Pole: Droid Maxx by Motorola vs. HTC One (Verizon)

[thedosbox]

As an HTC ONE owner I would recommend it. The battery is fine. Just buy a car charger and you're good to go

If battery life was fine, why would he need a car charger?

And what if he doesn't drive?

 

[Crono]

If battery life was fine, why would he need a car charger?

And what if he doesn't drive?

You don't unless you have a very long work day and very heavily use the phone and have poor/inconsistent LTE reception in your area. The car charger isn't a bad idea, regardless, since there's no reason to drain and shorten your battery life if you don't have to.

And the thing about the One is even if you aren't satisfied with battery life, you can significantly improve it through a root app like Greenify or even a non-root one like Snapdragon BatteryGuru, which I recommend doing anyway with the Droid Maxx or any other Android phone, because why not optimize what you have? It's always nice to get more.

And if you still aren't satisfied, there are battery cases (doubling battery life) as well as external batteries (5x charge or more). For everyone thinking that the One is simply a prettier phone or "the iPhone for Android users" in some sort of derogatory way, well you can extend your battery time on the One, but you can't add in a better low-light camera, dual front-facing speakers, excellent audio output (see the other thread about audio, plenty of recommendations for the One in reviews, too, even apart from "Beats" which is mostly just branding), an excellent infrared universal remote, a fantastic 1080p screen that's among the best in its class, the Zoe and Highlights reel feature, or, yes,the beautiful aluminum body which feels very good to hold (there's no reason a phone shouldn't look good if you are spending $600 or more on it, though the Droid Maxx isn't poorly designed, either).

And it's cheaper.

I'm just not seeing why battery life or Samsung-like "features" makes the Maxx better than the One. Not unless battery life is really, really important because you are a nurse working long shifts or in a similar situation where you can't charge during the day, because otherwise 16 hours versus 10 or whatever the difference is in actual moderate to heavy use between the phones is just arbitrary. Both phones will last a "full" day otherwise if you aren't actively using them for hours on end.

Bottom line: if battery life is the absolute number one most important consideration, then don't even look at other phones. No brainer, get the Maxx. Otherwise, the HTC One is a better choice overall, especially if it means $50 in your pocket. If the Maxx were significantly cheaper, it would be a tougher decision, which is the same reason I don't recommend the Moto X over the One, though the Moto X is a very good phone, too.

 

[thedosbox]

I'm just not seeing why battery life or Samsung-like "features" makes the Maxx better than the One.

I'm amused that you list a long list of HTC "features", then say this.

Don't get me wrong, I'm a fan of Sense, and much prefer their Mail, Contact & Dialer apps over stock Android.

But IMO, Active Notifications is the real killer feature on my Moto X. Though if you're willing to put up with the increased battery drain on an LCD, it can be emulated.

 

[Crono]

I'm amused that you list a long list of HTC "features", then say this.

Don't get me wrong, I'm a fan of Sense, and much prefer their Mail, Contact & Dialer apps over stock Android.

But IMO, Active Notifications is the real killer feature on my Moto X. Though if you're willing to put up with the increased battery drain on an LCD, it can be emulated.

Most of what I listed is hardware, and the HTC software stuff you can easily ignore. I'm not a fan of always-on Moto X features or "breathing" that Google is pushing, though if users find them useful, I'm not going to argue otherwise. Still, that's mostly software, and it's really only the battery optimizing CPU/companion core stuff Google/Motorola did that everyone can agree is positive across the board if you need long battery life.

There's nothing that stands out to me otherwise about the Maxx that would warrant spending $50 over the One. I feel the same way about the Moto X, it's just a little too expensive for the hardware you are getting, even if the overall experience is just as smooth.

If the OP said only battery life mattered, I would have zero qualms about going with the Maxx, but from his post it seems like he was looking at both devices more comprehensively. Not to mention that I can personally confirm that my One does operate on infrastructure mode for WiFi tethering.

 

[Thegonagle]

I'm glad this came back up. I'm still deciding--meanwhile, my 2nd of two batteries is deteriorating rapidly on my current HTC Thunderbolt.

I like the HTC one because not only is it cosmetically nice, it's just plain well built. It's solid. You can put it in both hands and try to twist it, bend it, flex it, and it's not going to happen. I tried the same with an S4 on display, and it felt like I could break the glass if I went too far. So, it's the solidness that comes with the aluminum "uni-body" that really has me. The fact that it looks classy is just icing on the cake.

All that said, I'm leaning toward the Motorola. I want the big battery because I use the hotspot so much. Ironically, it's the lack of info about how the hotspot works that keeps me uncertain. They can't answer my question and they won't figure out a way to let me test it in the store, so I'm still stuck. It needs to do infrastructure mode, so that I can use it as a wifi router/switch as necessary.

EDIT: I know for sure that the HTC One works like it need it to. I was able to test it in store. However, I've not been able to test the Droid Maxx. Thinking of just buying it and if it doesn't work, taking it back and eating the restocking fee.

 

[Thegonagle]

I brought home little Maxx from the Mall of America tonight. 0 pounds, 5.9 ounces, 5.41 inches long.

So far so good. Mobile hotspot appears to work in infrastructure/AP mode just fine. Haven't tested throughput, but as long as it gets the job done, I'll be happy.

Edit to add some first impressions: Not as solid-feeling as the HTC One, but IMO much better than, say, the Galaxy S4. Speaker sounds better than I expected in a quiet room, and it's an improvement over what I had. Although it's a bit boxy in shape, at only 8.5 mm thick, it's impressively thin for having 3500 mAh worth of battery inside. Picking it up for the first time, it's heavier than you might expect, but in a good way that says "I'm all muscle, no fat."

Not beautiful, but not the worst looking thing either, I guess. The front face has an all-black aesthetic similar to a Samsung Galaxy Nexus, except for 1/4 inch of tapered grey plastic along the bottom edge, and a small bit of almost unnoticeable chrome trim around the earpiece speaker. It's decent enough. The back has that slightly textured herringbone pattern that looks and feels about how the pictures would lead you to imagine. It results in a soft touch that's not slippery at all.

I sure wouldn't mind a 1080p LCD, but this 720p AMOLED with active display is good enough to live with. The active display seems to stay dark unless you pick up/move the phone. I guess it doesn't do the "breathing" thing unless there's a notification waiting.

 

[dguy6789]

One X = vanity
Droid Maxx = practicality, performance, usefulness, longevity

It is quite honestly an absolute no brainer. They are not even in the same class of phone. If price mattered then maybe there would be an argument but if price is no object then it is absolutely a no brainer.

 

[QueBert]

As an HTC ONE owner I would recommend it. The battery is fine. Just buy a car charger and you're good to go

Just fine? The battery life's really bad. I barely used mine today and by the time I got off work it was down to 35%. It's ironic I see a bunch of the reviews and how damn long it takes fully charge. But I'm a sucker for metal phones so I bought one the other day, but the battery life's about 1/2 a notch better than the Nexus 4 I had prior to it. And that sucker has WTF bad battery life. With that said the One with a 3rd party Kernel & the Viper Rom's pretty damn sweet to use.

One X = vanity
Droid Maxx = practicality, performance, usefulness, longevity

It is quite honestly an absolute no brainer. They are not even in the same class of phone. If price mattered then maybe there would be an argument but if price is no object then it is absolutely a no brainer.

the HTC has a ton going for it outside of the design. Speakers are better than every other phone out there by a margin that's not even measurable. Also the camera and camera software are both nice. Also the Viper Rom's one the best rom out there. And unlike PA/CM which are ported to every phone, you only see it on the Sense phones. Outside of the bad battery life and uber charging time, it's the best Android phone on the market imho. It has the best form, and it's very functional. Moto's great if you need a long lasting battery, but I fail to see anything else that I'd put above the One. Also vanity aside, the one's build quality is the best I've seen on an Android handset. I've owned about 2 dozen smart phones over the years and this one just feels good in my hand. I've had 4 Moto smart phones and none of them felt solid. The OG Droid was heavy but felt cheaply put together.

Vanity on its own is worthless, but when you get the total package having vanity's just a welcomed addition.

 

[thedosbox]

The active display seems to stay dark unless you pick up/move the phone. I guess it doesn't do the "breathing" thing unless there's a notification waiting.

Yes, this way you can ignore the phone until something needs attention.

 

[Valis]

If I was going to spend $600-650 on a Verizon phone, I'd probably be seriously considering the Moto X Developer Edition, although they're out of stock.

You can get the Droid Maxx DE now as well, which with that big battery seems like a better option, at any rate.

 

[Thegonagle]

It's a "mute" point now. I got the standard Droid Maxx. I could do without the bloatware, but it honestly doesn't bother me that much.

To reiterate, the HTC One was not considered for vanity--not even close. It was considered for its quality design and construction, something one can't truly appreciate looking at pictures and reading reviews. It's something you have to experience.

But in the end, I decided that the Moto X feature set combined with the big battery was the winner.

Thank you all for the comments and "pole" votes.

(Yes, I misspelled poll intentionally--a throwback the Fusetalk days. Oldtimers should remember.)

 

[shortylickens]

I'm all about the little phones.

Droid Mini looks awesome. Galaxy Mini is nice and small. One Mini is more powerful and has a sweet body, but its larger than the others. Also its not out yet on Tmobile but may be soon.

 

[Red Storm]

Note 3.

 

[Qbah]

It's a "mute" point now. I got the standard Droid Maxx. I could do without the bloatware, but it honestly doesn't bother me that much.

To reiterate, the HTC One was not considered for vanity--not even close. It was considered for its quality design and construction, something one can't truly appreciate looking at pictures and reading reviews. It's something you have to experience.

But in the end, I decided that the Moto X feature set combined with the big battery was the winner.

Thank you all for the comments and "pole" votes.

(Yes, I misspelled poll intentionally--a throwback the Fusetalk days. Oldtimers should remember.)

The important thing is you took an informed decision and weighted in pros and cons. That alone will guarantee you'll be happy with your purchase Enjoy your phone!

 

[AMDZen]

Just fine? The battery life's really bad. I barely used mine today and by the time I got off work it was down to 35%. It's ironic I see a bunch of the reviews and how damn long it takes fully charge. But I'm a sucker for metal phones so I bought one the other day, but the battery life's about 1/2 a notch better than the Nexus 4 I had prior to it. And that sucker has WTF bad battery life. With that said the One with a 3rd party Kernel & the Viper Rom's pretty damn sweet to use.

Clearly you have things running that are using it all. I would recommend you stick with the STOCK kernel as it has the best battery life. I am running the Viper ROM as well and I have zero issues going though a whole day. To each their own.

 

[Red Storm]

My stock running HTC One had average battery life. What makes it really bad is that it took forever to charge. I have since traded it for a Note 2 (which will be going to my dad in a week when I get the Note 3).

 

[gmaster456]

Droid maxx for the near stock android and the battery life.