T-Mobile Razr2 V8 Cell Phone Review - Hardware
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Mark Brezinski Published on December 10, 2007 Comment on this |
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Keypad
Text Words Per Minute (9.2)
The Razr2 V8 got through our test passage in 20.87 seconds, which is about 46 words per minute. This is a great time, especially for a keypad. We found the buttons were big enough to eliminate mistaken clicks, but they were spaced a bit too far apart for our liking. This means a bit of fumbling. If they were a bit smaller, we probably could have squeezed out a few extra words per minute, but 46 wpm is still an excellent score, as good as many QWERTY equipped devices.
| Cell Phone | Words Per Minute | Score |
| T-Mobile Razr2 V8 | 46 | 9.20 |
| Helio Fin | 31.7 | 6.34 |
| Samsung Juke | 36.7 | 7.34 |
| Sony Ericcson W580i | 30.7 | 6.14 |
| LG Chocolate VX8550 | 38.49 |
7.70 |
| LG Venus | 46.31 | 9.26 |
T9 and Auto-complete (10.0)
The V8 features T9 and auto-complete. It's also one of those fancy learning T9s that will pick up on words or entire phrases. Make sure you don't misspell things, or else it will tend to recommend the misspelling.
One Hand Usability (8.11)
With only one hand, we got through our test paragraph in 23.68 seconds, which you'll notice is only a few seconds slower than our two-handed typing score. This is 40.54 words per minute. Again, this is a great score.
The reason the one- and two-handed scores is due to the keypad. The other text entry medium, the QWERTY keyboard, often scores far better on the two-handed test, but typically scores worse than keypads on this test.
| Cell Phone | Words Per Minute | Score |
| T-Mobile Razr2 V8 | 40.54 | 8.11 |
| Helio Fin | 32.7 | 6.54 |
| Samsung Juke | 31.25 | 6.25 |
| Sony Ericcson W580i | 34.5 | 6.90 |
| LG Chocolate VX8550 | 29.8 | 5.96 |
| LG Venus | 42.55 | 8.51 |
Keypad Backlighting (4.0)
The keypad backlight is tied into the screen's backlight. There are a few settings that can delay its dim by up to a minute, but it won't stay on indefinitely. Also, its brightness can't be changed. The keypad is evenly lit and bright enough to make all its symbols clear.
Controls
D-Pad/Joystick (7.0)
The V8's d-pad is textured with concentric rings which keep your thumb from wandering onto other keys. Also, there are four textured arrows, so you'll know when you're finger is dead on a direction. Since the d-pad is located right above the keypad, there aren't any awkward thumb or grip transitions needed to transfer between the two. It also provides good tactile response, even though it doesn't offer much play. Overall, it's a great d-pad.
Touch Screen (0.0)
While the Razr2 V8 has external touch controls, it doesn't provide the same functionality as an actual touch screen. We've therefore awarded points for the touch controls in the other buttons section below.
Jog Dial (1.0)
Though it doesn't have a traditional jog dial, the volume rocker can be used to navigate lists.
Soft Buttons (7.0)
The Razr2 V8's soft buttons are located on either side of the d-pad, above the browser and back button. They're big and easy to use. They are textured with raised dashes, which actually helps with touch navigation. Their location in the corners help with navigation as well: you'll know you hit them as soon as you run out of keypad.
Volume Control (5.0)
The V8's volume controls are on the lower half of the left side of the phone. Compared to the old Razr, whose volume keys were on the top half, this is an improvement. When the Razr was open, hitting the volume keys was awkward. The keys are raised and textured, though there wasn't anything on them to differentiate themselves from the smart key. They do have good tactile feedback though.
Power and Standby (6.5)
The secondary function of the end key will switch the phone on or off. The button is big, but its textured face isn't particularly distinctive. Turning the phone off needs a long press, but you only need tap it to turn the phone back on.
Other Buttons (7.0)
There are a few additional buttons on the Razr2 V8 we didn't discuss above. There are two buttons in the d-pad array we didn't discuss. The first is the back button, which is a useful little key. It performs its eponymous function and also seconds as a delete key. The left button is a browser shortcut.
There's a shortcut key on the right side that doesn't do anything when pressed. If you press and hold, however, it'll open up the voice command software. We really don't like this trend of "secondary function only" keys, because it creates needless waits.
Underneath the volume rocker is the "Smart Key", which should have just been called what it is: a media player shortcut. The other Razr2 phones use it as a select key when navigating programs on the external screen, but the V8 doesn't have this functionality; when the phone is closed all it will do is lock the keys, and necessitates a long press.
The three touch buttons on the outside of the phone are incredibly limited compared to the other Razr2 phones. In fact, the entire external screen can only perform media player functions, and only if the program was already running when the phone was open. On other Razr2 phones, the external touch buttons would change dynamically depending on what application was running.
Display
Primary Screen Gross Resolution (8.0)
The main screen has QVGA resolution, which is 320 x 240 pixels. This is a very standard display, as indicated in the chart below. As such, images on the V8 should look just as sharp and vibrant as other phones in its class.
| Cell Phone | Resolution | Score |
| T-Mobile Razr2 V8 | 320 x 240 |
8.0 |
| Helio Fin | 320 x 240 | 8.0 |
| Samsung Juke | 220 x 128 | 3.0 |
| Sony Ericcson W580i | 320 x 240 | 8.0 |
| LG Chocolate VX8550 | 320 x 240 | 8.0 |
| LG Venus | 320 x 240 | 8.0 |
Primary Screen Pixels per Inch (9.09)
The Razr2 V8 contains 181.8 pixels in every inch of screen. This is a good PPI count, though the Venus narrowly beat it out by having the same resolution but a smaller screen.
Pixel density roughly translates into picture quality. The more pixels a display packs into every inch, the sharper the images, and the truer the color representation.
| Cell Phone | Pixels Per Inch | Score |
| T-Mobile Razr2 V8 | 181.8 | 9.09 |
| Helio Fin | 173.9 |
8.70 |
| Samsung Juke | 115.73 | 5.79 |
| Sony Ericcson W580i | 200 | 10.00 |
| LG Chocolate VX8550 | 200 | 10.00 |
| LG Venus | 200 | 10.00 |
Screen Physical Size (5.50)
The main display has a diagonal of 2.2 inches. Most phones have screens that are within a few tenths of an inch of this size. Some notable exceptions are touch screen devices like the iPhone or HTC Touch, which is understandable given the screen is also the main medium of phone interface. In this case, however, we actually would've liked a bigger screen, or at least less of a phone around it. As it is, the screen is framed by a big width of case, which makes it look a bit smaller than it actually is.
| Cell Phone | Size Diagonal (inches) | Score |
| T-Mobile Razr2 V8 | 2.2 | 5.50 |
| Helio Fin | 2.3 | 5.75 |
| Samsung Juke | 1.45 | 3.63 |
| Sony Ericcson W580i | 2 | 5.00 |
| LG Chocolate VX8550 | 2 |
5.00 |
| LG Venus | 2 | 5.00 |
Screen Brightness (5.4)
Our light meter registered the Razr2 V8's main screen at an impressive 156 lux. This is ridiculously bright. The V8 will easily fulfill the duties of a surrogate flashlight. There are seven presets for brightness on the phone, and a few timer settings. Unfortunately, the longest you can set the backlight to stay on for is a minute. We typically like being able to set our backlights to stay on indefinitely, especially if we are using the phone as a flashlight.
| Cell Phone | Brightness (lux) | Score |
| T-Mobile Razr2 V8 | 153 | 9.40 |
| Helio Fin | 78 | 5.15 |
| Samsung Juke | 43 | 3.65 |
| Sony Ericcson W580i | 85 | 6.75 |
| LG Chocolate VX8550 | 55 | 3.15 |
| LG Venus | 63 | 2.65 |
Screen Bright Light Performance (6.0)
This test approximates how well a user could read the screen on a sunny day. The Razr2 V8 performed well enough, and we were able to decipher icons and text despite the glare of our 3000 lux light (which reproduces the same conditions of a bright day). Some of the text might be hard to read for those with slight vision problems, but most people should get by with a bit of a squint. This solid performance is likely due to the Razr2 V8's very bright screen.
Color Depth (6.0)
The Razr2 V8 can display 65,000 colors. This is still a standard for phones, though it is moving towards 260,000 color displays (a trend that is, again, illustrated in the below table). Higher-end phones are capable of 16 million colors. The display's 65k colors should suffice, however, although those familiar with better displays will notice the phone's interface appears a bit bland.
| Cell Phone | Colors (thousands) | Score |
| T-Mobile Razr2 V8 | 65 | 6.0 |
| Helio Fin | 260 | 8.0 |
| Samsung Juke | 260 | 8.0 |
| Sony Ericcson W580i | 260 | 8.0 |
| LG Chocolate VX8550 | 260 | 8.0 |
| LG Venus | 260 | 8.0 |
Secondary Screen (16.68)
Of course, the most lauded feature of all the Razr2 phones is the external screen. Although we have qualms with how well the different carriers took advantage of this feature (especially in this iteration), the hardware is all the same. It has a 2-inch diagonal, displays 320 x 240 pixels, and runs 65,000 colors. There are three touch-sensitive sections at the bottom, but again, they're only used for media controls. The hardware is certainly impressive, and again, we really wish it was taken advantage of.
Ports & Storage
Power & Data Ports (5.0)
The Razr2 V8 uses a Micro USB port, which is set to replace Mini USB as a standard connection. As this is the case, you probably won't have many replacement cables lying around. Fortunately for those who have Mini USB cables lying around, the Razr2 V8 comes with a Micro to Mini adapter. We were pleased to see a USB connection with your PC will charge the phone.
Headphone & Jack Compatibility (4.0)
Like all other Razr devices, old and new alike, the V8 uses the USB/power port for its headset. We would've preferred a standard headphone jack like 3.5mm jack, or even the lesser common 2.5mm standard. The V8 does come with a set of headphones, however, and also supports stereo Bluetooth headsets, so hopefully the port won't cause too many issues.
Internal Storage (10.0)
The Razr2 V8 has 2GB of internal storage available. This is a good amount, but the device doesn't have a slot for a memory card. MicroSDHC cards can hold up to 8GB of memory, so not having an expansion slot is becoming a bigger detriment. Even so, 2GB is an acceptable amount of internal storage space for phones without memory card capabilities.
Expansion Slot & Format (0.0)
As just mentioned, the Razr2 V8 is woefully without an expansion slot; you're stuck with the 2GB of internal memory.
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