Motorola RAZR V3x review: Sweet-sour mix

Here comes the most equipped non-OS Motorola phone of all times! Not exactly a razor-thin phone, made of plumy plastic. It features a 2 megapixel camera with brilliant macro mode and flash LED, and a top-class display. 3G is a matter of fact. At the same time, its MP3 player as well as certain features, are somewhat poor.

Motorola V3x in black

Key features

• Brilliant display
• 3G and video calls support
• MP3 player
• Memory card slot
• 2 megapixel camera with macro mode
• Flat and fast keypad
• Instant response

Main disadvantages

• Illogic menu structure
• No slot for earphones
• Poor legibility of the outer display
• Improper design of side buttons

Motorola Razr V3x was nominated Best 3G mobile phone at the recently celebrated 3GSM congress. Razr V3x is the best equipped non-OS Motorola Phone ever. Certain internet retailers already added Razr V3x to their online offers several weeks ago.

In this review we provide you with a detailed review, which is supposed to help you decide, whether sparing money for V3x is worth the effort. You may also want to consider a purchase of the successor of the original Razr model, Motorola V3i, instead.

   
Motorola V3x in white

The best of it is hardly visible at first sight

When first images of the new Motorola V3x came out discussions on whether it would really be much thicker than the Razr V3 model never ended. A few months later the size difference was already a fact. Those of you, who do not admit the gracious design of the original fashion piece of art, raise your hand!

Motorola Razr V3x live

Placed next to the forerunner

When closed, the phone is 19.6 mm thick, which is half a cm more in comparison with Razr V3. The other two dimensions have not been modified - 10 cm of height and 53 mm of width. What has really increased is the weight of the device, which is 30 grams heavier than the forerunner. It is no medium-heavy phone anymore, but a true heavy-weight.

The phone in hand

In any case, Motorola V3x is not meant to end up in the hands of those who like to pose with their phone. This phone is rather made to be used by people in need of a clamshell phone with rich equipment, who are not willing to pay extra money for design.

All-side view

Motorola Razr V3x is a multimedia phone with 3G networks support. Unlike slim units, this device may easily remain unnoticed by common users. It will definitely catch the eye of experienced customers though. But, please, do not get me wrong. New Motorola Razr is a pretty attractive phone. Besides, have a look at the surrounding pictures.

 
Not so thin anymore, but with far better equipment

Heavy but elegant

Holding the phone in your hand is when you will notice its weight the most. As to your fingerprints, they will be remaining all over its surface. That's not only on the glass of the external display, but also on the rest of the phone's body. On the other hand, its plumy blue (or violet when lighted differently) plastic covers are pleasant to touch and look as if they were made of hard rubber.

The glass of the external display is literally begging for your fingerprints

The back cover of the tested sample was having a rather negative play of approximately half a millimeter, which is a significant minus for the construction of the device. Not a big deal, you may say... Our experience however shows that regular use and especially frequent SMS writing make the cover slither even more. On the other hand, I cannot guarantee that the device we are testing had not been used in an inappropriate way by someone else before it got to us. Therefore, only time will tell, whether the play of the cover is a result of bad treatment or it is simply a constructional fault.

Loosing the back cover • battery • SIM card and memory card bed

Under the back cover you will find a lithium-ion battery of 850 mAh capacity, which is expected to back up 250 hours of stand-by or 300 minutes of phone calls. So far I am quite impressed by the phone's battery life as it has been four days since I started to intensively test it and it still sustains. The battery state indicator on the display tells me that I still have 1/3 of energy available.

The top part of the phone is shorter than its bottom one, so the bottom edge does not feature the shed common in other clamshell mobiles. Alike Razr V3, new model's top part fits into the recess of the bottom one. The bottom edge is made of silver plastic material. Do not look for a system connector here. Razr V3x has a classic miniUSB connector located on its right side. I am not sure if customers will find a USB cable for connection with PC in the original package of Motorola Razr V3x, because there was no box or accessories coming along with the tester we have been given. I made an effort to plug in a miniUSB cable of mine (an original product of Motorola), but I did not manage to charge the phone.

Razr V3x opened

 
MiniUSB connector • "Smart Key" button and volume control buttons • voice control/camera release button

Right above the miniUSB connector there is a programmable button, which the manufacturer calls "Smart Key". A little bit further up you will find the volume control button. The voice control button and the camera release button are located on the opposite side of the device. I do not really get the idea of splitting the voice control button as the right side of the phone does not lack space. Besides, the camera release button has not only been designed much too small, but has also been placed on the wrong place and can be easily pressed by mistake.

The construction joint is solid. It opens and closes smoothly and quietly, but when the top part of the phone rests against one's ear during a phone call, the joint gives out a creaky sound every time its opening limit gets passed. I picked up the original Razr to compare both models' joint reactions and I must say that no matter how strong I would press the forerunner's movable part to my ear, it would not give out a sound. In other words, Motorola does know how to design good joints, but this time it apparently wasn't their best job.

Reasons to hate it

The external display situated below the main camera lens is wretched. Not only it is passive and extremely small, but it is able to show only 4K colors. It features a resolution of 96 x 80 pixels and is nearly illegible without backlighting.

External display is located below the built-in camera

At the same time, the external display is extremely useful: it shows time, date and state icons. It provides details on missed events, displays caller's picture and name, and serves as a mirror for taking self-portraits. When music is running, it shows the name of the music file and the ringing profile that is currently activated.