a pocket-friendly week

it's been a week since i got my Motorola v3 RAZR phone from fido and i have things to say aboot it.

what i like:
the call clarity is definitely outstanding. seriously, a phone call generally sounds about as clear as it possibly could. there are times when i speak with other people who use quality land-lines when the call quality is so good that it sounds as if the person on the other end of the line could be in the room with me.

it has tons of great features - a VGA camera (meaning it can take pics at a resolution up to 640x480) that takes excellent quality pictures, a wide variety of built-in ring tones - 40+ i would think though i haven't counted them, Bluetooth wireless connectivity for devices and file transfer, Email and Calendar capabilities and more.

it's got a huge, bright display that can easily be read in the sun and a nifty colour screen on the outside of the phone that is multi-functional. the phone is incredibly thin which makes it quite pocket-friendly, but it's also wide enough to allow for a decently sized keypad that doesn't leave your thumbs cramped after tapping away at a detailed text message or playing a few rounds of golf.

did i say playing golf? indeed i did. mine came with 5 preloaded games, but other games are very easy to track down and load onto your phone due to its popularity and relatively easy (and plentiful) connectivity options - Bluetooth, USB, wireless internet.

what i do not like:
the keypad and screens are made of very shiny and reflective materials (aluminum and glass respectively). this results in screens and keypads that are VERY easily smudged up with finger and thumb prints.

it does have a vibrate function, which is handy at work, but this vibrate function seems rather week and borderline useless if you leave your phone on your desk (even right beside you) or you are wearing baggy clothes. since i have a habit of leaving my phone on my desk AND wearing baggy clothes the vibrate function is definitely sub-standard for me.

my final and perhaps most important complaint is the battery life. in the seven days that i've owned this phone, i've now charged it three times. the first was the "just bought the phone and need to charge before using" charge - understandable. the second charge came monday night before bed. i attributed this requirement to very heavy use of the camera and games. charge number three came last night. i had reset the call timers after charge #2 to see how efficient it could be and noticed that from tuesday morning through to this morning i had only used the phone for approximately 2.25 hrs. this is well below the advertised 7hrs of talk time and/or 12 days of standby time. i would think that if Motorola's battery life advertisements were true that i should be able to get at least three more days of regular usage before a charge is required. there was some minor picture-taking and game playing, but that's mostly after i noticed the low battery signal last night and figured i'd just kill the battery so it could charge overnight.

another experiment will begin today. since i unfortunately can't just set the phone down and let the battery drain for (a highly unlikely) 12 days, i've reset the call timers again and will restrict my use to general phone usage until the battery needs to be charged again. depending on the results of the next two charge-cycles, i may be making a "give me free stuff for lying" customer service call to my provider.

overall
with potential battery issues aside, i'm very very impressed with this phone. it's sturdy aluminum construction, bright readable screen and call clarity more than make up for it's slightly negative attributes. and the really great thing about it is that most wireless providers will be marketing the v3 RAZR at a very low price with a contract due to high volume sales and newer improved models (including the v3i, v3t and KRZR) so this will give you a phone that once retailed for between $200-$400 at a budget-phone cost. i'd have to say that it's probably about 80% awesome and 20% mediocre.