Motorola DROID RAZR HD Full Review


Introduction and Specifications

Motorola Mobility, now a division of Google, has been on a tear as of late, releasing potent new Android superphones to the market, in competition with the iPhone 5, Samsung's Galaxy SIII and many others.  Not long ago we gave you a look at the recently released RAZR M, the 4-inch little brother to the hot, new device that just showed up here in our lab the other day.  

Motorola's RAZR HD sports a larger 4.7-inch Super AMOLED display, the same 1.5GHz Dual-Core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4, and it's currently running Android 4.04, otherwise known as Ice Cream Sandwich.  Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, we've heard,  is projected to be coming to the device in a follow-on update.

Motorola RAZR HD

Considered the middle sibling of Motorola's latest RAZR Trio, the RAZR HD has the same basic platform configuration and identical display as the highest-end RAZR MAXX HD, though the MAXX has a larger 3300mAh (2530mAh for the RAZR HD) battery and 32GB of internal storage versus the RAZR HD's 16GB of on-board storage (12GB usable).  Aside from those differences, along with a slightly thinner 8.4mm chassis and a more palatable $199 price tag on contract, the RAZR HD strikes a balance of usability, style and performance that should appeal to many superphone consumers.  First, let's take you on a quick walk-around of the device and then we'll dig into the specifics of design, build quality and performance.



Motorola DROID RAZR HD
Specifications & Features
Network
Verizon Wireless
Bands/Modes
GSM / UMTS / HSPA+ global roaming + LTE
OS
Android 4.0.4 (Ice Cream Sandwich)
will be upgradeable to Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean)

Display
4.7-inch Super AMOLED HD (720 x 1280)
scratch-resistant Corning Gorilla Glass

Processor
Dual core 1.5GHz Qualcomm MSM8960 Snapdragon S4 processor
Memory
1GB of LP DDR2 RAM
16GB internal memory (12GB usable)
microSD expansion slot (empty from factory)

Usage Time
"Mixed Usage" - up to 24 hours, as quoted from Motorola
Dimensions
 67.9 x 131.9 x 8.4 mm
Weight
5.15 ounces
Battery
2530mAH Li Ion Polymer
Connectivity
Bluetooth, dual-band 802.11 a/b/g/n, Mobile Hotspot, microUSB, micro HDMI, DLNA 1.5, aGPS, 3.5mm headset jack,
Camera
8 MP rear facing camera with LED flash
1.3 MP front facing camera

Other key features
Made with KEVLAR fiber and scratch-resistant Corning Gorilla Glass
Price
$199.99 with contract and discounts

White Motorola RAZR HD
Motorola RAZR HD - Also available in white...

Before we even put this phone through its benchmark paces, we can tell you up front that the combination of Android 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich and Qualcomm's dual-core Snapdragon S4 SoC offers a very responsive, satisfying smartphone experience.  And with Jelly Bean right around the corner, things will get even more buttery smooth, provided Verizon and Motorola are on their game and deliver a timely update to the device. 

Let's take a closer look at the hardware...
 

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