Motorola Razor

I have this exact phone and I have had great luck with it. It's a year old so it has a few well loved scratches but still looks shiny and awesome.

More importantly, it functions well. It has a nice size screen, and it displays web pages nicely.

One con, I might say is that the numbers have this metal(?) type overlay over the numbers that sometimes scratch or come loose - seriously, i'm thinking ... sticker??  It's kind of weird, but does not affect fuctionality.

I'd get it again, but honestly, I'd probably upgrade to the Motorola Razr 2 V8.

I had a V3i - unlocked "international" version.  Used it for a year and the ringer speaker went bad.  I don't think it was a widespread quality problem, just one of those things.  I loved the phone.  I loved the design, the size, and the feel.  I replaced it with a Moto L7 SLVR which is a thin non-flip phone with a smaller number pad.  It was another unlocked, overseas version I bought new off of an eBay seller.  I have ATT and was able to use my existing SIM card on both non-ATT provided phones.

You'll like the RAZR... good reception, sturdy as long as you don't trash it around.  My wife has a V3 going on 4 years.  She's like me, she doesn't have to have the latest and greatest.

So the RAZR is a great phone.  It must be - look at how long the design has lasted!

And about my Moto SLVR... I like it OK.  I need small and powerful.  But besides having a sucky camera, the overseas L7 has a couple of quirks.  There was a small text symbol glitch common to overseas L7's which I fixed with a "seem edit" using a hexadecimal editor and a seem loading application.  It was a bit of a pain, but now I know how to to seem edits. 

And there are some words that are spelled in Continental English style like "Message Centre" and 'Dialled Calls".  The voice recognition thing requires you to speak in a British accent.  No joke.  I have a western Kentucky accent and I think the first time I tried setting up the voice thing, the lady's voice in the phone was giggling at me.  I just use single # speed dial anyway.  Those spelling and speech quirks can be fixed with hardware flashes, but I didn't bother.

Anyway (it took a while to get to this)... here's the thing about Moto phones in particular..  look very closely at what you will be allowed to do with a carrier-provided phone after you sign with a plan.  Among the questions...

• Will you be able to load your own mp3 ringtones?
• Will a friend be able to bluetooth you their ringtones?
• Is the software included to allow you to manage your contacts and media with a web interface?  If not included, will Motorola's PC application work with your phone?
• Will you be allowed to connect your phone to a computer via USB data cable for battery charging and also to use it as flash storage like it was designed?

Believe it or not, some carriers actually disable some or all of those features on their Moto phones in their plan.  Many providers want to continue to "serve" you after you sign a contract and they do this by allowing you to use only THEIR ringtones purchased from THEM and not allowing data cable hookup and transfer.

Motorolas V's and L's are superb phones provided their features are not locked out.  The Motorola management software interface called "Motorola Phone Tools" is to die for.  Anything in your phone can be accessed and managed on your PC - ringtones, contacts, calendar, media.  I would not have a phone that I couldn't manage with a PC interface.  MPT is rated as one of the best.

So when it's time, I'll probably get another SLVR or RAZR because of their size.  Unlocked, overseas version of course so my southern accent is again ridiculed by that British chick inside the phone.