week later.

 

[Iceycold]

I was on the same boat as you 2 days ago, for mye it came down to godly battery life and non stock android vs decent battery life and stock ics android. I chose maxx because I love the droid theme and the awesome battery life. Lastly I love stock android but motoblur is amazing from what I've seen.

The razr and the maxx are getting ics so don't make that a breaking point for you.

Typing this as I head to Verizon to go pick up the maxx. So good luck with your choice friend.

 

[LBTRS]

I have both and the RAZR MAXX is a MUCH better phone for me. Battery is great, sturdier built, everything works. I wasn't impressed with the GN after a month and a half and it is now sitting in my desk drawer.

 

[lazygroundhogs]

maxx hands down.

. I get 4g (razr maxx) when my buddy (GN) does not due to the moto radios, the quality of the phone build is night and day compared to the GN and the moto apps (smart actions,layout) is hands down better.

made me really wonder about some of the sites who rated the GN phone better over the Razr Maxx.

 

[Msf]

Having owned both, I went with the Maxx over the Nexus for a couple of reasons. While subjective,I am basing my decision on side by side comparison.

Signal Quality - Maxx was is better at holding a 3G signal out in the boonies where I live.

Battery Life - Maxx has the best battery life of any smartphone I have ever used. Nexus battery is not bad, but it can't compete wit the Maxx.

Camera - Tie. Nexus is much faster, but the Maxx's extra megapixels come through in well lit environments.

I/O - Maxx wins this category hands down. HDMI port allows me to go big screen with nothing but a cable. Micro SD card slot allows me to dump files from my SLR camera into the Maxx for display or uploading to the cloud without the need for a computer.

My two cents. The Nexus is also a nice phone. I think you would be satisfied with either unless battery life is your main issue.

 

[Androidpwns]

Good choice. I was a long time Sprint customer as well. Everything about their coverage and service seemed to change for super-worse & I wasn't willing to put up w/it any longer. Too many dropped calls. imo U will b much happier w Verizon for many reasons. I vote for Maxx.

 

[kil187]

**copied from another thread I posted in**

I was in the exact same boat as you 5 months ago. Upgrade was due 5 months ago, so I started shopping and waiting for new phones, Waited on CES also to see what was on the horizon as I was satisfied with my BB for the time being. Also started lurking the forums to do as much research and to get as much info on each phone as I could. SOOO, BB owner, new to Android, stuck between the Gnex, Rezound, and Razr (RazrMaxx because I waited).

After weighing all the pros and cons of all the devices listed above and scouting what was coming up in the next couple of months I decided to go with the RazrMaxx for me and my wife.

While all 3 are pretty much on the same level with each other, the RazrMaxx stuck out for a couple of reasons. One was that huge battery, coming from a BB, I was kinda spoiled not having to worry about battery life and getting a decent runtime with my phone. The Gnex has an extended battery but the cost of 300 more Mah versus the benefits was ridiculous. The Rezound also has and extended battery that made the phone a huge piece of equipment compared to the other 2, add a case to that and you have a literal mini brick in your hands. Second was the SD card slot. I have one and use it on my BB, as do you, I assume. Its convenient and upgradeable and stores a lot of info/music you can move to another phone quickly and easily, provided the other phone has an SD card slot. Third is the location of the headphone jack and the notification light. I do not like the placement of these on the Gnex (they are at the bottom of the phone), I put my phone in the cupholder a lot and listen to music from my phone so this would not work. The notification light placement on the Gnex seemed kind of stupid anyways, but that is my opinion.

The Rezound quickly fell out of the running just based on the fact that I knew I would want a bigger battery and HTC's battery was bulk that I did not want to add to the phone. I'm not too concerned with bulk or "Thinness" but I would like to keep "pocketability" with all my phones. Although the Beats headphones included is added value, for those of you keeping tabs.

This leaves the RazrMaxx and the Gnex. I was initially going to go with the Gnex based off of specs alone. It is a great phone on paper and easily has one of the best screens I have ever seen. 3 of my friends also purchased the Gnex shortly after release and all 3 of them love it, no problems or issues with it what so ever. They did not have any of the issues with it that many were having in the Gnex forums ie: Reception, 3g to 4g switch, speaker quality/sounds being loud, and bugs in ICS. Although there are fixes for most of the issues available in the market and through a custom ROM, I believe the phone has to function properly out of the box and not rely on third party fixes to restore something that should have been there from the beginning (Just my personal belief, especially if I'm going to spend 300 on a phone). There were just TOO many folks complaining about these same things on the boards, too many, and I did not want to take the chance that I would be one of them.

- The Gnex has ICS ---- The RazrMaxx will get ICS, after all the bugs have been worked out, hopefully.
- The Gnex has the huge, really nice screen ----RazrMaxx has a big screen and not as much PPI, but coming from a BB, ANYTHING is better at this point.
- The Gnex is super customizable ---- Got me on this one, with Moto's locked bootloader and all, but with me being a nub at Android and hacking/ROMS, I don't want to really take a chance at voiding my warranty and screwing up my phone. Although an unlocked/Dev version of the Razr is being released by Moto, so there is some hope for developers and future customizers of this phone...
- The RazrMaxx does NOT have a removable battery ---- Was worried about this until I found out that a hard reset can be performed and in case of a battery failure, everything is on the SD card and the cloud and I have the extended warranty.
- The RazrMaxx and Moto have some of the best accessories around for their phones, the HD dock and the car dock come to mind. Where are those for the Gnex?

I am in no way bashing the Gnex or the Rezound, both are great phones, both just didn't stack up in my comparisons with the RazrMaxx and with what I wanted/needed in a phone/device. Although I will surely miss a lot of the things my BB does so well (BBM, E-mail, and the keyboard) it is time to move on. With me being almost in the same situation as you, hopefully my research and findings will help you out in your choice. Sorry for the long post, just trying to help, Good luck!

*** I just copied and pasted what I posted in another "help me decide" thread, hope this helps.

 

[paul-c]

That update for the camera in the RAZR improved picture quality in low lighting.

 

[cr2]

I assume you have posted this same question in the galaxy nexus forum? For me it was the battery. Period. During the last 2-3 months I was waiting for the galaxy note to come to America. Then when they announced it was coming to ATT, I looked seriously at the nexus. I never really liked the odd bend to the phone. The 'beautiful curve' raved about in many reviews just looks odd to me. So I finally started considering the razr. Then the verizon guy told me the maxx was coming out in 4 days. I never looked back after that and I''m really happy with the phone. I came from a Droid I, so I love the look and functionality of Gingerbread. It's new to me, so I don't really care about ICS. I've taken close-up pictures using macro and plenty of light, and they are fantastic. I'm more than happy with the camera.

My only fault with the razr is that text in PDF files looks more jagged than on my droid 1. I'll enjoy this phone for 2 years then get something better.

 

[bschinkel]

I assume you have posted this same question in the galaxy nexus forum?.

Actually, just this forum

 

[cr2]

I'll bet a lot of the nexus guys were also on the fence between it and the razr. It's not a bad idea to post it over there. You ought to get their side as well to make an informed decision.