Motorola Razr V3xx (gray, AT&T)

Pros: attractive design, fully refreshed interface, responsive, beautiful screen, great browsing/3G speed, good mp3 player, stereo bluetooth is excellent, superb graphics, expandable memory, UMS/MSC

Cons: annoying Java security nag (thanks, Cingular), camera could be better, lack of a standard 3.5mm audio jack sucks

Summary: I used to have a Sony Ericsson w600i, it rocked my socks off save for the small, non-expandible memory. I was coming from a Nokia 3200, which from a feature standpoint couldn't hold a candle to the w600i. But I digress.

The w600i failed twice, so I got a cheaper phone that I hated. Finally, my contract ended and I decided to go with a RAZR. The KRZR was too expensive and not my style, so I sought out this one for the price and features.

This phone is fantastic, better than I had expected. It brings me right back to the glory days of the w600i with all its features, and even improves on some of its shortcomings (expandible memory, 3G, no drivers required to sync with computer). The last one is what I like, since I don't always use Windows. Of course even if it did require drivers, I could have just used a card reader for the MicroSD and put the files in there, but its nice not having to worry about keeping it with me all the time.

I've used the older RAZRs before, and every reason that kept me from getting one in the beginning has been dealt with gracefully. I almost couldn't be happier with this phone, but there are a few annoyances that keep it from being totally flawless. The camera, being a step up from the V3's crap VGA camera, is still a bit shoddy. In low light mostly, there is some noise and choppiness, and blur can also be a problem. Another annoyance is the Java security alert thing. Cingular crippled the settings for that thing, so you have to allow unsigned java apps to run every single time, instead of just an "Allow Once". This is apparently to keep you locked with Cingular's java apps, which are signed and do not have this issue. It is certainly a problem, and is something I would expect another company like Verizon (known for crippling bluetooth on their phones) to do, not Cingular. Not that Cingular's any better than Verizon, it's just disappointing when any phone company intentionally does that. It's business I guess.

Other than that, I have no major issues with this phone. Its huge amount of Pros almost outweigh the Cons and allow me to forgive its shortcomings. This phone is quality all over, if you're looking for THE razr to get on Cingular's network, look no further. This is the best RAZR on Cingular's network yet. All the updates, tweaks, and 3G under its hood will keep you satisfied with this phone for quite a while.