If RAZR gets ICS, will it beat NEXUS?

[anon(558804)]

"The razr will get ics sometime in May or June."

By then the initial bugs should be worked out of ICS. I picked up a RAZR on Saturday. It's my first smartphone, and I like it. ICS might add hardware acceleration, but for my purposes it works fine right now.

 

[philly]

Others may have posted these facts but i havent read through it all yet:

1. The Nexus is future proof for a little while.. sure the Razr will get ICS, but after that? Nexus phones typically get 2-3 major upgrades before they just cant handle it anymore. Look at the Nexus S... itll be first in line to officially get ICS after this phone launches.

2. The screen appears, both in videos and on paper, to be so much better. Also, on screen buttons add to the screen and as i said above, future proof the phone for future updates.

3. Development - No doubt other phones have great communities behind them, but seeing as how the Nexus is out of the box easy to jump into, the device will have tons of enhanced features and customizations to OS revisions that the Razr wont see for months. Plus this being the first Nexus on Verizon means more devs out there have an opportunity to get their hands on one... be it Gsm/Hspa+ or Cdma/Lte.

Ive always stuck exclusively to Nexus phones and ive never regretted that decision. Ive messed around with other Android phones through friends and family and i just wasnt impressed with Donut when i was on 2.1(Nexus One). I loved having Gingerbread(Nexus S) 6 months before everyone else. Ill surely love having other limited time exclusive updates as well. This is all coming from someone who wants cool new features and loves to beta test things.

If you just want a solid experience, like the form factor, dont have time to wait, or get a warm fuzzy feeling when you see robots, explosions, and high speed chases... The Droid Razr is more than capable.

I really think both phones are just as future proof as the other, its not like motorola isnt putting the new versions on there phones.. yea its slower then a non skinned phone but they still come.. The hardware on the Razr and Nexus are very similiar.

the Nexus clearly has the nicer screen.. but I enjoy plain ol SAMOLED and Im sure ill enjoy SAMOLED Advanced

Development really means nothing to me, I dont ever intend to load roms/root/etc. I did it before on my fascinate and it was a headache, same thing with locked boatloader and non-removable battery.. I never intend on buying spare batteries and/or doing anything that requires an unlocked bootloader.

I do see that some people love playing with this stuff and are able to squeeze extra performance out of it.. I think its semi fun but just not worth messing around with on my phone because I need my phone to work 24/7.. I plan on buying a tablet (most likely transformer prime) that I can tweak and possibly load cyanogenmod on etc.

I think in the end the gorilla glass, strong radio, hardware buttons and no more wait were what tipped me over the edge to just finally order a razr... plus I've always considered software updates like a mini phone upgrade between upgrades.. when I get ICS on my Razr it will be like getting a new phone all over again.

 

[kvlt]

I really think both phones are just as future proof as the other, its not like motorola isnt putting the new versions on there phones.. yea its slower then a non skinned phone but they still come.. The hardware on the Razr and Nexus are very similiar.

the Nexus clearly has the nicer screen.. but I enjoy plain ol SAMOLED and Im sure ill enjoy SAMOLED Advanced

Development really means nothing to me, I dont ever intend to load roms/root/etc. I did it before on my fascinate and it was a headache, same thing with locked boatloader and non-removable battery.. I never intend on buying spare batteries and/or doing anything that requires an unlocked bootloader.

I do see that some people love playing with this stuff and are able to squeeze extra performance out of it.. I think its semi fun but just not worth messing around with on my phone because I need my phone to work 24/7.. I plan on buying a tablet (most likely transformer prime) that I can tweak and possibly load cyanogenmod on etc.

I think in the end the gorilla glass, strong radio, hardware buttons and no more wait were what tipped me over the edge to just finally order a razr... plus I've always considered software updates like a mini phone upgrade between upgrades.. when I get ICS on my Razr it will be like getting a new phone all over again.

Totally man and while id argue the update situation, we can both agree that the Razr is a nice piece of hardware and youll totally be happy with it. Different strokes different folks. I always say this, but thats why Android rules... choice.

 

[SpaceHippie]

This is my thinking and the reason i bought the Rezound(for now). If you root the Nexus, Rezound, Razr and load stock ICS(CM9) on them. The competition is different. The Nexus has no soft keys(which could be good or bad) meanwhile the Razr and Rezound are already spec'd higher, slightly. So they may actually be better than the Nexus with stock. I wanted a Nexus for the stock android experince, not the hardware. So CM9 should definitely be a factor in anyone who plans to root, decision on which phone to buy.

 

[JRZLocal]

I looked at the razr before I picked up my rezound and honestly it was just a thinner version of the bionic to me. Besides smart actions and the screen the phones are basically the same. The razr has expandable memory and a higher mp camera, but the nexus has better screen res. and NFC.... Even when the razr gets ics I'd still go with the nexus.

 

[doctajay]

Not with the qHD screen. Once you try an HD screen you won't go back.

Sent from my GT-N7000 using Tapatalk

yep, that is be biggest thing. I am "renting" a rezound right now and the 720p screen is freakin awesome. Truly this is the future of screens and dealing with anything else really won't do it for me.

 

[whiteshadow001]

Can't the Rezound and Razr be rooted to pure ICS though?

rezound yes with a lil work. RAZR no because it's bootloader is locked down tighter than fort knox

 

[AZDROIDX]

Razr and Rezound both have features that are independently missing versus the Nexus:

Nexus = Super AMOLED HD Screen
Razr = AMOLED, but not HD
Rezound = HD, but not AMOLED

Because of this I can't get either the Razr or Rezound. With the Nexus so close to release, I know I'll be kicking myself afterwards if I do.

Not everyone is like you and swear by the AMOLED, lots of reviews I've read that have handled both like the HTC HD better than the HD AMOLED and the opposite can be said.

 

[ManBearPig618]

I'd jump on the RAZR in a second if we had only gotten the Chinese version with the 4.5" screen and 13mp camera.

Secondly - is Moto going to unlock the bootloaders on their current phones? I remember reading something about them promising they were going to do so.

 

[SpaceHippie]

The Razr just feels horrible. Might just be me though. I have big hands. It's literally TOO wide and TOO thin. Its hasn't been a option for me in weeks lol. Rezound is built better. I like HTC over Moto. They can make great hardware without designing a phone to look like a damn handgun.

 

[shadrap]

The Razr will be a beast with ICS.

 

[altimax98]

Secondly - is Moto going to unlock the bootloaders on their current phones? I remember reading something about them promising they were going to do so.

They did. VZW demanded a locked bootloader to be carried on its network, but it is unlocked around the world.

Remember ICS requires kernel modifications, so I don't think ICS will boot without having a ICS motorola kernel leak

 

[Somethingsfishy]

Ok I have read literally hundres of reviews, as well as interviews with google developers as to theri reasoning behind every controvercial decision (ie no expansion slot, no usb storage etc....)
and it seems to me that on a hardware side the RAZR is pulling ahead in many areas and the big draw seems to be ICS.

So if I wait until the RAZR gets ICS and we begin talking apples to apples, other than the miner Motorola bloatware (Which google states can be removed with ICS) why would I want a nexus?

other than being first in line to get software updates...

LOL

How is it "pulling ahead?"

Same proc
Same ram
VASTLY inferior screen
Build quality is an undeniable victory for moto though, sammys is good, motos is excellent
I handled the razr yesterday in my local best buy and honestly I wasn't impressed. The phone feels too wide, and the screen exhibits a strong green tint with everything.

The Rezound also doesn't stack up.

Its screen is magnificent, but sense is REALLY holding back the components- sense made this beast stutter dozens of times in just the short interval I used it in. Beats is a gimmick. I think they should've marketed it for its gorgeous screen rather than silly beats audio. My klipschs will pound the rezound any day of the week.

 

[phantomash]

The Razr actually have a slightly lower end processor, the OMAP4430, while the Nexus is using OMAP4460. Even though both are at 1.2Ghz clock speed, one is overclocked to run at 1.2Ghz, while the other is underclocked to run at 1.2Ghz.

4430 also have a slightly lower clocked GPU (SGX540) than the 4460.

Anyway this is just a minor difference, however even if we disregard this aspect IMO GNex is still better.

 

[obi5683]

Ok I have read literally hundres of reviews, as well as interviews with google developers as to theri reasoning behind every controvercial decision (ie no expansion slot, no usb storage etc....)
and it seems to me that on a hardware side the RAZR is pulling ahead in many areas and the big draw seems to be ICS.

So if I wait until the RAZR gets ICS and we begin talking apples to apples, other than the miner Motorola bloatware (Which google states can be removed with ICS) why would I want a nexus?

other than being first in line to get software updates...

ICS does not allow the removal of bloatware, it allows you to hide it. This doesn't help with storage availability. Sure its only a few MB, but that is one more app I could load, or one more song. RAZR is clocked to 1.2GHz, Nexus is UNDERclocked to 1.2GHz. You will be able to overclock the Nexus beyond what the RAZR will overclock to. Screens do not even compare. Updates will come faster to the Nexus. Nexus bootloader is not locked. Verizon did not lock the Xoom bootloader.

Nexus FTW.

 

[ManBearPig618]

They did. VZW demanded a locked bootloader to be carried on its network, but it is unlocked around the world.

Remember ICS requires kernel modifications, so I don't think ICS will boot without having a ICS motorola kernel leak

So are VZW Moto devices remaining locked for the foreseeable future?

 

[Eric Kane]

This is a ridiculous question. I've been testing a Razr since Sunday and I've been completely unimpressed with it. The screen is a major disappointment. For a phone of supposed quality, they really, really dropped the ball on the screen. The battery life is atrocious, but anyone who knows anything about phones can't judge it completely after a 2 charge cycles. I don't see it getting much better, though. It's fairly fast, but not as fast as my Galaxy S2 (on Sprint or AT&T since I've had both). I can't complain about the build quality, although it does feel awkward in hand. The camera isn't anything special. Call quality is actually pretty good, but that's mostly Verizon seeing as I live in a great service area. It does, however, do well in keeping an LTE signal, And yes, it is very thin, but almost too much so.

Now if it had ICS? As long as it didn't have BLUR over it, which I'm sure it would, it would make some of those things better (speed, battery life, etc), but would it put it anyone near the level of a phone that's optimized for ICS? Not even close. This phone isn't even as good as the AT&T Galaxy S2, let alone being as good or better than the Nexus.

 

[ManBearPig618]

Now if it had ICS? As long as it didn't have BLUR over it...

This is one thing that would really stop me from buying any Moto device in the foreseeable future...who knows what they are going to do with ICS when they lay blur on top of it. I know it's gotten much lighter recently, but it definitely makes me hesitant until I see what they change from the stock UI/look. I'm very impressed by what I've seen of ICS so far and would hate to not get a chance to use it in its vanilla form.

 

[CynicX]

So are VZW Moto devices remaining locked for the foreseeable future?

More then likely. Motorola gives the carriers the option and of course Verizon wants it locked and secured. The razr already has a fairly easy root method, owners will just have to wait and see if the bootloader can be unlocked for customs roms.

Given the popularity behind the phone and from what I read about how its secured I imagine it will eventually get unlocked.

 

[Premium1]

More then likely. Motorola gives the carriers the option and of course Verizon wants it locked and secured. The razr already has a fairly easy root method, owners will just have to wait and see if the bootloader can be unlocked for customs roms.

Given the popularity behind the phone and from what I read about how its secured I imagine it will eventually get unlocked.

no moto bootloader on verizon has been unlocked so I can't see this being any different.