Motorola RAZR HD review

Motorola uses the same software modifications to Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean) as it did on the Intel-powered Motorola RAZR i, and this is no bad thing. Android is largely left untouched, and the small differences in appearance and icon design should only bother the most ardent Android purists. The biggest change is in the layout of the home screens; you start with just one home screen page, to the left of which is a handy page of commonly used settings. Swipe to the right and you can add blank pages as you wish, or pages based on templates to group certain functions such as media playback, mobile office or navigation. It’s a good system as you only have as many pages as you need and key settings are always just a flick away.

Here you can see the initial single home screen plus options for settings (left) and to add a new home screen (right)

The one disappointing part of the Motorola RAZR HD is its camera. The eight-megapixel camera isn’t the worst we’ve seen, but it produces lacklustre shots with excessive picture noise, soft details and muted colours. If you’re a keen snapper this phone isn’t for you. The examples below show how much of a gulf there is between this camera and the Galaxy S3’s.

The RAZR HD’s camera creates noisy images, even in good indoor lighting …

… by comparison the S3’s camera creates images that are crisp and largely noise free – click either image to enlarge

DISPLAY

Looking at the RAZR HD’s and Samsung Galaxy S3’s displays side-by-side we couldn’t see any notable quality differences – across numerous test photos and videos. It’s not surprising as both are Samsung-made Super AMOLED screens. Colours on both are bright and vibrant and blacks are deep and rich. The Pentile layout of the subpixels means that fine detail isn’t quite as crisp as on equivalent LCD displays, but we feel the superior contrast more than makes up for this. It’s an excellent screen and though it doesn’t have the Full HD resolution of the latest phones, its 312ppi provides plenty of detail.

While the RAZR HD’s screen is fractionally smaller than the S3’s, this is compounded by the use of onscreen buttons rather than Samsung’s three buttons (one physical, two touch sensitive) under the screen. The RAZR’s onscreen buttons aren’t a problem when using the handset in portrait, as there’s plenty of vertical space; we do find them annoying when browsing the web in landscape, though, as they take up valuable space. On the other hand, despite owning an S3 for some time, we’ve never got on with having to actually press the middle button while using it one-handed – so having all touch buttons, onscreen or not, is no bad thing.

The onscreen buttons, far right, can take up valuable screen space

In terms of price, the RAZR HD is a direct competitor for the non-LTE Samsung Galaxy S3. Its advantages are superior battery life, 4G/LTE support, faster 3D graphics and arguably a more pleasing look and feel. On the downside, the camera simply isn’t in the same league. If the quality of your snaps isn’t key to you, then in every other respect the Motorola RAZR HD is a fantastic handset for the money.