Motorola RAZR V3m Cell Phone Review - Hardware
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Alfredo Padilla Published on March 16, 2007 Comment on this |
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Keypad
Text Words Per Minute (5.9)
Using the Motorola Razr V3m’s predictive text system we entered a sample piece of text in 5 times using 2 hands. Average time was 32.66 seconds, a words per minute score of 29.4. This is an average score for a flip phone where the larger keys often provide greater ease of use for texting.
T9 and Auto Complete (4.5)
The Motorola Razr V3m has predictive text entry, but not word completion. Predictive text is not available in all applications or situations, for example when entering a url in the web browser you cannot use predictive text entry. We were happy to see predictive text but wish that companies like Motorola would stop assuming when and where it might be useful. We would like to see predictive text available as an option anytime you are asked to do text entry.
One Handed Usability (5.2)
Using the Motorola Razr V3m’s predictive test system with only one hand, we entered the same piece of text 5 times. Average time was 36.7 seconds, for a words per minute score of 26.1. As you can see using two hands is only slightly faster than using one, which is nice as phones are most often used with a single hand. The Razr’s score is comparable to other flip phones.
Keypad Backlighting (4.5)
The backlight for the Motorola Razr V3m does a good job of illuminating the entire keypad, including the secondary characters on the keys. It is even and the blue light is easy on the eyes. Unfortunately there is no backlight sensor and no option to control how long the backlight stays on. Although this is less of an issue on a flip phone where it is in closed position much of the time, we wish the option was available.
Controls
D-Pad/Joystick (5.0)
The Motorola Razr V3m has a 4 way D-Pad, with central select key, in a circular arrangement above the keypad. The D-Pad is good sized, but the Motorola Razr V3m’s flat single piece keypad/control arrangement means that it is easy to lose your place on the D-Pad and especially hit the select key when you meant to hit one of the directional keys. That being said the spacing with the surrounding keys is good, and you will rarely hit them when using the D-Pad. Compared to other phones the Razr’s directional pad is slightly below average, providing good size but
poor tactile feedback compared to one with more depth.
Touch Screen (0.0)
The Razr V3m does not have a touch screen.
Jog Dial (1.0)
The Motorola Razr V3m does not have a jog dial, however the volume keys do provide up/down functionality in the menus, which some may find useful. Because of this we awarded one point in this section, where otherwise it would have received none.
Soft Buttons (7.0)
The Motorola Razr V3m’s soft keys are large and comfortably positioned above the D-Pad. Tactile feedback is solid when pressed, and are surrounded by a raised ridge that helps one find them by feel. Despite the fact that the soft keys suffer from the same lack of depth that most of the Razr V3m’s controls do, we found them very usable.
Volume Control (5.0)
The Motorola Razr V3m’s volume keys are located on the top part of the flip, so when open you need to reach to activate them. The keys themselves are smooth silver, on a rocker switch. They feel slightly slick but provide good feedback when pressed in. There is also a small indentation between them that helps you discern between up and down. Unfortunately the volume keys only work when the flip is open or when music is playing in the closed position.
Power and Standby (6.0)
The Motorola Razr V3m’s power button is a secondary function of the end key. A long press on the key will turn the phone off, a short press is all that is needed to turn the phone back on again. As a flip phone the Motorola Razr V3m goes into standby mode automatically when the flip is closed. This is pretty standard functionality for a flip phone.
Other Buttons (3.0)
In addition to the basic keypad and control keys, the Motorola Razr V3m has dedicated keys for back, call history, voice dialing and camera. The call history key is an odd choice, as the call button already takes you to the call history from the home screen. The call history key is also the only one with a secondary function, but this too is odd as the secondary function is for voice dialing, which already has a dedicated key. Additionally, none of these keys can be reassigned. For this reason we decided not to award points for the call history button.
Display
Primary Screen Gross Resolution (4.0)
The Motorola Razr V3m sports a primary display that has a 176 x 220 pixel resolution, for a total of over 38,000 pixels on the screen. Although the screen does a solid job, its resolution is not up to the QVGA standard that is being adopted by many modern phones.
Primary Screen Pixels per Inch (6.25)
The Motorola Razr V3m sports 125 pixels per inch (PPI), sufficient to provide users with sharp details in everyday use. Photos and other high quality items can seem slightly pixilated; you will notice this when using the screen as a viewfinder for the camera or when viewing photos. 125 PPI is an average score for a phone in the Razr’s price range.
Screen Physical Size (5.3)
According to our measurements the Motorola Razr V3m’s main display is 2.1 inches diagonal. Although not overly large, it does provide sufficient viewing area for most phone functions. Those wanting to use the Razr to watch a lot of video using Sprint’s online services will be disappointed by the small screen size.
Screen Brightness (2.3)
The Motorola Razr V3m’s display comes in at 46 lumens, fairly bright and easy to read in the dark. You cannot adjust the brightness level on the Motorola Razr V3m and there is no sensor that adjusts brightness automatically. This is not a serious omission on a flip phone where the screen will be turned off when the phone is closed.
Screen Bright Light Performance (7.0)
To test bright light performance we shine 3000 lux of light onto the screen, equivalent to a sunny day. We then judge how legible the screen is. The Motorola Razr V3m did a good job in our bright light test. Text was still legible as were icons and we had no trouble navigating through the phone despite the glare.
Color Depth (6.0)
The Motorola Razr V3m can display up to 65 thousand colors, an average score for most modern phones. Colors on the display are true, blacks and whites are displayed well, while bright colors are clear and not washed out.
Secondary Screen (6.2)
We measured the Motorola Razr V3m’s external screen at 1 inch diagonal. The screen has a resolution of 96 x 80, for a total of 7680 pixels and a pixel density of 128 pixels per inch. It does a good job of displaying basic information, and is probably underutilized by the operating system.
Ports & Storage
Power & Data Ports (8.5)
The Motorola Razr V3m uses a mini usb port for both charging, and (if you purchase the additional cable and software) for data connections to your computer. The phone comes with a wall charger that plugs into the mini usb port, and according to the manual will also support usb charging from a computer using a Motorola approved cable. In our tests using a standard USB cable we were unable to charge from a PC. We were happy to see Motorola continues to use the mini usb standard for data and power connectivity on its devices.
Headphone Jack and Compatibility (0.0)
The Motorola Razr V3m does not include any sort of standardize headphone jack, instead depending on its mini-usb port for headphone support. You can purchase adaptors that allow you to plug a standard 3.5mm headset into your mini-usb port or purchase a headset that plugs directly into the port, but neither is included with the phone. Even more vexing is that the neither Sprint nor Motorola provides such a headset on their websites as an accessory for the V3m. This means that to actually use your music enabled V3m to listen to music on a pair of headphones you will need to purchase additional accessories from a third party retailer. We find this to be ridiculous.
Internal Storage (1.0)
The Motorola Razr V3m comes with 23mb of user accessible memory. This is enough to store a few pictures and perhaps half a dozen songs, but anyone wishing to use the device for serious multimedia use would be wise to invest in a MicroSD Card.
Expansion Slot and Format (4.5)
The Motorola Razr V3m has an expansion slot for the MicroSD/Transflash standard. This is the smallest of the SD card formats, and the expansion slot is located beneath the battery cover. MicroSD currently tops out at 2 gigabytes of storage.
Getting to your MicroSD Card is something of a chore. It is located beneath the battery cover, and although not beneath the battery you still need to remove the battery to get the card in or out. The slot itself is not spring mounted, which means that you will need to apply a fair amount of force to get the card in and out. Given that MicroSD Cards are small and fragile, we must admit that we were concerned about breaking the card when pushing it in.
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