T-Mobile Razr2 V8 Cell Phone Review - Intro
|
Mark Brezinski Published on December 10, 2007 Comment on this |
|
|
|
|
The Razr2 V8 represents the last Razr2 offering is the fourth and final carrier-branded Razr2 phone we've yet to . It turns out we've saved the best for last, as the T-Mobile Razr2 V8 is easily the best of the four Razr2 offerings. Despite some negatives, the V8 is superior to other iterations of the Razr2 in terms of software. The organizational software boarders on smart-phone quality. It lacks an email client, however, so it isn't a viable business device. Perhaps the most important leg-up the V8 has is its price. It provides more (in general) than any other Razr2, but does so at $150 with a two-year contract. Verizon and Sprint offer their Razr2s for $250 with contract, while AT&T's is $300. Even with a much more reasonable price, we have trouble justifying the cost of the Razr2 to anyone not in the market for a fashion phone.The biggest new feature in the Razr2 lineup is its external touch screen. From a hardware perspective it's very impressive. What we've seen with the other Razr2 devices, however, is that it's severely underutilized. Not only is this true for the V8, but it also does the worst job of showcasing the screen's capabilities. The only program the external screen can handle is the media player. The other Razr2 screens could handle various applications, and their touch buttons changed dynamically. The V8 is also lacking in battery life, which the other Razr2 phones didn't have much of a problem with. Despite these flaws the Razr2 V8's software and interface make it easier to use than the other iterations of the Razr2 we've seen. That being said there are other phones on the market that have a good interface as well and cost significantly less than the Rarz2 V8.
Tour & Design - The Razr2 V8 is a well-built handset that certainly looks nice.
Audio Quality - Audio quality was good overall -- excellent in the case of received frequencies.
Imaging - The camera is good, the camcorder is sub-par, and it's a huge pain to get your captures off the phone.
Making/Receiving Calls - The V8 is very capable when it comes to calling, and its keypad is large enough to provide a roomy dialing environment to just about anyone.
Messaging - Messaging is a bit weak on the V8 as it lacks an email client.
Organizer - The organizational software is excellent, and provides most of the functionality of a smart phone with a great layout.
Multimedia - The Razr2 has good multimedia software, though we still don't understand why it's the only Razr2 that can't open up the media player (or any application for that matter) via the external screen.
Software - The software on the V8 is a bit above average, but there are some very odd downsides sprinkled here and there.
Battery Life - Battery life is horrible on the V8. If you plan on browsing the web at all, have a charger handy.
Connectivity - Without wi-fi or 3G and only Bluetooth 1.2, the Razr2 V8 isn't the most well-connected phone.
Hardware - The hardware on the V8 is very impressive, but the software doesn't take nearly enough advantage of the external screen.
Other Features - The Razr2 V8 can be used as a dial up modem for your computer.
Value & Comparisons - Though a better deal than its cohorts, this Razr2 has enough downsides to keep it from being a steal.
| Next | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
