RAZR2 V8 User Reviews

[Alpha43]

Alright its officially out! Now i want to encourage our members to write their own personal thoughts/review for the phone in this thread.

Please respect everyones opinion.

Enjoy this thread for conversations as well on the phone!


~Alpha~

[Baldilocks]

Ok, so I have had this beautiful phone for about 4 days now and I figured i'd write the first User Review of the PRODUCTION model.

I am not much of a writer so I will just break it down into the following categories.
1. Build Quality
2. RF Performance
3. Call Quality
4. Sound Quality
5. OS
6. Displays

Build Quality
========
I must say, this phone is VERY well put together. This truely looks like a 21st Century phone. The vacuumed glass and metal body fits together nicely and now you dont have to be "lucky" to get a battery cover that fits properly.
It's truely exudes luxury and exclusivesity.

RF Performance
==========
On par with the V3xx as I use this phone with AT&T service. I get the same RF performance (subjective because I can only look at the bars) while i drove around with both phones.
This will definately pull in a signal in fringe areas. (For those of you who have 1900Mhz service or T-Mobile--your mileage may vary.)

Call Quality
=======
I live in a GSM/EDGE only area. Compared with my V3xx the calls come thru a little louder and a lot clearer, especially in louder environments such as a shopping mall or the beach.
I imagine this has something to do with the Crystal Talk technology.
When in a 3G area the V3xx performs slightly better, but still the V8 is good enough that it easily overcomes normal GSM garbling.

Sound Quality
======
The speakerphone and audio playback definately sounds better than the sounds from my V3xx. While the V8 doesnt have TRUE stereo speakers (the main speaker is still on the back), it does have a deeper, richer and more full sound to it.
There are two slots on the bottom of the phone which i believe are just for bass boost and probably have some other acoustical properties I am not aware of.

Operating System
============
The LJ (Linux/Java) interface is certainly a welcome change over the Synergy interface. With a memory manager this phone would be a perfect multitasking platform.
The home screen is fully customizable (for the most part) and you can move folder/icons around, create new folders, etc. I say for the most part because there are a few applications that you cannot rename or change.
My Main Menu now contains 15 items on it.. things I use the most i just went ahead and moved to the Main Menu to make it easier on myself.
The speed of the phone is on par with the V3xx as well--pretty much an instant response from all keypresses.
One of my favorite features is the File Manager. In the default factory setting it displays everything in a list, but i quickly learned how to change it to show thumbnail views. In this File Manager is where all of your music, files, application, pictures, videos, unknown files, etc can be managed.
For those of you who have never used this OS, you should!! I hope Moto can get this OS working with 3G, because this should be the standard OS used on ALL future Moto's.

Displays
======
I agree with Alpha that the internal 2.2" display could have been a little bigger. Your eyes do play tricks with you because of the designof the top clamshell, but it in noway detracts from the effectiveness of image quality.

For the external screen. This screen is beautiful. Now, there has been some confusion on just what you can and cannot do from the outside screen. First let me say what you cannot do:
1. You cannot make calls from the outside screen.
2. You cannot open the music player from the outside screen or smart keys. (Only the CDMA version the V9m supports this.)
3. You cannot scroll thru text messages from the outside screen or smart keys.
4. You cannot scroll thru missed calls with the outside screen or smart keys.
5. You cannot watch videos on the outside screen, NOR can you use videos as caller ID's.

What you CAN do:
1. You can open incoming text messages.
2. You can reply to incoming text messages without opening the phone, provided what you want to say is already preloaded as a template in your text message menu.
3. You can take pictures with the flip closed, using the smart keys. (complete with zoom).
4. Once you open the music player with the Music selection on the keypad, you can close the flip and then play, ff, rw, skip thru the music using the touch sensitive keys on the outer screen. **NOTE** If you play a single track from the File Manager and then close the flip the song will continue to play, but you cannot shuffle to another track.
5. You can change the sound profiles using the outer smart key.

Some items that would make this phone a 10 out of 10.
1. Unlike some earlier reviews there are only 4 sound profiles. (Silent, Vibrate, Ring, Vibe then Ring). I hope they have a software update soon to enable Ring AND Vibrate.
2. The phone doesnt come with an IM client, even though the User Manual and older reviews clearly show one.
3. The User Manual says you can create new Sound Profiles, but to the contrary I cannot on mine.
4. There needs to be video caller ID support on the outer screen.
5. There is still no support for animated wallpaper which needs to be addressed.
6. Would be nice if you could open the music player with the flip closed.

Ok, that is my mini-review. I give this phone a 9.5 out of 10. EXCELLENT!! This phone is a keeper for me.

[mariusing]

play a great thx to your valuable reveiw.......its very useful to me~

[motomikemoto]

Been using this device for over a week now, very good experience thus far. Incredible looking (very sleek) with a solid build. I'm not big on loading a ton of mp3s into my device as I use it primarily as a phone, some texting, some surfing, and some fun like pics, vides, and ringers. It's also a solid contact management tool and I'm currently syncing it flawlessy with MPT and outlook. The speakerphone is loud and clear. The battery life is solid, goes at least 12 to 14 hours without any problems. I always put my phone back on charge at the end of each day so it's not a big issue for me to have a phone go 2 or 3 days.
Call quality is superior to other devices I've had including the V3, A1200, and Nokia 8800. I believe the 'crystal talk' technology that moto claims is the real deal. I think it does a better job and cancelling out background noise than most phones. Enjoy this device, it's a real gem in my opinion.

[HolmanGT]

motomikemoto,

"The battery life is solid, goes at least 12 to 14 hours without any problems"

What exactly do you mean by this statement? If you are talking about standby time that is not very impressive, when almost any phone will go several hundred hours in standby. I find the TalkTime significantly less than the K1 and the advertised 8.3 hours well ... Just ain't so.

[motomikemoto]

motomikemoto,

"The battery life is solid, goes at least 12 to 14 hours without any problems"

What exactly do you mean by this statement? If you are talking about standby time that is not very impressive, when almost any phone will go several hundred hours in standby. I find the TalkTime significantly less than the K1 and the advertised 8.3 hours well ... Just ain't so.

I actually mean 12 to 14 hours of solid non stop use of talking and media utilization...In my line of work it is normal to talk for hours at a time. Standby is definitely hundreds as you say.....I've had the K1 and disagree with your statement....hence, it's all relative to how you use your phone...this is an individual thing.

[HolmanGT]

motomikemoto,

May be I have been a little unlucky and have a marginal battery in my V8. Does yours get a little warm when charging or during a prolonged phone call say about a half hour our more?

[motomikemoto]

motomikemoto,

May be I have been a little unlucky and have a marginal battery in my V8. Does yours get a little warm when charging or during a prolonged phone call say about a half hour our more?

the heating during prolonged use and charging is quite normal for a device this slim....to answer your question...yes a little warm....

[HolmanGT]

motomikemoto,

Thanks for the reply Mike,

Well if yours does it too I don't have to worry about replacing a $40 dollar battery that you can't get yet.

Actually just before your reply I saw a person in the mall with a thing phone and remember thinking to myself that it might be just because the darn thin is so thin. But I said Nah! I will continue to worry about it.

Thanks for the Monkey removal, my back was starting hurt.