You saw the unboxing of the Motorola Razr Maxx back in July. Here is the complete review the Razr Maxx that was launched in India in June and it received the Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) OTA update last month. It comes with 3300 mAh battery and has 4.3-inch (540 x 960 pixels) Super AMOLED display, 1.2 GHz dual-core processor, 16 GB internal memory with expandable memory up to 32GB similar to the Motorola Razr that we reviewed earlier this year.
Box Contents
The box contents include, the Motorola Razr Maxx Phone, Earphones, AC plug, USB Data Cable and User Manual. There is no battery as the phone comes with an inbuilt battery.
Video Review
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JsgdQf_HsA0
Hardware
The 4.3-inch Super AMOLED Advanced qHD (540 x 960) display protected by Gorilla Glass is bright and is clearly visible under bright sunlight, thanks to the ambient light sensor that the top, that automatically adjusts the brightness when you enable the automatic brightness. The phone has is huge with a bezel around the display similar to the Razr. The design is similar to the Razr except the thickness at 8.99 mm, which is about 1.9mm thicker than the Razr. It weighs 145 grams, which is 18 grams heavier than the Razr.
There is a Motorola branding at the top with a front facing camera on the right.
The capacitive touch buttons for Menu, Home, Back and Search are present below the display.
There is a micro SIM card slot and micro SD card slot at the bottom right, under a plastic cover with hot-swap so that you can insert both of them while the device is on.
The shiny Power / Unlock key is at the left with volume rocker below that.
The 3.5mm audio jack, Micro USB port and the HDMI out is on the top.
The back is made of Kevlar and the metal part at the top is prone to scratches.
There is an 8MP camera at the top, that is capable of recording 1080p HD videos and there is an LED flash is next to it. The speaker grill is at the right.
There is a small pin hole microphone at the bottom that is used while recording videos.
Camera
The 8MP shooter captures some nice shots, but some quick shots and maco shots end up blurry at times since it takes some time to focus. The LED flash is much helpful while shooting in dark. There are some new options such as MotoCast Auto Upload that lets you share the images immediately with remote computer, Apart from zooming, volume rocker can also be changed to image capture button inside the camera UI. Other features are similar to the Razr including image capture in 8MP (4:3) or 6MP (16:9) resolution to match the screen, black and white, solarize negative, sepia etc. effects with visual representation, different scenes such as Auto, portrait mode, Sport, Night portrait, Macro etc. Different modes include, single shot, panorama, multi-shot and timer mode. You can also switch to front-facing camera to capture images.
Here are some camera samples
The Video camera can capture videos at 1080p HD resolution. There is also stabilization option that reduces shaking during the video capture and different audio scene option such as Stereo, Wind Reduction, Concert, Balanced and Front Facing. Other than the normal video mode, there is a time-lapse mode but it records video only at VGA resolution in that. Since it has auto focus, it takes some time to adjust the focus if you pan the camera quickly.
Here is the 1080p HD video sample
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75fRPFtLaQs
Software
The new Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) update makes the device faster and offers some new features. The Android 4.0 is mostly similar to the stock Android that you would see on Google Nexus devices. The dock in the home screen lets you add multiple icons, that forms a folder. You can name the folder, the reveals the icons when you click on it. The drop-down status bars shows notifications, which you can dismiss by swiping left or right instead of clicking dismiss button on the Gingerbread. You can access the app manager and change the wallpaper from the Home screen menu.
You can go to multi-tasking menu by holding the home button, and add widgets from the menu. You can touch and hold a side of the widget to resize it or press the menu button to get more details.
The lock screen is completely different with new quick access shortcuts in the lock screen. You can flick the icon at the top to turn sound on/off. Other than unlocking the phone by sliding to the right, you can also go to the dialer to make a call, go messaging to send a text or open the camera, directly from the lock screen.
Here is the UI Demo video
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UYxWhfHE6zI
Apps
There are some pre-loaded apps such as Calculator, Timer with Alarm, Bejweled 2 game, Go To Meeting by Citrix, Motoprint to print documents over WiFi and Quick office document reader. The Motocast lets you access music from PC on your phone via Motocast PC suit. There are google apps such as Google Maps for Navigation, Google Search, Google+, Talk and Play Store to download more apps. The stock e-mail app is now better with auto-completion that lets you add recipients quickly, create and store quick response emails, and improved search so that you can search across folders and sub folders.
The Smart Actions app lets you manage you device accordingly. You can set the triggers such as Wi-Fi, Geo locations particular time frame etc. The Tasks app lets you manage to-do list, set reminders, group tasks and share them.
Music and Video Player
The Music player has a similar UI and it could be controlled from the lock screen. It can play MP3, WAV, AAC, WMA, AMR and MIDI audio formats. The video player supports a range of video formats including AVI, 3GP, MOV, MKV and MP4 in 1080p video resolution.
Dialer, Messaging and Browser
The dialer is a bit different from the gingerbread. Most Recent Call is display on the top, Recent calls and phone book at the top, the favorites have been moved to people app. There is also quick dial option that lets you quickly search for a name from the dialer. You can send pre-set text message on an incoming calls and silence an incoming call alert. There is a new people app that lists your contacts, groups and favorites.
Text messaging is a separate app in ICS, that lets you send messages and MMS with attachments. The Swype keyboard is the default, but you can switch to Motorola keyboard, or Google Voice typing from the drop down menu when you are in a text box.
The browser is better than the Gingerbread browser, and it scored 280 points in the HTML5 test with 3 bonus points.
Benchmarks
Here are some benchmarks to test the performance of the devices.
Quadrant and SmartBench 2012
AnTuTu and Vellamo Browser Mark
Connectivity
It has 3G HSDPA 14.4 Mbps (Category 10), EDGE (Class 12), Bluetooth v4.0 with Bluetooth Smart Ready and A2DP, Wi-Fi 802.11 b,g, n (2.4GHz and 5.0GHz bands). It also has GPS with aGPS (assisted) and eCompass. There is a HDMI port at the port that lets you connect the device to external display. The data manager is available in the ICS as default that lets you track data based on an app during a particular time frame.
Battery life
The main USP of the phone is its mammoth 3300 mAh battery. Motorola has managed to pack in such a huge battery in such a sleek device, which is just 1.9mm thicker than the Razr. You don’t need to care about the sealed battery because this lasts for 2 and half days with average use such as music, calls, games and 3G data usage. You can even manage the device to last for few more days with minimal use. The standby is also pretty good when the phone is idle.
Conclusion
The main reason for you choose this device over the other Android devices, is the monstrous battery. With the Android 4.0 update now available, it makes it better. It pack in lot of features such as HDMI out, 8MP camera with 1080p HD video recording and is also sleek. If you want an Android, and the battery life is your main concern, this is the phone you need.
Pros
- 3300 mAh battery
- Good build quality
- Runs on Android 4.0
Cons
- No dedicated camera key
- Bit pricey