This is a long rant, but this is my honest review of the Turbo and Verizon. I have already spoken to someone about these numerous issues, so don't flag me. CNET and Verizon wouldn't allow me to post my full review. I encourage those interested in this phone to reconsider another phone.
Some people may be sold on the super long battery life, the 21 MP camera, and the strong build of the Droid Turbo, but that's where the great specs end for me.
THIS IS YOUR WARNING: THEY WILL PUSH THIS DEVICE ON YOU AND GIVE YOU MANY OFFERS TO BUY IT.
I have a very critical review of the Turbo because of the terrible service I have received from Verizon Wireless in regards to the EDGE program, the warranty claim, and how they DID NOT require a signature for my device to be dropped off (to my house) from FEDEX, AND MY DEVICE WAS DELIVERED TO THE WRONG HOUSE AND WAS NEVER RETRIEVED. (the driver claims that he left it at the house on the corner, WHICH ISN'T MY HOUSE, AS STATED BY THE CORRECT ADDRESS WHICH I GAVE THEM). Verizon has yet to give me a functioning device nearly a week later. And they won't let me get another device of equal value, so be weary of EDGE and purchasing at a non-corporate store.
1. This device contains a lot of unnecessary (Verizon and Amazon) preloaded apps, which you CAN disable, but they still take up space. However, this device is bare bones, which is nice in the long run (Samsung's products lag so bad with time), but the Google ecosystem isn't efficient enough to offer good apps that work across all phones (in my honest opinion, I feel the PlayStore has so many apps and so many dated apps it is really hard to decipher which is worth downloading to IMPROVE the device. I feel that the apps should complement the device). Another little thing--why is there no dedicated flashlight widget INCLUDED? I think it passed time for that; it should be included in a device.
2. There is NO expandable memory.
3. The SIM card slot is placed on the volume rocker (the volume rocker pops out). Who came up with that stupid idea?! It is very flimsy. And within 3 hours of having the device, the Turbo would not recognize the SIM card. The retailers told me I had a faulty device, and it has been a great hassle trying to replace this phone with EDGE.
4. The camera takes detailed shots, but there is no optical image stabilization, so some pictures come out blurry. The front facing camera is in the center, which I like, but it is subpar. When comparing the Turbo to my Samsung GS3 front facing camera, the GS3 did not lag when I moved--the Turbo had a ghostly lag trying to keep up with my head movements. That is sad for a phone that is over 2 years newer. There is no dual camera!! This is 2014 entering into 2015, and there is no dual camera? The two flashes are nice, it gives better shadows when taking pictures, but there are no special camera features as featured on Samsung, LG, and Apple devices. I was very disappointed. And to my knowledge, there will be now added features from Motorola or Android.
4. There is no split screen feature!!! Again, my 2.5 year old device had a split screen feature, and several other phones have this necessary feature, like LG G3. How can I not read my email and do a quick search the same screen...come on this phone is half-baked.
5. The speakers are nice...it only has front facing speakers at the top. It doesn't get very loud, but at least it isn't muddled. I used some in-ear buds and the sound quality was nice and loud.
6. The keyboard is problematic. It is very small, and I have seen no way to adjust the pre-installed keyboard. The emojis are different (ugly) as well--they tried so hard to make it "unique." Swype is nice.
7. YOU CANNOT TALK ON THE PHONE AND SURF THE WEB!!! REALLY, Verizon, REALLY? It kicked me back to 1x and then said that this function isn't available...THIS IS 2014 ENTERING INTO 2015 AND THIS SHOULD NOT BE A PROBLEM! I was able to surf the web and take calls with no problem on my Droid X back in 2011.
8. The battery does last a very long time, but come on, you can swap out a battery if you really needed it for a long period of time. Samsung and LG have considerably large batteries, and you can swap them out. There is NO power saving feature on the Turbo.
9. The display is very beautiful, and the colors are rich but not overly saturated. It sits well in the hand. But the home, multitasking, and the back keys are very annoying! They do not disappear, and they stay lit during videos. The black bar is annoying. It takes up space that could have been used for the display.
10. Why doesn't the phone come with headphones? This is an expensive device, and the Turbo charger is great, but no headphones?? That's different for a smartphone...most smartphones come with headphones--no questions.
11. The charger is quick, but you can't fold down the prongs, which I find problematic in the future. The prongs could chip or bend. The cord is also quite short--maybe 24-28 inches, and that does NOT go far.
12. The Moto features are nice, and Google Now is responsive.
One thing I can say is that I have the Samsung GS5 as a loaner and I prefer the Turbo a tad more--GS5 lags and the health features can be cumbersome, but I think I should have gotten the LG G3. It doesn't have the high end processor like the Turbo, but I doubt I would have noticed coming from such an "old" device (which I only replaced because of the lagginess and poor screen quality). Too bad Verizon EDGE has made this nearly impossible. But I will say that Motorola shouldn't have given me a defective device, so this goes towards their quality control. However, Verizon takes blame because I can swap out phones and they did not require a signature for such an expensive product that was stolen, of course, during the holiday season. I feel in the future, after my contract expires, I will NOT continue with VZW. Very bad customer service.
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