Great design, straightforward controls--a really cool phone

Author's Rating:

Pros: Design, size and weight, user-friendliness of basic functions, large & vibrant screens.

Cons: No MP3 or iTunes, some basic functions are subscription-only, sub-par instruction manual.

The Bottom Line: 
Design makes it a modern classic. Basic functions work well and are extremely user-friendly. I wish it came with more advanced features as standard.

Author's Review
If two short years ago someone had told me that I would own a cell phone not bigger than nine credit cards stacked on top of one another (yes, I've measured it), I wouldn't have believed it. Yet, the Motorola RAZR is exactly that--plus a lot of cool and user-friendly features that make this sleek little phone a joy to own, show off and carry around. Sure, in certain departments the RAZR is beginning to show its age--most notably no MP3 or iTunes player, although I hear through the grapevine that this may change soon. But, slightly passe' or not, the RAZR is a modern classic, and as such it has a certain timeless appeal.

Appearance
Undoubtedly, the one thing that has made the RAZR such a cult among the dynamic and connected is the looks: the RAZR just looks like it was created on the table of an exclusive Italian design firm. As the name suggests, it's amazingly thin, measuring only .5" in thickness (.25" when it's flipped open), but this is not its only positive outward feature. It contains virtually no right angles, with most edges tastefully beveled so that the whole comes across as being positively organic. I have always hated things that smack of mass-produced appliances (even if they are)--and in this sense the RAZR is a refreshing change for a rather basic consumer good.

Moreover, the fact that its shell is made of satin-finished anodized aluminum rather than polymer adds to the organic and real feel of the RAZR (not to mention its durability). There are certainly lighter phones out there, such as the LG C1300i; but tipping the scales at a mere 3.4 oz, the RAZR is still on the lighter side of the average, in spite of its metal shell. I slip it in just about any pocket and it never gives the garment that dreadful "weighed-down" look.

Something else I like about the RAZR's looks is its generous-sized internal (1.5"x 2.2") and external (1.5"x1.25") screen as well as the absence of a visible antenna, which adds to the RAZR's symmetrical and smooth appearance. Only, remember that a large external screen means a large external surface that can get scratched; so I would not stick the RAZR in the same pocket as the house keys.

What's included in the basic kit
The basic Motorola RAZR kit I got through Cingular is rather Spartan. It includes only the phone--complete with rechargeable battery--an AC (wall) charger, an L-shaped adaptor for the USB port, a lens-cleaning cushion and the instruction manual.

I had to buy the following accessories separately: hands-free set, battery charger for the car and leather belt pouch. At $27 a pop, each of these accessories added not little to the cost of the phone. I did not need a USB sync cable, since I have several ones for my digital cameras, otherwise that too would have had to be purchased.

Full disclosure: the price I paid was only $50 after rebate, for a phone whose suggested retail price is $249.99, which while not being a deal to write home about, did not leave me feeling as if I'd been gypped.

The essentials of the Motorola RAZR
The first thing that struck me when opening the RAZR is the linearity of the controls. Besides the number keys, the soft-touch keypad has only the green and red pick-up/hang-up buttons (the latter also being the on/off switch), the message key and an operator key. Adjacent to the internal screen there are only three buttons: a menu button in the middle and two keys whose function is prompted by the entries at the bottom of the screen. That's it; with only the addition of a easy-to-use 4-way navigation key.

This simple setup makes the RAZR extremely easy to use even prior to delving into and graduating from the 104-page instruction manual. So when you just want your phone to be a phone (imagine that), all you have to do is compose the number, press the green button and--voila'--you are talking, just like old times. And if you want to take a picture, just press the button that prompts you to "Camera," then the other that says "Capture." Although I have always been an instruction-manual fiend, I love the fact that this company has taken the time to make the RAZR user-friendly.

The general "Menu" key takes you to a screen featuring 9 icons. These are My Account and Messages (same as those on the keypad), Last Calls, MEdia Net, Cingular Mall, Games & Applications, Multimedia (i.e. videos and pictures), Phonebook and Settings. Of these, the basic functions that are available without any further subscriptions are the Message system, the Last Calls, the Phonebook and the Settings--which work in a basic and reliable way. Phonebook holds up to 1000 entries; if I ever get so popular as to need even more, it is reassuring to know that my RAZR's phonebook is expandable through a SIM card.

Battery life is something about which I had very high demands, since on my older cell phone (a Verizon Blackberry) you could practically watch the battery indicator shrivel down to zero in real time. Battery life on my RAZR is more than satisfactory--although I did not have a chance to test the factory claim of 210 minutes of talk time and 250 hours of standby time, I have used the phone for entire long weekends and talked up to three hours without even having the charger with me.

The "other" essentials: camera, video and Bluetooth
The 4x digital zoom VGA camera is set up in such a way that I would definitely consider it among the RAZR's essentials. As a photog enthusiast, I wanted it to be at least satisfactory, and it has not given me any reason to complain for what it is. For a cell phone, it has enough manual controls to give you at least the illusion of using a little art if you so wish--you can choose between 6 lighting conditions from sunny to night, while also exposure and resolution can be selected between different values, with 640x480 pixels being the highest. Heck, the RAZR also allows you to customize the click sound of the ersatz shutter--I have mine set on "Quack." Something else I liked is that after capturing the photo, the screen immediately prompts you about what to do with the picture--save it, delete it, email it or link it to one of the phone-book entries, with no additional fiddling around. Simple as a click (or a quack, as the case may be). So, the maximum resolution may not exactly yield enlargement-quality photos, but that's what real cameras are for.

The same lens also takes video clips which you can store, export, email or set as a background--in which case, the first minute will play, then a still picture will remain. The memory limit is 5MB, which is nothing spectacular; but then, let's remember that this is a phone, and a small one at that.

Bluetooth is another essential for the modern connected professional or for the dude(tte) who loves to look busy conversing all the time. The beauty of the RAZR is that it accepts any Bluetooth unit, and that the connection range is long enough that I have been able to use it at the gas pump without taking the phone out of my car. Not a must-have benefit, but nice nevertheless.

Other features
Other features that I would rank among the "nice but not essential" include voice-dialing, downloadable games, alarm, calculator and personal organizer (which is also PC-compatible). Some of the advanced features are subscription-dependent. Of these, the most notable are data/modem capability and Internet browsing. Lastly, the Cingular Mall (available only to Cingular subscribers) allows you to shop for tones, games and various other applications with your purchase being conveniently added to your monthly bill.

Customization options
Another thing I liked about the RAZR are the customization options, which are easily usable without going too overboard. You can customize almost everything--from the wallpaper to the screen-saver, from the ring-tone to the language (I set mine to French, just because), from the "skin," a fancy word for the screen color-template, to whether or not you want to answer calls just by flipping the unit open. Caller ID is also customizable through different pictures and preexisting or downloadable sounds. I have a friend who reminds me of Stewie from Family Guy--so imagine the possibilities there.

What I wish they had added or done differently
With phones like the Motorola ROKR already on the verge of obsolescence, I regret that the RAZR has not yet been made available with MP3 or iTunes. As I said, this may change soon--but every time I take my iPod and my RAZR out jogging I wish I could leave one of the two home.

Also, the IM and text messaging feature is available only by subscription, which should really be an essential on any non-basic cell phone nowadays.

Lastly, I found the instruction manual to be not nearly as informative as I had hoped. Many of the phone's more advanced features are left unmentioned or woefully unexplained, and the constant skipping between one subject/function and another is frustrating and confusing. A better flow of communication between engineering and marketing at Motorola would have been greatly beneficial.

A summing up
The RAZR's forte is its elegant design (which includes its lightness, size and metal construction) as well as the straightforwardness and eminent usability of the basic functions. These two things, combined, make it, if not unbeatable, one of the most desirable phones out there. The phone's functions can be greatly expanded depending on your carrier and the level to which you subscribe--so many of the functions that I don't have, I don't have because deep down I really don't need them. Not so things like MP3 and iTunes, which would have made the RAZR truly complete--although this option may be added soon.