The Right Phone And The Right Place To Buy It From! October 19, 2012

Reviewer:  Gary Hollins  (HIGHLAND, CA, US) -

Well, I've had my new Motorola Droid Razr Maxx 32g phone for about two weeks and, and I can tell you that it's everything that its hyped up to be, and more. As a previous owner of the Motorola Droid X, I'm used to being pretty happy about their products. There were a few downfalls with old phone, however. The battery life on my old Droid X was dismal. I couldn't go anywhere for more than 4 to 5 hours without it dying on me. Also, the operating system was a little buggy. I had to turn it on and off frequently when something hung up. In worst-case scenario, I would have to remove the battery to get it to power down. That was in the old days, long ago.

Flash forward to the present. I received two brand-new Motorola Droid Razr Maxxs this week, one for me and one for my wife. First off, this phone is absolutely beautiful. The pictures that they have taken that really don't do it justice, it's sleek, it's thin, and its shape is just right for my hands. In the past, I've worried about being able to hold on to a phone, afraid that I would drop it. I worried about that all the time with my old iPhone.

This phone is just the right size, and because of its thickness, it's just right in your hand for single hand operation. I also bought a protector for it from DualTek that not only fits like a glove, but has reinforced corners to prevent an accidental breakage in case of an unforeseen drop.

A few things quickly. Number one, the display is huge and brilliant. I had the opportunity to watch some movies via Netflix streaming with it, and it's nice and smooth. This phone also has 32g of storage space, which makes it a monster for games and mp3s. I can't believe how fast 4G is. 3 MB download takes about 5 seconds. Scary fast.

The camera on this model is much faster and much more responsive than on the Droid X, as is the running of most applications. Even the phone's boot time is faster, thanks to the upgrade to Android 4.1.

Now, here is the best thing about my purchase of this phone. I have been a user of Verizon for the last two years. When I wanted to upgrade my phone, they told me that I would have to pay $200 for each phone to do so.

Now, I've already bought two top-of-the-line android phones, as well as a Samsung tablet through their stores, and even after all these years, they still couldn't give me credit to purchase both phones outright. And that sucks. I've probably spent $9000-$10,000 with Verizon over the past two years between cell phones and service, and I've never been in trouble with the account.

When they told me that I would have to pay over $500 for the two phones that I wanted to purchased, with over $130 of that going to tax alone, I decided to look at other options. Over $130 in taxes will make you do that.

Which brought me here to Amazon. Instead of paying $500 for both phones, I only paid $70 for each instead of the $200 each Verizon wanted, for a total of $240 (tax was still about $50 for each phone). And nothing changed about my plan or my service. I simply did it through Amazon Wireless instead of Verizon. Amazon will take roughly $250 off each phone if you buy through them. $240 instead of $550 is a deal I take any day of the week.

All you have to do is keep your account in good standing with Verizon for at least six months. If you know that you are not going to have any problems with your account, this can save you time and money. Verizon wouldn't even think of giving me a break like that, and I got my phones in less than two days from Amazon.

Now, when my phones got here, my wife went crazy, and started playing with it out of the box, jacking up the activation procedure. I had to call Amazon for help. The guy that I talked to helped me out quickly and perfectly, and he got the phones working in a matter of minutes with no hassle. Great customer service from Amazon. Kudos.

So, to sum up, this is a great phone, and Amazon Wireless is great place to buy it from. I highly recommend it. You won't be sorry.

Fragile September 23, 2012

Reviewer:  csmonti 

Before owning the Motorolla Razr Maxx ive owned the blackberry Storm, The Htc Incredible, and the HTC Thunderbolt, I would call my self a bit of a tech geek and am always seeking the newest technology. I bought the Razr Maxx because of the reported battery life and the advertised durability with the kevlar backing and the gorilla glass screen. The battery is as advertised as it will handle almost a full day of heavy use on a single charge, However the durability is not as advertised. After owning the Motorolla for just over 1 month with no problems i had the phone in my front pocket while i drove to work, when i parked at work i pulled the phone out of my pocket and saw that the screen had many small spider web type cracks from the top of the phone all the way down the left side to the bottom of the screen. The Motorolla was in a OEM shell case and was not under any kind of stress in my pocket. I contacted Verizon who told me to contact Motorolla which i did. Motorolla had me send the phone in which they had it for over a week and when i finally got it back i opened it up to find it had not been touched and included a paper saying not repaired becuase damage was due to customer neglect. Now if you are still thinking about buying this phone i suggest you google Razr Maxx screen problems and read the pages of people who had the same experience i had with this gorilla glass screen and know that Motorolla will not help or even acknowledge that there is a problem even with the mounting number of customer complaints for their product. Also know that replacement screen is over 200$ not including instalation. So if you still need to buy this phone i highly suggest buying the extra insurance and maybe wrapping it in bubble wrap when ever it is moved..

Motorola Razr Maxx October 22, 2012

Reviewer:  Chris 

Bought this phone as an upgrade for my wife,after years of service from a great Blackberry Tour 9630,problem free.Read MANY reviews on MANY phones and decided to go forward with this particular model,mainly due to battery life and screen size.
Phone arrived in a timely fashion,after charging only took a few minutes to get it up and running,4G is quick,as is WiFi,3G is constant and reasonably quick. Plenty of memory on this aswell.Unsure how good gorilla glass and kevlar are and how long they will last,only time will tell as one reviewer stated phone dropped on carpet and broke,so will see.
Initially the transition from a RIM phone to the Android market there was some head scratching but my wife figured it out pretty quick,she found the app for ringtones PDQ,along with others,not sure what,but I know she has loaded it up!!
Nice screen size,great cameras front and back and seems reliable,its used alot for voice,text,email and Internet and the battery seems to keep pace(I know this as there have been no complaints from my good lady)...........there is also a good deal of accesories for this phone,including a plug for the headphone jack so you can attach charms(my wife likes them) if thats your thing.Also a few good leather cases/holsters that will accomodate this large phone in its PROTECTOR CASE, that was a big thing for my wife.Cant really give any technical data on this phone as I a 'challenged'with these.Sorry if this review doesnt give you much help,all I can say is it seems to be a good phone,is big,has a good sized screen and at this time,performs as expected.
***Update*** still working great,found an app from mytinyphone.com download this to your phone and you can customise your ringtones,text tones etc,from a few second noise to full songs,wallpapers etc,nearly all of 100's of 1000's for free.Works well with this phone and numerous other android phones.

Designed to void your warranty August 20, 2012

Reviewer:  diehlicious 

I bought a Droid Razr Maxx in April and it has worked for the past 4 months but not as well as advertised. Occasionally the battery level will drop 20-40% instantaneously for no apparent reason. After a lot of trouble shooting I decided that this was probably a hardware and not a software problem and sent it to Motorola for repair. They promised to have my phone back to me after 5 days, on day 6 they finally contacted me and tell me that my phone's warranty is void because my phone had been exposed to water. On my honor, I never dropped my phone in the water or spilled water on this phone. After some research I found that the liquid damage indicator is just inside the phone next to the power button. So if you have sweaty hands don't touch the power button you may void your warranty! ifixit.com even wrote "We recommend not sweating while holding this phone, as that indicator is mighty close to the edge!" [...]. DON'T BUY THIS PHONE, Motorola has designed its warranty to void.

Great Phone, Terrible Warranty Support July 3, 2012

Reviewer:  MikeSB78 

Since picking up this phone, I have almost completely loved the phone. Almost everything has been great. That was until I discovered a burnt pixel. I started out by calling Verizon for support. To clarify one thing, I have had the phone for about 30 days. Every smart phone I have owned, I have babied. No scratches, no dents, I even clean them every day. I could have sold the phone online as though it were new and no one would have thought twice about it. After being asked if I dropped or dunked the phone in water several times, they finally agreed to send me a REFURBED device. After going through 13 replacement Droid 1 phones (because everyone was shipped with a defect like a broken keyboard, phone didn't start, screen didn't respond to touch, etc) I had decided that I wasn't getting any more cast-offs. After all, when you buy a new car and there is a problem, do they set you up with a refurb car? No! They fix that very car while providing you a loaner vehicle or when that isn't possible get you a replacement car. Smart phones are often time more than $400.00. This phone still lists for $649.99. Why would I let a defect land me in a used device? That's crazy!! After letting them know that I wouldn't accept any used devices, Verizon recommended that I call Motorola; which I did. Rinse and repeat the whole did you drop it or expose it to water questions and they decided I should upgrade the phone. I did. They wanted me to clear all the settings, I did. I downloaded an app to fix this stuck pixel called pixel fixer. Didn't work. Now Motorola wants me to pay to ship them the phone so they can fix their defect. Great customer service! I think I just purchased my last Motorola product...

Additional Information from the Warranty PDF on the Motorola Site: If a covered defect or damage arises and a valid warranty claim is received within the applicable Warranty Period, Motorola, at its sole option, unless otherwise required by applicable law, will either (1) repair, at no charge, the defect or damage using new, used or reconditioned/refurbished functionally equivalent replacement parts; or (2) exchange the Product with a replacement Product that is new or which has been reconditioned/refurbished or otherwise remanufactured from new or used parts and is functionally equivalent to the original Product; or (3) refund the purchase price of any Products covered by the terms and conditions of this Limited Warranty.

I'm not sure what they mean by no charge.

What You Need to Know February 4, 2012

Reviewer:  ashertopia 

The Razr Maxx is a great phone on the fastest 4G LTE network. The phone is basically the same phone as the Droid Razr but with a massively extended battery. That's important as the battery cannot be changed out to an extended batter on the Droid Razr and this phone gets the extended battery punch but still in the same slim form factor. This is the slimmest Smartphone still.

Droid Razr and Razr Maxx have:
+The fastest 4G LTE network. I'll routinely get 15-20 MBPS download and sometimes even better upload. This means almost no lag, super fast downloads and instant page loads on browsers. In case you aren't in a 4G LTE area, you still get the EVDO 3G network and the 1xRTT CDMA digital calling networks.
+Verizon's voice network (still the best.)
+Verizon's #1 customer service (just won J.D. Power's for second straight year.)
+The new battery can get you more than a full day of full usage without constant charging, unlike almost every other 4G Smartphone and many other 3G Smartphones.
+If you are looking for slim this is the slimmest Smartphone out.
+Water-Resistent insides and coating. You may be able to walk through light rain without worrying. (I won't do that, but you probably could with this one.)
+Gorilla Glass screen is way tougher than standard glass.
+32 GB memory is more than enough for a ton of app downloads and music on your device. 16 GB is on a micro-SD and you could swap that out to 32.
+Dual Core 1.2 GHz processors really make a difference on running multiple apps at the same time. I can run half a dozen memory eating processes at any time and swap back and forth. I also run as many as 6 or more tabs on my browser with no slow down (either FireFox or Dolphin HD.)
+Motorola's UI is clean and easy to customize. It isn't as slick as HTC's Sense UI, but it also isn't clunky like LG's UI. It gives some extras that are helpful (widgets for social networking, for instance,) without getting in the way.

-Kevlar back is more for looks than useful in my opinion. Unless you're James Bond and plan on carrying 30 of these under your shirt...
-The weight of the phone makes it feel cheap to me. It is super light and the material isn't solid feeling like the Droid Bionic or even an iPhone.
-No Ice Cream Sandwich (yet).

Some people may balk at the $300 price tag, but the phone is smarter than most people's home PCs and you'll carry it with you almost every day, every where you go. Why wouldn't you think $300 is a good value for a device like that?

Overall, this is a great Droid 4G LTE phone. The battery and processors make this phone the fastest and longest lasting of the Droid devices.

Terribly Fragile Screen August 8, 2012

Reviewer:  IonC 

I've had this phone for 6 weeks. The phone has a nice feel to it and the performance is excellent, with the exception of the over-hyped camera which takes 'okay' pictures about 1 out of 5 tries.

To be honest I was very happy with this phone up until yesterday. I have been very gentle with this phone as I typically always am. But yesterday the phone fell from my desk onto soft carpet, landing relatively flat. The gorilla glass shattered. I immediately went to a Verizon store and they said they couldnt do anything but I should take up a claim with the insurance. Honestly, this should not have shattered the way it did from a very low fall on a soft surface. I started reading around the internet and it seems this is an extremely common problem with this phones screen. Dont believe the BS hype about the gorilla glass on these phones because it is by far this phones weakest link.

Poor Quality June 25, 2012

Reviewer:  Agnieszka K Kataman-Kustwan 

Worked for 4 months. I have a warranty and an insurance. Verizon W. has sent me two replacement phones but none of them was technically OK. One had a very poor battery. Lasted only couple hours. Second did not have a signal. Third I cannot get so far so I am without a working phone for two weeks already. I belive it is a faulty model. Motorola offered a repair. I would have to send the phone to them for 2 weeks and then maybe they repair it. But in the meantime they would not provide a loaners phone. I am sorry I spent $400 for this phone. Now I cannot get the money back nor another working device. It is also a time for me to really see the quality of Verizon Wireless customer service after being their customer with 4 phone lines for 7 years and paying over $3000 a year for their plans. Motorola Customer Service lady actually laughed at me when I requested a replacement or loaner's phone.

Razr Maxx Has Convinced Me....Motorola For Life Now! September 6, 2012

Reviewer:  E. Byer 

Well here I am again taking the time to make a review which I rarely do unless something really impresses me and I feel it is worth my time reviewing.

This phone is absolutely fantastic.

I switched from the Galaxy Nexus that was nothing but a headache to me and have never looked back. Let me compare the Nexus to the Razr Maxx and show the things I love about this phone:
Battery Life - No comparison:
The Maxx --> has been going strong all day and haven't had the need to plug it in. Nexus --> change the battery out 2 - 3 times a day minimum with the optional battery + charger I purchased officially from Verizon.

Call Quality - No comparison:
Maxx --> INSTANTLY noticed the clarity and loudness. Nexus --> Soft, garbled, useless.

External Speaker - No comparison:
Maxx --> Loud, clear, just as good as the iPhone. Nexus --> VERY soft, cheap sounding, useless as a ringer

Vibration & Notification Light - Better:
Maxx --> Green light that isn't blinding but catches your attention. Vibration is stronger/louder so you actually feel/hear it. Nexus --> white light that has too much lag between blinks, harder to see especially in the sunlight and vibrator is useless.

Screen - Nexus wins:
Maxx --> Decent resolution but spoiled from the resolution of the Nexus. 4.3" screen in the same form factor of the nexus makes me sad, but I can easily live. Nexus --> High resolution, good colors, big 4.65" display.

LTE/3G Radio - No comparsion:
Maxx --> IT WORKS! Strong signal, doesn't disconnect. Nexus --> Good luck, have fun because you will bang your head against a wall. Never saw LTE, flickers between 3G and no signal at all, call drops, data drops. Terrible.

Fit and Finish - No comparison:
You spend this kind of money and want a quality product right? Maxx --> feels solid, expensive, looks good. Nexus: Cheap plastic with a flimsy back.

Ice Cream Sandwich - No comparison:
Maxx --> Zips around and I mean REALLY ZIPS. I feel like I am running Jelly Bean and I am not. Super smooth, keyboard is 10x more responsive, extremely small lag to the point that I am nitpicking. Nexus --> Lag when typing, slows down and locks up like it is thinking too much if you type too fast, OS seems laggy and unresponsive.

Buttons - Advantage Maxx:
Maxx --> More recessed and harder to push which means you can actually HOLD your device without pressing the volume rocker every half a second. Nexus --> Too easy to press which gives you even less places to hold your phone.

Heat - No comparison:
Maxx --> Can ever so slightly appear warm, but nothing noticeable...just nitpicking. Nexus --> extreme overheating issues. Plug it in, watch a video clip, or answer a phone call and prepare to burn. Definite overheating issues and you have to put the phone down to let it cool off.

Camera - Slight edge Maxx:
Kind of like asking who is smarter: Dumb or Dumber. Maxx --> 8MP and produces "ok" pictures but I had the Droid X back in the day before my phone was bricked with their POS OS update and it had the same "ok" camera built-in. I only say it is better because in life things are relative and comparing it to the world's worst camera phone by today's standards in the Nexus...it is therefore "better." Nexus --> Garbage fisher price camera. Pixelated nonsense.

Hope that helps. Honestly you can't go wrong with this phone. Wait for the Razr Maxx HD to come out so you can watch the price of this phone drop or decide to get that beautiful new updated Razr with the Nexus quality display! Least you will have two fantastic options to choose from. Either way you can't lose and yesterday Motorola announced ALL MOTOROLA DEVICES will get Jelly Bean if they are capable of running it and FOR SURE Razr Maxx can run it. NOW how long will it take before Big Red Verizon decides to release it is the bigger question. You know Razr Maxx HD will see the update first!

E-mail: optomechesst@aim.com if you have any further questions but I believe I covered all of it -scratches head thinking about it-. Honestly from what I have seen...I am never going back to Samsung for the rest of my life. Between the Samsung Fascinate which I could tell you tons of horror stories about and the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, they lost me as a customer for life. Droid X treated me SO WELL before the update essentially bricked my phone with the bugs, but this phone is flawless. Motorola is just the best and THE GO TO company for Android. Highly convinced of that now. Alternatives: Nokia Lumia 920 with Windows Phone 8 coming out this fall, Apple iPhone 5 coming out in a month.

Best phone I've ever owned April 13, 2012

Reviewer:  Alan F 

I never write reviews. Most products that I buy meet my expectations or are underwhelming, so I have little motivation to crank out a review.

I'm a heavy corporate user, and, as a personal user, I use a lot of apps, games, maps, navigation, web, email, chat, Windows Media integration, text, and, of course, the phone. I am NOT a heavy social media user, e.g. facebook and tweeter.

The RAZR MAXX was a must buy for me simply because of the battery life. I had an HTC Incredible which I loved, but it seems absurd to have to charge a phone twice per day of moderate use. I decided to forgo Ice Cream Sandwich which is still not out for the RAZR.

The battery life exceed my initial expectations. At first, I missed my HTC Sense interface, and especially the Scenes feature. By comparison to Sense, Moto widgets are not as sleek and they take up more real estate to provide a comparable amount of information. Sometimes the widgets (like Tasks) do not refresh properly. This is a RAZR bug, I am sure.

After a week of use, I feel in love. The battery is insane. Two days of moderate use on one charge; no problem. Native Activesync Exchange task integration (Yes, native; no more hokey 3rd party solutions). RAZR supports multiple Activesync Exchange accounts. And then there are Smart Actions. I suspect that this is more of a power user feature, so many will not even discover the feature's power. You can customize different rules so your phone performs actions automatically based on defined conditions. For example, without intervention, my phone knows when I am in a work meeting with others (based on time of day, physical location, work calendar, and attendee list), and it will silence the ringer, send an auto-reply text to the caller stating I'm busy, UNLESS a VIP calls (e.g. boss or wife) at which point the phone rings at max volume. My phone knows when I am settled into bed for the night and turns off BT, wifi, and silences itself. This thing can be configured to know when your jogging or driving or on a date. Every so often, someone invents something that is so practical, so simple, and so useful that I am blown away. For me, Dropbox and Smart Actions deserve top props.

Cons
-I mentioned that sometimes my widgets do not refresh. This is a minor annoyance.
-The access panel to the SD card is a piece of junk. Other people have written about in other reviews, so I won't elaborate. Its a minor thing, its just a disappointing design issue.

Make sure you remove the plastic off the Kevlar on the back plate after you get the phone. There is no explicit indication that the plastic can be removed, but it is supposed to be. This will make your phone look and feel even nicer.

Switching from Mac - I love this phone and the Android OS April 9, 2012

Reviewer:  GHDunu  (Washington, DC) -

Like many, I was primarily drawn to the Droid RAZR MAXX because of it's incredible claims of battery life. I have not been disappointed. I have been able to easily get more than a full day's use out of the battery, even with heavy use. Just now, I was playing streaming radio for an hour and a half while surfing the internet, checking email, and sending texts. The battery only went down 10%. All of this has been while being on 4G, which tends to eat up battery life faster than 3G. With light to moderate use, I can see the phone lasting two or perhaps three days on one charge.

I switched over from an iPhone 3GS because I was not very inspired by the iPhone 4S and did not want to wait for the iPhone 5 to be released. I have always been a loyal mac user (I currently have a MacBook Air, an iPad, and an iPod) and was worried about using a non-Apple product, but the switch was a lot easier than I expected. It was very easy to sync my address book and calendar through google. Almost any app that is available for the iPhone is now available for Android phones. I love the ability to customize my phone and widgets are about the coolest idea. The only real issue I have had with switching OS has been an Apple issue. There is some problem with getting Apple to recognize that you are no longer using an iPhone and to unregister your number with their imessaging system. It took me two days after switching before I was able to get texts from iPhone users. I have heard that it can take up to 30 days. For anyone having problems, I would call up Apple's customer care and tell them what is going on. That is what worked for me. The one thing I really miss about iOS is copy and pasting is not as easy and seamless on Android. Many apps don't support copy & paste and the arrow selectors don't drag as well as I would like. I still haven't gotten the hang of copy & pasting on the Droid RAZR MAXX, but hopefully this is just something that requires a learning curve. Other than these minor glitches, for any other mac users, I highly recommend the Android system!

I thought the size of the Droid RAZR MAXX would be an issue for me since I am a petite woman, but I actually prefer the large screen. It makes my phone a lot more useable for both games and practical things like reviewing documents and doing research on the internet. I actually enjoy reading books on my phone now. Before, because of the iPhone's smaller screen and horrible battery life, I would have to also pack my iPod and iPad because my phone would not be able to last through a long flight. I no longer have to do this.

This is the best, most practical phone I have owned. I highly recommend it.

Restricted to Over 50 Readers November 14, 2012

Reviewer:  Virginia Falcon  (Virginia) -

If you're under 50 years old, you should not be reading this. This is a "non-techie" review of my first smart phone, designed to answer the questions that mature users might ask. First, I was not compelled to buy a smart phone because it had gadgets, bells and whistles and fancy plastic cases. Who cares? A phone is a phone, right? My old Razr flip phone got the job done, if all you need is to make phone calls. My wife and I are on a family share plan of 700 minutes per month, which is far more than we need. I don't think Verizon even offers this plan any more. But we were persuaded by friends that a smart phone can be a useful tool, and doesn't have to be loaded down with functions that are childish and worthless. Frankly, I've never understood why someone would pay a monthly fee to listen to music that can easily be acquired for "free," or pay a fee to send text messages like, "Hey, dude, how's it goin? Whazzup?" Oh well, just not my thing, although I see youngsters paying huge monthly fees for exactly that kind of inane thing. I'd visited the local Verizon store several times, read comments by Amazon users, and read reviews on cnet and other electronics magazines. I became convinced that the Motorola Razr Maxx [[ASIN:B0071G0KR4 Motorola DROID RAZR MAXX 4G Android Phone, Black 32GB (Verizon Wireless)]]had a big leg up on the competition with its very powerful and durable battery (which can last for days without recharging) and with a relative ease of use by a non-techie. So I watched the prices for the Razr Maxx go up and down on the Verizonwireless site, as well as on Amazon. I seem to recall that it started at $199, but that was a laughable number for me, so I waited. One day, Amazon alerted me that the price had dropped to $99, so I bought it at that price. It's even lower -- by a little bit -- from Amazon right now (November 2012) which is probably because Motorola has since produced a Razr M and something else with "HD" in its name. Concerning the Razr M, be aware that the screen size is actually smaller than the Razr Maxx. I held them side by side, so that's a no-brainer. As concerns "HD" I can only imagine what that might mean, and I really don't care. I'm very happy with my Razr Maxx, and am still learning how to use all the horsepower it offers. I took a little one-hour workshop at a local Verizon store, and it was barely useful. I also ordered a little free booklet from Motorola, but it, too, does a mediocre job of instructing first-time smartphone users. I also looked at "Idiots' Guides" books through Amazon, but they're not current with the "Ice Cream Sandwich" operating system that my Razr Maxx has. Gradually, I'm sure, I'll learn about all the tools that make this phone useful for someone like me. By the way, when you activate your phone through Verizon, you'll be charged a $30.00 activation fee. That has nothing to do with purchasing the phone from a 3rd party like Amazon. It's simply another gouge that the phone companies charge, simply because they can. By now, you may want to know how this mature user actually puts this smart phone to work. Here are some of the things I have managed to activate, and find them all quite useful: The alarm clock; the "app" for my local newspaper so I can read it while skydiving; the Trip Advisor app so I can check on restaurants, hotels, tourist sites while I'm on the road; the Weather app so I can check the weather forecast in different cities to which I may be traveling; the battery monitor and the data monitor which lets you know when you're approaching the monthly data limit of 2GB...to which I've never come close; the connections to my two email accounts back on my home computer; the Post-It sticky note on which I can remind myself to pick up the dry cleaning or stop at the grocery store or check on a certain flight number or arrival time at the airport; and of course the phone listings of folks I may want to call. All of these apps are easy to use, and I haven't yet erased or deleted anything critical. I have chosen not to use my "smart" phone to conduct business with my bank, as there are simply too many opportunities for hackers to siphon information. At least they won't get anything like that from my use of the Razr Maxx. I suspect the price will keep going down on Amazon, so it might be useful to set up an alert for them to let you know when it drops again. All in all, I think the Razr Maxx is worth the initial outlay ($99.00) as well as the $30.00 monthly data fee, and I recommend it for mature users.

Amazing! Great for travel! October 3, 2012

Reviewer:  Teena 

I have had my Droid Razr Maxx for just over a month and I'm so glad I have it. I just returned from 24 days in Italy and the trip would have been a complete disaster if not for this device. Since this phone is not SIM locked, I was able to buy an Italian SIM card when I arrived in Italy, so I didn't have to pay Verizon's roaming charges.

One can read about the features and capabilities of the phone itself, so I won't go into detail on that. But the battery life... WOW! I ran apps and used various features of phone all day long, every day: GPS with directions and mapping service, internet browser, camera, Quick Word, Map My Ride (I was biking through Italy), email, music player, and movies. After a day of biking, with the Map My Ride app running for about 12 hours, using internet and email, taking pictures, listening to music, and watching a 2 hour movie I had stored on the phone, I only used 50% of the battery. A couple of co-workers convinced me that this was the main reason to buy this phone over any other - the battery life - and they were so right.

Things I found out about foreign travel with a smartphone:
To get the SIM card, I had to go to the cellular provider's store and have my passport with me (I had left my passport with the hotel's front desk, so I had to go back and get it)
It took about 2 hours after buying the SIM for it to be active
I bought time as I needed it, but the places to buy more time are often closed in the evening (like after 8pm)
Using 3G cost about 4 Euros a day, not including data usage
Wi-Fi isn't always free and/or not always available in Italy
You can only stream Netflix in the 50 US states (sometimes you just want a little bit of home to comfort you after a rough day of travel)
Calling the US cost about 60 cents per minute
If I ran out of time on the card, I could still receive calls from home (free for me, not free for the caller)

I had considered taking my Wi-Fi tablet with me to Italy, and buying a cheap Italian phone to use there, but EVERY day I was in Italy, I was so glad I had this phone. Wi-Fi in Italy is not very reliable WHEN it's available, and the tablet would have added bulk to my already encumbered travel, plus the tablet battery only lasts 5 hours at best. Buying and using the foreign SIM was quick and easy, and re-inserting the VZW SIM and getting back onto the home network upon returning home was seamless.

With 4.0.4, it packs a great punch. September 25, 2012

Reviewer:  Howard Lin 

With ICS, this phone is unbelieveble. It is fast, and I've had it for almost half a year already, and yes, it lags occasionally, but it doesn't kill you badly. The battery is phenomenal! On average it would last me from 8AM to 10 PM at night with just 20% left, unless I'm playing games. I will say though, long continous gaming makes it really hot, literally. One time my battery burned through 145 degrees Fahrenheit, so gaming wise, don't play for more than 3 hour. If you plan on using it on a long car ride, I recommend watching movies. Overall, this is an incredible phone.

HOWEVER, I would wait for the Droid Razr Maxx HD if I were you;)

Update: Ok, so recently I dropped it pretty badly, and I actually thought the screen broke. But... The screen is PERFECTLY ok! However, there is one thing I broke: The microphone. It no longer works now. The same day I drop the phone, hours later my brother called me and I answered, but he kept on saying "Hello?" to which I kept replying with "Hi!!". I thought maybe he was just joking with me, but later when I called someone else the same thing kept happening. I tested Google Voice, and it didn't record anything I was saying! So I figured, as I dropped my phone at about 18 ft, the screen maybe fine, but the internal parts are not. But honestly, I can tell you this: When they say Gorilla Glass is tough, they are NOT KIDDING. It truly is tough! But know this too: If you drop your phone, do realize that it can still break in the inside, but not in the out. Moral of the story: You still got to try not to drop this phone.

Thank fully, I got insurance, and I will be getting a replacement soon:D

Spontaneous break in screen September 20, 2012

Reviewer:  Jodi Werhanowicz  (Phoenix, AZ USA) -

Like many others, I too have had a mysterious break in my screen. It was fine, I put it in my pocket (not back jeans pocket, not tight pants) and ten minutes later I took it out and the screen was broken. Until Motorola addresses this problem, don't buy this phone or else be sure to get insurance that covers physical damage.

Gorilla Glass overrated September 3, 2012

Reviewer:  S. Presson "Movie Buff"  (Washington, D.C.) -

As a former road warrior, I have a good idea of what a phone will take. My latest, a Blackberry 8830, has been physically abused over thousands of miles of travel across three continents. It's been jostled, dropped, trapped between items, dumped into dirty water, and generally beaten up. It has some nicks, but not the first chip in the glass. I finally bought the Droid Razr Maxx because I had worn out buttons on the Blackberry and the charging port was losing connectivity.

My new Razr Maxx suffered a drop of 24 inches, and got a crack on the edge of the screen. It was not a slam or a drop with an arc -- it was a simple drop to the floor. Verdict: Motorola does not make them nearly as well as Blackberry used to.

The best iPhone Killer June 24, 2012

Reviewer:  Valenti  (Federal Way, WA United States) -

Got this 5 months ago to replace my HTC Incredible which was dying. Was drawn primarily because of the advertised battery life.

PROS: Slim design, clear crisp screen. Outstanding battery life. Others have whined about the battery not living up to the hype, but here's my story.

With WiFi and Bluetooth default to ON, and 2 email accounts, I get 48 hours on a charge. However, use of the GPS will definitely drain it, so I truly think applications such as Google Maps and NAV are the major source of discharge. Have played a lot of games on it, and use it for all my calls, but battery life is good.

Call quality (after all, it is still a phone, right?)is good. Bluetooth works seamlessly with my car. 4G LTE has been faultless, and switches to 3G in areas as needed. Very seamless.

CONS: Wish the power button was designed better. Unable to figure out how to give different email accounts a different notification sound (one sound fits all I guess); WiFi not as sensitive as my laptop, and drops signal when at home depending on where I am in the house. The "smart apps" is a nice concept but have not worked reliably for me so I am not using them. The speakerphone is not as loud as my old HTC or a Blackberry, and gets a bit distorted when turned up all the way. Will be getting ICS upgrade sometime soon, so we'll see what bugs were related to the Android OS rather than the phone.

Would buy again? Absolutely.

Razr Maxx June 11, 2012

Reviewer:  Will 

Great phone! I dont have to worry about battery any longer. I am a heavy user but I can use all day long. Great screen and great design. Good camera for phone and even better video camera for phone. Excellent call quality (no dropping call so far) and brazing internet browsing speed using 4G LTE (even fast using 3G network). My only complaint is it has no screen shot function. But Ice Cream Sandwich upgrade will bring the function. I believe it is the best verizon smart phone at this time. Highly recommend.
I also recommend to get the following Micro HDMI to HDMI cable. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003XNANU8/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00
I see whatever I see on the phone screen on my HDTV using the great cable. Hard to believe it is less than 3 bucks.
Both units were delivered less than 2 business days. I love Amazon.

Great 4G phone April 6, 2012

Reviewer:  A. Wilson  (Boston, MA) -

Pros: -Quick phone that does not lag often
-Has Swype that makes texting quick and easy
-Large 4.3in screen enhances entertainment and gaming
-Feels solid in my hand not like other smart phones that feel cheap
-Large battery makes for excellent battery life compared to other smart phones

Cons: -4.3in screen looks nice but is not high def
-Phone is a little on the large side with a large surrounding frame
-No ICS
-Camera is behind the competition

I got this phone has a upgrade to my HTC droid incredible that I have had for two years. My biggest problem with that phone was battery life. The razr does not have that problem thanks to the large battery. The other differences is the large screen and larger size. The size of the phone was not as big of a problem as I thought it would be. The phone fits nicely into my packet but may be a problem if you wear tighter jeans\etc. The large screen is ideal for watching videos and playing games, even games like angry birds are vastly more entertaining on the larger screen.

The UI is set up good. When you turn the phone on you will have a choice to go to the "main page" or go straight to camera. The main menu of the phone will load up quickly and smooth but if you decide to go camera from the start menu or from the main menu you will have a lag.

The main setup of the phone is similar to that of many droid phones. If you have owned a droid before you will have little difficulty finding your way around.

The camera is the major weak point of this phone. The camera defaults in a 6mp wide screen setting. You will notice immediately the low quality of the default setting. Your pictures will be blurry if even the slightest movement of the object you are trying to snap a picture of. After you notice the low 6mp default setting and you up it to the max 8mp setting you will notice it no longer fills the picture to the whole screen. The picture on this setting are clearer but still have blurring. At night or in low lighting the pictures are just down right unacceptable. My HTC incredible that is 2 years old took better pictures then this phone.

While snapping pictures may disappointing you, filming on the other hand is impressive. You will still encounter the same problems you had with taking pictures but the video is smooth and compared to the competition among the best. The phone does default into 720p and if you do decide to bump it to the max setting of 1080p you will have frame rate issues.

The only real complaint besides the camera is the lack of ICS which is just vague promises and rumors that come and go as to when ICS will come.

The large battery is really what makes this phone stand apart from the competition. The screen is good enough, the phone is quick, and Swype is quick and easy to learn. If you can get over the fact that the camera will disappoint then the droid razr maxx is the phone to get.

Fantastic Phone, Unbelievably Fragile Screen May 7, 2012

Reviewer:  Maya Cook  (Clementon, NJ United States) -

The Droid Razr Maxx is the best phone I have ever had on all levels except one, and that one is enough for it to lose four stars. The screen is incredibly fragile. Incredibly. As in, it will break from a short drop, possible even onto a soft surface. Some users have even had it break under touch, as in, while being used as intended, as in, not even being dropped. Despite an internet full of screen complaints, both Motorola and Verizon will deny that they have heard of the problem and will blame you for abusing your phone. If you were smart enough to get insurance and it breaks within the first few days, as has happened to many, Asurion may try to avoid replacing your phone and accuse you of fraud. For fun, google "Droid Razr Cracked Screen" and read the hundreds of stories of phones cracking under normal use. For bonus entertainment, go to EBay and browse all the phones with cracked screens being sold for parts. Gorilla glass is great for being pushed on, but is very, very weak on its edges.

So, if you're rough on your phones, are clumsy, like to keep your phone in your pocket, or otherwise expect the durability of your older Droid phone, you have two choices. One, don't buy this phone. Two, buy it, but insure it IMMEDIATELY (don't wait even a single day), and treat it like a Faberge' Egg until your protective case arrives. Even then, still treat it like that egg. Because lots of peoples' screens have broken from short falls while inside a case. Yes, it is that fragile.

If you are extra-careful with your phones, and have always skated through your two years with your phone still looking like-new, you are ABSOLUTELY NOT IMMUNE from these problems. Buy the insurance. Seriously. My husband treats his phone positively reverently, and here we are, two months later, looking at expensive repair or even more expensive replacement.

In a just world, these phones would be repaired or replaced by the companies that put their names on it. In THIS world, expect to shell out a lot of money to replace your best new phone ever. Because the injustice of paying $99 to replace a phone that only lasted a week is better that what many of us are facing. Insurance: get it. Yes, even you. And best of luck. Because you'll need it.

If you were looking for the good, look at other reviews. Yes, it absolutely is fast, bright, amazing battery, decent camera, all that stuff they said. But it's useless when you're looking at shelling out another $250 for a new digitizer and screen.