A look at the Motorola Droid RAZR

The RAZR is the coolest looking phone out there, but it’s not the best.

When I first got my hands on the Droid RAZR I was more than a little in awe. It just looks SO cool. The harsh lines, the beveled screen, it is a really sharp looking phone. I normally don’t care what any phone looks like, but I was really impressed by the design work (from a visual standpoint) on the RAZR. The phone internals are impressive as well, a 1.2GHz Texas Instruments OMAP dual-core processor with 1GB RAM, 16GB internal memory and a 16GB SD card, an 8MP camera and a bright and vibrant 960×540 screen. Obviously, the phone that this is most often compared to is the Galaxy Nexus, and with good reason. However, I aim to look at it in somewhat of a vacuum, but with an obvious nod to both the Nexus and the iPhone 4S.

General Thoughts

The RAZR has a bigger screen but the same number of pixels.

The Droid RAZR is fast. It is without a doubt the speediest Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) experience I’ve ever seen. It’s also thin, like REALLY thin. It is the pure evolution of the Droid X (one of the most popular Android devices) not just a minor iteration (think Droid X2). The RAZR handled everything I threw at it, from apps, to games, to video – with no problems. The on-board memory is quick, which makes connecting it to your PC a breeze. The 4G modem is good, and the GPS extremely quick and accurate (unlike a lot of other phones I’ve used). The RAZR is a wickedly fast phone, that offers a really nice screen and is at the absolute top of the Gingerbread game. The 4G modem is fast, yet seems to stay on while on WiFi (definitely hurting the battery life). Speaking of battery, I got nowhere near the promised run time, and found that I was always running for my charger.

When seated next to the iPhone, it just plain looks cooler. The RAZR screen is about the size of the entire iPhone – but the bezel is hard to miss. There are a few other excellent design qualities of the RAZR, most notably the inclusion of KEVLAR to make it strong, light and water resistant. Thus, the battery is inaccessible (a huge problem for me). Motorola also included Gorilla Glass on the front, protecting the screen from scratches and damages. It is a tough, good looking phone, that definitely stands out in any crowd. It does feel a little weird in the hand – all hard edges, and the Nexus or iPhone 4S are definitely more ergonomically friendly.

At the end of the day, the RAZR is still not a Nexus, and it shows

On their website, Motorola states that it is Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) ready – yet I wouldn’t expect an update before Q2 2012. The fact that Motorola decided to ship it without ICS is disappointing, and does not bode well for the phone’s future. Of further concern is the screen. Google has stated that 1280×720 (720p) will be the standard for ICS (and further devices) and it is rumored that a Droid RAZR MAXX edition is in the works (overseas phones have 720p screens). With limited developer support, and seemingly little OEM support, the Droid RAZR is a great phone that will just be slightly left behind.

Pros: