Motorola Razr Maxx set for 4G - review

2012-08-22 14:40

Motorola has launched the Razr Maxx in SA. (Motorola)

Duncan Alfreds

Cape Town - The Motorola Razr Maxx makes one important claim over the previous generation: It's got a better battery.

The verdict? It's not only a marketing boast.

The review unit arrived with around 50% of the battery life remaining and the device only needed to be charged for the first time three days later. The device's battery use eclipsed all previous smartphones reviewed by News24.

In addition, the phone has Smart actions which automates battery saving features that boosts the use of the phone when running low on charge.

It's not that the previous Razr has a poor battery: On the contrary, the issues with battery use in Android devices is not a problem in the Razr, and the slightly thicker Maxx performs without any slowdowns, despite its relatively underpowered 1.2GHz dual core processor compared to its stratospheric competition.

Future strategy

The Razr Maxx has pretty much the same functionality as the Razr and the splashguard coating does help give one a sense of peace-of-mind when using an expensive device in the real world.

But the Maxx is one of those devices set up for a Motorola future strategy: Next generation high-speed wireless rollout. Close to home, we have 4G in neighbouring Namibia, and Everything Everywhere was granted a 4G operating licence in the UK in August.

Perhaps Motorola is positioning itself to rollout devices to match LTE (Long Term Evolution) networks which can be draining on smartphone batteries.
 
The device is slightly heavier than its predecessor at 145g and sports much the same hardware, including the 8 megapixel camera and 11cm screen with Gorilla Glass protection.

The Razr Maxx runs Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) operating system which is disappointing, but Motorola is upgrading all Razr devices to 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) and the smartphone has 16GB of storage and 1GB of RAM.

The power of the battery does surprise one as higher-than-average use doesn't mean the phone has to have a charger at the ready.

Tablet

It is troubling that Motorola is able to build a device such as this, yet struggles to manufacture a tablet that can effectively compete with the industry-leading iPad.

Motorola is on a charge to build its presence in the market, following its acquisition by Google and has taken legal action against Apple over patent infringements.

The Razr Maxx is not cheap but the good news about its price is that the cost of the previous generation Razr has become more attractive on contract from the mobile operators. It has been reduced to R229 per month on a Vodacom contract from R329.

The Motorola Razr Maxx has a recommended retail price of R6 500.


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