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Review: Verizon DROID 4 by Motorola

Sean Riley — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 18:11:54 +0000

Like many Android users, the original DROID was my introduction to Android and while I’ve bounced through a half dozen other devices since then I’ll always have a soft spot for the DROID line. With that said the DROID 4 has launched into a very different landscape with devices literally half its thickness available and others offering twice its battery life. Despite all that, should the latest installment in this venerable line still warrant consideration as your next Android device?

1. Battery Life

My last review was for the DROID RAZR MAXX with its 3,300 mAh battery so the next competitor didn’t really stand a chance. The DROID 4 comes back down to earth with a 1,785 mAh battery and a more pedestrian 12-14 hours with regular use to go with it. I’m sure with liberal use of Smart Actions you could boost that a bit more, but basically don’t expect any miracles from the DROID 4 battery. It’s also definitely worth noting that while the DROID 4 battery compartment is accessible the battery is not meant to be user replaceable so just tossing a second battery in your bag won’t be an option.

2. Performance

The DROID 4 is packing the same 1.2 GHz dual-core processor and 1GB of RAM as the DROID RAZR MAXX. This is enough to run basically anything in the Play Store and keeps the OS flowing pretty smoothly. Sure there are quad-core devices powered by Tegra 3 and Exynos on the horizon, but for the time being the DROID 4 is offering plenty of muscle to get the job done. If you are heavily into gaming on your Android device I doubt the DROID 4 would be on your shortlist anyway, but I’ll go ahead and confirm your suspicions that this isn’t the device for you. If on the other hand you are looking to sling some fowl around the stratosphere or just draw something this will get you where you’re going.

I’m going to slip this in under ‘performance’ as it doesn’t really fit anywhere else, but the Droid 4 has 8GB of internal memory, which is a bit more of a tight squeeze than we are accustomed to lately. You do have a microSd slot should you need it, but be aware of this if you take a lot of photos or video with your phone.

3. Call Quality

I’m a bit of a broken record at this point, but I’m consistently pleased with the sound quality and signal strength offered by Motorola’s smartphones and the DROID 4 is another fine example. While I don’t question that there is room for improvement generically in cell phone call quality^[1], Motorola is definitely doing all that it can with existing standards.

4. Display

The DROID 4 offers a similar qHD PenTile LCD to that found in the DROID RAZR and DROID RAZR MAXX, albeit shrunken down to just 4-inches rather than the now more customary 4.3. As with the DROID RAZR MAXX I didn’t feel that the screen on the DROID 4 warranted quite the level of dislike that it seemed to garner from many reviewers, but it is clearly not a top-end screen. When viewed at a normal distance text and images look crisp, but the colors aren’t as vibrant as what I’ve seen on any of the recent Samsung or HTC devices.

5. Build Quality

The DROIDs may not be the thinnest or the lightest of devices, but they are remarkably well constructed. Ignoring the ludicrous offerings from Casio if I had to lay money down on a device holding up to a substantial drop it would be the DROID 4.

While I was impressed with the slide mechanism found on the DROID 3 I think that the DROID 4 easily eclipses it. The keyboard slides with an ease and fluidity that I didn’t quite feel in the previous renditions and it solidly locks into place. Obviously I can’t attest to how this will perform over time, but it certainly feels like it will hold up for the long haul.

6. Aesthetics

I gave the DROID RAZR MAXX a little bit of static for its world-devouring bezel and unfortunately the DROID 4 is cut from almost exactly the same cloth. I’ll again warn that this may well be something that doesn’t bother you in the least, but I’m unable to get past it when looking at either device.

The DROID 4 has finally banished the lip or chin that should be familiar to any owner or fan of the previous DROIDs and I’m actually sad to see it go. For one thing it was the one part of the DROID that you could usually depend on being pretty thin, but it also was part of the distinctive look of the DROID line. After this bit of cosmetic surgery the DROID 4 with it’s keyboard closed is just left looking like a particularly portly version of the DROID RAZR or even the DROID RAZR MAXX. While it isn’t grossly out of line with it’s predecessors the DROID 4 is slightly thicker than the DROID 3 and in a time when the Verizon Galaxy Nexus is being cat called for it’s 9.3mm thick frame the 13mm DROID 4 begins to seem like a throwback device.

7. Software

The DROID 4 ships with Android 2.3.5 (aka Gingerbread) and ‘The Overlay Formerly Known as Blur.’ Motorola has only indicated that the DROID 4 is under evaluation for an Android 4.0 update and there is no timeline at present. I’d be more hopeful for the DROID 4 than others as it shares quite a few traits with the DROID RAZR and DROID RAZR MAXX which are both slated to receive the update, but if you are dead set on having Android 4.0 it may be a good idea to wait for further word from Motorola or to look elsewhere.

My feelings regarding the Blur overlay remain the same as they did with the DROID RAZR MAXX. I don’t see any way in which it is improving the basic Gingerbread experience and I’m reasonably certain that it is slowing some pieces down, but the places that I noticed the slow downs the most were in tweaking settings in the menus and that isn’t really an area that the average user finds themselves mucking about in that often. Day to day I don’t see it as detracting from the users experience significantly.

8. Cameras

Again I found the DROID 4 to be quite similar to the DROID MAXX in this area. In daylight the DROID 4 was more than capable of taking a nice snapshot, but under even moderately difficult lighting the photos become noisy quickly. Shot to shot time was quick, but as with almost any smartphone you probably aren’t going to be capturing any quick moving targets such as squirrels or children. Another complaint that I reiterate from the RAZR MAXX is that I think the standard setting for Motorola’s cameras is way too dull. The average smartphone user will take the more colorful picture over the “real” capture any day.

9. Keyboard

The keyboard on the DROID 4 is an absolute pleasure to use. I think Motorola has finally dealt with all of the complaints the have been levied against the various incarnations of the DROID keyboard and are left with a polished gem. The backlighting is an incredibly welcome addition as without it the keyboard was rendered fairly useless in the dark which was a significant blow against it in the battle against onscreen keyboards. The separation between the keys, while a bit of an illusion, does seem greatly improved this time around as I experienced a very limited number of accidental key presses, which considering I only use a smartphone keyboard about once a year when a new DROID is released is fairly impressive. I also think Motorola has found the right responsiveness for the keys after at least the first two DROIDs suffered from extremely mushy keyboards.

10. 4G LTE

4G LTE is fast…mmmkay. Yeah I don’t really know what else to say about it at this point. The lack of 4G LTE in the DROID 3 was one of the big complaints when that phone launched back in July and perhaps correcting that lapse is one of the reasons that we saw such a rapid turnaround on the DROID 4 release. I had no problems with 4G on the DROID 4 and was consistently receiving speeds in line with the rest of my 4G LTE devices.

Final Thoughts

DROID 47 / 10

Each new release of the DROID line seems to be greeted with less excitement than the last despite the fact that the device does seem to at least subtly improve with each release. This is definitely the best version of the DROID yet, but I haven’t exactly heard anyone clamoring for it. Now in part that could be because it was released only about 7 months after its predecessor, however Android users are somewhat accustomed to turnabouts like that by now so I doubt that is a significant factor.

Most of us have just grown accustomed to Sywpe or some other onscreen keyboard and if that’s the case then there is no reason to opt for the DROID 4 over the DROID RAZR MAXX or Galaxy Nexus. Now if you just can’t get by without a hardware keyboard, and I know there are some of you, then by all means the DROID 4 is probably the best Android device available for you today.

References

If you want to know way too much about cellular call quality you should check out this piece on The Verge ↩

Review: Verizon DROID RAZR MAXX by Motorola

Sean Riley — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 21:05:42 +0000

There’s no question that the DROID RAZR MAXX is for all intents and purposes merely a DROID RAZR with a big ‘ol battery crammed into a slightly embiggened frame. So what then is the big deal and why does it warrant its own review?

Everyone knows that the single biggest complaint about every 4G LTE phone that Verizon has released to date has been the battery life. The average 4G LTE phone is lucky to make it more than 14 hours on a charge if you use your phone at all – even left virtually untouched you are unlikely to be greeted by anything but a blank screen in the morning if you commit the cardinal sin of forgetting to plug your phone in at night. Would a phone that could turn all of that on its ear be something you might be interested in? If so, read on for my full review.

1. Battery Life

So as my preamble suggested, the 3300 mAh battery is the big highlight feature for the DROID RAZR MAXX. So if it failed to impress, this review would have kinda blown up on the launch pad. Fortunately it manages to live up to the billing and beyond.

In my time with the DROID RAZR MAXX I never once was able to burn the battery down completely in less than 18 hours and with light usage I managed to eke out over 60 hours on a single charge.

Sure that light usage result is unrealistic for the power users, but then again we can’t imagine not plugging our phone in at night anyway. For more casual users, and thus users that are less likely to remember to plug their phone in, I can see 36-48 hours of battery life as a real possibility.

This kind of battery life in a 4G LTE phone is quite simply astounding and gives the DROID RAZR MAXX a huge advantage over the rest of the current crop of devices out there that can often struggle to make it through a regular work day.

2. Performance

The 1.2 GHz TI OMAP 4430 processor that powers the DROID RAZR MAXX does its job admirably, just as it did in the original RAZR. I never experienced any slowdowns with apps, videos or games. NVIDIA specifically and even Qualcomm may do a better job at pushing their mobile processors branding, but I haven’t really had any complaints with my TI powered handsets.

I wouldn’t peg this as the phone for high powered gamers due to some of its other specs, but it’s not for a lack of processing power.

3. Call Quality

Motorola continues to be my gold standard for call quality amongst the Android manufacturers and the DROID RAZR MAXX was no exception. Callers were consistently loud and free of static and really that’s about all I’m looking for from my phone.

I’m not a big speakerphone user, but in my cursory testing with the DROID RAZR MAXX it worked as advertised with just a slight hit to the audio quality as compared to the earpiece.

4. Display

The 4.3-inch PenTile qHD Super AMOLED display on the RAZR MAXX is also identical to that of the original RAZR. I basically fall into the same camp as Anthony did in his review of the RAZR and that is that the average user is going to be pleased with the screen. The screen reproduces colors well, is sufficiently bright and text appears sharp when viewed at a normal distance.

With that said this isn’t a top of the line screen anymore so it will depend on how important that might be to you. The HD displays in the HTC Rezound, Samsung Galaxy Nexus and even the LG Spectrum are undeniably superior in my mind so if you are going to be watching a lot of video or are simply a pixel peeper you should probably look to one of those devices.

5. Build Quality

The DROID RAZR MAXX shares the Kevlar backing and splash proof coating of the original RAZR. It’s just a well constructed phone and I really can’t find anything to complain about here.

The thicker 8.99 mm frame actually is an improvement over the original RAZR to me as I just couldn’t find a comfortable way to hold the original. The advertising showing the RAZR slicing through everything in sight failed to mention that your hands would be it’s main target.

6. Aesthetics

Alright, it’s been mostly sunshine and roses so far, but here we run into one of my first problems with the DROID RAZR MAXX. It’s going to seem like a really simple and probably minor thing to many of you, but I simply could not get over it during the entire time I had the phone. The bezel on this thing is enormous! Every single time I looked at the device it bothered me. The phone’s frame could easily have supported a 4.5-4.7-inch screen and I imagine if the development time on this phone had been more than just a few months that they would made that happen. Visions of the Droid RAZR MAXX XL HD are already dancing in my head.

7. Software

This was my other big problem with the DROID RAZR MAXX, and fortunately this one can be corrected. I have never felt the downgrade in the OS so greatly when reviewing a device as I did in moving from Android 4.0 on my Galaxy Nexus to Android 2.3 on the DROID RAZR MAXX. There’s nothing specific on the update timeline from Motorola yet, but it’s shared software with the RAZR should help.

I’ll also say that Blur is just a non-issue to me at this point. I’m sure it’s slowing the updates a bit which is obnoxious, but I don’t see it as really marring the users Android experience anymore. We’ll see whether that holds true in the move to Android 4.0.

8. Camera

The cameras on the DROID RAZR MAXX are passable. When lighting conditions are optimal the 8 MP rear-facing camera is capable of some nice images and as always I have far fewer complaints about the quality of the video capture. I will say that I think Motorola may have a tendency to push their default settings toward accuracy rather than vibrancy and I think most users would prefer the latter. You can take a look at the samples pictures and videos below to judge for yourself whether the RAZR MAXX will meet your point and shoot needs.

9. 4G LTE

We are rapidly encroaching on the point where this will be table stakes for Verizon, but for the time being I’ll still grant a +1 to the DROID RAZR MAXX for it’s LTE radio. I didn’t have any trouble pulling in a 4G signal in any of my local haunts and speeds were in line with the rest of my LTE devices.

10. NFC

Alright, I’m not quite as dismissive of NFC as I once was. I’ve actually used it a couple times for payments with my Galaxy Nexus and if you have a lot of friends with Android phones the beam feature is at least entertaining even if it isn’t critical to the functioning of your phone. I wouldn’t pass on this phone just for it’s lack of NFC by any means, but I will call it an unfortunate omission.

Final Thoughts

DROID RAZR MAXX7.5 / 10

While the score may not be terribly impressive that doesn’t tell the whole story of the DROID RAZR MAXX. The large bezel and the lack of NFC are minor issues that probably won’t even register to some buyers and again I have to believe this phone will see an update to Android 4.0 in the first half of the year.

If you want the latest software and (for the most part) hardware then absolutely go with the Galaxy Nexus, but if you are either a first time smartphone user that’s used to the battery life of a feature phone or a business user that’s dependent on your phone to get work done then I would strongly recommend that you consider the DROID RAZR MAXX. A 4G LTE smartphone that gives you the freedom to not worry about your battery life is something we had yet to see on Verizon and I’m not entirely certain when another such device will come along.

Overall I thoroughly enjoyed using the DROID RAZR MAXX and I think that for a large section of the smartphone buying population that this is the single best device available today.^[1]

References

This appears to be borne out by the sales as both Amazon Wireless and Verizon have consistently had it backordered since the launch. ↩

Motorola Droid 4 gets fondled on video before release

Taylor Wimberly — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 17:36:46 +0000

Are you a lover of QWERTY keyboards? Verizon’s Motorola Droid 4 is scheduled to launch this week and the guys from Wirefly spent some hands-on time with the device this weekend. Highlights of the Droid 4 include an edge-lit, 5-row keyboard, dual-core 1.2 GHz processor, 4-inch qHD display, 1 GB RAM, dual cameras, and support for Verizon’s blazing fast 4G LTE network. Check out the video below and let us know if you plan on picking one up.

Motorola Droid RAZR gets a launch day special price of $111.11 on Amazon Wireless

Sean Riley — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 09:24:39 +0000

Amazon Wireless is kicking off the launch of the newest and thinnest member of the Droid family with a tip of the hat to today’s unique date by offering the Droid RAZR for $111.11. Amazon is backordered at the moment, but orders placed today will still qualify for the special price. As of this posting they are still saying they will ship by the end of next week.

As with most of the Amazon Wireless deals, this pricing only applies to brand new 2-year contracts. If you’re looking to upgrade an existing contract, they are offering a slightly discounted price of $249.

The Droid RAZR is just the first of Verizon’s power trio of Android devices, so make sure you peruse what the Galaxy Nexus and the HTC Rezound have to offer before making any snap decisions. You can take a look at the review roundup we assembled earlier this week to get a sense of the early impressions of the Droid RAZR from around the web.

Are any of you planning to either take advantage of this deal or pick up a Droid RAZR direct from Verizon today?

Motorola Droid 4 launch could be right around the corner

Dustin Earley — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 20:08:46 +0000

Just as the two-year anniversary celebration for the original Motorola Droid ends, internal Verizon documents have surfaced online that put the Droid 4 on track for a December release.

Uncovered by Droid Life, the Motorola Droid 4 has been spotted in several different Verizon systems that, in the past, have indicated an imminent release. The time between when the Xoom 2 appeared in the same documents and when the device was scheduled to be released was a little over a month. If everything goes according to plan, the Droid 4 could launch as soon as the second week of December. Lending some credibility to this theory are the “in the wild” shots of the Droid 4 that show the device looking mighty close to finished.

Around two weeks ago, pictures of the Droid 4 found their way online. Judging by those pictures, the Droid 4 will have an improved physical keyboard over previous models, with a body similar to the Droid RAZR. As far as rumored specs go, we’re looking at a 1.2 GHz OMAP4430 processor, 4-inch Super AMOLED display, 4G LTE, Android 2.3.5 (at launch), 8 megapixel camera with 1080p video capture, front-facing camera and HDMI out.

Between the RAZR, Droid 4, Galaxy Nexus and HTC Rezound, Verizon is going to have one killer lineup by the end of the year.

Gallery

DroidLanding Twitter account comes back to life for RAZR

Edgar Cervantes — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 00:09:00 +0000

The Motorola Droid RAZR is about to hit the streets. One of the most exciting things about big Droid launches is the @DroidLanding giveaways, and things are starting to get cooked up.

After a temporary hiatus, the DroidLanding Twitter account has just been activated. This time around, the protagonist happens to be the Motorola Droid RAZR. Get ready for some scavenger hunting, because the action is about to start.

While the main prize(s) will probably be the Motorola Droid RAZR, more goodies should also be offered later on. Make sure you follow @DroidLanding on Twitter to stay up-to-date on the details. Who knows? You might be one of the lucky winners. Will you guys be trying to score a free device? What else could Verizon be giving away this time?

Android 2.3 Gingerbread pushing out now to HTC Droid Incredible users? (Update: Manual Install)

Edgar Cervantes — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 17:14:16 +0000

The HTC Droid Incredible has been one of the most beloved Android devices on Verizon. This phone was a beast when it came out, and even now it continues to compete strongly with some of the newest devices. For a while, everyone was afraid the good ol’ Droid Incredible was not going to get a Gingerbread update. Incredulous!

That was until Verizon posted OTA update details on the HTC Droid Incredible’s support site. We knew this update was coming soon, and we only had to wait a few weeks until the update started rolling out.

Though there were some reports of people getting the update towards the end of last week, it seems that was simply a test. If you were not lucky enough then, maybe things are looking up for you today. The Gingerbread update seems to be rolling out again. If you’ve been desperately waiting for an update, now is a good time to check for one.

These will be the main features changed with the update:

MMS messages will now send correctly
Properly save audio files from MMS messages
Successfully play audio from MMS messages
Internet connection via Bluetooth now enabled
VZ Navigator now operates on WiFi
Change songs in music widget by tapping the forward button
Camera now functions with an SD card inserted

Have any of you gotten this update yet? How are you liking it? Let us know what your experience with Gingerbread is like. If you haven’t received the update, let us know. We’d like to see how the update process is going. Start checking for updates, guys!

Update: Manual Installation

If you’re feeling a bit adventurous, Android Central has a manual installation tutorial. Those who would like to try it can head to the Android Central forums and have at it. If you decide to take this route, please do let us know how it goes and share your tips with fellow DINC on how to make the process easier and better.

Motorola DROID Bionic lands on Verizon tomorrow for $299

Anthony Domanico — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 14:38:00 +0000

After 9 long months of waiting, the Motorola DROID Bionic is finally set to launch tomorrow on Verizon. The DROID Bionic marks a key milestone for Verizon, as it will be the first dual-core device to feature support for Verizon’s 4G LTE network.

The Bionic packs the following specs into its Droid X2-esque package:

Dual-core 1GHz processor (TI OMAP4)
32 GB storage (16 GB internal, 16 GB included microSD card)
4.3″ qHD LCD screen with 540 x 960 display
Android 2.3.4 Gingerbread with MOTOROLA’s Gingerbread UI overlay (Don’t call me BLUR)
1 GB DDR2 RAM
8 megapixel rear-facing camera
Front-facing camera
Support for Motorola’s WebTop dock and LapDock

The DROID Bionic will be available at Verizon stores tomorrow, September 8th, for a whopping $299 on contract.

Who out there is planning to pick one of these beasts up when it launches tomorrow? Or are you holding out another month for the Samsung DROID Prime? Let us know in the comments.

We’ll have a full review of the device up very shortly. Stay tuned!

Videos: Motorola Droid Bionic in action

Edgar Cervantes — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 17:50:39 +0000

The Motorola Droid Bionic is expected to finally be released this week. Several months since its announcement at CES, many of you are still set on making this your next phone. But, after this delay, is it worth it?

Those planning to purchase a Bionic should comb over these videos, as well as the owners’ comments at Android Central forums. Check them out and see if the Droid Bionic still holds up to all the hype–it does have some good specs, after all. You might want to wait for Verizon’s upcoming Ice Cream Sandwich smartphone (“Droid Prime”), though.

These videos cover everything. From regular Homescreen overviews to benchmarks, Netflix and even Dungeon Defenders. Grab your popcorn, sit back and take a deep look at the Motorola Droid Bionic. Do tell us what you think! Are you guys getting one of these? Would you rather wait for the “Droid Prime” (it’s unlikely this will be its name) or Nexus device? Maybe another device coming to Verizon?

Droid Bionic Rule All Machines campaign revealed

Dustin Earley — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 20:02:19 +0000

Yesterday, when a new video popped up online showing the Droid Bionic’s boot animation, we mentioned a leaked and pulled advertisement for the device that featured the tagline “Rule All Machines.” Thanks to DroidLife, we can now get a good look at that ad, as they’ve been kind enough to post the video on YouTube for all to see.

As with most Motorola Droid campaign teasers, no real information has been revealed. By now though, most anyone who cares about the Bionic has had plenty of time to memorize what we already know. LTE compatibility, 4.3-inch qHD display, Omap dual-core processor, 8MP camera with full 1080 video record, HDMI mirroring, front-facing camera, Webtop support… Sounds familiar, right?

Clearly, Motorola isn’t messing around with the ad campaign behind the Bionic. And why would they? This phone is huge for Motorola. Possibly the biggest release of the year. They need to make it count.

Only two more weeks until we finally get to see the Bionic in action. Are you ready?