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The RAZR line is the single most successful mobile model not only in Motorola’s history but the world. Comprising of the V3, V3i, V3x and various other V3 models only available in certain countries, it has sold more than 100 million worldwide. Motorola achieved what many phone makers can only dream of.
And what did Motorola do to cash in on this huge success? They did what any manufacturer would have done, release more RAZR looking phones! We have the SLVR, RIZR, KRZR and a few others all following the same design principles of the RAZR (shinny, sleek and stylish). None came close to the RAZR success and so 3 years after launch of the V3, Motorola finally unveiled its successor, the slimmer and more powerful RAZR V8 or RAZR2.
Read on for the full review...
As you can see from the photos, they spared no expense in the design
and quality of the box itself.
Just a pull of the tab and the phone
springs into view.
Following its RAZR recipe, shinny is the word you are looking for here.
Sleek is probably the next followed by stylish. The most distinctive
feature as you would have noticed, is the 2” exterior screen which not
only has touch capabilities but is the same resolution as the internal
one (320x240).
Turning it on its back would reveal the RAZR’s Achilles' heel. All RAZR
before suffered from either hard to fit or loose and creaky back cover
issues. The RAZR2 is no different and suffers from the former but it
should be a non-issue once you get used to it plus the fitting is
really snug. Opening the back cover reveals (surprise!) the battery and
the SIM card. Note the sticker on the battery.
Flipping the lid, and again the same 3 words will pop into your head in
the same order. The keypad are the same quality and finishing you come
to expect from all RAZR phones. The internal screen is the same size
(2.2”) but has a higher resolution if compared to the V3i.
Using the V8’s menu is a no-brainer especially to anyone who is used to
the RAZR series despite the OS being change to Linux based. However the
menu response is very slow, almost as slow as those initial color LCD
phones. I’ve tested a V8 at a road show before and I don’t remember it
being this slow. I wonder if it could be due to that sticker on the
battery…hmm. All calls that I made and receive with this phone was
almost crystal clear which shouldn’t be a big deal since it features
Crystaltalk™ technology which suppose to reduce and filter out any
background noise from conversations. The external speaker have also
been improved and you can clearly see the difference especially when
playing loud music. You get much less distortion compared to older
RAZRs.
Anyway being a non 3G phone, you are relegated to GPRS or EDGE if you
plan to surf the web, which is what Motorola wants you to do since it
comes with a full HTML browser (Opera 8.5). Other interesting features
include the music player (Windows Media Player® 11) which you can
control via touch screen on the external display (very cool), replying
SMS without opening the phone also by using the external touch screen
(very very cool) and a 2.0 Mega Pixel camera for video and photo
shooting.
When I mentioned the V8 being powerful, I really did mean it. This baby
comes with a 500MHz processor + 512MBs of internal memory! However what
Motorola gives, Motorola takes. 512MB is all you have to play with
since you can’t plug in any external memory card (MicroSD is what the
RAZR normally uses). Of cause this sucks but it’s one way to keep the
price low. So low in fact it’s a bargain if you compare to what trend
setters coughed up for the now obsolete V3 back in 2004.
Comparison of the V8 versus the V3x. Note the USB port cover on the V8 which the V3x lacks.
So what’s the verdict? If you’re still using that good old mono color
Nokia and thinking of upgrading to something more stylish but reliable?
This is the phone for you. Did I mention that it is actually heavier
than the V3i due to its internal steel frame and it comes with
chemically strengthened glass to prevents scratches?
Owners of
the old RAZR may also consider an upgrade, but if you’re willing to spend a bit more go for the recently launched top
of the line RAZR2 V9!
MOTORAZR2 V8 Tech Specs
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Modes/Bands
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GSM 850/900/1800/1900 Quad Band, GPRS + EDGE |
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Dimensions
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103 x 53 x 13.3 mm
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Size
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65cc
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Weight
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117 g
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Battery
950 mAh
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GSM Talk Time: up to approximately 7.8 hours
GSM Standby Time: up to approximately 13.75 days
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Display
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Internal: 320X240 2.2" 262K colour
External: 320X240 2.0" 262K colour
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Features
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- Slimmer
profile than the original RAZR and iconic design featuring luxurious
materials for premium finish
- CrystalTalk
technology
- Stream
live video while a call is in progress1, 1 hour video
capture/playback; MPEG 4
- Large
2.0" QVGA colour external CLI with touch-sensitive external keys
for music operation
- Integrated
music player with stereo micro-USB 2.0
- Camera:
2.0 mega pixel with 8x digital zoom and multi-shot feature>
- Messaging:
email, SMS, MMS, MotoSync™1
- 512 MB
of on-board user memory
- Integrated
stereo Bluetooth wireless connectivity for hands-free convenience
- EDGE class 12/GPRS class 12
- Independent
voice recognition and name/digit dialing
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Connectivity
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- Micro
USB, USB full speed, USB mass storage and version 2.0 Bluetooth wireless
technology with Enhanced Data Rate2
- Integrated
stereo Bluetooth wireless technology with A2DP and AVRCP profiles2
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