It’s only been a few months since the Droid Razr released, and Motorola has already given us a sequel. OK, so maybe the Droid Razr Maxx isn’t a proper sequel — after all, there are only two differences between it and its predecessor. But some would say that those two differences are enough to make it a very different phone.
Read on for our examination of how the specs of the latest addition to the Droid family stack up next to the top-selling smartphone in the world, the iPhone 4S.
Dimensions
Here is the Droid Razr Maxx’s first change from the Droid Razr: it’s thicker. The original Droid Razr drew headlines and created buzz as the world’s thinnest smartphone. Its battery, however, created problems for many people (standard fare for LTE Android phones).
The Razr Maxx comes with a better battery, but, in the process, it takes away the Razr’s claim to fame. The Maxx is barely thinner to the iPhone 4S, which is rocking an 18-month-old design.
Weight
That bigger battery isn’t helping the Razr Maxx’s weight either. It’s heavier than the iPhone 4S by 5g. Keeping some perspective, though, these are still two relatively light smartphones.
Display
As is often the case, we have a super-sized Android display going up next to the same 3.5 inch screen size that the iPhone has sported since its debut in 2007.
The resolutions of both phones are nearly identical, but since it’s spread out over an extra 0.8 of an inch on the Razr Maxx, the iPhone 4S has much higher pixel density. This means sharper text and images.
Processor
Both handsets have dual-core processors, but the one in the Razr Maxx is faster. The A5 in the iPhone 4S is set at 1GHz in the iPad 2, but Apple has underclocked it to 800MHz in the iPhone 4S.
RAM
The Razr Maxx also has more RAM, 1GB next to the iPhone’s 512MB. The faster processor and additional RAM don’t necessarily make the Razr Maxx a faster phone though. Since Apple controls its own hardware and software, it can strike (what it believes is) the right balance for optimal performance.
With that said, specs don’t lie. The Razr Maxx has a turbo-charged processor and plenty of RAM.
Storage
This is similar to many comparisons that you’ll see between the iPhone and high-end Android phones. The iPhone is offered in three flash storage options (which are priced accordingly), with no expansion card slot. The Razr Maxx comes in one flash storage capacity, but also gives you a microSD card slot.
The bottom line is that both phones offer options for plenty of storage, but, as microSD cards can generally be had for cheap, it will cost you more to max out your iPhone storage than it will to max out your Razr Maxx storage. That could be cancelled out by the Razr Maxx’s $300 cost though (the 16GB iPhone 4S is $200 while the 32GB is $300).
Wireless Data
If maximum data speeds are what you’re looking for, then the Razr Maxx is the clear winner. It rides on Verizon’s speedy LTE network, while the iPhone 4S is (mostly) still living in the land of 3G.
The only (sort of) exception is the AT&T version of the 4S, which can hit theoretical speeds of 14.4Mbps. Though this is the same network that was advertised as “4G” on the Motorola Atrix (and a few other phones), your actual speeds are more likely to rival Sprint’s WiMax (at best) than Verizon’s LTE.
Battery
Until extensive testing is done on the Razr Maxx’s battery, there’s no way to draw a fair comparison here. We would take Motorola’s advertised talk times with many grains of salt, but 3300mAh should help the Razr Maxx to last longer than most LTE Android phones (most of which don’t last very long at all).
There has been a recent controversy about the iPhone 4S’s battery life, but this appears to be a mostly isolated issue. We haven’t been able to reproduce it ourselves, despite testing on several units. If you do buy an iPhone 4S, you’ll almost certainly be pleased with its uptime.
Camera
Both phones have cameras that sport 8MP. There are other factors that determine photo quality — and they probably favor the iPhone 4S. The iPhone also shoots 1080p video, vs. 720p in the Razr Maxx.
Intangibles
No, the Razr Maxx won’t turn you into Batman. Its back, however, is coated with Kevlar, the same material that the fictional Batsuit is made of in Christopher Nolan’s recent films. It might be a gimmick, but, if nothing else, it will give your phone a sturdy feel and may protect it from damage.
Meanwhile the iPhone 4S comes with Siri, the most advanced voice recognition system on any smartphone. Siri, however, is still in its infancy and has a relatively limited number of uses. It’s a gamechanger for some people and something many other people have but will never, ever use (or even know it’s there).
One caveat to add is that jailbreaking the iPhone 4S adds more functionality, and options for customization. If that’s your cup of tea, then you’d be wise to buy soon (before Apple patches the exploit). It may be a while until the iPhone 4S has another jailbreak.
Of course Android phones come with (almost) jailbreak-like levels of customization out-of-the-box. If maximum customization is your thing and you don’t want to bother with hacking, then perhaps Android — and the Droid Razr Maxx — would be a good fit for you.
via - geek
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