Motorola Razr 2 V8 mobile phone To say it’s been difficult for Motorola to follow up the massive hit of the Razr V3 with something better is an understatement. Since its release to the sounds of jaws dropping in mid-2004, the Razr has gone from high-end must-have to mass-market. Now comes the Razr 2 V8, billed as the next-gen V3. So does it offer more than …
..was not available when I bought my original Razr but it was included on the 'i' version that came out a few months later (pissing me off no-end, incidentally).
If removable storage is an issue I'd wait a few months and see if they add that option once the initial rush of early adopters has bought the initial release.
I remember my old RAZR was horrendous for texting. The UI couldn't cope with the speed I could type at, and would be putting up one letter every half second; totally appalling.
I'd be interested in a comparison with the Nokia RAZR-imitation. If the Nokia is faster, that's my upgrade. If not, it's this.
I've got this phone on a free upgrade from O2 (512 mb version) and I have had the V3 and V3i before this.
The phone uses a completely different operating system to the previous models it is Linux / Java based now.
I have tried connecting the phone with my TomTom 710 Sat nav and the sat nav will not communicate with the V8 as a handsfree set. I contacted TomTom and they gave a confirmation that there is no compatibility yet.
Overall I'm reasonably happy with the phone but hte lack of expandable memory is an annoyance, but not a major problem.
I've been using one for a month or two now, having sworn never to use a Motorola (I get to test everything doing mobile development, and I can't stand the Motorola MIB interface). I'm actually quite impressed.
It's fast and most things are easy to use, Java implementation is excellent... texting is somewhere midway between the ease of a Nokia and the purgatory of old Motorola. The dual screen thing with interaction when it's closed is a bit pointless but occasionally useful; however I think the ability to change the profile - and thus turn off ringing and vibrations - from inside your pocket with no deliberate intervention is not something I would choose to have.
I never really liked the looks of the original RAZR V3 with the batteyr bulge and the fat squat screen when open, and this looks like the V3 should have done - but it's hardly high fashion these days.
Overall - nice if you like flips, not the greatest phone ever but you could do worse. Ash, I suspect you'll find the V8 faster and better looking but less powerful than the Nokia RAZR-clone - I haven't tried that exact model but Nokia always underpower S60 devices. If you plan to install lots of S60 apps, go for it, if not go Moto (I never thought I'd hear myself say that...).
If you're holding out for the V9 - don't. It may have 3G and swappable cards but it uses the old Motorola MIB UI, so is very much stuck in the murky difficult-to-use past.
Just to let you all know that you can get mini USB to 3.5mm headphone adapters from most phone shops and all over ebay now for probably less than a fiver, so you don't have to be stuck with the crappy ones Motorola give you.
Then again Sony do a line of very good bluetooth headphones if that's your thing...
Great review, but it discussed everything *except* the most eagerly anticipated item for any Motorola cellular telephone: A decent contact/address book system* combined with software that (1) has even a modicum of usefulness and (2) has had its field mapping actually tested before being released to production.
*Defined as one that allows at least two telephone numbers and one email address in each contact entry, that doesn't split such entries when saving to the SIM card (as opposed to the phone), and has zero difference in application regardless of whether an entry is saved to the phone or to the SIM card.
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