Verizon Drops the New Droid Prices – DROID MAXX to $199, ULTRA to $99

[77Pat]

Tempting. I have a Rezound, which has seen better days, but am still on contract until June 2014.

I will most likely get the Nexus 5 with the t-mobile $30/month plan to test out the network (have a freedompop hotspot and know Sprint will not work for me in terms of phone coverage). If T-mobile can give me good reception while I am work (Midtown East in Manhattan), than I will consider keeping it and paying the ETF. Right now with Verizon, I will have 4 bars of 4G, but no connection. Or random total drops.

If it does not work out, I could always sell the Nexus 5 and put the money toward the Maxx in a couple months. Does anyone know if it will be able to take advantage of the new AWS spectrum? I have heard the iphone 5s and Note 3 are able to. That would give me a little more confidence.

I went into the store the other day to get a feel for the phones. I would say my in hand preference (without taking into account actually using the phone):

1. moto X
2. LG G2
3. HTC One
4. Droid Mini (just felt a little cheap compared to the others above)
5. Droid Maxx / Note 2
6. GS4

 

[acousticshade]

Which do you like the most so far?

I'm curious too. The LG G2 seems like a much better phone spec wise & its one of the models I'm leaning toward. Curious to see what the signal strength between the two phones is.

 

[Garemlin]

I'm curious too. The LG G2 seems like a much better phone spec wise & its one of the models I'm leaning toward. Curious to see what the signal strength between the two phones is.

I'll post back in a few days. Signal strength on my G2 is almost as good as my past Motorola phones. But seems like even with it's big battery it isn't lasting anywhere near as long between charges as my Razr Maxx did.

Tap'd from my G2

 

[acousticshade]

I'll post back in a few days. Signal strength on my G2 is almost as good as my past Motorola phones. But seems like even with it's big battery it isn't lasting anywhere near as long between charges as my Razr Maxx did.

Tap'd from my G2

Cool thanks. Was looking at the note 3 also, but sounds like it has a typical Samsung antenna; weak in fringe areas, so not the phone for me.

I would guess the battery may not last as long. 443 ppi is a lot of pixels on a 5 inch screen, although it does look sweet.

 

[droidxd00d]

Cool thanks. Was looking at the note 3 also, but sounds like it has a typical Samsung antenna; weak in fringe areas, so not the phone for me.

I would guess the battery may not last as long. 443 ppi is a lot of pixels on a 5 inch screen, although it does look sweet.

Note 3 has a snapdragon 800. Which means like all phones using them it has Qualcomm radios in it. The reason moto used their own chip set was so they could use their own radios. The note series has excellent battery life. The only better would be the maxx series

 

[tgyberg]

The note series has excellent battery life. The only better would be the maxx series

The Maxx is better on battery but not by much!

 

[Garemlin]

Cool thanks. Was looking at the note 3 also, but sounds like it has a typical Samsung antenna; weak in fringe areas, so not the phone for me.

I would guess the battery may not last as long. 443 ppi is a lot of pixels on a 5 inch screen, although it does look sweet.

Yes it does look sweet. I wouldn't let a little shorter battery life sway your decision. I will admit that I am using the G2 under different conditions than I used my Razr Maxx. I have been out of work on disability for the last month and a half so my phone stays on all the time. When working it is on airplane mode a good part of the day when in my locker. I just need to satisfy my own curiosity and make sure I am 100% sure on my choice. Having had pretty much every Moto Android release it is hard to deviate from what I know works without fully testing the waters. Which is exactly how I discovered I will not own a Samsung phone. It is all gonna come down to battery life and data reception. But if the Maxx gets the same reception as the Moto X did then I think I will be staying with the G2. Surprisingly the Moto X had a little worse data reception than my G2 or my Razr Maxx. Which was a real disappointment considering it war reported that the new Moto phones used stronger antennas than past Moto devices.

 

[bkdodger]

G...you testing another phone ? Love it brotha !! I can only remember my testing with the MaXX HD and it was a great experience ...I just decided on the Note 2 over it bc of the camera and pen features...now using the Note 3 I'm even more satisfied...Again I know Samsung has the radio rep but for me in NYC that has never been the case (No Moto phone ever got better reception than both Notes) ....but I can understand for those testing in fringe areas...BAck to the MaXX though and we look forward to your thoughts...

 

[Garemlin]

G...you testing another phone ? Love it brotha !! I can only remember my testing with the MaXX HD and it was a great experience ...I just decided on the Note 2 over it bc of the camera and pen features...now using the Note 3 I'm even more satisfied...Again I know Samsung has the radio rep but for me in NYC that has never been the case (No Moto phone ever got better reception than both Notes) ....but I can understand for those testing in fringe areas...BAck to the MaXX though and we look forward to your thoughts...

Well gotta say so far battery life is phenomenal and signal strength is very good. I have been off charge and strictly on network for 22 hours. I have 29% battery life left and have had 4 hours of screen on time. Sceen brightness pegged and GPS on. That is outstanding and exceeds anything I ever got on my Razr Maxx. I'm getting 4G out here in the sticks when I was only getting 3G with my G2 with an occasional 4G signal getting grabbed. Though signal strength is much lower with the 4G on the Maxx than 3G on the G2. 116dBm vs 92dBm. Even though the screens are the same size the G2 looks much bigger. And the screen quality is so much better on the G2. It is brighter, sharper and colors are much more accurate. I find that I miss many of the features of the G2 already. Especially tap on, lock screen app launch and many of the customizing options. This is gonna be a really tough decision.


EDIT:
Also forgot to mention another plus for the Maxx. The speaker volume is much louder and clearer. Ringtones and notifications are much more easy to hear.