Motorola DROID RAZR Review

At one point not too long ago, high-end Android powered smartphones were considered to be a rarity in the landscape, but in the last couple of years alone, it seems we've been inundated by them – to the point that the market was over-saturated. In fact, it seemed like every month (even weeks), some kind of high-end device was being announced or launched, which made it very difficult for consumers to separate the great from the greatest. Looking back at it now, there's no arguing that we've been jaded by it all, since our expectations have become rather cutthroat in what is perceived to be a game changing device.

Combining two of the most memorable brand names in phone history, the Motorola DROID RAZR is bent on establishing itself as the poster child of tomorrow's next-generation Android smartphone selection. On one hand, it follows in the same stylistic manner that made people fall in love with the original Motorola RAZR from back in the day – thanks to its insane razor thin profile construction. Meanwhile, it doesn't skimp out from what we've seen already in the past, considering that it's packed to the brim with some cutting-edge technology to make it one drool-worthy smartphone – like its 4G LTE connectivity, Super AMOLED display, and dual-core processor.

Packing all of that hardware, and some additional software functionality from Motorola, it's priced at $299.99 with a two-year contract – thus, potentially making it one justified price point. Knowing that some other respectable handsets are on the horizon, namely the Samsung Galaxy Nexus and HTC Rezound, we're curious to see how the Motorola DROID RAZR is going to set the bar. Let's not waste anymore time and dive right in!

The package contains:

• Motorola DROID RAZR
• microUSB cable
• Wall Charger
• Getting Started Guide
• Product Safety & Warranty Information

Design:

Game changing! That perfectly sums up the overall design of the Motorola DROID RAZR seeing that it flaunts one of the most compelling handset designs in recent memory. We're not kidding about that, because going forward, all other smartphones have to live up to its mark.

Aesthetically, it combines the designs of the Motorola DROID X series and the PHOTON 4G, but it's able to dramatically separate itself from them thanks to its remarkable razor thin construction. Right off the bat, we're mesmerized by its 0.28" (7.1mm) thickness – making it the thinnest smartphone on the market. However, it's not uniform because of the hump towards the top where the camera sensors are placed. Regardless of that, it's an incredible engineering masterpiece to behold considering that it packs 4G LTE connectivity. And to complement its svelte appearance, it's by far one of the lightest smart phones in its size category.



You can compare the Motorola DROID RAZR with many other phones using our Size Visualization Tool.

For something so thin, some would probably envision it to be frail, but there's nothing to be worried about because it's constructed out of the finest materials out there. Specifically, it's internally strengthened by its stainless steel chassis, which is further supplemented by its KEVLAR fiber back cover for reinforcement and water repellent nanocoating to absorb some levels of liquid splashes - though, it's not completely waterproof. Tell you the truth, this is easily the most solidly built device we've seen put out of Motorola's camp. So yeah, it's a modern marvel in every way!

It's not the first time we're seeing a 4.3" qHD (540 x 960) display with Gorilla Glass on a Motorola smartphone, that's because we've seen it done already on the DROID BIONIC and DROID X2, but what's new is the fact that it features a Super AMOLED panel instead of a traditional LCD one. Granted that it utilizes the PenTile matrix arrangement, it's more than capable of producing distinctive details to make even fine text more than visible to the eye. However, its pixel density of 256 ppi is way behind those of the upcoming GALAXY Nexus and HTC Rezound, which clock at 316 and 342 ppi, respectively.


Not surprisingly, we're captivated by the polarizing and saturated colors it's able to produce. Throw in its high contrast ratio, deep black color production, and wide viewing angles, it's well equipped in providing plenty of visual treats to our eyes. Still, we find ourselves covering the display with our hand in outdoor conditions.

Typically for an Android 2.3.x phone, we find the same set of capacitive Android buttons sitting beneath its display – with the microphone situated very close to the home button. Meanwhile, the front-facing 1.3-megapixel camera and narrow earpiece are all located directly above the display. Furthermore, to profoundly exhibit its premium taste, the Motorola name is etched into the diamond-cut aluminum accent.

On the left side of the phone sits a plastic flap that hides away the handset’s microSIM card slot and microSD card slot – the latter of which is preoccupied by a 16GB microSD card.


Rather than finding the dedicated power button on the top side of the phone, like most other recent devices, this time around it's positioned on the right edge along with the volume rocker. Between the two, the power button is slightly more raised versus the flat feel of the volume rocker – still, they exhibit a good response when they're pressed.

The top edge of the phone claims home to the handset's 3.5 mm headset jack, microUSB port, and microHDMI port. To think that they're all there is indeed impressive for device that's razor thin!

Finally, the 8-megapixel auto-focus camera with LED flash and the speakerphone grill are all stuffed into the handset's hump, which forms the slight bulge that we've been accustomed to seeing since the original Motorola DROID X. In order to retain its slim appearance, Motorola has opted to keep its battery shut out from the world – essentially requiring you to send it away to get it replaced.

Interface:

In its quest to reign supreme over all other Motorola manufactured DROIDs before it, the DROID RAZR is equipped with a 1.2GHz dual-core TI OMAP 4430 processor, which is a slight improvement over the 1GHz clocked speed of the DROID BIONIC's dual-core CPU. Supplementing its processing prowess, it's packed with a generous 1GB of RAM. To sum it all, the RAZR is exceptionally fast with its operational movement – even when it's tested with a graphically intensive Live Wallpaper. From opening up applications, pinch-zooming, and kinetic scrolling, it's pretty much spot on with its response. However, we still notice every now and then just a slight pause or delay with some of its movement – though, it's nothing detrimental and almost negligible. Even though it boasts a faster processor than its siblings, its overall performance doesn't deviate much from what we saw already with the DROID BIONIC.

Needless to say, it would’ve been one thing if the DROID RAZR were the first to flaunt the latest customized MOTOBLUR (or whatever they want to call it) skin, but the DROID 3 and DROID BIONIC had the pleasure of using it already. Yet, it’s one beautiful interface running on top of Android 2.3.5 since it’s filled to the brim with some fancy looking 3D effects and transitions to keep your eyes content. Additionally, most of the Motorola inspired widgets available on the handset are resizable to any size – and their layouts automatically change to accommodate the new arrangement. Getting some love as well, the app panel might retain the usual grid-like layout with apps, but the 3D effect as you’re moving between panels show the kind of attention to detail that Motorola places with the entire experience.


If you’re big on the social networking stuff, you’ll take pleasure with the deep integration that the interface has to offer. In fact, the Social Networking app manages to aggregate social networking content in a single place – and it offers these nice looking 3D window panels as you’re looking through posts. But instead of running the app, you can still get your quick fix by using the available social networking widgets on the homescreen. For a comprehensive walkthrough of the customized interface, you can read more about it on our Motorola DROID 3 review.


The RAZR launches with Android 2.3.5 Gingerbread on board, but Motorola said it will update it to 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwitch in the early 2012.

Contacts:

Essentially, the contacts app retains the fundamental elements we come to expect – like synchronization with our Google account. Besides that, we also find social networking integration that allows us to check out profiles, ‘poke’ friends, and view their most recent tweets. Of course, the listing can become somewhat disorganized looking after adding all of your accounts, but it’s nice to see some filters in place to make it easier to view. And oh yeah, you can always resort to clicking the magnifier icon to search for specific contacts – as opposed to scrolling through a never-ending list.



Organizer:

Not surprisingly, there’s nothing new with any of the core organizer apps since they provide all the logical and traditional set of features we come to expect out of any Android smartphone. So whether you’re using the calculator, calendar, alarm, or timer, there’s absolutely nothing different about them in any way. Still, it’s nice being able to sync calendars from multiple accounts as well – plus, they’re color coded for better organization.



Messaging:

Blessed with a sizable display, the DROID RAZR is especially adept in handling the needs of even the most demanding text messenger out there. Not only does the black themed keyboard accentuates the handset's Super AMOLED display, but it also offers a tastefully fresh look. Whether it's the Swype or Multi-Touch keyboard that you use, its spacious layout enables us to quickly compose messages with minimal effort – thanks mostly to its responsive nature and accuracy. Plus, when you activate the auto-correct feature, the experience is nearly seamless as we're able to type casually at a wicked rate.


Aside from the fact that scrolling is kept at a minimum with the Gmail experience on the handset, there’s nothing else beneficial that we can find about it. Luckily, the setup process is unchanged with its user-friendly approach by requiring only our email addresses and passwords for automatic setup with most generic accounts. In some instances though, it might ask for additional pieces of information, like server addresses and ports, to set up properly.

Camera:

Since it’s running the same customized MOTOBLUR experience found on the DROID 3 and DROID BIONIC, the layout of the camera interface isn’t particularly new . Dominating most of the interface, we get a good view on what we’re shooting with the viewfinder, but we find the usual suspect of icons littered on its side – like the on-screen shutter key, digital zoom controls, and video mode toggle. Furthermore, there’s an accessible sliding bar that holds additional icons that allow us to change shooting modes, choose different effects, and get into its settings. Compared to others, it’s lacking on some manual controls that are near and dear to photo enthusiast out there.

DROID RAZR's 8-megapixel auto-focus camera is very similar to what we saw with the DROID BIONIC. In outdoor sunny conditions, details are rather faint in appearance, and at the same time, it generally casts a cooler color reproduction – making the overall shot appear bluish in tone. Even indoors under artificial lighting, we still notice the same bluish tinge to the shots. Meanwhile, in extreme low lighting situations, image quality is diminished due to its grainy appearance – with a bit of digital noise evident as well. Fortunately, its LED flash is able to illuminate the shot properly with an even amount of lighting. However, it still has some difficulty in properly focusing when attempting to take shots in complete darkness. In the end, photos are good, but not great! If you plan to print out 4" x 6" photos, it's not going to be that much of a problem, but if you intend on blowing them up, just expect them to be underwhelming.


Alright, still shot quality might be decent, but how about high-definition video recording? Well, it simply fails to impress us. On paper, its 1080p high-definition video recording sounds great, but after previewing them on a computer, we're left scratching our heads. As it captures video at the rate of 29 frames per second and records clear audio, the biggest distraction that we find is its below average detail quality – it simply looks flat and indistinct. Also, it lacks continuous auto-focus, but rather, it features touch focus instead.

Motorola DROID RAZR Sample Video:



Motorola DROID RAZR Indoor Sample Video:



Multimedia:

Utilizing the same music player interface featured on other recent Motorola smartphones, it has a conventional approach with its presentation as songs are being played – displaying such things as the album cover and on-screen controls. However, we do like the nifty looking 3D carousel gallery available when we’re browsing through songs in landscape. Rounding things out, we definitely appreciate the usefulness of lyrics being displayed as a song is being played, which transforms the phone into a mini karaoke machine of some sort. With its single speaker, it's able to produce some audible tones, but it tends to sound rather sharp when it's placed at the loudest volume setting. However, in order to fine tune things out, we're presented with a broad range of equalizer settings to better adapt to specific genre of music.


Before proceeding to load our tests video, we're already thinking in the back of our minds that it's going to be a phenomenal experience, partly because of its fast processor and brilliant looking Super AMOLED display. And right on cue, the handset is able to deliver just that as it's able to play our video that's encoded in MPEG-4 1920 x 1080 resolution. Easily, it’s able to play it effortlessly, while reeling us in thanks to its smooth playback, rich details, and iridescent appearance. Therefore, if you happen to love long trips on the road, the Motorola DROID RAZR will be the perfect companion for you.

As we previously mentioned already, we're ecstatic to know that DROID RAZR packs a microHDMI port. Much like other smartphones that offer the functionality, we're given the ability to do things like outputting high-definition video, sharing other multimedia content, and a mirrored experience. Furthermore, with the aid of some optional Motorola Webtop enabled accessories, such as the lapdock and HD station, we're given the full web browsing experience thanks to Mozilla Firefox – plus, we're still able to interact with the phone's various functionality. Naturally, it's not the first time we're seeing it, but it's nevertheless something that we truly appreciate.

Internally, it's packed with 8GB of storage, which is indeed paltry for a device of this caliber, but it's thankfully supplemented by the preloaded 16GB microSD card in its available slot. And if that's certainly not enough for you, then you can always replace it with cards up to 32GB in size.

Internet and Connectivity:

Running at full speed ahead, the DROID RAZR isn't shy to show off its web browsing performance – even more when it's packing lightning fast 4G LTE speeds. In fact, we managed to get download and upload speeds of up to 10Mbit/s and 11.5Mbit/s respectively in our testing, but of course, you can achieve even better results depending on your location, the current congestion of the network and so on.  Besides the wicked speeds, the overall web browsing experience is arguably rock solid thanks to its responsive nature. So whether it's pinch zooming or kinetic scrolling, its movement is very gracious to deliver an engaging experience. Throw in the fact that it doesn't stutter even in the face of Flash content, it's remarkably equipped in providing us with that near desktop-like experience.


Needless to say, we're impressed to find that Motorola has managed to package all of its radios into a confined space. Yet, it would've been even more monumental if they happened to somehow make it a global device, but instead, it's merely a CDMA/EVDO device. Nonetheless, we're utterly blown away that it also packs a 4G LTE radio after taking into account its overall size. Additionally, it features other connectivity items such as aGPS, Bluetooth 4.0 with EDR, 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi, and mobile hotspot functionality.

Software:

At this point, we've been thoroughly amazed by the handset's hardware, but underneath it all in the software side, Motorola has managed to plant some of its presence in the included applications. For starters, it includes MotoCast, which empowers the handset to stream files from an internet-connected computer. Essentially, it's a cloud-based system that provides almost an unlimited amount of data storage for the smartphone – seeing that we can stream and gain access to shared files and folders on a computer.

If you happen to be particular about having complete control in everything surrounding the DROID RAZR, the Smart Actions functionality will be especially appealing to you. Honestly, it turns the handset into your very own personal digital assistant – but the beauty in it is that it's actually smart! Basically, Smart Actions is a reminder system on steroids, seeing that it provides a wide array of actions based on specific triggers. For example, if you happen to activate the ‘work’ Smart Action, it'll know when you arrive at work due to your GPS coordinates, while at the same time, it can even automatically send a text to someone informing them that you've arrived safely. Another example is found with the ‘car’ Smart Action, which senses that you're in your car when the handset is connected to some sort of Bluetooth system; say like a Bluetooth speaker of some sort. Once the phone registers that the trigger has been executed, it can automatically set it so that you can't send text messages or accept phone calls. All in all, it's definitely a neat feature that gives you a lot of control in what you do on the device.

Unsurprisingly, Verizon's presence is very well established on the handset thanks to applications such as My Verizon, V CAST Tones, Verizon Video, and VZ Navigator. Also, Motorola packs along a couple other branded apps like MOTOACTV and MOTOPRINT. For the enterprise or business user, apps like GoToMeeting and QuickOffice are particularly useful for their needs. Meanwhile, we find other third-party apps included such as Amazon Kindle, Blockbuster, IM, Let's Golf 2, Madden NFL 2012, Netflix, NFL Mobile, Slacker, and VideoSurf. And of course, all of the typical Google branded applications are all on board to give us that tried and true Android experience.

Performance:

Just like the DROID BIONIC before it, the DROID RAZR has one fantastic calling quality. So if you happen to be a chatterbox, you'll definitely find the handset more than ideal for your yapping needs. Not only are voice distinctive and robust on both ends of the line, but there is no evidence of any background noise or static heard through the earpiece. Additionally, the earpiece's volume output is strong enough to make conversations very audible to the ear. Switching over to the speakerphone, we experience an exact performance as it's able to whip up the same clear tones and strong volume.

Stricken with the same case of lost connectivity with 4G LTE, we're not all that surprised seeing that it's prevalent on previous 4G LTE devices that we've checked out from Verizon. However, it's only pronounced when we're indoors, and it doesn't seem to be affected when we're outside. In terms of overall signal strength, it's decent as it's able to put up an average amount of bars in high coverage areas. We didn't experience any dropped calls during our testing in the greater Philadelphia region.

We can ponder over how Motorola is even able to pack a 1,780 mAh battery into its shell, but they somehow managed to do just that. Even though it's rated for 12.5 hours of talk time, we're still left desiring for more battery life seeing that it reaches the same mark as the DROID BIONIC before it. Specifically, it's able to pump out approximately 10 hours of battery life on normally usage, which isn't anything spectacular, but still better than the mark reached by other 4G LTE smartphones. Obviously, light users can get almost close to a day's worth of battery life on a single charge, but it's likely to require nightly charging.

Conclusion:

Bringing us back to memory lane, there's no arguing that the original Motorola RAZR was an iconic device that's seemingly forever ingrained into our minds, but on top of that, it showed us the kind of ingenuity behind Motorola. As the story goes, the RAZR eventually exhausted its ride, but Motorola managed to reignite that fire with the original Motorola DROID from a couple years ago. Now that the stage is set for a complete makeover, the Motorola DROID RAZR is by far the most compelling handset to step into the competitive landscape in recent memory.

In a time when high-end smartphones seem to be a dime a dozen, the Motorola DROID RAZR is able to captivate our attention above all others thanks to the brilliant engineering marvel that it beholds. For something so thin and light, it's almost impossible to even fathom that it's remarkably strengthened to offer superior durability over other contemporary smartphones. Meanwhile, it doesn't compromise on other things, which really amazes us even more knowing that it's choked full of cutting edge hardware to make it literally future proof in every way possible.

Indeed, it's not 100% in all categories, like in the video recording and battery life department, but it's able to show it's added worth on the software side – such as Webtop, MOTOCAST, and Smart Actions. As much as some of us are polarized with Ice Cream Sandwich on board with the upcoming Samsung Galaxy Nexus, there should be no cause for alarm because it's announced to be coming to the DROID RAZR in the future either way. Naturally, some people will still find its price to be on the expensive side, but it's more than justified by its performance, premium construction, and bountiful hardware. Going forward, every handset released will need to live up to the mark established by the DROID RAZR, because it's absolutely, undeniably, and remarkably a piece of technology that smashes the perception of what we consider to be a top-notch smartphone.

Software version of the reviewed unit:
Android version:  2.3.4
Build number: 5.5.1_84_DBN-55
Kernel version: 2.6.35.7-g790a33c

Motorola DROID RAZR Video Review: