Motorola DROID RAZR HD Review

Introduction:

What a difference a year makes. Around this time in 2011, we were looking at the original Motorola DROID RAZR, which took the place of the DROID BIONIC as the manufacturer’s top-tier smartphone for Verizon. The DROID RAZR was the first to feature a more rugged construction, with Kevlar backing and water resistant nano coating.

Since then, the Motorola DROID RAZR (and the DROID RAZR MAXX) has remained king of Verizon’s Android line up, until this summer when the Samsung Galaxy S III was released with its stunning 4.8” Super AMOLED HD display and 1.5GHz dual-core Snapdragon S4 processor. Not to be outdone, Motorola is ready for round two with their new DROID RAZR HD – the “HD” meaning that the display is now 720x1280 resolution, instead of 540x960 qHD that was on last year’s model. But there have been several other changes under the hood than just the display, including a better processor, higher capacity battery, and user interface, all of which we will take a closer look at.

Included in the retail package is the Motorola DROID RAZR HD XT926 smartphone, wall charger with detachable microUSB cable, push-pin for opening the SIM & memory card slot, and user guides.

Design:

The Motorola DROID RAZR HD has an updated appearance from the original DROID RAZR, calling on some of the elements that we saw from its little brother, the DROID RAZR M, though it still stands out on its own.



You can compare the Motorola DROID RAZR HD with many other phones using our Size Visualization Tool.

The first thing we noticed when looking at the DROID RAZR HD is that it is a bit larger overall than the original model, mostly due to the increases in display size and battery capacity. But it isn’t overwhelming, and still fits quite comfortably in the hand or pocket, although it is not as single-hand friendly as the RAZR M. The fit-and-finish is quite sturdy, as one would imagine, and the phone feels like it could take a beating – unlike the plastic feeling of the Samsung Galaxy S III.

Gone are the dedicated capacitive buttons under the display, as you now have on-screen buttons as part of the user interface (more on that later). Above the display is a 1.3MP front facing camera, and below the Motorola label is the LED notification indicator, which is quite bright and noticeable when activated.

On the left side on the device is a hidden door that you have to use the included push-pin (or a safety pin) to open up to gain access to the SIM card and microSD memory card slot. We found it a bit awkward to open, and the SIM card is removed with the panel before you can get to the memory card slot. We would have preferred an attached door; similar to what is used on the DROID RAZR M, which could be more easily opened just using your finger nail. Down from it is the microUSB port and microHDMI video port, while up on top is the 3.5mm headset jack. On the right side is the volume rocker and power/lock key; each of which are easy to find by touch alone, as the volume rocker has a raised edge on both ends, while the power/lock button has a distinctive grooved feel to it.


The rear of the DROID RAZR HD is graced with soft-touch Kevlar backing, which actually curves partly around the sides, giving it a nice finished appearance. Almost gone is the “camera hump” with its 8MP autofocus camera, LED flash, noise canceling mic, and external speaker near the top.


Display:

Clearly, the main improvement with the DROID RAZR HD is that it is using a 4.7” Super AMOLED HD display with a resolution of 720x1280, which gives it a pixel density of 312 ppi. When compared next to the original DROID RAZR or the DROID RAZR M, which have a qHD display, we found that text and images are much clearer and less jagged on the DROID RAZR HD.

And since it's Super AMOLED HD, colors are fully saturated and have a “pop” to them. We also have good viewing angles when looking at the display from the sides, but there can be a slight color-shift when viewed at extreme angles. Even though the display is plenty bright for most conditions, we still find it a bit hard to view in direct sunlight.


Currently available from Verizon, the Samsung Galaxy S III and LG Intuition have a larger display, coming in at 4.8” and 5” respectfully, though the Galaxy S III has the same resolution and screen type as the DROID RAZR HD. But when looking at both next to each other, we noticed that colors were more on the “cool” side with the Samsung, while the Motorola was more “warm”.

Interface:

With the DROID RAZR HD being Motorola’s premier device, you’d think that it would come running Android 4.1 Jelly Bean out of the box, but it actually has Android 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich, though Motorola does say the Jelly Bean update will come out before the end of the 2012.

In fact, the DROID RAZR HD is using the same custom Motorola interface that is on the DROID RAZR M and ATRIX HD. Compared to other custom Android experiences out there, such as HTC's Sense UI and Samsung's TouchWiz Nature UX; it lacks the comprehensive, complete, and useful functions to make it compete on the same level. Also missing are some advanced features found on other high-end smartphones, like Samsung Galaxy S3's SmartStay, Popup Play and S Beam, or LG Optimus G's WiseScreen, Qslide and Screen Zooming.. Ultimately, the user interface on the DROID RAZR HD is nothing more than a skin running on top of ICS and feels a bit lacking when placed next to the competition – as opposed to an experience worth gushing over. In fact, the only thing new that Verizon customers might notice is the main "Circles" widget on the homescreen, which we've seen already on the DROID RAZR M


As we mentioned earlier, the DROID RAZR HD uses on-screen interface buttons instead of separate capacitive buttons below the display. It has one for back, home, and multitasking. Even though the design is well thought-out, it does take about 0.30” of screen space away from open applications. That means if you are browsing the web, viewing an image in the gallery, or playing a game, you’re not going to have use of the entire screen with those apps because of the on-screen buttons. The only exception we found was when playing videos, as it will use the entire screen. Because of this, the 4.8” display on the Samsung Galaxy S III actually appears much larger when next to the DROID RAZR HD. For example, when browsing the web, the actual browser window is 4.4” diagonal on the DROID RAZR HD, while the Galaxy S III is 4.8” diagonal.

Functionality:

Looking though the handset's usual set of organizer apps, there isn't anything particularly different about them when compared to other Android devices, mainly because it's using stock Android apps. Therefore, whether you check out the Calculator, Calendar, or Clock, you won't find anything new with them.


Paying attention to the E-Mail app and separate Gmail app, they present us with the usual experience, but nevertheless, we appreciate the productivity they have to offer us. Of course, setup is a painless procedure, as it merely requires only your email address and password for proper completion in most cases; through you can manually setup POP3 & IMAP accounts, as well as Verizon.net and Microsoft Exchange.


With the large 4.7” screen, we don't have any problem typing away with its on-screen keyboards. Additionally we are glad that it includes both the Motorola and Swype ones, allowing you to choose which one you prefer to use.



Processor and Memory:

Unlike the first Motorola DROID RAZR that used a TI OMAP 4430 1.2GHz dual-core processor, the DROID RAZR HD comes with a beefier 1.5GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 MSM8960 processor and 1GB of RAM. This is actually the same processor that is found on the Motorola DROID RAZR M and the Samsung Galaxy S III, through the Samsung does have twice the RAM.

The DROID RAZR HD feels plenty quick to us when moving between the home screens, the app drawer, and when opening applications, though as a high-end smartphone it would have been nice if it came with a larger amount of RAM. But as you can see from the benchmarks scores, the DROID RAZR HD, DROID RAZR M, and Galaxy S III all are pretty close when based on the number. More importantly, you can clearly tell the improvement with the Snapdragon S4 over the TI OMAP 4430 processor that is used by original DROID RAZR.

	Quadrant Standard	AnTuTu	NenaMark 2
Motorola DROID RAZR HD	4972	6787	59,6
Motorola DROID RAZR M	4864	6751	61,3
Samsung Galaxy S III	5022	6831	58,7
Motorola DROID RAZR	2895	6178	36,7

When it comes to internal storage, the Motorola DROID RAZR HD comes with 16GB, up from 8GB on the DROID RAZR M, though the DROID RAZR MAXX HD has 32GB. Regardless, all can use a microSD memory card for up to 64GB of added storage space.

Internet and Connectivity:

Like with the Motorola DROID RAZR M, the DROID RAZR HD comes pre-loaded with the Google Chrome browser. This is not a surprise, as Google has incorporated Motorola Mobility, so naturally they’d want to use Chrome. Overall it works well, through doesn’t support Adobe Flash, but it can be side-loaded and used with other browsers – at least until the upcoming Jelly Bean update is installed.


When using the DROID RAZR HD in Verizon’s 4G LTE areas of South FL, we were able to get download speeds ranging from 6-15 Mbps and uploads between 2-6 Mbps, depending on the area and if we were outside or inside. Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n (2.4GHz, 5GHz) is supported, as well as Mobile HotSpot, Bluetooth 4.0 and NFC.

Camera:

No surprises here, since there aren’t any major changes with the camera interface over previous Motorola phones. Naturally, we're bummed about it, but hey, it is what it is. Compared to other devices out there, it lacks the depth of manual controls and special effects to make it more compelling and fun to use.

Outside images captured with the 8MP camera look good enough for a “point and shoot” camera, as there is plenty of detail, yet the edges are rather soft. The problem that we found is that Motorola is still having issues with the auto white balance, as some images have a “cool blue” look to them, while others have oversaturated colors. Unfortunately, it doesn’t get better when taking indoor images, as the colors look unnatural, and there is plenty of visible grain. When using the LED Flash, we noticed it really isn’t bright enough to illuminate an average size room, as anything further away than 10 feet was not bright enough to see.



Videos are able to recorded at 1080p resolution and at 30 frames per second, which allows for smooth playback. Quality is good enough for capturing on-the-go recordings, as it has automatic exposure and good detail, though the tap-to-focus isn’t the fastest and doesn’t always work on the first try.

Motorola DROID RAZR HD Sample Video:




Multimedia:

Both the DROID RAZR HD and the DROID RAZR M rely solely on Google’s Play Music app for its music player – with no option for Motorola’s own player. The Play Music app does work well in our opinion, as it employs a good balance between functionality and visual presentation. Pumping the volume to the maximum level, it produces tones that are pleasant to the ear, but nothing commanding for us to take notice as its outputs is average through the rear speaker.


Showing its close ties to Google, gone is the Gallery app we’ve seen countless times from Motorola, and instead is relying on Google’s usual offering. We’re not upset by the move, but it’s quite evident that Motorola is increasingly embracing Google’s presence with its devices.


In addition to supporting a wide variety of codecs, like DivX, H264, MPEG-4, and XviD, playback is flawless as it’s able to play all our test videos, including ones encoded with DivX at 1920x1080 resolution. Of course, it’s the saturated look of the display that keeps our attention affixed on the smartphone as we’re playing the video. And if you’re looking to playback a video on a larger screen, you can use the microHDMI out, or DLNA over Wi-Fi.



Software:

Making an appearance once again, though not surprisingly considering we've been seeing it on all new Motorola devices as of late, the SMARTACTIONS feature is available with the DROID RAZR HD as well. Beyond having the ability to customize certain triggers, it comes in handy when it deals with battery management – enabling users to get the most from its battery. We won’t get into the specifics regarding its function, since we’ve covered it extensively in our original Motorola DROID RAZR review, but its value is found mostly with users who actually take the necessary time to customize everything from the top to bottom. Indeed, they will appreciate the total control it has to offer.

Out of the box, the handset is preloaded with a lot of bloatware apps – including Amazon Kindle, Color for Facebook, Modern Combat 3, NFL Mobile, QuickOffice, Real Racing 2, and Slacker Radio. Naturally, Verizon’s presence is established heavily on the handset with the Verizon Apps Store, My Verizon Mobile, Verizon Tones & Video, Visual Voice Mail, and VZ Navigator.

Call Quality:

The call quality on the Motorola DROID RAZR HD is very good, as voices on our end had full tones and sounded natural; though we did notice that the call volume wasn’t as loud as some other phones (even when turned all the way up). We also noticed that the DROID RAZR HD didn’t have the annoying “background crackling” sound that we’ve heard while using the original DROID RAZR in the past. People that we called also said that we sounded natural on their end as well. When we activated the speakerphone, voices had very little distortion, but the output is simply too weak to use in noisy environments.

During out testing, we didn’t drop any calls and it showed good signal strength of -91dBm. But when using data connections, we saw 4G LTE signal strength vary between -98dBm and -106dBm when outside, and up to -120dBm inside, which often times would then change over to 3G EVDO on its own. This is not uncommon, as we’ve experienced the same thing on most all of Verizon’s 4G LTE smartphones.

Battery:

The original Motorola DROID RAZR featured a 1780mAh battery, which was capable of 12.5 hours of talk time. The new DROID RAZR HD comes with a larger 2530mAh battery and we were able to get up to 14 hours of talk time on a full charge, or 3 days of mixed usage. But if you have the need for even more power, you can step-up to the DROID RAZR MAXX HD with its impressive 3300mAh battery

Conclusion:

If you are looking at purchasing a high-end Android smartphone from Verizon, your choices are currently the Samsung Galaxy S III or the Motorola DROID RAZR HD (and RAZR MAXX HD), as they offer large 720p HD displays, and are using the 1.5GHz dual-core Snapdragon S4 processor for fast performance.

The Galaxy S III may look more stylish and “flashy”, though its plastic construction does have a cheap feeling to it and doesn’t hold up well to abuse. Meanwhile, the DROID RAZR HD is more utilitarian in its appearance, but it is built like a tank with Gorilla Glass on the front, Kevlar backing on the rear, and nano coating inside and out to protect it from the occasional splash of water.

Overall, the DROID RAZR HD is a nice update from last year’s model, and comes in at $199.99 with a 2 year contract, which happens to be the same price as the 16GB version of the Galaxy S III. It appears that Verizon has positioned the price of the DROID RAZR HD in the middle-of-the-road between the DROID RAZR M for $99.99 and the DROID RAZR MAXX HD for $299.99, which offers a larger battery and twice the storage memory. As we get closer to the Holiday season, it will be interesting to see how well the Motorola DROID RAZR HD stands up to other devices that will be coming out, and hopefully it will receive its update to Android Jelly Bean before the Turkey is on the table.

Software version on the reviewed unit:
System version: 0.6.25.XT926
Android version: 4.0.4
Baseband version: VANQUISH_BP_1045.711.53.20P
Kernel version: 3.0.8-00039-g4115279
Build number: 7.7.1Q-144_VQW_S334-25
Build date: Sat Sep 15 2012

Motorola DROID RAZR HD Video Review: