The original RAZR was one of the most successful designs in cell phone history.
When it was originally released, the phone was revolutionary. It was slim, sleek and sexy – looking like no other contemporary phone of the time.
Motorola also gave it a high price tag of $500 to ensure exclusivity.
As time went on, though, Motorola did little to improve the design while competitors were busy catching up.
Now those competitors will need to try harder because Motorola’s new handset, the RAZR², has gotten a ground-up redesign.
The RAZR² is not just one, single new phone. It’s really a number of new phones. Each U.S. cellular provider has been given the opportunity to tailor the phone to the services they offer.
The new RAZR2 models are the V9 (for AT&T), the V9m (Sprint and Verizon) and the V8 (T-Mobile). They differ by which features are highlighted on the outer screen – messaging, music or video.
Similarities
All RAZR² models have a new, lighter weight, stronger frame. They also have a number of features in common: the handset is about 4-inches long and less than a half-inch thick. There’s a 2.2-inch screen on the inside -- twice the resolution than the screen on the original RAZR -- and a new, larger 2-inch touch-sensitive screen on the outside.
There are new faster processors and a micro-SD slot for up to 2GB of additional storage for things like music, photos and video. Motorola says the battery will last nearly 8 hours when talking and up to 330 hours in standby mode. There is stereo Bluetooth. The 2.0 megapixel camera on the back has either a 4x or 8x digital zoom depending on the model.
Connections are via a micro-USB port. The little connector is even smaller then the mini-USB jack on most phones. Motorola’s new standard saves interior space but makes attaching the AC charger and other accessories more difficult.
In addition to providing settings for eleven of the most popular e-mail providers there is also IM software for AIM Instant Messenger, Windows Live Messenger and Yahoo! Messenger.
There also are about a dozen three-day trial versions of games plus streaming media programs from companies such as MobiTV, MySpace Mobile and XM Radio Mobile.
Differences
Each model highlights favorite features on their front screen. For instance, the AT&T and Verizon models highlight music playback of your compressed music files, the Sprint model features their SprintTV service, and Alltel’s model enables you to handle their advanced messaging features without opening the handset.
I’ve been playing with an AT&T V9 phone and can tell you absolutely everything has been improved from the original RAZR.
The first thing I noticed was the speed. All the new V9 models can use 3G data networks for speedy downloads – especially helpful when it comes to sending and receiving video. Apple’s iPhone, by comparison, is strictly a 2G data device, which is much slower. The content from MobiTV looked great – very fluid – and the music from XM streams seemed to download without a glitch.
And there’s a cool new feature called “See What I See” which lets you stream live video over your handset to another wireless customer while a call is in progress. And owners can watch the video on the RAZR2 V9’s large internal screen with twice the resolution of the original RAZR.
I particularly like the vibrating feedback when you press a control on the external screen and buttons. You can tell, without looking, that you’re actually touching and changing something.
The V9 also works well as a cellular phone! I’ve been able to hear callers and they’ve been able to hear me – always a good sign. In my standard coverage torture test, the GSM/GPRS radio system inside the V9 was above average in pulling-in and holding onto a signal.
Motorola really has brought the RAZR up to a new level of usability. While not a smartphone per se, it is a clever phone with great speed and a slew of new features.
Sprint has announced that their RAZR2 will be available beginning August 22. Others will follow in the next few weeks. Prices, depending on your carrier, should hover in the $300 range.
