Motorola RAZR i – Review

Today is the day of the RAZR i launch so what better way to celebrate than with a review so you can make an informed decision.

Ever since the press conference I have swapped from my Lumia 800 to the RAZRi to see just how far Motorola have come since my last run in with them… the Atrix. Now, just to confess I’m not the biggest Android user and I am fairly biased toward Windows Mobile (surprise).

In spite of all the hurdles that the phone had to jump to stand a chance with me, it has done remarkably well. Ask anyone who works for Motorola and they’ll use phrases like “edge to edge display”, “impossibly compact”, “splash resistant” and “Kevlar”.

But wait, before you go shooting it or diving with it – it’s not bullet or water proof. It’s only resistant (to water, it won’t do much against a bullet). The display, whilst very close to the edge, is not quite what I would call “edge to edge”, but the resolution and the colour clarity is stunning.

The weight is well distributed and feels good in the hand. It is a slim device but feels solid, which is a rare combination of traits. The Intel processor that it proudly flaunts seems to be capable but thats about it. It doesn’t exceed any expectations but it doesn’t disappoint either. That is unless your trying to push it then it won’t budge far.

Inside

As far as I can tell there seems to be minimal changes to the Android software. They have dropped MOTOBLUR and have instead opted for a more HTC Sense-esque UI. However, what sets it apart from software like Sense is the “smart action” feature. This allows you to customise the RAZR i response to certain situations, for example mine is set so that if it is past 10 o’clock at night and my phone is charging it will automatically set itself to “do not disturb”. This allows for you to have phone based features specific to your needs.

With smartphone users getting younger and younger and the web playing an increasingly important role in our day to day lives, the risk of exceeding the data limit on yours or your childs monthly plans is very real. But there is a solution.

Possibly the most practical feature of this phone is that you are able to set not just a warning for when you get close to your limit, but a cap on the monthly data use. That should put a few wallets at ease.

I asked a few women (and by that I mean my partner and my mum) what they thought of the phone as it seemed to be geared towards men, but they seemed to like it with words like “pretty”, being thrown around.

My only real issue is the lack of Flash support, I can’t use apps such as BBC iPlayer to catch up on Dr Who, because it can’t be updated to the newest version of Flash, but i feel this is becoming more of an Android issue than a Motorola one. By the time you read this there should be an updated iPlayer anyway.

All in all it’s a good phone, especially for the price, so if your looking for a good deal on an above average phone this could be just the ticket, I know I like it and it has my mums seal of approval.