# Gnex, Razr Maxx, Rezound, or wait...



## brucipher (Jul 28, 2011)

So I am eligible for un upgrade through Verizon, and of course this has me itching to upgrade. I currently have an HTC Thunderbolt running CM7. I am pretty happy with the Thunderbolt, but as soon as my upgrades come up I cannot help but want to upgrade! What would you all do? The three phones listed in the topic title are basically the current front runners, but would you all wait for MWC next month and see what is coming next? Here are my pros and cons for the three phones listed:

Gnex: Pros: Awesome dev support, ICS Cons: Flimsy build, battery life?

Razr Maxx: Pros: Awesome battery life, solid build design Cons: Battery not removable, lack in dev support?

Rezound: Pros: Price, solid build design, happy with my current HTC phone Cons: Battery life? Slow dev support at the moment, but seems to be ramping up a bit.

When I got the Tbolt I got a 1 year contact, hence my upgrade availability, but now I will have to lock in a 2 year contract. What would you all do?


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## GqSkrub (Jan 9, 2012)

I love my GNEX. Coming from the Incredible1, I kinda miss the SenseUI. I loved the Incredible and I am of a fan of the HTC widgets, but the GNEX is a mile ahead of any other phone. The crazy DEV love it gets alone is a key selling point to me. If you don't love tinkering with your phone then the draw is considerably lessened.

I think the build of the Gnex is solid. The battery life is not terrible considering the huge screen - most people average 3 hours of SCREEN ON time. Is it kinda inconvenient to lug around 5 batteries? Sure. But then again, I CAN lug around 5 batteries. Now i have a week's worth battery life. I have a charger for work, home, car, GF's apt. Add to that a spare battery in each location and I now never worry about battery life! (lol) Seems extreme but it's handy seeing that she has a galaxy nexus that uses the same battery.

TL;DNR. Get the GNEX soon or wait.


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## jellybellys (Apr 3, 2012)

From what I've heard, gnex.

Sent from my Incredible 2 using RootzWiki


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## chrisjm00 (Aug 20, 2011)

I came from the Bionic to the GNex, and haven't regretted it one bit. The build quality is solid, the battery life is meh but expected from a device with the specs this thing has. The dev support is unreal. Every day there are a dozen new mods, and roms are being updated constantly. Having an unlockable bootloader that you don't need any trickery to get unlocked is nice also.


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## stedrocklp (Jan 15, 2012)

I have the pleasure of owning both the Rezound and the GNex and I have to say its a win-win. Specs wise there aren't many other phones that can touch the Rezound. 1.5GHz processor, expandable Micro SD card, Beats (nice if you listen to a lot of music like me), Nice camera. Where the GNex wins hands down is development. The Nexus line has always been known to be at the front of the line when an OS update comes down the pike. There are definitely some nice Rom's for the Rezound right now but the Nexus is 100% customize-able to your specs. As far as the Razr is concerned, Motorola has been know to be not very dev friendly. If you are someone who likes email on your phone, read Moto's terms and conditions and you will think twice about doing anything on your phone. Personally I would say buy the GNex simply for the fact you know there will always be developers working on upgrades. Hopefully the developers that liked the classic T-Bolt will fall in line with the Rezound but as of now the Nexus is the winner.


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## ChickenTuna (Jan 28, 2012)

I've had the same problem when it came to boiling down to which phone I want. I went the the Gnex and I love it! The browser on the Rezound is a joke..


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## brucipher (Jul 28, 2011)

Thanks everyone who has responded so far. I think I will head to the Verizon store today and check them all out. I am leaning towards the gnex or just waiting. We will see what happens when I go to the store 

Sent from my Thunderbolt using Tapatalk


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## -TSON- (Jul 24, 2011)

RAZR (Maxx) has lots of dev support, actually, just not on XDA or Rootz (droidrzr.com is booming). CM9 is like half done. Moto's saying bootloader unlock is coming sometime this year, too (which is debatable...), so it can only get better. The GNex build quality is a joke for such great software/hardware/openness, the rezound's battery life is downright embarrassing, and they don't have that much dev support

If you're not up for a (temporarily?) locked down MAXX, I suggest you wait for Quad core stuff from Sammy, personally. They did say "all day battery life", after all.


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## jellybellys (Apr 3, 2012)

I have an Incredible 2, but a friend of mine just got the nexus and loves it.


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## gflam (Aug 27, 2011)

Haven't got one yet but really want one and that's a gnex but otherwise I'd wait for something quad core but those are gonna take a while most likely so I'd go with a gnex personally

Sent from my evo 3d at 1.8ghz


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## Swiftmazda (Oct 29, 2011)

I like the Rezound better than the Gnex, but I also love Sense. Unlike my Droid Incredible 2, Sense flies on the Rezound. I'm also not a big fan of the Gnex. Sure, it has dev support out the ass, and that's definitely a perk. The build quality seems very cheap to me, and some of my friends that have one hate the battery life.

I chose to stay with a brand I trust. HTC has never let me down. I no longer use my Rezound (moved it to a different line), but it's my favorite android phone by far.


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## cordell507 (Jan 21, 2012)

I love my Gnex, the build quality is top-notch and that's coming from the desire HD which was one of the best in that regard, battery for me is about 4 1/2 hours screen on but that's with custom rom and kernel and I also have to GSM version so no LTE battery drain, and the screen is beautiful much better compared to my friends razr where everything looks like a blue rainbow


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## Meltus (Jan 31, 2012)

I love my Gnex; the build quality is decent and the battery life is actually pretty good (with custom ROMs and over/underclock profiles). Everything that people complain about it can be fixed with software *except *for the camera. It takes super fast photo's but the quality leaves A LOT to be desired. Not sure why they went with 5MP tbh. The speaker on it isn't bad either (when boosted, stock is terrible) and the GPS locks faster than any phone I've ever had, it's almost instant sometimes.
There are a few things that are a bit of a let down; It feels 'cheap' (the build quality is good though, it just doesn't 'feel' like it is), it's a bit too light for my liking, the camera isn't great and the wifi range seems a little limited. On the other hand, I get much better 3G signal than on my O2x.
The main reason to get the Nexus though is the screen; it's absolutely fantastic! And despite it being only a 1GHz dual-core, it's very snappy. Once you get custom firmware on it there's little to no lag at all.
And my favourite thing about the Nexus? You can mod the softkey buttons and literally put ANYTHING you want there!

But, to go back to your actual question, I would scrap the contract and, if you can afford it, buy the phone outright. I'm not sure what it's like the in the US, but here in the UK you can buy a phone unlocked and then sign up for a rolling contract which you can cancel whenever you want. 2 years is FAR too long to wait for a new phone if you're anything like me!


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## Swiftmazda (Oct 29, 2011)

Meltus said:


> I love my Gnex; the build quality is decent and the battery life is actually pretty good (with custom ROMs and over/underclock profiles). Everything that people complain about it can be fixed with software *except *for the camera. It takes super fast photo's but the quality leaves A LOT to be desired. Not sure why they went with 5MP tbh. The speaker on it isn't bad either (when boosted, stock is terrible) and the GPS locks faster than any phone I've ever had, it's almost instant sometimes.
> There are a few things that are a bit of a let down; It feels 'cheap' (the build quality is good though, it just doesn't 'feel' like it is), it's a bit too light for my liking, the camera isn't great and the wifi range seems a little limited. On the other hand, I get much better 3G signal than on my O2x.
> The main reason to get the Nexus though is the screen; it's absolutely fantastic! And despite it being only a 1GHz dual-core, it's very snappy. Once you get custom firmware on it there's little to no lag at all.
> And my favourite thing about the Nexus? You can mod the softkey buttons and literally put ANYTHING you want there!
> ...


I've always wondered why the 5MP camera is so bad on the Gnex. It must be the optics. There have been other phones with 5MP cameras (prior models of the iPhone, for instance) that take much better pictures than phones with 8MP cameras. You're right about it taking pictures quickly. It makes me think that they sacrificed photo quality for speed.


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## ryan (Jun 7, 2011)

The Galaxy Nexus has a metal chasis, the exterior is only plastic, so I disagree with the cheap build quality argument. It's a very solid and sturdy device in hand, especially with the gorgeous screen. As for the Rezound and Maxx, I don't care for Snapdragon chipsets, I prefer the OMAP platform and its widely available developers/support, so the Rezound is out, and the Maxx uses the 4430, a slightly watered down OMAP 4460. As far as internal hardware goes, I give the victory of Galaxy Nexus.


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## BennyJr (Jun 26, 2011)

I went with the gnex because i think as a crack flasher it is perfect for me. Ive set up my phone so many times driving to work from flashing a new rom so i think the nexus is right up any crack flasher or android addict's line. Plus google updates u, Yes the man himself. I cant take waiting months and months for an update. I think the camera will be fixed soon enough it seems as just a software problem which can be corrected.


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## x70xchallengerx (Feb 20, 2012)

Personally I'm waiting for the HTC One X. Hope it's for Verizon!


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## frankydroid (Jun 17, 2011)

I have used a Droid X, HTC Incredible, HTC Thunderbolt, Droid Charge, and Galaxy Nexus as my daily driver for at least a week. Therefore I've experienced quite a few manufacturer overlays as well as the different development for each phone. I rooted and flashed new roms on all of them. Touchwiz pre-gingerbread on single core can die in a fiery eternal hell. I love AOSP for the most part. It's fast, clean, and doesn't look like balls. I didn't care much for sense, seemed bogged down and loaded with features that were never useful to me. I want it clean and fast. The one version I have left out is MotoBlur. I had the droid x with android 2.1 and up until the 2nd-init mod. The latest blue gingerbread was acceptable. I didn't get to use it much but my experiences were pleasant. Now it's been more refined PLUS dualcore.

My opinions are for the Razr and GNex. If you want aosp and many many roms based on pure aosp, then get the gnex. If you're satisfied with somewhat Blury roms, and dont need a crazy huge dev backing, then the Razr is a perfect candidate.

I loved the build quality of my droidx. This includes the housing and the radios. Everything was perfect, they put a ton of testing into their stuff. That being said I also like my GNex. It's not AS solid as the droidx, but the housing is pretty touch. My phone dove from my ear (6ft off the ground) hit some rough tiles and slid. No case, and only had unnoticeable scuffs on the corner, I can barely see them when I look for them. But alas, the radios arent as efficient, though that's prolly only due to the 4g. I hear great things about the gsm battery.

All in all, Gnex if you have a fetish for rootzandroms OR the Razr if you like to dabble, but want something reliable...


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## jellybellys (Apr 3, 2012)

frankydroid said:


> I have used a Droid X, HTC Incredible, HTC Thunderbolt, Droid Charge, and Galaxy Nexus as my daily driver for at least a week.


You have too many phones


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## loki993 (Jul 15, 2011)

Im kind of int he same boat as the OP so this is a good thread for me.

What about the signal issues people are saying the Nexus is having? Ive seen tons of threads on this. How about rebooting? Also 3-4 hours of onscreen sounds asinine. Sorry but Im not carrying 5 extra batteries around everywhere with me.

The Rezound is heavily discounted right now to 99 dollars, as opposed to 199 for the Nex, does that change anything?

Now that the Rezounds bootloader is unlocked will it get more Dev support?

How is battery life one the Rezound?


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## ajonesma (Feb 29, 2012)

My choice would be the Galaxy nexus


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## loki993 (Jul 15, 2011)

ajonesma said:


> My choice would be the Galaxy nexus


Even with all the signal and battery issues? You would rather have a phone that you can have all the mods and kernals in the world for, but constantly drops signal?


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## thecatchphrase (Mar 6, 2012)

So I came onto this board today to make this same topic..

Although a uddy of mine is going to switch to another carrier and I'm trying to get him to sell me his Razr for around 150. That way I can upgrade from my incredible 1 and hold onto my upgrade till a new batch of phones come in..

Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using Tapatalk


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## brucekr (Jul 18, 2011)

My main driver the last year was the Thunderbolt. I recently bought a gnex and it just seemed a tad too big, and personally, I like the Sense UI, so I ditched it and got the rezound. The gnex was a beautiful phone too.


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## loki993 (Jul 15, 2011)

Heres the way I saw it, I just got a rezound. Heres why.
First off the price for a hundred less then the Nexus its compelling. Is the Nexus a hundred dollars more of a phone? I didnt think so.

Everything Ive read says the radios on the Rexound are solid. The screen is really nice, camera takes excellent pictures, its been unlocked and dev support should grow for it.

As for the battery life thing, honestly from what Ive read neither are good. Everything Ive seen said the Rezound is a little better though.

Plus if you go into the FS section I see tons of Nexuses...I didnt see too many Rezounds. Now that's probably because more people bought Nexuses, but for whatever reason a lot of people are selling them too.


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