Not nearly as great as I'd hoped November 23, 2011

Reviewer:  Reviewer 

I might just be super unlucky and have a rare dud, but my DROID RAZR keeps freezing and restarting constantly, even when I'm not using it, and even after restoring to factory settings. The good news is that Amazon was great about letting me exchange it for a Rezound instead.

Had the phone actually worked, the positives would have been:
-SUPER thin and lightweight
-Very fast and responsive
-Ability to delete many of the preloaded apps

Negatives:
-It's so wide it's almost impossible to use with just one hand
-In general it just wasn't comfortable to hold
-The camera is decent but not great
-It freezes and restarts every 5 minutes! (but again, I might just be really unlucky with mine)

Power Pig May 17, 2012

Reviewer:  CPT M. 

I bought this phone for my wife back during the Christmas rush. It was brand new then, so I paid top dollar for it. While it DID make her eyes light up and was an initial delight, reality has brought the euphoria back down to Earth. If you want to read all about the doe-eyed, fawning reviews about this phone, you'll need to bring up the other reviews. I'm going to only cover what are some design flaws with the phone.

First Problem: The thing is absolutely a power pig. It will not make it through the whole day without suckling from the power charger. You end up moving the phone from one charger to the next: at home, to one in the car, to another at the office, and keep yet another AC adapter in the glove box for those "just in case" moments when you are visiting a friend or some other place for an extended period of time and the thing starts crying for electrons. It reminds me of a hungry baby. You can't just take it out the door with you. You have to plan ahead and bring along the baby bottles to feed it.

Some will say, "Turn off the Blue Tooth." If you turn off Blue Tooth, then what's the use of bringing it with you? Especially in the car where you have to use hands free anyways.

Second Problem: Having a Power Pig Phone wouldn't be such a big issue if in fact you could bring along a spare battery so that you could swap out the dead one for a fresh battery. In their aesthetic wisdom, Motorola's engineers did not provide a way to change the battery out! How ridiculous is that? These engineers had to know that the phone is a power pig and yet they chose thinness over practicality. Your ruse has been uncovered. Shame on you, Motorola.

Third Problem: Screen Rotation Limitation. The phone is charged through a micro USB port that is located ON TOP of the phone, instead of the bottom. The location of the port makes no difference if you are plugging it into the wall using a regular charger. However, it makes a HUGE, UGLY difference if you are attempting to charge the phone on an iHome dock made for Android phones. It wouldn't be a big deal if you could turn the phone upside-down. But NOOO! From the upright portrait position, the screen will only rotate to the left or to the right into landscape mode. The screen will not rotate 180 degrees, so that the screen is right side up while the body of the phone is upside down (USB port is pointed down and the precious Motorola and Verizon logos are upside down). So the long and short of it is that you have a USB cord plugged into the top of the phone, dangling down the back of it, into the iHome dock. Pretty darn ugly looking.

Fourth Problem: Virus Attacks on Android OS. Be aware that on top of all the other issues, the Android OS is now the target of many a malware attack. You don't have to believe me. Do a Google search on and read about "Android Malware" articles on the web.

It works well enough... when it's nursing from the wall. However, it's a bad phone to choose if you're going off the grid. It begs the question of why buy wireless when it has to be tethered so much. You might as well buy a land line phone. And it is absolutely absurd that the screen will not rotate all the way around. I've called Motorola's tech support folks and even they are perplexed and unable to explain the rationale for the partial rotation "feature". Then lastly, the malware issue makes it too much of maintenance problem. My recommendation... skip it. Find another manufacturer's interpretation of the Android phone.

Or better yet, get the gold standard. Buy an iPhone.

Good Luck!
CPT M.

Droid Razr March 6, 2012

Reviewer:  Dan Y 

this phone is pretty sweet but there are some things that i would consider small issues the charging plug is on top of the phone so if it is dead and you need to charge it while your talking on the phone its kinda a pain to talk. if you are watching videos and its charging its awkward to hold as well because its right in the middle of the top and then the aux jack is as far right as it could possible be.

I would sacrifice some of the thinness for some of the components to be in a more usable area. other than that it is a really good phone its a dual core 1.2g processor which makes the phone really fast to load apps. its 4g lte which i dont really notice on downloading speeds because apps in general arent that large to begin with i am sure if i downloaded larger apps it would make a difference. it has an amloid screen whatever the hell that means but its really clear for videos. it takes videos in 1080p and you can purchase docks and etc for your phone.

One thing that sold me on this phone is that my unlimited data plan rolled over and i didn't have to go with the 2 or 4gig data plan.

i guess i should compare the phone to something. so compared to my htc incredible its like holding a dinner plate in comparison but its so thin. if i had larger hands it probably wouldn't make a difference so take that with a grain of salt.

one thing that i was so excited to get an unlimited data plan is listening to pandora or watching youtube videos which tends to eat data.

i hear alot of complaining about the battery life on this phone and welcome to smart phones they all have terrible battery life so at least this one is very user friendly.

i think however that it is lacking in preprogramed widgets coming from an htc where there were 10 different main clocks, a calender, calculator, and the task killer isn't that great i ended up not using the factory task killer because it could end all the apps in one push you have to click off all the apps you dont want to run. i really dont like the carbon fiber look on the back it looks kinda tacky i am trying to find ways of covering it up. i wish it was all white instead of the edge being white and then a solid block of carbon fiber sticker.

Also another thing in general i would say is i wish that phones werent as wide its cool that it has a 4.3 screen but i think that its kinda pointless especially since it will have to be plugged in at some point if your watching videos. so if i am plugged into the wall i am usually at my house which i can use my laptop so its doesn't make any sense to me but that just my opinion.

so pros
thin, fast, video capture, dual cameras, video replay is clear,

cons
its wide and charging cable is in a weird location and fake carbon fiber look.... blahhhhh

but an awesome phone

By far the best phone I have ever owned March 5, 2012

Reviewer:  L. E. Hawthorne "lantez"  (Providence, RI) -

I've had my Droid Razr for about a month now, and it is a marvel. light, durable, comfortable to hold and to pocket, attractive, the screen is gorgeous, and it's amazingly fast, particularly compared to my old Droid 2 (and even my wife's iPhone 4). The audio quality is surprisingly good as well. I use it to play Spotify through my car stereo, and the sound is noticeably better than my 2nd gen iPod touch. A bit base-heavy perhaps, but I think for many people that's a plus.

Another stand-out for me is call quality. I don't think I've ever had a phone with calls that sound as clear as this one. You won't mistake it for someone in the room with you, but it's head and shoulders above any other recent phone I have owned.

My only complaint is with the quality of the camera. It takes pretty good pictures in full daylight, but the image quality diminishes greatly as the light diminishes. Don't even bother with low light indoor shots, particularly with action. Even with the flash, images are mediocre at best. The iPhone is hands-down the winner in this category.

I hear complaints about the battery, but the solution for me is simple: battery life management. I don't need my GPS, bluetooth, wifi and 4G on all the time. I use the included widget to manage the first three and I downloaded a free 4G toggle widget to manage the other. With those off for most of the day (I never turn off push notification), on average I can still get two full days on a charge. Even with 4G on all the time, I can quite easily get through the day without a charge.

Despite the mediocre camera, I still give this phone 5 stars. I'm an avid Apple fan, but in all honestly, it equals or surpasses the iPhone 4S in every way except for the camera. A co-worker just got the Galaxy Nexus, and although he won't admit it, I know he wishes he'd gone for the Droid Razr instead.

Best phone since the original Razr February 10, 2012

Reviewer:  J. Miller  (Jonesboro, AR United States) -

I've had this for three months, it replaced my Incredible. So far I'm thrilled. Excellent Motorola sound quality, super durable, ergonomic, and fast! If I had to complain, I would say battery life isn't great, so unless you want to spring for extra chargers, wait on the Razr Maxx.

Best 4G Phone Available!! February 9, 2012

Reviewer:  Brittany Acree "Brittany"  (Seattle, WA) -

nicest phone on the market, fast as all get out, huge hd led screen with tough gorilla glass, will have ice cream sandwich when available but still nice with gingerbread, 8mp hd camera, and much faster than iPhone 4s. all around great performer and top of the line. would recommend to anyone looking for a new smartphone.

Good, Bad, and Beautiful February 7, 2012

Reviewer:  Mehri Kaufman "Mimish"  (Kirkland, WA USA) -

Good:
* Beautiful industrial Design
* Nice buttons on side and screen bottom.
* Good reception compared to another in a fringe area.

Bad:
* The list of apps that it shipped w/ are awful. You must go out and replace the timer to get one w/ a stopwatch, the calculator, and many others.
* The calendar client shows you the meeting attendees, and their mail address, and highlights it, but it won't mail them.
* A lot of pesky things still in the android OS, but it's getting better. It manages memory and cache's much better than an apple.

Clear bench mark for the Mobile Market. February 7, 2012

Reviewer:  Viktor  (Charlotte, NC) -

Best phone i've had. Easy to use. Fast. Smart design. Cool look. Amazing cameras. Would not be this way if it wasn't for 4g. We have a arrived.

Awesome Phone! February 1, 2012

Reviewer:  gr_crissy 

I love this phone. I've only had for 2 weeks but I love it. It is really fast and has more than enough memory for downloads. The only thing that is bad is the battery. Since you can do so much on the phone, by the time you know it the battery is dead. However I know they just came out with another version of this phone that come with a bigger battery for the same price, but it's not as slim as this one but not to big either.

a Gr8 phone.. January 30, 2012

Reviewer:  JoHn 

So many in depth reviews saying almost everything I wanted to say...this phone is really awesome! I am not a Motorola fanboy, actually it's my 1st Moto phone ever, but couldn't resist buying it.
Only few points I will emphasize on:
-The look: many reviewers kept on comparing this phone with other phones-specs wise, forgetting to put into consideration the size factor! I never had or wanted to have any phone bigger than 3.2" till I saw the beauty of this RAZR ( & to be honest the GS2 in regard of being slim as well). The phone is a certain conversation starter, looks really cool, well built and definitely not cheap ( and it isn't!)
-the speed: added tons of apps and games, no sweat!
-Battery: dunno what other reviewers expected from a phone with such a processor, screen & 4G but this needs power! My last 4 smartphones' batteries (in 5 years) couldn't last more than a day, so this one is no surprise. add Juice defender app and it helps u go through the day with moderate use. Some days I talk too much and play too much this is when I need to charge it twice a day, I have a portable external battery that I got off e-bay for around $10. It works fine and is really small.Easier to carry even in pocket.
-app killers: had them on with every android phone I had ( 2 other than the Razr) till I read a reviewer here saying that it caused his phone to freez. Well it does! happened twice with me, uninstalled it & things are better now..
overall the best smartphone IMO now in market, and will get better with the ICS upgrade in few months.

Great phone January 28, 2012

Reviewer:  Paul Silverstein 

I have owned this phone for three weeks.

I upgraded from a Samsung Intercept, which was a HORRIBLE performing phone. The only good thing about it was its slider-keyboard.
I love the size of this phone. It is easy for me to hold and is not as wide or cumbersome as I feared it might be. I love this phone's screen-response. It is fast and receptive to your subtle touches. The battery life is very good. I run it with everything on and can go two days before I have to charge it. I use a lot of WiFi and GPS with it.

I do miss having a slider-keyboard, but the phone is large enough that when you turn it sideways, it resembles a slider keyboard pretty closely.

I've put a ton of apps on it and still have plenty of room.

Best of the Lot January 28, 2012

Reviewer:  UncleChris "mekins"  (Wickenburg, AZ United States) -

Lose the I-Phone. Get this phone. You won't be sorry. If nothing else, it sports the best looking display on the market. The Razr is a "simply WOW" machine.

Screen is not that scratch resistant! January 24, 2012

Reviewer:  Nicole  (Meridian, MS USA) -

Overall, great phone as many other reviewers have stated. Just wanted to warn anyone who buys-don't rely on the "scratch-resistant gorilla glass". With a couple weeks of normal use, I have numerous small scratches on the front. I thought I wouldn't need those plastic covers that are so hard to get on, and always get gummy around the edges. Wrong! Make sure you get a screen protector.

luv this phone! January 18, 2012

Reviewer:  STEPHANIE C HENRY 

I was lucky enough to purchase this phone for a penny. I been with AT&T for over 20yrs once Verizon came out with the Razr I was willing to sever my relationship with AT&T just to buy this product. Although the bad reviews about the battery life scared the heck out of me I took the plunge and bought it anyway. I was one of the lucky one's because my phone battery has been holding up well with what I do with it. Just as a back up I did order the portable charger which works great. In addition to buying the phone I purchased about every accessory the Razr offered which was the real attraction to the Razr for me. I bought the wireless keyboard with built in trackpad, the docking station with the 4hdmi outputs, the Lapdock100 which I can tote around with me like a laptop and the car docking station. All the products work great and I'm very happy with my purchases. I highly recommend this product.

Nice bump in performance, but the look/feel of previous Droid January 13, 2012

Reviewer:  WanderLust 

Compared to my original Droid, it's a bit wider/longer and a lot thinner/lighter. Beautiful display and the dual core cpu definitely makes things quick - flipping between screens, opening apps, even web surfing and downloading data (mostly using Wifi connection or 3G). 8mp camera sounds impressive but so far picture quality has just been OK. Data connectivity (3G/4G) has been so-so, call quality has improved a bit (compared to my old Droid). Moving to another Android OS phone is a snap as everything is pretty much standard (menus, settings). Drawback with the Bionic has A LOT of bloatware apps you cannot remove. Aside from the improvement in performance, upgrading from a Droid to a Bionic hasn't been that big of a leap forward in the interface/user experience (as opposed to going from a flip phone to a smart phone).

Droid Razr 4g December 30, 2011

Reviewer:  J. muth "j muth"  (NY) -

this phone, so far is a extremely reliable and stable phone. I bought an otterbox and invisishield protector for it and so far, seems to be by far the best phone I have owned. PROS: Awesome screen, easy root, huge screen, battery. CONS: battery on 4g, be sure to either root for SetCPU or turn 4g off entirely because it WILL drain your battery. 4G is definately worth the switch, and ICS is looking cooler than ever. coming from the Droid x2 i can say that the 4g alone makes this phone a worthy upgrade. I get about 17mbps in good coverage. Cant wait for the ICS update!!!

The perfect upgrade. December 21, 2011

Reviewer:  Michael P. 

I've owned it for about 2 months now. It is great. I can go through 100 MB of data a day on 4G and still have ~20% battery left at the end of the day so I guess battery life is good based on that. It is VERY slim. I have a silicone cover on mine and it is STILL as slim if not slimmer than other comparable phones caseless. The HDMI port allows me to stream Netflix (Android Market rentals as well) to my HDTV which I love. The phone is always smooth at everything it does. SOME apps have stuck on me however I have determined due to the specs of my phone, it is on the app developers side.

This is hands-down the most high quality Android device available and will be that way until Motorola decides to revamp it. Motorola has done a very good job with it. Nothing about it is cheap unlike other Android devices that have a removable battery. Nothing about this phone is mediocre either. It is a model that will last for years and will always stand out compared to the rest.

razr sharp December 16, 2011

Reviewer:  fst 

this is the nicest smart phone i have owned from any manufacturer it functions flawlessly is the perfect size and the 4g with the dual core prossesor makes this thing faster than a speeding bullet no flaws just wish it had a removeable batter

So far so good foe everything but camera December 15, 2011

Reviewer:  Jagadeesh K. Venugopal 

I love this phone. As someone moving up from an entry level Android, the difference in screen size, resolution, speed and overall coolness from the LG Optimus is palpable. The phone is very elegant, with very good build quality. While ICS is promised, I am mighty pleased with Android 2.3, and will upgrade only after the rest have worked out the glitches. Network and wifi performance are great. But then I am coming from Sprint, and anything feels like an improvement over that.

The feature to turn on/off various features based on location is a great help in improving battery life. Nonetheless, you will be charging it every night.

Disappointments? Camera is the big one. The photos are not even as sharp as the 3.2 mp on the Optimus. Colors are fuzzy, image grainy and not particularly sharp. Comes loaded with much shovelware from Verizon that I have not been able to delete (yet).

Recommendation: great value at Amazon Wireless. On no account pay list price.

great phone, a few minor problems! December 14, 2011

Reviewer:  777dsutter 

First I'd like to say I've had the phone for about 3 weeks and overall the phone is awesome!!!! And especially the display! Despite what some have said the display is very bright, clear and has amazing color display! Even compared with the rezound, I think its just as good and even better in sunlight and at extreme angles! The speed online is great! Everything from browsing to pinch zoom is very fast and smooth! However the stock launcher does lag a bit when u start adding Widgets. Do not have that problem with other launchers though. The gorilla glass is great and feels so smooth! Best glass on any phone I've ever had! The camera is just average and for some reason it tends to lag when viewing and zooming in on pics you've already taken. Call quality is decent. And when using the handset to talk it could go louder but its about average all-in-all. The speaker is OK and music sounds great when listening through ear buds! I have had some problems with the location based smart actions. U have to have wifi on for that but even with wifi always on I still have trouble with them working. Sometimes they work sometimes they don't. But I love the idea of the smart actions. Just wish they worked more reliably! Other than that I've had no complaints. Beautiful design, lightweight phone. A little uncomfortable in the hand until I got a silicon case. Much better now with the case. Best feature of the phone is the ability to customize so much. And the beautiful display!!! A little pixelation but just beautiful colors and bright and vibrant display!! So overall I think you'll be very happy to choose this phone!! I am!!
Updating my review ---
Since my original review I haven't had any problems with my location-triggered smart actions. They've worked perfectly and without problems since. I think there might have been problems with Verizon's service because I've read alot online about Verizon admitting they had problems with various service issues primarily with the razor! But since they said they fixed them, my phones worked perfectly!! Also wanted to add that the battery does have a short life when using the phone heavily! However when u just use the phone moderately for phone calls and texts, the charge tends to last me about 16-20 hrs! And with the smart actions, u can set your phone to turn off battery intensive features when the display is off, etc. Still loving the phone!! Best smartphone I've ever had! Hands down!!