- Nov 2, 2010
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I posted this in the G2 forum and thought I'd post it here as well for anyone debating between the 2.
I debated between these 2 phones and thought I'd post my thoughts for anyone else that might also be debating. I held out after the Maxx came out bought the G2 and loved it. I've had some problems getting the LED to light up correctly with different colors and always wondered if the grass was greener with the bigger battery of the Maxx. So I went out and picked one up. Now I have both and will return one of them in the next week. So here is my quick comparison
G2 Pros- Love the buttons on the back, even though they are too small on the Verizon version. Love that there are no buttons on the side and I can grip it without worry of turning it on. The screen is beautiful, large and clear and I love how it takes up almost the entire front of the phone. Knock on is one of the greatest things ever. I love being able to have it sitting on the desk and just tap it twice to turn it on. I love that the phone can tell if I'm looking at it and will keep the screen on as long as I'm staring at it. Its more of a novelty with the movies, but cool for every day use. I love that is HAS an LED light. Phone is nice and light weight and it feels thin because of the curved back. Great camera with OIS.
Cons - The speaker could be louder (as it is on the maxx). 3000mah is nice, but 3500 would have been nicer. The plastic finger print magnet rear just begs for a case, making the phone larger. I could care less about Verizon branding everyone complains about.
Droid Maxx - Pros - Crazy large battery, louder and clearer speaker, active notifications, kevlar back is MUCH nicer, phone feels more well built
Cons - smaller screen (relatively), side buttons (now that I like the rear), heavier, feels larger because of the squared off back, less good camera, slower processor
Comparing the battery life during my normal 10h shift the G2 was consistently down to 65% by the end. Today the Maxx was only down to 85% with perhaps just slightly lighter use. The screen is nicer on the G2, but its good enough on the Maxx and if you didn't have them side by side you probably wouldn't know what you're missing. I like the louder, clearer speaker on the Maxx. It definitely feels heavier, boxier, chunkier because, well, it is heavier, but also with the more squared off corners you feel it more. I didn't know how I'd like it, but I really like the active notification. Pull it out of the pocket and it lights up to tell you if you have anything. I do wish I could have separate icons for each gmail label and could pick which thing it opens to as opposed to just the last notification. The kevlar rear is far nicer. Overall though I much prefer the form factor of the G2.
So in the end... which will I keep. They are both great phones and I wish I could meld features from both of them together. Granted after only 1 day with it, I think I'll probably end up with the Maxx. Assuming the battery life holds up like it did today over the next week its pretty impressive. The G2 battery is likely good enough, but the maxx seems much better and I like that peace of mind. If the G2 had a larger battery (even at the expense of some weight and size) and if I could either get the LED to work correctly, or better, had active notifications (which it could when it gets 4.3) I'd definitely keep it. I absolutely love knock on, but with the Maxx, I can at least get half of that via Nova and the turn off screen app same way I was doing it on the G2.
I don't think you can go wrong with either phone. For me I think its the battery and active notifications that are winning the fight.
I debated between these 2 phones and thought I'd post my thoughts for anyone else that might also be debating. I held out after the Maxx came out bought the G2 and loved it. I've had some problems getting the LED to light up correctly with different colors and always wondered if the grass was greener with the bigger battery of the Maxx. So I went out and picked one up. Now I have both and will return one of them in the next week. So here is my quick comparison
G2 Pros- Love the buttons on the back, even though they are too small on the Verizon version. Love that there are no buttons on the side and I can grip it without worry of turning it on. The screen is beautiful, large and clear and I love how it takes up almost the entire front of the phone. Knock on is one of the greatest things ever. I love being able to have it sitting on the desk and just tap it twice to turn it on. I love that the phone can tell if I'm looking at it and will keep the screen on as long as I'm staring at it. Its more of a novelty with the movies, but cool for every day use. I love that is HAS an LED light. Phone is nice and light weight and it feels thin because of the curved back. Great camera with OIS.
Cons - The speaker could be louder (as it is on the maxx). 3000mah is nice, but 3500 would have been nicer. The plastic finger print magnet rear just begs for a case, making the phone larger. I could care less about Verizon branding everyone complains about.
Droid Maxx - Pros - Crazy large battery, louder and clearer speaker, active notifications, kevlar back is MUCH nicer, phone feels more well built
Cons - smaller screen (relatively), side buttons (now that I like the rear), heavier, feels larger because of the squared off back, less good camera, slower processor
Comparing the battery life during my normal 10h shift the G2 was consistently down to 65% by the end. Today the Maxx was only down to 85% with perhaps just slightly lighter use. The screen is nicer on the G2, but its good enough on the Maxx and if you didn't have them side by side you probably wouldn't know what you're missing. I like the louder, clearer speaker on the Maxx. It definitely feels heavier, boxier, chunkier because, well, it is heavier, but also with the more squared off corners you feel it more. I didn't know how I'd like it, but I really like the active notification. Pull it out of the pocket and it lights up to tell you if you have anything. I do wish I could have separate icons for each gmail label and could pick which thing it opens to as opposed to just the last notification. The kevlar rear is far nicer. Overall though I much prefer the form factor of the G2.
So in the end... which will I keep. They are both great phones and I wish I could meld features from both of them together. Granted after only 1 day with it, I think I'll probably end up with the Maxx. Assuming the battery life holds up like it did today over the next week its pretty impressive. The G2 battery is likely good enough, but the maxx seems much better and I like that peace of mind. If the G2 had a larger battery (even at the expense of some weight and size) and if I could either get the LED to work correctly, or better, had active notifications (which it could when it gets 4.3) I'd definitely keep it. I absolutely love knock on, but with the Maxx, I can at least get half of that via Nova and the turn off screen app same way I was doing it on the G2.
I don't think you can go wrong with either phone. For me I think its the battery and active notifications that are winning the fight.
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