Motorola Razr 2 V8 user reviews

skcmedia 17 February 2008

Good: I love the large screen and the camera is far superior to my Nokia 6300

Bad: Quoted battery life is a lie.

Comment: I have always loved Motorola phones and have never had a bad experience with one. I was delighted when O2 offered it to me for free on an upgrade. Sadly, within a few weeks I returned it due to the phone freezing and the outer screen displaying gobbledegook!

The replacement phone arrived and I dutifully charged the battery. The next day I took it to work and the battery was almost exhausted before the end of the day. I don't make calls but text on my phone. Aware that I had been playing with it far more than average I charged it again. The battery life is simply awful. Whilst my work does not require me to travel, and therefore can charge it daily, my Nokia needed a charge once a week with on occasion a little top up.

The build quality is poor unlike my V3i. The flip jerks as it is lifted open and kind of clicks as it is closed. If you are not careful the battery compartment can slide up easily when you go to get the phone from your pocket. The user interface is brilliant but I prefer the old Moto menu system. Sadly, I miss the old graphics for sending and receiving a text. Now the front screen 'warms up' and then a white box just appears. Trivial I know but it shows a lack of engagement with users as this was one of its pluses.

There are 3 themes to choose from and apart from shading differ only slightly from one another. To scroll through and listen to the in built ring tones you need to highlight the tone you want to listen to and press enter to bring up the play options. You need to do this for every tone. To use a specific tone after you have played it you need to go back and insert it. A real step back from the old menu system. The quality of the tones is poor as some of the tones as used on moto's for years sound old and ill put together.

I rarely make calls but when I do, the sound quality is the usual high standard. Crystal clear quality. The text messaging is easy and fast. It takes only a few minutes to get used to it. But when you go back to a Nokia you realise just how they have mastered it compared to Motorola.

The screen is clear and bright but like so many things with Motorola, an age behind Nokia. My old Nokia had 10 million colours whilst the Moto sticks to 262,000. Still impressive but when you have had better it goes against it.

Overall, happy to accept all of the above other than build and battery life. Where they get the figures from I do not know. Motorola needs to engage more with its users and its time for a new 'classic' from them. Sadly, the RAZR2 is not it.

tanazbaria 25 January 2008

Good: Looks stylish, thats all

Bad: the battery strength, the vibrator is weak, picture quality at nite poor, average headset music sound

Comment: Please dont buy this product unless only looks matters

Rob Rafferty 3 October 2007

Good: Stunning, Voice Convo quality, Large Front Screen

Bad: 2 Fawlty Handsets

Comment: Having seen how stunning it looked on display, I decided to go for one, being generally pleased with motorolas of past.

However, the first handset had a problem with it's camera and returned and replaced, and the second has now started crashing. Orange customer services have told me that motorola know there is a fault with the V8, and are contacting people with problems to try and resolve it. Shame they didn't think to resolve it before releasing it.

Has truly put me off buying another moto. My advice, wait until these problems have been sorted before buying one!

I K 25 September 2007

Good: Excellent built quality and design. Very good sound, superb screen.

Bad: Poor features, outdated menu, no 3G, poor implementation of the touch screen, no standard headphone output or usb, cannot sync with Mac

Comment: I bought this phone three days ago, without searching for reviews on the net, as I usually do, based on its design.
The design is indeed excellent, and the build quality is very high. The weight is just right and it will fit comfortably in ones pocket. I like the tactile feedback the side buttons and the touch screen produce. The screen is very good also. The phone is very fast in performing every task. The controls are nicely placed, although you might find yourself opening the camera a little too often. Unfortunately that's all that is good about it.
A mobile phone with these specs should have come out a couple of years ago, not now. No 3G, no auto-focus camera, no memory expansion. It doesn't even have animated icons on the menu. The menu looks outdated compared to SE or Nokia menus.
The customization options are very limited, just two themes. All you can change is the wallpapers. For some reason Motorola included a bunch of midis and just four MP3 ringtones. The phone looks very sleek. Why would everybody will want to make it sound like it was made in the 90s? Same with the wallpapers.
Nothing cool there either. The animated ones are looking good, but then again the phone doesn't support animated wallpapers, just animated screensavers.
This phone with all its poor features is supposed to sell to design conscious people. Motorola should follow the lead from Nokia. Sure the 8800 has the same poor specs as the RAZR 2 but at least it has exclusive ringtones and wallpapers...

S H 6 September 2007

Good: As thin as it gets, hugh external screen, crystal talk and touch feedback

Bad: Wi-fi and 2 megapixel camera

Neal Clark 26 August 2007

Good: Looks and feels great, simple operating system

Bad: Awful instruction manual, cheap headphones

Comment: Despite what the Cnet review says, you CAN set the V8 to ring and vibrate at the same time. The 'normal' ring setting can be edited within the 'profiles' sub-menu to enable 'ring and vibrate'.