Samsung Galaxy S III vs Motorola DROID RAZR MAXX

By Sam Earley

Published: Jul 17, 2012, 9:24 AM

47comments

Samsung Galaxy S III vs Motorola DROID RAZR MAXX

This is a short comparison review between the Samsung Galaxy S III and the Motorola DROID RAZR MAXX, both of which are available from Verizon Wireless. You can read our full in-depth review of the Samsung Galaxy S III here, and of the Motorola DROID RAZR MAXX here.

Introduction:

It’s been about 6 months since the Motorola DROID RAZR MAXX was released, and since then it has remained at the top of Verizon’s line-up. Not only because of its hardware and software, but because of its impressive 3300 mAh battery. Although it recently has been updated to Android Ice Cream Sandwich, it is not as “new and shiny” as it once was. Now enter the new Samsung Galaxy S III, also with Android ICS on board, but featuring a larger and higher resolution screen, not to mention a faster processor and more RAM. Oh, and did we forget to mention that the Samsung Galaxy S III is $199 and $249 on-contract for its 16GB and 32GB version, while the Motorola DROID RAZR MAXX with 16GB internal memory and 16GB memory card is still selling for $299. Let’s see how these two phones square-off.

Design:

Beauty is truly in the eye of the beholder, and that is the case when comparing the Samsung Galaxy S III next to the Motorola DROID RAZR MAXX. The Galaxy S III is more esthetically pleasing, with its sleek design and smooth curves, while the RAZR MAXX looks more utilitarian with a bold design and square corners. This also holds true to the way the devices feel in the hand– as the Galaxy S III has a plastic feel to it and is slippery to the touch, while the RAZR MAXX has a more “premium feel” as metal is used throughout, and the soft-touch coating on the Kevlar backing allows for a nice firm grip.

Despite those differences, both phones felt comfortable in our hand, and their overall size difference is negligible, but we could easily tell that the RAZR MAXX was a slightly heavier, coming in at 5.1 oz, with the Galaxy S III at 4.7 oz.

One interesting aspect of the Galaxy S III is that Samsung is using a physical Home button, along with touch-sensitive buttons for Menu Options and Back. The Home button on the Galaxy S III isn’t intrusive, and actually comes in handy, as it can wake-up the phone, instead of pressing the Power/Unlock button on the side.

The location of the microSIM and microSD memory card slot on the RAZR MAXX is tucked away under a flip-door on the left edge, which allows for easier access than having to remove the rear cover on the Galaxy S III.

Display:

One of the most noticeable difference between the Samsung Galaxy S III and the Motorola DROID RAZR MAXX is the display. Even though both are Super AMOLED and use a PenTile Matrix, the screen on the Galaxy S III is larger at 4.8” and has an HD resolution of 720x1280 (306 ppi), while the one on the RAZR MAXX is 4.3” with a qHD resolution of 540x960 (256 ppi). Images look great on both, with fully saturated colors and good viewing angles, but the extra resolution on the Galaxy S III is more noticeable when viewing videos or web page text, as it looks nice and sharp, instead of some noticeable jagged edges when viewed on the RAZR MAXX.

When we took the phones outside, the Galaxy S III was easier to view as it doesn’t reflect as much sunlight as the RAZR MAXX.

Between the two, we enjoyed the display on the Samsung Galaxy S III more, due to its larger size, higher resolution and better visibility outdoors.

Samsung Galaxy S III 360-degrees View:

Motorola DROID RAZR MAXX 360-degrees View:

Interface:

Samsung is using their TouchWiz Nature UX, and Motorola uses their MotoBLUR design.

Both are heavily integrated, and you really don’t see anything of the stock Android ICS interface. There are 5 static icons on the bottom of both the Galaxy S III and RAZR MAXX, though they can be customized, and the App Draw now moves horizontally side-to-side, instead of scrolling vertically. There also is a selection of Widgets, though there are a few more on the Galaxy S III, and have more functionality. Additionally, the Galaxy S III provides you with a total of 7 home screens, while the RAZR MAXX is still limited to only 5.

To us, the TouchWiz Nature UX interface on the Samsung Galaxy S III appears more polished and runs more fluid than the MotoBLUR interface on the RAZR MAXX.

Messaging:

There is very little difference between the E-Mail programs on the Galaxy S III and RAZR MAXX, as both allow you to accomplish the same tasks. We did notice some bugs with the E-Mail app on the RAZR MAXX since its update to Android ICS. We have it set to check our POP3 accounts every hour, but sometimes a few hours would go by and they would not be checked. Also, IMAP Push didn’t always seem to work, and we manually had to check for new messages. Because of this, we ended up installing K-9 Mail as a work-around on the RAZR MAXX. Thankfully, the included E-Mail app on the Galaxy S III worked just fine, checking POP3 accounts as it should, and IMAP Push also worked without a hitch. GMail still uses its own dedicated app, and can check multiple GMail accounts.

The on-screen QWERTY keyboards share a similar layout, but we actually found the one on the RAZR MAXX easier to use since comes up a bit higher on the screen than on the Galaxy S III. Also, the auto word completion seems to be more accurate on the RAZR MAXX.

Processor and Memory:

Without a doubt, the 1.5GHz dual-core Qualcomm MSM8960 Snapdragon S4 processor on the Galaxy S III flies in the face of the 1.2GHz dual-core TI OPAM 4430 processor that is on the RAZR MAXX. Add to that, the Galaxy S III comes with 2GB of RAM, instead of 1GB on the RAZR MAXX. Before the benchmarks were even done, we could easily tell the Galaxy S III was faster, as apps opened and ran quicker than on the RAZR MAXX.

	Quadrant Standard	AnTuTu	NenaMark 2
*Samsung Galaxy S III*	5022	6396	58,7
*Motorola DROID RAZR MAXX*	2895	6178	36,7

The Motorola DROID RAZR MAXX comes with 16GB of internal memory and also a 16GB microSDHC memory card pre-installed, while the Samsung Galaxy S III is available with either 16GB or 32GB of internal memory – and the microSD card slot is empty. Both phones are capable of using up to a 64GB memory card.

Internet and Connectivity:

The included web browser on the Samsung Galaxy S III does a great job, as pages are properly rendered, and pinch-to-zoom and kinetic scrolling are both fast and fluid. We also appreciated the fact that most embedded Flash content and videos (such as YouTube) were able to load and play properly in the web page. Meanwhile, the stock browser on the Motorola RAZR MAXX feels a bit clunky, doesn’t zoom and scroll as smooth, and after the ICS update we’ve noticed that most embedded Flash videos will not play. We tried out the Dolphin HD and Chrome Browsers on the RAZR MAXX, and found that Chrome did work the best, and even was able to work properly with most embedded Flash videos.

We love that both devices run on Verizon’s 4G LTE Network, but again we saw some differences. We ran the SpeedTest.net app several times at night and during the day around the Ft Lauderdale area, and the Samsung Galaxy S III continually got faster 4G speeds than the Motorola DROID RAZR MAXX. For example, we ran one test outside our house at night after 1am so there would be lower internet traffic, and the Galaxy S III got a download speed of 14.29 Mbps and an upload speed of 7.26 Mbps with a 99ms Ping time. The RAZR MAXX got about half that speed, with 7.90 Mbps download and 3.77 Mbps upload, with a ping time of 100ms.

Both phones also support Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, though the Galaxy S III can also use the less crowded 5GHz Wi-Fi band. It also supports NFC, and S Beam, so you can transfer files easily to another S Beam enabled phones.

Camera:

With an 8MP autofocus camera on the Samsung Galaxy S III and the Motorola DROID RAZR MAXX, you may think their pictures would look similar, but nothing could be further from the truth.

First off, the Galaxy S III has a wider angle lens, so you can get more in the image without having to back-up as much as when using the RAZR MAXX. Images that we took outside on a sunny day with the Galaxy S III have fairly accurate colors (not oversaturated) and look in-focus and sharp, but not what we could call “crisp”. Meanwhile, outside images from the RAZR MAXX look dull and boring, with poor color reproduction and soft edges; though both phones have a tendency to overexpose bright areas. For inside images, the Galaxy S III again did a better job, as images looked sharper and had less grain than the RAZR MAXX. The LED flash on the Galaxy S III was plenty bright and produced good colors, while the flash image produced by the RAZR MAXX was not as bright and had a blue hue to it.

Even though both devices can record HD videos at 1080p resolution and at 30 frames per second, we again are more pleased by the results of the Galaxy S III, as colors are more accurate and there is more detail in the video than the one shot by the RAZR MAXX. Unfortunately, video shake is a problem with both, as you have to use two hands and be steady when recording. When we only used one had during part of the video, to test the autofocus for a close up subject, the video shake was very noticeable.

Samsung Galaxy S III Sample Video:

Motorola DROID RAZR MAXX Sample Video:

Multimedia:

The Music Player on the Samsung Galaxy S III and Motorola DROID RAZR MAXX don’t have much fanfare to their appearance, but get the job done. Both offer some EQ settings; though there is about twice as many on the Galaxy S III, and it even allows you to manually customize the Equalizer ranges and adjust the 3D, Bass, Reverb, Room size and Clarity effects. Music playback through the rear speaker does sound a bit better on the RAZR MAXX, but not by much, though Samsung does include a nice set of earbuds. The one thing missing is an Audio Playback Control from the Lock Screen on the Galaxy S III, as we’re glad to see it on the RAZR MAXX.

Of course, both phones can play pretty much any video file you can through at it up to 1080p resolution; including H.263/H.264 encoded MP4s and DivX files. Naturally, the 4.8” 720p HD screen on the Galaxy S III is a real treat to watch videos on, but the RAZR MAXX looks almost as good at a smaller size.

Call Quality:

In the past, we’ve been more pleased with the call quality from Verizon’s Motorola phones than ones from Samsung, and it continues with these two as well. When using the RAZR MAXX, voices on our end sounded fuller and more life-like (though we could hear a faint “crackling” sound in the background), and people that we called also said we sounded good on their end. But when we used the Galaxy S III, voices on our end sounded a bit thin and lacking full-tones, and people that we called said we didn’t sound quite as natural as when using the RAZR MAXX.

Battery:

When it comes to battery life – all hail to the 3300 mAh battery on the RAZR MAXX. It is still king, as it provided us up to 17 hours of continuous talk time on a full charge, or 2-3 days of mixed usage. Meanwhile, the 2100 mAh battery on the Galaxy S III was only capable of 8 hours of continuous talk time on full charge, or about a day’s worth of mixed usage, which is not bad for a 2100 mAh battery. But the real killer is using apps or web browsing on the phone, as that uses the 4.8” HD screen and quickly drains the battery. So if battery life is a high priority to you, the RAZR MAXX could be your best bet, or you could always buy extra batteries for the Galaxy S III if needed.

Conclusion:

There’s a lot to like about both devices – and choosing which one is better can be a tough decision for anyone, as it is subjective on what that person is looking for. But as it stands right now, we are going with the Samsung Galaxy S III on these points: the larger and higher resolution display, faster processor with more RAM, more polished user interface, and better camera. But the Galaxy S III does lack that “premium feel” that you get from the more solid Motorola DROID RAZR MAXX, not to mention the substantial difference in the battery life.

Samsung Galaxy S III vs Motorola DROID RAZR MAXX:

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Sam Earley, is a former reviews and news writer at PhoneArena. His incredibly productive run included numerous reviews and comparison articles of breakthrough products, such as the Motorola DROID X, Verizon Pre 2, HTC Thunderbolt and many others.