Motorola Razr2 V9m On Sprint Cell Phone Review - Hardware
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Alfredo Padilla Published on September 04, 2007 Comment on this |
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Keypad
Text Words Per Minute (8.58)
To produce a words per minute (WPM) score we time how long it takes to type out a standardized sentence using predictive text entry and two hands. We repeat this test five times and take the average for our score. The Razr2 V9m took an average of 22.36 seconds to type out our test sentence, which works out to 42.9 WPM, an excellent score for a phone without a QWERTY keyboard. In fact, it's even faster than some phones that do have a QWERTY keyboard. We found the roomy keypad and good differentiation between keys made typing very easy. We appreciated the fact that Motorola went with more straightforward lines between numbers instead of the "wave" design found on the Razr V3m. We should also note the easy tactile differentiation between keys on the Razr2 V9m is in stark contrast to the complete lack of differentiation on the Helio Fin, and you can see from the table below that this is reflected in the performance. | Cell Phone | Words Per Minute | Score |
| Razr2 V9m | 42.9 | 8.58 |
| Helio Fin | 31.7 | 6.34 |
| Sanyo Katana DLX | 39.1 | 7.82 |
| Razr V3m | 29.4 | 5.88 |
| Nokia N75 | 42.48 | 8.50 |
| Apple iPhone | 39.6 | 7.92 |
T9 and Auto Complete (5.0)
The Razr2 V9m supports Motorola's version of predictive text entry called iTAP, and this works just as well as T9 does on other phones. The V9m does not support word completion, however.
One Hand Usability (7.34)
To see how well we can type on the Razr2 V9m using only a single hand we run our words per minute (WPM) test again one-handed. The Razr2 V9m performed reasonably well in this test, although not as well as typing two-handed. We were able to type out our test sentence in an average of 26.18 seconds, which works out to 36.7 WPM. There is a great deal of variance in this test, with some phones like the Nokia N75 and Katana DLX performing as well as or better than the Razr2 V9m, while others perform significantly worse.
| Cell Phone | Words Per Minute | Score |
| Razr2 V9m | 36.7 | 7.34 |
| Helio Fin | 32.7 | 6.54 |
| Sanyo Katana DLX | 38.24 | 7.65 |
| Razr V3m | 26.1 | 5.22 |
| Nokia N75 | 38.1 | 7.62 |
| Apple iPhone | 32.1 | 6.42 |
Keypad Backlighting (7.0)
The Razr2 V9m's keypad backlight is very good, evenly illuminating all numbers and icons in a white light. There were no timing controls, but we were pleased to see support for a light sensor, which should keep the backlight off when you don't need it.
Controls
D-Pad/Joystick (6.0)
The directional pad on the Razr2 V9m is large and comfortable to use, with good differentiation between the different directions, center select key, and surrounding buttons. As with previous Razrs, travel and tactile feedback when pressing buttons leaves something to be desired, but otherwise we were very pleased with the Razr2 V9m's d-pad. It's as good as the d-pad on the Razr V3m, and we liked it better than the ones found on the Helio Fin and Nokia N75. Touch Screen (0.0)
The Razr2 V9m does have touch screen controls at the bottom of the exterior display, however we have decided to award points for these buttons in the other buttons section as it isn't a true touch screen that allows you to interact with almost anything on the display, as found on Windows Mobile Professional devices and the iPhone.
Jog Dial (1.0)
Like the Razr V3m, you can use the volume controls on the Razr2 V9m to move up and down lists. Although this isn't true Jog dial functionality, as found on BlackBerry devices, we do think it's worth awarding a point for.
Soft Buttons (7.0)
The Razr2 V9m's soft buttons are located at the top of the control keys, flanking the d-pad. They are large, comfortable to use, and well differentiated from surrounding buttons. As with other buttons on the Razr2 V9m's keypad they don't provide a large amount of travel or tactile feedback when pressed, but otherwise do their job very well. They perform as well as the soft buttons on the Razr V3m, and better than those on the Helio Fin and Katana DLX.
Volume Control (5.0)
The Razr2 V9m's volume controls are on the left side of the phone on the lower flip. We think this is an improvement over the Razr V3m's, where the volume keys were on the top part of the flip. This made them inconvenient to access when the phone was opened. The keys themselves are a typical rocker switch that is only slightly raised above the surrounding plastic and feels squishy. It does the job, but we wish we got better tactile feedback when pressing the key. We preferred the volume keys on the Helio Fin.
Power and Standby (6.5)
The power key on the Razr2 V9m is a secondary function of the end key, as is typical on flip phones. The button is roomy and easy to find by feel, but as with other buttons lacks in key travel and tactile feedback when pressed. It requires a long press on the button to shut the phone off, but just a short press to start it back up again.
Other Buttons (10.0)
In addition to the buttons we discuss above, the Razr2 V9m has several other useful buttons and one that's not so useful. Like other Motorola devices there are two buttons flanking the d-pad between the soft keys and send/end keys. On the right is a back key, which allows you to go back to the previous screen, and on the left is a dedicated speakerphone button. The back key is eminently useful, and in fact required for moving around the interface, but the speaker phone button is a complete waste of space. In addition, when not in a call it simply duplicates functions already fulfilled by other buttons. As such we are not awarding points for this button.
In addition, the Razr2 V9m has a shortcut key on the right side that launches the Pictures menu, or the camera with a long press. Under the volume keys on the left side is a button that launches voice command. Finally, there are the touch-sensitive buttons that occupy the bottom third of the exterior screen. By default these allow you to access the camera, music player, and Sprint TV. When "pressed," the phone vibrates slightly to provide you with some feedback, which is a nice touch. Also, the buttons change depending on where you are in the interface. When in the music player, for example, they turn into play/pause, next, and previous. We like this implementation of context-sensitive buttons and have awarded each of the three two points, as that is our standard for buttons that can handle multiple functions.
Display
Primary Screen Gross Resolution (8.0)
The Razr2 V9m's main display is QVGA (240 x 320) resolution, which is pretty standard on modern phones. This resolution provides enough detail for viewing videos or photos without trouble, and is a significant step up from the 176 x 144 resolution display used on the older Razr V3m. Given that most of Motorola's recent handsets have stuck with this lower resolution we're happy to see them finally step up with the Razr2 V9m. It's not nearly as good as the iPhone's excellent 320 x 480 pixel display, but the iPhone also depends on it's display for all user interaction.
| Cell Phone | Resolution | Score |
| Razr2 V9m | 240 x 320 | 8.00 |
| Helio Fin | 240 x 320 | 8.00 |
| Sanyo Katana DLX | 240 x 320 | 8.00 |
| Razr V3m | 176 x 144 | 4.00 |
| Nokia N75 | 240 x 320 | 8.00 |
| Apple iPhone | 320 x 480 | 9.00 |
Primary Screen Pixels per Inch (9.09)
Pixels per inch (PPI) is a measure of how tightly packed pixels are on the screen. Higher pixel density leads to richer colors and sharper detail, while lower pixel density screens can seem washed out. The Razr2 V9m's screen packs 181.8 PPI into it's main display, which is a very good score, topped only by the Katana DLX's 200 PPI. The Razr2 V9m's main display should provide a rich viewing experience for users, certainly much better than the Razr V3m, which scored a paltry 125 PPI.
| Cell Phone | Pixels Per Inch | Score |
| Razr2 V9m | 181.8 | 9.09 |
| Helio Fin | 173.9 | 8.70 |
| Sanyo Katana DLX | 200.0 | 10.00 |
| Razr V3m | 125.0 | 6.25 |
| Nokia N75 | 166.7 | 8.34 |
| Apple iPhone | 164.8 | 8.24 |
Screen Physical Size (5.50)
The Razr2 V9m's main screen measures 2.2 inches diagonal. This is about the same as our comparison phones, with the notable exception being the iPhone and its massive 3.5-inch display. Still, we found the Razr2 V9m's display felt a little shrunken in the much larger casing, making it seem smaller than it is. We wish Motorola had taken greater advantage of the available real estate to pack in a 2.4 or 2.6-inch display, although it is possible the room taken up by the large external screen makes this impossible.
| Cell Phone | Size Diagonal (inches) | Score |
| Razr2 V9m | 2.2 | 5.50 |
| Helio Fin | 2.3 | 5.75 |
| Sanyo Katana DLX | 2.0 | 5.00 |
| Razr V3m | 2.1 | 5.25 |
| Nokia N75 | 2.4 | 6.00 |
| Apple iPhone | 3.5 | 8.75 |
Screen Brightness (5.4)
To test screen brightness we point the phone's browser to a blank white page and measure the brightness of the screen from a couple of inches away using a lux meter. The Razr2 V9m measured 48 lux, which seems rather low if you look at the table below. The reason for this is that normally we turn the screen's backlight up to maximum, however in the case of the Razr2 V9m we could not do this. There are no manual controls for the screen backlight, instead the phone uses its light sensor to adjust the backlight depending upon lighting conditions. Since we have to do our backlight test in a dark room the Razr2 V9m turned its backlight down fairly low, which resulted in this low score. Normally we would adjust the score to reflect this difficulty, but in this case we feel it's fair as the lack of manual backlight controls is a serious deficit. The screen does get brighter in bright light situations, see below for more information on that. You do have the option to change how long the backlight stays on, however, choosing from 10, 30 or 50 seconds, as well as the option to leave it on all the time.
| Cell Phone | Brightness (lux) | Score |
| Razr2 V9m | 48 | 5.4 |
| Helio Fin | 78 | 5.15 |
| Sanyo Katana DLX | 72 | 4.85 |
| Razr V3m | 46 | 2.30 |
| Nokia N75 | 69 | 6.90 |
| Apple iPhone | 168 | 15.40 |
Screen Bright Light Performance (6.0)
To test the performance of the screen in bright light situations we shine 3000 lux of light on the screen, equivalent to a bright sunny day, and judge how legible the interface is. The Razr2 V9m performed reasonably in this test; we were able to to get around the interface. The biggest problem was that text was difficult to read, but it's a rare phone that allows you to easily read text in bright light situations. Still, we have to say it wasn't as good as the Helio Fin, which performed very well in this test, and we actually think the Razr V3m performed better than the Razr2 V9m here.
Color Depth (6.0)
Color depth is a measure of how many colors a screen can display. The more colors, the better reproduction of colors you will get when viewing photos or video on the screen. The Razr2 V9m's screen can display 65,000 colors, which is about standard for modern phones. However, given the Razr2 V9m is being marketed as a high-end phone we would have expected more. The Helio Fin and Katana DLX, for example, are both able to display more than 260,000 colors, while the Nokia N75 can display an impressive 16 million colors. We think Motorola could have done better here.
| Cell Phone | Colors (thousands) | Score |
| Razr2 V9m | 65 | 6.00 |
| Helio Fin | 262 | 8.00 |
| Sanyo Katana DLX | 260 | 8.00 |
| Razr V3m | 65 | 6.00 |
| Nokia N75 | 16,000 | 10.00 |
| Apple iPhone | Unknown | 6.00 |
Secondary Screen (16.68)
Ports & Storage
Power & Data Ports (5.0)
The Razr2 V9m uses a Micro USB port, a newer, smaller version of the venerable USB port for power and data connectivity. Slimmer than the Mini USB port used on the Razr V3m and many other handsets, this port is a new standard, although one that hasn't been widely implemented yet. Being a new standard, it won't let you plug the Mini USB cables you have lying around, so until it gains wider acceptance we are only awarding half the points we would award for a Mini USB connection. We were happy to see USB charging is supported, however. Headphone & Jack Compatibility (4.0)
Like previous Razrs, the Razr2 V9m uses the same Micro USB port it uses for power and data as a headset port. In this case this is decidedly not standardized, and we would have much preferred to see a 2.5 or 3.5-millimeter headset jack on the device. Thankfully the Razr2 V9m also supports stereo Bluetooth headsets, so you can eschew wires to get your rock on.
Internal Storage (1.0)
There is 128 MB of internal storage on the Razr2 V9m, of which 60 to 80 MB is available for the user. This is plenty of storage for storing contacts, calendar appointments, ringtones, and a few photos, but anyone looking to use the device for multimedia or taking a lot of photos should invest in a Micro SD card. We should note that some versions of the Razr2 do have up to 2 GB of internal storage, and given that the iPhone has set a new standard with between 4 and 8 GB of storage, we wish the V9m included at least 2 GB of internal memory.
Expansion Slot & Format (5.0)
The Razr2 V9m supports Micro SD cards, athough not the newer high-capacity versions, so your potential storage is capped at 2 GB. The slot is located underneath the battery cover, so you're better off buying the biggest card that is supported and forgetting about it. The slot is spring loaded, however, which is an improvement over the Razr V3m's slot, which seemed to scrape the card every time you had to put it in or take it out. | Previous Next | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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