To those who picked up a MAXX HD, are you happy with it, or do you plan on returning it within the 14 day window? I want to love this phone, but I use the camera way too often to simply overlook the poor camera, which is a shame because everything else about this phone is awesome. I'll be checking out the Note 2 on T-Mobile to see if it's something I should consider, or perhaps the HTC DLX/DNA which looks pretty awesome.
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Keep MAXX HD or return?
- Thread starter geoff5093
- Start date
IDK - my experience with the Galaxy Nexus (was a great DEVICE, but a terrible PHONE - for me) has got me worried about getting another Samsung device! I have a home inspection business, so I rely on my device as a phone a lot! And I went from the GNex to the Razr Maxx and was extremely happy with it, so the jump to the Maxx HD just seemed to be a natural choice.
Also, I use the camera just as much as I do the phone (my inspection report software has a mobile app) ... and to be honest I think this camera gets beat up more then it should. While it's no where near top quality, it's no slouch either. I've taken pics in dark attics and crawl spaces and they all turn out decent enough for me to ship off in my reports to my clients.
The build quality, radio quality and superb battery life make the Maxx HD an easy choice for me. But, every one uses and has different needs for their device - this is why I love Android! Something for everyone!! :biggrin:
Also, I use the camera just as much as I do the phone (my inspection report software has a mobile app) ... and to be honest I think this camera gets beat up more then it should. While it's no where near top quality, it's no slouch either. I've taken pics in dark attics and crawl spaces and they all turn out decent enough for me to ship off in my reports to my clients.
The build quality, radio quality and superb battery life make the Maxx HD an easy choice for me. But, every one uses and has different needs for their device - this is why I love Android! Something for everyone!! :biggrin:
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Double post ...
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Try Camera Zoom FX, one of my favorite camera apps and really out does the stock camera on almost any phone. I love this phone (I have the HD) and even with out the MAXX battery, I still get awesome battery life.
Now, I feel like, since you have already experienced the battery life on this phone, you're going to have a hard time using something else as your daily driver. I really don't think there is a device out there now that rivals in battery life, and I really don't think the Note 2 will be able to compete in battery life. And HTC has always had bad battery life, maybe the new one will be different, who knows.
Try the the camera app above I suggested and see what ya think.
Seems to me you might have an issue. See if you can exchange. Should not shut down when playing music in car mode, mine doesn't.
BUA+ --> Go into settings, accounts, tap on BUA+ and uncheck the sync options. If you sync and create new contacts under your Google account this feature is redundant and will eat some battery when trying to sync.
Also, again under settings, tap on "More..." under "Data Usage" and under "Mobile Networks" -->> Network Mode change from the default Global to LTE/CDMA only and that should help with battery life.
Also watch the battery stats in the settings to see whats eating your battery. Its always possible you ended up with a defective unit.
I had similar issues with the Galaxy Nexus, and I told people the same thing - great device, terrible phone. I switched to the RAZR MAXX from the Nexus and was nothing but pleased.
But in July I ended up with a Galaxy S3, and I've got to say that I've been even more impressed with it than I was with the MAXX. I didn't expect that at all, and I was actually kind of dreading it because of my experience with the Nexus. But the reception on the S3 has been great. It's only slightly weaker than most of the Motorola devices I've owned by the numbers (although in real-world use, it's been right up there), and on par with most HTC devices I've had. The build quality gets unfairly knocked in my opinion. It doesn't feel like a tank like many Motorola devices, but that actually works to its advantage in a fall. The polycarbonate body affords more flex than a phone with a rigid body, which can help to absorb the impact. In many falls, the back cover will pop off or detach, which is also a way of dispersing the energy from the fall. So while it definitely feels cheap compared to a Motorola device, that doesn't mean that it's actually cheaply built. And of course the camera is way ahead on the S3 compared to the MAXX HD. In the right situation, the camera that Motorola uses can take pretty decent pictures, but it's far from consistent. The S3 consistently takes solid photos, and since the Note 2 has the same camera, it will as well.
I'm hopeful that much of what Samsung learned through improving the reception on the S3 will carry over to the Note 2, because I'll be switching to that as soon as it's available. I've been extremely surprised by the S3, so much so that after a few weeks with it, the MAXX HD completely fell off my radar as a possible future device. And now that the MAXX HD is out, that hasn't changed. The Note 2 will be next for me. But like you said, choice is one of the great things about Android, and there's lots of good choices.
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What model/make of car do you have. I ask because I had the same symptoms in my F150. Turns out when I was playing music with my phone's wifi turned on it would interfere with the bluetooth connection between the phone and my truck.
After reading the Note 2 review from Android Police, I'm thinking the best device for me is going to be the HTC DLX/DNA or whatever it's going to be called. I absolutely love the display and camera on the One X, and most likely this will be even better. I have to pay full retail, so I have a harder time settling on a phone, especially when my Thunderbolt is still working.
I have one more week with the MAXX HD, so hopefully by then we'll have some more news on the new HTC flagship.
I have one more week with the MAXX HD, so hopefully by then we'll have some more news on the new HTC flagship.
It really does depend on your needs / wants, like Yank said. The Moto camera can take good pics, but is inconsistent, but probably gets too much of a bad rap. Samsung devices, in my opinion, get too much of a bad rap for being "cheap" and having bad radios. Yeah it's plastic, but it's still a very tight feel, and like b said, there are advantages to that. The truth is always somewhere in the middle, with personal preferences affecting things more than we know.
That said... If the camera is the most important thing to you, at the expense of unreal battery life, then the S3 will probably suit you better. I'm not trying to sway you one way or another, but I've got a guy who wants to trade me (plus a little cash) his brand new S3 for my Maxx HD and I'm strongly considering it because the more I use it, the more I realize that the camera is one of the most important things for me as well. We're always snapping quick pics of our kids doing something funny, stupid, or whatever, and I simply can't trust the Maxx HD in those scenarios on a consistent basis (like I said in that other thread I think).
That said... If the camera is the most important thing to you, at the expense of unreal battery life, then the S3 will probably suit you better. I'm not trying to sway you one way or another, but I've got a guy who wants to trade me (plus a little cash) his brand new S3 for my Maxx HD and I'm strongly considering it because the more I use it, the more I realize that the camera is one of the most important things for me as well. We're always snapping quick pics of our kids doing something funny, stupid, or whatever, and I simply can't trust the Maxx HD in those scenarios on a consistent basis (like I said in that other thread I think).
I am hoping software can help the camera woes ... I remeber with the GNex, when I started flashing JB ROMS I noticed a difference in the camera. Hope we get the same with the Razrs
It seems like it should - b/c most of the problems I've run into are simply inconsistent behavior, which sure seems like a software thing.
Hopefully JB update fixes it as well. And yes, camera is all software, obvi you need the glass and hardware to capture the picture, but how the camera behaves, focuses, exposure, its almost all software. Lets hope.
Software can help to a certain degree, but it can't make up for the older, sub-par optics that Motorola is still using. Motorola was never really able to do much to improve the cameras on the RAZR/MAXX through software, so I wouldn't hold out too much hope for a lot of improvement in the future from them with the HD versions. There are several third-party camera apps that can help a bit though. I found Camera ICS+, HDR Camera+, and Camera Zoom FX to be three of the better options in the Play Store that all delivered images that were better than the stock app on my MAXX.
The camera on my phone is something that I use extensively for my job and in my personal life. I use the camera far more than I even make phone calls. So a solid camera is something that's really important to me. If Motorola were to release a 5" device with cutting edge specs and a camera that can compete with the ones put out by HTC and Samsung, I'd jump back to them in a heartbeat.
How it behaves is all software, but the quality of the images are really all about the sensor and the lens. Motorola is still using many of the same basic camera hardware components that they've been using since the Droid X. I guess they figure it's still "good enough," which I suppose is the case for many people, but they're falling way behind everyone else on a feature that's increasingly important to many.