It would not be fair to compare this device to preceding RAZRs.
There is a whole new look to the product, starting with a highly glossy
metal finish that Motorola claims is commixed on the box. I have no idea
what that means, but I can tell you that it does look good. For the record,
this is a prototype set so there were some quirks in the software of the
product as is to be expected with most prototype devices.
In the box
Handset Transceiver
Battery (standard battery)
Charger
Headset
Data Cable
User manuals
CD (Motorola Phone Tools & Windows Media Player)
Exterior
The device has a single camera lens on top of the M logo found on the cover.
The hinge is rather fat and looks like a miniature cigar encased in chrome.
However, this did not seem to make the device cumbersome so it was simply a
point of curiosity that it looked the way it did. The lanyard hook is built
into one end of the hinge. Both halves of the phone are astoundingly thin
but felt rather durable although we did not put it to the ultimate test. I
like the shape but found that when I held it with my fingertips, my
fingertips kept pressing the toggle buttons on both sides of the phone and
caused some unintended changes to the menu. The metal probably makes it a
little bit heavy for its size. However, you can see the speaker inside the
phone if you look at the small, thin transparent slit on the back of the
phone. And best of all, the fat lip at the bottom of the number keys is
gone.
Buttons/Screen
The buttons are etched into a dark metal surface and the navigation pad is a
ring of chrome metal with a centre button made out of the same dark metal as
the rest of the keypad. The keypad lights up with a white backlight that is
only visible in the dark. The screen is a 262K TFT screen, and the external
screen is a 240 x 320 pixel one. Most of the outside buttons vibrate just a
little when you press them, so this feedback is a nice touch that lets you
know if your finger input was successful without having to look at the
screen.
Software/Messaging
The menu looks nicer this time around, but behaves a little curiously in
that there is a menu item in each menu that takes you back to the previous
menu without indicating that it would do so. The end result is that you will
frequently find yourself going back to a menu that you¡¦ve seen before. The
Linux OS used in the phone gives very little away, and looks just like any
other Motorola OS. As expected, the V8 supports SMS, MMS and emails. Email
support extends to webmails such as Yahoo Mail and Hotmail. The operating
system in use is a Linux one, and few other sources refer to it as JUIX, or
a Java and Linux hybrid OS. Java MIDP 2.0 runs the device, and the preloaded
browser is Opera 8.50.
Applications
The applications part of the phone is named Office Tools and contains a
Calculator, Calendar and the MotoSync applications. The download manager is
also found here, and apparently we have the 512MB version, because a memory
check gave us a 1/425.9 MB used reading. Apparently there is also a 2GB
version, but we have no further information on that at the time of writing.
The Email client is here, and so is the File Manager. A World Clock and its
related Alarm Clock application round off the list of programs that can be
found here.
Camera/Video
The camera is a 2 megapixel type with a maximum resolution of 1200 x 1600
pixels. The digital zoom is capable of 8x magnification but the location of
the lens didn¡¦t feel quite right. When aiming at an object, my fingers
frequently went in front of the lens and I had to consciously move my
fingers away. I also had to force my hands to move the entire camera to a
position that would allow the object to fill the viewfinder. I could not
find any settings that allowed me to add tints and effects to the camera.
However, as mentioned at the outset, this is a prototype device and we are
not able to say if retail units have image effects, so be sure to check at
the dealer before you buy.
There is no Flash LED on the V8, but there are night and sequence shot
modes.
Multimedia/Voice
The playback is fairly loud and rather clear. The external screen has a
music application that permits the playback of music and the controls are of
the touch screen variety. The spec sheets say that this product supports MP3
playback and MPEG4 or 3GP videos. However, the key draw of the product must
be the ability to use Voice Commands, Recording and Playback. Voice
Recording and Playback is quite common to many other makes of handsets, but
getting the phone to read you your SMS messages is quite an interesting
development, at least for those who are always on the road.
Connectivity
This phone has Bluetooth and is compatible with most Motorola Bluetooth
headsets, and even those from other brands. There is no infrared and the USB
port is a micro-USB port as mentioned earlier. It is quite likely that this
is among the first of many phones that will eventually move to support the
micro-USB port due to its small size. There is no 3G support, but EDGE is
supported all the way up to Class 12 and GPRS all the way up to Class 10.
Games
Golf seems to be the game of choice these days, and in the V8 we have Sudoku
and Tiger Woods 07, which we take to mean the year 2007. It was quite
interesting to play on Pebble Beach, even though it was on a small
electronic screen. The controls are quite simple to learn, but I could never
quite get the hang of putting even when I got on the green in one or two.
Perhaps a few more visual cues would have been nice, such as a strength
meter similar to those found in arcade golf games.
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| ..: More Features :..
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Screen
Internal 2.2 Inch QVGA 262k
Colour Screen (320 x 240 Pixels)
External 2 Inch QVGA 262k Colour Screen (320 x 240 Pixels) with
Contextual Touch Interaction
Imaging
2 Megapixel Camera
8 x Digital Zoom
Video Record
Video Playback
MPEG4 Video
Theme Display
Picture Screensaver
Picture Wallpaper
Messaging
SMS (Text Messaging)
EMS (Enhanced Messaging)
MMS (Multimedia Messaging)
Email
MotoSync™
Predictive Text
|
Sound
Music Player (MP3, AAC & AAC+)
Touch Sensitive External Music Controls
Polyphonic Ringtones
MP3 Ringtones
Stereo Micro USB
Stereo Bluetooth® with A2DP
Windows Media Player® 11 Synchronization
Entertainment
Java™ Games
Embedded Games
Downloadable Games
Network
Quad Band Technology (GSM 850, GSM 900, GSM 1800 & GSM 1900)
Memory
& Talk Time
420 Mbytes or 2 Gbytes Memory Option
8.3 Hours Talk Time
280 Hours Standby
|
Connectivity
Bluetooth® with A2DP
Micro USB
GPRS
EDGE
Organiser
Phonebook
Calendar
Calculator
Converter
Clock
Alarm
Vibration Alert
Handsfree Speaker
Voice Memo
Voice Recognition Dialling
Internet
WAP 2.0
HTML
Weight & Size
117 g
103 x 53 x 11.9 mm
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Review:..
