Motorola RAZR V3
Phone Scoop Review
Jul 11, 2005 by Eric Lin
In-depth review of Motorola's iconic RAZR V3 high-end clamshell GSM phone for Cingular and T-Mobile. read review ›
User Reviews
Average Ratings
Razr on T-Mobile
I purchased the RAZR as my third phone in nearly 15 years. The original Motorola Flip phone and the Audiovox CDM-9000 being the other two I can compare.
I purchased the RAZR primarily for the thin size and relatively light weight. None of the offerings on Verizon were any thinner than my old Audiovox, even the ones without camera, bluetooth and all the other new features. So, I switched to T-Mobile to buy the RAZR, as they offered a better plan for the same cost as what I had on Verizon. Cingular's cheapest plan was double the cost for minutes I'd never use.
Other bonuses:
1) Loud volume on ringer, speakerphone and earpiece- much better than the Audiovox.
2) Call quality and reception are very good. About the same as the Audiovox on Verizon.
3) Nice screen. Decent size, color and brightness.
4) MP3 and MP3 ringtone capable. Nice touch.
5) Seems well made and hopefully as durable as the Audiovox.
6) Can transfer files and sync via USB, though the $30 Moto software is slow and otherwise mediocre.
7) Standby time. If it is as good as advertised, it should go 1-2 weeks, about the same as the Audiovox.
8) Charges through USB from a computer. Very slick, since I always forget to recharge it on the AC or in the car.
Drawbacks:
1) Vibra alert is pathetic. It's more like a tingle alert, as you aren't likely to feel it in anything but the tightest pocket.
2) Video capture with sound is enabled on T-Mobile, but the length of the clips seem to randomly cutoff between 4 and 6 seconds. Barely useful.
3) Outer screen could be brighter, at least for the clock.
4) No flash for camera. Granted, most camera flashes are probably marginal, but still better than nothing.
5) Price. $200 with a 1-year contract wasn't bad, but it still isn't cheap. I did find it for about $350 in black on ebay with no contract, unlocked for any provider. Some online sellers seem to have it well below $200 on Tmobile and Cingular with service contracts, but I purchased from a Tmobile retail store.
Form and Function Come Hand in Hand.
I've worked in the wireless industry for 7 years, and I must say that out of the 10+ phones I've used in that time period, this is the best phone I've used. Before, I was a Nokia buff. After using the Motorola RAZR, I'm hooked! In simile form: Nokia is to Honda, as Motorola is to Mercedes. Both dependable, quality cars; however the fit and finish on a Mercedes is better. Currently the RAZR is offered for $200 on a 2 year contract with Cingular. The value, however, is well over $200.
Razr V3 - Interesting phone
Just got this phone from Cingular. After intial problems at the store (amazing how lacking their knowledge was about industry, tech stuff) finally got the Razr after 2 days of using a loaner V551. Impressive for it's light yet sturdy feel and excellent call quality (tone and clarity) it is equally unimpressive on the menu / ease of use side. I am spoiled to have had Sanyo's the last 4 years and the Motorola menus and phone book leave much to be desired. I still have not found out how to assign one ring for calls with caller id and one for those without. Just messed around with the voice dialing end and it seems better than the Sanyo in that my voice pitch varies naturally and my Sanyo's had issues but so far the Motorola has dialed every time. There was a review that said something about the volume but every volume either ring tone or listening or speaker phone is way loud enough in fact usually has to be on lowest setting. GSM vs PCS, I am amazingly impressed with how good the coverage is in the areas where GSM is. PCS might be in more fringe areas but it is not always clear GSM may die but to the edge of the GSM range it is sharp even on one bar, a huge improvement for me. The plans Sprint vs. Cingular, I miss the all inclusive Sprint but you can't have everything. Overall:
Pro's:
Light weight yet sturdy
Clarity of calls
Battery life - excellent
Con's:
Menus
Software (not quite as functional)
My rating of 4 reflects both the phone and Cingular service. For a $350.00 phone it is good if you get it for less than that it gets better !
I'm a Happy Camper
I was reluctant to switch to the Razr from my pretty new Audiovox SMT5600 smartphone. I really liked having all my contact info, calendar and e-mail available to me at all times.
But, alas, I wasn't able to pair the Audiovox with the Bluetooth in my new 2005 BMW 325ci. The Razr does that in spades and even imports my phonebook dynamically into the car's radio display. Every time I get in the car, it automatically resyncs with the phonebook.
The phone is a great package. Slim and light with a bright display and great sound. The camera is the best I've ever had on a phone and kicks the crap out of the Audiovox. The battery seems to be adequate. It's really too soon to tell. The reception is as good if not better than the Audiovox. I switched from ATT to Cingular and so far I'm not disappointed with Cingular though I see lots of Cingular bashing here. I suspect it's where you are that determines the coverage. I'm actually in Portland, OR, where Cingular just added service, so I'm pleasantly surprised it's as good as it is. I also use it in Seattle without a problem.
The one sizable criticism I have of the phone is the unbelievably bad phonebook software. Man o man, I can't believe Motorola can get away with even selling a phone like with such a crappy phonebook. It completely sucks and is at least five years out of date. If they'd only make it a little better, it would be a huge improvement and make such a difference in the usability of the phone. If the phonebook was better, this would be a perfect phone. As it is, it's still one of the best if not the best phones I've ever owned . . . and I've owned a few.
OK but not great.
Overall the Moto Razor V3 is a decent phone.
The pro's are of course the form factor, and the fact the strangers stop me on the street and tell me how cool I am for having a $600 phone. The battery when not malfunctioning lasts great, but occasionally when it has a full charge my battery will crap out to dead. The best part is the awesome screen, although it only has half the resolution that its reported as having on this site (65k color). The speakerphone quality is the best I have ever heard, I think comparable to a Nextel, which is saying something. The ringtone quality is also very good. The earpiece is not that good, and you must position it carefully or you cant hear. Bluetooth is awesome, with my Moto BT headset quality is great. Reception is honestly the best Ive ever had, and I have had 10 phones over the past 2 years.
Overall the phone is good, but could be better. For the steep $600 price tag it could have had more features, like a better camera or video capturing, or an MP3 player like I wanted. Honestly this phone would be a good value at around $300, but not $600.
Solid Engineering
On all the basics, this phone is excellent. Of course the key is the size & weight. It doesn't get much better. It was hard to get used to; I kept thinking I'd forgotten my phone somewhere, because I literally couldn't feel it in my pocket.
I've had some very small/light phones before, but none quite as well-balanced as this. The key is that the size is small where it counts - thickness - while the other dimensions are large in a good way, leaving a large, great keypad and display. I hope this becomes a new trend in phone proportions.
...other PROs:
- Battery life. It just keeps going - I'm really impressed on this point.
- Outbound sound quality. Everyone tells me I've never sounded as good as I (apparently) do on my Razr.
- Good mix of features. Speakerphone, Bluetooth, camera, quad-band... it has all the essentials.
- Durable. I've dropped it a few times already - yes, even onto concrete. It's held up great so far.
CONs:
- Terrible outer display. I don't know why they bothered with a color LCD. An OLED or even just black-and-white LCD would have been much easier to see.
- Motorola's user interface is still not as easy-to-use as other brands, and the phonebook is still confusing as heck.
- Inbound sound quality could be better. It's not bad - perfectly acceptable - but I've heard better, and I would expect better from such a high-end phone.
Overall, I like it enough to use as my main phone. It performs well enough, and the size is just addictive.
Best MOTO yet!
I've been using Motorola phones ever since the "brick" and this is the best one yet, replacing the v600 I bought less than a year ago. The only reason I didn't give it a 5 is that there's no flash for the camera. Other than that I couldn't be more pleased.
The thinness is what sets this phone apart from the all others. I carry my phone in my pocket and the v600 felt "clunky" while this is almost like having no phone at all!
Reception is excellent and the voice quality is improved over the v600. The camera and screen are MUCH improved too.
Features and operation are almost identical to the v600 so the learning curve was nil. The manual is not their best effort though.
Thankfully, Motorola has finally forsaken proprietary connectors in using a mini-USB connector for charging and connection to a PC. I can use the same cable that came with my MP3 player.
I have the Cingular version which I'm using with T-Mo till my contract is up so I haven't played with all the possibilities yet.
Bottom line here is that if you want the slickest looking phone with high build and operational quality, you'll like the v3. While some complain that it isn't a "gaming" phone or an MP3 player or a dishwasher, I can tell you that if you're buying a phone for the purpose of actually making and receiving phone calls, you'll be a happy a camper.
Fantastic Phone!
This thing is HOT. Definetly worth the money, if you have it to spend.
Pros:
1. Design, Design, Design! It's one of a kind and man is it SLEEK.
2. Sound quality! It's loud crystal clear, whether you are holding the phone to your ear or on the speakerphone.
3. Features! Speakerphone, Bluetooh, nice camera (it may be VGA, but it's still good for a phone), music, MPEG4 videos, what more do you want?
Cons:
1. Feels delicate. Honestly, I feel like I'm holding a cracker, and that I may break it in half if I'm not careful. Hopefully it is more durable than it seems.
2. Large screens = Gets greasy rather easily. Not much you can do about that. It's like having a black sports car. Hard to keep clean, but boy does it ever look good when you do keep in clean.
Very Cool Phone!
I ported my number from Verizon and activated this phone on Cingular. It's a tremendously cool, light phone. I've had it for a couple of days and aside from the annoyance of not using a palm or PDA to look at contacts or appointments, it's a good buy for me. I paid $550 from a store here in NYC
I've had no issues following instructions on here on how to provision the phone for Internet on Cingular.
The sound quality is very good and I'm assuming will only get better after Cingular and AT&T finish their merger.
