Verizon subscribers have never really had much of a struggle when it comes to getting great phones. As one of the largest carriers in the United States, the company has had access to tons of big name devices right from the jump. This August, Motorola has added new devices to its popular line of handsets. The one that is ready to get in and compete with the other top contenders in the mobile space is the Droid Ultra. Slim, sleek, and equipped with Motorola’s unique internal chipset, the Ultra is priced to go head to head with the likes of the iPhone 5 and Galaxy S4. How does it stack up in a Spec Showdown? We’re about to find out.
|
iPhone 5  |
Galaxy S4  |
Droid Ultra  |
|
| Size | 123.8 x 58.6 x 7.6 (mm) | 136.6 x 69.8 x 7.9 (mm) | 137 x 71 x 7.18 (mm) |
| Weight | 112g | 130g | 140g |
| Screen | 4.0-inch LCD | 5.0-inch Super AMOLED | 5-inch Super LCD 3 |
| Resolution | 1136×640 pixels | 1080×1920 pixels | 720×1280 pixels |
| OS | iOS 6.0.1 | Android 4.2 with TouchWiz UI | Android 4.2 |
| Storage | 16/32/64GB | 16/32/64GB | 16GB |
| SD Card Slot | No | Yes | No |
| Processor | Dual-core A6X | 1.9GHz Quad-core Snapdragon 600 | 1.7GHz Octa-core Motorola X8 |
| RAM | 1GB | 2GB | 2GB |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi, 4G LTE, HSPA+ | Wi-Fi, 4G LTE, HSPA+ | Wi-Fi, 4G LTE, EV-DO Rev.A |
| Camera | Front 1.2MP, Rear 8MP | Front 2MP, Rear 13MP | Front 2MP, Rear 10MP |
| Bluetooth | Yes, version 4.0 | Yes, version 4.0 | Yes, version 4.0 |
| Battery | 1440mAh | 2600mAh | 2130mAh |
| Charger | Lightning connector | Micro USB | Micro USB |
| Marketplace | Apple App Store | Google Play Store | Google Play Store |
| Price | $200+ | $200+ | $200 |
| Availability | AT&T, Sprint, Verizon | AT&T, Sprint, T-Mob, Verizon | Verizon |
If there’s a turn off for potential Droid Ultra purchasers, it is likely the drop in resolution and processing power. The Ultra’s 5-inch screen is capable of 720p, a step down from devices that offer the full clarity of 1080p. Motorola claims it provides a 24 percent boost in CPU speed and a 100 percent increase in GPU speed from the Razr HD last year. The real interesting area of comparison won’t show on the spec sheet, either. We’re interested to see how the Droid’s Touchless controls work in comparison to the Galaxy S4’s similar features. Which handset works best when your hand isn’t on it may be the determining factor for which phone you go with.
Priced at $200, the Droid Ultra will be available on Verizon come August 20.
Editor’s Note by Jeffrey Van Camp: Just for clarification, the new X8 Computing System is more complex than usual. It has a dual-core “application” processor, quad-core graphics processor, a processor for sensors, and a processor for language processing. Supposedly, this setup boosts battery life and performance. We haven’t yet tested it out.
