After Google showed off Samsung Galaxy Nexus running Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, it regained all its awesomeness that went missing after launch of bigger Android phones like Samsung Galaxy S3 and HTC One X in the market.

At the time of debut last year, Galaxy Nexus was introduced as the first smartphone to run Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, while it took months for Android 4.0 to reach other smartphones. At the annual I/O developer's conference, Google showed Galaxy Nexus running Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, making it the first smartphone to run the company's newest mobile operating system.

On the other hand, Motorola Droid Razr Maxx is the best selling Android smartphone at Verizon, beating Galaxy Nexus in sales by a significant margin. Selling as Verizon exclusive, rumors are on a hike that Motorola Droid Razr Maxx has outgunned even Apple iPhone in terms of sales at the Big Red. However, some reports indicate that iPhone is still the best selling smartphone at Verizon. Nevertheless, we voted Droid Razr Maxx as a better smartphone than iPhone 4S in our previous smartphone comparison.

Here is a detailed comparison of the two top-notch 4G Android smartphones - Motorola Droid Razr Maxx and Samsung Galaxy Nexus, offered by Verizon in the U.S.

Design and Display

Starting with the Droid Razr Maxx, the device packs 4.3-inch Super AMOLED display with qHD resolution (540 X 960 pixels), topped with Corning Gorilla Glass protection. The Kevlar body gives Droid Razr Maxx, the feel of a premium smartphone. The phone is 9mm thick and weighs 145 g.

Samsung Galaxy Nexus sports a bigger, better, high quality display. The 4.65-inch Super AMOLED display offers HD resolution of 720 X 1280 pixels. At a pixel density of 316ppi (Droid Razr Maxx has 256ppi display), the HD display of Galaxy Nexus is simply wonderful - bright and vivid with eye-popping colors. The textured material at the back makes it eye-catching, but it does not match the quality of Kevlar material as seen on Motorola Droid Razr Maxx. The Galaxy Nexus is 9.5mm thick and weighs 150 g.

Processor and Memory

Samsung Galaxy Nexus packs dual-core 1.2 GHz Cortex A9 processor, which is same as that in Droid Razr Maxx. Both Galaxy Nexus and Droid Razr Maxx boast 1GB of RAM and PowerVR SGX540 graphics card. The latter has 8GB of internal storage, while the in-build storage doubles to 16GB in the former, but it lacks microSD card slot for expandable memory option. On the other hand, the Droid Razr Maxx support microSD card sized up to 32GB. In addition, Verizon includes 16GB memory card for free in the package.

Connectivity

Both the smartphones come loaded with 4G LTE radios. The regular connectivity features like Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and GPS are all up there. Galaxy Nexus is at big with integrated NFC radios for features like Android Beam and Google Wallet. The identical feature in Droid Razr Maxx is dedicated micro-HDMI port, which is implemented by using micro-USB to HDMI adapter in Galaxy Nexus.

User Interface

As mentiond earlier, Samsung Galaxy Nexus is the first known smartphone to run Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. Google has stated that it will deliver Android 4.1 Jelly Bean to Galaxy Nexus as OTA update in July. New Android 4.1 features like Project Butter, Google Now and offline voice typing makes it better than most of the ICS-powered Android smartphones out there.

The Droid Razr Maxx, on the other hand, has just received the Android 4.0 ICS update, making Motorola a slow adapter for firmware update rollouts. Droid Razr Maxx is likely to get the Jelly Bean update, but the update is unlikely to reach Droid Razr Maxx this year.

Camera

Samsung Galaxy Nexus sport 5-megapixel rear camera accompanied by LED flash support. The camera records full-HD 1080p videos at 30fps. However, the camera quality is not at Samsung's best. Even Galaxy S2 has better camera quality than Galaxy Nexus. There is also a secondary 1.3-megapixel camera in the device that is capable of recording 720p HD videos.

In comparison, Motorola Droid Razr Maxx is at big with 8-megapixel rear shooter (plus LED flash). Along with capturing images at higher resolution, it records fine quality full-HD 1080p videos. The front facing camera in Droid Razr Maxx is 1.3-megapixel, which is also capable of 720p HD recording.

Battery

Motorola Droid Razr Maxx is well known for its excellent battery performance. The device packs 3,300 mAh standard Li-Ion battery that can easily last two days on medium to heavy usage. On the other hand, Samsung Galaxy Nexus has 1,850 mAh user-replaceable battery that hardly last one day on moderate usage.

Pricing

Offered exclusively by Verizon, the Droid Razr Maxx is currently priced at $299 on 2-year contract. Verizon has slashed the price to $199 two times in the past before hiking again. It is likely that Verizon will again cut the prices to $199 after Samsung Galaxy S3 becomes available across the carrier in mid-July.

On the other hand, Galaxy Nexus is available for $149 (after $50 online purchase discount) from Verizon, while the regular price at physical stores is $199 with a 2-year contract.

It is to be noted that U.S. Court has ruled against Samsung in the patent case against Apple, and granted Apple a temporary injunction against Galaxy Nexus sales in the United States, which means you won't be seeing the phone on the shelves of U.S. retail stores anytime soon. But we can expect the device to hit stores back again shortly after Samsung either wins the case or leaves out the disputed features. Android 4.1 Jelly Bean OS can also help Galaxy Nexus in avoiding patent disputes. You can know more about the Samsung Galaxy Nexus temporary ban here.

Conclusion

Both the smartphones have advantages and disadvantage over each other. Samsung Galaxy Nexus has bigger and better display with HD resolution. Software-wise, it is also better than Motorola's bet. However, poor battery performance is a real letdown for the device. But, there are over a dozen expandable batteries (3,800 mAh) available in the market for Galaxy Nexus - not to forget that they must be purchased separately.

Genuine is always better and Motorola Droid Razr Maxx proves it with a massive unremovable battery giving superior battery performance than most of the Android smartphones available in the market. It also have a beautifully carved design and packs better camera.

So, the choice of winner depends on the need of customers. Let us know which smartphone you would prefer between Samsung Galaxy Nexus and Motorola Droid Razr Maxx.