#216 - The week of new phones

Within the last week two of the heavy hitters in cell phones have introduced new flagship phones.  Today Apple unveiled their much anticipated iphone5.  A week ago Motorola Mobility (now owned by Google) introduced 3 new Droid Razr cell phones.  Lets take a look at these new phones and what new technologies they show off.

The new iPhone 5 was probably the worst kept Apple introduction.  Just about every new feature was known before the actual release.  Yes it has a bigger screen, yes it will run on the Sprint & Verizon 4GLTE network (faster Internet), Yes it has a different connector and yes it is made of different material then the other iPhones.  Nicely it will cost the same as the iPhone 4s.  It is thinner and with a new A6 processor it is much faster then the iPhone 4s.  The battery life is 10% better and that is very welcome.  So its an all round better phone.  Is it breakout new?  No, everything changed is evolutionary, not revolutionary.  I'm sure the iPhone users out there will soon put this model in short supply

Motorola Mobility introduced it's first new Droid phones since Google bought the company in May 2012.  The new Razr's are in 3 different price ranges and have a common theme - They are bigger, faster and have the best battery life of any cell phones.   The entry level Droid Razr M has a 4.3 inch (0.3 inches larger then the iPhone5) edge to edge screen.  It is the smallest, in size and weight, 4.3 inch cell phone made today.  Motorola uses their kevlar skin technology to make it the lightest also. Battery life is rated at 20 hours, which is more then most Android Cell phones (iPhone 5 rated at 8 hours).  The other two Razrs introduced are the Razr HD and the Razr HD Maxx.  They both share a 4.7 inch screen (these are BIG phones) with HD (high def 1080p) resolution.  They both have the kevlar skins and superior 4G LTE Internet capabilities.  The claim to fame of the HD series is battery life.  The HD is rated at 24 hours talk time while the Maxx is rated at 32 hours.  Note the iPhone rating above.  People hate to have to recharge their phones or to have a phone die in the middle of a call.  They don't like leaving them plugged in when not in use. These bigger batteries are a new thin technology.   If you are not into the iPhone type phones then I believe these new Droids will be winners.

My Verizon cell phone contract is up in November.  I think I'll take a real close look at the new phones and make a choice from the ones I've discussed today.  Size does matter and I'm not sure I want to wield around a BIG phone no matter what battery life it gets.  If you get one of these phones let me know what you think!