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
Great Phone
Many of the complaints listed here i have NEVER experienced. I have GREAT reception just about all the time. call quality and clarity are fantastic. People that have reported issues with not having features are wrong.
You CAN assign particular ringtones to specific phonebook entries. you need to make sure the contact is stored to the PHONE, not the SIM. this applies to any phone.
Also, the phone DOES report how many missed calls you have, but it does list the person's entry only once. if they were all consecutive.
This phone is well built and sturdy. i have dropped mine many times and not a scratch on it. The hinge doesn't get loose like some phones do.
The screen is bright and large.
If you are more technical you can "mod" this phone very easily. i applied some new skins to it, as well as updated the software and unlocked some features like Network Select and Engineering.
The flip is NOT hard to open as one person said, i can flip it open with a flick of the wrist, but i usually do the old "thumb slide" to open it. (one thumb inserted into the crease between the phone and flip assembly and then slide it "up" a bit with a "flick" at the end)
the buttons are VERY easy to press, and i have not had a problem with one yet.
i have one of the first V3's distributed, as i am a company employee and won it in a contest before the release date.
As i always say, if you are going to pay $200 for a phone, might as well insure in case you DO drop it and break it. ;-)
Overall cool phone.
After using the Samsung A620 for two years with Sprint I decided to switch to Cingular simply for the V3 Black. It just looked too sweet and the work I had done with Motorolla in the recent past also helped with the decision. I am a Product Analyst so I have an inside track on wireless equipment and currently this is the best pure phone available in the US.
Things I like:
Good Blue Tooth
Great Main Display
Great Text Entry
Asthetics
Awsome KeyPad
Great Battery Life
Loud Ringers
Things I don't like:
Too hard to open with one hand because it is so thin
Poor/Weak Vibration
Mediocre Camera/Camera Options
Overall this I think (and know) that this is at present the best pure phone available in The United States. FYI: Samsung will be releasing a Razr V3 competitor in the Fall. It is already available in S. Korea and it is sweet. But like with any new technology, let is stay out there for about 3-6 months and then get it. This gives the engineers time to get feedback from the field and make needed corrections and enhancements.
Awesome phone
Former Sprint customer so was very used to the Sanyo phones of Sprint. Went to Cingular and got the Black V3 phone. It took a little bit to get used to, but now that I am used to it, I love it.
Pros:
The slim version of the phone, fits in pocket perfectly.
Loud ringers
Good earpiece
Bluetooth (Sprint only has this technology on two of its phones)
The keypad is cool
The battery life is really good.
Cons:
The fingerprints seem to attract to it like a magnet
If not used to Motorola phones, takes a little getting used too.
Overall this is a great phone. Would recommend it. Plus, its a great conversational piece, everyone wants to see it when they see me with it.
Performance As Good As It Looks
The beauty is not only skin deep on this handset- it goes all the way to the core.
The materials used are equaled by the construction quality with excellent fit and finish. Anodized aluminum, hardened glass, and magnesium all add up to a combination of long-lasting durability and a great feel in your hand. The keypad alone sets a new standard certain to be copied by other manufacturers that follow the lead of Motorola in this market.
The performance of the processor and radio sections are very good with no noticeable delay in command operations and great sound quality. RF performance is as good or better than handsets with external antennas. This may be due to the antenna location being away from where most users put their fingers (e.g. Nokia handsets with a patch antenna located at the top-rear of the unit) during a call thus degrading antenna performance. Video playback is outstanding for downloaded .3gp movie files.
Battery life so far has been very good and the ability to get a charge off a standard PC USB port is great. The speaker phone sounds fine and callers do not have any problems with conversations in speaker phone mode.
Loading and backing-up the phone book was a snap using Mobile Phone Tools and transferring wallpapers, ringer files, and videos via Bluetooth and a Macintosh is as easy and reliable as it gets. The same goes for Bluetooth connections to a BT headset (HS810) including voice dialing.
The operating system is the same familiar one Motorola has on many of their handsets. This version has a few enhancements like the use of skins and a direct link to your account (on Cingular). You can have multiple numbers per name- please read the manual.
The only room for improvement would include the battery cover that is a bit tricky to add and remove and the viewing angle of the display which is less than desired when compared to a high-quality notebook PC display.
Overall, a great mobile telephone at a great price.
Its and OKay phone
this phone is nice.... but they are some turn offs!
the phone is pretty slow on everything... but its nice thin and cool.
my dad has this phone and hes likes it alot... but he never touches it!!!
he uses his bluetooth.. i go it for texting and Messenger... texting is very nice. But Messenger is OK... but this phone dosent have Windows Live so ;[ 4 me.. but i use AIM alot!!
So if u are a person that loves to text... talk... picture message/video message.
Then this is the phone 4 u.
But if u are a person that drops phones alot(me lol ;]) don't get it unless u buy a strong case.. its easy to scratch and brake.
Nightmare Phone
I have had two of these phones. The first had a slight buzzing sound. Cingular (now ATT) wouldn't replace it. Then I lost it. My new phone had the same buzzing sound, but LOUDER. The new ATT (the old Cingular) refused to replace it. Over the months the sound grew so bad that people can barely hear you. Then the phone just starts shutting off for no reason. ATT will only give me a new phone if I extend my service contract two years! I've gone back to using my old phone, which is very out of date, bulkier and ginormous by contemporary standards ... but at least there's no buzzing sound and it doesn't shut off at random. Oh, and don't let the phone get next to the computer. Or a radio. Or pretty much anything electronic. This Razr is a nightmare. I'm surprised some lawyer hasn't brought a class action suit yet over it.
Best phone Ive had yet
Ive had a "lot" of phones. Usually the cheaper ones because all I want or need is a phone. When my last phone died on me I spent the money and bought this phone. Granted Ive only had it for almost a week but this is by far the best phone I have ever owned. I brought it home put in the Sim card and charged it 4 days ago and this morning it finally went down 1 bar on the battery meter. It sounds a lot better than any phone Ive owned before. Maybe down the road something will change my mind but I love this phone.
Now for the cons. I don't do anything but use this as a phone. Looking around at phone reviews "most" not all but most people are not reviewing the phone. what do they bitch about?
This (any phone) doesn't take a great picture. My answer, its a damn phone people, if you want a great picture do as I did. Buy a nice "Camera". My Digital Rebel XTI is awesome.
The sound quality isn't that great. Again, It's a phone. If you want an awesome sound go buy a stereo and knock yourself out.
It doesn't hold a lot of songs. It's a phone not a 500 GB computer or a nice MP3 with tons of storage.
The buttons are hard to work with when texting. Go buy a computer. again people you are supposed to be reviewing a "phone"
I would say 99.9 % of the complaints I read about phones have "nothing" to do with the actual phone.
I don't use these other features, all I want or need is a phone. So my review is on the "Phone" And so far I am 100% happy with it. It's a nice phone, I also have a nice computer, Mp3, digital camera and stereo.
They all do their individual jobs very well.
I have 2 of these phones
Pro
attractive phone, light, easy set up
Blue tooth wireless
Con
Very short battery life, less than 8 hours on a charge (both of my phones), Service through Motorola is Useless and did not help these phones were purchased new and the battery life never got better.
In short the features are very good, phone is attractive and easy to use, but service is below average, and you better have a automobile charger handy on trips.
I am selling both my phones and going back to Nokia.
nice and stylish slick phone
I gave this phone a because i had it for 3 weeks and my screen is starting to go out!
the phone freezes up all the time, calls drop all the time, it always says emergency calls only(which means no reception). i always have to take the battery out to reboot the phone back to working. when you end a call it doesnt hang up and freezes.
thats about it, but buy something else other than a razr, preferably a sony ericson phone they are the number one pick i have had no problems out of them at all!!!
