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I recently (well, about a month and a half ago) purchased the new Motorola RAZR V3 Special Edition phone. It’s exactly like the original RAZR (released sometime last year), but it’s..uhm..black. The following is a little “review” on what my thoughts of my new phone are.

Size

Coming from Siemens phones, I was used to slightly larger phones. I don’t mind carrying a larger phone if I like its looks and features. In the case of the RAZR, I had always liked the looks but didn’t feel that the features justified the cost. After all, it is basically a regular phone with Bluetooth, a camera, a nice display, and a couple of other features but its cost was $500+.

That being said, I love the thinness of the RAZR. It’s got a nice feel to it (partly because of its mostly aluminum body), and it’s light. Now that I’m used to carrying such a small phone, I wonder if it would be a issue going back to the larger ones. I’ve always considered purchasing a phone such as a Blackberry or a Treo, but I figured that it was more then I would need. Plus, those things are HUGE.

The Return of the Flip

I change phones usually every 9-12 months. However, I haven’t had a flip-style phone since I lived in Atlanta. That’s been about three years, and I never really liked the way flip phones looked. No matter how much phone manufacturers tried, they all seemed to look the same.

That being said, I’ve had a bad experience with a candy bar style phone. Let’s just say that it’s a lot easier for the phone to accidentally be on when its a candy bar then when it’s a flip. With that in mind, I was willing to give the flip another try. So far, I’m still not too happy with the whole flip phone concept (having to open the phone before using it seems like a nuisance). It’s okay though - it’s a cool phone!

The User Interface..

sucks. I hate Motorola user interfaces. They are the worst user interfaces ever. EVER. I’ve gotten used to the stupidity of the interface of the RAZR, and after a while it doesn’t seem too bad. Honestly though - how are you going to make such a nice looking phone and then completely screw up the interface?

Upgrades

Coming from a Siemens background, I’m used to being able to update the firmware on my phone. With the S55 and the S65, I was always able to download new firmware versions from the Siemens web site and upload them to my phone using a data cable. By doing this, I would always have the fastest, most stable version of the phone available.

I’m happy to say that this tradition continues with the RAZR. Today I updated the firmware (referred to as a “flash”), and the phone has video recording capabilities now! Since the phone didn’t ship with this feature, it’s nice to be able to add it later on. Battery life and menu speeds have also improved.

Black vs. Silver

Don’t let the pictures fool you; although the black RAZR looks ugly when you look at it on the screen, it’s actually a beauty up close. I could have just bought the silver one (for a lower price, might I add), but I felt that the black looked a lot nicer. Also, I’m a sucker for having the newest phone, and since the black had just come out the week that I was shopping, I had to buy it.

In retrospect, I think I made the right choice.

In Conclusion

After a few weeks of heavy use (almost 60 hours of talk time), I have to say that the RAZR is a very impressive phone. I never thought I’d see myself using a Motorola, but it looks like they exceeded my expectations.

When it comes down to it though - if Motorola and Siemens were to release two phones at the same time with the exact same features and looks, I’d still choose the Siemens.

UPDATE: If you need information about upgrading your V3, read my follow-up article.

After all, I haven’t seen the RAZR in a movie yet.