Motorola Droid RAZR M / Luge
Phone Scoop Review
Sep 14, 2012 by Eric M. Zeman
Motorola must have struck a bargain with the devil to pack as much functionality as it did in the RAZR M. This impressive device claims to have it all, and just might deliver on that promise. read review ›
User Reviews
Average Ratings
Nice features, but bad call quality
When I was eligible for a Verizon upgrade (from my iPhone 4), I narrowed my choices to the iPhone 5 and the Droid M. I went with the Droid M because it was $150 cheaper and received many glowing reviews.
I set up the phone easily and liked its many features...but then discovered that phone calls sounded terrible. I called many people to get their opinions and it was unanimous - the calls sounded bad at both ends.
I considered just exchanging my phone for another Droid M, but decided just to pay the difference and go back to an iPhone. Using the iCloud backup from my iPhone 4, I was able to set up the iPhone 5 and have not looked back.
The Droid M was worth a try and maybe I just got a bad one, but based on my experience, I can't recommend it.
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Possibly The Best LTE Phone Currently Out
The RAZR M is now my third LTE phone (thanks to my employer's test phone program). I've had it about a month now, activating it with Ice Cream Sandwich and just getting the Jellybean update last week. This phone is smooth. Everything works. I love the nice, tight body and with the Kevlar back and Gorilla Glass touch screen the RAZR M feels durable. The screen bezel is minimal so there's no wasted space on excess case size. As a result even with a protective silicon skin the phone fits easily into a pocket. Apps open quickly and the touchscreen is very responsive.
Pros:
-Limited bezel reduces body size without giving up screen size
-Responsive touchscreen
-Excellent battery life
Cons:
-Would love an extra 1/4"-3/8" screen size (at my age I have to get my glasses to read my phone)
Best phone I have ever had or sold!
Motorola has simply outdone themselves on this one. I did not like the bigness of the Razr Maxx when trying to text with one hand and this Razr M is the perfect solution. Great battery, great resolution, only issue would be that I had a customer that bought one from me and could not get signal at his home and he could with an HTC Incredible 3 4G LTE. That astonisihed me because Motorola has always ruled with the best chip set for signal in the past. But hands down I will not be using anything other than the Razr M until something better comes along and that will be tough. 4.3 inch screen is awesome and not a giant to carry around.
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Excellent bang for buck phone
I bought this phone for only $50 and now that it's free, it's a steal. The basic hardware (chassis, processor, camera) is all top notch and it shows in daily use; the phone rarely exhibits lag or hesitation and I love that it is essentially stock android 4.1.2 with only a minimal Motorola skin on top. I even like the changes that Motorola has made; swiping left to access quick settings, the round clock/weather/battery widget and the new page templates are all great (if you don't like them, just download a new launcher). I was worried that a 960x540 resolution display might seem grainy or pixelated, especially considering it's a pentile matrix, but the screen looks fantastic and the lower resolution is not an issue and may be one of the phones strengths. Because the already powerful processor has fewer pixels to drive relative to a standard 1280x720 resolution display, the phone feels that much faster and likely experiences better battery life as well. Speaking of battery life, this phone is a champ; with a 2Ah battery and 7.9in^2 of screen real estate to power (versus a Galaxy S3 with 9.8 and an iPhone 5 with 6.8), I can make it through 2 days of minimal use and a full day of heavy use. Moving on to the size of the phone; it's a small phone with a display that's as edge-to-edge as any I've ever seen. The size is very close to the iPhone 5 in terms of height and width but it is a little thicker. For the thickness; the phone is wedge-shaped and thicker at the top than the bottom. The thickness in the middle of the device is about 9.7mm compared to the published figure of 8.3mm. The size is right on and the rounded back corners make it comfortable to hold.
Pros:
1. Screen size/resolution is a good balance.
2. Powerful S4 processor.
3. Excellent battery life.
4. Nearly stock Android.
5. Compact size.
6. Edge-to-edge-display (nearly).
7. No physical home button.
Cons:
1. Only 8GB internal storage.
2. Only accepts up to 32GB micro sd card.
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Perfect for my needs
I have owned my limited edition Platinum Silver Droid Razr M for about 5 months. I got it through Best Buy for free with my upgrade. This is my third Android phone - in the past, I have owned the Samsung Galaxy S Fascinate and the Pantech Breakout 4G LTE. In this review, I will be comparing my experiences with those models to the experience I've had with the Razr M.
Let me give you an idea of how I use my phone. I am an absolute music freak, and I am always listening to music on the go. I do a fairly decent amount of texting, and quite a bit of social media checking as well. My screen time usually exceeds just over 3 hours on a normal day.
I'll cover the hardware first. Upon taking it out of the box, this phone felt miniscule compared to my previous Fascinate and Breakout, despite having a larger screen size than the others. It's built very well and has survived several drops with no issues or damage. Best I have owned in this respect. My only complaint about the hardware is the mediocre quality of both the front and rear cameras. Photos always seem to look blurry and unfocused.
Software wise this phone is also great. It runs Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean. I rooted my previous phones, but I have not yet felt the need to do so with this one. The Fascinate and Breakout had bloated, underpowered stock ROMs which I promptly removed and flashed Cyanogenmod onto. Talking stock ROMs only, the newer generation of Motorola DROIDs come closest to giving the Nexus experience to the user. Simple, intuitive, nothing over the top. Perfect. I am still waiting for a 4.2/4.3 update but for now I will hold onto 4.1.
The 2000mAH battery cell is excellent. The Fascinate only had a sub 8-hour life for me, and the Breakout was even worse, prompting me to connect my charger after 4-6 hours of moderate use. This phone gives me 12-16 hours of use on a normal day.
Best of all? It was FREE and has been the most reliable phone I have ever owned. Couldn't ask for better.
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best phone ive had yet!
I went from an Apple Iphone4s to this phone and all i can say is amazing. so many things are way easier and more fun on this than the iphone. Dont understand the people on here who gave it 1 star, must not like amazing phones that dont suck.
PROs
-great screen
-loud speakers
-great camera
-fast UI
-light compact and sleek, w kevlar!
-Videos are amazing on here
CONs
-storage
-Do not get the screen protector, makes screen fuzzy!
Motorola Droid Razr M
Best phone I've ever owned, and I've owned dozens of them. Top notch call quality. Full bars most of the time. Excellent battery. The list of pluses goes on and on. No complaints.
Highly Recommend
The Razr M is my first "smartphone". I had a Samsung Convoy previously. Being this is my first smartphone, I don't have anything to compare it too, but I have to say that its overall and awesome phone. It is obviously a big jump from a flip phone, but I didn't realize really how much you can do. Here are some key points:
Pros-
-Build is solid yet relatively light
-Screen is very clear and vibrant
-Processor is very fast
-Camera is good and HD video is great
-All the bells and whistles which I'll only use a fraction of but they are there
-I like that it has a 4.3 in. screen but it still fit's nicely in your hand. It's comparable in size to the IPhone 5
-Gmail and Chrome are great
-There are so many settings to consider that it takes a while to get everything the way you like it, but that is not a big deal
Cons-
-Compared to other smartphone, the battery life is quite good...however, i didn't have to charge my flip phone for a week. I get about 1.5-2 days per charge so far. Use the SmartActions App and other settings to minimize battery usage.
Awesome Phone....
I returned the Galaxy S III, then the Droid Maxx for this phone. I could not be happier with my choice.
Pros:
--Not the latest and greatest, but the screen is amazingly clear.
--Edge to edge screen and the fact that they were able to submit a 4.3 inch screen into a compact phone.
--Compact size.
--Tremendous call quality.
--Great speaker phone.
--Battery life.
--Overall build quality and feel of phone.
Cons:
--Can't replace battery.
--Phone gets bogged down from time to time.
