Motorola Razrs

Round-up by: Andrew Lim

Last updated: 21 Jul 2006

The Motorola V3 Razr was, and still is, an iconic phone due to its ground-breaking slimness -- it has certainly carved a deep mark on the current mobile phone landscape. At its launch it was an engineering masterpiece, and it's still providing inspiration for modern mobile phone design, while continuing to hold a strong position in the mobile retail market.

Since its inception, however, there are more and more Razrs to choose from -- Motorola has made sure that the V3 isn't lonely. First off, the V3 came in different colours, ranging from black to pink -- indeed, all the Razrs are available in a plethora of colours. Then there was the V3x and then the V3i, followed by the V3im. Choosing between them can be confusing but there are some marked differences, and before you pick up any old V3 here are a few tips.

The standard V3 is a popular phone that's slim and light, measuring 15mm in depth. This phone is great if you just want to make calls and send text messages, but be warned it only has a VGA camera and 5MB of onboard memory. This means it won't be able to take great quality pictures or have a lot of storage space for images or old text messages.

The V3i is the upgraded version of the V3, featuring a 1.3-megapixel camera and an expandable microSD memory slot. While these may seem like small changes, the expandable memory slot provides you with more space to store data, MP3s and images. This phone is very similar to the V3 in terms of looks, but has more storage space and a better camera.

Third in the family is the V3im that is again very similar to the V3 but features iTunes software that can sync with iTunes on your PC or Mac. There is another Motorola phone with iTunes on -- the Motorola Rokr -- but it doesn't have the slim design appeal of the V3im. Unfortunately, the iTunes mobile software can only hold 100 songs. This means that you are limited to the amount of music you can carry with you, making it less practical than a dedicated MP3 player. If you're a music lover this phone is definitely worth a look but keep in mind there is a cap to the number of songs you can store.

Last but definitely not least is the V3x, which is the largest of the Razr family and also comes with the most features. It has a 2-megapixel camera, 3G connectivity with video calling capability and an expandable memory slot. This phone is ideal if you want a clamshell to make video calls, store and play MP3s and browse the Web over a 3G connection.