Motorola DROID MAXX (Verizon Wireless)
When technology matters, DROID MAXX by Motorola is ready for you. Its powerful battery outlasts other smartphones and keeps you connected day, night, and then some. And its seamless design is reinforced with DuPont KEVLAR fiber and protected by scratch-resistant Corning Gorilla Glass. A Verizon exclusive, the DROID MAXX keeps up with your every move, whether it’s shooting great low-light photos or sharing video quickly at 4G LTE speed.
Running the Android 4.2.2 (Jelly Bean) operating system, the DROID MAXX is powered by the Motorola X8 Mobile Computing System, which includes a software optimized Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro (1.7 GHz Dual-Core Krait CPU, quad-core Adreno 320 GPU), a natural language processor, and a contextual computing processor.
Keeping up with the DROID tradition, the DROID MAXX gives you what you expect from a DROID on Verizon — intelligence, strength and endurance. It starts with DROID Command Center, an exclusive homescreen widget that enables you to easily access notifications for text messages, missed calls, battery level, and weather. It also serves as the gateway to new features including Wireless Display to mirror what’s on the screen onto a compatible HDTV to play games, browse the Web, and share pictures on a big screen.
The DROID MAXX has 32 GB of internal storage, and its 3500 mAh battery provides up to 48 hours of mixed use based on typical usage patterns.
More Pics in More Places
With the Quick Capture feature, you can access the 10-megapixel camera by shaking the phone twice, then tapping anywhere on the screen to snap a pic or a selfie. The embedded Clear Pixel technology collects more light and snaps pictures up to twice as fast as other phone’s cameras, so you can capture the darkest scenes or stop motion blur in bright light. The rear camera also records Full HD 1080p video and stereo sound, while the front-facing 2-megapixel camera is great for self portraits and video chats.
The 10-megapixel rear camera has a 16:9 aspect ratio and can shoot video at up to Full HD 1080p resolution at 30 fps (frames per second) with slow motion. It also features auto HDR, a panorama option, photo burst, and a 4x digital zoom. The front-facing 2-megapixel camera is great for self portraits and video chats.
DROID Zap Makes Sharing Easy
Sharing with a friend or a group of friends nearby is simple with the DROID Zap feature. Just one gesture sends your content to the cloud, and anyone nearby with an Android phone running Jelly Bean 2.2 or greater can download the media. And if you want to limit who sees your stuff, add a pin code. Seamlessly share the latest memories with your friends and family without the need for wires — or even physical contact.
Touchless Control
The DROID MAXX responds to your voice, without you having to touch it. You just have to say: “OK Google Now” and give it a command. You can check messages, set an alarm, get directions, find out the weather, or do just about anything. With just a little training in a quiet room, your DROID MAXX learns to recognize your voice. Then it knows you, even when everyone’s talking at once. And thanks to the super low-power natural language processor, your DROID MAXX is always ready with a quick response.
Active Display
Even when it seems to be sleeping, your DROID MAXX is paying attention. Instead of a blinking light that doesn’t actually tell you anything, information quietly appears on the screen. You don’t have to wake your phone to look at the time or see your messages. But the active display is also smart enough to know when it’s in your pocket or when it’s placed face down so it won’t deliver notifications, saving on battery power. As soon as you take it out of your pocket or turn it over, it discretely pulses with the time and any notifications you’ve received.
When you need a little more info, just touch the notification icon and details will appear on the top and bottom of the screen. Drag the icon up and the app associated with the notification will open. Drag the icon left or right to make them all go away.
Motorola DROID MAXX
Spec Highlights
- 3G/4G LTE connectivity
- Android 4.2.2 (Jelly Bean) operating system
- 1.7 GHz dual-core processor
- 5-inch touchscreen AMOLED display (720 x 1280)
- 10-MP rear camera (with Full HD 1080p video)
- Front 2-MP camera for video chats
- 32 GB storage + 2 GB of RAM
- Wireless-N Wi-Fi + Bluetooth 4.0 LE+ NFC
- GPS for navigation and location services
- Up to 48 hours of usage time
Verizon’s 4G LTE Network
Covering over 90 percent of the U.S. population (287 million people across the country), the Verizon Wireless 4G LTE (Long Term Evolution) network provides average download data rates of 5-12 megabits per second (Mbps) and 2-5 Mbps on the uplink in real-world, loaded network environments.
You’ll be able to stream HD movies without the annoyance of constant pauses to buffer the video stream–as well as quickly download HD-quality movies right to your phone in minutes. Additionally, you’ll be able to download a new song file in about 4 seconds or upload a photo to your favorite social networking site in about 6 seconds.
With the enhanced security of 4G LTE, you’ll be able to maximize productivity and efficiency while you’re out of the confines of your office with the ability to tap into most VPN networks with less waiting and faster responsiveness. You’ll be able upload 10 MB presentations back to your team in less than 25 seconds.
In areas serviced only by 3G, you can expect download speeds of 600 Kbps to 1.4 Mbps and upload speeds of 500 to 800 Kbps in Mobile Broadband coverage area.
Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean) OS
Fast, fluid, and smooth, the Android 4.2 operating system (nicknamed Jelly Bean) offers effortless movement between home screens — like turning the pages of a book. And it includes faster orientation changes, quicker switching between recent apps, and smoother and more consistent rendering throughout your mobile device. And widgets work like magic. As you place widgets on the screen, everything else automatically moves to make room. When they’re too big, widgets resize on their own.
Browse and download thousands of free and paid apps from around the world via Google Play or the Amazon Appstore for Android.
Smooth Operator. More reactive and uniform touch responses mean you can almost feel the pixels beneath as your finger moves across the screen. .
Live in the Now. With Google Now, you get the right information at just the right time — before you even ask. It can tell you today’s weather before you start your day, or when the next train will arrive as you’re standing on the platform. .
Photo Sphere Camera. Snap pictures in every direction — up, down, and all around you — and have them come together into incredible, immersive photo spheres that put you right inside the scene.
Smarter Keyboard with Gesture Typing. Just glide your finger over the letters you want to type, and lift after each word. You don’t have to worry about spaces because they’re added automatically for you.
Beam Photos and Videos. With Android Beam, you can easily share your photos and videos.
The Amazon app suite is one swipe from the device’s main home screen. Sign in using your Amazon.com account.
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Seamless Access to Digital Content and Shopping with Amazon App Suite
The Amazon app suite provides seamless access to Amazon digital content and shopping right from your phone’s home screen. Interact with Amazon digital content you already own, access over 23 million games, books, apps, and songs, as well as shop millions of physical products in a single, fully-integrated, and easy-to-use experience.
All the Content
Get instant access to over 23 million games, books, apps, and songs including all of the most popular Android apps and games, over 20 million songs to download or instantly stream, and over one million Kindle books in the Kindle Store, including New York Times best sellers and new releases.
Seamless Shopping
Instantly access Earth’s biggest selection with millions of physical products available to search or browse with the integrated mobile shopping experience, plus all of the benefits of shopping on Amazon, including personalized recommendations, customer reviews, 1-Click ordering, Prime FREE Two-Day shipping on over 15 million items, and more.
Cross-Category Search
Discover Amazon’s full selection of physical products, Kindle books, music, and apps from a single search directly from your phone’s home screen.
Single Sign In
Enter your Amazon.com login just once to access all of Amazon Mobile Shopping, Kindle, MP3, and Amazon Appstore for Android apps, receive personalized recommendations, and interact with the Amazon digital content you already own right from your phone’s home screen.
1-Click Ordering
Quickly and easily purchase new Kindle books, music, apps, and physical products with Amazon’s 1-Click Ordering, which allows you to skip the shopping cart and checkout process by using the default payment method and shipping address on your account.
“Buy Once, Enjoy Everywhere”
With apps available on the largest number of devices and platforms, Amazon makes it easy for you to access your content anytime, anywhere, from virtually any device or platform you choose. You can read and sync your Kindle books across any device with the Kindle app installed, including Android phones and tablets, Windows 8 tablets, PC, Mac, iPad, iPhone, and in your web browser with Kindle Cloud Reader.
World-Class Customer Service
When a customer shops on Amazon, they know they’re getting Amazon’s world-class customer service. Amazon’s customer service just scored 89 on the ForeSee customer satisfaction score – the highest ever attained by a retailer – as well as the highest rating on the 2012 American Consumer Satisfaction Index, and the J.D. Power Customer Service Champion Award. So far in 2012, Kindle customer service has received a 97.1% satisfaction rate from customers. Customers have been shopping on Amazon for 15 years, and they continue to do so because of the unparalleled end-to-end customer experience.
Product Features
- Display: 5.0-inches
- Camera: 10-MP
- Processor Speed: 2.4 GHz
- OS: Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean)
A competent Galaxy Nexus replacement, [12.15.15 update]… [updated Nov 11th 2013; OS update 12.15.15 applied — increased my rating to 5 stars (from 4) — see paragraphs marked with >> for my edits]I didn’t intend to buy a Droid Maxx on launch day; at least, not until a few minutes before 10am, when I read on Droid Life it would *really* be in stores that morning. I would only stop in to check it out in person. Then… it just happened. If you’re like me and coming from a Samsung Galaxy Nexus, I’m betting this latest batch from Motorola caught your eye, too. I fully intended to wait for the first reviews, maybe check out the oversized Note III and HTC One Max, and see what LG was bringing to the table, but…The Maxx’s oversized battery is only part of the attraction. My Nexus had become fickle — I weeded out a few apps that were absolute battery hogs on that device. While I didn’t expect the full two day battery life promised by Verizon, the Maxx had to be at least 2x better than the Gnex, based alone on double battery capacity. But better! After my first 100% charge, I ended my day at 7% after 16 hours off the charger, heavy “first day with a new phone” usage, 1.5 hours video, 1+ hours audio streaming, 45 minutes unplugged Nav, forum browsing & posting, futzing with apps, editing this review, Bluetooth headset use, switching between wifi and 4G about 50/50, lots of screen on time, etc. I’ve since repeated this with up to 23 hour days, 5-8 hours screen time, video & nav, completely off the charger. I’ve bumped my screen timeout to 5 minutes, and don’t bother switching off WiFi or GPS. And if that’s not epic enough (for me, it is), there’s a “Battery Saver” slider on the settings menu — I haven’t bothered to flick that On to see what it affects.Amazingly, the extra battery doesn’t come at the expense of size. Held back to back, side to side, end to end, these two phones are close to identical in size. You can get the numbers from the spec sheet, but the Maxx is about 3-4 millimeters taller and wider than the Gnex, and more or less identical in thickness. According to my straight edge, the Maxx’s screen even has a slight curve to it, ala the overly-hyped curved glass of the Galaxy Nexus.But it’s definitely shaped differently. I ran my Gnex without a case for the past year, and I’m starting out caseless with the Maxx. I don’t see it visually, but the Maxx has a “wedge” feel to it, where the top end of the phone is thicker, and it slims down towards the bottom. The top end is also heavier. What this means is that, when I’m holding it in one hand, most of that weight is concentrated on my index finger. I’d prefer it the other way around — with that weight and thickness at the bottom — where it’s resting more on two fingers. I know, I know… we’re only talking about 164g according to my scale, but the phone feels more comfortable and balanced when I hold it flipped around like that. Despite the very similar size to my old phone, the Maxx has a definite chunky feel to it, not UNcomfortable, but -less- comfortable than my previous phone.The phone’s back is interesting. It’s not the shiny, hard plasticky finish of the Droid Ultra. Instead, it’s a very lightly textured (“rubberized”) but smooth finish, with the appearance of a fiber weave. This finish wraps around the bottom edges of the phone and even around the chin to the face, down by the mic. The bottom corners are all rounded, so they’re somewhat comfortable — not squared off, though not as rounded as the Galaxy Nexus. The back is smooth enough that it -does- gets smudged with fingerprints, but matte enough that they’re not easily noticeable. The Verizon and Droid labels are modestly sized, and rather than bright white, are of a dark gray hue that is easy to ignore.All together it creates a package with a hefty, high-quality feel. I never minded the durable all-plastic construction of my Nexus and Samsung’s Galaxy lineup — something many reviewers and forum posters dismiss as “cheap.” But the Maxx feels anything but, possibly belied by its flat slab appearance.Interrupting the smooth Kevlar wrap are the power and volume buttons — all stacked on the right side — that project from the device perhaps a little more than necessary, and with very square edges and textured surfaces. The buttons don’t really jive with the carefully crafted, smooth-to-the-touch backside finish, but then again, there’s no mistaking when my fingers are resting on them — even lightly — so hopefully no accidental presses.>> Boot is about 45 seconds to home screen and signal lock [post 12.15.15 update; original boot time was 30 seconds]. That’s still pretty quick. The busy (and noisy) Droid boot animation, followed by the default red home screen, put me off at first — it all just feels very “angry” — but as I’m sure you’re aware, that’s all easily changeable with a good selection of included live and static wallpapers (a soothing blue…
A great phone Like the first reviewer here on Amazon, I was moving from the Samsung Galaxy Nexus to…something with a battery that lasted more than 8 hours. Overall, I liked the GNex, but I had gotten to the point where I had to charge the phone mid-day even if I hadn’t taken the “darn” thing out of my pocket. And sometimes it got HOT in my pocket, again even though I hadn’t pushed a single button. I had a total of four batteries for the phone because if I was traveling, I could easily go through three in a day.I had not intended to pick up Droid Maxx on release day. I figured I would wait and see what the reviews were like, but I stopped by the store anyway to check it out. And I was hooked. BTW, Motorola Migrate is awesome. It would be even better if it also put on the same apps you had on the old phone, but moving my pictures and music with my contacts was a big bonus.Battery was issue #1 and I knew that it couldn’t get much better. My wife has the iPhone 4S and both my boys have Droid Razr Maxx phones. All those phones are pretty good when it comes to battery life. I hate the iPhone because I don’t find it easy to use and Siri is an idiot compared to Google.Anyway, I immediately went on a trip to Washington DC with the new phone and despite HEAVY usage pretty much all day long, I still had 32% battery at the end of that first long day (it is my work station on the road). The next two days were even better since I wasn’t downloading so many apps. BTW, the Moto rep was in the store when I got the phone and talking to both the rep and the technical specialist, they twisted my arm to get the wireless charger. I don’t think I will ever go back. It is supposed to be the best charging method and you don’t have wear and tear on the charging port. It is really sweet!I love the screen. Despite the fact that phone is nearly the same size as my GNex, the screen is larger. It is clear and I don’t have any issue with the colors. I let the phone auto-adjust the screen brightness to save battery and it works well. I am not a screen purist, so others may disagree.We routinely spend weekends in a area that ranges between one bar of 3G down to no reception. My GNex would be dead in about three hours while it struggled to get a signal. The Maxx had 62% battery at the end of the long day.Signal reception is excellent. Like I said in our trip to the sticks, the other phones in our party had little or no signal. The Maxx had better reception than all other phones. The GNex always had a very weak signal (often zero G) in my office, while the Maxx has three bars of 4G.Call quality has been excellent. There is a tiny bit of hiss when the other party is talking, but otherwise there is no background noise at all. I’ve not got the best hearing in the world, but I can hear the other party quite well.The final battery test was at work. If I had minimal phone use during the day, my GNex would be at 10% battery by 7pm, sometimes less (even with a higher capacity battery I purchased at Amazon). After a full day at work, the Maxx was at 82% battery. That sealed the deal for me!