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Motorola doesn't like anybody to feel left out when it introduces a new slim phone. That's why it was careful to introduce both CDMA and GSM versions of its sexy new Krzr. Verizon Wireless customers can get their hands on the Motorola Krzr K1m, while GSM fans have access to the Motorola Krzr K1. Outside of an exterior color change and the absence of external music controls, the K1 is almost indistinguishable from its CDMA sibling but its feature set holds some important differences. At the time of this writing, the Krzr K1 isn't offered by a U.S. carrier so it will set you back between $350 and $400. On the other hand we expect Cingular to pick up the phone soon and offer it at a cheaper price with service.
As we said in our review of the K1m, we think the Krzr K1 is far and away more attractive than the Razr family. At 4.05x1.73x0.67 inches, its narrower form factor makes it much more stylish, and though it's slightly thicker in profile, it still captures the thin phone trend that shows no sign of dissipating. It's also more comfortable to hold in the hand, and it's slightly heavier weight (3.6 ounces) gives it a more solid feel. The sheet of hardened glass and the chrome plating on the bottom end are here as well, but overall we give the most design points to the K1 due its more appealing blue shade. Also, the blue skin attracts fewer fingerprints than the silver K1m.
Most other exterior features are carried over from the K1m. The 65,536-color external display, the spine-mounted controls, and the somewhat poor location of the MicroSD slot behind the battery cover all are unchanged. The placement of the camera lens is the same as well, and similar to the K1m, the K1 lacks a flash. Yet, there is one more important variation on the GSM Krzr: the external music controls found on the CDMA model are not present. It's a curious and an unwelcome change to say the least, particularly since the K1 still has a music player.
Inside, the phones also are quite similar as well. The navigation array and keypad buttons are identical, but, of course, they're cast in blue as opposed to silver. Here again, we much prefer blue to silver. The internal display supports 262,000 colors and measures 1.9 inches (176x220 pixels). Unlike the K1m, however, the K1 uses Moto's classic menu interface rather then Verizon's custom menus.
On the feature side, the Krzr K1 shows a few differences to the basic offerings but nothing too extraordinary. The K1's phone book holds 1,000 contacts while the SIM card holds an additional 250 names. Each entry holds five phone numbers, three e-mails, a Web site URL, and three street addresses. You can organize contacts into groups or pair them with a photo or one of 30 (24-chord) polyphonic ring tones for caller ID. Other basic offerings include a vibrate mode, a voice recorder, text and multimedia messaging, an alarm clock, a calendar, and a calculator. On the higher end, there is a speakerphone, voice dialing and commands, USB connectivity, e-mail, full Bluetooth, and PC syncing. At 12MB, the onboard usable memory is a bit skimpy. Fortunately, the Micro SD card slot gives you more room.
