The movement has well and truly started for smartphones that act as both a tablet and phone, which the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 is at the forefront of this movement although there are a few options from other brands like Motorola as well. The DROID RAZR MAXX HD is a serious alternative for those people that want a big screen smartphone and either don’t like Samsung smartphones, or want to look at something in comparison.

Samsung Galaxy Note 2 vs. Motorola DROID RAZR MAXX HD – today we want to take a look at both of these smartphones in a number of ways, which firstly will be with a list of specs and the main features in comparison. This is a good way to narrow down the important factors for a smartphone, which a large number of people might make a choice between the two just from the specs alone. The table below looks at the DROID RAZR MAXX HD vs. Galaxy Note 2 and lists the main information you need to compare, which includes storage, processor, memory, camera, etc.

Would a 5.5-inch display be just right or too big for you? There is no denying the fact that the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 is leading the way when it comes to finding the balance between tablet and smartphone, although this size of phone might not be for everyone, but those of our readers that want this type of smartphone need to consider what size of display is too big for them? There has to be a limit and the Galaxy Note 2 features a 5.5-inch display, which the DROID RAZR MAXX HD is a lot smaller at 4.7-inches, so this could be the one area that decides the right device for you.

The S-Pen is another reason to love Samsung’s Galaxy Note 2 and this certainly delivers some useful abilities, which we looked at a few of these advanced commands in an earlier article. The table above also lists a few of the S-Pen optimized features that deliver an interesting experience for users, so if you want to use a smartphone like a tablet but with a twist, then the Note 2 is perfect for a number of situations. If you own a Galaxy Note 2 and love the S-Pen, feel free to share your experience in the comments

Motorla’s DROID RAZR MAXX HD might be the only choice for some people thanks to their love for “The RAZR“, and this loyalty is supported by some great specs on the latest hardware that also feature Motorola’s “SMARTACTIONS” app. We touched on these with the “extras” row in the table above, but you can see a video below this article that gives you some more insight into how the SMARTACTIONS help deliver a better DROID RAZR MAXX HD experience. In a nutshell these SMARTACTIONS will help make your life easier when you need to perform certain actions, which the ability to add custom rules make this feature even more useful.

The second video below delivers a Motorola DROID RAZR MAXX HD Review that runs for just over 7 minutes, and takes a closer look at the new hardware and how it compares to the previous model. The third video shows a detailed review of the Samsung Galaxy Note 2, so take a look at both of these videos to gain more insight into how these larger smartphones compare.

If you had to, would it be the Droid RAZR MAXX HD or Galaxy Note 2? You can purchase the Motorola Droid RAZR MAXX HD and Samsung Galaxy Note 2 on Verizon Wireless for $299.99 on a 2-year contract, at the time of writing, so both are pretty much balanced in terms of pricing. The Droid RAZR MAXX HD is available to order right now, although you can only pre-order the Galaxy Note 2 at this time.

Unfortunately though, it looks like both sets of owners may have longer to wait, as information is slipping out that the update may have been delayed. Initially, Motorola had sent out the word that previews would be happening soon for a early look at a forthcoming software update. However, Best Buy are apparently in the know about the update as well and they have updated an employee memo note to inform them that the update has in fact been delayed until further notice.

The memo can be seen here courtesy of Droid-Life and it also reveals that the alleged Ice Cream Sandwich update was scheduled to be happening on Wednesday 4th April. So for those that are not tempted by any unofficial custom ROMs, it looks like your wait for an official update will go on. Obviously there’s no word from Motorola on this as they never actually fully confirmed the existence of the Ice Cream Sandwich update anyway.

On a side note, we also mentioned earlier in the week that the HTC Rezound on Verizon would be getting an update as well. We’re pleased to say that this looks to be unaffected as the Best Buy memo also mentions that the update is still happening on Friday April 6th.

Let’s hope that Motorola will come good on their Ice Cream Sandwich update next week and that no serious bugs are causing the hold up to this releasing. If you were expecting the update to happen this week, give us your thoughts on this apparent delay. Do you find it a bit disturbing that Best Buy have all this inside information on updates, while Motorola chooses to remain silent?

Word has reached public knowledge that Motorola has sent out invites for a private soak test, in which they’ll be offering Motorola forum members an ”early preview of a new software release” by their own description, with the aim being to provide feedback to the manufacturer, as detailed by Droid-Life.

There is no mention of Ice Cream Sandwich in the invite, but you can bet that judging by the secrecy, it is obviously the very first glimpse of that glorious Android 4.0 update. Just to clarify, this relates to both the RAZR and the RAZR MAXX variant, but additional information acquired by Android Police reveals that an official Ice Cream Sandwich update could be landing on the HTC Rezound smartphone as well – another Verizon device.

While you catch your breath on hearing that piece of intel, we have another piece of fantastic news to share with you. DroidRZR are claiming that Ice Cream Sandwich Build 6.14.75 has leaked and is now ready to download at your own discretion. This update is thought to be for the Droid RAZR only though, and there’s obviously no guarantee that this update is completely bug-free. Our advice to you is to wait for an official version though as judging by the invite – it’s happening very soon indeed.

So Verizon has taken their time to deliver on their promised ICS updates for their current crop of smartphones, but it looks like everyone is going to be very happy soon in the next few weeks. If you own a RAZR, RAZR MAXX or Rezound, let us know your thoughts on the incoming updates. Will you attempt to install the unofficial build or wait for Motorola’s official rollout?

If you head to Verizon online now, you’ll see that they are selling the Droid RAZR MAXX at the usual price of $299, on a two-year contract with the carrier. However not for the first time, Amazon are willing to bring this price down for you as they are currently listing the device for just $199 for customers signing up for a new contract for the first time.

For those of you that already have an existing contract with Verizon, Amazon also has a good offer to tempt you – the Droid RAZR MAXX for $230. Don’t forget that this is a device which ships with a 3,300mAh battery compared to the 1,780mAh that is featured on the original Droid RAZR MAXX, so if battery life if essential to you then you may want to take advantage of this Amazon deal while you can.

If you do wish to buy one of these handsets from Amazon then you definitely want to place your order as soon as possible, as we can see from their product page that their stock status is currently ‘back ordered’ and shipping estimates are now 1 to 2 weeks. If you want to see just how impressive that extra battery life is, then you may want to take a look at some excellent analysis over at Droid-Life here. According to them, the 3,300 battery is very impressive and they ponder the question ‘why doesn’t every smartphone have one of these batteries?’

If you already paid the full $299 for one, it’s obviously a case of tough luck here, but for those of you that held off, this couldn’t be a better time to pick up arguably the best smartphone on Verizon right now.

One question which has not yet been clearly answered by anyone is just how much it will cost unlocked (SIM-free), multiple articles suggest that it will cost $299.99 on a two-year deal with Verizon, but no-one has said anything in regards to how much you will have to pay to buy it outright.

Today we thought we would look at similar offerings from Verizon and see if we can hazard a guess at the DROID RAZR MAXX’s price tag, but be warned it is only an educated guess and should by no means be taken too seriously.

If you head over to Verizon Wireless’ online store there’s lots to choose from, however there are only three options which will cost you $299.99 as part of a two-year deal, these are the 32GB iPhone 4S, the 32GB DROID RAZR and the Samsung Galaxy Nexus and these cost $749.99, $649.99 and $649.99 respectively when purchased outright, this gives us a good indication as to how much the DROID RAZR MAXX will sell for.

A week ago Motorola promised us all that the DROID RAZR MAXX will arrive in “the coming weeks” and one of Alan Ng’s articles pointed towards January 26th, so it doesn’t look like we will be waiting much longer until it arrives. We believe that it will almost certainly fall into the $649.99 – $699.99 bracket – but if we were to have to stick to one price we would say $699.99 as inside the MAXX there’s a huge battery not to mention other impressive tech specs.

So there you have it folks, due to the huge battery and impressive slide-out we think Verizon may sell the DROID RAZR MAXX for $699.99 SIM-free, don’t be surprised if it comes in $50 cheaper, but don’t count on it either.

How much are you willing to spend on the DROID RAZR SIM-free?

The Droid 4 is starting to repeat the same pattern as the Galaxy Nexus now, with a great deal of consumer interest resting in Motorola’s first 4G LTE slider. The Droid RAZR Maxx on the other hand is a different beast all together, as it combines the already-impressive Droid RAZR handset with a bigger capacity battery in which Motorola claim can last up to 21 hours on a single charge.

If you are planning to pick up the Droid 4, don’t be surprised if it becomes available at the end of this week on Thursday. We have discovered that Motorola has already started to cut the price of the Droid 3 and when something like this usually happens, it’s often the case that a manufacturer is getting ready to put new hardware on the market, and everyone will be aware and the Droid 4 is long overdue now.

Just to let you know, the Droid 3 can be bought now as little as $99 on contract with Verizon, but we see little benefit in getting one when the superior Droid 4 is about to land. As for the Droid RAZR Maxx, if battery life is important to you, you’ll want to be keeping an eye on when pre-orders become available for the device. Information posted at Droid-Life reveals that Motorola may be preparing to unleash the upgraded version of the RAZR on January 26, with the source of the information coming from Motorola’s own website via a landing page.

If you are on the lookout for a new Motorola handset, which one is the more appealing to you? A brand new slide-out Droid 4, or a Droid RAZR Maxx with arguably the best battery life on the market right now?

We have seen many companies debut devices with the ‘world’s thinnest’ tag a lot recently, and unsurprisingly Motorola has once again used this moniker to describe their new Droid 4 handset by saying that it is “the thinnest and most powerful 4G LTE QWERTY smartphone” on the planet.

A quick refresh of specs if you need it, as the Droid 4 features a full 5-row edge lit QWERTY keyboard, a 4-inch qHD display which is scratch and scrape resistant, a dual-core 1.2Ghz processor, 1GB of RAM, an 8 megapixel camera and 1080p HD video recording. This will be yet another Android 2.3 Gingerbread handset, although inevitably Motorola has already confirmed that the Droid 4 is ‘on the list’ to get an upgrade to Ice Cream Sandwich when the time arises.

Now something which will certainly be an eye-raiser for those that have picked up the Droid RAZR. At CES, Motorola unveiled the Droid RAZR MAXX, which is almost exactly the same as its older brother, but with the addition of a large battery – a 3,300mAh, compared to the 1700 mAh that shipped with the original RAZR. According to Motorola, the RAZR MAXX will be able to output an astonishing 21 hours of battery life on a single charge and with frequent usage.

At the expense of a large battery though, the device will be noticably thicker than the RAZR, but still definitely on the thin range of smartphones at just 8.99mm thick. If you are planning to get the new RAZR MAXX, it will be priced at $299 on a two year 4G LTE contract with Verizon. Like the Droid 4, it will be available within a matter of weeks according to Motorola.

What are your thoughts on both devices, is the Droid 4 with its slick QWERTY slider an instant purchase for you? For those of you that have just purchased a Droid RAZR, do you feel a little robbed that Motorola has already announced an upgrade with extra battery life that you should of had from the start?