Motorola RAZR V3 BLK
Guess what? I've got a new toy - the Motorola RAZR V3 BLK. I have the black version (in case your didn't realize BLK means black), replacing my 9-month old Nokia 6260. Most of my friends were shocked when I told them I'm gonna get a Motorola phone cos it's the brand that I would least likely to get my hands on. I have always based my mobile phone purchases on the operating system, features, flexibility and user-friendliness. Physical and aesthetic comes after that. With that, most of my phones are of Nokia.
For the past couple of weeks, I have come to realize that I've been lugging around a "brick". Although Nokia 6260 is one the most full-feature and flexible phone out there (my reason for getting it in the first place) but I hardly utilize it to its fullest potential. On average, I use less than 25% of its features - mostly making/receving calls, messaging, alarm and the occasional picture/video captures. I absolutely didn't use the PDA-feature of the 6260 as I have a dedicated HP iPAQ h4150 Pocket PC for all my Personal Information Management (PIM) stuff. Plus, it didn't go well with my pants as it tends to give a bulgy look on the thigh. Am tired of thick and heavy phones already. A mobile phone should be just a mobile phone and not a phone-PDA hybrid. Digital gadgets convergence can sometimes be messy, nasty and pain-in-the-ass.
And now, I based my mobile phone purchases on physical and aesthetic, then only operating systems, features, flexibility and user-friendliness. The most obvious reason for getting the new RAZR V3 BLK is the physical and aesthetic - extremely slim (slimmest in the world so far) and light. If looks could kill, then this one is worth dying for. The body construction is very solid with anodized aluminium and nickel-plated copper alloy sheet for keypad. The menu system and imaging system are way more responsive than the 6260 and has better screen (262K vs. 65K) and speaker system - MP3/MIDI ringtones are clear and crisp. The external display allows viewing of information without opening the flip. It has the iTAP word completion feature, which I think is better and more intuitive than T9 in Nokia phones. The cool features I like about the phone are the messaging system that shows the sender name/number when a message arrived, has a bigger viewable caller picture (on external screen as well), beeping reminders if I have new unread messages and the ability to password-protect any application. Now I can lock out the messaging menu so no prying eyes (right, my dear close friends?) can scour my sometimes-too-hot-to-handle messages, haha...
Happy moments aside, RAZR V3 BLK does have a few quirks. Apart from having less features, the one thing I'm not comfortable with is the level of user-friendliness - in terms of navigation, editing and information. The recent call system is not as detailed as the 6260 - no dedicated missed call menu and tracking of messages sent (quantity and from/to whom) There is no easy way to install themes/skins and I heard it requires messing around with some ROM flashing tools. The phonebook design is a bit weird as multiple numbers of the same person are not displayed on the same view page but spans across multiple pages per number. Messages typed half-way are not saved automatically when accidentally exited the messaging menu (or closing the flip) and it cannot organize messages into folders. Also, it has only a meagre 7MB built-in memory and has no support for external memory card. And don't get me started on the category (caller group in Nokia) ringer ID for calls and messages - it was somehow not as what I expected it to be.
Well, I can't say if I'm absolutely satisfied with my new RAZR V3 BLK as I'm still new to the Motorola world and still learning/discovering their system. Since day one of having the new phone I'm like, "Nice, this is cool" or "Damn, why it didn't have that feature". But I do love the attention of people turning their heads on me whenever I pop it out. Plus, it's "pants-friendly" and aesthetically superb. Heck, I can't even feel I'm carrying it in the pocket! Yes, it is that amazing!
As mentioned earlier, I still a newbie in Motorola phones, both hardware and software wise as I'm too used to Nokia and Sony Ericsson phones already. I think this is my first purchase of Motorola phone ever, but I did play around with friend's Motorola phone before. If you have any tips and tricks for RAZR V3 BLK, do feel free to leave a comment here.
Updates @ 11 Oct 2005:
Note that the missed call entries are listed in the "Received Call" menu. Connected (received) calls are marked with a tick whilst missed calls don't. And it stores only 10 entries combined.
In the "Messages" menu, the sent messages are stored in "Outbox" sub-menu. What I don't like about "Outbox" is that it lists each message entries with the message content instead of phone number or sender name, as per Nokia/SonyEricsson. Takes me additional button presses to go thru menu and options to find out whom I sent a particular message to and it's a pain that I have to do it for each messages. Luckily, "Inbox" has the option to switch between name/phone and message content.
I miss Nokia's little feature that tracks total messages sent and the detailed "Communication Log" that lists all incoming/outgoing voice calls, data calls and messages in one convenient menu. Also, the ability to view multiple numbers/details of a particular person in a single page. In spite of the flaws in feature, I still like my new RAZR V3 BLK for its aesthetics... for now...
Do bear in mind that it's based solely on my personal experience and your mileage might vary. For more information, tips/tricks and discussion on RAZR V3, go to MyPDACafe's Motorola RAZR V3 discussion
For the past couple of weeks, I have come to realize that I've been lugging around a "brick". Although Nokia 6260 is one the most full-feature and flexible phone out there (my reason for getting it in the first place) but I hardly utilize it to its fullest potential. On average, I use less than 25% of its features - mostly making/receving calls, messaging, alarm and the occasional picture/video captures. I absolutely didn't use the PDA-feature of the 6260 as I have a dedicated HP iPAQ h4150 Pocket PC for all my Personal Information Management (PIM) stuff. Plus, it didn't go well with my pants as it tends to give a bulgy look on the thigh. Am tired of thick and heavy phones already. A mobile phone should be just a mobile phone and not a phone-PDA hybrid. Digital gadgets convergence can sometimes be messy, nasty and pain-in-the-ass.
And now, I based my mobile phone purchases on physical and aesthetic, then only operating systems, features, flexibility and user-friendliness. The most obvious reason for getting the new RAZR V3 BLK is the physical and aesthetic - extremely slim (slimmest in the world so far) and light. If looks could kill, then this one is worth dying for. The body construction is very solid with anodized aluminium and nickel-plated copper alloy sheet for keypad. The menu system and imaging system are way more responsive than the 6260 and has better screen (262K vs. 65K) and speaker system - MP3/MIDI ringtones are clear and crisp. The external display allows viewing of information without opening the flip. It has the iTAP word completion feature, which I think is better and more intuitive than T9 in Nokia phones. The cool features I like about the phone are the messaging system that shows the sender name/number when a message arrived, has a bigger viewable caller picture (on external screen as well), beeping reminders if I have new unread messages and the ability to password-protect any application. Now I can lock out the messaging menu so no prying eyes (right, my dear close friends?) can scour my sometimes-too-hot-to-handle messages, haha...
Happy moments aside, RAZR V3 BLK does have a few quirks. Apart from having less features, the one thing I'm not comfortable with is the level of user-friendliness - in terms of navigation, editing and information. The recent call system is not as detailed as the 6260 - no dedicated missed call menu and tracking of messages sent (quantity and from/to whom) There is no easy way to install themes/skins and I heard it requires messing around with some ROM flashing tools. The phonebook design is a bit weird as multiple numbers of the same person are not displayed on the same view page but spans across multiple pages per number. Messages typed half-way are not saved automatically when accidentally exited the messaging menu (or closing the flip) and it cannot organize messages into folders. Also, it has only a meagre 7MB built-in memory and has no support for external memory card. And don't get me started on the category (caller group in Nokia) ringer ID for calls and messages - it was somehow not as what I expected it to be.
Well, I can't say if I'm absolutely satisfied with my new RAZR V3 BLK as I'm still new to the Motorola world and still learning/discovering their system. Since day one of having the new phone I'm like, "Nice, this is cool" or "Damn, why it didn't have that feature". But I do love the attention of people turning their heads on me whenever I pop it out. Plus, it's "pants-friendly" and aesthetically superb. Heck, I can't even feel I'm carrying it in the pocket! Yes, it is that amazing!
As mentioned earlier, I still a newbie in Motorola phones, both hardware and software wise as I'm too used to Nokia and Sony Ericsson phones already. I think this is my first purchase of Motorola phone ever, but I did play around with friend's Motorola phone before. If you have any tips and tricks for RAZR V3 BLK, do feel free to leave a comment here.
Updates @ 11 Oct 2005:
Note that the missed call entries are listed in the "Received Call" menu. Connected (received) calls are marked with a tick whilst missed calls don't. And it stores only 10 entries combined.
In the "Messages" menu, the sent messages are stored in "Outbox" sub-menu. What I don't like about "Outbox" is that it lists each message entries with the message content instead of phone number or sender name, as per Nokia/SonyEricsson. Takes me additional button presses to go thru menu and options to find out whom I sent a particular message to and it's a pain that I have to do it for each messages. Luckily, "Inbox" has the option to switch between name/phone and message content.
I miss Nokia's little feature that tracks total messages sent and the detailed "Communication Log" that lists all incoming/outgoing voice calls, data calls and messages in one convenient menu. Also, the ability to view multiple numbers/details of a particular person in a single page. In spite of the flaws in feature, I still like my new RAZR V3 BLK for its aesthetics... for now...
Do bear in mind that it's based solely on my personal experience and your mileage might vary. For more information, tips/tricks and discussion on RAZR V3, go to MyPDACafe's Motorola RAZR V3 discussion
