Motorola Razr V3x review (silver, Unlocked)

On the higher end, you'll find full Bluetooth for connecting to a stereo headset or for exchanging files, PC syncing, voice dialing, a speakerphone, USB cable support, a sound recorder, and POP3 and IMAP4 e-mail. The V3x also supports Motorola's Screen3 technology, but that feature is carrier-dependent, unfortunately.

The Razr V3x is stocked with multimedia applications such as the aforementioned dual digital cameras. The primary shooter takes photos in four resolutions (2-megapixel down to 240x320 pixels) and includes a variety of editing applications, such as three quality settings, an 8x zoom, three color modes, five lighting choices, an exposure adjustment, and five shutter sounds (plus a silent option). The main display works well as a viewfinder, or you can use the external screen to take self-portraits when the phone is closed. And as we mentioned earlier, the flash is a welcome addition to the Razr family, even if it does take a lot of clicks to use.

The Motorola Razr V3x had decent photo quality, though colors weren't quite sharp.

The camera function defaults to the exterior lens, but it takes just two clicks to switch to the internal shooter. For that camera, three resolutions (640x480, 320x240, and 160x120) are available and editing options are similar to the other camera's. The zoom, however, is limited to 4x. For saving photos, the V3x has a somewhat stingy 64MB of internal space, but you can use a MicroSD card for even more room. As is the case with Moto phones, a handy meter keeps track of how much memory you have left.

Video is a big theme of the Razr V3x. Both the internal and external cameras record clips in three quality settings (Good, Better, and Best) with sound. Editing options include much of the same choices found in the still camera with the addition of such features as auto repeat, spatial audio, and bass boost. Clips meant for multimedia messages are capped at 20 seconds; otherwise you can record for as long as the available memory permits.

If you'd rather listen to some tunes, the Razr V3x also comes with a simple audio player for playing your favorite music. The interface is rather basic, but it does the trick for short stints. You can organize music by playlist, song title, artist name, album, or genre. Features are limited to repeat and shuffle modes, so equalizer fans will have to look elsewhere. The music player shares the same memory space as the camera.

You can personalize the Razr V3x with a variety of wallpaper, screen savers, and color themes, as well as alter sounds. If you want additional choices beyond what's included with the phone, you can download them via the WAP 2.0 wireless Web browser. Gaming options were limited for such a high-end phone. You get just two Java (J2ME) titles--Crazy and Escape--so avid players will have to buy more. We tested the Motorola Razr V3x in San Francisco using Cingular's service. The phone is a tri-band world phone (GSM 900/900/1900) so it will work in the United States, but as we said earlier, it supports the 2100 UMTS band, which is used only in Europe. Voice calls, however, were mostly clear, and voices sounded natural. Callers could tell we were using a cell phone, but they didn't report any significant problems. As is the case with most Razrs, the volume was a tad low, but overall, there was a slight improvement over that of other Razrs.

Bluetooth calls were satisfactory, though speakerphone calls were a tad muffled. The speakerphone on the Razr line as a whole has had mixed success in our experience, and the V3x is no exception. We weren't able to test the video calling or streaming video quality, but music sounded decent if a bit low in volume.

The Razr V3x has a rated battery life of 2.2 hours talk time and 9.5 days standby time. The standby time is about average, but we were expecting more juice from a promised talk time. Video talk time is rated at 1.5 hours. According to FCC radiation tests, the Motorola Razr V3x has a digital SAR rating of 0.13 watts per kilogram.