RAZR MAXX 16GB SCAM - DONT BE FOOLED

[JP1964]

I have had an iPhone for the last 6 years.  I wanted to try something new.  I decided on the RAZR MAXX.  The RAZR MAXX advertises in BIG BOLD letters that it has 16GB internal storage and comes with a 16GB SD card giving the user 32GB of storage.  I traded in a 32GB iPhone for this phone.  The RAZR MAXX DOES NOT HAVE 16GB of 'usable' internal storage.  6GB of the internal storage is used for the OS and the other crap apps that Verizon puts on there...and another 2 GB is set aside for whatever leaving the user with 8GB of internal storage.  This is sooo wrong its not even funny.  The 32GB iPhone had 32GB of storage(or very close to it).  To claim 16 GB of internal storage but only have 8 available to the user is almost criminal.  I am not going to be quiet about this either...I feel absolutely deceived.  So the 32GB phone they are selling you only has 24GB of 'usable' storage.  And if I add a 32GB SD card I will still only have 40GB of storage not 48GB as one would expect when adding 32GB to 16GB...TOTAL SCAM and Verizon should be ashamed.  I would have NEVER given up 32GB for 24GB.

I wont even get into the 3 factory resets(done by Verizon) that have had to be done to this phone now resulting in the Bluletooth not connecting. 

The battery life is NO WHERE near the claims that they are making.  I was even given the line by 2nd tier tech support - 'Now sir, you have to understand 21 hours of talk time was acheived in a lab under ideal circumstances.  You wont get that under normal use'...OMG  I have the 4G off, the GPS off, the WIFI off, the screen dim and I am lucky to get a 14 hours out of it total with maybe an hour of talk time and a some downloading. 

Overall I am not very happy with Verizon and the RAZR MAXX.  I only hope it lasts the two years that I am now contracted for,,,

[rcschnoor]

From the phone description on Verizon's website:

"The Droid Razr MAXX by Motorola is configured with 16GB of internal flash memory. Of this memory, 8GB is available for general storage. An additional 2GB is available for application download and application data. The balance of the memory is reserved for the operating system, user interface, and native applications."

Sounds pretty straightforward.

[JP1964]

Oh my bad...I didnt have the website up when I was in the store and asked the salesman how much internal storage is in the phone...I will definitely know better next time when I switch back to ATT.

[Ann154]

Good luck with ATT. Their android phones are configured similarly and oftentimes don't come with the external SD card included.

[JP1964]

Thanks Ann  I understand they all have their faults.  I was with ATT for the past 6 years and wanted to try something new...we will see how it goes.

[Ann154]

At least you actually have 8 GB on the phone.

The HTC Thunderbolt was advertised with 8 GB internal memory with a 32 GB external SD card. The 8 GB in reality was only 2.6 GB for the installation of user Apps.

So it could be worse.

If you are within the 14 day return policy, you could swap out the phone for a Galaxy Nexus. It does come with 32 GB (formatted to 28.13 GB total) which is used for system and user storage.

[Lifter5]

Uhm, yeah. AT&T... Well, if you don't mind not having coverage in out of the way places like- your own home, right down the street from AT&T,  Apple Store, etc, every three feet in any direction around my condo, and NOT getting unbelievable 26+ Mbps on 4gLTE then... Go for it!

Don't get me wrong, I'm not knocking AT&T. I know they do the best they can with what they have. I just think they could learn a bit from a carrier with real countrywide 4GLTE coverage like Verizon. You have to ask yourself, Why is it that most interstate truck drivers use Verizon exclusively? These people need their phones to connect and work, no matter what or where they are. Period. Their lives and livelihoods are on the line. 

-Mike

[Tidbits]

Honestly...  THIS is the reason why Google wants to get rid of UMS and switch to MTP.  People don't understand partitions, and let alone how UMS works.  Since people complain about user space and how it is partitioned there are reasons for it.  eMMC can't be re-partitioned without a great risk to render the memory useless thus breaking your device.  They need to make enough room for the OS and future updates(Android has gotten bigger with every update).  Then you have to consider user data which needs to also be on the device on a separate partition or in the system partition(which would make this partition bigger).  Then you have to user storage which is what you can access.  MTP actually works out better where the size is static based on how much storage total vs. fixed partitions.  You can make the device only allow access to specific parts of memory.

Without the partitioning the way it is if  you ever tried to mount it then your phone would crash as it would lose the system partition, and then UMS would be useless at that point.  They have to partition it for security as well as BEING able to access the phone.  MTP allows the device itself to allow access to everything, but it doesn't meet the protocols for removable storage(See iPhone which also uses MTP), and it doesn't require the computer to mount the drive.

[Lifter5]

Seriously, partitions can be so much fun! Had a customer archive his data in a FAT 12 Diamond partition. I didn't even have a clue what that was. Now I know that its a great way to unrecoverably loses your data.

~ Mike

Sent from my Verizon Wireless 4G LTE DROID

[bearone21]

well said

[JP1964]

Oh and one more thing...the salesman who sold me my phone was totally SHOCKED that it only showed 8GB of internal storage when I showed it to him this morning.  He had to jump on his computer and found the same 'hidden at the bottom in really light text' disclaimer that Schnoor found. 

It is definitely saying something about the Verizon marketing approach when the sales people in their stores are selling this as 16 GB of internal storage and dont know how to answer the question of why it only shows 8GB.  I still say its not right..I dare anyone to walk into a Verizon store and ask how much internal storage comes with the RAZR MAXX.  I gaurantee the answer will be 16GB which technically is correct but ethically is just so wrong...especially when the sales people dont even know any better and look like fools when asked why it only shows 8GB of internal storage.

Ok my rant is over. 

[Ann154]

I would also say that I am glad that they have that disclaimer there. Previous phones didn't spell out how the storage was formatted and partitioned. See the story of the Thunderbolt above.

[JP1964]

I agree Ann its nice they have it there but I think they need to do a better job of training their sales people to atleast mention it when someone specifically asks about the internal storage.  It kind of makes you think they are even hiding it from their own sales force.  I am totally serious that my salesman had no idea why it only showed 8GB of internal storage this morning.  Maybe if they broke it out on the Storage page to show 16GB total with 6GB for OS and 2 for whatever leaving...atleast it would alleviate some questions and make it a little clearer.   The current Storage page shows Internal Memory - 8GB.total.  I am sure I will not be the only one who misses the disclaimer and is not properly informed when actually in the store. 

[Ann154]

Just like I have come across a sales rep that didn't know the difference between the Droid Razr and the Droid Razr Maxx. I corrected her on that. They don't know everything. That's why I research through the website before going to the store. For that matter, I usually buy the phones online and only go to the store to play with the phones and see if the reps can answer a few questions if I have any.

[commonsense101]

file structer, how does it work?? welcome to every harddrive ever sold in the past decade

[JP1964]

[DroidCzar]

iPhone has only 28GB of usable memory on the 32 GB version.  Have you ever bought a computer?  You get a 500GB hard drive and by the time the OS is done, it's down to 450GB or less.  What are you doing that you need that extra 4 GB of space on your phone?  If music is your thing, look at Google Music instead of putting everything on your SD card.  You can then make available offline for those times that you don't have a data connection.

Seriously you buy a phone with the power and abilities of the Droid Razr Maxx and you complain about this?  And I have this phone and can go 24 hours easy with regular to heavy usage.  And this is 4G, something the iPhone doesn't think is necessary.  If I use this phone like a phone without using apps, games, etc. I can go without charging for over a few days (I ran that test when I got the phone).

Your point of the Verizon reps needing to be better versed is valid to a point.  With all of the phones on the market and variants of each, it's a lot to memorize, but I do agree that they should have a basic knowledge of memory allocation.  Either way, if you're an educated consumer, you should know about research and also know that reps at any company are often ignorant of many ideas and facts.  At Best Buy, a rep told me that there is not such thing as a Class 10 microSD card.

[Erik_MAXX]

Relax friend. Just install a 32gb micro SD card.$24 and free shipping on Amazon, and you have yourself 40gb of storage, more than any iPhone, plus you have 35 hours of battery life, and 4g LTE and a bigger screen...No need to worry about their storage marketing gimic...

[rcschnoor]

Erik_MAXX wrote:

Relax friend. Just install a 32gb micro SD card.$24 and free shipping on Amazon, and you have yourself 40gb of storage, more than any iPhone, plus you have 35 hours of battery life, and 4g LTE and a bigger screen...No need to worry about their storage marketing gimic...

I guess you are not aware of the 64GB iPhone!!!

[B33]

Click on this Link to read on SD Card Sally Had some Good Insight on them an Opened my Eyes on the Vast new styles of them that are out there an are Available:: Click on the Blue Area B33 

Different classes of Micro-SD cards for Motorola Razor (16g)

[Erik_MAXX]

I am aware of it, I just don't count a phone that costs $400.00 WITH a 2 year contract.

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