# Hardware opinions.



## Obaterista93 (Jul 25, 2011)

Just wanted some opinions on this. Development support aside, strictly hardware speaking, would you take the Gnex or the Rezound? The Gnex has the bigger screen... but the Rezound has the 1.5 gHz dual core. I've always been a huge fan of HTC hardware, but I can't quite make up my mind. Opinions? Also, if you feel that any other phone happens to be a powerhouse deserving of being brought into the debate... feel free.


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## YtsejamHP (Jan 16, 2012)

I have an upgrade coming up next month (just missed the unlimited data grandfathering. =/) and am leaning to either the Razr Maxx or Razr HD if it's out by then, based mostly on the buttery battery life.

Edit: I don't really game much on my phone, so the processing doesn't much matter to me, as I imagine that for basic uses (plus maybe Netflix) most newer devices will handle it all peachy.


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## Obaterista93 (Jul 25, 2011)

The biggest issue for me with the Razr and Razr Maxx(besides being moto... lol) is the lack of removable battery. I can't even tell you how many times popping my battery out has saved my butt when messing with my phone. As for battery life though, you can't beat it. For any non-root user, I'd definitely recommend it.


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## Obaterista93 (Jul 25, 2011)

And is your username a DT reference by any chance?


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## Armada (Oct 13, 2011)

I'll either be getting the Nexus or Razr HD if it's out by November. I really miss the quality of a Motorola device, bootloader be damned. The Galaxy S3 is tempting but I don't really like the physical buttons and Sammy phones always feel fragile. Though opinions will be revised when that date comes. I wouldn't take the Rezound because HTC has nothing to offer to me anymore. If VZW had a One series phone, maybe. But the Dinc 4G isn't good enough and probably won't see much dev love. Maybe that rumored HTC device might be decent.


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## Obaterista93 (Jul 25, 2011)

I should go ahead and mention that I'm planning on buying one of these off of Swappa or eBay, so I'm not worried about being stuck with it for two years or anything. That's why I'm considering the Rezound. For the hardware specs is has, its a powerhouse that can hold its own or out perform almost anything out now.


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## Armada (Oct 13, 2011)

It really depends if you like HTC. Since the Rezound has an ICS RIL available it should see some sort of AOSP JB ROMs. Though I wouldn't trust another 4G device on that, especially an HTC one. The only thing I ever heard of getting 4G on AOSP ICS before a RIL leaked was the Bionic (and that may be faulty memory). Everything else has been damned by the RIL (The Bolt, Stratosphere, and Charge are good examples). That and Moto is more open about new versions and I like hearing that a soak test is coming. It means the update isn't far behind. No "silent schedules"

Also if the Razr works anything like my A500, the nonremovable battery is not a bad thing. On the A500 you can hold the power button for a few seconds and it'll power off. It works even if the device froze or bootloops because it's a hardware thing.


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## quickdraw86 (Jan 30, 2012)

As you said, development aside, only considering hardware, the rezound wins over the nexus. The rezound features upgradeable storage, the gnex doesn't. Rezound has an 8mp rear camera, gnex has 5mp, also, the low light photo quality of the rezound is superior to the nexus. Additionally, call quality is better on rezound (higher speaker output) and the radio seems more reliable based on what I've read. I wondered about a side by side comparison of these two devices in the past, (never considered the razr) and these guys did an excellent and in depth write up comparing the two phones:

http://www.phonearena.com/reviews/Verizon-Galaxy-Nexus-vs-HTC-Rezound_id2938

Hope you find that helpful.

*Thunderbolt 4G*


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## Obaterista93 (Jul 25, 2011)

Armada said:


> It really depends if you like HTC. Since the Rezound has an ICS RIL available it should see some sort of AOSP JB ROMs. Though I wouldn't trust another 4G device on that, especially an HTC one. The only thing I ever heard of getting 4G on AOSP ICS before a RIL leaked was the Bionic (and that may be faulty memory). Everything else has been damned by the RIL (The Bolt, Stratosphere, and Charge are good examples). That and Moto is more open about new versions and I like hearing that a soak test is coming. It means the update isn't far behind. No "silent schedules"
> 
> Also if the Razr works anything like my A500, the nonremovable battery is not a bad thing. On the A500 you can hold the power button for a few seconds and it'll power off. It works even if the device froze or bootloops because it's a hardware thing.


That I didn't know about the power button. I really do love HTC hardware. My mom has a Gnex, and although I find the speed of the software impressive, the hardware doesn't do much for me. I love how my bolt just feels... solid. And ha, trust me, I feel your pain on the RIL issues.


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## Obaterista93 (Jul 25, 2011)

quickdraw86 said:


> As you said, development aside, only considering hardware, the rezound wins over the nexus. The rezound features upgradeable storage, the gnex doesn't. Rezound has an 8mp rear camera, gnex has 5mp, also, the low light photo quality of the rezound is superior to the nexus. Additionally, call quality is better on rezound (higher speaker output) and the radio seems more reliable based on what I've read. I wondered about a side by side comparison of these two devices in the past, (never considered the razr) and these guys did an excellent and in depth write up comparing the two phones:
> 
> http://www.phonearen...-Rezound_id2938
> 
> ...


That is one hell of a review. Very well written. Thank you, Quickdraw!


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## quickdraw86 (Jan 30, 2012)

Obaterista93 said:


> That is one hell of a review. Very well written. Thank you, Quickdraw!


Yeah, it's four content rich pages! No problem bud, glad to help.

*Thunderbolt 4G*


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## yarly (Jun 22, 2011)

I'm not a fan of the Rezound, but Anandtech does good device reviews: http://www.anandtech...rlcd-on-verizon

They also compare the Rezound to the Nexus. Review is sort of lacking though compared to some others they have done:

http://www.anandtech.com/show/5310/samsung-galaxy-nexus-ice-cream-sandwich-review/

Is a bunch of pages for the Nexus.


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## quickdraw86 (Jan 30, 2012)

yarly said:


> I'm not a fan of the Rezound


you own and use the nexus now, but what didn't/don't you like about the rezound? I'm just curious about what you think.

*Thunderbolt 4G*


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## yarly (Jun 22, 2011)

It's too similar to being a Thunderbolt mostly so it's not much of an upgrade.

Pros
1) It has a slightly newer GPU and CPU (but not by much)
2) Higher res screen is a nicer addition.
3) Same size as the Thunderbolt (I really don't like big phones)
4) Probably built like a tank as my thunderbolt was (dropped the hell out of it and still worked)
5) Bit larger battery
6) Comes with better headphones than the Thunderbolt had, but the Nexus also had decent ones if you don't care about the brand name stuck on them.
7) Since ICS is out for it now, you can pretend you still have a Thunderbolt with full working ICS (though it's Sense ICS if that matters).
8) There's some unofficial AOSP based builds out. No idea how well they work or support.

Cons
1) Slightly newer GPU and CPU (it's a pro and con). It's newer, but it's dramatically newer.
2) LCD screen (I kind of like OLED ones better, but it's preference)
3) Same modem chipset in it so battery life related to LTE will be the same pretty much
4) Not much development for it in comparison to the Thunderbolt. Mainly lots of rehashes of Sense and I'm not a Sense fan. That's just my preference though. Wouldn't really compare development for any phone to the Nexus as that's kind of unfair.
5) Screwy rooting process that totally voids warranty permanently (that may or may not matter to some)
6) If you're a user with lots of questions, I don't think the user support is nearly as large as say the Thunderbolt has/had, Nexus or the S3.
7) Design of the phone is built like a tank, but the Incredible/Desire/EVO like design is getting kind of old and ugly to me.

I mean I guess if you can find one cheap off contract (I'd be pressed to pay more than $75) and can deal with the cons, then it's not so bad.


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## recDNA (Oct 25, 2011)

What has kind of soured me on the rezound is the more advanced one x. I do plan to try out a rezound on sense 3.6 at vzw store though. I would guess it could run ics without any lag but then I've read about homescreen redraws and lag in the sgs3 which is a far more advanced phone so I'm starting to think manufacturers will always find a way to overtax their hardware no matter how good it is.

Oh...and I don't think you can get a fully functional rezound with no scratches for less than $250 - $350.

I have seen razr maxx on ebay for over $700! Why would any vzw customer pay that when full price for a brand new razr maxx at vzw is $650 (unless memory fails me, I looked at lots of.phones).


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## Obaterista93 (Jul 25, 2011)

recDNA said:


> What has kind of soured me on the rezound is the more advanced one x. I do plan to try out a rezound on sense 3.6 at vzw store though. I would guess it could run ics without any lag but then I've read about homescreen redraws and lag in the sgs3 which is a far more advanced phone so I'm starting to think manufacturers will always find a way to overtax their hardware no matter how good it is.
> 
> Oh...and I don't think you can get a fully functional rezound with no scratches for less than $250 - $350.
> 
> I have seen razr maxx on ebay for over $700! Why would any vzw customer pay that when full price for a brand new razr maxx at vzw is $650 (unless memory fails me, I looked at lots of.phones).


$250-$350 is what I've been seeing as well. I've been planning on spending about that much on it. I've been looking between eBay and Swappa. You?


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## YtsejamHP (Jan 16, 2012)

Obaterista93 said:


> The biggest issue for me with the Razr and Razr Maxx(besides being moto... lol) is the lack of removable battery. I can't even tell you how many times popping my battery out has saved my butt when messing with my phone. As for battery life though, you can't beat it. For any non-root user, I'd definitely recommend it.


The lack of removable batteries bothered me at first, but I figured there would be enough ways to work around that, as Armada has mentioned. I would pop my battery out a ton when I had my Inc, but I'm a little more set in ways, so I don't mess around with the phone too much once I find what I like in a custom rom.
Are you going to sell off your T-Bolt, toward the new phone? Just curious as that could open up more options. 
If I was going for an off-contract upgrade I would probably go with the Rezound for the camera, build, and expandable storage (as in I'd rather pay for a 16 gb card, than pay more to get a 32 gb Nexus) reasons.

[background=rgb(245, 245, 245)]"And is your username a DT reference by any chance?"[/background]

[background=rgb(245, 245, 245)]Yep! I just added the "HP" to personalize it. =J [/background]


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## recDNA (Oct 25, 2011)

Obaterista93 said:


> $250-$350 is what I've been seeing as well. I've been planning on spending about that much on it. I've been looking between eBay and Swappa. You?


Yes, I also. I found at least one phone listed on swappa and ebay at the same time. Seemed a little shady to me.

I'm out of the rezound sweepstakes for now. Tax free weekend coming up in Massachusetts so I'm thinking of just buying a full priced new phone at vzw. I "think" about buying a lot more than I actually buy though! LOL


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## Obaterista93 (Jul 25, 2011)

YtsejamHP said:


> The lack of removable batteries bothered me at first, but I figured there would be enough ways to work around that, as Armada has mentioned. I would pop my battery out a ton when I had my Inc, but I'm a little more set in ways, so I don't mess around with the phone too much once I find what I like in a custom rom.
> Are you going to sell off your T-Bolt, toward the new phone? Just curious as that could open up more options.
> If I was going for an off-contract upgrade I would probably go with the Rezound for the camera, build, and expandable storage (as in I'd rather pay for a 16 gb card, than pay more to get a 32 gb Nexus) reasons.
> 
> ...


Well, my bolt has a broken screen(which eventually I'm going to fix) but that was kinda the final straw towards what is making me buy one unsubsidized. My contract isn't up til Feb or March of next year, and I've flashed every rom there is to flash for the bolt. I'm probably going to keep it because it won't sell for much, and use it in case anything happens to the Rez(when I finally get it). And DT rocks! I saw em live back in 2005 with Megadeth, and it was just... awesome. And the cherry on top? I can use my 32 gb card from my bolt in the Rez, giving me 48 gb(minus the system memory).


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## YtsejamHP (Jan 16, 2012)

Obaterista93 said:


> Well, my bolt has a broken screen(which eventually I'm going to fix) but that was kinda the final straw towards what is making me buy one unsubsidized. My contract isn't up til Feb or March of next year, and I've flashed every rom there is to flash for the bolt. I'm probably going to keep it because it won't sell for much, and use it in case anything happens to the Rez(when I finally get it). And DT rocks! I saw em live back in 2005 with Megadeth, and it was just... awesome. And the cherry on top? I can use my 32 gb card from my bolt in the Rez, giving me 48 gb(minus the system memory).


I'm a little put off with the newer phone sizes, the more I think about it. I'm feeling like buying a Rezound battery for my Bolt and just waiting for Christmas sales to upgrade (I'm pretty flakey with purchases like this). Bolt size really is perfect for me, even the bezel has a nice ratio.

I haven't had a chance to see DT as a band, but I did catch Petrucci and Portnoy when they did their G3 stint. Amazing show.


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## dillanshives (Nov 23, 2011)

Obaterista93 said:


> The biggest issue for me with the Razr and Razr Maxx(besides being moto... lol) is the lack of removable battery. I can't even tell you how many times popping my battery out has saved my butt when messing with my phone. As for battery life though, you can't beat it. For any non-root user, I'd definitely recommend it.


I thought that was going to be a problem too, but by holding the Power + Volume down for 15 seconds does the same exact thing, and I don't have to go through all the work of pulling the battery door off etc. I'm actually happy the battery can't be removed, less parts to break, and less of a change of getting sh*t stuck in there.


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## ocman (Jan 25, 2012)

When you're batt is dead and you need it it's nice to be able to pop in a freshly charged one though. I have them in chargers waiting.


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## number5toad (Sep 13, 2011)

I know it's the opposite of what you asked, but I'd go GNex strictly for software support. knowing now exactly what I expect from my phone, what I need it to do on a daily basis and how I need it to operate vs how I WANT it to operate, it's more important for me, going forward, to have access to the newest OS than it is to have the beefiest hardware.


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## Obaterista93 (Jul 25, 2011)

number5toad said:


> I know it's the opposite of what you asked, but I'd go GNex strictly for software support. knowing now exactly what I expect from my phone, what I need it to do on a daily basis and how I need it to operate vs how I WANT it to operate, it's more important for me, going forward, to have access to the newest OS than it is to have the beefiest hardware.


I dunno. I'm tossed up between the two. I've wanted a nex for the software support, but(and I can't believe I'm saying this) I just don't like the way it feels in my hand. I've been down the route of flashing everything there is to flash with my bolt, and as long as there is something that works for the Rezound, I'll be happy. And to be honest, as long as I really take care of it, if I decide that I honestly don't like the Rez I can be almost guaranteed to get 2/3rds back from what I bought it for if I sell it, and that can cover a gnex. I'd like to wait until the next nexus comes though.


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## number5toad (Sep 13, 2011)

yeah, for now I'm holding off as long as I can in the hopes that earlier rumors about a whole new line of Nexus phones turn out to be true.


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## Obaterista93 (Jul 25, 2011)

number5toad said:


> yeah, for now I'm holding off as long as I can in the hopes that earlier rumors about a whole new line of Nexus phones turn out to be true.


The thing that's stopping me from doing that is that I can afford the $300ish for the Rez, but I'd never be able to cough up the $600-$700 for a brand new nexus.


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