Motorola RAZR HD LTE Review: Build, Battery and LTE Speeds
Archive note. This story reflects what was known when it was first covered. Prices, availability and carrier offers are historical. For the current picture, start with the topic guides.
Build
The phone uses a Kevlar back, aluminum edges and Gorilla Glass 2, and feels premium. The rubbery back means the reviewer never had a problem when they dropped it. The power and volume buttons are metal and feel great. The micro-USB and mini-HDMI ports and the SIM and microSD tray are on the left side, and the headphone jack is on top. The reviewer’s one gripe: as a left-handed user, they could not easily use the phone while charging.
Battery
With a 2530 mAh battery, a whole day of moderate use left charge for the night. Mild use gave about a day and a half. The RAZR HD MAXX offered even more power but was not available in Canada.
Screen
The 4.7 inch Super AMOLED screen at 1280x720 has crisp text and vibrant colours. It is easy to hold in one hand, but the pointed corners poked the reviewer’s palm during one-handed use.
Performance and LTE
A 1.5 GHz dual core Qualcomm S4 chip with 1GB of RAM kept up with all of the reviewer’s apps, with only occasional mild stutter under heavy load. LTE was excellent: consistently over 30Mbps down and over 15Mbps up, with peaks above 60Mbps, and without a big battery hit.
Software and camera
It runs a near-stock Ice Cream Sandwich with on-screen buttons. A favourites tab was added to the app drawer, while the scroll-up mini-widget on app icons did not work for the reviewer. Motorola said a Jelly Bean update was tentatively set for the end of December. The 8MP camera can look grainy up close but has an HDR mode that the Atrix HD lacked.
Frequently asked questions
Does the RAZR HD LTE have expandable storage?
Yes, it has a microSD card slot.
Was there a Jelly Bean update?
Motorola called it tentative for the end of December. This review does not say what happened.
Is it still supported?
No. The phone and its pricing are long obsolete.