Posted by JiggyJaggy
Motorola V3 Review by JiggyJaggy:
Many people have sat up and taken notice of this exclusive handset. But what is all the hype about? Its just another Motorola after all isn’t it? Many like myself fell in love with this phone purely for it’s looks. I have often bought a phone for this reason…but there is more to this phone in terms of everyday usability, and for many people this longetivity appeal is the determining factor.
The “RAZR” as it is knick-named boasts Quad band global usage, a 262,000-colour screen, Bluetooth, VGA Camera, and Stereo speakers, along a host of other that are explored further. The first true “all-metal” phone on the market. It is constructed from Aluminium, keeping the weight low, and coated in fighter plane grade Magnesium (titanium colour).
Price:
This is an exclusive handset. It cost me Ł419 from Carphone Warehouse, but before you go saying that this was a bargain when bought in mid-October, they have put the price UP…yes UP to Ł499.99 im guessing due to it’s popularity. Sneaky of them in my opinion! I predict that it will hold its value far more than other handsets due to its metallic body and exclusive design.
Box and Contents:
The box speaks for itself. Not the usual cardboard made by manufacturers…but an aluminium box, which is pretty heavy! The glass hole shows the phone held within.
Accessories boxed with the phone are as follows:
§ Mains charger
§ Handsfree Kit
§ Leather Case
§ Belt clip
§ USB Data Cable
§ Mini USB tip
§ Motorola screen cleaner
§ CD Software (for synchronisation)
§ Manuals
Initial Impressions:
Initially this phone is very impressive. The sleek lines and cold metal feel match the clarity of the screen to the eye. The screen is RAZR sharp to use a pun! 262,000 colours show well on the phone, and compliment the phone’s body extremely well. The body it self is really a metaphor for the phone. It does feel razor sharp in the hand, and I think that’s what attracts people that old the phone.
Features:
The phone has a plentiful supply of features. It is equipped with a feather touch keypad, which is reminiscent to the V70 keypad in an electric clue colour. It even has subtle rubber piping on the keyboard to distinguish the keys. On first glance this actually looks like metal etching into the keypad. A very elusive and classy look in my opinion!
The internal aerial suits this phone to a tee. It is what essentially spoilt the V600, V500 and previous Vxxx phones. This doesn’t detract from excellent RF quality. I found FULL signal on the phone everywhere I went.
The loudspeaker on the phone is as good as on any phone I have used to date. It is clear and concise and extremely loud. It reminds me of the loudspeaker on the Nokia 6100. This may partly be due to the fact that the loudspeaker is actually on the FRONT of the phone rather than on the back like most phones. The stereo speaker feature may also play a part in this. It should be noted that unlike the K700i the loudspeaker is one touch, which is how It should be in my opinion.
Mp3 ringtones are available on the phone. The 5MB memory is used to hold MP3 tunes or clips. (I found that using a free software tool such as MP3 Audio Converter was useful as it clipped the mp3 files to produce a snip of the full tune, perfect for ringtone use as it take sup less memory.) The ringtones are clear if, slightly on the quiet side. But most IT literate users will be able to manipulate the amplitude of the sound files using software to provide louder ringtones.
For the business user there is a smart j key on the front right of the phone, which is used as a Dictaphone. Excellent for recording conversations when paper is not handy. This is the first fault I found on the phone. You actually have to keep the smart key pressed down while recording. If you let go the recording stops. A downfall in design as the phone is difficult to hold in that position for long periods of time due to its thinness!!! How ironic!
One feature I really liked on the phone was the profile key in the side of the phone when the flip is closed. You simply press the middle key on the right hand side. Then you press the bottom key. Continuously pressing this toggles the phone’s profiles: loud, soft, vibrate, vibrate and ring, silent etc. This was one excellent feature which was ever present in Nokia phones which is now incorporated into the “RAZR”
There is a dedicated message centre key, which takes you instantly to your SMS, Emails, MMS and outboxes is a new addition to the keypad/interface. An excellent feature as people are using Email and MMS as much as SMS slowly. The only down side is that MMS messages are shown in the same folder as SMS, which some users may not appreciate.
The customisable menu is always a plus point for most users. You can choose what functions you can dedicate to which keys. For example you can set “down” on the round navi-key in the middle of the keypad to go straight to phonebook etc. I set one button to “Bluetooth” immediately meaning I could near instantly turn on or off Bluetooth to conserve battery.
Battery:
Battery life was sound for the size of the phone. I never go by hours and days standby…it varies so much how you use your phone. I got two FULL days use using the BT, camera, messing with themes non-stop, 2 hours of calls and the phone was on day and night. Not bad at all seeing as the battery is tiny!
Connectivity:
Email: pop3/imap4 email is available. My orange.net and Hotmail worked perfectly although the email download is MUCH slower than say the P900/P910. It took nearly 2 mins to down load a few emails, where as the P900 took 30 seconds max
Bluetooth: Worked a charm, both for picture and MP3 transfer but also with audio BT. I used a hbh-600, Orange G2 and HS810. Al worked well and never dropped connection.
WAP: This worked equivalent to the V600 although I do not use WAP heavily so could not test thoroughly.
PC/MAC: Mini USB and a data cable is included for synchronisation with PC/MAC. I managed to synch the phone with Outlook fir contacts, these appeared fine the in the phone, but when I had several numbers under one name in Outlook, they appeared separately in the phones contacts list.
Camera:
A VGA camera is a feature on the phone. Several modes are available:
§ Large: 640 x 480
§ Medium: 320 x 240
§ Small (MMS): 160 x 120
Example pictures are as follows…from Large down to small…
These photos really dont do the camera phone justice as I tiook them late a night. Check the "Photos taken with a V3" thread in "Other Manufacturers" forum for better photos from the V3.
I found it strange that there is no “send as” function for the photos; it is set as “copy” which allows you to send a copy of the file to another BT device. Confusing slightly.
The final camera function is like the E700 Samsung; by pressing the bottom side key with the phone flip closed you can take a picture of yourself. This doubles up to assign pictures to contacts and their picture shows on the outside of the phone. Here is a good example:
Games:
Various games are available on the phone including Billiards (pool) and an addictive Golf game, which provides hours of fun. Java games are also downloadable on the 5MB memory.
Size/Weight:
The size of this phone is excellent. It can fit perfectly in the trouser pocket or even shirt pocket without being noticed. A rarety for modern day phones with so many incorporated features.
Value for Money:
This is a phone that will definitely hold its value. Most metal phones of this quality tend to. The Nokia 8850 and 8910 are still holding their financial value because of the design and robust design, even if they do not have the latest of features. It is a very exclusive phone, which I believe would be placed between the Nokia 8850 and the Vertue in terms of its value and appeal.
There is a large gulf between regurgitated
and Nokia phones which are all so similar in shape and size. This Motorola is one of the best phones in terms of form and function and really does turn heads. At the same time it is not a rich mans phone, it hold functions for everyday use with reliability and battery to match. There is a substanical gap in the mobile market for high-design, lifestyle phones. Who needs 3G, UMTS when phones look this good and use toady’s technology properly rather than tomorrow’s hopeful technology and let us down.
The Motorola V3 “RAZR” review by JiggyJaggy – Nov 2004-11-05
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[ This Message was edited by: JiggyJaggy on 2004-11-06 00:47 ]
Posted by Skrue
WoW!!!
Cool Review!
Posted by amnesia
i played around with the phone as well and my comment is, it's a great body with crap insides.
edit @ 50, if it was directed to me, i hated the UI. As for the price tag, I OWNED the phone and the 'gave' it away to a friend as a gift.
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[ This Message was edited by: amnesia on 2005-05-03 09:41 ]
Posted by 50Cent
why is that?
EDIT: sounds like bitterness due to the price tag
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Wow 1550+ posts....
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[ This Message was edited by: 50Cent on 2004-11-06 17:53 ]
Posted by DickySnapples
has anyone else noticed that the keys press up against teh screen, leaving an imprint on the screen.so i have to keep cleaning it. also because the keys are metal,could they scratch the screen?time will tell
Posted by T68iKING
Can anyone tell me what the branding is like on t-mobile for the v3, as i can get it for 70 on upgrade? I want to know both software and hardware wise.... Is there any t-mobile logos on the front of the flip, or on the back? Thanks in advance to anyone that can help, pictures would be best, but if you cant, its ok still
EDIT: cant decide between the v3 or p910i.... i've got an 20gb ipod already, so dont really see the + point of bigger memory on the p910i.... may pick up a cheap p9 as well as the v3 so that all my needs are satisfied (vids, apps, touch screen etc)
....
[ This Message was edited by: T68iKING on 2004-11-06 21:11 ]
Posted by p900 lover
is far is i know there is now T-mobile sigh if u get it from CPW, how much do u usually spend per month?
im just askin cos im due an upfrade soon and am thinking about miving to 02
Posted by T68iKING
@p9 lover: its a really cheap tariff (freetime 750), but average bills are 100-150 p/m.... offered 200 discount... but you can ask them to extend the contract to 18 months, or go onto a higher tariff (29 p/m +)
Posted by p900 lover
oh ok, im on the every one 100 and my bills come to about Ł50 pm, last tiem u upgraded i git Ł100 off,
i am actually very tempted to move to o2, purly for the larger fone range.
Posted by JiggyJaggy
Any feedback on my reviews guys? I know Masseur was doe to post one also.
Posted by masseur
I thought yours was pretty good and because of that its kind of knocked the wind out of my sails a bit (similar pics etc) so I've put off finishing and posting mine
I'm still luvvin' this phone and now its become my primary phone with K700 as the secondary...
Posted by *Jojo*
@jiggyjaggy - Nice presentation dude! I like the looks of the Golf game . . .
Posted by Ing. FijoK
jiggyjaggy very nice review
Posted by JiggyJaggy
Cheers guys. Let me know if there is anything you would like added to my review of the P910 which will be pretty comprehensive. The golf game has great cartoon graphics but the billiards game on the phone is highly addictive!
Posted by gigik777
hey jiggyjaggy
i have a motorola v3 on vodafone...on the phones web browser i can access hotmail - (msn.mobile.com), however when i try and access a particular e mail, im immediately logged out...once relogged in, the relevant e mail is displayed but every time i want to view another e mail or reply etc, im logged out again...how is your hotmail access perfect?...am i doing something wrong?g
thanks
Posted by diego_c_alonso
JJ:
Couple of questions... How much can you do with the phone closed? For example:
With the phone closed can I?
1) Answer and talk with my BT headset?
2) Dial a number from my from my PocketPC using Running Voice GSM software and xfer the call to my BT headset?
Both of these procedures I use extensively with my T68i. It would be really cool if I could do this without having to open the RAZR.
Thanks,
Diego
PS
I also read that the address book will use one entry per phone number per contact?! This can't be true, no?
[ This Message was edited by: diego_c_alonso on 2004-12-28 03:16 ]
Posted by ThreeX
1. Yes of course! You have voice tags and calls are transfered to headset when connected as usual.
2. Not a clue, sorry.
RE Phonebook. I don´t know, i have 217 contacts according to Outlook sync dialogue, now a lot of those contacts have 2-3 phone numbers but i haven´t hit the ceiling yet anyway..
Posted by CellularMaster
The Razr v3 is a very nice looking phone, with good display, and a great camera, a bit to lite wich causes this phone to break, ive heard from numerous att/cingular stand that there are several re-calls, so if you are a kid thats gonna spend alot of money to get a nice phone dont get this one its just alot of trouble, trust me i loved this phone also untill it broke on me.
Posted by Dragonfly_TP
I don't have many comments.
Exelent review!
The 5mb memory is not enough...
Yes the keys press on the screen and it stains, but it does not scratch, there is rubber around the keys, so you can feel the different keys and avoid pressing 2 at the same time.
About switching profiles when the phone is closed. I remember the V300, V500 and V600 have this feature too.
Posted by JiggyJaggy
The 5MB is pretty poor seeing as similar aged phones such as 6230 and k700i have 40mb plus and in the case of the 6230 expandable, but they are alot bigger phones.
The profiles one is a characteristic one of Moto phones, and is very handy. Shame you cant do what i could with my old V60i which was read SMS with the flip closed. That was such a cool little feature! lol
Posted by diego_c_alonso
What about unlocking a Cingular RAZR? Anybody have any info on how to do that?
Thanks,
Posted by JAGUY85
I got to play with the V3 for 5 mins. What a GREAT phone. RM professional looking. Sleek metallic and wonderful screen. I think I wanna have it along with a K700. What's the cheapest price for it now?
Posted by rammm
you can find it unlocked at eBay for around 630$
Posted by Rookwise
Sold mine a few days ago for Ł300 sim free. Preferred my Samsung D500 and
S700i
Posted by cracked
anyone know how to transfer the razr phonebook from phone to PC via bluetooth? i can "copy" photos through to my XP Pro PC's bluetooth folder just fine. the phone will send one contact at a time through to the PC, but i'm not sure where the information ends up once it gets there, if it does at all. i do not have any software for the phone or a USB cable (it's a cingular phone). one of the major selling points for this bluetooth phone was the supposed ability to backup my phonebook to my PC...
(please email ur reply as well if possible)
[ This Message was edited by: cracked on 2005-05-22 08:18 ]
Posted by dxk
@ JiggyJaggy etc...
I'm agonising over whether to stick with the K700i I've just bought or go with a V800 or V3 RAZR. I find the K700i uncomfortable on the ear and awkward to text with. I'm not sure the V800 is as comfy to use as a Nokia, but it seems better than the K700i. The V3 is an all-round babe, with a nice curved earpiece, but I'm not sure that slinky keypad is very nice to text with - I haven't gotten my hands on a real live V3 yet. And the V3 is rather light on storage and features. I've also read that the V3 is easily broken and that the keypad leaves a mark on the screen.
As a Mac user, I've also got major syncing woes... which probably wouldn't interest you! ( See my related post at http://www.esato.com/board/viewtopic.php?topic=52690&start=480 )
I would be very grateful for some feedback on my dilemma. Thanks again for the wonderful V3 review!