Motorola Droid Razr

[sygyzy]

What does a locked bootloader mean or prevent you from doing? Changing ROMS?

 

[poofyhairguy]

What does a locked bootloader mean or prevent you from doing? Changing ROMS?

And kernels (which is the easiest way to root). It basically stagnates third party development.

 

[DisgruntledVirus]

And to think I would actually think about going to preorder this phone just because they had Dean Karnazes as part of the whole event (yes I have a raging boner for him, shoot me). Then they had to go and have a locked bootloader. Fuckers.

 

[abaez]

You can change ROMs pretty easily, but you cannot modify the kernel. There are also alot of dumb workarounds you have to do like use bootstrappers and stuff.

 

[s44]

They said per the carrier. Does that mean the Nexus Prime might be locked down as well?

Zero chance.

Moto is full of BS. Not a single Samsung Android phone has been bootloader-locked, including the three already on Verizon.

Yes, if it is not a Nexus.

No, not when it's Samsung.

What does a locked bootloader mean or prevent you from doing? Changing ROMS?

It prevents you from finding first-class devs to work on your device, esp. when they have two big-time alternatives.

 

[Bateluer]

And fail.

http://www.droid-life.com/2011/10/1...ons-droid-razr-will-have-a-locked-bootloader/

 

[Bryf50]

No samsung phone has ever been locked. My Fascinate is the most open phone I've ever seen. From complete stock just hold 2 buttons while booting and you're in download mode. From their you can push kernels, recovery's, modems, roms, etc. It's also virtually unbrickable. It's very rare for someone to get the phone into a state that it can't enter dl mode.

 

[WelshBloke]

The reason they have the hump is to hold the camera internals. You have two options. Make everything the same thickness (as the hump) or have the hump and a thin rest of the phone. Your choice.

They should sell an alternative expanded battery and back that fits flush. I'd rather a slightly thicker phone and extra battery life.

 

[DisgruntledVirus]

They should sell an alternative expanded battery and back that fits flush. I'd rather a slightly thicker phone and extra battery life.

x2.

I've got the Bionic with extended battery and it flips the bulge to the battery. If it was unlocked and had extended battery with flush back I'd be all for it.

 

[s44]

They should sell an alternative expanded battery and back that fits flush. I'd rather a slightly thicker phone and extra battery life.

Problem:

How did they get it so thin? Sealed battery compartment.

 

[Bateluer]

Problem:

How did they get it so thin? Sealed battery compartment.

Ouch, though not by itself a deal breaker.

Droid Life's hands on.
http://www.droid-life.com/2011/10/1...-on-gallery-and-first-impressions/#more-49699

Specs
It’s packing a 1.2GHz dual-core OMAP (though our guy wasn’t sure which OMAP) and 1GB of DDR2 RAM. This phone flies. If you thought the Bionic felt polished and smooth, just wait until you get your hands on this phone. Also has an HDMI port, 16GB of on-board storage, 8MP rear camera (1080p video), and a 1.3MP front camera that can do 720p video.

Build
The phone feels amazing in hand and that’s because Motorola always seems to use quality materials. It’s lighter than any of their other devices, but it still feels like Moto. The kevlar casing on the back is a nice touch along with the splash guard for protection. The real story here is how thin this phone is. It’s almost hard to explain. Check out this comparison shot to the Galaxy S2 to get an idea.

Battery
Non-removable. Everyone OK with that? I have a feeling that this is the way of the future for Android phones. Our sources told us months ago that the Dinara would have a non-removable battery, so it doesn’t surprise us that this phone does as well. It’s 1780mAh though, so it should last you through a day, especially with all of the software tweaks that Motorola has claimed to have done.

MotoCast
So we walked through the phone a number of times with one of the Moto reps who has made this his daily device over the last month or so. He showed us that MotoCast has been fully incorporated into the system to actually make it useful. Things like making playlists from both on-device music and music that is stored on your computer was one of the examples he used. It may seem like bloatware, but they appear to be fully invested in the cloud, something we like.

Bootloader
We did not get a response on the bootloader situation, but Moto Twitter already took care of that. It’s locked.

Random Notes
HDMI and microUSB are on top – just found it awkward, especially when docking.
SIM and micro SD slot are where the HDMI and USB normally are. With a non-removable battery, all of this stuff has to be accesed from the outside.
Can utilize Netflix HD videos. Should be the first on the planet for Android.
Check out the rest of the gallery below for more fun.

 

[AstroManLuca]

No samsung phone has ever been locked. My Fascinate is the most open phone I've ever seen. From complete stock just hold 2 buttons while booting and you're in download mode. From their you can push kernels, recovery's, modems, roms, etc. It's also virtually unbrickable. It's very rare for someone to get the phone into a state that it can't enter dl mode.

This is why I will continue buying Samsung phones despite how shitty my Moment was and how slow both it and my Epic have been to get official updates. They make great phones and they aren't nazis about custom ROMs.

 

[DisgruntledVirus]

Wait... the Bionic does HD Netflix... At least it says it's HD when I've been watching it...

 

[tdawg]

And fail.

http://www.droid-life.com/2011/10/1...ons-droid-razr-will-have-a-locked-bootloader/

Isn't the key issue whether the bootloader will be encrypted? If it's locked but unencrypted, can't devs create something to unlock the bootloader? I know I had to unlock my Nexus One the first time I rooted it.

 

[Oyeve]

I find the phone ugly.

 

[DisgruntledVirus]

Isn't the key issue whether the bootloader will be encrypted? If it's locked but unencrypted, can't devs create something to unlock the bootloader? I know I had to unlock my Nexus One the first time I rooted it.

Generally locked=encrypted with these things.

 

[Anubis]

Isn't the key issue whether the bootloader will be encrypted? If it's locked but unencrypted, can't devs create something to unlock the bootloader? I know I had to unlock my Nexus One the first time I rooted it.

its moto, it will be encrypted. now if you can crack RSA 256, thats not an issue, however that cant be done yet

 

[OS]

the construction is beautiful from a technical or industrial viewpoint, stainless steel machined chassis with kevlar backpanel.
That's how you would build a high performance car, gun or airplane.

The hump is probably a physical and packaging limitation, everything that has to be thick is there, the camera (lens/focal length) and connectors. It's smart engineering.
The hump isn't even noticeable, I've tried several smartphones, BB, iphone 3, original droid and the droidx. It has some ergonomic benefit when you hold it sideways for reading.

Even if its not for everyone, this device raises the bar for the industry.

 

[AppaTheBison]

the construction is beautiful from a technical or industrial viewpoint, stainless steel machined chassis with kevlar backpanel.
That's how you would build a high performance car, gun or airplane.

Even if its not for everyone, this device raises the bar for the industry.

This phone is exactly what I want. I just hope battery life is close to advertised, seems to be the one low point of droid phones.

 

[Red Storm]

the construction is beautiful from a technical or industrial viewpoint, stainless steel machined chassis with kevlar backpanel.
That's how you would build a high performance car, gun or airplane.

The hump is probably a physical and packaging limitation, everything that has to be thick is there, the camera (lens/focal length) and connectors. It's smart engineering.
The hump isn't even noticeable, I've tried several smartphones, BB, iphone 3, original droid and the droidx. It has some ergonomic benefit when you hold it sideways for reading.

Even if its not for everyone, this device raises the bar for the industry.

The construction may be beautiful, but the final physical look/shape of the phone is pretty horrid IMHO.

The specs are nice though (except for it not having ICS).

 

[jpeyton]

This phone is exactly what I want. I just hope battery life is close to advertised, seems to be the one low point of droid phones.

Battery life for Motorola's Android phones are consistently some of the best on the market.

 

[jpeyton]

The construction may be beautiful, but the final physical look/shape of the phone is pretty horrid IMHO.

Given that an iP4 requires the use of a bumper/case to keep it's fragile shell from cracking, I find the look of a kevlar-backed Droid Razr without a case much more appealing.

 

[AppaTheBison]

Battery life for Motorola's Android phones are consistently some of the best on the market.

That's great to hear! This will definitely be my next phone. I've never had a smart phone before and it'll be my first experience with one.

Any idea if the unlocked phone will work with tmobile? I only pay $30 a month total, and don't need 3g/data plan.

 

[sygyzy]

That's great to hear! This will definitely be my next phone. I've never had a smart phone before and it'll be my first experience with one.

Any idea if the unlocked phone will work with tmobile? I only pay $30 a month total, and don't need 3g/data plan.

Supposedly the GSM radios are locked against US carriers. In other words, it's only there so the phone can be used abroad as a world phone.

 

[Demo24]

That's great to hear! This will definitely be my next phone. I've never had a smart phone before and it'll be my first experience with one.

Any idea if the unlocked phone will work with tmobile? I only pay $30 a month total, and don't need 3g/data plan.

You might say that now, but get a smartphone and then that'll probably change.