
Easily the best phone of 2005
207 of 243 people found this review helpful.
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).
Review ID: 10000000000001675

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