T-Mobile Razr2 V8 Cell Phone Review - Making/Receiving Calls
|
Mark Brezinski Published on December 10, 2007 Comment on this |
|
|
|
|
Dialing Speed (5.80)
To test dialing speed, we begin with the phone in a closed, unlocked standby, then time how long it takes to dial one of a set of different numbers. We use a pool of different numbers in order to get a more accurate average.
The Razr2 V8 managed to dial a number in an average of 3.45 seconds. This is faster than we would have thought, as the keypad felt big and unwieldy as we were typing. This being said, bigger keys should be a boon for those with bigger fingers. We tend to prefer medium-sized keys, however, as they are big enough to allow for accuracy, but not so big that we feel we're fumbling as we try to type numbers quickly. Unfortunately, we ran into the latter issue with the V8.
| Cell Phone | Time (sec) | Score |
| T-Mobile Razr2 V8 | 3.45 | 5.80 |
| Helio Fin | 3.64 | 5.49 |
| Samsung Juke | 2.64 | 7.58 |
| Sony Ericcson W580i | 3.66 | 5.46 |
| LG Chocolate VX8550 | 2.96 | 6.76 |
| LG Venus | 2.64 | 7.58 |
Talk and End Buttons (6.0)
The talk and end buttons have a nice snap to them, but not much travel since they sit on a single sheet of metal -- a signature Razr feature. They also have a textured face and a raised line above and below them, but this is unfortunately the same case for virtually every key on the keypad. The best way to navigate to them without looking is by using the d-pad: the d-pad's bottom is level with the the talk and end buttons. Despite some flaws, the keys were decent.
Call Management (6.5)
The call log is the top center option in the main menu. It begins as just a giant list of calls, but you can further filter them by dialed, missed, or answered. Clicking on a number will display the call's time/date and duration. There are also call and data timers, along with a data volume counter.
When you get a call, an unassuming gray screen will appear that isn't particularly eye-catching. You can either answer or ignore a call. Once you've decided the incoming caller is worth speaking to, the soft keys change to options and mute. The options list is a bit short: there's just speakerphone, mute, hold, main menu, new call, and an option to check out your own number. Choosing the new call option will put your current call on hold. Once the second call is active, the options menu will allow you to link the calls into a conference. At this point, the numbers will disappear, but if someone should hang up, the remaining number will again be displayed.
Startup to Call (3.61)
This test is similar to the previous time to call test, but we instead begin with the phone closed and off. We then dial from our pool of test numbers, and average the results.
The Razr2 V8 took an average of 27.72 seconds to call this time. Most of this time was spent waiting while the phone struggled to boot up. You can begin typing in the number as soon as the home screen appears, though there is a second or two of lag before the numbers register. You can see in the table below that the V8 was on the slower side for a regular phone, though some smart phones performed far worse.
| Cell Phone | Time (sec) | Score |
| T-Mobile Razr2 V8 | 27.72 | 3.61 |
| Helio Fin | 28.18 | 3.55 |
| Samsung Juke | 11.9 | 8.40 |
| Sony Ericcson W580i | 19.42 | 5.15 |
| LG Chocolate VX8550 | 22.37 | 4.47 |
| LG Venus | 25.11 | 3.98 |
Ring Volume (8.55)
We measure ring volume by holding the phone two inches away from a sound pressure meter and cycling through the available ringtones. The Razr2 V8 measured 85.5 decibels at its loudest. This is an average result, but we didn't think any of the ringtones were particularly ear-catching.
| Cell Phone | Volume (decibels) | Score |
| T-Mobile Razr2 V8 | 85.5 | 8.55 |
| Helio Fin | 85.6 | 8.56 |
| Samsung Juke | 85.8 | 8.58 |
| Sony Ericcson W580i | 85.5 | 8.55 |
| LG Chocolate VX8550 | 85.4 | 8.54 |
| LG Venus | 85.8 | 8.58 |
Ringtone Customizability (6.0)
The Razr2 V8 will allow you to use your music as ringtones, whether they're Mp3, AAC, or WMA files. This is very refreshing functionality as many handsets don't allow you to do this.
Non Audio Alerts (6.0)
The non audio alerts are pretty bad on the V8. The vibration features is weak, and the splash screens that crop up are gray and motionless. They don't do much to augment the poor ringtone selection.
| Previous Next | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
