Tested: Motorola Droid RAZR Maxx is Longest-Lasting 4G Phone

January 27th, 2012 by Sherri L. Smith, LAPTOP Staff Writer  Current Price: $229.99 (1 seller)

Droid RAZR Maxx vs Other Verizon LTE Phones

Although much faster than their 3G competitors, 4G LTE phones have suffered from notoriously short battery life. How short? Try less than four hours in some cases. Fortunately, Motorola’s new Droid RAZR Maxx is set to change the LTE’s power-gulping reputation, as the Android handset lasted a full 8 hours and 25 minutes on the LAPTOP Battery Test. This test involves continuous surfing over 4G with the phone set to 40 percent brightness.

As you can see from the above chart, this is the longest endurance we’ve seen on any Verizon LTE phone, a full 3 hours and 40 minutes longer than the original Droid RAZR (4:45) and 1 hour and 43 minutes longer than the previous LTE leader, the Samsung Droid Charge. In fact, the RAZR Maxx is the longest-lasting 4G phone that we’ve tested on any network, including AT&T LTE (5:43, Samsung Skyrocket), and AT&T’s (6:51, Motorola Atrix 2) and T-Mobile’s (7:38, Samsung Galaxy S II)HSPA+ networks, and Sprint’s WiMAX (5:51, HTC EVO Shift 4G).

None of the phones on the AT&T’s 4G LTE network came close. The Samsung Skyrocket S II’ Skyrocket’s 5-hour and 42-minute time was the longest we saw on a network where the HTC Vivid (4:21), LG Nitro HD (3:53), and Pantech Burst (4:10) all lasted less than 4.5 hours.

To achieve this kind of epic battery life, Motorola has added a whopping 3,300 mAH battery to the design of its ultrathin RAZR phone. However, even with all that juice, the RAZR Maxx is only a mere .35-inches thick and 5.1 ounces, which is only slightly thicker and heavier than the .3-inch, 4.5-ounce original RAZR.

The Droid RAZR Maxx smarks the beginning of a new era in smartphone longevity, but does it have more to offer than sublime battery life? Stay tuned for our full review to find out.

Comments (9 Responses) Current Price: $229.99 (1 seller)

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9 Responses to “Tested: Motorola Droid RAZR Maxx is Longest-Lasting 4G Phone”

  1. Wilson Says:
    January 27th, 2012 at 2:53 pm

    This isn’t a new era, this is an oversized battery taped to the same old phone. An LTE chipset that inherently uses less power, now that’s something to write home about.

  2. Tom Says:
    January 27th, 2012 at 4:54 pm

    this is not a very helpful review when battery specs are not published. Where the other phones using stock batteries? Did they have upgrades too?

  3. Perry Says:
    January 27th, 2012 at 5:05 pm

    Over sized battery? Have you even held the phone? Funny it’s thinner than most phone out currently and with a larger stock battery than any phone out but you think its over sized? Get your eyes checked. Blame LTE all day but as these screens get better the battery life will continue to suffer..

  4. Avram Piltch, LAPTOP Online Editorial Director Says:
    January 27th, 2012 at 6:05 pm

    All of these phones used their default batteries, including the Maxx.

  5. ryan Says:
    January 27th, 2012 at 6:15 pm

    @Perry – Wilson is right, its not a new era. Anyone can cram more battery into a phone. The razr can afford this increase because of its already svelt profile. Wilsons comment about it being “oversised ” isnt in reference to the size of the Maxx but the fact that it is the same razr as the last but with a bigger battery. …not a huge accomplishment in my opinion, not worth issueing in a new era, thats for certain. 28nm process LTE chips will be though.

  6. ryan Says:
    January 27th, 2012 at 6:25 pm

    Default battery? As in; there’s another available option for the Razr(s)? Neither Razr has a removable battery, how can there be anything other than default.

  7. MicroNix Says:
    January 27th, 2012 at 7:14 pm

    @Wilson, it sure as heck is a new era. A battery of that magnitude in a phone that thin is *EXACTLY* what the mobile phone industry needed. It is the battery that hasn’t kept pace with the phone tech without being a brick. To be able what Moto did here is nothing short of amazing. They more than doubled the average battery while having one of the thinnest phones.

  8. Jonesy Says:
    January 28th, 2012 at 7:24 am

    Oversized battery? I can tell you that the Maxx is noticeably smaller than the HTC Thunderbolt it replaced!
    It is a beautiful feat of engineering that will force other phone manufacturers to address power issues caused by 4G.

  9. cody Says:
    January 31st, 2012 at 12:10 pm

    @Ryan, yes they are not conventionally removeable but replacement bigger batteries are already on the market for the razr and it is possible to get the back off to replace the battery without special tools, I have done it already

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