Design
Despite its name and heritage, the RAZR V3x isn't a slither of metal so thin you could cut yourself on it and as a 3G phone at 20mm it is slightly bulkier than its older 2G cousin, the RAZR V3. It's made from a different soft plastic material than its relative too. Sturdy is too strong a word, but the clamshell handset certainly sits firmly and squarely in the palm of your hand. For the clumsy amongst us, the phone looks like it could take the odd knock and come back fighting. The handset has an external screen that is capable of 65K colours and a resolution of 96 x 80 pixels.
The phone is lanky at 180mm tall when fully out-stretched, but we personally like the sense of space and the large, 2.2-inch TFT LCD screen. On the right side of the phone you'll find the small camera launcher button and the voice dialing button, which enables you to dial people in the phone book by speaking their name or number, and also listen to voicemail. You can also launch the camera using your voice ("lights camera action!"). The left side of the phone has a button to launch the camera in video shooting mode and a volume/ring tone control.
Features
The RAZR V3x comes with a dual-ear stereo headset which performs well, a mini USB port for your connectivity requirements and wireless stereo options that enable a compatible Bluetooth audio device, supporting the Advanced Audio Distribution Profile (A2DP), to work with the on-board multimedia player (this supports MP3, AAC+, WMV, WMA and Real video/audio files).
64MB of memory is built in and there is a slot under the battery for microSD (TransFlash) card -- adding up to 512MB of storage. The microSD is the same kind of media format used for previous Motorola 3G models (A100, C975, E1000) and is plenty for most users.
Motorola, not traditionally applauded in the camera phone category, has placed a 2-megapixel camera in the V3x with options for 1.2-megapixel, 640x480 and 320x240 resolutions. The camera offers standard features such as lighting settings and timer shootings and perhaps best of all a macro and landscape manual switch for close up and distance shots.
SMS/EMS/MMS, e-mail and instant messaging are all included, as well as MIDI-based polyphonic and digital music tones support. In the connectivity basket, the phone is equipped with high speed GPRS (2.5G) and W-CDMA (3G) network data connectivity and there is a built-in WAP browser.
Performance
Making voice and video calls was seamless, and the camera performed as well as we'd expect on a mobile phone. Self portraits can be taken with the clamshell closed, by simply holding down the camera button and allowing the outer sub-display to act as a virtual mirror. The integrated light works as a flash at a distance of two metres, but I found taking shots at night a bit of a waste of time.
Overall, we found the user interface a tad troublesome. For those familiar only with Nokia phones, there seemed to be a lot of sub menus and searching for options was a chore without logic or fluidity in some cases. Without the help of the large, user friendly keypad, we think we might have shut the shell and given up a lot sooner.
It might be another Nokia-bias but as proficient, Olympic-standard text messengers, we found the iTAP predictive text a bit of a hurdle. It supports word completion but we switched to manual text entry after several minutes of trying to type as quickly as we would on the T9 (text on nine keys) system that Nokia supports.
The 880mAh battery life was average and might prove troublesome to heavy Bluetooth users or people who utlilise the phones other energy-demanding features. We found it next to impossible to draw longer than two or three days from a single charge.
WAP-browsing was quick enough, with the odd faltering load, but all media streaming and playback requests are handled by the built-in media applications and performed well.
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dahipster
15/09/2008, 12:44 AM
rating
10/10
rubbish! ill never buy a motorola based on this phone and my partners experience with the original v3. phone constantly switched off by itself and change its ringtones on it own and the volume. It ended up being snapped in half due to frustration!
Pros: looked okay
Cons: everything about its function
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Its just....a phone disaster
07/09/2008, 07:48 PM
rating
6/10
My phone is starting to stuff, I had my phone for a year and a half. Apart from the 3G network suddenly having no service. My phone works well since it was purchased until a few months ago. The Motorola is a good looking phone. Sometimes my phone suddenly turns off and sometimes its on and just goes to a black/white screen, maybe its because its been dropped soo many times on the floor (concrete). My Black motorola is still in use, but its just the fact that it stuff's up when its in desperate need by the owner.
ADVICE...If you really need a new phone, and its on plan/cap, wait until its on prepaid, dont buy a useless phone thats going to stuff. There are better phones out there that suits, dont be persuaded by what you see.......read the reviews first before you go and get the phone.
Pros: - Micro SD Slot (I need more memory even though i own two mp3 players).
- Great Camera
- Volume
- Large Screen
Cons: - The sound when you turn it off and on, its so annoying.
- Suddenly screen goes black/white and then shows that the phone has no service (3 Network)
- The black rusts off.
- The silver finish is starting to rust easily
- The motorola phone tools does not work on Window Vista
- Not enough memory (exclude micro SD)
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davo
29/08/2008, 09:59 AM
rating
8/10
given all the bad comments I thought I'd leave a good one. I've found the phone to be very good, provided its looked after. Mine lasted over 2 years before developing intermittent calling problems
Pros: Still camera good
call quality good
overall a good package for price
Cons: video camera crap
only mini USB -no 3.5mm jack
no radio
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eatingsoup
20/08/2008, 11:56 PM
rating
1/10
Phone is a piece of **** Have had it for about a year now and it has been nothing but trouble from the start. Within the first week of having the phone it switched off by itself. It does that quite a bit at random times with no indication. The blue paint finish chips VERY easily and the camera is awful.
Pros: none
Cons: **** battery.
Switches off when fully charged with no indication.
Crap camera.
Chunky design.
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JimmyJay121
03/08/2008, 10:46 PM
rating
1/10
I had this phone on a three plan and it was probably the worst phone I have owned. I will never buy a motorola again base dont he experiences with this phone
Pros: Blue light
Cons: Poor camera quality
Black coating of phone flakes off
Poor battery life
Phone died after 2 years.
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bluetail
26/07/2008, 04:38 AM
rating
9/10
I brought this phone second hand and loved it it died on me and just wouldnt work but it lasted six months and god knows how long it lasted before i got it its a great phone never had any problems with it what so ever cant wait to get my new one it has great features excellent camera for a 2.0 mp sound is great and i love the blue light at the bottom when a call comes through. 9/10
Pros: *Great Sound
*Good Camera Quality
*Good Features
*Easy to use
*Slim Design
*Sturdy Caseing 9 times out of 10 will work when dropped
*Good Display/Easy to see
*Good Software can update via OTA or PC
*Good Battery Life
Cons: *Average reception running of a 3G network can have its bad times for reception
*Rubber on the phone tends to come of after a while due to use
*External screen can scratch easily
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NokiaFromNowOn
14/07/2008, 11:31 AM
rating
1/10
When I bought this phone the camera function didn't work so:
1. I sent it to the reseller for a fix and had it returned to me and the function still didn't work.
2. I sent the phone to Motorola and they LOST my phone - thankfully I had demanded they sent me a courier bag and I had the consignment note number to confirm they'd received it.
3. they sent me a replacement phone it was actually someone else's broken phone.
4. they finally sent me out a new phone.
5. the video call function did not work.
6. I repeated steps 2-4.
Pros: Has good features
Cons: None of the features work.
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steeeeeph
07/07/2008, 11:54 PM
rating
4/10
i got this phone just over two years ago and i cant wait to get the new lg viewty at the end of this week! its easy to use and the colours are good on it but it stuffs up so much!
it worked great for about a year but i was locked into a 2 year contract so i had to put up with it malfunctioning for ages
some advice, dont buy it
its a good setout but you can get that on other models that dont muck up
Pros: great colour
simple layout
good size keypad for texting
its pink :]
Cons: i get the same 'call failed' problem,
it not sending texts for no reason,
it takes forever to load when you turn it on,
if i put it down maybe a little harder then i should, it turns off and restarts,
the blue light when charging
alarms not going off or going off randomly
bad games!
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Kham8480
04/07/2008, 11:59 PM
rating
3/10
I have had this phone for almost two years (a long time having read some other v3x users comments). I had only had the phone for 3 weeks before it had to go back to be serviced, as the screen was flashing in bright colours and filled with what looked like static white noise. Ever since then, this phone has been a constant hindrance. Some common problems have been the 'call failed' fault; refusing to send messages for several hours no matter how many times I switched it on and off and took the battery/sim out; running out of battery after a twenty minute call; disappointing grainy photo and video quality (in comparison to brother's nokia); strange bluetooth habits (80% of the time it doesn't work); frequent alarm malfunctions (I have been late for several uni lectures/tutes because my phone alarm just chooses not to go off for absolutely no reason); extremely slow predictive text...But now I am ranting! I was told by many that this phone was a disappointment. This was my first Motorola, and it will be my last.
Pros: It's pink- last time I choose fashion over function!! Although the pink finish has chipped off substantially, even the silver motorola 'm' on the front fell off about a year ago (really good advertisment there!).
Cons: I think I have already made my point. Save yourself the frustration, there's a reason why it's so cheap now, I got gipped into a 2 year contract. Eeieiwww!
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Visitor
14/06/2008, 03:20 PM
rating
10/10
I've had mine since it came out here (Australia), and I love it. My picture quality is actually better than my friends newer razr's. Sound quality on my mp3's is brilliant.
Pros: Picture quality from camera is excellent, sound quality is brilliant. Battery life is very good, aposed to friends Sony & Sagem mobiles. Everything about this mobile is good. I'll miss it when it dies. Can I still get this phone?
Cons: Don't know any, but wish it had FM radio. Oh, the alarm clock doesn't always work, just doesn't go 'off' when it should or not at all, and the snooze only works sometimes.
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