Need to buy a new phone: Galaxy Nexus or Razr?

[Channan]

Played with a RAZR today. All I can say is...dat bezel!

I wouldn't even consider the RAZR. The Rezound maybe, but I'm a Nexus guy. I like the pure Google experience and quick updates.

 

[g nexta]

I played with the OVERRRRR advertised razr, and it just seemed like 5 year old technology in comparison...The complaints against the gnex are so trivial...in comparison to what else
is available until maybe may or june of next year????! ICS is so-o-o-o-o much better than the other versions.

 

[CarryMe]

I did not like the width of the razr paired with how thin it was felt awkward in hand.

And the lack of a removable battery. Other than those 2 things, the Razr is awesome.

 

[CarryMe]

I wouldn't buy any 4G phone right now. I just returned my Galaxy Nexus (which was an awesome phone) because the 4G network sucks so bad. I can't monkey around wondering if I'm going to have a data connection or not.

You can set the GNex to CDMA mode and it won't search for a 4G signal.

 

[CarryMe]

Speaker is certainly way better than the GN, that's as far as it goes for me.

That is actually a pretty huge plus for most people given that these are phones after all.

 

[iastonish]

Honestly it depends on what you want out of your phone. The Nexus is the obvious choice for devs and flashers alike, it's a dev phone, period. The phone just came out a couple weeks ago and already has over a dozen roms, and a growing number of developers. The Razr on the other hand still hasn't seen anything, so if unless you're content with waiting for Motorola to officially push ICS whenever that may be, you might want to look else where. Coming from the Bionic, I'll be the first to tell you how much of a pain it is to have a locked boot loader as well.

Let's break it down though.

Build: Most people are going to go with the Razr here, it has a solid build and can really take a beating. That being said, form factor is a big part of overall aesthetics and the razr felt too wide and awkward for me. The Nexus feels great in hand with the curvature and if you're worried about build, get a case? The speaker is a bit low on the Nexus, especially when faced up and the speaker is against something, but when listening to music I usually use headphones anyway. The speaker is not so low that you won't hear calls, so don't worry, I just find that I would like it louder when listening to music, watching netflix, etc. It's fine for calls, speaker phone, notifications, etc.

Screen: Both have great screens, but the Nexus has the clear advantage, just going by specs.

Software/support: The Nexus wins here, it's Google's baby and will always be first in line when it comes to updates. Nobody knows when other phones will even begin to see ICS, plus devs will always be cooking something new for the Nexus.

Battery: Honestly, this seems like it differentiates with personal experiences. I've heard 15-20 hours from enthused Razr owners and I've heard 4-5 from disgruntled razr owners. But a major turn off for a lot of consumers is the non removable battery on the razr. Because of this, you're pretty much stuck with what you got. Coming from an iPhone, you should be use to this, but most android users will tell you how handy carrying a spare battery can be. I have the Nexus personally and can say battery life is excellent as long as you know how to tweak your settings. You should have no problem getting through a work day with heave usage, and when you're running on wifi it's even better. Set cpu profiles will help with standby drain as well. Another plus is that the Nexus charges extremely fast. I see you are coming from an iPhone4 and complaining about battery life though, which isn't a good sign. Android is notably worse in the battery department, but that may be due to our larger percentage of power users. I thought the iphone4 battery was excellent when I had it though, but I'd say the Nexus is on par if tweaked correctly.

There are other things to look at like call reception and other factors you will need to really just try out for your self. I'm being honest when I recommend going to a store and handling both phones. The Razr has a great build and sleek design, but it was awkwardly wide in my opinion and it wasn't comfortable in my hand, which is a huge problem. So far the Nexus is the best phone I've ever owned and I've owned my fair share of phones (OG iPhone, OG Droid, Droid 2, Droid 2 Global, Droid X, Thunderbolt, Bionic, Nexus)

I highly recommend the Nexus, and if you're a flasher, I recommend it even more. It has a great community of enthusiasts and devs behind it and it's only going to continue to grow. The dev support is what's going to set the Nexus apart. Devs are going to be releasing roms to keep this phone relevant through out your entire 2-year contract, and probably beyond.

 

[CynicX]

I think the width is more of a crutch razr haters use. While yes its wide but if comfort to hold and use was at the top of my list the gnex would be pretty low too....I find the smaller screen devices to be WAY easier to hold, handle, and pocket.

 

[doogie1]

I love that the GN does not announce to everyone, "I'm manufactured by [Insert] and on [Insert] network. I cant stand it when that stuff is caked all over the phone. With the the case on, the GN is sleek and clean. With the screen off, you cant help but stare at it

 

[Johnbibbs]

I think the width is more of a crutch razr haters use. While yes its wide but if comfort to hold and use was at the top of my list the gnex would be pretty low too....I find the smaller screen devices to be WAY easier to hold, handle, and pocket.

I think you're wrong. I sold my razr when I picked up my GN. I hated the way the razr felt because of how wide it was. I did not by any stretch of the imagination hate the razr, I thought it was a great phone. Just with how thin and wide it is it always felt very uncomfortable to hold. I do not have the same problems with the GN.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus

 

[not2gutta]

I have the nexus and thinking of returning it for the rezound...a bit to many bugs for myself..but mainly the battery life and screetching speaker noises is what gets me! hmmm

 

[KoukiFC3S]

I had both the razr and the rezound.

The razr is sexy and has great build quality. However it's too wide and the screen resolution isn't good.
The smart actions didn't help the battery life as much as I'd hoped either.

Rezound I didn't like at all. Nice screen but the phone is thick and has a small battery. Way too much bloatware too.

Now the Nexus isn't perfect but the pure google experience is awesome. Good screen, good hardware, doesn't get better than this really.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk

 

[CarryMe]

screetching speaker noises

I hate this, too. I hope there is a software fix for it.

 

[jeres88]

Personally, I believe that both phones are great and you will be happy with either one. Neither phone is perfect, I love my GNex, but playing with my wife's Razr almost made me not wait for the GNex. The Razr is a solid phone, it looks nice, and smart actions are one of the best built in features I've seen with any of the manufacturer UIs. While Motoblur used to be really bad, but it has come a long way and is arguably the best manufacturer UI out there.

Now, the GNex is a great phone as well. The biggest bonuses are vanilla android and support. The Nexus phones are some of the only android phones that recieve updates and are supported for 2 years. ICS is the first major Android update that the NexusOne isn't getting. This shows that Google has proven that it will support devices for two years. So far I don't think any manufacturer has done that (though feel free to correct me if I'm wrong).

Anyway, both phones are great and both have their bugs. I agree with what others have said, go to the store, hold both in your hand, maybe play a bit and see which one you like. I know I only hit on a couple of points, but you said that you have done your research already . I have used both of these phones so you're welcome to PM me if you have any specific questions.

 

[ultravisitor]

I think the width is more of a crutch razr haters use. While yes its wide but if comfort to hold and use was at the top of my list the gnex would be pretty low too....I find the smaller screen devices to be WAY easier to hold, handle, and pocket.

No, the RAZR really is terrible to hold because of its width. I never had a good handle on it. In fact, on two different occasions I was bumped into by accident and the bump sent the RAZR flying out of my hands. It was because of this that the width of the Galaxy Nexus was one of my top concerns. Luckily, the Galaxy Nexus is wide, but not quite as wide, which ends up making a big difference to my hands.

Bottom line: I can hold and use the Galaxy Nexus pretty comfortably in one hand. I was never anywhere near close to comfortable using the RAZR in one hand.

I guess your hands are different than mine. Makes sense, huh?

Other than the width, though, the RAZR's build is fantastic. Were it a bit narrower, I might have had a harder time giving it up because other than the width, I thought it was a fantastic phone.

 

[iastonish]

I think the width is more of a crutch razr haters use. While yes its wide but if comfort to hold and use was at the top of my list the gnex would be pretty low too....I find the smaller screen devices to be WAY easier to hold, handle, and pocket.

Actually, no it's a preference and a legitimate reason for some to shy away. Most of us are on our phones a lot through out the day, so we want something that we can handle comfortably. People always play the "go in the store and see which one feels better in your hand" card when giving advice, and this is one case where it actually makes a significant difference in my opinion.

The Razr is a cool phone, has a cool build, but it feels odd in my opinion. Seeing as three people commented on the awkward wideness of the device since my post, it seems to be an issue.

 

[Premium1]

I think the width is more of a crutch razr haters use. While yes its wide but if comfort to hold and use was at the top of my list the gnex would be pretty low too....I find the smaller screen devices to be WAY easier to hold, handle, and pocket.

The razr isn't that much smaller while it has a .35inch smaller screen. The width thing is not a crutch it is a feel and preference for people. You even said yourself that comfort to hold is not at the top of your list. Maybe for you it does not matter but to many it does. For me when I am holding a phone I want it to be comfortable and feel natural when holding and the razr for me just did not feel that way. Choice is a good thing.

 

[CynicX]

HATERS!!!



Lol

What I was getting at is the gnex maybe better its not the best. I don't think anyone can argue there is no other phone that's even better to hold esp. smaller device. So if ergonomics are THAT important why not get a phone that has better ergonomics then the gnex?

This is like say phone a has a crappy screen, phone b has a slightly better crappy screen. Then me getting phone b and keep bringing up how crappy the screen is on phone a.

I guess its all about compromise....I don't usually point out flaws unless there is in fact nothing better tthen what I have and no one could point that out...

 

[Premium1]

HATERS!!!



Lol

What I was getting at is the gnex maybe better its not the best. I don't think anyone can argue there is no other phone that's even better to hold esp. smaller device. So if ergonomics are THAT important why not get a phone that has better ergonomics then the gnex?

This is like say phone a has a crappy screen, phone b has a slightly better crappy screen. Then me getting phone b and keep bringing up how crappy the screen is on phone a.

I guess its all about compromise....I don't usually point out flaws unless there is in fact nothing better tthen what I have and no one could point that out...

The rezound feels better in hand than the razr and is smaller overall than the razr. Plus your comment doesn't really make sense.

 

[iclickjohn]

Is the screen an important thing to you? If it is go to youtube and do a search for "HD". You will get a bunch of hd videos. If it is on wifi it should kick into the highest setting. The Nexus blows everything out of the water in this regard. I thought that the Rezound was supposed to be fairly sharp too. Was just in Best Buys where you can play with live phones. I wanted to watch the same HD video on each of the three phones. Rezound was no where near Nexus. RAZR was no where near Rezound? (in regard to screen sharpness) look for either the NASA launch or the big buck bunny or the around the world videos.

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk

 

[CynicX]

The rezound feels better in hand than the razr and is smaller overall than the razr. Plus your comment doesn't really make sense.

What doesn't make sense about it?

This is a thread about someone wanting to buy a razr or gnex. Now assuming the op is smart enough to actually hold the phone before purchase the width is a mute point. He may have man hands and be able to use the razr, then again it might be too big. Point is the phone isn't changing its size.

If ergomonics are at the very top of his list then neither the razr or gnex will work. I'm an iPhone user (not by choice) and I can say the gnex is too wide and awkward to hold and in comparison it is.

So if the ONLY reason you suggest not to get the razr is because its too wide then you are just hating on it. Unless you know the size of the op's hands of course.

The are a lot of relevant points why to get the GN that aren't opinion based.