Rah-rah for Razr | Bangkok Post: tech

REVIEW

In my last review I referred to an Android phone as being a gadget from 2007. Well, with Razr it is definitely 2012 and, given the forthcoming 4.0 software update, iPhone users should look to their laurels!

The unboxing moment was great. The phone's display is big, bigger than that on my iPhone, so it will wow users. It came with a USB cord, power adaptor and headphone. That's it. Simple, just the way it should be.

The first thing you'll notice is the slim, stylish design and the 4.3 inch screen, which is big compared to most others. This means it won't fit snugly in your palm, creating the risk of accidentally dropping it, but the large screen gives a lot of benefits: watching movies, playing games, surfing the web, etc. Images are sharp and vivid, making my Korean music videos look great. Many video formats are supported without the need for converting, which makes it very convenient for watching movies on-the-go. YouTube over 3G, too.

Like any Android, just drag-and-drop your music to your SD card or internal storage via the USB cable. Your music library will start playing in no time. Although I prefer a program to help manage and sort files like iTunes, both approaches have their pros and cons.

Another cool feature is when you listen to music and are connected to the internet. It will find you find the lyrics of whatever is "now playing" so you can hum or sing along with the groove.

Entering business mode, Quickoffice is built in so you can browse and edit your documents easily. Again, thanks to the large screen, typing and reading documents is easy and the best part is that you don't have to spend an additional $9.99, the normal price if you want to get it on an iOS device.

This phone doesn't need any "s" to state its "speed". Its dual-core processor make apps like Angry Birds run smoothly. Facebook's status update works like a charm, with a faster loading time (from pressing the icon to start up). Switching between apps is fast and easy so you can multitask without any malfunctions.

All the above may make it seem like I've fallen in love with Razr, but there are two sides to every story.

The downside is the operating system itself: Android 2.3.5. Just like HTC, and others, Motorola has tried to overhaul the user interface using its own design. The OS is still way outdated, lacks upcoming 4.0 features like "face unlock" (the new way to unlock your phone using facial recognition technology), a redesigned UI and a modern cloud-based service.

While Motorola has promised that 4.0 _ aka the "ice cream sandwich" is upgradeable _ the date has not yet been announced.

The arch enemy of a mobile-phone camera is poor lighting conditions so I put this Razr through it toughest test by using it at a party after dark. Depending mostly on flash, the results made its weaknesses apparent: various colour tones, blurry images and taking a video by accident. The overall quality was above average, considering the difficulties of the situation, but I dislike the default ratio of photos. You have two choices. First, the 6 megapixel widescreen mode. Images fit perfectly on the Razr screen but not on others; they feel like they've been cropped. The second choice is 8 megapixel and it uses a 4:3 aspect ratio; this I'd recommend since it's more familiar than the widescreen mode.

But that's not all either. Motocast streams your file wirelessly without any upload. The idea is great, but my reality is different. After lots of setting (of course), it stream music from my Mac to the Razr, but it depends on an always-on computer. So for me it's not a working solution.

I accidentally performed a drop test while holding it at chest height. I picked it up and there was no sign of a crack, break or scratch. So the manufacturing quality appears to be good (based on that single mishap).

To sum up: if you're not quite an iPhone fan, are familiar with Android and want a fast-responding, big-screen, slim-design phone or just something ultra-modern. Go get it. Period.