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Repairing your broken Motorola Droid Maxx is in most cases cheaper than buying a new smartphone. You can expect costs of about USD 50 for repair services of your mobile device. Replacing the display is normally a bit pricier than that. However, in almost all cases it is cheaper to get your Motorola Droid Maxx repaired than buying a new device.

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After roughly nine months of almost complete radio silence, Google-owned Motorola suddenly sprang into action by announcing four devices in the space of eight days. The lineup of new smartphones included the much-hyped Moto X and a fresh crop of Droid-branded handsets for Verizon. Interestingly enough, this quadruplet shares many of the same specs; aside from exterior design, screen and battery size, there"s very little to distinguish Motorola"s latest offerings. The first out of the gate is the Droid Ultra, a 5-inch 720p model wrapped in Kevlar. All told, it"s more of a mid-range phone, though its on-contract price of $200 would suggest otherwise.

The Droid Ultra is arguably the closest cousin to the Moto X, and because the two have basically the same specs and price, we"ve been scratching our heads trying to figure out why Motorola needed to make both. Still, we did our due diligence in giving the Ultra the full review treatment. How does it differentiate from Moto"s flagship, and does it hold any sort of advantage? Is the device worth paying $200 and agreeing to a two-year contract? Read on as we answer these questions and more.

For all the commonalities between the Droid Ultra and Moto X (which we"ll discuss at length in this review), its external design at least creates the illusion that they"re completely different phones. While the X features slender curves, the Ultra reminds us of the 2-year-old Droid RAZR, with a hump for the camera module up top (don"t worry, it"s less pronounced this time). It also features the same tapered body, with a chassis that gets thinner toward the bottom of the phone, along with slightly tapered corners to match. Also similar: those straight edges and short, steep curves, which come together to ensure a natural fit in the hand. At the same time, it gives you a nice place to rest your fingers. With a 137.5 x 71.2mm frame, the Ultra stands 8mm taller and 6mm wider than the Moto X. And though it"s 7.2mm thick at its thinnest point, it"s only a little bit skinnier at its thickest point than its close cousin. The Ultra weighs 4.83 ounces, which is heavier than the X, but still lighter than previous-generation devices. Besides, its weight is still perfectly reasonable. In general, the X is technically easier to hold, but you won"t feel like the Ultra is burdensome to carry around.

Just like the Droid RAZR series that came before it, the Ultra is built with a layer of woven DuPont Kevlar fiber that Motorola reps tell us is locked into place by a resin. This layer, which is the honeycomb pattern you see underneath the plastic casing, is meant to minimize thickness and add a small amount of additional durability (though we doubt firearms are powerless against it, so we"d discourage you from testing them out). Regardless, we"re still tremendously disappointed by how much grime and grease the glossy back collects; it makes the phone look maddeningly dirty, and you"ll want to invest in a nice microfiber cloth so you can wipe the device off on a regular basis. There also seems to be a small pocket of air between the plastic and the layer beneath, as the back of the phone has a little bit of give, especially closer to the top. Interestingly, the Droid Maxx also uses Kevlar, but opts for a soft-touch cover instead of plastic, which provides a cleaner look and better grip. Suffice to say, we would"ve much preferred to see Motorola do the same with the Ultra.

Just like Moto"s three other new handsets, the Ultra features a 720p screen. This particular smartphone uses a 5-inch AMOLED panel, which means you"ll see darker darks and more saturated colors, while theoretically saving battery life -- an important thing when you regularly use a service like Active Notifications. We could see the display from nearly any viewing angle, but we had a difficult time making it out in sunlight, even with the brightness bumped all the way up. In normal conditions, however, we were quite happy with how the display looked; despite it not being 1080p like many of its $200 competitors, the Ultra"s resolution should be satisfactory for most buyers.

The Ultra offers capacitive navigation keys below the display, which is a contrast to the X"s virtual keys; you get a lot more screen real estate as a result, but this may come as a disappointment to some who like to keep the hardware as minimal as possible. Above the screen, you"ll find an earpiece, sensors and a 2-megapixel front-facing camera. A flip of the phone reveals a rectangular camera setup, with the LED flash and lens joined by a hidden speaker grille; you"ll also see a trio of logos on the back consisting of Verizon, Motorola and Droid brands from bottom to top, with Moto"s version being backed by a textured plastic material. The top of the phone has nothing but a 3.5mm headphone jack, while the bottom has a micro-USB port that also can be used for USB OTG, which means you can connect flash drives, USB keyboards and even a mouse to your device.

We were especially impressed by one particular aspect of the phone"s design. The volume rocker, found on the right side of the Ultra, doubles as a SIM card tray. This is a clever way to save space, and it doesn"t make the phone feel any cheaper since the power button, which sits just above it, appears to be fashioned out of the same mold. (Admittedly, however, we wonder how well the removable rocker will hold up over time, so perhaps there"s a reason other OEMs haven"t attempted this feat before.) Motorola decided to transition from micro-SIM cards to nano-SIM -- just like Apple did with the iPhone 5 and LG will do with the G2 -- and we have a feeling other manufacturers will follow suit in the next year or so. In the meantime, this will make things especially difficult for anyone who has multiple devices and likes to swap their SIMs back and forth, but this will likely affect only a small minority of users (which includes us).

Since the Ultra is a Verizon LTE device, its radio supports bands 4 and 13 (700 / AWS) along with the usual CDMA / EVDO frequencies. Fortunately, it also features GSM tech for global roaming, such as quad-band HSPA+ (850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100) and quad-band GSM / EDGE. You"ll also get Bluetooth 4.0 LE+EDR, NFC, Miracast compatibility, WiFi Direct, plenty of GPS / GLONASS support and 802.11a/ac/b/g/n. It doesn"t offer wireless charging support, so you"d want to lean toward the Droid Maxx if it"s part of your daily routine.

Whether you get the Droid Ultra or the Moto X, you"ll be treated to basically the same user experience. Both devices ship with Android 4.2.2 out of the box, and even though it"s not a completely vanilla version of the OS, the customizations are kept to a minimum compared to OEM skins like TouchWiz and Sense. There are a few extra widgets and services provided by Moto, but everything else is pretty close to what you"d find on a Nexus; hopefully this means it"ll get the update to 4.3 sooner rather than later, but it first needs to clear Verizon"s rigorous testing process, so we"re not holding our breath that it"ll be coming right away.

The Ultra, just like other Droid-branded devices, is filled to the brim with pre-loaded software, including a few Amazon apps, Audible, NFL Mobile, IMDb, Mobile Hotspot, My Verizon Mobile, Verizon Tones, Viewdini and some other VZW applications. Most of them can"t be uninstalled, but at least you can disable them so they"re not getting in the way.

All of the same Moto-branded services that were introduced on the Moto X are present on the Droid Ultra too. Active Notifications pulses new alerts to your screen when it"s in standby mode, letting you bypass the lock screen entirely and go straight to that particular notification. Touchless Control is the phone"s always-listening mode, so you just need to say, "OK Google Now," (after you train the phone, of course) and the voice assistant pops up. Assist can speak your texts out loud while you"re driving, change settings when you"re in a meeting or set up a Do Not Disturb mode at night. And Migrate can transfer your contacts, texts, media and call history from another Android device.

UltraPixel. PureView. Time Shift. Eraser. The list goes on. It seems like every manufacturer is coming out with its own clever take on imaging to get a leg up over the competition, and Motorola is no exception. Its contribution to the craze is ClearPixel, which claims to collect more light and take faster, better pictures. What is Motorola"s trick? Many of the cameras we use in smartphones today detect light with red, green and blue pixels. Since each of these pixels only sees one color, cameras typically miss a huge portion of visible light; Moto, on the other hand, throws in a panchromatic pixel capable of detecting the full spectrum. Thanks to this, along with the f/2.4 aperture and a 1.4μ pixel size, we should be able to get much better low-light shots. Because of this, however, the RGBC sensor (as Motorola calls it) takes a little more time to snap shots, which means it"s not the best option for capturing moving objects in poor lighting conditions.

Quick capture is also offered on the Ultra, and it works just as well as it did on the X: you can twist your wrists twice in a row to activate the camera UI, which comes in handy when the phone is asleep. As for the camera"s performance, our assessment hasn"t changed since we published our Moto X review. HDR shots worked well when we needed to combine shadows and highlights in the same image; all other shots were hit and miss. We were able to get great color reproduction and an above-average amount of detail in most daytime shots, but there were quite a few instances when the entire image appeared washed out. Low-light images were also a mixed bag. True to the company"s claims, the camera is indeed good at capturing errant light; unfortunately, noise and blurring frequently creep in since the camera occasionally approaches ISO 6500, and it captures color and white balance inconsistently. Also, the Ultra lacks image stabilization, which doesn"t help either.

Assuming Motorola and Verizon are targeting the average mid-range handset market, the Droid Ultra"s X8 architecture should be more than sufficient. For those of you who haven"t read our review of the Moto X, here"s what you need to know about the X8. It"s comprised of a 1.7GHz dual-core Snapdragon S4 Pro, a quad-core Adreno 320 GPU clocked at 400MHz, a core for contextual computing and another for natural language processing. The latter two cores are meant to handle features like Touchless Control and Active Notifications without requiring a huge hit on battery life. Lastly, it also gets 2GB of RAM as part of the bundle.

Basically, then, this setup is ideal for anybody who isn"t a power user and doesn"t need the absolute best graphics processor available on a smartphone today. In using the phone over the course of a week, everything was immensely responsive and not once did we have to worry about the phone crashing or slowing down. We played games for several hours, and while it didn"t have quite the level of detail that you"d find on an Adreno 330, we doubt most people will even notice or care about the subtle difference. Here are a few benchmarks that we use to compare the Ultra with the Moto X and Nexus 4, both of which have Snapdragon S4 Pro chips (though the latter uses a quad-core version):

As a disclaimer, we decided to show most of the Nexus 4 test results as they appeared on Android 4.2.2 -- the same version of the OS running on Motorola"s selections. (3DMark was the only exception, as we didn"t have the chance to run it on 4.2.2.) Granted, some of the scores generated using 4.3 are a little better -- 660ms in SunSpider 1.0 and 15 in GLBench 2.7, for instance. Our Quadrant score, meanwhile, improved to 5,224. Overall, though, it"s clear that Moto"s X8 alternative benefited from a few solid optimizations. What"s more, you"re not going to see any noticeable difference in performance between the Ultra and the X.

Motorola"s onto something when it comes to battery life. We raved about the Moto X, which lives up to its claim of 24-hour runtime (assuming mixed usage). We weren"t able to replicate Moto"s promise of 28-hour battery life for the Droid Ultra, but it still did a good job holding a charge. The Ultra still frequently made it through a full day of use, while a heavier workload yielded us around 13 hours of total life. (For those asking, our heavy workload consisted of taking pictures and videos, navigating from San Francisco to the South Bay, a few hours of using the phone as a mobile hotspot, surfing the web, frequent emailing and a good deal of social networking.) If this is what we have to look forward to from Motorola, we can"t wait to try out the Droid Maxx"s larger battery.

Here"s the thing: most of our review up to this point feels moot. We still have a hard time understanding why the Ultra needs to exist: it"s offered at the same $200 on-contract price as the similarly specced Moto X, which will also be available on Verizon. We won"t dispute that it has a larger screen size, and a different design that may indeed appeal to different people. However, the Ultra not only uses nearly identical specs and software as the X, but it also offers the same screen size as the Droid Maxx. The Maxx and the Droid Mini both make sense, because having different screen sizes, batteries and price points ($300 and $100, respectively) at least ensure a greater number of options.

The Ultra will only appeal to those people who are okay paying $200 for a mid-range device that has a slightly larger display than the Moto X, and don"t have a problem with having less storage space and a smaller battery than on the Maxx (not to mention the lack of wireless charging). It just seems odd that Verizon would be willing to devote a good portion of its Droid marketing efforts to such a device that doesn"t even seem necessary.

Of course, we"re saying this with the assumption that paying $200 for a mid-range phone is an acceptable option for you, but we have a feeling that not many people would choose the Ultra over the Samsung Galaxy S 4, which is available for the same price. The GS4 sports a 5-inch (1080p) AMOLED, quad-core Snapdragon 600 processor, a much better camera, infrared, expandable external storage and the list goes on. Overall, the Ultra is a good phone and we like the Touchless Control and Active Notifications as much as the next person, but we have a hard time recommending the Ultra when it"s the same price.

Oddly enough, our overall enjoyment of the two latest Motorola devices makes us very eager to try out the Droid Mini. With very few exceptions, it has the same features and similar specs, with a smaller display size and an appropriate $100 on-contract cost, which actually works for a mid-range smartphone. HTC and Samsung have attempted to make petite versions of their flagship devices, only to cut a lot of corners in the process; from what we can tell so far, the Droid Mini appears to be the closest to its older (and larger) brethren.

The Motorola Droid Ultra is a great mid-range phone with lots of compelling features that many potential buyers will find interesting. It does have its negatives, though -- this is essentially a Moto X riddled with Verizon branding, a glossy and fingerprint-prone finish and a nonsensical price. But therein lies the problem: we simply can"t think of a reason why the Ultra should co-exist with the X at the exact same price. The only way we"d recommend it over the X is if you need a (slightly) larger screen or perhaps just prefer a slightly thinner and taller chassis, but even the Maxx offers those things and adds a much larger battery. Of the four handsets released by Motorola this month, this one is by far the most uninteresting and, more importantly, the least likely to tempt potential buyers. It"s ironic, perhaps, that such a fate would befall a phone called the Ultra.

In the event that the screen recording icon is not available and that simultaneously pressing the volume up and power buttons on the Motorola Droid Maxx 2 does not start the video recording, we will have to download an application from the application store to perform this action.

Check the following article to learn how to install applications without Google Play from alternative stores and how to install Google Play if your Droid Maxx 2 does not have it incorporated Google Play alternatives.

To do this we go to our application store either Play Store, Galaxy Store or any other that we use on our Motorola Droid Maxx 2 and search for “screen recorder”, we must bear in mind that any free application that we download will contain advertising, and we must not download any application that ask us for excessive permissions such as access to Bluetooth, contacts or the camera. The permissions that will be required for any screen recording application are “Access to multimedia content and files”, the permission to “Record video and audio” and the “Show above” permission is optional if you want to have a floating window with the controls of record, microphone, stop, etc.

Fans of the Droid Maxx series finally have something to get excited about. After two years of waiting for a sequel, Verizon and Motorola finally teamed up again to release a worthy successor to its first Maxx, the Droid Maxx 2.

The Maxx 2 is actually a re-branded Moto X Play, which is a more affordable version of the Moto X Style. It features a good balance of mid-range and high-end specs. Since the Moto X Play isn’t available in the States, we welcomed the Maxx 2 with open arms.

Motorola doesn’t make the flashiest phones in the world, but the company knows how to build quality handsets. Whether it’s an entry-level Moto E or the flagship-caliber Droid Turbo 2, Motorola always invests a lot of time in its craftsmanship.

A major highlight of the design has to be its size, which is 148.0 x 75.0mm. The iPhone 6S Plus is 158.2 x 77.9mm, which is much bigger. Considering that both phones have massive 5.5-inch screens, the Maxx 2 has a clear advantage. It’s a lot easier to use and hold one-handed.

The downside is that the Maxx 2 is thicker. It’s actually 8.9mm at the sides, but the rounded back pushes it to 10.9mm at its thickest point. In comparison, the iPhone 6S Plus is only 7.3mm thick. However, the Maxx 2’s rounded back gives you the impression that it’s thinner than it actually is.

Although Motorola didn’t open up its Moto Maker customization engine for the Maxx 2, the removable back can be swapped out for a different color, which is arguably a benefit because you can change it any time you want.

Mid-range phones usually come with a below-average screen to keep the price down. However, the Maxx 2 sports a generous 5.5-inch 1080p screen, which equates to a resolution of 1,920 x 1,080 pixels. This is the sweet spot, since it offers the perfect balance between viewing experience and battery life.

The screen is an LCD panel instead of the traditional AMOLED screen that we’re accustomed to on past Motorola phones. As such, it’s technically not as energy-efficient, but the battery size more than makes up for that. Although the colors don’t pop as much as they would on an AMOLED screen, the Maxx 2 looks sharp and viewing angles are very good. Plus, it performs well in sunlight, which is usually the case with LCD panels.

The Droid Maxx 2 features the octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 processor. Although a mid-range chip, it’s more than adequate for just about anything you can throw at it. Videos and games play smoothly, and I didn’t notice any stuttering or lag when navigating the user interface or opening and closing apps.

Battery life is becoming increasingly important because so many phones continue to fail to last through an entire day. Motorola has been a leader in battery life ever since the company introduced the Droid Razr Maxx back in 2012.

The Maxx 2 sports a whopping 3,630mAh battery, which is rather large for a phone of this size. The similar-sized iPhone 6S Plus only has a 2,750mAh battery, and the larger Galaxy Note 5 features a 3,000mAh battery. As such, the Maxx 2 is one of the most dominant phones in terms of battery life.

In our battery rundown test in which we play continuous video while the phone is connected to 4G LTE (not Wi-Fi) and the display is set to about 60 percent brightness, the Maxx 2 performed spectacularly. It went from 100 percent to 0 percent in 11 hours and 4 minutes. How does this translate in real life? Motorola promises 48 hours, which is not out of the realm of possibility with moderate use. Last weekend, I went from Friday morning well into Sunday without charging it once. Power users are likely to be limited to 30-36 hours, but even that’s phenomenal.

When it comes to most smartphones, you begin to panic when you hit 30 percent battery, but 30 percent on the Maxx 2 is like 80 percent on most other phones.

On top of the amazing battery life, you also get quick charging capability, or as Motorola calls it, “turbo power.” That’s just another term for Qualcomm’s Quick Charge 2.0.

If you do find yourself in a pinch, you can juice up pretty darn fast using a quick charger. Starting from 0 percent, our tests showed that the Maxx 2 will charge to 25 percent in just 20 minutes, 50 percent in 45 minutes, and 100 percent in 2 hours. This means that you can grab 12 hours of life after just 20 minutes of charging, or about 24 hours after just 45 minutes.

The downside is that a quick-charging compatible charger doesn’t come in the box. You can buy one directly from Motorola, or any third-party charger will work, as long as it’s certified with Qualcomm’s Quick Charge 2.0 standard.

Motorola has never blown anyone away with its cameras, but the company has improved greatly over the past couple of years. The Droid Maxx 2 sports a 21-megapixel main rear camera along with a 5-megapixel front-facing lens. When you consider the rear cameras on the iPhone 6S and 6S Plus are 12-megapixels and the Galaxy S6 sports 16-megapixels, this is very generous for a phone in this price range.

However, it’s not all about the megapixels. Megapixels only make it easier for you to crop images, but none of that matters if the quality is subpar. The Maxx 2 handles brightly lit situations very well, but the lack of optical image stabilization shows up in low-light shots, in which a decent amount of noise is present. There is a Night Mode, which does cut down on the noise, but at the expense of lowering the megapixel count down to 3.7. Ouch.

Although it has a high megapixel count, the Maxx 2 cannot record 4K video. This isn’t going to be a big deal for most people, though. It can record up to 1080p (1920 x 1080) at 30 frames per second, which is more than enough.

The Droid Maxx 2 runs Android Lollipop 5.1.1 out of the box, which is a bummer since the Android 6.0 Marshmallow update has been available for over a month. However, Motorola and Verizon promise that the Marshmallow update is coming very soon.

What separates Motorola from other Android manufacturers is its software on top of Android. While other manufacturers continue to muck up Android with a different look and useless apps, Motorola preserves the pure Android experience and includes some very useful features.

New for this year is Moto Loop, which again, shows Motorola’s prowess in offering stuff that fits into your everyday life. This app is the perfect way to keep track of each family member’s location and also offers the ability to send messages to each other. You can set certain locations where family members can auto check in. That way, you will be notified when your child gets to school and home, plus, you can always check the real-time location as well. If this isn’t enough, Moto Loop can also automatically control your Nest Thermostat or Philips Hue lights when you get home.

Droid Zap, a past Verizon exclusive, is also back with the Droid Maxx 2. This app allows you to share photos and videos directly with other friends near you. It’s perfect for parties and group outings. It’s available on other Android phones, as well as iOS (Motorola Zap), so your friends don’t have to own a Droid-branded phone.

Motorola’s Limited Warranty for the Droid Maxx 2 covers fixes for one year. After that, you’ll have to pay for repairs or to extend your coverage. Motorola will not repair or replace phones that have water damage, either. Out-of-warranty repairs cost $175. You can read more about the limited warranty here.

The Maxx 2 has a special screen program, which isn’t as extensive as the ShatterShield promise Motorola offers on the Droid Turbo 2. Motorola will give you one free certified replacement within 2 years of purchase, if you break yours.

Motorola offers a few more paid options for those who need more protection. Moto Care Accident Protection covers accidents that affect the functionality of the device, like drops and spills. It comes with an additional 3 or 12 months of Motorola’s standard limited warranty. It’s more expensive, though, and prices vary widely based on how many months you signup for and what device you have. Prices are between $15 – $70 for 15 months of coverage or $25 – $100 for 24 months of coverage.

The $13-$20 Moto Care Extended Service Plan covers an additional 12 months of Motorola’s standard limited warranty, with an unlimited number of claims and low deductible.

On the other hand, the recently announced HTC One A9 will work on Verizon, but it costs $500. The best competitor might be the Google Nexus 5X, which sells for $400. It will work on Verizon, and it has a better camera, but its battery life can’t hold a candle to the Droid Maxx 2, and we don’t recommend it as a viable alternative, based on our terrible experience with the phone.

The Droid Maxx 2 is exactly what the Honda Accord is for automobiles. You get rock-solid performance with a near luxurious experience for a lot less money.

It costs a steep $300 on contract, but the Droid Maxx continues to outshine the rest of the phone industry in battery performance. This new model has wireless charging built in as well.

Motorola and Verizon love their Droids. The Droid brand is what put Google’s Android OS on the map and it’s continued to be a differentiator for Verizon in the years since. Today, the two companies unveiled the Droid Ultra, Droid Mini, and Droid Maxx. Available next month for $300, the Droid Maxx is a decked-out version of the Droid Ultra, and builds on what’s worked before: a slim, attractive design, amazing battery life, an HD screen, and just enough signature features to stand out without going overboard.

The Maxx has the same design as last year’s Razrs, but is now further slimmed and streamlined. At only 8.5mm thick, it’s one of the thinnest 4G LTE smartphones available. It feels fairly light and like something we could use one-handed despite the 5-inch screen.

The Droid Maxx is almost the same phone as the Droid Ultra, with a few key differences. The larger battery is one (battery life is just about double), though we should note that this does not add much bulk or weight. Next is the design. The Maxx is just as comfortable to hold but has a matte finish that both looks and feels better than the Droid Ultra. The 3500mAh battery can also charge wirelessly, unlike the Ultra.

Both phones have loud speakers with decent audio quality but the Maxx is louder and sounds clearer. Internally, the Maxx only comes with 32GB of internal storage where the Ultra starts at 16GB or a 32GB option. Neither phone has a MicroSD card slot. Both are available in red or black.

Despite being a Motorola phone that runs nearly stock Android Jelly Bean, the Maxx has physical Home, Back, and Recent Apps buttons instead of going strictly on-screen. This is somewhat surprising given that Google owns Motorola now, but we’re not complaining.

The bright and vivid 5-inch, AMOLED display is gorgeous and pixel dense with wide viewing angles. The display technology is even more relevant here because of Motorola’s new feature: Active Display. When the Maxx detects that it’s resting on a flat surface it will show the time if you just nudge it. Have other notifications? Tap and hold the icon to see text and decide if you want to open or ignore it. Active Display utilizes white text, and so only the pixels needed will light up, saving battery. (AMOLED screens only light up the pixels that are needed, giving darker and deeper blacks than any other screen.)

There are a lot of fun little features built into the Ultra. There aren’t as many as a Galaxy S4, but enough to show that Motorola is paying attention to the trends without slavishly following them. Another we like is Droid Zap for sharing photos with friends within 300 feet. You need a Droid Ultra, Maxx, or Mini to send photos, but any Android phone can accept them (as long as you have the app). Droid owners can even send a link to the app directly to friends.

In our short hands-on time with the Maxx, we were impressed by the speed but didn’t get a chance to push the phone too much, but given the bragging Motorola did on its custom processor, it should hold up to some strenuous use.

The Droid Ultra will sell for $300 on contract. You can pre-order it here. While it isn’t groundbreaking when compared to other superphones like the Galaxy S4 or HTC One, it keeps pace with those devices while remaining distinctly Motorola. For fans of this brand and this line of phones that’s great news. And you won’t need to wait too long to get your hands on one. The new Droids ship on August 20.

The Droid Maxx 2 is a significant update to the Droid Maxx and offers Verizon customers an excellent mid-range option to more expensive flagships. It boasts interchangeable rear panels, a huge battery, and rapid charging. If you"re a fan of the Droid line, don"t need the shatterproof Turbo 2, and desire unparalleled battery life, the Maxx 2 is worth a look.

Pointing out the differences between the Droid Maxx 2, Turbo 2, and Moto X Pure Edition is tough to do from several feet away. All three phones share a significant number of design elements and features. Perhaps the biggest giveaway is that the M2 doesn"t have the stylized Verizon "V" logo on the front like the T2 does. Otherwise, you"re looking at a trio of phones that can easily be mistaken for one another.

The core design includes an aluminum frame along the outer edge, white/black glass panel on front, and selectable colors for the rear. The camera module is contained in a metal housing, and the edges are tapered a bit to help the phone fit better in your hand.

Motorola isn"t giving potential M2 customers quite the same level of customization as the Turbo 2. It"s not available via Moto Maker; instead, you can purchase the handset and opt for additional, interchangeable rear covers. There are seven to choose from.

The Maxx 2 is a big phone, but not quite as huge as the T2 (those millimeters do count.) The display measures 5.5 inches, which puts it deep into phablet territory. It often requires two hands. I found it fits into pockets somewhat easier than the Turbo 2 thanks to the curvier contour of the rear panel. The Maxx 2 is actually 1.8mm thicker than the Turbo 2, but the shape is much slimmer at the edges, which helps tremendously. The Maxx 2 is just as heavy as the Turbo 2, which is surprising, given the standard display and slightly smaller battery.

The front surface is not too chaotic. The Maxx 2"s glass is curved slightly where it joins the side edges of the metal frame. This smoothes out the seam a bit. The frame forms lips along the top and bottom edges of the glass, however. The overall feel around the edges is better on the newest Moto X.

The Maxx 2"s camera module closely resembles that of the Moto X; it is a metal ellipse with the camera lens at one end and the indented Motorola logo at the other. The two-tone flash is in between.

As noted, the soft-grip rear cover snaps off in order to customize the look, but there"s nothing accessible beneath it; the battery is sealed in tight. The panel has a wavy design on it that adds texture. I found I was able to hold onto the phone tightly even when going for a jog.

The Maxx 2 is water-resistant thanks to a nanocoating spritzed across the phone"s innards. This is standard fare for a Motorola handset. It can handle sweat, rain, and some light splashing, but it won"t be happy about going for a swim. Keep it out of the pool.

The biggest difference between the Turbo 2 and the Maxx 2 is the display. The Turbo 2 has a 5.4-inch, quad HD AMOLED screen protected by Motorola"s ShatterShield. The Maxx 2 has a 5.5-inch full HD LCD panel protected by Gorilla Glass. In other words, the Maxx 2 has the more standard screen.

The Maxx 2"s LCD panel produces significantly more light than the Turbo 2"s AMOLED screen, and even though it has fewer pixels, the M2"s display is clearer and sharper to the naked eye. The Turbo 2"s ShatterShield technology has negative trade-offs in brightness and sharpness. The result is that the Maxx 2"s screen looks better, despite its technically inferior specs. I was able to use it indoors and out with no problem, and viewing angles are good for an LCD screen.

The Maxx 2 maintained a tight connection to Verizon"s network in and around New York City. The phone consistently connected calls on the first dial, even in areas with weak coverage. The M2 did not drop nor miss any calls while I reviewed it, and the phone kept a call going at highway speeds without problem.

Data performance was solid across LTE networks. I was not disappointed with its performance and found the M2 great for everyday use when surfing the web, browsing through Facebook, and watching YouTube videos. The Maxx 2 performs at the same level most handsets do on Verizon"s network.

The Maxx 2 is a mediocre voice phone. When calls are made the old-fashioned way over Verizon"s legacy voice network, earpiece volume was lacking and quality was muddy at best. I was able to understand calls in my home and stationary car, but coffee shops, restaurants, and other public spaces easily overpowered the anemic amplifier in the earpiece. I"d have been less disappointed if clarity was good, but it"s not.

The Droid Maxx is called the Droid Maxx because it offers maximum battery life. The phone has an incredible 3,630 mAh power supply. While that"s a bit smaller than the Turbo 2"s battery, the Maxx"s less-hungry processor and lower-resolution screen help deliver better battery life. Motorola claims the Maxx 2 can remain up and running for 48 hours. According to my mixed usage tests, that"s about accurate. It easily outlasted the Turbo 2 by 4 or 5 hours. The Maxx 2 lasted from breakfast one day to bedtime the next. This is about as good as you"re going to get from any modern smartphone.

Motorola didn"t bother to give the M2 an advanced battery saver tool; instead, it ships only with the Android system battery saver, which can be controlled manually to reduce power consumption.

Sitting at the top of Motorola"s new Droid lineup, the $299.99 Droid Maxx is more than just a capable device -- it"s also the best smartphone Verizon has ever sold. It boasts the biggest battery available in a handset, and a full 32GB of internal storage, not to mention Google"s impressive list of futuristic Android extras. The Maxx"s build quality is also light-years superior to the thinner Motorola

Aesthetically speaking, the differences between the Motorola Droid Maxx and its svelter sibling, the Droid Ultra, are huge, though you won"t notice them at first. At 5.4 inches tall by 2.8 inches wide, the Maxx is just as tall and as wide as the Ultra, but also a bit thicker (0.34 inch versus 0.22 inch).

Still, you don"t notice the change in girth when the phones are side by side on a table. It"s only when you pick them up that you"ll notice that the Maxx packs some serious, heavy hardware. Tipping the scales at almost 6 ounces (5.9 to be exact), the Droid Maxx has more heft and feels way more substantial than the Ultra (4.8 ounces). In fact, the Maxx is about an ounce heavier than the all-metal HTC One (5.04 ounces) and heavier still than the svelte Samsung Galaxy S4 (4.6 ounces).

Moto gets big points for giving the Maxx a back surface coated in Kevlar fiber -- similar to the previous generation of Droid handsets. I dug that treatment then and I dig it now. Smooth to the touch and possessing a soft matte finish, it repels smudges and streaks while simultaneously protecting against scratches. I certainly prefer it to the Ultra"s glossy and slippery back, which accumulates greasy fingerprints.

The only physical buttons on the Maxx are located on the phone"s right edge, a power key and a thin volume bar. Both are contoured and cross-hatched for easy manipulation by feel alone.

Above the screen is a 2-megapixel front camera and below it sit three capacitive buttons for basic Android control. Around back are the Droid Maxx"s 10-megapixel main camera and LED flash. There"s a big speaker here, too, which pumps out a huge amount of volume. Just as I found out on the Droid Ultra, this speaker serves up bigger audio than the HTC One and its hyped BoomSound technology.

The Droid Maxx boasts the same exact big, bright 5-inch HD OLED screen as the Droid Ultra. Its 720p resolution (1,280x720 pixels) doesn"t pack the same pixel density as the HTC One (4.7-inch, 1080p LCD) or Samsung Galaxy S4 (5-inch, 1080p OLED), its primary competition. That said, the Maxx"s high-contrast display has lusciously saturated colors and impressively dark black levels.

Detail in photos, Web sites, or documents with lots of text wasn"t any less sharp to my eyes on the Maxx than the same content viewed on phones with full 1080p screens. For instance, the Maxx"s 720p display didn"t negatively affect my serious mobile Netflix-streaming habit. The same goes for losing myself in a random HD YouTube movie trailer. Yes, I"m still strangely drawn to that "Riddick" flick since I checked it out on the Droid Ultra.

For internal electronics, Motorola has made a very unconventional move with its 2013 smartphone lineup. Instead of engaging in the brutal processor arms race like practically every other handset maker, the company decided to sidestep the issue completely. All the new Droids, including the Droid Maxx, are powered by a proprietary processing solution Motorola calls the X8 Mobile Computing System.

You"ll find the same collection of cores and specialized processors in the new Motorola flagship, the Moto X. To be blunt, the X8 is a dual-core 1.7GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro CPU and doesn"t have the raw horsepower of true quad-core processors, which drive the HTC One and Samsung Galaxy S4 (Snapdragon 600).

Helping this hardware is a healthy 2GB allotment of RAM. Also, unlike the Droid Ultra, which has only 16GB of internal memory, the Droid Maxx comes with 32GB to play with. That said, there"s no SD card slot for increasing storage.

Thankfully, Motorola didn"t mess with the Droid Maxx"s software that much, a similar tactic to what it did with the Moto X and Droid Ultra. Running the same Android operating system (version 4.2.2) as both devices, the Maxx"s OS is practically stock Jelly Bean. I have a feeling the fact that Google now owns Motorola has something to do with this.

You unlock the Maxx by sliding a padlock icon outside of a virtual ring on the phone"s screen. After that, you"re greeted by the central home screen plus four other panels to populate with app shortcuts and widgets as you see fit.

If you"re familiar with Motorola smartphones of the last few generations, you"ll recognize the Circles settings widget. Sitting at the center of the main home screen, it"s left over from the company"s previous Droid Razr and Atrix handsets. Personally, I"m glad this tool is here, since besides being a quick way to check the time, it also displays weather, and is a shortcut for system settings.

The widget flaunts a few new tricks, too. For instance, swiping the largest clock circle uncovers fresh functions such as Droid Zap and Wireless Display. Droid Zap lets you share images and video with other Android phone users nearby; Wireless Display will duplicate the Ultra"s screen to compatible HDTVs and monitors.

As an Android device, the Maxx comes preloaded with all the major Google apps and services. Of course you can delve into the vast Google Play online store for more to download. Unfortunately, because this is a Verizon-branded Droid device, the carrier couldn"t resist filling the Max with unremovable bloatware. Highlights include NFL Mobile, VZ Navigator, Verizon Mobile Security, and Verizon Tones, to list a few.

Another fruit of Motorola and Google"s union is Active Display, a useful feature that all the new Droid phones have. Also integrated into the Moto X, Active Display serves in place of a separate physical notification light. Essentially, the Droid Maxx"s screen will flash softly with alerts for incoming e-mail, text messages, and calls. Touching and holding your finger on the associated icon in the center of the screen causes the device to display additional information. Pulling the icon upward to the top of the screen wakes up the phone and opens the linked application.

The Droid Maxx also makes use of the X8 computing platform, like the Droid Ultra and Moto X, to perform nifty voice control tricks. Motorola calls the capability Touchless Control, and as its name implies, speaking a magic phrase will cause the Maxx to drop what it"s doing and await your vocal commands. Specifically, saying "OK, Google Now" and following up with phrases like, "Where am I?" or, "Remind me to pick up milk today" will tell the Maxx to leap into action.

Motorola"s X8 platform may not have the sheer horsepower to stand up to full-blown quad-core processors toe-to-toe. It does have plenty of oomph, though, and I observed that on the Droid Maxx firsthand. The phone was very responsive, opening applications without hesitation. Navigating through settings menus and home screen was also silky-smooth.

Lab tests backed up the experience I had with the Droid Maxx, and the phone garnered a respectable Quadrant score of 8,804. Oddly enough this showing wasn"t quite as high as the Droid Ultra achieved on the same test (9,056). And that"s nowhere near as impressive as the numbers turned in by the HTC One (12,194) and Samsung Galaxy S4 (11,381).

I tested the Droid Maxx on Verizon"s CDMA network both in New York City and Harpswell, Maine. Unlike my experience with the Droid Ultra, I found the Maxx delivered very clean call quality. In fact, callers I spoke to couldn"t tell that I was chatting on a cellular connection. On my end, voices sounded rich, warm, and loud through the Maxx"s earpiece.

Additionally, thanks to the phone"s large rear speaker, the Maxx"s speakerphone can reach a high maximum volume. People I rang reported that there wasn"t much difference in quality between speakerphone and standard calls except that my voice sounded slightly more distant over the speakerphone.

To say that I"ve been let down by Motorola smartphone cameras in the past would be an understatement. Indeed, I found that not only did previous generations of Droid Razrs take photos much too slowly, but they lacked key shooting modes found on Samsung and HTC devices.

Fortunately, Motorola, and its Google master, went against history on the Moto X and its new Droid handsets by revamping the imaging system and camera app. As a result, the Droid Maxx"s 10-megapixel sensor is capable of capturing pleasing photos both inside and in the great outdoors. Indoor shots of my studio still life were crisp, had accurate colors, and were exposed well.

Outdoors in daylight, verdant hues of trees and other foliage were lifelike and details were clear. I found the same true of blue skies, white clouds, and ocean waves. Like the Droid Ultra, though, the Maxx didn"t have autofocus as lightning-fast as the HTC One"s or the Galaxy S4"s. Shot-to-shot time using those gadgets is practically instant, whereas the Droid Maxx took about half a second.

Helping to speed up shooting is Motorola"s Quick Capture feature. It fires up the camera app, even when asleep, when you twist the phone twice in your wrist. Honestly it"s one of the most valuable capabilities I"ve seen on a smartphone in a while -- likely because I"m often juggling multiple objects (from sippy cups and toys to other gadgets and coffee mugs).

As with the Moto X and Droid Ultra, the Maxx"s bare-bones camera app is astonishingly simple to operate. Settings are as basic as possible, so there"s no way to select image or video size (the Maxx defaults to the largest available). Swiping from left to right opens a virtual wheel with various settings such as HDR and Panorama modes. Dragging your finger up and down zooms in and out, while sliding from right to left launches the gallery.

The Motorola Droid Maxx can access Verizon"s 4G LTE network for fast data access. My tests in New York were similar to those I ran on the Droid Ultra, with results varying widely by my location. Average overall download speed came in at a respectable 10.5Mbps, while out in quiet sections of Queens, N.Y., the phone sucked down information as swiftly as 17.8Mbps. Upload speeds spanned anywhere from 0.6Mbps to 14.7Mbps; average upload throughput, however, came in at 6Mbps.

Toting a state-of-the-art high-capacity 3,500mAh battery, the Motorola Droid Maxx"s main selling point is its promised longevity. And my initial tests with the handset vouch for the Maxx"s considerable staying power.

The phone was able to push through the CNET Labs Video Playback battery drain benchmark for 15 hours and 50 minutes. While far from the 48 hours of "mixed" use Motorola claims the Maxx is capable of, in this showing it was well ahead of the Droid Razr Maxx HD (14 hours, 53 minutes) and substantially longer than both the HTC One (9 hours, 37 minutes) and Samsung Galaxy S4 (10 hours, 30 minutes: average).

With such a remarkable battery, however, I suppose I shouldn"t be surprised that the Maxx demonstrated some quirky behavior regarding its mobile power source. For instance, my early test model refused to charge when the device was powered down, even though the phone said it was receiving a steady flow of electrons.

Additionally, it wouldn"t charge properly unless I first changed the USB computer connection mode to Camera and then unplugged and reconnected the USB cable. A recent Maxx replacement unit though exhibited no such problems, and in fact worked flawlessly. Motorola explained that some of the preproduction Maxx units used wonky software but shipping models shouldn"t be affected.

Indeed, this latest device consistently demonstrated the same ludicrously long run time, well over 14.5 hours playing HD video. It also charged swiftly, reaching full power from zero charge in under an hour. Another nice extra is the Droid Maxx"s (and all the new Droids for that matter) support for wireless charging via the Qi standard.

When you lay it all out on paper, the Motorola Droid Maxx should crush many smartphone challengers into dust. It flaunts the biggest, baddest battery available on a cellular handset, which results in fabulously long run time. The Maxx"s screen, while not as pixel-dense as its rivals, is big and vibrant. The phone"s speaker gets mighty loud, too, and the device even makes crystal-clear calls.

After spending quality time with the Droid Maxx, especially a Maxx running solid retail software, I can say that the phone lives up to its sizable ambition. I can"t argue that the Maxx"s $299.99 price is anything but luxurious. That said, for all the Droid Maxx can do and for how good it looks getting it done, it earns my seal of approval and our CNET Editors" Choice Award. Of course if the Maxx is too rich for your blood, there"s always the more affordable $199.99