Test Drive: ICS 4.0 on the Motorola Droid Razr Maxx

The Android operating system version 4.0, teasing taste buds with its Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS) nickname, has had Motorola Droid Razr MAXX 4G handset owners salivating ever since its promise to appear on that handset by the end of June this year. With that date fast approaching, Droid Razr MAXX owners don’t have long to wait. Let’s take a quick test drive with the ICS 4.0 operating system programmed into the Droid Razr MAXX 4G smartphone.

First off, you can check to see if the ICS over the air update has hit your phone by tapping your Menu Key and then accessing your Settings. Next go to About Phone, System Updates and hit Download. Click Install Now when prompted, and you are good to go. You can also wait until you receive a notification that the Android 4.0 OS is ready for download. What you will immediately notice is that Motorola has meshed with Google’s stock ICS user interface to create its own unique feel. The interaction and appearance is much different than the Gingerbread OS on the Droid Razr MAXX.

The first thing you see when you power your phone on is the Lock Screen. You can go straight from the Lock Screen directly to your Home Screen, Text Messaging, Phone Dialer or Camera. And you can now unlock with the ICS Face Unlock feature which uses facial recognition technology to only unlock the handset when it recognizes your face. Just don’t let your twin get a hold of your phone.

The apps screen on the Droid Razr Maxx is totally different as well. An additional Widgets tab is located at the top of the page, and the widgets have been comprehensively streamlined, adding more customization features. Home Screen folders allow you to group your shortcuts and favorite apps, and you can simply drag-and-drop to create a folder. The new People app takes the place of your old Contacts application, and offers more in-depth profile information, status updates and social network integration. And the web browser has received an update also, receiving a nice boost in speed.

The new voice input engine is slightly faster and is more efficient and accurate, and this new ICS upgrade also gives you global communications access, allowing talking, texting and browsing the web in over 220 different countries worldwide. The Motorola Droid Razr MAXX has a 4.3 inch Super AMOLED Advanced capacitive touchscreen that delivers 540 x 960 pixel resolution, and is protected by a scratch resistant layer of Corning Gorilla Glass. The handset provides the max amount of talk time offered by any smartphone, at 21.5 hours from a single battery charge, and also offers 1,080P HD video capture.  The Motorola Droid RAzr Maxx is available starting at $99 at select Verizon authorized retailers.