This or the Razr Maxx

[Sharrock]

So Verizon is actually being cool and letting me upgrade my phone a month early because my crappy iPhone 4 is dying and I'm sick of it. The SIII looks awesome, but the Razr Maxx has some big pluses like the huge battery and the protective features like kevlar.

How is the battery life with the SIII? Is it good enough to overlook the Razr Maxx?

 

[music life]

i get over 20 hours every day. actually today I got to about 1d 6h with about 15% left.

 

[Dukins]

The battery was a huge selling point with the Maxx, but all the other features on the s3 far outweigh the battery life on the Maxx. I get a full day out of the s3. Why not just wait for the Maxx HD? You can get an extra battery for the s3 or extended battery.

 

[Redsnk95]

It's pretty apparent that the OP doesn't want to wait and wants to get his available upgrade now.

I've never used the S3, so I have no basis of comparison. I don't see how you could go wrong either phone. I've always had Motorola phones, and never had any issues. The S3 is more likely to get updates before the Razr Maxx...not sure if that matters to you or not.

 

[MailboxHead]

My original plan was to hold out for the Razr Maxx HD, and I followed all the rumors all summer. Then I saw one that said they were putting a mid-sized battery in, it wasn't going to have a 13 MP camera, and by the end of August there still wasn't a release date on it. Since my priorities were 1.) battery and 2.) camera, I was pretty disappointed. So I got the S3 a few days before Sept 5 figuring I could return it if all the rumors were wrong and the Razr HD did come in a Maxx or had a great camera and wait for it to be released. But honestly, even when they DID announce a Maxx, I decided to keep the S3. I'm not a fan of the huge phones (I have an Incredible 2 for my work phone and while I know a lot of people will disagree, I do think there is something to the width of the 4" phones), but the S3 doesn't feel like a huge phone in my hand. The Razr's all feel clunky when I hold them and have no sleekness. Plus, well, I really like having a white phone too .

My top priorities were camera and battery - I'm doing great with the battery. Yesterday I pretty much read a book all day so the screen was on, did some emails and surfing, was at 38% after 15-16 hours unplugged. I use the battery saver option, make sure that GPS is off but do leave haptic feedback and bluetooth on. I also try and use wifi at work. And the camera is GREAT. I really love how easy it is to adjust the settings on. Still not a fan of the physical home screen button, but I'm slowly tolerating it better and better. Were it not for that button, this would be, IMO, the perfect phone.

Someone also mentioned updates - another selling point for me was that my friends with S2's had had ICS for months, and there I was like a chump on my TBolt with no idea if or when I'd ever get ICS. Given that this phone is on all carriers and Samsung has sold a ton of them, I think it's safe to bet that they're going to support it for a long time (well, long in the world of smartphones).

That said - all my friends with Razr's love their Razr's. I think you can't go wrong really, it's more a matter of going from happy to glad and you just have to decide what you want. Go to the store and see what feels good in your hand. I don't think battery life is really an issue given the good performance people are getting on GS3, plus you can always get an extended or spare battery if needed. And as one person pointed out when I was going through this debate - when your Maxx battery is dead, it's DEAD and you're stuck. With the GS3 at least you can swap it out for a fresh one. Okay, so can't help myself, I'm GS3 biased, but hey, this is a GS3 forum.

 

[RazorbackFan]

My original plan was to hold out for the Razr Maxx HD, and I followed all the rumors all summer. Then I saw one that said they were putting a mid-sized battery in, it wasn't going to have a 13 MP camera, and by the end of August there still wasn't a release date on it. Since my priorities were 1.) battery and 2.) camera, I was pretty disappointed. So I got the S3 a few days before Sept 5 figuring I could return it if all the rumors were wrong and the Razr HD did come in a Maxx or had a great camera and wait for it to be released. But honestly, even when they DID announce a Maxx, I decided to keep the S3. I'm not a fan of the huge phones (I have an Incredible 2 for my work phone and while I know a lot of people will disagree, I do think there is something to the width of the 4" phones), but the S3 doesn't feel like a huge phone in my hand. The Razr's all feel clunky when I hold them and have no sleekness. Plus, well, I really like having a white phone too .

My top priorities were camera and battery - I'm doing great with the battery. Yesterday I pretty much read a book all day so the screen was on, did some emails and surfing, was at 38% after 15-16 hours unplugged. I use the battery saver option, make sure that GPS is off but do leave haptic feedback and bluetooth on. I also try and use wifi at work. And the camera is GREAT. I really love how easy it is to adjust the settings on. Still not a fan of the physical home screen button, but I'm slowly tolerating it better and better. Were it not for that button, this would be, IMO, the perfect phone.

Someone also mentioned updates - another selling point for me was that my friends with S2's had had ICS for months, and there I was like a chump on my TBolt with no idea if or when I'd ever get ICS. Given that this phone is on all carriers and Samsung has sold a ton of them, I think it's safe to bet that they're going to support it for a long time (well, long in the world of smartphones).

That said - all my friends with Razr's love their Razr's. I think you can't go wrong really, it's more a matter of going from happy to glad and you just have to decide what you want. Go to the store and see what feels good in your hand. I don't think battery life is really an issue given the good performance people are getting on GS3, plus you can always get an extended or spare battery if needed. And as one person pointed out when I was going through this debate - when your Maxx battery is dead, it's DEAD and you're stuck. With the GS3 at least you can swap it out for a fresh one. Okay, so can't help myself, I'm GS3 biased, but hey, this is a GS3 forum.

Very Very good post Mailbox! I too had the exact same issue switching from my iPhone 4S. I was previously waiting for the new Razr MAXX HD, but after hearing of all the delays in antenna issues I decided that my choices were between the current Razr MAXX and the Galaxy S3. The guy at the Verizon store really pushed me towards the GS3 even though I was really set on the Razr MAXX ( I have 3 friends using the Razr MAXX and really like the look and feel of it). At first I thought it was HUGE, but then I started getting used to it. Camera and battery were the most important factors. The camera is second to none on the SG3, while on the Razr it's not as good. As Mailbox pointed out, the battery is actually pretty "good", not great. It will get you through a whole day as long as you arent using the phone as a computer all day viewing websites and using the screen constantly. If you will be on the phone constantly, then the MAXX might be a better way to go. Another factor that seems to get overlooked is the UI. On the Razr phones you have Motoblur and on the GS3 you have Touchwiz. I'm not much of a fan of Touchwiz, though it is "prettier". I like the darkness and blue tones of Motorolas UI better personally. With that said, the SG3 is growing on me every hour. I've only had the SG3 for 3 days and so far I am still "looking" at the MAXX, and the new line of Razr phones, if they actually get released this year. But, I will more than likely stick with the SG3; it is extremely fast, good-looking and an overall great phone. As others have said, you really cant go wrong with either one.

 

[MailboxHead]

Another factor that seems to get overlooked is the UI. On the Razr phones you have Motoblur and on the GS3 you have Touchwiz. I'm not much of a fan of Touchwiz, though it is "prettier". I like the darkness and blue tones of Motorolas UI better personally. With that said, the SG3 is growing on me every hour.

Oh yeah - I had really wanted to get my hands on Motoblur. I had Moto's for years and really had wanted to go back to Moto's but it just wasn't in the cards this upgrade. Maybe next time after Woodside has had time to push Moto in a new direction and right the ship. I'm okay with Touchwiz though. I don't hate it, but I don't love it. I do think that Sammy put a lot of thought into their TouchWiz though, and as I get better at it I am so much faster on my phone than I was on my TBolt using Sense (though I miss my flip clock and alarm!).

I did forget to mention one drawback about the S3.... WORST STOCK SOUNDS EVER!!! Like seriously. It's ridiculous. Not even one of those ringtones was passable. First thing I did was get all my old ringtones and notifications from my TBolt and put them on the GS3. I mean, not that I expect stock ringtones to be great, but even the notifications made me want to chuck the phone across the room whenever they went off.

Okay, other than THAT it's a near perfect phone. :biggrin:

 

[music life]

I have to agree with the sounds. They are pathetic. I liked my teleport sound on my rooted X2. So i went to get an app that has tons of sounds called Zedge. Pretty cool app for anyone interested. Had my teleport notification sound :biggrin:

 

[Sharrock]

Thanks for the input. The two main factors for any phone purchase to me are battery and camera. I've heard less than thrilling reviews about the Maxx's camera, but the battery is amazing. The added durability built into it is also a big plus. I hate uglying up my phones with cases.

I know it's the better move to go with the SIII since it has an HD screen and better tech and specs, but really the build and battery of the Maxx is hard to ignore. Not worrying about lasting a full day would be nice....

 

[MailboxHead]

I know it's annoying, but have you considered getting the S3, seeing how it goes for 12 days, then on day 13 (just to be safe) if the battery isn't cutting it, exchange it for a Razr? Yeah, it's a huge pain customizing a phone twice (I had to exchange my S3 when I first got it for another one, and really sucked a lot of the excitement out of my new phone experience) AND you have to pay the $35 restock fee, BUT if you're going to have it for 2 years, $35 might be worth it to not keep thinking "I should have gotten that other one...."

I say this because I went through a similar situation - I made myself miserable thinking about what I missed out on because I didn't do my consumer due diligence. If you can, for $35 why not give it a shot, and if it's not working for you go to the Razr.

PS, sorry if I'm over posting, but this was my agony all summer so I really sympathize.

 

[Sharrock]

I thought about that, but really that might be a bigger pain than it has to be.

I think I'll go with the SIII. The bigger screen and features outweigh the battery of the Maxx. My area doesn't have LTE yet so would that help the battery?

 

[CaptainSS]

I have Both the Maxx and the S3. Camera and features (toys) on the S3 - Great. No contest. As for the battery, Yes the Maxx is a Battery leader BUT can I make it through Two(2) entire days of hard use ? No. So, that meant I charged it every night anyway. That is what I do with the S3 so where was the advantage?
I carry the S3 and the Maxx is in a drawer.

 

[IIIce]

Please beware though that if you DO go with the Galaxy S3, you should know there is an issue with the phones. This may sound like an odd request but you should take a towel with you, drape it over your head and ask to see the phone powered up. Download an app from the play market called "amoled test". Swipe your finger to left until you get the screen to be black. Now you should let your eyes adjust and scan the screen for black splotches. There is a problem currently with the amoled displays in the Galaxy S3 where black spots are appearing on a black back lit screen. This is happening on a number of devices, so I would make sure that the one you are getting does NOT have this issue.

 

[zomnomnombie]

Please beware though that if you DO go with the Galaxy S3, you should know there is an issue with the phones. This may sound like an odd request but you should take a towel with you, drape it over your head and ask to see the phone powered up. Download an app from the play market called "amoled test". Swipe your finger to left until you get the screen to be black. Now you should let your eyes adjust and scan the screen for black splotches. There is a problem currently with the amoled displays in the Galaxy S3 where black spots are appearing on a black back lit screen. This is happening on a number of devices, so I would make sure that the one you are getting does NOT have this issue.

The RAZR also has this.

 

[IIIce]

The RAZR also has this.

That is a real bummer,...for future reference we are referring to this now as "Spottergate" pass it on.