Fantastic phone, and is a great iPhone replacement so far November 13, 2011

Reviewer:  Critical Reviewer 

I have been waiting for this phone for quite a while and have spanned the internet looking for reviews on this thing before i bought it. I have had this phone from 11/11/11 and since launch time.

Here are some key things i will review to help you make your decision (hopefully)

Let me first tell you WHY i got the droid razr. A midst the launch of many great cell phones i chose the droid razr because of a few reasons. First let me tell you i talk on the phone about 700 minutes a month, majority of my phone calls are to my family and taking care of business. The remainder i spend my time surfing the web, doing HW, downloading things etc. This means that i will be looking at this phone from both a productivity and multimedia standpoint. I am never home because i am always at school with projects involved in research etc. Thus whatever time i get to connect with family, i use this phone to do it, i have a newborn baby at home so i don't get to spend as much time with her as i wish, this phones front facing 1.3 MP camera does a fantastic job relaying my photo over, although i wish it had a wider mm lense, so it could produce a bit of a wider picture, same goes for the rear facing camera.

The 4g connectivity is what sets this phone apart from everything else, its fantastic, and especially if you're grandfathered in (as i am) to unlimited, the possibilities are quite endless. With that being said i will break down my review

Phone- As in voice calling, call quality

Call quality through the earpiece has been phenomenal, i have been very amazing how clear the phone calls have been and how well i can hear them.

As you make phone calls, the favorites starts putting contacts in this bar as you call your favorite people since those become your most frequently contacted within your favorites- Very intuitive feature, i really like it.

Speakerphone quality is not the best, i would give the best sounding speakerphone to the iPhone, it's very good in terms of producing natural sounding conversation, the Razr, not so much, at the highest volume you will notice crackling, though keep in mind we are talking about a phone call, not music playback.

- Productivity

I find the functionality of being able to pull up my research documents and homework assignments very quickly through the network and the phone. The phone handles pdf, doc, etc files very well, i have noticed no lag.

In addition, i love how i can edit a file on the phone itself, email it to whoever i want, OR upload it to my boxnet account and make it available to all of my colleagues through a link; i never have to touch a laptop.

-Web Experience

Here i have to add, i don't know why the heck Motorola decided to put in 2 steps in order to be able to bookmark a page, its stupid, i should be able to click add and ok. Not click bookmark, which takes me to another page, then click add, then name it then ok. That i think is a burden.

Websites load fantastic, there aren't any websites that have slowed this phone down, and I am very satisfied. Flash is not quite completely obsolete yet, and quite a few sites, important sites, utilize flash. Although i will agree with Steve jobs that flash is a piece of power hogging uselessness.

-Music

Phones does a great job with music, and when you lock the screen you can see what's playing, touch it, and it will allow you to stop, skip to the next track and skip back.

The speakerphone quality here is descent, not the best but descent, i watch a lot of Netflix and it gets the job done, nothing i would return the phone over with.

Battery life-

If you video chat on 4g, your batter will die in 30 minutes, from 100%-0%. It is not necessary to carry a portable charger, for the average user, (i am a Super power user) a day's worth of batter is something this phone can provide and more.

-Screen
The screen maybe pentile, but the only time it makes a difference is when your typing, the boxes around the letters just don't look right. I just love the display though. I know the HTC Rezound is coming out, but I used to have an EVO and the phone just started having issues after 1 year.

-Brand
Ok, Motorola, I used to work there, and by no means do I have a bias towards Motorola, infact quite the opposite can be said. However, Google bought Motorola mobility, and the thing is, in the future, moto and Google will be quite close, that to me puts everything at an advantage vs. the Samsung brand. I've always had a gripe about Samsung phones feeling too cheap, they just feel cheap.

-Speed
The phone is very zippy, only lag is Moto cast. There are absolutely no complaints in zippiness of the phone.
Quality and feel-
I don't notice in my pocket, and I love that. By no means does it feel cheap.
It is very wide so I have a bit smaller hands and had a hard time holding it, so I got a grippy silicone case and it has been great ever since.

-Camera

The camera is pretty damn good, I don't think its bad at all, it certainly is a step up from the bionic. I have found increasing exposure in all my pics gives me better results.

Overall-

I love this phone, and wouldn't trade it for the resound or the nexus galaxy. I think it does what it does really well. If you're considering it and you're just like I in use of the phone then this phone will suit you really well, I really like the thinness, the feel of the phone. Nano coating water repellant technology is great and removable batteries are of the past. It's time to carry back up batteries, no long spare batteries in our wallets.

I will update my review as time goes on.

*********UPDATE AS OF 11.25.2011******************

So far the phone has been really well behaved, no issues. Although i did have it crash because i went app crazy and one of the apps did harm the phone, no worries, reinstalled and am more careful about what i download.

If you have been getting the stupid spam notifications, for me it was the mp3 downloader app. Its been spamming me left and right.

- Battery Life note:

Its been 7 days of my 4g test, and i have gotten through the entire day with 4g on, my day starts at 10am- and ends at about 11pm and ive gotten through the entire day with moderate use with 20% battery life remaining. I will say, that this phone has been very reliable and i havent found the need to carry around a charger or an actual backup battery. I WILL SAY it is really good to utilize this app called "Notification Toggle" and you can use it to quickly turn on and off bluetooth, wifi, 4g etc. i use this when i know i will be having a heavy usage day.

Screen-

Really, pentile is not bad here, yea the HTC rezound screen is phenomenal and great and all, but remember what i said, Google and motorola are going to be the next big thing, have patience and fun little update packages will come to us Razr holders sooner than other phones.
I really love the color saturation as well.
Software-

HUGE HUGE HUGE POINT remember when i said my phone kept crashing? Well guess what it was, i was using task killers (not the one installed on the phone). When i stopped using task killers and uninstalled them entirely, i dont know why my battery life became prolonged, my phone didnt crash (when i had the task killers installed, the screen would randomly become unreponsive or something irritating like that) so when i factory reset it, i did not install ANY task killers and i have to say i have had a very pleasant experience since then. i have been using the onboard task killer and that does plenty.

I also have lookout mobile security installed, i always want to protect myself from phishing etc.

Music-

Really wish it had a stronger speaker. that is all. Other than that i really like the interface.

freedom-

I dont know why, but i have found the motorola is just more customizable than the HTC line, i bought my wife a thunderbolt and i just returned it and ordered the penny deal Razr 4g. We now own 2 razrs. I just feel they do a better job than the thunderbolt.

Video Chat-

I have found that the 1.3 MP HD Front facing camera on the razr is phenomenal in comparison to the front facing camera with the thunderbolt. I had my wife move the phone at a very fast pace with her thunderbolt and it did a REALLY BAD JOB with the FPS( it was very laggy like a crappy quality camera). The Razr on the other hand captured it all, and in addition it was brighter. Believe me i am NOT a motorola fanboy, so i was quite impressed with this. Remember i said video chatting was important to me.

Call Quality-

No Changes, still happy here.

Flash-

I was really impressed the other day, when i did my Flash/Java based homework (which is VERY VERY VERY CPU Consuming) on my razr. Since this was very resource intensive, it had a slight bit of lag, but nothing that irritated me. I was incredibly impressed that even this program ran, and i was able to finish the homework before the deadline. I will say, it is WISE to invest in a bluetooth mouse and bluetooth keyboard for this phone. The possibilities are quite endless.

I have uped my stars from a 4 star to a 5, for all the good this phone does, the bad is quite miniscule. I am very impressed.

So far the best 4G phone on Verizon (including Rezound) November 15, 2011

Reviewer:  Conflicted "spaceheartl4" 

I bought this phone on 11/11/11 after some serious back-and-forth about waiting for the Rezound and Galaxy Nexus. While I was in the store I was fortunate enough to get to play with the Rezound demo the staff had just received, and I still chose the Razr. And here's why:

Screen- the super AMOLED screen on the Razr blew me away. It just looked so sharp compared to the Rezound. I know the resolution on the Rezound is better (720p), but I still felt the Razr screen won.

Battery- the Razr has a larger battery (1780 mAH). I went on a road trip this weekend, and even with heavy usage (watching videos, playing games, taking pictures) and switching between wifi, 3g and 4g, the battery lasted me about 6 hours one day and 9 the other (from 100 to 10%). Then today for a "normal" work day of chatting, texting, some video/games, it has lasted me over 12 hours and is only at 20% battery now. Part of the reason are the "smart actions" and processor speeds, discussed below.

Processor- this has a 1.2GHz dual-core processor, lower than the 1.5GHz dual-core of the Rezound. However I noticed very little difference between the two phones when switching between apps, and for loading web pages both will be super fast on Verizon's 4G network. Also, the lower processor probably contributes to the longer battery life.

Speaker- I was excited by the Rezound's beats audio, but the external speaker is not any more impressive than other phones; the key is the headphones. That being said, the speaker on the Razr is louder, but makes a crackling noise when someone is talking (in video or on speakerphone). This is a huge drawback for me as I use my speakerphone a lot. You can get around it by not using the full volume, but you shouldn't have to do that, imo.

Camera- Here the rezound wins, with a better, wide-angle lens, but the Razr's will still capture 1080p video, 8MP pictures, and is perfectly satisfactory for a phone.

Smart Actions - this is the coolest feature of the phone! You can set it to pretty much do anything from certain triggers. For instance, when the display is off, at night, it will switch to silent mode. Or when I am connected to my home wireless, it will turn off GPS and 4G data.

Some final thoughts: Gorilla Glass and Kevlar backing are a huge plus. Also, this phone is so thin and light! After playing with the Rezound and Razr for a few minutes, I just couldn't put the Razr down, it's weight and screen converted me!

Don't listen to the negative reviews based on price November 11, 2011

Reviewer:  Brian Rokosz 

So far the negative reviews for this phone are based off of what Amazon is charging for it ($249 for upgrade customers, $111 for new customers)...the phone is $300 in Verizon and $300 with a ton of accessories over at Costco today.

Now, as for the actual phone itself...it's good. The screen is a new AMOLED Advanced which means it can use the same pixel density as other AMOLED screens but provide a better color saturation...while the Nexus and upcoming Rezound have higher pixel ratios the screen on this still looks great.

The operating system is android's kind of new Gingerbread with Motorola's overlay called Blur. It slows the device down a little bit but provides their own custom interface that creates a more flashy transition between apps, screens, etc.

Also Motorola's RAZR has Kevlar on the back for strength, a nano-coating on the outside and inside for splash protection, and gorilla glass 2.0 for the screen...this might be the first legit Droid where no case is required.

Call quality from MobileTechReview, Phonedog, CNET, and others all say this phone is excellent, as is the smoothness of the web browser and the gps.

The only negative is that the battery isn't removable so the battery in the phone is all you get...what that means for me is nothing though since I have a car charger and charger at the office, not to mention the docking station doubles as one and looks good on my desk.

For ANYONE who's been a fan of Motorola's old RAZR, their new Droids, or just needs a new phone, this is the best one that's out there right now...yes better than the iPhone, especially if you like to customize things...nothing competes with Android in that regard.

The camera and the videocamera so far got good reviews as well, with the Camera side of it getting higher marks, especially when showing off the videos to your friends on the big screen.

Cloud service is standard as well as a smart actions app that can customize how the phone works everywhere you go...for instance it uses gps to detect when you're at work, connecting you to the wi-fi there, making your phone ringer change to vibrate on days when u have a meeting, etc..it's a really cool idea.

Finally through Motorola you can sync your PC to the phone and transfer data instantly...take a note in word for class, the note appears in Word back on your dorm laptop, want to listen to your itunes, music can be streamed from your PC's playlist without you having to actually put the songs on your phone.

It's a great device and everyone who's negative about it just for the price is really stupid...either get it now for $249 like the sad sad people paid 2 months ago for the Bionic, like people did for the Thunderbolt, and like people did for the Revolution....or wait till Black Friday and/or Christmas when I'm sure some sort of sale will be happening...either way it's a good phone.

Droid RAZR, by far the best Motorola smartphone yet! November 20, 2011

Reviewer:  H. Borton  (Michigan, USA) -

Not too long ago, I made a review regarding the Droid Bionic. After a couple days of playing with my friends' RAZR after it was released, I decided I had to switch. So this review, while I will try to cover a lot, will also help those users that have been debating between the normality of the Bionic, or the Ultra-thin sleekness of the RAZR.

DESIGN
While I have to admit, the RAZR is a little wider than the Bionic, the thinness is definitely worth it. I have actually found myself leaving my house and thinking I forgot my phone cause I couldn't feel it in my pocket. I have always been a fan of the RAZR line when I got my first one with Alltel, and was ecstatic to see that it was coming back, Android style! Everything just seems to work with this. The speaker has been moved to the top of the phone, making it less probable of accidentally covering it with your hand while watching YouTube or Netflix. The front facing camera (1.3mp by the way!!! Which is what the Bionic should have came with instead of that crappy VGA camera) is on the right side of the phone, which makes it more centered for video chat when in landscape mode. Some people have complained because the battery is non-removable. In my opinion, that battery works and is absolutely amazing! Why the hell would you want to remove it?! But more into the battery later in this.

NETWORK
To quote from my Bionic review: "Verizon 3G is already pretty good in my area. Verizon 4GLTE will leave you with your pants down! I tested this in Ann Arbor, MI and was blown away as to the speeds this thing was getting. 3G is already about 1-3mbps download for me, but on 4G, I was getting up to 30/mbps download speeds! Triple the amount compared to my friends Sprint EVO3D phone on their 4G network. Definitely not something that disappointed me here. Pages loaded fast, apps downloaded while you blinked!"
Now to add to it. With the Bionic I was experiencing data outages. Periodically I would drop data service completely, and wasn't able to use any apps or browsing. (I have been advised that a software update has been released and is being pushed to the Bionic's, so I'm hoping this has been fixed, but I haven't received confirmation yet.) With the RAZR, call clarity and data network is seamless. I've been told by people they can hear me a lot better, and that the call clarity in itself is about 10x better than what it was before. Data is amazing. Luckily I'm grandfathered into the unlimited data plan, so me and Netflix are best friends!! =) I haven't experienced any issues at all with data, 3G or 4G-LTE.

PERFORMANCE
The RAZR hasn't disappointed me at all in terms of speed & performance. The phone handles apps and multi-tasking with a breeze, with almost no lag at all. Even though the RAZR is carrying a 1.2 processor, versus the Bionic's 1.0, I haven't noticed much of a difference at all. But hey, bigger numbers right?!

BATTERY LIFE
Battery is just amazing! I have found myself having to get up at 5am before, and wouldn't be near a charger till 9pm at night, and still have battery life! This is a first on any Droid I've ever had! With the bigger battery, and the Smart Actions app from Motorola, this phone simply does not waste battery, but uses it sparingly!

DISPLAY
The screen is wonderful. The Super AMOLED display is stunning, gorgeous, riveting, and any other word you can think of. Colors are vibrant and bright, and there is just simply no complaints about it!

CAMERA
I didn't include a camera section for my Bionic review, but will for the RAZR because I feel that this should be addressed. Some have expressed concerns that the RAZR doesn't work as well as it should, or they receive different color tones than what should be. I haven't experienced any problems with it. Pictures are as crisp as I would've thought they would be, and the camera actually is a lot faster to respond compared to previous motorola cameras. The front facing 1.3 mp camera hasn't disappointed me either. I was concerned at first because when you hold the phone in your hand, you kind of have to tilt the phone to the left just to be centered. While I thought this may be a defect, after visiting the Verizon store and playing with their demo phone, I've found this is just how it is. I thought it was weird at first, but then when I did a video chat holding my phone in landscape, I was completely centered. So definitely a strange design of it, but I understand what it was all about.

OVERALL
After using the RAZR for about a week, I was more than willing to sell my Bionic and get rid of it! The differences between the two were just amazing. While I did enjoy the Bionic, I feel that the RAZR was the phone that everyone was hoping for; and almost wonder if the Bionic was just thrown together because it was promised in January, and still hadn't arrived. The RAZR is everything one could hope for. Fast, sleek, thin, sexy, and just plain Brilliant! There is hardly any bloatware on the phone, and what there is, about 90% of it you can remove. Motorola did a fantastic job with MotoCast, and updating the stock Music app to include this. My only complaint is that I wished the stock music app worked with Google Music, but I'm sure that will come when the next Android software is released. While in my own opinions I would recommend the RAZR over the Bionic, it's still naturally up to you, which phone style better suits you.

From Thunderbolt to RAZR November 18, 2011

Reviewer:  Andrew 

I just upgraded from an HTC Thunderbolt to this RAZR and I have to say that the RAZR is better in every respect. Previously, I was confident in HTC's build quality, UI enhancements, etc, but Motorola did a bang-up job here getting rid of Motoblur and replacing it with a much lighter interface. The signal is also better than my Thunderbolt... I can get reception in places I couldn't before.

-UI: Much better than the Thunderbolt I had previously, the mail app is much easier to navigate and has gestures (swipe right-to-left on a mail to delete, though you can change this and the other direction to simply mark mail as read), and switching between folders and e-mail accounts can be done in fewer taps. I'm not sure if this is Android 2.3.5 at work, or Motorola's customizations. Has a 3 icon dockbar + 4th app drawer icon, and the stock app icons look nice without being intrusive. Consistent colors and design between apps. Again not sure if this is Android or Motorola's doing.

-Display: Very nice high-res display. Plenty of room for notification icons at the top (the thunderbolt could only fit about 4, because it ALWAYS displayed a GPS icon to represent the E911 always-on GPS). Very sharp and crisp, and looks nice even at lower brightnesses. Other online reviews said the screen has a green tint because it's a PenTile display (though I've seen a few that dispute this). I personally don't see any green tint. If there is one, it's barely noticeable.

-Design: The phone is obviously very thin, probably one of the reasons you are considering this phone. I can say it's basically a pane of glass (Gorilla glass!) and a bit of plastic behind it. The microphone placement of the THREE microphones and the loud and clear speakers contribute to the good call quality. I wouldn't call it GREAT but I don't think I've used a cellphone with what I'd call 'GREAT' call quality. The camera is quite the shooter, capable of taking 1080p video (but NOT if you enable device encryption... it apparently can't write fast enough with encryption on, and limits you to sub-HD recording). My one nit-pick about the design are the ports on the top. It's the only place thick enough to have connectors which makes sense, but makes it hard to charge and use your phone, or if you leave it on your desk with cables going over the front, the phone is facing the wrong way to quickly glance at. The kevlar back is a nice touch, though it does get warm after using the phone for an extended period (so does the front glass, to an extent). I've seen people complain in reviews about the buttons on the side, and while the volume buttons are hard to press, it's just not something I change often so it hasn't been an issue.

-Apps: There is some included bloatware, but being Android 2.3.5, you can hide apps you don't want to see. You can uninstall the included commercial games as well. SmartActions app is a really great addition here. The app lets you set triggers and actions that will happen automatically on your phone. The triggers can be many things, from being near a certain location (based on GPS/WiFi), connecting to a certain wifi network (set it to your home or work wifi to have the rule only take effect there), battery level, motion sensor, etc. The actions can be changing just about any system setting on the phone, disabling or enabling radios, screen brightness/timeout settings, volume, and even automated text messaging (I guess if you wanted to invite somebody to dinner EVERY TIME you were near their house...?) I do miss HTC's great widgets, and Motorola's are a bit lacking (can't make them certain sizes such as 1x4), but I own Beautiful Widgets so that's not really an issue. The ability to unlock directly to the camera is nice, for when you want to take a picture of something before you miss it. You can also silence the phone from the lockscreen.

-Productivity: The inclusion of the Swype keyboard is great, and Quickoffice really shines when you can type/correct documents with it. In addition, this is the first phone I have ever used that will sync Tasks/To-Do from Exchange with the stock apps.

-Other: The battery is okay, without any power-saving features you will need to charge it daily, but if you use SmartActions to turn on/off wifi and cell data when you're asleep (you could set it to turn those off at midnight, and back on at 7am), or you use the phone's "Sleep" feature (instnat-on low power mode), you can stretch it to 48 hours with light e-mail checking and web surfing use. The front-facing camera is ugly, not in picture quality but the square it leaves on the front of the phone stands out. It's just cosmetic, however. I miss the kickstand from my Thunderbolt, too, but it's not such a big deal with all the other improvements this phone has over it.

I have the opportunity to use quite a few phones on a day-to-day basis as part of my work, but I have to say this is my favorite 'toy', not just because the design turns heads, but because it is a great phone, and probably the best 4G phone on the market.

iPhone to Razr and Lov'n it. December 9, 2011

Reviewer:  Jacob Adams 

First off, I have been an iPhone 3gs and 4 user for the past 3 years with AT&T service. I have been an At&T customer for 14 years. I do really enjoy the simplicity of the iPhone and the very solid OS.

With that said, I took the plunge and bought two Droid Razr's on the Black Friday sell. Awesome deal, $.01 and free shipping, was very hard to beat. I had already been to the brick an mortar to do a hands on. I'm a big guy with big hands, no problem there, however my girl is very petite with small hands. She loved all the extra features but was a little hesitant about how the phone fit her hands at first. Now she loves it and refuses to try any other new phones out.

This is the phone to switch to if your going to make the big iPhone to Android swap. I can honestly say that I don't picture us ever going back to the iPhone or iTunes side of things. Too much to list for the benefits and freedoms we have discovered in such little time.

As for the Razr, I am very impressed with the phone. Love the feel and function of Razr, placement of buttons and ports. Very clean operating system and processors so far. Blazing fast touch reaction, browsing, app launch, downloads and more. The screen looks great and is easy to read text on, despite other reviews.

My -1 star is for battery life. I will say that iPhone does have a longer life in general. When I add in the larger screen and faster processor, 4g data rates, more acessible sites with flash, and a phone that everyone wants to look at, then the Razr is not far behind.

I have made it home every day with 20-50% battery life left. This includes talking, texting, downloading new apps, playing a few games, reading the news, browsing the web and showing off the phone to the guys at work.

Last but not least, let me touch on 4G LTE speeds. I'm posting an average score of 22.00Mbps Download and 15.00Mbps Upload on Speedtest.net This is actually faster then my WiFi speeds at home.

This Phone is Not for the Feeble Minded November 16, 2011

Reviewer:  Todd Vaules "TV"  (Columbia, SC United States) -

Based on all of the off-topic reviews you should have to take an intelligence test to write a review (or perhaps even to buy this phone. Clearly the phone deserves no less than a 4 star rating. Do your homework, it is one of the best phones this year. Those that are reviewing Verizon or the price of the phone don't seem to understand the point of a review. And if you can't understand how to use the phone perhaps you should not be purchasing a 'smart'phone.

My Razr has dropped a couple of times without breaking however, there are enough credible reports of screens breaking to make it something to consider before making a purchasing decision. But note; Gorilla glass is not advertised as being unbreakable, it is supposed to resist scratches. I have had no problems with the phone except for Skype drains a fully charged battery in 20 to 40 minutes. Otherwise the battery life is better than any phone I have owned.

The positive reviews here (both 4 and 5 stars) are mostly accurate. The Razr has great software and hardware features. The camera is much better than any other droid I have owned. Call quality is great, music sounds good, video playback is excellent. The screen could be a bit higher resolution, but it is still beautiful.

I also purchased the HD dock, mostly for charging. While a bit over priced, it works well.

off topic: I have been using my android tablet a lot less since the phone arrived.

Most of the negative reviews obviously have nothing to do with the phone. Yes Verizon is a pig but they have the best network in the country.

The second coming! November 29, 2011

Reviewer:  Geeky Lion "Know before you speak"  (California, USA) -

I waited a few weeks to know the Droid Razr well before I write my review and OMG i can't believe some people are bashing this phone. I bet you some of them are saying "What's OMG"?? Well maybe if you don't know, this review is not for you and neither is the Razr. My review will come more to the defense of the Razr as opposed to listing features and pros that Motorola explains better. I believe one should slam a product for defects and faults, not because they don't suit our purpose. I have test driven fancy expensive cars everybody who didn't test drove them raved about and I absolutely hated driving them, not because they were not good cars but simply because they were not for me and I just didn't feel comfortable in them. Me, not the car but me...
Some people bash the Razr for petty things like the size while overlooking the tremendous technical features this phone has. Those features are the purpose of the phone and what you should want this phone in the first place. Forget an amazingly fast dual core processor, 1 Ghz Ram, HDMI, removal SD card upgradeable to 32GB, huge internal memory etc which by the way this phone is the only one at this time that gathers all those goodies in one unit. Even the upcoming Galaxy Nexus won't have HDMI or expandable memory. Rent about stuff you never do like opening your phone to enjoy looking at your battery or the fact that you dropped your phone in the toilet and it didn't survive etc.
First the size: If you have cute small hands, maybe someone wants to hold them but why in the world would you want a big smart phone. You know the dimensions already before you buy it and should have known this phone is not for you. If you are a medium size person and find a pair of pants that's XXL (That's "extra extra large"), you don't buy them, you look for something your size, you don't blame the pants. Right? For goodness sake this phone is thiiin and not that much larger from side to side than most 4.3" screens out there. The fact that there's no big bulge on my belt is great.
The battery: If you are looking for a smart phone that can work like the Energizer bunny and keeps going and going, well guess what? It doesn't exist. The technology is just not there yet but i can tell you the Razr has one of the best batteries out there. There is something called battery management. You check what app is on that you don't use. You don't do things like leaving your GPS on while you're playing monopoly or barbequeing and stuff. If your screen is super bright all the time or you have your phone set to go to sleep every 5 minutes, that's bad. If you are logged into facebook and receive updates every minute, what do you think allows this? The battery! I use the heck out of my phone and the battery lasts all day. At night before i go to bed i just plug it in and have sweet dreams while my phone is being charged for the next day. If you use features like Smart Action (I can see some scratching their heads saying "what's that"?) it's a life and battery saver.
The fact that you can't access the battery is resolved by the fact that you can reset your phone which is like removing your battery (Check you manual). If you wanted the thinnest phone but are crying because you can't remove the battery well guess what? You can't have it all. Get a thick phone where you can remove the battery!
I'm not even going to mention the other gnarly reasons why some people give this phone bad ratings such as, I received my phone late or out of 1 million phones made, mine had a defect and i had to replace it. Or I don't have 4G in my area. That's not rating the phone, that's rating your luck...
I'm sure thousands others feel the same way i do except those overseas who are crying because they will never get this phone.
This lady may not be for you, it doesn't mean she's ugly, just keep looking. Style is a matter of taste, but i dare anyone to show me a phone at this time that measures up to the Razr feature wise. There is none!

Another Motorola Homerun! November 15, 2011

Reviewer:  Ken Lovely "Thunder Road 69"  (N.J. USA) -

Having owned a Droid X since the day they became available I have been reading about all the new phones and in particular wanted something with a dual core processor and a decent display and sound quality for both calls and multimedia. I will consolidate my search for a replacement into a short sentence. I have ordered, used, and returned seven different phones in search of a replacement. I have tried both iPhones and a glass phone with a small screen and battery life under seven hours with the 4s killed the deal for me. I also cannot live with the screen being so friggin small. The fact that I fell for the same trick twice with Apple is my fault. The others were Droid X2, Droid 3, Sony Xperia, HTC Thunderbolt, and one other. The main problem I found was pixelation and short battery life but each also had it's own particulars that I could not live with. Everytime I would reactivate my Droid X I would realiize just how good the phone was and would wonder will I ever get a phone I am happier with.

Well I received my RAZR on monday. Having said that I am confident that I have finally found an incredible phone that lives up to the expectations or the hype. The display is fantastic, I have watched a few shows using Netflix and played a few HD games on the phone and the picture is perfect, the processor keeps up, and the sound is great. I was playing a game that I play regularly on my iPad2 and I was hearing sound effects within the game that I did not know existed within the game. As for some of the comments about the screen quality at a 45 degree angle I would suggest that if you need to look at your phone screen at a 45 degree angle you should buy a TV. The battery life is what you would expect from any device with so much under the hood. Unless you want to walk around with that heavy ridiculus looking extended battery that is needed for the HTC Thunderbolt ten to twelve hours is what you get. It is good enough for me. This is the Best phone I have used to date. I have only scratched the surface as far as the incredible amount of other features but you will not be dissappointed with this phone. Hey, if not you can always return it and wait for the next it phone. There is always going to be a better, faster, stronger phone coming down the pipeline, that is how it is with all technology. Today, this is the Best available phone money can buy....Late Update, early in the week Rhapsody was not working with the RAZR. When trying to use Rhapsody you were forced into closing the app and could not play any of your music. Yesterday at about 6 pm eastern time a update became available and now all is well and the quality of the sound for music is fantastic...Good job by Rhapsody for coming up with a quick fix plus a free month of service to those who called to report the problem...I realize it is a bit off subject but felt that anyone that read about the issue might stay away not knowing when a fix would be available...Have a great Day

I like it a lot!!! November 25, 2011

Reviewer:  Joanne Boone  (Ohio) -

We purchased the Droid Razr and the HTC Rezound at the same time. So far I like the Razr a lot! It's super thin, love the kevlar back, and I feel better knowing it has Gorilla Glass. The phone is super fast loading web pages, like using a desktop computer. The screen is a thing of beauty. And although it is loaded with the typical crapware, the Smart Actions app is incredible! For example, it knows if it's after 9pm, I am at home and it's being charged, that I am probably asleep and it should set the phone to silent. Very cool! Exchange sync works quite well; very nice to get HTML emails and tasks from the Exchange 2003 server I sync to.

As far as any negatives, the phone is pretty big. I carry my phone when working out and it's quite a stretch to stuff the phone in my arm band case. And the locked bootloader means it's not as likely we will see a lot of hacked ROM's, etc. The battery is not user replaceable. In the end, however, the fantastic design of the phone overcomes all these shortcomings.

I am a geek, I was considering waiting for the Galaxy Nexus but I am glad I got the Razr; I don't regret it a bit. And the Rezound is a fine phone as well, but I have to say, seeing them side by side I'd have to give the nod to the Razr.

Top of the line with major glitch December 16, 2011

Reviewer:  Edward Dupre  (Austin, TX USA) -

Love this phone, had to get used to the wideness but works great! Only serious problem is the battery life. I work from home and have a car charger and am typing this in the red battery zone. Battery life is the worst. I also used to own a cell phone store for 3 years. Great phone minus the power it needs. Not sure what else to say except. I'll possibly return it if I do not figure a way to save battery time somehow. And yes, I know ways to save usage.

Worthy Successor to the Droid 1 November 28, 2011

Reviewer:  Zandar Brovloski "Zandar"  (Colorado Springs, CO USA) -

I've had quite a few Android devices in my time, but none came close to my Original, Motorola Droid . . . until now. This phone absolutely screams! From the processor to the screen to the form factor to LTE on Verizon, there's nothing not to like. Here are the highlights:

1. The Screen
Some have dogged on the screen because it's a pentile matrix and it's not 720p. What do those things mean to you, the actual user? Absolutely nothing. They're qualms for the geek-set (though I am a geek, and I think the screen is brilliant) who like to look at their screens through magnifying glasses and brag about numbers. In actual usage, it would be very, very difficult to find a better screen than this. And no, the iPhone 4S isn't a contender.

The parts about the screen that you actually will notice are rather nice. First and foremost, it's a sAMOLED screen. What this means is that it has great contrast, blacks that are actually black (i.e. not backlit), and can be very bright; readable in sunlight bright. I've compared to the Rezound, which has the 720p screen, and there's no comparison. The sAMOLED screen on the RAZR looks vibrant and beautiful next to the comparatively dull and drab SLCD on the Rezound (mind, the Rezound has a nice screen; it just doesn't measure up). Second, the 4.3" screen size. Perfect size for a smartphone. I don't know how I managed on the 3.7" Droid 1, and I have no idea how people are satisfied with the 3.5" one on the iPhone (they probably have just never tried a larger screen).

2. Form Factor
This phone is cool! I know this isn't pragmatic, but if you're going to live with a device for a couple of years, you might as well like how it looks and feels. You can get a Miata to go as fast as a GTR, but it'll still look like a Miata, you know?

It's also slightly practical, as it slips into a jean pocket without fuss. I don't roll with skinny jeans, but I daresay this would slide into a pair of those as well.

3. 4G LTE
I get an average download speed of around 5-7Mbps, but I've had as high as 34Mbps! I had a T-Mobile "4G" device, and it averaged around 1-3Mbps with a high of 6Mbps. The internet speeds are as fast as my home WiFi a lot of the time. Also, the 3G signal is quite good (you can turn off 4G to save battery). They're about twice what my Original Droid got; average is around 1-3Mbps.

The rest has been covered ad nauseum. The cameras work great, the battery lasts pretty long (if you know how to tweak it especially; run on 3G when you're not on the internet, turn off WiFi when you're not using it, etc.), and Android is the only way to fly when it comes to smartphones.

Get it; you won't be sorry!

Great construction, mediocre screen, short battery life November 12, 2011

Reviewer:  JuicyFruit 

I like this phone! Very solid build. The metal edges have a good feel and are easy to grip, the camera bulge is not too protrusive, it feels very thin and light in the pocket, and it's pleasantly fast in CPU and downloads. Call quality seems quite good, natural sounding voices, much better in this respect than my previous Droid X.

Camera is actually pretty good. Didn't have great expectations after seeing poor low-light performance in Photon, but this doesn't seem to display the speckle that predominated the Photon. Multi-shot (six shot) is a nice feature. Reasonably fast shutter. Overall pleased.

Things I'd change:
- The pixelation on the screen is very annoying. Text is much harder to read than on iPhone. Fringing is visible on all straight lines. A white background has diagonal, crisscrossed lines. In the case of black lines on a white background, some borders have red edges, some blue. This is presumably due to the alternating RGBG/BGRG pixel pattern. As a result, small text is often illegible. The screen changes colors off axis, especially past about 45 degrees it shifts everything towards green. Not nearly as good as Samsung sAMOLED screens in that respect. So, the display is the biggest letdown on this device.
-Battery life is short, expect to recharge every chance you get. Take it off the charger and read a few news articles and it's down to 70%. Presumably worse if doing games or video or nav. Rough estimate is it will last about 3 hours with normal use, and that's with 1780 mAhr.
-Power button is placed awkwardly, and is nearly flush with the phone, but the saving grace is that it has a distinctive ridged feel that can be used to find it by running a finger along the edge.

Even with these drawbacks, still like it better than other current Android phones, e.g., rate it over the GSII for 540 vs 480 pixel screen resolution and higher quality materials and overall better design.

But please, put a decent 720 pixel screen in the next Razr.

First Android Phone Purchased By This Patient Shopper November 26, 2011

Reviewer:  RightReviewNow 

I'm known for my lengthy and detailed shopping research prior to making purchases. Why buy second best, or something you'll later regret? This is my first Android phone and I couldn't be happier with the performance of the two Razrs I bought for 2 cents. I did alot of comparisons of the specs of Verizon phones, visted the Verizon store and had hands-on for 45 minutes with the Razr and the HTC Rezound. My wife and I both chose Razrs. The HTC Rezound was good, but we both preferred the style and feel of the Razr which clearly appeared to be made of better quality materials. The screen comparison was that the Rezound looked a little better than the Razr's screen when viewed straight away, but not so good at slight angles. The Razr screen looked pretty good at all angles. Call quality the Razr was excellent, the Rezound sounded a bit muffled or distant on the receieving end of the call. Neither of us really cared about the Beats Audio included on the Rezound, so that wasn't a factor for us, but if it were call quality would have ranked higher than Beats Audio. I have been using the Razr quite heavily uploading and trying various apps, google video chat, navigation, texting, calling, watching videos, surfing...etc. Heavy use I ran down to 15% charge in about 5 hours. The Razr has a Motorola Smart Actions app that allows you to set quite a few automatic power saving features based on your location or the times of day which is quite helpful in conserving battery power. I also bought a nifty New Trent 5000 AMH battery pack/charger that's portable, it's smaller than the Razr, and lets you recharge the phone 3 times before it requires a recharge itself. I was concerned about not having a removable battery, but a hard reboot is quite easy to perform on the Razr should you ever need to, so the removable battery is not an issue for me any longer as I have had other cell phone batteries last 5 years.

So my non-techy review is 1) Overall Screen - Razr Wins because it was clear from all angles and better in direct sunlight, even though the Rezound screen was better straight away, not so good even from slight angles. 2) Music - Rezound Wins easily with Beats Audio. 3) User Interface and Apps - Tie. 3)Camera and Video Recorder - Tie. 4) Build Quality - Razr wins. 5) Call Quality - Razr Wins. 6) Processors - Both were equally fast. 7) Kool Factor - Razr Wins. Again, this is a non-techy review by someone who just wanted a solid device, and according to other reviews on this site, and many other sites, the Razr's a pretty good phone.

I had been waiting and drooling over the release of the Galaxy Nexus, but the Razr has a good Gorilla Glass screen, a better camera, HDMI and Assisted GPS, Kevlar back and is water resistant when comparing to the Samsung Galaxy Nexus. The Nexus will have a better screen, but the NFC on the Nexus is still a ways from real functionality on main street, Samsung has also had quality issues, and ICS will probably have some initial bugs, as well as the fact that you will not pick up a Nexus for 1 cent. I realized that I wasn't really waiting for the Samsung phone, I was waiting for ICS which the Razr will receive in form of an update in the next 4-6 months. So basically, got my ICS phone for 1 cent. Thank you Amazon!

Really nice phone and I have had most November 17, 2011

Reviewer:  androidiscool 

Yes I am addicted to smartphones and other gadgets.
I work downtown Chicago and take the train to work. On the train, I check email, watch youtube and Netflix.
The only carrier of the big 4 that works on the train from the getgo, is Verizon. I have been tempted many times by other cool phones on other carriers. However they all fail the train test and I return within the return period.

the other phone which came close was the ATT skyrocket (the new LTE phone) but it would not stream netflix until almost half way home on the ride. Verizon 4g LTE works while the train is still sitting in the stations waiting for the departure time. THis way I can watch and not have to wait. I am not a fan of verizon support and I think their sales people in the stores are not well trained. Also some are rude. I do not think they ae the best plan deal in town either. But as long as I have to work downtown (which I hate ) I am with them.

I had a Thunderbolt which only worked with the 2300 mah extended battery. It was carry a brick around and very uncomfortable in hand with the battery sticking out. I hated it. Also never quite worked right after the Gingerbread OTA. So I was on the hunt to replace. after a lot of research and trying out and returning phones. I now have the DROID RAZR. works on the train, thin size although not the most comfy in hand. Moto has odd designs.
It has some quirks compared to HTC Sense UI and Samsung TOuchwiz 4.0 which are among my favorites in that order.

But I am getting used to it. I love the "Complete package" even though some things are different.

I paid full price for this as my tbolt ctr was not up until 3/13. I could not go that long with the brick.
I have had this razr for one day and love it. So far I think I will finally be able to last 2 years when the contract if up before getting tempted to try a cool phone with another carrier.

Perhaps if in the mood another day I will update with a real review after I had a change to really get to know it better.

11/21/11 UPDATE
I returned the phone. Had to fight with Best Buy as it was the second exchange. Got the HTC Rezound instead. Why???
The Razr took horrible pictures. Worst I have ever seen in a camera or phone. THis was a deal breaker for me.

Awesome Phone!!!!! December 2, 2011

Reviewer:  mike1973 

This phone is just fantastic! Don't pay any attention to the many comments that have nothing to do with the phone such as complaints about pricing, verizon customer loyalty, and other comments that make no mention of the Razr itself. This phone feels great in the hand, super fast, perfect weight, awesome display, and a great speaker. I had the Bionic, and while it was a "good" phone, it doesn't compare to the Razr. I got rid of the Bionic and got this and I'm more than happy with it. Way to go Motorola!

Pros, Cons, that something Inbetween, but would do it again November 23, 2011

Reviewer:  Tim 

New verizon customer for a week now, coming off at&t iphone 1st gen.

Bought it on the release date but see it now for 1 cent. If SGN is also 1 cent or if money not an issue, go with the SGN. Otherwise forget the hype and jump on this. ICS is set for a January release on this phone, and everyone knows that it's always the software and not the hardware. That gives google one month to work out any bugs on ICS when it comes out.

Pros:
- Temporarily the price!
- Like the design all around, best out there so far (kevlar feels smooth and adds a great aesthectic look, quality construction throughout).
- Smart Actions app is working out as intended and very intuitive.
- Motorola Music app (same opinion as above)
- The display/screen is bigger than most, and the quality it puts out is an 8 out of 10 (rather give it a score), not as good as an iPhone 4S/HTC Rezound (9 out of 10).
- Call quality is clear and havent had a dropped call yet, full bars or less 1 everywhere i go.
- Speaker is loud, although it gets fuzzy if cranked up to the max (no issues with the phone jack and music sounds great).
- 4glte is crazy fast, no issues with connection.

Cons:
- The price when it goes back up.
- Battery would last the day but down to 10% and i would consider myself a medium user. (some games which average about 40 min or so on the train, 7 calls a day, a little fussing around with the apps and email checked 2 twice, currently have the screen at about 80% brightness).
- A little wide, probably most users like myself, wont be able to make a call with 1 hand.

Something that doesnt feel like a Pro or a Con:
- Camera takes good pictures but color is not as vivid as I would like. Front and Back.

Summary: If i had to do it again, I would.

11/26/2011 Postscript: I turned off the GPS and 4glte at home and the battery was only down to 40%. I played about an hour this time of gaming (Defender and Gun Bros) and some wifi streamed video of maybe 45mins or so (Fate Zero.. awesome anime). A few calls, maybe 15 mins talk time total, more fussing around with the apps and emails, screen still at 80% brightness. Guess I can live with that.

This is a great phone ! November 20, 2011

Reviewer:  Wm Scot Ellis 

I have had a Droid for the past three years and just upgraded to this phone. I had my mind and pocket book set on an Iphone this time but after a comparison I went for this phone. I have been enjoying the large screen and great sound for my netflix and music. The speed is outstanding. So far this is what I have been waiting for along time.

Mobile Hotspot Heavy Data Useres BEWARE January 30, 2012

Reviewer:  Falcon7X "pgrv1" 

I have had this mobile phone for 60 days.

I am a heavy data users, subscribing to the 22GB of data for $100 through Verizon Wireless.

The RAZR has mobile hotspot problems. Specifically, the RAZR may not work with "https" secure-websites -- such as email accounts, bank accounts and any website that necessitates a user name and password to access it.

There is software adjustment required to remove this glitch, in Windows 7. Verizon tech support was completely useless in problem resolution. The most "technical support" offered by Verizon was to replace the mobile phone, or, power cycle the phone (turn it off/on).

Once I resolved this problem, by googling it and finding a forum that discusses solutions to resolve this problem, I then found that the RAZR will throttle back the service if you are streaming too much data for the security parameters built-in the phone to permit. The end result, webpages that were freezing, not loading, or loading partially.

Consequently, if you use 100mb / hour as I do, the RAZR will mysteriously throttle the 4G connection back -- resulting in garbled webpage loads and high latency.

Therefore, all heavy data users who mobile hotspot to a PC will be unfamiliar with the aforesaid glitches unless they are continuously streaming data.

Verizon tech support now agrees there is an inherent problem with the RAZR, and that a fix or software patch should arrive by mid-February. I cannot wait any longer, nor can my tolerance be appeased with excuses and apologies. I switched to the Galaxy Nexus as my only way to be assured of stable and dependable internet. Stay tuned for my feedback on that mobile phone.

Otherwise, you run the risk of having garbled data on webpages as they are unable to load properly. This cautionary tale applies to the mobile hotspotting with a PC and for users who stream information and need a connection with low latency and high reliability

Smart phone batteries are a problem, period. December 20, 2011

Reviewer:  N. Keith  (Akron, Ohio) -

I have had this phone for weeks now. I picked it up on the release date. Partially because I got caught up in the hype partially because I had been using a 3 year old Blackberry for 8 weeks and I could not take another day. The phone performs well. As far as Android Phones go they all are pretty good now-a-days. I can understand people downgrading this phone because of it's battery life, but there aren't many touchscreen smart phones out there that last for days. (Including the iPhone) All of my iPhone using friends carry their chargers in their pocket or handbag because they can not truly use their phone and take advantage of all of it's features and have tons of battery life to spare before the day is up. I use the PowerGen 2900Mah backup battery to recharge my phone on the go. I now prefer this method of recharging over being tethered to a wall or a cigarette lighter. I can fit the phone and the PowerGen in my pants pocket and they take up less room & weigh less than my old keyboard Droid & Droid2 phones.[[ASIN:B004UP491W PowerGen Black Mobile Juice Pack / External Battery Pack 2900mAh UltraSlim Power Bank Charger (with Build in Micro USB) for HTC Sensation 4G XE XL, EVO 3D, ThunderBolt, Inspire 4G, Sprint EVO, EVO Shift, Rezound / Motorola Arix, Triumph, Droid X 3 2 Bio...]]

The phone is fast, 4G is great, even though they are still working out kinks and it is a wonderful device. I really like the HDMI port on the phone. I can easily put my good looking videos taken with the phone on the TV with little effort. I picked up a HDMI cord from Amazon for around $3.99 and I recently used it to watch 0.99¢ rentals on a Hotel TV. (Beats the $7 movies offered there.)

I can't wait until the phone gets the ICS update.

I was saving an upgrade on my account to get the discounted price on the Nexus PRIME, but after touching the PRIME the Razr feels even more like a work of art. Metal & Kevlar Vs. Plastic, give me the metal frame with Gorilla Glass please. Plus I have the above mentioned HDMI port and the ability to add or swap microSD cards. I didn't feel the need to upgrade as soon as possible with the original droid, hopefully this phone will give me the same great service.

P.S. I dropped the phone today on concrete. It fared well. I only have a small chip in the paint along the metal frame. Once I wiped the white concrete dust off of the scratch it is barely noticeable.