Available
now 30th July 2013
Exclusive to Verizon Wireless in the US, the Motorola DROID
MINI, DROID ULTRA and DROID MAXX are three very
closely related Android smartphones that should start shipping from
August onwards. We will have to wait and see if there will be any
non-Verizon variants of these devices coming to other markets.
All three smartphones are almost completely identical except
for the size of the display and the size of the battery. All three
have a 720p HD display, a 10 megapixel primary camera and 2 megapixel
secondary one, a 1.7GHz dual-core CPU and 2GB of RAM, 16GB of onboard
flash storage, 4G LTE data and NFC. These DROIDs support both CDMA/EVDO
standards and GSM/UMTS as well as LTE, and have a preinstalled nanoSIM
card for roaming off the Verizon Wireless network.
In the middle of the range is the DROID ULTRA with a 5"
720 x 1280 pixel panel and a 2130 mAh battery, coming in at 137
grams and measuring just 7.2mm thick. If you want a bigger battery,
then the DROID MAXX adds a 3500 mAh cell and is 8.5mm
thick and 167 grams. If both of those are too big, then the DROID
MINI has a 4.3" 720p display and has a 25% smaller footprint
than the ULTRA and comes with a 2000 mAh battery. The DROID MAXX
and MINI also feature wireless charging, but the ULTRA does not.
This DROID family features voice-activated controls, keyed to
recognise the owner only plus a number of other software enhancements
that are exclusive to Motorola. Underneath all that, these
handsets run Android 4.2.2 and are capable of everything that every
other Android smartphone can do.
All these DROIDs have Motorola's distinctive Kevlar back,
and a full set of sensors including a barometer, gyroscope, proximity
sensor and accelerometer. It's worth nothing that the upcoming Motorola
MOTO X promises even more sensors, but that's a little way off yet.
If bought without a contract the MAXX costs around $700, the
ULTRA $600 and the MINI $550. If taken with a new two year contract
you can take $400 off those prices. There appear to be black, red
and purple versions of these handsets and Verizon says that
they should start shipping to customers from late August.
|