Just picked up a Razr M - It's... very nice.

[jntdroid]

Had an upgrade burning a hole in my pocket since we came back to Verizon. I have a Nexus 7, so the idea of a giant superphone (i.e. something like the S3 [which I love] or the Maxx HD [loved the Maxx, too]) is not as appealing any more since I can hotspot to my N7 to do most of my larger screen "needs". So when the M was announced, I was pretty intrigued. Best Buy actually gave me $101 for my used Bionic with the charger (it was spotless), so it was conceptually free.

Anyway, a few quick notes...

• Form factor is very nice. I'll admit it feels small in the hand after coming from previous phones, but it feels great nonetheless, and I'm sure that's a matter of simply being used to the larger devices.
• The screen is exactly what you'd expect - it's identical to the Razr and Razr Maxx. It looks very nice, but it's not an HD screen.
• UI - it's awesome. The newest blur is even less intrusive than blur on ICS for the Razr/Maxx/Bionic. No more bulky, slow, stock Motorola photo gallery. It's almost identical to the AOSP gallery. Other areas feel very smooth and snappy, similar to the Gnex when it first came out on 4.0+. I'm sure it's partially due to the S4 processor and new gpu as well. It will be awesome on Jelly Bean in a few months (hopefully they live up to that...). It definitely has a smoother/snappier feel than the Razr/Maxx, not that they're bad by any means, but you can feel the better processor.
• The camera is ok - if you aren't using the flash, it's solid, especially if you have a steady hand. If you have to use the flash, well, it's a Moto camera.
• Root Access - I'm tempted to try one of the current moto root methods (like Motofail) to root it, but don't want to screw anything up either... feel free to add any advice if you have it!

Dislikes:

• The external sd card is under /mnt/external1 - I don't think any app will look there for it automatically

Overall it's about what I expected - very solid and simply a nice device with awesome specs - and most of the reviews I've read on it were pretty spot on.

 

[justin82]

Glad you like it i have an upgrade coming but i hate to loose my unlimeted data

 

[geoff5093]

Glad you like it i have an upgrade coming but i hate to loose my unlimeted data

Same, looks like I'll have to pay full retail

 

[jntdroid]

Yeah I lost mine a long time ago, so it doesn't even factor in to my decisions any more :mellow:

 

[liftedplane]

I just tried to move my upgrade from my unlimited line to one of my non unlimited online and then when i tried to checkout it told me unlimited was no longer available. It was at least worth a shot.

Sent from my frozenly delicious bionic.

 

[smuckers]

I am eligible for an upgrade next week and am trying to decide between the m and the s3...I'm leaning toward the m but am concerned about the battery life being that it is not removable..can you let us know in a few days how long the battery lasts and under what type of usage.. Thx.

 

[jntdroid]

I am eligible for an upgrade next week and am trying to decide between the m and the s3...I'm leaning toward the m but am concerned about the battery life being that it is not removable..can you let us know in a few days how long the battery lasts and under what type of usage.. Thx.

Sure - for what it's worth, battery life should be as good, if not better, than the S3. It's only 100mah less and has a smaller, more battery friendly screen, and a better antenna/radio. Reviews so far are saying it gets great life. I think the three big contrasts between this and the S3 are screen size, screen resolution, and camera. This camera isn't bad, but it's no HTC, iPhone, or S3. Moto needs to focus on their cameras in the next go-around.

I thought this review was good:

Motorola DROID RAZR M Review: This Is What Budget Phones Are Like Now? Where Do I Sign Up?

He's wrong about the gallery thumbnail, at least in my experience so far, it hasn't been a problem.

 

[smuckers]

That's good to hear.. Well coming from a dx with an extended battery (1900 mah) I was thinking it would be roughly the same if not a little better ... Screen size and camera are not to big of a deal to me.. Thanks, I'm going to stop up and see if they have any working displays thus weekend

 

[SteveIrv]

I was a little "worried" about losing our unlimited data too. The with some checking I found the wife and I together were averaging about .09GB of data each month. I'm retired, my phones are mostly on wifi.....she's still working but found streaming music, etc. While she worked left her with a dead battery by lunch time...so....

What we had even more in mind was that our old calling plan had us sharing 700 minutes a month and a couple weeks ago we FINALLY had our land line at home yanked out (saved us $50 a month). So....the unlimited talk on the new plan was more valuable to us that unlimited data.

I still plugged us into a 4GB a month plan though. If we go on vacation and need more to tether a netbook or a tablet....I can always call in and have it bumped up for a month. And now...no more $20 a month fee for tethering.

The new share everything plan (with my discounts for being on an old government contract, even though I'm retired) is about $.75 a month cheaper than the family plan we were on.

 

[tjk629]

No more bulky, slow, stock Motorola photo gallery.

Thank god. I don't know how it was on the Razr but it was awful on the Bionic. Since day one (even on ICS) it lags on zooming. Been using QuickPic for over a year now.

 

[liftedplane]

I was a little "worried" about losing our unlimited data too. The with some checking I found the wife and I together were averaging about .09GB of data each month. I'm retired, my phones are mostly on wifi.....she's still working but found streaming music, etc. While she worked left her with a dead battery by lunch time...so....

What we had even more in mind was that our old calling plan had us sharing 700 minutes a month and a couple weeks ago we FINALLY had our land line at home yanked out (saved us $50 a month). So....the unlimited talk on the new plan was more valuable to us that unlimited data.

I still plugged us into a 4GB a month plan though. If we go on vacation and need more to tether a netbook or a tablet....I can always call in and have it bumped up for a month. And now...no more $20 a month fee for tethering.

The new share everything plan (with my discounts for being on an old government contract, even though I'm retired) is about $.75 a month cheaper than the family plan we were on.

Awesome that it works for you. I really wish tiered data would save me money but it won't. My line averages over the Gigs per month and my second line that my daughter gas had for the weeks has already hit over 2 watching Netflix and YouTube videos... So I'm screwed and cannot upgrade my two unlimited lines without getting at least 4gb. Thanks Verizon you jerks.

It's nice to know not everyone is getting screwed though

Sent from my frozenly delicious bionic.

 

[xmguy]

I was told by Verizon that if you use an alternate upgrade. Say from a second of 2 family lines then you CAN keep unlimited data. If you use your OWN upgrade or have a single line you would have to change to share everything or tiered data. That's what I'm gonna try.

Sent from my Motorola (Droid) Bionic... out in the boonies of TN while picking on a guitar!

 

[Garemlin]

Thanks for the feedback jnt. Sounds like this is essentially a little bit zippier Razr with a new UI and smaller form factor. Should be a good upgrade for those wanting a little bigger screen but smaller footprint.

 

[jntdroid]

Thanks for the feedback jnt. Sounds like this is essentially a little bit zippier Razr with a new UI and smaller form factor. Should be a good upgrade for those wanting a little bigger screen but smaller footprint.

That pretty much nails it on the head. Though I will say the more I used it, the more I think the Razr/Maxx camera might actually be a little better, or at least more consistent.

 

[SteveIrv]

I was told by Verizon that if you use an alternate upgrade. Say from a second of 2 family lines then you CAN keep unlimited data. If you use your OWN upgrade or have a single line you would have to change to share everything or tiered data. That's what I'm gonna try.

Sent from my Motorola (Droid) Bionic... out in the boonies of TN while picking on a guitar!

Hmmm....I've been told that Verizon doesn't mind letting you keep your unlimited data plan, if you don't mind paying full retail rice for new phones.

I asked about keeping my unlimited plan and Verizon told me, no problem...the new Razr M you want will only cost you $549 (only $1098 for the two phones I was ordering). I decided to pay $149 for TWO Razr M's and to update my plan to one of the share everything plans with a data cap.