Motorola Razr V3i
Watch it, this Razr might cut you
The Razr V3 began life as Motorola's slimmest flip phone yet. The thinness of this phone is of shocking proportions -- with a thickness of only 13.9 mm and at only 53 mm wide it's about the size of a credit card. The V3's brushed aluminum case and nickel-plated copper keypad gives it a unique style and a toughness that belies its waiflike proportions.
Inside the phone Motorola has managed to stuff a 176x220 pixel 2.2" display with 4K colors and a 3D graphics engine. You can watch Mpeg4 video clips with a 22kHz polyphonic speaker. The phone also sports Bluetooth compatibility for wireless voice and video peripherals for some serious technology that backs up its stylish design. The Razr takes care of a few essential features that quickly become annoyances when omitted. It's a quad band phone so it should follow you across continents. The Razr is MP3 ring-tone ready and the front panel contains an external display for access to information without opening the phone. It even contains a built in 1.23 megapixel VGA camera that can shoot 640x480 images.
The metallic look isn't the only variation in the Razr V3. It's also available in two variations. First is the ice blue design, with a cool metallic blue look. The other is the Magenta licensed with T-Mobile you can you get a mobile sub with bargain price V3 Magenta. They're both the same phone but instead of the bushed aluminum look the Blue has only a hint of blue in its metallic color and the Magenta is well, a gaudy and loud pink.
Motorola has one-upped their finely crafted design in the V3 with the new V3i, bringing music capabilities to the sleek Razr design. This is another Motorola handset that plays MP3 through iTunes. A hot swappable microSD memory slot will keep your material fresh as you listen to tunes on your phone.
And exactly how do these new Razr phones perform? A few criticisms have been levied against this phone. There is no doubt this is one nifty looking handset. With almost no plastic, it's an alloy design that just feels right in your hand. The iTunes mobile applet would be a nice touch if Apple didn't impose a 100 song limit. The iTunes feature is more like a curse -- there are many phones on the market that can play MP3s without the 100 song limit.
The backlighting on the keypad has been a problem on the slim Razr. The alloy and design is attractive in low lighting, but in bright sunlight the numbers on the keypad are all but invisible. Sound is also a problem: it's difficult to hear at times, like when you're in a restaurant you'll find yourself ducking for cover to hear a word. Perhaps the slim illumination and volume are symptoms of its Razr-thin circuitry, but it can't complete with fatter handsets on either count.
The bad news is you'll be needing that number pad on a regular basis. The Razr would offer a much better user experience if it was equipped with a voice recognition auto dialing function that mobile phones have had for years now. As attractive and stylish as the slim Razr is, the all alloy look is a refreshing break from the cheap looking plastic fare we're used to. Possibly Motorola's nicest looking best phone, but as a multi-purpose gadget Motorola just isn't there yet.