Why all the love for the Motorola RAZR?

[DeeBye]

I just upgraded my old crappy Motorola T720 to a Motorola V635. Everyone keeps telling me that I should have upgraded to a Motorola RAZR, but I just don't see how it's a superior phone to the V635.

The V635 has all of the features that the RAZR does, plus more. The ONLY thing that the RAZR has on the V635 is that it has a 1.3MP camera instead of the V635's 1.23MP camera, but the V635 has 8x zoom as opposed to the RAZR's 4x zoom. I've checked out the specifications for both phones, and other than the camera thing I don't see how the RAZR is in any way a better phone.

The V635 has upgradable memory. Mine came with a 32MB TransFlash card and a neat TransFlash > SD adaptor. The V635 has a built-in Java-based MP3 player, which coupled with the upgradable memory is a nice feature. The RAZR has none of these things.

The internal and external display screens are identical. Both support MP3 ringtones. Both have speakerphones. Both have Bluetooth, AIM messenging, video w/ sound capture, and every other feature people are looking for in a cellphone.

Is the thin profile style of the RAZR the main reason why it is the OMG must have cellphone, or are there features that I am overlooking?

As a related super bonus addition, here is a picture I took with my cellphone just now. As you can see, we have some snow here.

[jahcs]

Don't forget the massive amounts of add-hype that make the Razr a "better" phone, just because some add execs say it should be.

[roguebanshee]

Don't forget the massive amounts of add-hype that make the Razr a "better" phone, just because some add execs say it should be.
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Ads: The only reason you believe you need a mobile phone capable of more than storing a small phonebook and making/receiving calls.

[gekko]

Don't forget the massive amounts of add-hype that make the Razr a "better" phone, just because some add execs say it should be.
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Motorolla makes more money selling the RAZR, and has hyped it for all it's worth - celebrities are using the RAZR, it has appeared in music videos, etc. It's really not that special. It is, however, indicative of what we're going to continue to see in the next few years. 18 months ago, you could choose between a basic phone for free or near free or you could upgrade to a flip-phone with a colour display, camera, MP3 ringtones and other extras. Now you can get a phone with all of those extras for free anyways, and companies have discovered that people are more likely to spend more money on a phone for its looks and hype than its features. The V635 versus the RAZR is just such a choice (side note: Deebye, I'm pretty sure the RAZR only has a VGA, or 0.3 megapixel camera, not a 1.3).

I'd much rather have the V635, but I wouldn't take that one, either. I'm not a fan of the interface on motorola phones. I've played around with a number of motorola phones at work, and while I can figure out how to do everything I've tried, it never seems to make as much sense as on a nokia phone.

gekko

[Yrrek]

Ads: The only reason you believe you need a mobile phone capable of more than storing a small phonebook and making/receiving calls.
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I agree with this statement completely.

[DeeBye]

(side note: Deebye, I'm pretty sure the RAZR only has a VGA, or 0.3 megapixel camera, not a 1.3).
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Huh, how about that. Now the RAZR seems really ordinary to me. It's neat-looking, but not enough to justify the dollars.

As for Nokia versus Motorola, it's personal preference. I've only owned Motorola phones, so the interface is comfortable for me to use. Plus, it's completely customisable. I've never used a Nokia phone so I have no doubt that I'd find one completely foreign.

[Daravos]

I think I'll stick with my old Nokia 918. Granted, I need a new battery for it and probably re-activation (Yeah, I use Pre-Paid, don't really like the contracts), but that'll cost me a lot less than buying a $300-$500 cellphone, considering that when I re-activate my cell, I get a $50 prepaid "card" (not so much an actual card now, but more like a stupid slip of paper).

And when you don't have the "big bucks"... Gotta make due with what you've got, right?

I will admit though, it'd be nice to get one of the newer phones, but what does a University Student need with that many functions on thier phone that is more difficult to figure out than a VCR?

*shrugs* Just my two bits.

[Rhydderch Hael]

I will dread the day my local phone company does away with accepting "pulse" dialing, thus making unmodified rotary phones incompatible.

[Munkay]

In short: People like shiny things.

Cheers,

Munk

[jahcs]

Heh, I still use my Nokia 5185i. It seems to get better signal than my friends newer phones. I would like a camera phone though.



My wife has a Motorola non-flip phone and the interface does seem a bit weird - not to mention the fact that the display is a blinding blue light. (It is so bright she stopped carrying a flashlight in her purse. While waiting for movies to start she has used it to signal friends and I have even read with it.)

My Nokia interface: up and down scroll, clear, and one "action" button.
My Wife's Motorola: up and down scroll, clear, select, send/option/side scroll, and end/option/side scroll. It's crazy, and the newer phones are even worse.

[Gurnsey]

I will dread the day my local phone company does away with accepting "pulse" dialing, thus making unmodified rotary phones incompatible.
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In a suprising mix of old and new technology, a friend of mine uses his mid-40's, 10-ton Bakelite rotary wall-phone, hooked up to cable telephone :)

[Doc]

All phones look the same to me.

Once I crush them under the heel of my Birkenstocks.

[Bun-Bun]

In a suprising mix of old and new technology, a friend of mine uses his mid-40's, 10-ton Bakelite rotary wall-phone, hooked up to cable telephone :)
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Unless there's been a revolution in the alarm industry I've missed, most fire/burglar/medical alarm devices use pulse dialing to communicate with their monitoring computer. Not to dial; I think they're past that. They just use the tick-tick-tick method to tell the monitoring computer what kind of alarm they got and which unit tripped.

There's nothing like working in an industry to cause one to lose all respect for it. I'm amazed they can do fire alarms, mainly because I can't believe they're that much past discovering fire.

ObOnTopic: I like the look of the RAZR a lot better than the V635, and the features I'd miss out on I wouldn't miss much. For whatever reason, I don't expect I'd use a cell phone for much more than being a phone. I'd insist on making my own ringtones, though. Ringtone costs are just too crazy.

[--Pete]

Hi,

I agree with this statement completely.
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Me too. And keep it big enough so that it isn't a PITA to hang onto -- use that extra space for batteries or a bigger transmitter. Or, preferably, both.

--Pete

[Griselda]

Hi,
Me too.  And keep it big enough so that it isn't a PITA to hang onto -- use that extra space for batteries or a bigger transmitter.  Or, preferably, both.

--Pete
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Something like this? ;)

I currently have a Motorola, a V710, but I'm not a huge fan. The most annoying thing about it may be the service provider (Verizon) and not the phone. We don't get messages about new voicemail, pictures, or text messages until long after they arrive, sometimes more than a week late. I'm assuming this is Verizon not notifying us, but that plus the fact that they ripped the standard games out of my phone to try to get me to buy their games makes me not so happy with them.

I still like their nationwide coverage and their price for two lines of service. But, we definitely plan to look around once this contract runs out.

edit- I'm not sure how I managed to spell "the" as "ser", but it's fixed now. :blush:

[Roland]

Something like this? ;)

I currently have a Motorola, a V710, but I'm not a huge fan.  The most annoying thing about it may be ser service provider (Verizon) and not the phone.  We don't get messages about new voicemail, pictures, or text messages until long after they arrive, sometimes more than a week late.  I'm assuming this is Verizon not notifying us, but that plus the fact that they ripped the standard games out of my phone to try to get me to buy their games makes me not so happy with them.

I still like their nationwide coverage and their price for two lines of service.  But, we definitely plan to look around once this contract runs out.
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Wow. I had AT&T and Sprint in the past, and both used to give me these same problems (AT&T more than anyone). When I started up again, I switched my g/f from AT&T / Cingular to Verizon, and I joined on, and I've NEVER been happier with a phone service. I have signal EVERYWHERE, I never miss a call nor a message, and their customer support is top-notch compared to AT&T (which is, IMHO, the WORST service I've had, ever).

Are you sure it's not a local problem, or a phone problem? I've never really liked Motorola phones, myself. ;)

[DeeBye]

I currently have a Motorola, a V710, but I'm not a huge fan.  The most annoying thing about it may be ser service provider (Verizon) and not the phone.  We don't get messages about new voicemail, pictures, or text messages until long after they arrive, sometimes more than a week late.
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I use Rogers (Canadian cable provider) as my wireless carrier, and have always used Motorola phones. I've never had such a problem, even with my awful T720. That sounds lousy.

[SpazBear]

Motorolla makes more money selling the RAZR, 

My parent company makes the RAZR, and not only that they designed it. See question #2. Hence, that is where all the money is coming from.

So buy it for that reason, DeeBye.
:P

[DeeBye]

My Nokia interface: up and down scroll, clear, and one "action" button.
My Wife's Motorola: up and down scroll, clear, select, send/option/side scroll, and end/option/side scroll.  It's crazy, and the newer phones are even worse.
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Granted my Motorola V635 has a lot of buttons, but they make sense. I can do anything within a couple of logical buttons presses. If I want to call my babysitter, I hit the left soft key, scroll down twice, and hit the select (or phone on) key.

Here is an image which will likely confuse you but makes perfect sense to me.


The three buttons across the top are the left and right "soft keys" and the middle menu button. The soft keys can point to anything. I chose my Phone Book and the video function for mine, but they can be set to whatever you use the most.

The middle button in the top row is always the menu button. Think of it as the right-click context menu.

The big round arrow key area in the middle is self-explanitory. Use it to scroll around menus and such. The button in the middle is a select key.

The internet and camera buttons I could do without, but they are clearly labelled.

The green phone on and red phone off buttons are a given.

I'm quite accustomed to using the Motorola interface and it feels comfortable to me. There is nothing I can't do within a few clicks of the correct buttons, and backtracking is a snap.

[DeeBye]

My parent company makes the RAZR, and not only that they designed it.  See question #2.  Hence, that is where all the money is coming from.

So buy it for that reason, DeeBye.
:P
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