Motorola RAZR maxx Ve Review

Camera:

One main feature of the Maxx is the 2MP Camera with AutoFocus. The only other phones that have an AutoFocus system are the A990 and enV. Both of those cameras work by pressing the Capture button, which will focus and then take the picture. The Maxx allows you to focus the same way that a real digital camera works. Once the Camera button is pressed on the keypad, the screen will work as your viewfinder. You then press and hold the rectangle button located on the hinge half-way down, which will focus the camera on the subject and show a green square on the display. Once the subject is focused, press the button all the way in to take the picture. When the picture is taken, you can choose to Save, Send, or Erase it. Pictures can be saved to the phones internal memory, or to a MicroSD card. The startup time of the camera is only 2 seconds. Using the AutoFocus takes 3 seconds for it to focus-in on the subject, and then another 3 seconds to save. The overall picture quality from the Maxx is quite good, and in some cases better than the more expensive A990. Pictures taken outside by the Maxx tend to be the most problematic depending on the location of the sun. If the sun is to your back, and you are taking a picture of something in front of you, the image will be taken without problem. However, if you are facing towards the sun, and too much sunlight is entering into the lens, it will cause the Iris to close, and image will be too dark. For most outside pictures, this should not be a problem. Images taken outside have full saturated color and show clear edges with good detail. Still, the A990 is our favorite for outside picture taking.

For pictures taken inside, the Maxx starts to beat the A990. This is because the Maxx is capable of focusing better inside (in lower light) and the Auto White Balance is able to differentiate between different types of lighting environments (fluorescent, incandescent, halogen); where the A990 has trouble with the Auto White Balance and would sometimes cause the image to have a orange tint to it. Using the Flash on a cell phone is often an oxymoron, since it can only be used up to a few feet and is never bright enough. We were pleased to see that the Flash on the Maxx is the first one that is bright enough to use regularly. When using the Flash, it first turns on at half brightness to allow the AutoFocus system to focus on the subject. Then when the image is taken, the flash increases to full brightness. Images taken with the flash are the best that we have seen by any phone offered by Verizon. Colors are vivid and the picture is in-focus and sharp. Another nice feature is that when the camera is activated, you can close the flip and use the front display for taking self portraits.





Available Camera Options include:

Pressing the camera button twice will activate the Camcorder mode. The AutoFocus feature is not available for video recording. To begin or end recording, press the round center key and use the display as the viewfinder. Video options include Brightness, White Balance, Duration (Short, Medium, 15 sec for Video Message, Long Max Memory), Resolution (320x240, 167x144), Flash Video Light, Color Effects, and Storage Device. Even though we used the higher 320x240 resolution for video recording, the overall image quality was lacking. This feature is intended to be used for quick videos, not for recording your vacation. It would be nice if the Maxx was capable of recording VGA 640x480 videos, but no Verizon phone has that feature yet.

For a detailed comparison of the picture quality from the Maxx, A990, enV, and VX8700, please visit our new Verizon Camera-Phone Comparison










Music:

Music playback on a cell phone is nothing new, but the Maxx does it surprisingly well. Once MP3 files are placed into the “My_Music” directory on your MicroSD card, you can insert the card into the phone. Then go into the phone’s Main Menu and select Get it Now, Music & Tone, and My Music. From here, music is categorized by Genres, Albums, Artists, and Playlists. Once a song begins playback, the main Internal display will show the current song information. Closing the flip will activate the External display and the blue backlit touch-sensitive Music Playback Control buttons. You can use the front buttons to Rewind/SkipBack, Play/Pause, and FastForward/SkipAhead. If you press and hold the “Smart” button on the left side, it will deactivate the touch sensitive buttons and show a small ‘lock icon’ on the display. This is useful if the phone is in your pocket and streaming music to a Bluetooth headset, so that you cannot accidentally press one of the buttons. The overall sound quality of MP3 playback was clear and loud. Even at the highest volume, there was no distortion coming from the speaker. This is a welcome change from the VX8700, which has the worst MP3 playback that we have recently heard from a phone. Even though the Maxx provided good music playback, its main caveat is that the speaker is located on the back of the phone. We found that flipping the phone over, thus placing the speaker on top, provided for the best quality sound.



Software:

Qualcomm’s BREW format is used for all downloadable applications. There are only two demo games included on the Maxx (Pac-Man, and Texas Hold’em), but both expire after only a few uses. Any additional games or programs must be downloaded using Verizon’s Get It Now service. The most popular and useful download offered is Verizon’s VZ Navigator GPS application. It allows you to enter in your destination, and it will plan driving directions based upon your current GPS location. There are also pre-selected Airports that you can choose as well. While in use, the display is shows a current map and turn-by-turn driving directions, while a voice will speak the directions to you. We have used this service on several instances and the directions are very accurate. Even if you happen to miss a turn, the program will recalculate the route and display a new map.

The Maxx also includes a Calculator, Notepad, World Clock, and Alarm Clock with 3 independent alarms.
The Notepad allows you to type in a quick note when you don’t have a paper and pen. You use the keypad to enter any information, such as an Address, Phone Number, Name, or a reminder message to read later.
There are a total of 3 independent Alarms. Settings include On/Off, Alarm Time, How Often, and Alarm Sound. The Alarm can be easier to use than the Calendar Event settings, since the Alarm does not require as much information.
With the World Clock, you can view the current time in any Time Zone.