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Motorola Razr2 V9m on Verizon Cell Phone Review

Alfredo Padilla Published on September 12, 2007 Comment on this

Intro Making/Receiving Calls Software Other Features

Tour & Design Messaging Battery Life Value & Comparisons

Audio Quality Organizer Connectivity Conclusion

Imaging Multimedia Hardware Ratings & Specs

Motorola is rolling out versions of its new Razr2 on all four of the major U.S. carriers in an attempt to capture the higher end of the market, which other Razrs have ceded. Verizon's version is called the V9m and, despite some significant hardware upgrades, we found very little new under the hood. The design is still attractive, and audio quality was solid. The 2-megapixel camera produces much better photos than the older Razr V3m, and also does a slightly better job than Sprint's version of the V9m, probably due to software differences.

On the other hand we found Verizon's music software to be less than intuitive and are disappointed by the limited browser and organizer. We feel this handset could have been so much more if greater effort had gone into upgrading the software. We know Motorola has a Java/Linux operating system that can be used on the Razr2 V9m, and we wish Verizon had gone with this upgrade. As it is, it feels like a great handset that's let down by weak software.

The Razr2 V9m is currently available from Verizon for $249.99 with a two-year contract or $349.99 without. Sprint, AT&T, T-Mobile, and Alltell also offer versions of the handset.

Tour & Design - The Razr2 V9m is a little bigger and thicker than older Razr models, but it's still a good looking handset with very good build quality.

Audio Quality - The Razr2 V9m performed well in our audio tests, with solid scores across the board and only minimal issues.

Imaging - The Razr2 V9m's camera is a big step up over previous Razrs, but average for a 2-megapixel shooter.

Making/Receiving Calls - The V9m's keypad is easy to dial on and the call options are fairly standard.

Messaging - The Razr2 V9m lacks a real e-mail client but it's SMS/MMS support is good.

Organizer - The V9m lacks true organizational functions, with the address book, calendar and notes applications just providing the basics.

Multimedia - We found the Verizon music player to be poorly designed, but faster to launch than Sprint's version. Video playback is very basic, and we wish they had found a way to use the external display to watch videos.

Software - The V9m uses the same old Motorola OS with BREW interface; we would have liked to see a more significant upgrade here.

Battery Life - The V9m provides a significant upgrade in battery life over previous Razr iterations.

Connectivity - EVDO provides fast data access and Bluetooth support is solid.

Hardware - The Razr2 V9m's keypad and controls are well designed and we love the upgrades to the main and, especially, external display.

Other Features - We weren't able to use the V9m as a modem and it doesn't support GPS or push to talk functionality.

Value & Comparisons - At its current price point the Razr2 V9m is probably not a good buy. Wait for the price to drop.

[page title="Tour & Design"]

Front Closed
From the front the Razr2 V9m resembles its cousin from Sprint, with a large 2-inch QVGA display and the lens for the camera above it. Unlike the Sprint version, the Verizon version of this handset has subtly different coloring, with a more brassy cast rather than the dark bluish cast of the Sprint handset.

Front Open
When you open the Razr2 V9m you reveal the large 2.2-inch QVGA internal display on the upper part of the flip. Above the display is the Motorola logo and the speaker for the phone. On the lower part of the flip are the control keys and keypad, laid out similarly to the Sprint version with only a couple of small changes to the function of the control keys.

Left
On the left side of the phone are two volume keys near the top with a dedicated speaker phone key just below it. Near the bottom is the Micro USB slot, with a cover that is attached to the phone.

Top
The top of the phone houses the phone hinge.

Bottom
The bottom of the Razr2 V9m houses the loud speaker.

Right
On the right side of the phone is a button that launches voice command near the top, and a lanyard loop sits at the very top.

Back
The back of the phone has both a Motorola and Verizon logo on the battery cover, which dominated the upper two thirds. At the bottom left is the socket for external antennas, which is covered by a rubber plug.

Battery Out
When you remove the battery cover you reveal the 770 mAh battery and the Micro SD slot. You need to remove the battery to access the Micro SD slot.

In the Box (2.0)
Verizon's version of the Razr2 V9m comes with a different, but still depressingly woeful, selection of accessories than the Sprint version. In addition to manuals you get a wall charger and an adaptor for the Micro USB slot so you can use your own 2.5mm headset with the phone. There is no Micro SD card, as found with the Sprint version, and also no headset, USB Cable, or synchronization software. Once again we are not impressed by the set of accessories that come with this expensive handset.

Handling (5.0)
The Razr2 V9m handles well, but it is larger and heavier than previous Razrs. This may make it a little difficult to handle for those with small hands, and means you have more weight to hold up to your head during a call. We do like how the handset feels in the hand though, with soft touch paint on the back and smooth plastic throughout.

Portability (8.0)
Despite the slightly larger size and weight the Razr2 V9m is still eminently portable and should slip easily into any pocket or bag.

Aesthetics (8.0)
The V9m is a very attractive device, although its dark coloring lends itself more to a professional look rather than the wild selection of colors available for the previous Razr (such as hot pink). Still, we're sure different colors will arrive in time, and in the meantime no one will look bad carrying one of these around.

Durability (7.0)
The Razr2 V9m is a well put together device, with sturdy construction and no obvious faults. As always though, we have concerns about any handset with moving parts, and since the V9m is a flip phone it's no exception. This concern is minor though; the hinge feels solid and is well sealed. It certainly feels a lot more durable than phones with more obvious creaks and a plasticky feel, like the Noka N75.

[page title="Audio Quality"]

Of course one of the most important things you do with any cell phone is make calls, and the quality of the audio sent and received by the phone is probably a feature you're going to notice a lot, even if you don't think about it much beforehand. We test audio quality during a call using professional testing equipment. We place the phone on a HATS (Head and Torso Simulator), which simulates the human head and ear. We analyze the sound using SoundCheck, a professional electro-acoustic program used by many cell phone manufacturers. For more details on how we test the audio performance of phones see this article.

Sound Receive Frequency Response (8.28)
The graph above was produced by Soundcheck and illustrates the frequency response of sound received by the Razr2 V9m. This is a measure of how another person's voice sounds to you. The blue line represents the Razr2 V9m's performance while the two red lines delineate the limits against which we test. As you can see the Razr2 V9m did a good job of staying within the limits. The only possible issue might be that the curve drops off a little too quickly at the end, which means voices may sound slightly clipped. As you can see below the Razr2 V9m from Verizon put up a good, if not spectacular, score. It performed slightly better than the V9m on Sprint, but in real world use, you won't hear much difference between the two.

Cell Phone	Razr2 V9m (on Verizon)	Helio Fin (on Helio)	Razr2 V9m (on Sprint)
Score	8.28	9.33	7.48
Received Sound Frequency Response Graph (click to view)

Cell Phone	Razr V3m (on Sprint)	LG Chocolate VX8550 (on Verizon)	Apple iPhone (on AT&T)
Score	8.12	8.27	7.57
Received Sound Frequency Response Graph (click to view)

Sound Send Frequency Response (7.34)
In this test we measure the quality of sound sent by the Razr2 V9m. This is how you sound to people on the other end of a call. The graph above indicates the Razr2 V9m's performance in a blue line, with two red lines outlining the limits against which we test. The Razr2 V9m did not perform as well on this test as it did in the receive test. It dropped slightly below the limits at lower frequencies and peaked above the limits at the upper ranges. This means your voice may sound a little bit thin and reedy. In this case, the Verizon Razr2 V9m's score was very similar to the Sprint version and is middling overall.

Cell Phone	Razr2 V9m (Verizon)	Helio Fin(on Helio)	Razr2 V9m (Sprint)(on Sprint)
Score	7.34	8.25	7.16
Received Sound Frequency Response Graph (click to view)

Cell Phone	Razr V3m(on Sprint)	LG Chocolate VX8550(on Verizon)	Apple iPhone(on AT&T)
Score	7.88	8.06	7.58
Received Sound Frequency Response Graph (click to view)

Handset Side Tone (9.78)
Side tone is the small amount of your own voice that phones pipe back into your ear so you can judge how loud you're talking. As with Sprint's iteration of the Razr2 V9m, the Verizon version performed well in this test, averaging -17.78 decibels. This is right about where we want it because ideally, phones should score -18 decibels. This means you hear yourself talk at about the right level; you shouldn't end up shouting or whispering when using this phone. The Razr2 V9m put up one of the better scores we've seen.

Cell Phone	Sidetone Measurement	Score
Razr2 V9m (Verizon)	17.78	9.78
Helio Fin	21.25	6.75
Razr2 V9m (Sprint)	17.31	9.31
Razr V3m	17.69	9.69
LG Chocolate VX8550	17.85	9.85
Apple iPhone	8.80	0.80

[page title="Imaging"]

Resolution (4.34)
To measure the resolution of photos taken by the Razr2 V9m's 2-megapixel camera we took a series of photos of an industry standard resolution chart and ran them through Imatest image testing software. Imatest produces a score called line widths per pixel height (lw/ph), which indicates how many alternating black and white lines the camera can discern before they begin blurring together. The Razr2 V9m from Verizon scored 988 lw/ph horizontal and 958 lw/ph vertical. This is significantly better than the Razr2 V9m from Sprint. This is likely due to software processing; different carriers tweak the settings of cameras to fit their ideal. Even regular cameras that use the same imaging chip will often produce disparate results, as there is a lot of processing and compression the device puts the raw photo through. In this case the Verizon software seems to produce better resolution scores than Sprint's software did. It actually did better than any of our comparison phones.

Cell Phone	Razr2 V9m (Verizon)	Helio Fin	Razr2 V9m (Sprint)
Score	4.34	2.77	3.22
lw/ph horizontal/vertical	988 / 958	790.1 / 866.5	851.2 / 1031
Image of Resolution Chart (click to view)

Cell Phone	Razr V3m	LG Chocolate VX8550	Apple iPhone
Score	1.13	1.69	4.18
lw/ph horizontal/vertical	521.7 / 242.2	616.8 / 569.5	970 / 879
Image of Resolution Chart (click to view)

Color (5.71)
To test the quality of colors produced by the Razr2 V9m's camera we took photos of the industry standard Gretag Macbeth color chart, which displays 24 different colors. We ran the photos through Imatest software, which compares the captured colors to the original colors. Imatest produced the two charts below. The one on the top shows the chart with the original colors in the small vertical rectangle, the Razr2 V9m's captured colors in the outer square, and the captured colors adjusted for luminance in the inner square.
The chart on the bottom shows you the ideal colors with a small square and the captured colors with a circle. The longer the line between the two, the more inaccurate the captured colors. As you can see, the Razr2 V9m from Verizon did a decent job producing accurate colors. It had the most trouble with reds and blues, with both of these colors oversaturated. You can see once again the impact of software, as the Razr2 V9m from Verizon performed better in this test than its Sprint counterpart.

Cell Phone	Razr2 V9m (Verizon)	Helio Fin	Razr2 V9m (Sprint)
Score	5.71	5.94	4.84
Color Checker Chart (click to view)

Cell Phone	Razr V3m	LG Chocolate VX8550	Apple iPhone
Score	3.26	4.69	5.22
Color Checker Chart (click to view)

Noise (0.84)
To measure how much noise is produced by the Razr2 V9m's camera we took photos of the Gretag Macbeth color chart and used Imatest to see how much noise is produced at each of four different lighting levels. The Razr2 V9m from Verizon produced lower or similar noise levels when compared to the Sprint version of the phone at every lighting level except the lowest. At the lowest level it produced significantly more noise, which led to an overall lower score. Once again this is likely due to differences in software processing; the differences in the images themselves are fairly minor.

Cell Phone	Score
Razr2 V9m (Verizon)	0.84
Helio Fin	1.46
Razr2 V9m (Sprint)	1.00
Razr V3m	1.05
LG Chocolate VX8550	1.27
Apple iPhone	1.20

Live Preview (7.0)
The Razr2 V9m's live preview does a good job with rapid refresh so you don't see much pixellation when you pan. Color reproduction is accurate, as well. We also liked that the live preview uses the entire 2.2-inch screen. The Sprint version of the V9m did a good job as well, but we found the Verizon version did a better job reproducing colors.

Unlocked Standby to First Shot (7.02)
Unlocked standby to first shot is a measure of how long it takes to go from phone closed until you have captured a photo. We repeat this test until we get the fastest reproducible time. The Razr2 V9m on Verizon took 2.85 seconds to complete this process. This is a solid score; only the iPhone and Chocolate VX8550 are faster, and not by much. The Verizon version of the V9m was significantly faster than the Sprint version on this test.

Cell Phone	Time (sec)	Score
Razr2 V9m (Verizon)	2.85	7.02
Helio Fin	6.20	3.23
Razr2 V9m (Sprint)	4.10	4.88
Razr V3m	3.50	5.71
LG Chocolate VX8550	2.36	8.47
Apple iPhone	2.43	8.23

Shot to Shot Time (0.86)
Shot to shot time is a measure of how quickly you can take a series of photos. When possible we try to use Burst mode for this test, however unlike the Sprint version of the Razr2 V9m, the Verizon version lacks a Burst mode. This means we had to do the test manually. It took us 10.5 seconds to take a series of three photos using this method, which works out to 0.29 frames per second (fps). This is a pretty terrible score, but many of our comparison phones also put up poor scores in this test, mostly for the same reason. In addition to the handicap of having to take multiple photos on the Razr2 V9m from Verizon manually, we also couldn't turn off the review feature, which means we had to manually save the photo before we could move on to taking the next. This slowed us down even more. The Razr2 V9m from Sprint, which did have a Burst mode, put up the best score among our comparison phones. Basically, if you are looking to take quick sequences of images, no cell phone does a good job; get a dedicated still camera.

Cell Phone	FPS	Score
Razr2 V9m (Verizon)	0.29	0.86
Helio Fin	0.19	0.57
Razr2 V9m (Sprint)	0.84	2.51
Razr V3m	0.20	0.60
LG Chocolate VX8550	0.38	1.14
Apple iPhone	0.40	1.20

Shutter to Shot Time (5.88)
Shutter to shot time is the amount of time it takes for the phone to actually capture a photo once you have pushed the shutter button. The Razr2 V9m from Verizon took 0.34 seconds to capture a photo. As you can see below this is similar to the score we got with the Razr2 V9m from Sprint, and is a middling score.

Cell Phone	Time (sec)	Score
Razr2 V9m (Verizon)	0.34	5.88
Helio Fin	0.60	3.33
Razr2 V9m (Sprint)	0.38	5.26
Razr V3m	0.43	4.65
LG Chocolate VX8550	0.22	9.09
Apple iPhone	0.40	5.00

Interface (5.0)
The camera interface for the Razr2 V9m from Verizon is very clean. The entire screen is used as a viewfinder, with a few icons overlaid to provide information about zoom, resolution, camera mode, and the labels for the soft keys. One issue we have, however, is that by default the interface comes up in landscape orientation. This seems a little strange, as on a flip phone it means you have to hold the phone horizontally, which is awkward. You can change the orientation to the more usable Portrait mode in the Options menu within the camera or change it permanently in the phone settings, which we recommend you do.
The left soft key in the camera interface takes you to your photo album, while the right one opens an Options menu. The center select key functions as a shutter button. The menu system is a typical phone menu rather than the more camera-like menu systems you see on some phones like the Helio Flip; although this is a minor issue, we do like those types of interfaces better. There is no support for using the keypad as a shortcut to change settings, however unlike the Sprint version the menu items are numbered so you can use the keypad to navigate the menu faster. Overall the interface is clean and easy to use, which we like.

Photo Album Software Internal (5.0)
The Verizon Razr2 V9m's album software is thankfully faster to load and easier to use than the album software we've seen on previous Motorola phones like the Razr V3m. When you enter the album you see a 2 x 3 grid of thumbnails. You navigate using the directional pad, and hitting the center select key opens the currently selected photo. The left soft key erases the currently selected photo while the right soft key opens a menu to access various functions. One thing we liked about the Sprint version of the album software was the ability to select multiple photos to move or delete, which the Verizon version lacks. There is also support for slide shows, with the ability to set the duration of each photo and add sounds and different transition effects. We also liked that photos are separated from videos, whereas on the Sprint version they were all found in the same album. We found the album software is intuitive and fulfills its basic functions without providing too many advanced functions.

Manual Control (0.0)
The Razr2 V9m from Verizon does not provide any manual controls. The Sprint version, by contrast, has a manual white balance mode.

Zoom (1.0)
As with the Sprint version of the Razr2 V9m the Verizon version's camera has a digital zoom that is thankfully available at the highest resolution setting. Digital zoom is of limited utility as all it does is crop and enlarge a portion of the scene, but it's better than nothing.

Focus (0.0)
The Razr2 V9m has a fixed focus lens, which basically means what you see is what you get. Some phones have auto focus lenses that produce better photos, but they take longer to capture a photo as the camera focuses. We don't award points for fixed focus lenses.

Flash (0.0)
The Razr2 V9m does not have a flash. If you need more light, bring a torch.

Metering (2.0)
The Razr2 V9m has brightness controls with four different levels, but lacks true metering controls. Metering allows you to judge from which point or points in the scene light is judged. Most phones lack this feature, but we've started to see the option crop up in a few newer handsets like the Helio Fin.

White Balance (2.0)
The Razr2 V9m provides you with several presets for white balance, including Sunny, Cloudy, Tungsten, and Fluorescent.

Image Handling (5.0)
The Razr2 V9m on Verizon offers a decent selection of editing options for images. You can crop, rotate, or add text and other effects. There is also the option to remove red-eye, which wasn't available on the Sprint version of the phone. Although most of the effects are just for fun, there are some useful options.

Video

Overall Video Score (4.0)
The Razr2 V9m takes video at a resolution of 320 x 240, which is higher than most phones that only take 176 x 144 video. The video produced by the Razr2 V9m from Verizon was decent, but not as good as was produced by the Sprint version of the phone. We noticed more pixellation and color error on the Verizon handset. This is another example of where software plays a role in producing different results, even when you're using the same hardware. One thing the Verizon version of the phone did handle better was the glare from bright lights. It's certainly much better than the extremely poor video produced by it's predecessor, the Razr V3m.

Video Resolution (5.08)
To measure the resolution of video we took video of the same industry standard resolution chart we used for stills resolution. We then ran frames from that video through Imatest to produce the same line widths per pixel height (lw/ph) score, which measured how many alternating white and black lines could be discerned before they started blurring together. The Razr2 V9m from Verizon scored 208 lw/ph horizontal and 244 lw/ph vertical. This was significantly worse than the V9m from Sprint, which put up one of the best video resolution scores we've seen from any phone. We've talked about the impact software can have on imaging throughout this section, but this is probably the most stark indication of how significant the difference can be.

Cell Phone	lw/ph horizontal/vertical	Score
Razr2 V9m (Verizon)	208 / 244	5.08
Helio Fin	214.1 / 217.7	4.66
Razr2 V9m (Sprint)	342.5 / 351.4	12.04
Razr V3m	174.3 / 170.9	3.46
LG Chocolate VX8550	218.3 / 200.8	4.38
Apple iPhone	n/a - no video recording	0.00

Video Compression (2.0)
The Razr2 V9m captures video in 3GP format without any options for alternative formats. Video can be captured at two resolution levels, 176 x 144 or 320 x 240.

Interface (5.0)
The video interface on the Razr2 V9m from Verizon is different from the camera interface in that you don't get the whole screen as a viewfinder. Instead, a strip across the center of the screen uses only about half the available real estate. Below the viewfinder are indicators for the length of time you've been recording, zoom level, resolution, and camera mode. The left soft key takes you to the video album while the right one opens an Options menu. It's fairly standard for BREW interface phones, so anyone who's used a Verizon phone in the past should feel right at home.

Manual Control (0.0)
The Razr2 V9m does not provide any manual controls for video capture.

Zoom (1.0)
As with the stills camera there is a digital zoom available, although at the low resolutions video is captured in, using the zoom will quickly reduce the quality of your recordings.

Editing (1.0)
Video editing options on cell phones are rare, but the Razr2 V9m from Verizon did have one interesting option we thought was worthy of points. This is the ability to extract the currently viewed frame from a video. This is a nice feature when you've taken a funny video and perhaps want to send a still image to someone as a tease for the video. It's a feature we don't see very often, and it could be useful.

Modes (3.0)
By default the Razr2 V9m from Verizon is set up to capture MMS video, which means it's 176 x 144 resolution and limited to 30 seconds in length. You have separate settings for limiting the length of the video and setting the resolution. You also have brightness controls, but no advanced metering or Scene modes.

[page title="Making/Receiving Calls"]

Dialing Speed (5.75)
To test how easy it is to make a call on the Razr2 V9m we time how long it takes to go from phone closed until we have dialed each of five different phone numbers. As you would expect, Verizon's version of the Razr2 V9m took just about the same time in this test as Sprint's version, 3.48 seconds on average. Overall this is a solid time, better than the old Razr V3m, but not as good as the new LG Chocolate.

Cell Phone	Time (sec)	Score
Razr2 V9m (Verizon)	3.48	5.75
Helio Fin	3.64	5.49
Razr2 V9m (Sprint)	3.58	5.59
Razr V3m	4.90	4.08
LG Chocolate VX8550	2.96	6.76
Apple iPhone	3.96	5.05

Talk and End Buttons (6.5)
The talk and end buttons on the Razr2 V9m are located above the keypad and flanking the d-pad. The buttons are easy to find by feel and roomy enough so you don't get any mistaken presses. Our problem with them is the same we've had about all Razrs with the one piece metal keypad/controls, namely that key travel is almost non-existent and tactile feedback isn't very good. Still, these issues don't detract too much, and the keys otherwise do a very good job.

Call Management (6.5)
The call history on the Razr2 V9m can be accessed in a couple of ways. From the home screen you can simply hit the send key to see a list of all calls, incoming or outgoing. Or you can enter the menus and see a more complete call history, which can be filtered by missed, received, dialed, or all calls. Unlike the Razr2 V9m from Sprint, where you can easily move between these filters by moving left/right on the d-pad, the Verizon version requires you back out to the Call History menu to view a different filter. Items you don't get on the Sprint version include total call and data counters, which we like to see.

During a call the left soft key is assigned to the mute function and the right soft key opens a menu. This menu gives you access to various programs like notes, messaging, and recent calls, and also allows you to control Bluetooth and record the call. Like the Sprint version of Razr2 V9m there is a dedicated key for speaker phone, although on the Verizon Razr2 it is located on the left side of the phone beneath the volume keys rather than to the left of the d-pad. We like the ability to record a call and think a dedicated speaker phone key is a little bit of a waste. Other than these items it's pretty standard fare.

Startup to Call (4.38)
To find out how quickly you can turn your phone on and make a call we test the same five numbers we use for our calling test above. Verizon's Razr2 V9m took an average of 22.82 seconds to start up and make a call. This is significantly better than Sprint's version, which took more than five seconds longer on average. Because the hardware is exactly the same we can only speculate that the difference is due to the different software interface used on the two devices. The Razr2 V9m performed very well compared to other phones, as well.

Cell Phone	Time (sec)	Score
Razr2 V9m (Verizon)	22.82	4.38
Helio Fin	28.18	3.55
Razr2 V9m (Sprint)	37.90	2.64
Razr V3m	35.70	2.80
LG Chocolate VX8550	22.37	4.47
Apple iPhone	26.12	3.83

Ring Volume (8.57)
To test ring volume we set handset volume to maximum and run through all the ringtones on the device until we identify the loudest. We measure volume using a sound pressure meter from a couple of inches away. The Razr2 V9m's loudest ringtone measured 85.7 decibels, which is pretty standard.

Cell Phone	Volume (decibels)	Score
Razr2 V9m (Verizon)	85.70	8.57
Helio Fin	85.60	8.56
Razr2 V9m (Sprint)	84.70	8.47
Razr V3m	88.00	8.80
LG Chocolate VX8550	85.40	8.54
Apple iPhone	84.90	8.49

Ringtone Customizability (0.0)
Like the Sprint version of the Razr2 V9m, Verizon's version does not allow you to use your music files as ringtones. Unlike the Sprint version you also can't use recordings from the voice recorder as ringtones.

Non Audio Alerts (6.0)
The Razr2 V9m's vibrate alert is not very impressive. You could easily miss a call if the phone is in a pants pocket, and you're very unlikely to notice it if it's in your bag or jacket. The external screen does a very good job of making it clear when a call comes in, lighting up with information about the incoming call. This is only helpful, however, if you happen to be looking at the phone when the call comes in.

[page title="Messaging"]

Supported E-mail Services (0.0)
Like the Sprint version of the Razr2 V9m, Verizon has chosen to eschew a built-in e-mail client and instead use Web-based e-mail access. Although this is a reasonable solution for those who just want to look at their inbox occasionally, it just won't work for those who need a serious e-mail client. We don't award points for Web-based e-mail clients, so the Razr2 V9m will receive a zero in many of these sections.

Push E-mail (0.0)
See above.

Multiple E-mail Accounts (0.0)
See above.

HTML and Attachments (0.0)
See above.

E-mail Customizations (0.0)
See above.

Time to a New Message (0.0)
See above.

E-mail Usability (0.0)
See above.

Supported IM Services (0.0)
Verizon included its standard IM client on the Razr2 V9m, which provides access to AIM, MSN and Yahoo! instant messaging services. Like all other Verizon handsets, use of this IM service will cost you a text message for each instant message sent or received. As always we feel anyone with an unlimited data account should not be charged in this way, and as such we do not award points for it.

MMS Support (7.0)
The Razr2 V9m's MMS support is about what you would expect to see from any phone. You can easily send an MMS from the camera application and album, or you can create one from scratch from the Messaging menu. Like most phones, creating an MMS is separate from regular text messages, which is too bad. We prefer unified messaging solutions that allow you to easily turn a text message into a multimedia message. Still, this is a minor issue and we are otherwise happy with the Razr2 V9m's MMS support.

SMS Smiley Face Interpretation (0.0)
Like the Sprint version, Verizon's iteration of the Razr2 V9m does not turn smiley faces into graphical representations, instead leaving them in standard text format. It also lacks any way to easily insert smiley faces, although you can insert some fun animated faces.

SMS/MMS Ease of Use (6.0)
We found the SMS/MMS interface on the Razr2 V9m from Verizon to be good. Unlike the Sprint version, which separates MMS and SMS into two different folder structures, the Verizon version has a unified inbox, which we like to see. When you go to create a new message you are asked what type of message you want to send. We were impressed to see support for signatures in both MMS and SMS messages. When you go to your inbox you are shown a list of messages, with the newest on top. You can resort this list by read/unread status, priority, and size. The left soft key is assigned to erase the selected message, while the right soft key opens a menu with additional options. We found the interface simple and easy to use. We especially appreciate the unified inbox, which obviates the need to back out of one inbox to see the messages in another.

Time to a New SMS Message (3.76)
To find out how easy it is to create a new text message on the Razr2 V9m we timed how long it takes to go from phone closed until we had a new message dialogue on screen. We repeated this test five times and took the average for our score. The Razr2 V9m took an average of 2.66 seconds to complete this process. This is a solid time, as fast as the iPhone or LG Chocolate, and significantly faster than the Razr2 V9m from Sprint. This is because the left soft key on the home screen is assigned to messaging, while on the Sprint version we had to go into the Application menu to get to the appropriate menu.

Cell Phone	Time (sec)	Score
Razr2 V9m (Verizon)	2.66	3.76
Helio Fin	3.40	2.94
Razr2 V9m (Sprint)	3.52	2.84
Razr V3m	4.58	2.18
LG Chocolate VX8550	2.61	3.83
Apple iPhone	2.62	3.82

[page title="Organizer"]

Synchronization Ease of Use (0.0)
The Razr2 V9m from Verizon lacks support for synchronization with your PC, just like its cousin from Sprint. You can purchase software from Motorola that supports synchronization, however at this time we don't see any option for the Micro USB cable necessary for the Razr2 V9m's new port. Because we don't award points for extras that are not included, the Razr2 V9m will receive zero points here.

Alerts (4.0)
You can only set alerts for calendar appointments on the Razr2 V9m. Alerts can be set for one of several preset times before the appointment goes off. We were pleased to see you could choose the sound that goes off for each alert, as well as turn vibration alert on or off for each. By contrast, many phones require you to set universal tones. When an alert sounds the external screen shows a picture of the calendar, but without any information regarding the alert. We also noticed the chosen tone only goes off once, instead of repeating like most phones. You have to open the handset to manage the alert, rather than using the external touch controls. This is an example of how the Razr2 V9m's hardware is more advanced than its software.

With each alert you can choose to view the calendar appointment or "view later," which is basically a snooze. If you choose this option the alert goes off again in five minutes. We found the alert system fairly straightforward, with a good selection of options for creating alerts. We just wish there was better integration with the external screen and more control over how many times the tone sounds and how long snooze lasts.

Over the Air PIM Sync (0.0)
The Razr2 V9m does not support synchronization of your PIM information over the air.

Address Book

Adding Contacts (5.19)
To test how easy it is to add a contact to the Razr2 V9m from Verizon we timed how long it took to add each of five different contact names and numbers. We took the average time for our score. The Razr2 V9m from Verizon took an average of 19.26 seconds to add a contact, just slightly faster than the Razr2 V9m from Sprint. This is a solid time; not as fast as some phones with QWERTY keyboards, but good for a regular phone with a standard keypad.

Cell Phone	Time (sec)	Score
Razr2 V9m (Verizon)	19.26	5.19
Helio Fin	22.02	4.54
Razr2 V9m (Sprint)	20.74	4.82
Razr V3m	27.90	3.58
LG Chocolate VX8550	20.50	4.88
Apple iPhone	20.86	4.79

Looking/Sorting/Search (2.5)
Contacts on the Razr2 V9m are organized in a simple alphabetical list by first name. You can change this to be organized by last name, which is a nice option, however you cannot filter by group. You search using multi-tap, with some strange behavior depending on your sort options. If you are sorting by first name you can only search for the first name, but if you are sorting by last name you can search for either. We would have preferred the search capabilities be consistent no matter what your sort options.

Fields (2.4)
The Razr2 V9m on Verizon offers 12 fields for new contacts, including items like a contact photo and unique ringtone. There is no support for items like an address or a note. This is less comprehensive than the Razr2 V9m from Sprint, which has a total of 16 fields and includes items like birthday and company, which this version lacks.

Speed Dial/Voice tags/Voice command (3.67)
Like the Razr2 V9m from Sprint, the Verizon version allows you to assign speed dials but does not support voice tags. There is a voice command program, which as far as we can see is exactly the same as the one found on the Sprint version. Like the Sprint's, this voice command software did not impress us. It was able to identify only one of our test contacts without trouble, and another two with several repetitions. We only awarded half points for those contacts that gave us trouble but were eventually successful.

Calendar

Adding Calendar Items (6.91)
To test how easy it is to add a new appointment to the Razr2 V9m on Verizon we timed how long it took to go from phone closed until we had added a simple lunch appointment with a reminder 15 minutes beforehand. We repeated this test five times and took the average for our score. The Razr2 V9m on Verizon took an average of 14.48 seconds to add a new calendar appointment. This is significantly faster than we saw on the Sprint version, for a couple of reasons. First, the Verizon version of the Razr2 V9m has a shortcut to the calendar application right on the home screen, which makes accessing the program much faster. Second, on the Sprint version of the phone we had to activate the 15-minute reminder manually, while on the Verizon version it is added automatically. As the table below makes clear, the Razr2 V9m from Verizon performed very well in this test. It was beat out by the LG Chocolate's outstanding time and scored just about the same as the Helio Fin's time. It cored much better than the iPhone or the old Razr V3m.

Cell Phone	Time (sec)	Score
Razr2 V9m (Verizon)	14.48	6.91
Helio Fin	14.10	7.09
Razr2 V9m (Sprint)	27.18	3.68
Razr V3m	22.60	4.42
LG Chocolate VX8550	6.48	15.43
Apple iPhone	18.92	5.29

Calendar Views (3.0)
The Razr2 V9m has three different calendar views: monthly, weekly, and daily. The monthly view shows the current month with the current day in dark purple and other days that have appointments in magenta. There is a small counter at the bottom of the screen that shows you how many appointments occur on that day. We would have preferred to see details about the appointments instead. The weekly view is the standard grid with days along the top and hour blocks along the left. Appointments are indicated by highlighting the time during which it is scheduled. The weekly view doesn't even have an appointment count like the monthly view, much less any information about details. We found both the monthly and weekly view to be of little utility; most users will probably spend the majority of their time in the daily view.

Monthly	Weekly	Daily

The daily view is a simple chronological list of your appointments for that day with start time and title. We would have liked to see information about when appointments end, and unlike the Sprint version of the Razr2 V9m no indicators are shown for appointments that have reminders or recurrence. Although the daily view is an improvement over the monthly and weekly view, we aren't particularly impressed with any aspect of the calendar views on the Razr2 V9m from Verizon.

Fields (7.0)
When you create a new calendar appointment on the Razr2 V9m from Verizon you have a fairly basic set of fields to choose from. In addition to basics like title and start and end times, you can also set an alert for each item, including what ringtone will sound and whether the phone will vibrate. Recurrence is also present, with a selection of presets like daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly. One nice item we noticed was that monthly can be set to go off on the same date each month or on the same day (i.e. third Thursday of each month). You can also set a time zone for appointments, which is an interesting option that could be helpful for world travelers.

We'd like to note one item we found annoying. When editing fields for a calendar appointment on the Razr2 V9m from Verizon the center select key is assigned to save, while the left soft key is assigned to edit. This is backward from what we would expect, and we found ourselves saving an appointment when we actually wanted to edit a field fairly often.

ToDo/Tasks

Adding ToDo/Task (0.0)
The Razr2 V9m from Verizon does not allow you to create tasks, as such it will receive zeros in this section.

ToDo/Task Sorting and Prioritizing (0.0)
No tasks program.

Fields (0.0)
No tasks program.

Notes

Adding Notes (3.58)
To find out how easy it is to add a note to the Razr2 V9m on Verizon we timed how long it took to go from phone closed until we had added a new note reminding us to get some groceries. We repeated this test five times and took the average for our score. The Razr2 V9m on Verizon took an average of 13.96 seconds to complete this process. As you can see below, this is slightly faster than the Razr2 V9m on Sprint and stands up favorably to most of our other comparison devices. We found we were a little slowed down on the Razr2 V9m from Verizon by the fact that we had to manually switch input to T9 every time we entered the notes program. We could have done even better in this test if our setting had been saved between sessions, as is done on some phones.

Cell Phone	Time (sec)	Score
Razr2 V9m (Verizon)	13.96	3.58
Helio Fin	15.30	3.27
Razr2 V9m (Sprint)	15.22	3.29
Razr V3m	n/a - no text notes	0.00
LG Chocolate VX8550	13.73	3.64
Apple iPhone	12.66	3.95

Note Interface (1.0)
The notes interface on the Razr2 V9m from Verizon is very simple, with a simple list of notes that puts the newest one at the bottom. The left soft key allows you to add a new note, while the right soft key brings up a small menu that allows you to edit or erase notes. There is no support for search, sorting, or categorizing. When creating a new note the left soft key brings up the Text Entry menu, while the right soft key cancels out to the main interface.

Note Formatting (0.0)
There are no formatting options when you are writing a note on the Razr2 V9m from Verizon.

Voice Memo (4.0)
Voice memos on the Razr2 V9m from Verizon are a little hard to find. First you will need to launch the "Music & Tones" menu, then go to "My Sounds." If this is intuitive to you we'd like to get some stock picks from you, but we spent several minutes trying to figure it out before we gave up and succumbed to the instruction manual (yes, we are ashamed). Once in the "My Sounds" application you are shown a list, with the first item a shortcut to record a new voice note. Below this are previous recorded voice notes in chronological order, with the newest at the top. Recording a new sound is simple; just hit the center select key to start and hit it again when you are done. There doesn't seem to be any limitation on the length of clips aside from available memory on the device. Once you have created a recording you can delete it or rename it. We found the voice recorder application to be easy to use and intuitive, once you're able to find it.

[page title="Multimedia"]

Accessing Music Software (4.03)
To see how easy it is to get music playing on the Razr2 V9m from Verizon we time how long it takes to go from phone closed until we have a song playing on the device. We repeat this test five times and take the average time for our score. The Razr2 V9m from Verizon took 4.96 seconds to get a song playing using the exterior touch controls. This is significantly faster than the Razr2 V9m from Sprint, which, as you can see below, took more than twice as long. This is despite the fact that we had to hit an extra key to activate the touch controls on the Verizon version of the Razr2 V9m. The biggest difference though has to be that Verizon's music playback software launched quickly, while Sprint's software took several seconds. Even with the improvement over the Sprint version, however, the Razr2 V9m from Verizon still lags behind the Helio Fin, LG Chocolate, and iPhone.

Cell Phone	Time (sec)	Score
Razr2 V9m (Verizon)	4.96	4.03
Helio Fin	3.98	5.03
Razr2 V9m (Sprint)	11.78	1.70
Razr V3m	12.10	1.65
LG Chocolate VX8550	2.04	9.80
Apple iPhone	3.10	6.45

Dedicated Music Controls (8.0)
While the phone is closed and playing back music, the three touch sensitive keys at the bottom of the external screen are assigned to play/pause, next, and previous. If you press and hold on the next/previous keys the current track will fast forward or rewind. The volume keys control music playback volume. We really like the Razr2 V9m's external touch-sensitive controls, and this is an example of how they are used to the best effect.

Music Software Functionality and Organization (3.0)
The music software used by Verizon handsets, including its version of the Razr2 V9m, provides more functionality and faster launch times than that used by Sprint. However, these improvements are tempered by a poorly designed user interface. There's a lot (bad) to say here, so let's get started. First, the interface makes extremely poor use of the screen real estate. At the introductory screen you are presented with eight different options, such as sorting your music by various attributes (title, album, genre), start playing all music in Shuffle mode, and inbox (which is just an advertising tool). The big problem, though, is that this entire list takes up about a quarter of the screen.
An area just as large is taken up by a picture that changes depending upon which of the eight functions are currently selected. This adds nothing to the user experience. Above this picture is a gray bar, which is totally different from the red theme used throughout the music interface and gives you access to three controls: home, search, and help. Why aren't these options assigned to soft keys you might ask? Well, Verizon has helpfully chosen to assign the soft keys to their own music store and the sync function, which is silly because the phone doesn't even come with a sync cable. Not to mention they don't call the music store soft key a music store, instead they use the more obscure "Catalog," which sounds like it will take you to your own music catalog instead of the online store.

Ah, but the fun doesn't stop there. Once you choose an item to sort by, for example albums, the screen real estate is again dominated by a large picture that does nothing for functionality. If we wanted to see hip young things listening to music, we'd go hang out in Starbucks. On a cell phone, we want to use the screen to more efficiently organize and play music. The actual list you wanted only displays three items at a time. We do admit that we appreciate the search box at the bottom of the screen, but it's less than helpful given that in this case it is eating into the valuable real estate needed to actually see your list of songs. Thankfully the right soft key does turn into an Options menu here, but the left soft key is still assigned to its "Catalog" in the vain hope you might want to buy some overpriced music from its store.

Once a song is actually playing things do get a little better, with album art displayed across most of the screen and the song title at the top. The left soft key is assigned to mute, and as you would expect the d-pad controls music playback functions. Up/down moves you through your current playlists, which only appears when you need it (at last a good interface choice!). The left/right moves you to the next or previous song. The volume keys control volume, of course.

Playlists can be created on the handset, however it did not recognize any of our standard playlist files, and there is no way to create playlists on a PC or Mac. So, your lovingly crafted mix tape will have to be rebuilt for use on this phone. Although album art for purchased music is displayed, the album art we provided for our own music was not displayed. The handset was able to recognize tags for our MP3 and AAC files, and we were able to sort music by genre, album, artist, and title. You can also search for music globally or within the current view, as we mentioned above. But you cannot play music in the background and there is no equalizer. We have to characterize the experience of using the software as akin to driving while one-third of your windshield is covered up by an awful poster, all your controls are inconveniently placed, and someone in the passenger seat is trying to sell you a bridge in Brooklyn. We deducted a point off of the final score for overall lameness.

Online Song Downloading (5.0)
The Razr2 V9m support Verizon's Vcast music store, which sells music for about $1.99 a song. This is more than double the price of music you can purchase from retailers like iTunes, Rhapsody, or Napster. Verizon might argue you are paying for the convenience of direct downloads to your device, but the music delivered is lower quality than the copy you download to your PC. In addition, Sprint has recently lowered its prices to a more industry standard 99 cents per song. We hope Verizon follows suit soon.

The music store itself suffers from some of the same problems we saw in the music software. Too much room is taken up by graphics and not enough is given to the actual content. The search function is separated from the main interface by a large graphic, and we had to scroll through long lists that didn't use the screen real estate very well. Considering you're paying more for the songs we would have at least expected a significantly better buying experience than the Sprint store, but such is not the case.

Streaming (0.0)
The Razr2 V9m from Verizon does not support streaming MP3, Windows Media, or Real audio.

Podcast Support (0.0)
The V9m does not include any software to download or organize your podcasts.

Music Sync with PC (0.0)
Although the Razr2 V9m from Verizon has a dedicated sync button in the music program, the handset doesn't ship with the necessary USB cable to enable this functionality. Because we only score handsets on what comes out of the box we do not award any points for this. If you do pick up a USB cable for the phone you can synchronize with Windows PCs using Windows Media Player.

Music Formats and DRM (2.5)
Like the Sprint version of the V9m, the Verizon version supports MP3 and AAC files. It does not support WMA or Real audio, nor does it support any form of DRM except Verizon's proprietary format. This means you can't play music you purchased from stores like iTunes, Rhapsody, or Yahoo Music on the handset.

Music Interruption (10.0)
The Razr2 V9m from Verizon handles a call while playing back music fairly well. Music is paused when the phone starts ringing and starts up again at the same point it stopped when you finish the call and cancel out of the call summary screen.

Video

Video Software Access (3.82)
To test how easily we can get a video playing on the Razr2 V9m we timed how long it takes to go from phone closed until we got a video playing. We repeated this test five times and took the average for our score. The Razr2 V9m from Verizon took an average of 5.24 seconds to get a video playing. This is significantly faster than the V9m from Sprint, which took more than twice as long due to slow loading times in the video playback software. By contrast, Verizon's version of the Razr2 V9m was very responsive, with most of the time spent navigating menus to get to the actual video file. Despite the speedier time, however, the Razr2 V9m from Verizon was still slower than the Helio Fin, LG Chocolate, and iPhone in this test.

Cell Phone	Time (sec)	Score
Razr2 V9m (Verizon)	5.24	3.82
Helio Fin	4.20	4.76
Razr2 V9m (Sprint)	11.8	1.69
Razr V3m	6.30	3.17
LG Chocolate VX8550	2.71	7.38
Apple iPhone	3.20	6.25

Video Controls (8.0)
The d-pad is used for most video controls. Up toggles Full Screen mode while down is assigned to stop. The center select button acts as play/pause and the left/right keys move to the next or previous videos when pressed once or fast forward/rewind when held down. The left soft key is assigned to mute and the volume keys do their usual thing. We were quite pleased with the range of controls; they were significantly better than the controls on the Sprint version of the phone.

Video Software & Organization (3.0)
As with most regular phones, video playback on the Razr2 V9m from Verizon is handled by the album software, although we were pleased to see the album is divided into photos and videos. The Sprint version combined both formats into one view. Still, because it is just basic album software for viewing the videos you record on the phone there aren't very many extras. Full Screen Landscape mode is supported, but things like automatic scanning for video files and rating of videos is not supported. Videos are presented in a simple 2 x 3 thumbnail grid, and there is no support for advanced features like playlists and search, nor can you play video in the background. Most disappointing from our perspective is that you can't play videos on the excellent external screen. This is an example of how the older software the V9m runs can't take advantage of all the capabilities of the new hardware; a problem that exists in many aspects of this phone.

Video Sync with PC (0.0)
As with music synchronization, video sync this is not possible without a USB cable, which is not included with the device. Given that videos are stored in the ph