The DROID 4 has had an interesting early life. We handed out the first ever pictures of the device all the way back in October of last year followed by a weekend of D4 info overload that gave you every single detail that you could ever want to know about it. We fully expected this phone to launch in December, but for an unknown reason, it was pushed back and finally released this month. You can grab it now for $199 on 2-year contract in hopes that it can last you the life of a contract. Can it? We are pretty sure that it is up to the task, but let’s talk details for a few minutes. Then you can decide.  

The Motorola DROID 4 will launch in Verizon stores tomorrow, February 10, for $199 on new 2-year contract. For keyboard lovers, this is the first phone to sport both 4G LTE and a dual-core processor, making this your best option. With its 1GB of RAM, 4″ screen, 8MP HD camera, edge-lit keyboard, and future global readiness, it’s definitely the most powerful and complete phone with a keyboard we have ever seen from Verizon.

However, there are some concerns about the quality of the screen and whether or not its 1785mAh non-removable battery are enough to make you pass up the RAZR MAXX, Galaxy Nexus or Rezound. After a quick few minutes with the device, the display appears to be the same as what we saw on the DROID X2, DROID 3 and Bionic – three screens you know we are not fans of. And then there is the battery, which isn’t small by any means, but will get you no where near the single-charge use that the MAXX will. Is a DROID 4 MAXX on the horizon? I hope not, as that would be another tank to add to a list that we thought was no longer growing.

Gallery and unboxing below. 

Since we already reviewed the DROID RAZR and there are very few differences other than the battery in the MAXX, this won’t be the full review that you would normally see with a new device. Instead, I will go through my thoughts on the subtle changes and of course, talk about the 3300mAh elephant in the room. I will say that I was as impressed with this phone as I was the original RAZR, but the single-charge life was a massive bonus. 

And there she is, the DROID RAZR MAXX and its 3300mAh battery back in our hands. After a quick tour of the device at CES, we have it again to hopefully see if it can live up to the massive single-charge numbers that Motorola was touting. The hardware for the most part is exactly the same as the original RAZR with a 1.2GHz dual-core OMAP4430 processor, 1GB of RAM, 8MP shooter and 4G LTE connectivity, so rather than putting together a full review, we may end up just doing a whole bunch of battery tests. We’ll see over the next couple of days how things go and may change our minds on that.

For now though, enjoy the quick unboxing and comparison shots to the regular RAZR after the break. We have the MAXX on the charger now so that we can start pounding on it within the next couple of hours. 

Our brief moment with the LG Spectrum at CES 2012 was exactly that, brief. In order to give this new release from LG and Verizon a shot at taking top Android phone honors from the Galaxy Nexus, we had to get one in hand for an extended period of time. Today marks the start of our quest to put the Spectrum through the ringer to decide if this reasonably priced ($199 on contract), yet highly spec’d phone is worth your money. With a 4.5″ HD display, 1.5GHz dual-core processor, 8MP shooter, and 4G LTE connectivity, this phone is by no means a slouch on the hardware front. Does it have enough polish on the UI side to make it a winner though? We will soon find out.

For now, let’s see what it looks like in hand and out of the box.  

As the Galaxy Nexus approached launch on Verizon here in the U.S., you couldn’t pull up an Android site without seeing some sort of rumor, tip or leak that had to do with it. This phone was hypebeasted as if it was the second coming of some religious tech figure. Over the last couple of months, things have been unbelievably wild (both positively and negatively) around these parts, and the majority of the thanks can be attributed to it. As a “Nexus” on Verizon, the release of this phone marked an industry first on a number of levels including the combination of Ice Cream Sandwich, 4G LTE, NFC, an unlockable bootloader, and the support of the entire developer community. It has been dubbed as one of the first truly finished Android products to date. With so much to live up to, we will do our best to let you know whether or not it has.

Had a chance to pickup the Galaxy Nexus from Verizon yet? If not, maybe this quick video walk-through of it will motivate you to get your behind into a store. Assuming stores haven’t sold out that is, since many Big Red shops were running out within an hour this morning.

The phone is as good as you would expect it to be. It’s sleek, light, has a vibrant screen, feels great in hand, and performs like it has been optimized to perfection. OK, that might be a strong word after only having it for 4 or 5 hours, but as someone who has been toying with the GSM variant of the phone, I can say with a clear mind that there are very few flaws here.

Check out the video below to see for yourself.  

The DROID RAZR not only welcomes the return of an iconic cell phone brand, but it marks the beginning of a new ultra-slim smartphone era. Motorola has outdone themselves with the build of this 7.1mm thick device, but the question still remains – “Is it enough to drag people away from the Galaxy Nexus?” As with the HTC Rezound, it’s going to be an uphill battle, but one that the RAZR feels ready to tackle. Let’s dive in to see how far it can climb.