T-Mobile Razr2 V8 Cell Phone Review - Software
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Mark Brezinski Published on December 10, 2007 Comment on this |
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OS (3.0)
The Razr2 V8's operating system is a fairly basic proprietary OS. We were impressed with the menus, as they contained far more options than the basic software would've implied. The overall layout could've used some work, however. The initial main menu's grid of nine icons wasted a slot on T-Zones and a help menu. T-Zones just brings up the internet, which has a proprietary key, and help should be delegated to the manuals. There is a shortcut key on the home screen, which helps get to some applications quickly (and it's the only place we could find airplane mode). Getting to the albums was a bit of a pain though, as the phone's file browser is squirreled away in the Fun & Apps folder. Such a good application should have merited a slot on the main menu. Considering how simple the interface is, we wish it had been organized better.
In the same vein is our biggest complaint with the operating system: the insistence that there's external memory. Now, what T-Mobile did is basically hardwire in a 2GB memory card so their customers wouldn't have to bother with it. The downside is that every time you save, you have to choose between saving it to "Phone" or "External Memory". This can be incredibly confusing, as it makes what amounts to a partitioned hard drive sound like a separate entity entirely. It also means it's likely your stuff will end up split between two different locations. This could've been remedied easily with something as simple as different wording.
Home Screen Score (4.0)
The top of the screen contains the usual signal and battery strength, as well as the date and time. The main portion of the home screen is absolutely dominated by the T-Mobile My Faves interface. The left soft key opens up a shortcut menu, while the right soft key opens the main menu. The select key is sequestered for Fav Five duties. Left and right on the d-pad march the Fav Five silhouettes around in a circle. Up will pull out your recent calls, and down shortcuts to the contact list.
Extensibility (3.0)
Like most phones the Razr2 V8 can run java based applications like Google Maps. Although not as extensible as a smart phone like a Windows Mobile or Symbian device there are a decent amount of java application out there.
Customizability (4.0)
There are a few ways to customize the Razr2 V8. There are two themes available in addition to the default: Alkali and Plush. Alkali is a minor change from default, and Plush makes everything pink. Other than these minor aesthetic changes, there aren't any real options, for example you can't change the global font size or color.
OS Responsiveness (5.0)
The Razr2 V8 didn't have a blindingly fast operating system, but the lag we experienced was never substantial. Overall, it was probably a little faster than average, but all of the multimedia applications took a long time to load compared to other phones.
Browser Features (7.5)
The V8 runs Opera, which is a very competent browser. We tend to recommend the java version Opera Mini over proprietary browsers, as it often provides superior functionality and a straightforward interface. It supports HTML and WAP, and if you'd like, you can save the entire page to the phone. Frames and images are both handled without issue. JavaScript is also supported, though we had problems with our test site. Opera Mini also has encryption and cookie management options. You can even turn off pop-ups. Some more advanced features like feeds, Flash, or Java aren't supported, but very, very few phones actually do provide this support. Overall, Opera is a very competent browser.
Browsing Interface (7.0)
Opera has a straightforward interface. The left soft key handles most of the grunt work. In it you'll find a home page link, an address bar link, and the options to save, reload, or bookmark websites. You can also open links in a new window, which is rare in a mobile browser. The view options will let you zoom in or out, fit the page to the screen, or view in fullscreen mode. There's also an in-depth setup menu, which will allow you to fiddle with the font size, pop-ups, scrollbars, images, sound, JavaScript, and plug-ins.
Bookmarks receive some great treatment, allowing you to create folders to help manage them. You can edit, copy/paste, move, and rename existing bookmarks. There are also view (list, details, thumbnails) and sort options (name, date). Again, most browsers don't allow any organization of bookmarks, so this functionality is great.
Memory management options include the ability to clear your cache and delete cookies and history. There are no options to view the contents before erasing them, however.
Again, Opera is a great mobile browser, which is why we often recommend it. It's not as good as Safari on the iPhone or Web on Symbian Series 60 devices, but is on par with Internet Explorer Mobile on Windows Mobile devices and much better than most mobile web browsers.
Browser Access (6.67)
The V8 can open a web site in six steps. This is a good score: the quickest phone at browsing to a specific site thus far as been the iPhone, with four steps with most phones generally take more than six steps.
On the Razr2 V8, step one is opening the phone. Then you press the browser shortcut key. Once the browser is up and running, choose "Go to Page" from the options menu (hit the 2 button instead of down then click: it'll save a step). This will bring up an address bar. All that's left is typing in the URL and hitting select.
We base this score on steps instead of our trusty stopwatch for a few reasons. First of all, data speeds vary from carrier to carrier. Secondly, the internet is a fickle entity. You could get vastly different scores for this section depending on things like location or weather. Therefore, counting the steps gives a much more consistent and accurate result.
| Cell Phone | Steps | Score |
| T-Mobile Razr2 V8 | 6 | 6.67 |
| Helio Fin | 6 | 6.67 |
| Samsung Juke | N/A | 0.0 |
| Sony Ericcson W580i | 5 | 8.00 |
| LG Chocolate VX8550 | 12 | 3.33 |
| LG Venus | 10 | 4.00 |
Gaming (3.0)
The V8 only comes with two different demos. One is for a game called Gum Blox, which is an interesting take on Tetris. Shapes comprised of different colored blocks fall down and you roll them around to get like colors to touch. If you do, they sparkle and disappear after a time. The other game is Midnight Pool 3D, which plays exactly how you imagine it would. The big buttons probably mean the Razr2 would be a great gaming device, but we couldn't get a feel for it in 30 second intervals of play time. There are a wide selection of java based games available to play so you can probably find a game you like.
Calculator (6.0)
The calculator is in the organizer folder, which will probably keep a few users from finding it right away. The calculator is good, and performs every function we test for. It has a square root option, percentages, inverse fractions, and extensive options for number memorization. The interface is standard: the d-pad gets the four basic operators. One thing we didn't see, however, were parenthesis. The astute can get around this with the memory functions, but that's an additional hassle.
Alarm (8.0)
You can set up to three alarms on the Razr2 V8. While we don't like limits on the number of alarms, there's some great functionality here. Each alarm entry consists of the time it's set for, below which are the days of the week it's set for. When setting them up, you can create complex recurrence. There are preset options for everyday, weekdays, and weekends, but there's also a custom setting which lets you pick and choose the days. You can also set the snooze time, volume, and ring tone for each alarm. All in all, great alarm functionality.
Document Software (0.0)
The V8 can't view or edit Excel, Word, PowerPoint, or PDF documents.
Other Software (1.0)
There are a few other programs on the V8, such as a world clock, but the only one that's worthy of a point is the file manager. Though not as good as the Symbian file manager, it's still pretty good. The folder structure is simple and easy to use. You can create and edit folders, and there is an easy option for managing multiple files or folders. There are multiple views for items (as pictured below): list, details, thumbnail, and preview window. There are also multiple sort options.
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