“So this is how a Motorola cellular phone looks like now”. Let’s go back to the memory lane – and there I was, grinning like an idiot as I remember the first cell phone that was handed down to me. Of course, it was a Motorola cell phone, black, big and burly, with a battery pack as heavy as my PC’s speaker. Please don’t ask what model was that but I am pretty sure it was a mobile phone and not a 2-way radio. And back then, at the time when owning a mobile phone is a privilege especially for a college freshman, I should be proud. Unfortunately, it was too bulky, not to mention complicated for a newbie so I decided not to be caught dead in my newly owned Motorola cellular phone then.
Eight years after, I had a reunion with a Motorola handset which is popularly known as the Razr. And it was a pleasant one, I believe. For one, the gadgets form hit me by surprise, being the thinnest cellular phone I held. Often times, I have to pour out the contents of my big bag, whenever I commit the mistake of sliding the unit into it. The phone was so slim, even though it weighs 97 grams; it could get into the pages of my organizer and be left unnoticed. On the other hand, the best thing in this mobile is to be a slip away inside my trousers pocket and off I can go without worrying about bulges. Incidentally, it was also quite big to hold for ladies and perhaps beneficial to people with bigger hands. Just be careful of hitting the wrong characters for the keys of the pad are as flat as the surface of the phone. For those who possess ‘texting-without-looking-talent’, let’s see how well you can do with this one. The blue-green backlight surely helps a lot especially when I am operating the phone in the dark since I can no longer rely on my ‘talent’. The keypads design was unique but needs effort for the user to get accustomed to it.
But I was happy of Motorola Razr’s screen display, 176 x 220 pixels and 262,144 colors – in short, clear and bright. And it has three skins – Moto, Scarlet and Silver. Definitely, Scarlet is my unbiased favorite and finds it a pretty sight. The display was helpful as I took pictures but it works only for close-up shots. Although it has a VGA Zoom 4x ability, I find the images blurry and unworthy to share. And speaking of taking pictures, it has Automatic lighting conditioning, however worked well also when I set it up in Sunny, Cloudy, Indoor and Night modes and has a self-timer function. For a clam-shell designed phone, the external display was helpful as I screen incoming calls but sender of message is yet to be discovered once I open the phone.
Upon opening Motorola Razr, its ‘desktop’ has 4 icons, which are the Message Center, Recent Calls, Phonebook and Internet Browser quick launch. I just pressed the corresponding navigating key and it did as I command. It also has an analogue clock. Motorola Razr’s Message Center has E-mails, Text messaging, Voicemail and MMS templates which are the only ones I recognize. Furthermore, special attention was given to Browser Message, Info Services and Quick Notes which does not attract an ordinary user like me, but instead raises the question “How do I benefit from this?” Similarly, Recent Calls menu has familiar functions such as Received, Dialled Calls, Call times and Costs. It also has a Notepad, which when further navigated instantly brings the user back to enter variables in the Phonebook. It also has Data Times and Volumes, which I did not bother to customize, and didn’t think I needed to do so. But I won’t deny that I came to ask myself once again, “How do I benefit from this?”. Anyway, Phonebook says it can hold up to 1000 information, which can be comprised of numbers and e-mail addresses. Lastly, Web access through the Browser or Web Sessions depends on the settings provided by the network.
Aside from the 4-key quick launch I mentioned, Motorola Razr’s Main Menu, has submenus such as the Office Tools, Multimedia, Settings and IM. Office Tools contain the Service Provider, Calculator, Datebook – with events alarm, the Clock and Dialing Services set-up. Office Tools also enables the user to program Shortcuts of the phones menu by assigning a numerical key or thru voice commands. Moving on to Multimedia, it supports Camera, Video, Sound (which is a ringtone composer) and a Motomixer. But the unit I reviewed does not have Video capture, nor did it give in to my request of a sample of what Motomixer can do for me. I kept on opening the said feature but lands on the same icon afterwards. Perhaps Motomixer is also dependent of the WebAccess properties. Anyway, Settings also allows the user to Personalize the mobile phone. Or whether I want to change the Ring style, Connection, Call Forward, In-Call Set-up, Initial Set-up, Phone Status, Headset, Car Settings, Network and Security, I can do everything that concerns the above-mentioned properties. Connection allows the user to connect and transfer date from the mobile phone to a PC through a USB connector. Phone status also includes the Battery meter. Charging time ranges from 1 and ˝ hour and relatively lasts for a day or more.
But once again, Motorola Razr left some questions for an ordinary mobile user like me such as, “If Office Tools come with a Shortcut assignment feature, should not it be included in the Setting menu?”, and “Why are the Call-Forward and In-Call Set-up under the Settings menu when it should be under the Recent Calls menu since it concerns obviously, Calls?”. Lastly, the IM property, when pressed automatically shuts down the handset. Please don’t ask me what IM stands for because I sincerely don’t know. After all, Motorola and I just reunited and I suppose that it will take a long period of time for me to get to know it better.
