Tried out Galaxy Nexus and still loving Razr

[WestOkid]

I went by the Verizon Store today to play around with the Galaxy Nexus. I thought I would be blown away by the "phone of phones". The fact is I was unimpressed. I am not some moto fanboy. In fact, I don't care about brands. I went with an open mind to checkout the next big thing. Here are my thoughts:

• Performance - There is no discernible difference in performance. They are both fast.
• Style - Blah. In fact, the phone has no style - The Razr may not be for everyone, but it is by no means nondescript. The Galaxy Nexus is just that; nondescript. It is a bigger Nexus S. You will have to explain to all non android fanboys why this phone is special. Conversely, the first day I had the Razr at work several people commented about how sleek it was and a couple of women called it sexy including my wife. She has an iPhone 4 and used to laugh at my HTC Tbolt.
• Screen - It is better than the Razr and clearly bigger. No arguments. That said, I had to hold them together to really tell. The pixel count helps the Nexus a lot. However, the screen size is not realized most of the time because a significant portion is dedicated to navigation buttons. In fact, I would say you are back to 4:3 when you are not watching movies.
• The Camera - Nothing special and it is only 5MP. The Zero shutter gimmick appears to be nothing more than the camera running in fixed focus mode. 1 out of 5 pictures taken quickly will look sharp. The camera may actually be worse than Razr's. (BTW - Its the software. Get Camera 360 to fixes most Razr camera issues)
• Interface - I really don't thing I like the soft navigation buttons. It may be because I am not used to them. Many one step functions have become two, while nothing is quicker. Stock Android is still clumsy. Maybe not for anyone who uses this site, but this is not a polished experience. Give me my Razr + Go Launcher Ex any day of the week.
• Functions - this is where I am really confused. Everyone acts like there are revolutionary functions. I am lost because there was very little I found on this phone that I don't already have.
  • ICS has lock screen has immediate access to camera - so does the hated blur.
  • ICS has panoramic camera that allows you to move across your subject without multiple shutter pressing. - so does the dreaded blur.
  • ICS has notifications that allow you to remove individual notifications. so does the despised blur.
  • I like the improvements to voice actions. the auto stop is gone, so you can speak forever.
  • The hardware acceleration is subtle, but nice. It makes android have that smooth iPhone feel while navigating the interface. (can't wait for this)
  • The Keyboard is not better than swipe or swiftkey, it's just better than stock android which sucks.
  • Most other functions from the face recognition unlock, to the swiping away of notifications and apps, seem like gimmicks with no real-world benefits. Where as Smart Actions and Motocast are already a part of my life.
• Having the replaceable battery is nice. I also noticed that the auto brightness on this thing is overboard. No doubt everyone will talk about how long the battery lasts. Moto should have employed this strategy.
• It has no SD slot. This really sucks. For me 16 gig is not enough for my music, pictures and apps. (I don't have an unlimited plan, so the cloud will not suffice)
• Lastly - The phone feels so unbelievably cheap. It is like a cheesy plastic toy, not high end at all. I know this is not a representation of the internal hardware, because we know that it is impressive, but I can't stand cheap felling electronics!.

In the end, there is no way I would buy the Galaxy Nexus over the Razr.

 

[713King]

This is what the second thread or more of the same type of thread but by different users each time lol

 

[Wopback]

Nice review!!! Its all about preference...for me, no HDMI, no SD card....and plastic????? Its like having a Corvette engine in a ford focus...I want the whole car!!!!! Hahahahaha

Sent from my DROID RAZR using DroidForums

 

[jroc]

Bottom line:

If you have any of the recent phones and are not having any problems, they all are good choices. If you have phones from last year....these current phones might blow your mind.

I saw a Bionic, spent time with it...and the screen is no where near as bad as some ppl make it. Really no speed difference between it and my RAZR.

 

[Lars]

I want to preface this by saying, like the OP, I have no brand preference. I simply want a phone that will perform as designed for the next two years until I upgrade again.

Just back from Verizon and I am actually still quite on the fence between the Nexus and Razr. I won't post a giant Pro/Con list as I only spent 15-20 minutes tinkering with the Nexus and that's not near enough time to make an accurate list, but I can say that the build quality wasn't near as poor as I was anticipating. Granted, the battery cover was starting to come off due to the security device, but the rest of the phone felt pretty solid. The screen looked great, but wasn't far superior to the Razr (which I think also looks great). I snapped some pictures with the camera and I liked the speed, but honestly, when I use my phone I am not trying to take rapid fire pictures (that's what a dSLR is for). As for picture quality, right in-line with the Razr; nice, but still not an iPhone camera. I also noticed that the Nexus was smooth, but there was more than one occasion where it would stutter during transitions. This may be due to this being a display phone that was highly tinkered with yesterday, but still a bit concerning. Albeit, my Razr will also stutter occasionally, but nothing until I started downloading all my apps. Lastly, ICS was awesome; no question about it. We've all seen the videos and there is nothing more I can add that hasn't already been said.

I think the question is: How much do I want ICS now, and do I feel like having another device that might require some TLC? What I mean by that, I loved messing with my OG Droid and switching ROMs and making it my own, but things in my life have changed, and I don't know I have the time for that again. Blur is fantastic as-is and I don't see myself needing to change anything. If I do get that itch, I can always switch for a home launcher. While not the same, it should give me the change I want.

Bottom Line: I think both devices are great. The Razr is great as-is and (IMO) matches the Nexus feature for feature. The Nexus is great for the modding community and anyone who simply wants good 'ol vanilla ICS. I'm still not ruling out a switch to the Nexus, but it might be based on the early changes made by the developers.

 

[OneTenderRebel]

There is no definitive answer to which phone is "better" it's all personal preference.

 

[Androidatic]

There is no definitive answer to which phone is "better" it's all personal preference.

Ding, Ding, Ding, we have a winner! Both have advantages and disadvantages.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk

 

[lanza_david]

How is the Razr screen in sunlight compared to the Bionic?

Sent from my DROID BIONIC using DroidForums

 

[JP 5.56]

I just got back from VZW. I went to see this fabled phone in action. For those of you maybe interested in a one word review of the Galaxy Nexus I offer: underwhelming.

If you want more than one word: The only thing I saw on that phone that I really had to have was the shutter speed. The pictures themselves were poor compared to what I can get with the RAZR. It felt like a toy to me. The back battery cover on the display model was already cracked. The lag time between portrait and landscape mode was horrible. ICS itself didn't even impress me.

Oh and those new buttons? They really aren't any different than the old android buttons. Theres one less and instead of being below the screen they are taking up screen realestate. You can't do anything else with that space when the buttons aren't present. Whoopdidoo.

 

[droid2drummer]

I just got back from VZW. I went to see this fabled phone in action. For those of you maybe interested in a one word review of the Galaxy Nexus I offer: underwhelming.

If you want more than one word: The only thing I saw on that phone that I really had to have was the shutter speed. The pictures themselves were poor compared to what I can get with the RAZR. It felt like a toy to me. The back battery cover on the display model was already cracked. The lag time between portrait and landscape mode was horrible. ICS itself didn't even impress me.

Oh and those new buttons? They really aren't any different than the old android buttons. Theres one less and instead of being below the screen they are taking up screen realestate. You can't do anything else with that space when the buttons aren't present. Whoopdidoo.

I am waiting for the market to flood. They will be a dime a dozen. All carriers will have them. I'm going prepaid with it just for the sake of my collection. I keep all flag ships.. but this one has two things I want and ics isn't one..The full HD and Open source. However, this Gnex doesn't get my blood flowing like the Razr..and most that know me, know I'm not the kind of guy to rag nor hype a device only because I want it or have it.

Quite Sharp indeed....
Motorola Droid Razor...
Peace!

 

[RETG]

I just got back from VZW. I went to see this fabled phone in action. For those of you maybe interested in a one word review of the Galaxy Nexus I offer: underwhelming.

My feelings exactly...."underwhelming."

Reading the hype and some of the posts, I was expecting to see a halo over the phone and a sign stating the 'God' phone has arrived.
Better build quality than the Fascinate, so I give that to Samsung. And I swear the rep told me it had 32 GB of memory, but then my memory is not as good as it used to be so I might be mistaken.
But if I was going to pick a phone today, it would be the Razr, do to the belief it is built stronger.
As for ICS? Big deal. GB is good enough for me.

But, I have been able to get an upgrade since Oct, but in no hurry. Want to read more info on the three top phones at Verizon: Razr, Nexus, Rezound, and who knows, when I decide to jump the Maxx may be released.

 

[Androidatic]

My feelings exactly...."underwhelming."

Reading the hype and some of the posts, I was expecting to see a halo over the phone and a sign stating the 'God' phone has arrived.
Better build quality than the Fascinate, so I give that to Samsung. And I swear the rep told me it had 32 GB of memory, but then my memory is not as good as it used to be so I might be mistaken.
But if I was going to pick a phone today, it would be the Razr, do to the belief it is built stronger.
As for ICS? Big deal. GB is good enough for me.

But, I have been able to get an upgrade since Oct, but in no hurry. Want to read more info on the three top phones at Verizon: Razr, Nexus, Rezound, and who knows, when I decide to jump the Maxx may be released.

I highly recommend staying away from HTC phones. They are like bricks, Sense generally bogs their phones down and HTC takes forever to fix bugs and update their OS.

Yes, I have lived with an Eris for 3 months then the Incredible for the last 18 or so months.

On the plus side they have nice cameras.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk

 

[Icyhot1966]

Yanno, I want impressed with the camera on the Rezound when I had it. The RAZR is pretty damn good though. And I've NEVER liked Moto's cameras.

 

[droid2drummer]

I agree.. but I own several htc's and one is an Eris. Still brand new. In fact the image has Never booted..lol but I'm going to fix it. Anyway I gave my son my Incredible last year. So I can stand firm and say that phone was a solid performer and to this day its speaker is blown a bit but other than that its badass for HTC. They do make decent devices but Verizon like most other phones bloat them down and people never get to experience its true form without root.( that goes for most all phones and carriers) lol...But I have to say among all my phones the Razr is my favorite. Not because its new or mine but performance looks and out of box experience makes me smile. Not one issue so far. Although its my second. I'm buying a Google nexus next month if i don't wind up trading two older devices for one. As i have had offers. Like I have posted before the nexus was my favorite anticipated Device until the Razr was thrown in the mix. From my experience with hacking and Modding and just plain loving android and tech, I would have to leave the choice of the two up to the individual. To the everyday user the Razr by all means. And even the Razr being owned by Google should not and will not fall much further behind the nexus..anyway if your an advanced user like many of us in the forums my advice would mainly be get the nexus but then again i have a Razr..so even though I'm still getting the Gnex, it will be because I like all android phones as each have their pros and cons and I like knowing I have it all...lol peace and oh yeah. I do wish I had a slide out QWERTY on this rig.lol I suck with typing compared to my d2..I am a very fast texter and don't use swipe...maybe I should practice more....

Quite Sharp indeed....
Motorola Droid Razor...
Peace!

 

[pc747]

I went by the Verizon Store today to play around with the Galaxy Nexus. I thought I would be blown away by the "phone of phones". The fact is I was unimpressed. I am not some moto fanboy. In fact, I don't care about brands. I went with an open mind to checkout the next big thing. Here are my thoughts:

• Performance - There is no discernible difference in performance. They are both fast.
• Style - Blah. In fact, the phone has no style - The Razr may not be for everyone, but it is by no means nondescript. The Galaxy Nexus is just that; nondescript. It is a bigger Nexus S. You will have to explain to all non android fanboys why this phone is special. Conversely, the first day I had the Razr at work several people commented about how sleek it was and a couple of women called it sexy including my wife. She has an iPhone 4 and used to laugh at my HTC Tbolt.
• Screen - It is better than the Razr and clearly bigger. No arguments. That said, I had to hold them together to really tell. The pixel count helps the Nexus a lot. However, the screen size is not realized most of the time because a significant portion is dedicated to navigation buttons. In fact, I would say you are back to 4:3 when you are not watching movies.
• The Camera - Nothing special and it is only 5MP. The Zero shutter gimmick appears to be nothing more than the camera running in fixed focus mode. 1 out of 5 pictures taken quickly will look sharp. The camera may actually be worse than Razr's. (BTW - Its the software. Get Camera 360 to fixes most Razr camera issues)
• Interface - I really don't thing I like the soft navigation buttons. It may be because I am not used to them. Many one step functions have become two, while nothing is quicker. Stock Android is still clumsy. Maybe not for anyone who uses this site, but this is not a polished experience. Give me my Razr + Go Launcher Ex any day of the week.
• Functions - this is where I am really confused. Everyone acts like there are revolutionary functions. I am lost because there was very little I found on this phone that I don't already have.
  • ICS has lock screen has immediate access to camera - so does the hated blur.
  • ICS has panoramic camera that allows you to move across your subject without multiple shutter pressing. - so does the dreaded blur.
  • ICS has notifications that allow you to remove individual notifications. so does the despised blur.
  • I like the improvements to voice actions. the auto stop is gone, so you can speak forever.
  • The hardware acceleration is subtle, but nice. It makes android have that smooth iPhone feel while navigating the interface. (can't wait for this)
  • The Keyboard is not better than swipe or swiftkey, it's just better than stock android which sucks.
  • Most other functions from the face recognition unlock, to the swiping away of notifications and apps, seem like gimmicks with no real-world benefits. Where as Smart Actions and Motocast are already a part of my life.
• Having the replaceable battery is nice. I also noticed that the auto brightness on this thing is overboard. No doubt everyone will talk about how long the battery lasts. Moto should have employed this strategy.
• It has no SD slot. This really sucks. For me 16 gig is not enough for my music, pictures and apps. (I don't have an unlimited plan, so the cloud will not suffice)
• Lastly - The phone feels so unbelievably cheap. It is like a cheesy plastic toy, not high end at all. I know this is not a representation of the internal hardware, because we know that it is impressive, but I can't stand cheap felling electronics!.

In the end, there is no way I would buy the Galaxy Nexus over the Razr.

The nexus isnt for every one. Not every one want or care about plain old vanilla android. So if the nexus wasnt your cup of tea and you like the razr that do not make you any less of and android fan. Its about choice, and right now we have options to fit to what ever a person prefers .