Motorola Droid RAZR HD and RAZR Maxx HD review

The Droid RAZR HD is massive. The original Droid RAZR was not a small phone by any means, and the new RAZR HD carries on that tradition. We praised the RAZR M for its petite size and ease of use with one hand, but the RAZR HD (and the RAZR Maxx HD) is a different beast altogether. At 2.67 inches wide, 5.19 inches tall, and 0.33 inches thick (the Maxx version is equivalent in width and height, but measures 0.37 inches thick), the RAZR HD is a big device that really pushes the limits of what we consider a "phone." While other large phones, like HTC’s One X or Samsung’s Galaxy S III, employ rounded corners and minimal borders around their displays to mask their large size, the RAZR HD’s squarish design and large bezel makes it feel bigger than the competition.

The Razr HD and Razr Maxx HD are incredibly similar in size and feel

Using the phone with one hand can be quite a chore, and the RAZR HD is not a phone that disappears into your pocket. At 5.15oz (5.54oz for the Maxx), it’s certainly not the heaviest phone on the market, but with the iPhone 5 and Galaxy S III both clocking in at well under 5oz, the RAZR HD can feel heavy comparatively. Motorola and Verizon both made quite a fuss about the original Droid RAZR’s 0.28-inch thick frame, but the RAZR HD is noticeably thicker than its forebear, which only serves to magnify the large feel of the phone. As a result, the RAZR HD loses some of the appeal of the older model — and really makes you question its RAZR naming.

Though the RAZR HD isn’t as eye-popping thin as the first RAZR, it does retain the general design and look that the RAZR debuted. That means squarish masculine corners, lots of bezel around the display, and an abundance of Kevlar on the back. Gone are the capacitive keys below the display, since the RAZR HD runs Android 4.0 and uses virtual keys for back, home, and multitasking. Above the screen is a front-facing camera and your standard earpiece that hides a convenient notification light below the Motorola badging.

The RAZR HD features a metal band that wraps around the edge of the entire phone and houses the power / sleep / unlock key and volume rocker on the right side, and Micro USB and Micro HDMI ports on the left side. Also found on the left side is the Micro SIM card tray and microSD card slot, which is oddly obscured by the same door that covers the Micro SIM card (yes, you need to use either the tool provided in the box or a bent paper clip to swap out microSD cards). Instead of being a continuous unit, the metal band is actually segmented numerous times, making it look poorly finished and disjointed. Despite the fact that you can’t access the RAZR HD’s battery or internals, the RAZR HD does not have a unibody frame like the One X or Nokia Lumia smartphones. With other smartphones, the sacrifice for giving up access to the battery is gorgeous design or super thin profiles, neither of which are present on the RAZR HD.

The back of the phone features the Kevlar material with a faux carbon fiber finish we have seen on the Droid RAZR and RAZR M, and it’s just as ugly here as it was before. Instead of being inlaid in a plastic frame as on the other models, the RAZR HD features the soft-touch finish on its entire back surface, and it makes it easier to keep grips on the thing. Unlike Samsung’s big smartphones that have an abundance of glossy plastics, the RAZR HD’s soft touch exterior provides grip and offers a solid feel when in your hand. The back of the phone is also home to the 8-megapixel camera and LED flash, as well as a microphone and external speaker. Though the RAZR HD has a relatively flat back, the speaker resisted muffling when the phone was placed on either hard or soft surfaces.

Like the original RAZR and the RAZR M, the RAZR HD also features Motorola’s water-repellent nanocoating on its internal components, which provides a little reassurance that your phone won’t become a useless paperweight should it get exposed to some water. But, overall, the hardware of the RAZR HD and Maxx HD is pretty disappointing, as they are just not as nice as last year’s models.

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