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9
stars
AS OF NOW, the BEST Mobile in the USA
by amazeme
on
June 19, 2005
Pros: Svelte, Durable, Display second-to-none, Portable, Good Speaker Microphone, Light, Fits well in hand, Quadband/world phone
Cons: Suboptimal Earpiece volume, MIldly slow OS
Summary: Having done MUCH research both online and in-hand in the last 1-2 months, I can confidently say the Razr/V3 is overall the best cellular on the US market today. ...
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Summary: Having done MUCH research both online and in-hand in the last 1-2 months, I can confidently say the Razr/V3 is overall the best cellular on the US market today. I used the LG8000 a while, but its bulkiness and non-personalizable menus did it in for me. The Moto V551 was a decent small cellular phone with good battery life and non-slip "skin" and decent display and personalizable menu, but the call sounds were often distorted and a few dropped calls occurred, so I brought it back to cell phone limbo. The Sony-Ericsson Z500a was promising, but the swivel was never desirable and the OS was Very slow and the display and keypad were too small and unattractive. I thought of the Palm Treo 650, but the stub antenna and poor reception and frequent re-boot requirements took it out of the picture. The keys on the Audiovox SMT5600 were too small, and the screen was just Okay and the battery life was poor.
There is no perfect mobile out there now, but the V3 comes closest. If you will be using your phone day in and day out (as I do), why not have an attractive and vivid display and cool shape and size and material composition?, all of which the Razr has head-and-shoulders above the rest of the current US market. I carry the phone in my front pants/shorts pocket (who needs a protective cover?)and MAY get a thin screen protector IF I note scratches. Because of the vivid screen, fingerprints are expected, but what's the big deal with cleaning off the screen once in a while, depending on your finickiness. The earpiece microphone is a little low in volume, but the speakerphone and voice microphone are great, with no dropped calls to date. Battery life is decent, about 2-3 days with "normal" use for me, but the phone can be charged from empty to full charge within 1 hour (it took the V551 4 hours to charge up fully from empty!). The camera picture quality is better than the V551 and LG8000 ones, but it's a LITTLE awkward to press the shutter button due to the thin-ness of the Razr. Bluetooth and email capabilities are useful (whenever I decide I need them), but I don't need an MP3 player or smart phone or day planner or video games(if you do, don't get this cellular). And even if the OS is a little slow, what's a second here or there in your lifetime? IMPORTANTLY, you should get the V3 through Bestbuy (a Cingular rep), as they will give you a 2-year warranty for $40, unlike the Cingular folks who offer no warranty (no phone is without possible problems after a while). (note: I own no stock in Bestbuy!). Yes, the address/phone book is cumbersome (only 1st letter allowed to search), but a small price to pay for the MULTIPLE PLUSES this cellular offers.
Finally, the Razr durability has been good so far, and the phone in the "closed" mode seems indestructible (anodized aluminum - metallic surface coated by a protective oxide).
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124 out
of 129 users found this user opinion helpful.
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1
stars
ROTTEN APPLE
by RazrSabre
on
March 25, 2005
Pros: Light - bright screen
Cons: Everything else
Summary: The host of problems after 6 weeks of use and 4 replacements :
1. System freeze
2. Keyboard light dead
3. Java applications freezing
4. Phone goes dead ? camera on screen ...
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Summary: The host of problems after 6 weeks of use and 4 replacements :
1. System freeze
2. Keyboard light dead
3. Java applications freezing
4. Phone goes dead ? camera on screen shows images as u move the phone ? but no buttons respond. System has to be reset by removing battery
5. Talk time 45 mins max ( less than a qaurter of stated specs)
6. Standby time 24-36 hours max ( 15% of stated ? )
7. Hinge squeaking
8. Bluetooth headset ?weak signal? warning and cutoff within 1-2 mins of usage
9. Speed keys do not work ? even though phone book shows it assigned to a key, pressing the key gets a msg the key is empty
10. Phone switches off and restarts frequently
Wonder if this should even be allowed to be on the market with these flaws - or maybe some batches have these and quality control is being compromised.
As if this is not enough hassle, Motorola refuses a refund or a solution even thought their engineers/repair center confirm existance of these issues. Way to go Motorola ! ! !
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123 out
of 164 users found this user opinion helpful.
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3
stars
great phone... until you use it
by
on
February 20, 2005
Pros: thin, thin, thin. I'm a sucker for "thin" product design, so obviously I love that about this phone. Also, despite its thinness, it appears to have decent quality and mechanical reliability.
Cons: Where to begin... this thing essentially has the same feature set of my old Motorola V60 clunker phone (which was free). You'd think that for such a nice phone with great product/industrial design, Motorola might have invested in a good user interface..
111 out
of 148 users found this user opinion helpful.
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3
stars
Waste of Money!!
by jexner
on
June 21, 2005
Pros: Bond like looks
Cons: o/s is slow, voice quality is bad, reception is awful, bad quality, poor performer for the money
Summary: I was extremely dissappointed in this phone. I left Verizon Wireless for Cingular to have this phone; it was a big mistake. The RAZR V3 has no where near the ...
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Summary: I was extremely dissappointed in this phone. I left Verizon Wireless for Cingular to have this phone; it was a big mistake. The RAZR V3 has no where near the capabilities, quality, or functionality that a phone in its price bracket must have. The good attributes to this phone include, a semi-capable bluetooth (when it works its a great little feature) small form that easily fits in your pocket, and a fairly decent battery life.
The negative's to this phone are numerous. The operating system is super slow and outdated. Trying to find a contact is not a quick task and can be very irritating. The voice dial is terrible; most new Motorola's have Obeymoto or a voice command system that is much more efficient. The V710 blows the RAZR away in terms of functionality! The keypad is also a horrible attribute. If you text much or make numerous calls, this will be a huge problem for you. Again, this is a fancy paper weight, so if you are looking to have any functionality, look elsewhere. The last issue that is a major problem regarding this phone is in regards to the internal antenna. I repeat, this is a major problem for this phone!!!! I experienced on average, 2 to 3 dropped calls per conversation. It was frustrating for me and the person i was talking with. Cingular told me that the RAZR has this problem and experiences numerous dropped calls and lousy reception (a constant hiss is always around when you are talking) and can be very irritating. Essentially there is nothing you can do about it!
After going through 3 RAZR's I finally gave up and switched to the Nokia 3120. Granted it is nowhere near a comparable phone, but it works! People can talk to me, no more dropped calls, the screen works, the keypad works, and it is considerably cheaper than the RAZR.
If you are dead set on the RAZR, wait to get it on Verizon. Rumor has it that according to a press release by Motorola, engineers are working on developing the RAZR with updated software for CDMA networks; Verizon or Sprint. Avoid making the mistake i made by switching to Cingular. Also, the SLVR and PEBL will be in stores soon; they are supposed to correct numerous problems that are prevalent in the RAZR V3.
I would look around and really take your time before you sign up for this phone! If you are with Verizon, stay as long as you can!!! If you are interested in a mediocre phone, and terrible service, Cingular has wonderful deals on 2 year contracts!!! Cingular: lowering the bar...
Updated
I like to be fair whenever I review a product, so I wanted to throw this out for those that are looking into the Motorola RAZR. According the mobileburn.com, there is some evidence that a revised version of the RAZR will be available for both CDMA and GSM networks. Verizon might just have this phone by next year. So if you are thinking about dropping Verizon to get this phone, be patient. If you choose to stay with GSM, there is a newer version to hit the market Q4 2005 that should have a better interface, camera and antenna. So like I said, patience will be the key if you like the design and looks of this phone.
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40 out
of 50 users found this user opinion helpful.
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9
stars
Excellent Phone w/ unfair knock on phone book
by bchunter
on
June 17, 2005
Pros: Slim and comfortable in coat or trouser pocket
Cons: Documentation / Owner's Manual
Summary: This is a truly great phone that gets knocked for a poor phone book, an Achilles heel that really does not exist. Many complain about the phone book because they ...
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Summary: This is a truly great phone that gets knocked for a poor phone book, an Achilles heel that really does not exist. Many complain about the phone book because they believe that you can store only 1 number per name. This is not true, but it also is not well-documented in the manual, nor is it immediately obvious from usage. While in edit mode for a particular contact, scroll down, and select "MORE." An option to append a new phone number or e-mail address to the name will appear. Enter new number (or e-mail), select the type (home, pager, mobile), and save. Also, you may set up the phone to display each number individually in the list of contacts or only the "primary" number assigned for the contact (by default, the first number entered, but you can assign any number as the primary). This option is accessed by hittin the smart key while in phone book and seleting "Set Primary." The "primary" display option allows faster searching through a list of contacts.
Then only thing I want for with this phone is a little extra volume on the ear speaker. It can be a little hard to hear with high ambient noise. My 2 year-old Samsung was better in this department and was loud enough to act as a one-way speakerphone.
Key press audio cues are also too low on highest setting, but that's a quibble.
The speakerphone is great. Everyone I have talked to with the s-phone has said they can't tell I'm using it. It works great while sitting on my desk 2 feet away from me.
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29 out
of 30 users found this user opinion helpful.
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9
stars
Worth Every Penny!
by Anaxymandr
on
June 26, 2005
Pros: Sleek design, very light and of course the "oooohs" and "ahhhhs" you get when people see it.
Cons: Slightly slow OS, some sound issues, the 4-key sometimes sticks a little using i-tap.
Summary: First off, I'm not basing my score on whether or not I dropped the phone & broke it, how I feel about either Cingular or Motorola or whether or ...
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Summary: First off, I'm not basing my score on whether or not I dropped the phone & broke it, how I feel about either Cingular or Motorola or whether or not I think it should have features it doesn't. It's just a matter of "Does this phone do what they say it can do?" It does...and I LOVE IT!
This phone is a marvel! Sleek and sexy design with a beautifully vivid, crisp display and shiny keypad to top it off. It's a bit wider than most cell phones, but I have fairly large hands so I have no problems with that.
I've seen a few complaints about the complexity of use, but it only took me about an hour of fiddling with it to figure everything out without resorting to the manual. I have no idea what was going on in the mind of whoever decided the default address book set-up was a good idea, but that's a problem easily solved by adjusting the settings. The camera takes decent photos, no complaints there. The OS is slower than I'd like and I did have an instance where my fingers moved a little too quickly while attempting to download and save an mp3 ringtone causing the phone to reboot itself. Odd. Other than the few things I've mentioned, there've been absolutely NO PROBLEMS with this phone and I've had it over a month now. And as far as I'm concerned, the envy of others when they see me use it alone far outweighs anything negative I could possibly say. But that's just me. Because the one feature this phone has that you can't put a price tag on is the WOW factor. In that area it delivers in a BIG way.
I'm not going to lie. There are other phones out there with more intuitive interfaces, have more features, better cameras, etc. and I can't say I'd recommend it for, say, a top-level, world-traveling business exec. If you need a ton of apps., have small hands, don't really care about design, want to record video or a phone you can bounce off the walls like a ping pong ball, don't buy this phone. However, if you want a phone that is above all sleek & sexy AND performs all the advertised functions pretty darn well then look no further.
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29 out
of 31 users found this user opinion helpful.
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4
stars
Cool form factor - disappointing otherwise
by rt128
on
March 11, 2005
Pros: form factor, buzz
Cons: UE, display, bluetooth instability
Summary: I've been using this phone for the past month or so and while it the form factor is almost perfect the usability of the phone is terrible.
The screen ...
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Summary: I've been using this phone for the past month or so and while it the form factor is almost perfect the usability of the phone is terrible.
The screen is highly reflective in sunglight and cannot be seen from an angle under most lighting conditions - motorola has built a mirror into the phone framing the screen further distracting visibility.
The usability of the motorola operating system is terrible. Menus are largely not customizable and artificially limiting.
Overall the performance of the phone is poor - far from instantaneous when clicking a key or choosing a menu selection.
Bluetooth is not reliable from a headset - the phone declares a lost signal after 10 minutes into a call - this has been true for multiple fully charged bluetooth headsets which work perfectly fine with other phones.
The keypad laser etched keys look very cool but seriously lack tactile feel present in normal keypads.
Beautiful phone to look at. Painful phone to use.
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20 out
of 22 users found this user opinion helpful.
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9
stars
Almost perfect
by mwindeler
on
May 18, 2005
Pros: Size is right, screen is bright and clear, battery life.
Cons: Cumbersome address book.
Summary: This phone hit $79 after rebate last week on Wirefly.com and buy.com so I finally was able to purchase it.
While some complain about the width, I find ...
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Summary: This phone hit $79 after rebate last week on Wirefly.com and buy.com so I finally was able to purchase it.
While some complain about the width, I find the width perfect for my hands. I can actually hold this phone with my hands and not my fingertips. This phone is also light and I often find myself checking my poket just to see if it is there.
Love the ringers because I can actually hear the "classic" ring in a crowd, vibrate is soft though.
The battery life is wonderful. I talk a lot and can easily go two full days without charging.
The sound quality is good although I wish it was louder. The volume maxes out at "7" - strange - maybe there is a hidden 8,9,10 for overseas use or something?
The keyboard is spectacular! Very easy to locate keys and very good feel.
I'm not crazy about motorola's menus - they could use a "user" to consult with them on the intuitiveness o the menus. The address book is awful. I had originally read that you had to create a new address book entry for each number attached to a person (instead of the more traditional "address card" style where you enter a name and all the numbers associated to that person. Turns out you can actually use the address book in the more traditional way as long as you store the addresses on your phone, not your SIM card. But even knowing that, Motorola makes it much more cumbersome to enter multiple numbers for same person and they definately need somme fress eyes on this!!!
Fact is, I only want a voice phone with bluetooth and speaker and this phone is perfect for that. Once you get the feel of the menus and cumbersome address book, you'll be fine!
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19 out
of 21 users found this user opinion helpful.
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4
stars
My first 2 months has been traumatic.
by jzxqrm
on
April 29, 2005
Pros: Sleek design
Cons: I am on my 3rd phone
Summary: My first phone would never pair up with my bluetooth headseat. My second phone worked fine for about a month and then one day I opened to use and it ...
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Summary: My first phone would never pair up with my bluetooth headseat. My second phone worked fine for about a month and then one day I opened to use and it was completely dead. I was out of my 30 day warranty so my local Cingular store would not help me. I had to call a 1-800 number and be on hold for 15 minutes. They are going to send me a new phone via UPS and I had to pay $7.50 for shipping and take a day of vacation to be at home when they delivered, so that I could sign for it. I am not a technical person, but they told me I have to read all the instructions to re-activate my new phone. I could say more about all my aggravation, but if I had it to do over I would not buy this phone.
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17 out
of 20 users found this user opinion helpful.
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4
stars
Not worth half of what it cost and I WOULD NOT BUY THIS PHONE AGAIN
by Nightowl1352
on
May 18, 2005
Pros: Allot of features when they works
Cons: allot of noise and small problems and I am on my 3rd phone
Summary: I thought at first this was the best phone ever then I started getting a buzzing noise when talking, then I had trouble with the internet, this is the second ...
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Summary: I thought at first this was the best phone ever then I started getting a buzzing noise when talking, then I had trouble with the internet, this is the second week so they replaced it. Inside 2 weeks I had the same problem so they replaced it again. I have now had this phone for 4 months and the problems are back and now the front screen doesn't work and the battery last's about 4-6 hours before it is dead. I am going to try one more but for $500 I should not be having this problem. When they wouldn't insure it I should have been leary. I might try the Treo650 and see how it works. I would not buy this phone again.
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16 out
of 19 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Motorola Razr V3 (AT&T)