To Razr, or wait for a better shave later?

[Sandman333]

My current phone is a BB Storm 2, so anything out there today is going to be an upgrade. I was all set on getting a Razr early next year, but yesterday I read this article: http://www.androidcentral.com/nvidia-announces-tegra-3-pc-class-performance-comes-android-tablets In addition to the performance improvements, it mentions more efficient battery usage. Any info on rumored devices that will use this new processor (phones, not tablets) and whether they will actually be available in Q1 2012 as the article suggests? I'd be willing to wait for a new phone based on the better battery usage alone.

 

[xoomer1]

I had a storm 1 and the storm 2, then moved to the droid, the X, gave my wife my Bionic so I could get the razr...you are so far behind

There will always be another phone coming along that is faster or better or something, the bionic is a great phone, super fast, great screen, super fast downloads, the razr will be similar, just a tad bit faster..there is a point where a phone is simply just fast enough and I think we have reached that point. But the new quad core processors will rock in a tablet...I have the xoom and if the xoom 2 comes out with a quad core then I am in, but otherwise..nope...but I dont think you understand how fast these phones are now; they seriously rock.

 

[rootbrain]

I agree, something new down the line. The Samsung G-Note looks good to me, but should I go with that? I like the RAZR over the Nexus so far, just not sure if it's worth the $. Maybe I'll wait until the price drops.

 

[jlee91780]

Yeah, I think you want a device that will make work easier for you and that's why I debate on waiting for the Galaxy Note, but I think that device won't be here for another 6-12 months and I think you could probably sell the Razr pretty easy to get the Note which won't have too much demand from a mainstream audience.

 

[Sandman333]

I agree the current crop of phones are going to be fast enough. I was thinking more from a battery life perspective.

 

[YourMobileGuru]

You said early next year. Honestly it is a little early to make any firm plans. When your upgrade happens, do a little bit of research and get the best phone available at that time and don't look back. Bionic is great, RAZR will be as well and in some ways better, and depending on when you actually get your upgrade Moto will probably have something better, and if not them someone else. This isn't really something you can plan too far ahead on because mobile changes so fast.

 

[TvTechGuru]

I've learned that you can't keep waiting for the next phone coming around the corner. Any avid Android Central follower knows that phones are coming out every month, with major smartphones every 2-3 months. So whenever you are ready, out of the ones available, pick the best one for you. It's not worth analyzing and waiting.

As for me, I've had the OG Droid since release day 2 years ago. I'm READY for an upgrade, and I'm going with the RAZR. My Droid has been a champ, having been dropped several times and lasted through 2 years of extensive use. But it's finally hitting it's wall, performance and stability have dramatically decreased recently.

So you have to upgrade and not look back. Unless you have unlimited funds to buy phones out of contract.

 

[Sandman333]

Any new rumors on a Tegra 3 phone?

 

[bignaz]

Gt a Razr. I love Nvidia however their chips suck power and make some heat. Dual cores just came out not to long ago and most apps are not even set up for them. So getting the first Quad core will be a waist and by the time they become mainstream then you will be able to do a upgrade and get a phone that has all the kinks worked out. And remember a faster clocked dual core will stomp a slower clocked quad unless the program is set up to use all 4 core. And when you oc a quad core you are sucking up more more power and making much more heat than a dual.

Razr is a great phone. I never had any issues with mine

 

[YourMobileGuru]

Any new rumors on a Tegra 3 phone?

If you wait and wait for the next rumored thing then you never buy a phone. At some point you just need to jump and be happy with your decision.

That being said, CES is right around the corner and then two more tradeshows not that far after.

 

[Sandman333]

I'm looking at this mostly from a battery POV. The Tegra 3 is supposed to have 5 cores- 4 high speed cores and a 5th slower core that the phone uses in standby mode and consumes much less power, so battery life should be a lot better. For me, that's technology worth waiting for- especially if the wait is only Q1 or Q2 of 2012.

 

[bignaz]

Issue is it wont be better. Nvidia always says power consumption is better but its not.

The 4 cores are always going to be powered and drawing some power no matter what there is no way around this. At best i could only see it being on par in power consumption in standby vs the dual cores they got out now.

I really like Nvidia i only use them in my pc's however years of using them i can tell you that they don't really care about power consumption vs performance. Honestly they would rather take 50 points in a benchmark rather than 50min of batt. life.

What it all boils down to is os optimization. Mac vs PC. Same specs the pc will last maybe 3 hours when the Mac will got a little over 5-6. This is because the OS is optimized like you would not beleave. Could they do this with Tegra 3? Yes, Would they? Nope. Nvidia has always sucked at making software and optimizing drivers and whatnot so don't expect any help from them and i don't see LG and HTC spending all their time on optimizing the o.s. to efficiently disable the 4 cores when not in use and enable them when in use. So the price you will pay with be either performance or batt. life.

Example. Core i7. Awesome CPU's got one when it first came out and even using the smaller manufacturing process that thing would get way hotter than my old 65nm core 2 quad that was overclocked. Intel told us that it would take less power and make less heat but we dident see that until the second gen core iX series came out. And the switch from the first gen to the second was a pretty major change.

All i know is everything Nvidia i used ran hotter than the competition and consumed more power "cough chip sets and the space heater known as Fermi." I love Nvidia but lets keep them where they should be.

 

[YourMobileGuru]

I'm looking at this mostly from a battery POV. The Tegra 3 is supposed to have 5 cores- 4 high speed cores and a 5th slower core that the phone uses in standby mode and consumes much less power, so battery life should be a lot better. For me, that's technology worth waiting for- especially if the wait is only Q1 or Q2 of 2012.

Yes but like all new technology it will have bugs. People an wait for the next best thing that is around the corner forever beayse there is some next best thing around the corner. First it is New Tegra then once we get that it will be next gen LTE chip-sets, then who knows what else...

 

[TrendyProfessional1]

I agree the current crop of phones are going to be fast enough. I was thinking more from a battery life perspective.

Depending on how u use it the batt is great on the Razr

 

[TechTinker]

Razr would be a nice get go, though im pretty sure itll be replace by spring haha.

There was some Rumors about a Razrmax (Bigger battery, some other minor stuff) after the Razr was released, not sure if thats still there or if it was only the White Razr.

Otherwise if your looking for a phone from Motorola, go with the Razr. Some people say the Bionic has some data issues.

Though if you want a phone with a physical keyboard still. Motorola might be releasing their new Droid 4 in early February.

 

[YourMobileGuru]

Razr would be a nice get go, though im pretty sure itll be replace by spring haha.

There was some Rumors about a Razrmax (Bigger battery, some other minor stuff) after the Razr was released, not sure if thats still there or if it was only the White Razr.

Otherwise if your looking for a phone from Motorola, go with the Razr. Some people say the Bionic has some data issues.

Though if you want a phone with a physical keyboard still. Motorola might be releasing their new Droid 4 in early February.

There is always one more next thing and yes I am sure the RAZR Max will be anounced at CES or CTIA this spring but as I said before things always change.

As for the Bionic data issues those are gone (at least to me) with the last update so that is a moot point. It doesn't drop data any more often than the RAZR and my other 4G phones which means the issue is the network.

 

[Sandman333]

Well the new battery on the MAXX might just address my concerns....

 

[Sandman333]

Ordered the Maxx today. Should be here by Saturday. Wife is eligible for upgrade in June so I'll use that to get myself a new phone and give her the Maxx then if there is something significantly better on the market. I use the higher functions of a smartphone much more than she does. She currently has a LG Ally.