How is the Razr Maxx in the sun?

[trueangla]

I have a Bionic now which isnt too bad in the sun. Im thinking of upgrading to the maxx before deadline but heard its hard to see in direct sun light. Any thoughts?

 

[irish4778]

I don't know who said its hard to see in the sun I've had my RAZR Max since the first day it came out and I use it in the sun all the time and k can see the screen perfectly no problems at all

 

[94lt1]

It depends on your screen brightness. If you have it on auto, its fine.

DROID RAZR MAXXIMIZED!!!! PREPARE TO BE VANQUISHED!!!

 

[bsweetness]

I'm not sure where you heard that it's difficult to see. It's widely regarded a one of the best outdoors. With the brightness up, the RAZR/MAXX has the best outdoor visibility of any smartphone I've had. Don't expect miracles from it as any current smartphone screen technology has severe limitations in the sun, but the RAZR/MAXX is the best I've seen. It's definitely a step up from the Bionic.

 

[rdgxray]

Not to contradict what everyone else is saying, but I had the bionic and you could see the screen anywhere...bright noontime sun directly on screen ...no problem ...in stores with bright lights...easy to see and read from a distance. I have had several phones with amoled and super amoled screens and they all are basically terrible in direct sunlight. You can see the screen in bright sun if you turn brightness all the way up. Automatic screen brightness adjust it some but not enough. I walk outside a lot, sometimes in shade or sun or switching. I text or look at phone occasionally for most of the walk. In shade or indirect sun you can use it. As soon as bright sun hits directly on screen, you cannot see it. Have to cup your hand around it or get in shade. Every amoled phone I have had has been this way. I am not slamming on the RAZR/MAXX. I have the maxx and love it, but the bionics screen in direct sunlight is much easier to see. These are my opinions from personal experience , I have done no scientific tests. I was always amazed how easy the bionic's screen was to see. When I got the RAZR immediately noticed it was harder to see everywhere. If you turn brightness up fixes the problem but then reduces battery life. Amoled screens draw a lot of power so many people turn the brightness down to conserve power. The amoled screens have vibrant colors and other features that make them my 1st choice for my screen, but they come with a few trade offs. I went and walked outside to double check this post and with automatic brightness on, it didn't do half bad. I read the forums in and out of bright noontime sun. Played some angry birds, texted and looked at family photos it did alright. You lose some detail and colors but was able to operate phone without having to adjust brightness. Pictures were the hardest to see, low contrast between hair color and background made differentiation difficult. The bionic would have looked great doing everything. RAZR works in bright sun, just undesirable to do for long periods. If you have it on dash with maps up in direct sun, your gonna struggle some to see it. Razr maxx is still best phone I have ever owned.

 

[bsweetness]

Not to contradict what everyone else is saying, but I had the bionic and you could see the screen anywhere...bright noontime sun directly on screen ...no problem ...in stores with bright lights...easy to see and read from a distance. I have had several phones with amoled and super amoled screens and they all are basically terrible in direct sunlight. You can see the screen in bright sun if you turn brightness all the way up. Automatic screen brightness adjust it some but not enough. I walk outside a lot, sometimes in shade or sun or switching. I text or look at phone occasionally for most of the walk. In shade or indirect sun you can use it. As soon as bright sun hits directly on screen, you cannot see it. Have to cup your hand around it or get in shade. Every amoled phone I have had has been this way. I am not slamming on the RAZR/MAXX. I have the maxx and love it, but the bionics screen in direct sunlight is much easier to see. These are my opinions from personal experience , I have done no scientific tests. I was always amazed how easy the bionic's screen was to see. When I got the RAZR immediately noticed it was harder to see everywhere. If you turn brightness up fixes the problem but then reduces battery life. Amoled screens draw a lot of power so many people turn the brightness down to conserve power. The amoled screens have vibrant colors and other features that make them my 1st choice for my screen, but they come with a few trade offs.

My experience is exactly the opposite. I have to turn the brightness all the way up on the Bionic to be able to comfortably see it outside. With the MAXX, I can see it easily with the brightness turned down a bit.

And the Super Amoled Advanced panel in the RAZR/MAXX is supposed to be more energy efficient than the panel in terms Bionic, which is why Motorola decided to use it for the RAZR. I've found it to use less battery than the display in the Bionic.

 

[rdgxray]

Thank you for pushing me to do some research bsweetness! Bionic standard battery is 1735 mAh...there are several articles online...one from cnet about how it has surprising good battery life...RAZR standard battery is 1780 mAh...not bigger than bionic by much ...just a little...RAZR was found to have poor battery life...why? Bionic and RAZR are very similar besides the screen ...RAZR battery life received so much attention, Motorola made a new RAZR with a bigger 3300 mAh battery ...which basically makes all complaints of poor battery life go away...the amoled screen takes a lot of power to display whites...unfortunately many webpages and apps use white or partially white backgrounds ...serious power loss you can not do a lot about ...google black is one exception...I saw articles about how amoled screens take less power than other screens...they must be referring to blacks or dark colors ...they do take very little energy to display on amoled screens...screen is completely black when not energized..so blacks take almost no energy to display...I had a RAZR and could all most kill the battery in 2 hrs of playing angry birds, surfing bright webpages and other stuff. Usually I can make it last almost a full work day if I use it sparingly. The maxx is very different. I recommend both phones if RAZR is on sale for $50 or less get it. I personally would spend the extra cash and get the maxx. I am not an expert on the hardware changes from the bionic to RAZR, but have understood they are very similar...slightly faster dual core in RAZR ...if there is something else different in RAZR that can explain poor battery life other than the screen, please let me know what it is. Maybe the screen reportedly taking less energy was why they changed screens for RAZR, but I read technical reports on how Motorola made this amazingly thin phone. They reported Motorola had to use this screen because it was much thinner than bionic's screen due to no back light being necessary.

 

[mysticalmalissa]

Compared to my Rezound, the Maxx in the sun is true paradise, I can actually see it!

 

[Garemlin]

I have a real hard time seeing my Maxx screen in sunlight. If outside I always have to find a shady area or put the sun to my back. My Bionic was much easier to see in direct sunlight.

 

[Caesars]

In direct sunlight I can see the maxx, I wouldnt say it's easy for me though. The thing I hate the most is the standard text app lol, the color backround/text color makes it hard to see in the sun lol.

 

[zomnomnombie]

I always have my phone on auto brightness and it has never been an issue. On lower brightness levels the screen does become somewhat of an issue.

 

[Ophus]

I had the Bionic since the day it came out. I could read it under mid day sun with my sunglasses on, very easily. I have the MAXX now, it works ok in direct sunlight, if I take my sunglasses off. It's no match on screen brightness, but It's adequate.

 

[brad92]

The Bionic is way easier to read in direct sunlight. With the Razr, you need to crank up the brightness just to see...

 

[diablo81588]

The bionic's screen is considerably brighter than the OLED in the RAZR. That's not to say that the screen is better, but the pentile LCD is known for having great outdoor visibility.

Sent from my DROID BIONIC using Tapatalk 2

 

[diablo81588]

My experience is exactly the opposite. I have to turn the brightness all the way up on the Bionic to be able to comfortably see it outside. With the MAXX, I can see it easily with the brightness turned down a bit.

And the Super Amoled Advanced panel in the RAZR/MAXX is supposed to be more energy efficient than the panel in terms Bionic, which is why Motorola decided to use it for the RAZR. I've found it to use less battery than the display in the Bionic.

Dude your way off. The reason moto used an AMOLED in the RAZR is because they are so thin. They don't require a backlight, as they emit their own, meaning thinner panels. It had absolutely nothing to do with power efficiency. The screen in the bionic is the most efficient screen on the market because it is RGBW pentile. This means that it has a white sub pixel, so the screen can display white without solely relying on the backlight. The backlight can remain at a lower level and still produce the same output as a typical RGB screen. Also, it gives you unmatched brightness levels for visibility in direct sunlight. OLED is great for deep black levels and excellent contrast ratios, but when it comes to power efficiency, it's not one of their strong suits.

Sent from my DROID BIONIC using Tapatalk 2