It’s funny how things work out sometimes. Last week I explained a bit about cell phone service, cell phones, and cell phone plans, and the next day my phone blew up. I like gadgets and after talking to a helpful representative at Verizon Wireless I decided to go with Motorola’s Razr V3c. This is a review of that phone from Verizon. There are other models of the Razr out there and they are all slightly different. This phone comes in pink or grey. I chose the grey one.
The first thing you will notice is the size of the phone. The height and width of the phone are similar to other contemporary phones that are available. The slim profile is really what catches you about this phone. It is very thin. The actual measurements are 3.86H x 2.08W x 0.57D inches. I’ve taken a few pictures with common items like a blank CD, a normal pen and a credit card to give you a sense of the size of this phone.
It’s slim and stylish that’s for sure. But how does it work? In the time I’ve had it I’ve had to do a little traveling around and the phone seems to work great. Part of that is service, but I’ve noticed that even in areas where you do not have a great signal I am still clear and loud on the other end. I like that that the antenna is internal. I don’t have to quickly pull out an antenna with my teeth if I get an incoming call when I’m occupied with something else.
What about messaging? It has three types of messaging that makes me into a fan of this phone.
Text messaging is first. Anyone that knows me knows that I am one of those guys who are sending way too many text messages all the time. The two days I was “offline” without a phone was hard! I just like to be connected. The Razr uses iTap which is Motorola’s intuitive typing interface. Most new phones have something like this, software that understands what keys you have pressed and gives you a selection of possible words available from those keys. This is much faster than having to type a key multiple times to spell out your message. iTap is available in both English and Spanish which is a nice added feature.
Picture and video messaging is next up on the list of features this phone has available to you. The phone has a built in 1.3 mega pixel camera. This will allow you to take some surprisingly nice pictures. You can select picture size and quality before you take the picture. The phone even has some photo editing ability. Zooming, cropping, rotating and flipping, clipart, fun frames, added text, color effects, removing redeye and warping are all things you are able to do with your phone. This lets you take a nice picture that you can use as your background wallpaper on your phone. A picture of your kids, your pets or your car every time you open you phone is easy and quick to set up with the Razr. You can send pictures to other picture message capable phones or email them to yourself or a friend. I can also take short video clips up to 15 seconds long with this phone. I won’t be filming any summer blockbusters with it, but it more than works to catch someone blowing out birthday candles or your dog doing a funny trick. The smaller size of these files makes them email friendly to share with your friends and family.
Instant messaging is available on some phones with some service providers. With the Razr and Verizon service I am able to connect to AIM, MSN and Yahoo Messengers. These messages still count toward you text messages so billing will vary depending upon your plan. If you text a lot I definitely suggest looking into the text message plans available from your provider.
With Verizon’s mobile web you can surf the web if you have that feature as part of your service plan, and you can also purchase games, helpful programs, ring tones and phone graphics. One feature that surprised me with this phone was that I was able to record my own ring tones using the voice recorder and setting them as my ring tone or attach them to a certain person as that individuals ring tone.
Overall I am more than pleased with this upgrade. I had to extend my contract 2 more years to get a deal on this phone but I feel that it was worth it. Be sure to understand what are you are agreeing to before any new cell phone purchase. This phone has a suggested retail value of $420 but with new contracts or new service you will get it much much cheaper many times. But if something unfortunate happens to the phone before your contract is up it may cost you quite a bit to replace the same phone you had before. I would suggest looking into the optional phone insurance available from your provider for a small monthly fee.
Remember to be safe with the use of your phone. If you are driving, please be careful and use a hands free headset