We got a prototype from Motorola on the condition that we would wait to rate the phone until we received an actual shipping model. That said, there's no disputing the RAZR is the coolest-looking phone. Period.
The RAZR is joyously, distractingly thin; so thin it slips into any pocket with ease. Carrying it around is addictive; it's so much less of a bother than other phones. It mates well with Bluetooth headsets, and you can voice-dial numbers and take pictures with the phone closed. (You can't issue voice commands or dial numbers not in your phone book, though.) Call quality was acceptable, though not extraordinary on the prototype unit we used. Indoors, the speakerphone and ringer could wake the dead.
Flip it open, and you're confronted by a vast screen that's bright enough, if not quite as bright as a Motorola V505, and a keypad etched into a metal plate with slightly raised rubber numbers. This makes the keypad very easy to dial, but the four-way selector buttons above it are a bit more slippery because of the lack of rubber bumps there.
Software-wise, the RAZR is basically a Motorola V505, which is a pretty good thing. The VGA camera may be the best we've ever seen on a phone, besting the V505 thanks to the RAZR's glass lens, as opposed to the plastic lenses typical on phone cameras. There's a WAP browser, an AIM client, a basic e-mail client, and up-to-the-minute Java game support (including a nifty golf game), although there's not enough horsepower to support much action gaming. We easily synced contacts, calendar, pictures and MP3 ringtones with a PC, via both Bluetooth and a mini-USB cable, with Motorola's Mobile PhoneTools ($) software.
Of course, fashion plates are notoriously quirky, and the RAZR is no exception. Without the backlight on, the external display is basically invisible. The case isn't easy to scratch, but if you do manage to scratch it, the scratches really show. The screen has a severe finger-grease problem (perhaps the RAZR should only be handled with the finest of satin gloves). And when we dropped the RAZR five feet to the carpet, the battery cover flew off. We're hoping these are prototype problems and our final model will be a bit sturdier.
The RAZR is hands down the best-looking phone on the market. We can't wait to put a production model through its paces.
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