These Are The Droids I'm Looking For

Just before Motorola released the Moto X, three new Droids were released this year: one for every price point, following last year's model with the Razr Maxx HD, Razr HD and Razr M. All the devices have the X8 Mobile Computing System in them and run near-pure vanilla Android. They are crisp, alluring devices for all Verizon customers. However, the similarities stop here as the price difference starts to make more sense. These devices are the Droid Maxx, the Droid Ultra, and the Droid Mini, and they're all worth looking into for any Android fan.

Maxx: shattering every competitor on battery life, the Droid Maxx ($500 off contract, $199 on) is exactly what it sounds like: a truly powerful and enduring machine. Battery life is a common technological gripe, and most devices struggle to give a user a full day's worth of use. However, in the past year, flagships are turning over a new leaf, and the Droid Maxx is leading the charge with a 3,500 mAh battery with at least two full days of use for a moderate user, and no worries making it through the day for even the most extreme user. The device itself has the stylish kevlar back, a 720p HD 5” AMOLED screen, and runs Jelly Bean 4.2. The storage, although not expandable, is a comfortable 32GB, and the RAM is 2 GB. Lastly, the camera is great, but unfortunately great can’t hold up to fantastic, like the Nokia Lumia 1020, or the LG G2. If you need a good camera phone, or it’s just not important to you, the 10 MP rear and 2 MP front cameras should be more than enough for you.

Ultra: Having essentially the same specs and features as the Maxx, the Ultra ($450 off, $99 on) has only 16 GB storage, and a 2,130 mAh battery. While that’s nothing near the Maxx, it will still get you through a day comfortably. Like the other droids, the Ultra features touchless controls, which lets you use your phone simply by saying, “okay, Google.” This feature is included in the Moto X, and is rumored to be included in the Nexus 5. There is also the active notifications feature, which lights up a small portion of your screen when the phone is dormant to give you interactable information about incoming notifications. The design is slightly different than the Maxx, with Motorola going with a glossy finish in the back that may make the device tough to hold on to.

Mini: The runt of the group, the Mini is the bargain device this year. At only $50 on contract and $400 off, the device offers all of the X8 punch in a much smaller, 4.3 inch package. As is to be expected, the build quality goes down with the price, as do the extra features. The storage is still 16 GB, but the battery is a meager 2,000 mAh. The screen features a lower quality 720p TFT screen, but still has all of the desirable features like Active Display. The Mini is as much a Droid as its cousins, with the Droid Command center on the home screen, the new Droid Zap feature (basically Google’s version of AirDrop,) and the confusing hand gestures that keep giving users mixed results.

The Droid line used to be the best of the best when it came to Android, however, within a few years it had become a niche device that was barely keeping up. (Remember the Bionic, X2, and Droid 3?) However, Motorola has made its return with these fantastic devices and now the Droid line is back to competing.

What do you think about the latest Droids? Tell us about your experiences with these devices in the comments below.