Motorola MotoRazr V3 (AT&T)

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).

Motorolla came out of nowhere with a phone that is the tinnest in its class with a featureset to die for. We are talking bluetooth, speaker phone, polyphonic ring tones and even a glass covered outter screen to resist scratching.

However be prepared if you are coming from a Sony Ericsson phone to give up your trusty joystick for a slightly slower more mundayne Operating System. However this phone still syncs with your macintosh or pc nicely so you can be sure to have everything backed up incase you drop this little beauty.

please note that this phone is gsm currently so verizon customers will have to wait. I would recommend going to your local retailer to get a demo of the phone to ensure you are ready to get one. eBay has great prices on this phone, much better than retail.

Tech geeks refer to the hottest equipment and products as 'sexy' - well there isn't a sexier phone on the market. Its super slim, super light, and screams for attention when in public... its only a half inch thick!!

Better yet, it's a solid phone. There are plenty of gadgets that look great and have the sex-appeal, but don't deliver on the goods and functionality.

Pros:
*Sex appeal
*The phone has Bluetooth technology - a must have for any new phone
*A digital camera with a decent 4 x digital zoom and quick exposure controls.
*It has built in speakerphone - major plus.
*Also displays mpeg videos.
*Battery life is solid for a feature rich phone.

Cons:
*New media phones should either come with plenty of memory and storage capability - or the ability to insert a memory card. The Razr only delivers 5mb of memory - making it different to add MP3s, tons of photos, etc.
*Motorola's interface is a user preference - some love it, some don't. I find it a bit tricky.

Features:
* Razor-thin aircraft aluminum case
* Bluetooth wireless technology
* MPEG4 video playback
* Built-in speakerphone
* Digital camera with 4x digital zoom
* Unit Weight: 3.26 oz.
* Size (in inches): 1.75 x 3.43 x 0.91

Summary: If you like Motorola, this is the best phone on the market and eBay has it at such great prices that you really cant pass it up!

Note: The T-Mobile and Cingular versions are basically identical - cost and carrier are the differences

Now, will people ever understand that what makes a phone good is not the design and look of it? I must admit, this is what attracted me to this phone at first as well and boy, how much I regret it! Search Google about discussion forums on this phone and you will be shocked how many things can go wrong with it! A common problem is that this phone's screen may freeze and you are not able to use the phone again unless you switch it off for 7 days and nights and for some bizarre reason it does work again for a few days then. There are thousands of people effected by this. This phone has been the worst phone I ever owned (best looking yes - but who cares about looks???).
It probably is the most overrated phone of all times!