First Look: Motorola Razr V3i Calls on iTunes
The iTunes-enabled Razr V3i improves on past Motorola/iTunes marriages, but it's not made in heaven.
Liane Cassavoy, PC World
What do you get when two big names join forces? If those names are Motorola and iTunes, you get the Razr V3i, a sleek-looking cell phone with an above-average music player. But if you were hoping for a cell phone capable of supplanting your iPod, you'll be disappointed.
The V3i isn't the first Motorola phone to support iTunes--both the Slvr and the Rokr did so previously, with varying degrees of success. Though the version of iTunes offered on the V3i is far from perfect, this phone does better than either the Slvr or the Rokr.
The dark gray clamshell-style V3i retains the sleek look and feel of earlier Razrs. Measuring 2.1 inches by 3.9 inches by 0.5 inch, and weighing 3.5 ounces, the phone is very thin and light, yet wide enough to grasp comfortably. And despite its petite dimensions, it felt sturdy in my hand and substantial when held next to my ear during calls. One complaint: Because of its light weight, the V3i slipped away from my ear repeatedly, moving the speaker out of position so that I couldn't always hear the conversation.
Dialing phone numbers is easy on the slick (and sometimes slippery) keypad. Rubberized edging separates the flat keys, simplifying the task of dialing by feel. In my tests, voice quality was fine, and volume was adequate, though the speakerphone wasn't as powerful as I would have liked. The talk-time battery life was excellent, reaching the maximum duration of 10 hours that we measure in our lab tests--significantly better than the battery life of Razrs we've tested in the past.
1.23-Megapixel Camera and 100 iTunes Songs
The V3i includes a 1.23-megapixel camera, which works about as well as you'd expect. It captures serviceable snapshots and video, but prints are unlikely to be suitable for framing. You can frame shots and view them on the clear, colorful 2.25-inch display.
The big deal with the V3i, of course, is its iTunes offering. Though the V3i won't replace your iPod, the iteration of iTunes that it contains has improved is superior to the ones on past models. You connect the phone to your desktop via the included USB cable and then launch iTunes, which will recognize the phone. If you like, you can autofill the phone with a random selection of songs from your music library, or you can select particular songs to add. Like the ones on the Slvr and the Rokr, the V3i's version of iTunes accommodates only 100 songs--regardless of how much storage space you have available on your microSD card (the phone comes with a 512MB card).
Transferring songs to the phone is a slow process. The included documentation advises you to allow about 10 minutes for transferring 25 songs; and in my experience, that figure was fairly accurate. Once you've loaded songs on the phone, however, you can easily access them via the familiar, clean iTunes interface. You must use your PC to create playlists and to buy songs from the iTunes music store, though, afterward transferring them to the phone. Audio quality on the included headphones is fine, but listening through the speakers is less than pleasing.
Another drawback is the steep price: the V3i costs $300 with a two-year contract from Cingular--more than the price of a well-equipped iPod. Of course, you can't make calls on the iPod.
Motorola's latest Razr delivers improved battery life and a built-in version of iTunes, but it won't replace your iPod.
$300 (with a two-year contract from Cingular)
Current prices (if available)
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