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The Motorola Razr is one of those phones that, like the Atrix, we instantly looked forward to when we saw it launched. A super thin body, oodles of RAM, Kevlar casing and a top end processor are all things we want to see in a phone of this ilk, and it's good to see Moto attempting to compete with the likes of Samsung and Apple.
We liked
The current Motorola overlay might not be explicitly called MotoBLUR, but we liked it nonetheless. It's bright, colourful, and adds something different to the Android system with resizable widgets, a fancy notifications bar and the ability to hide the apps you don't like from the menu.
The media options on the phone are excellent as well, with the video and music players both managing to be excellent additions. They're not the best we've seen on a phone, but the range of functionality is certainly impressive.
And the dual core processor - sure it's nothing new, but there's a lot to be said about a phone that simply WORKS when you want it to, and doesn't just return a blank thinking screen while you wait for your smartphone to think about doing what you asked it.
Smart Options are a nice touch as well, with the ability to make your phone do certain things based on time of day, location or functionality. It's something we're sure we'll see a lot more of, and remember: you saw it here (sort of) first.
We disliked
However, despite running a very similar feature set to the Samsung Galaxy S2, there was a lot we weren't so impressed with on the Razr. The top heavy design means the phone feels a little odd in the hand - almost unbalanced at times when typing. It's not a big problem, but detracts from the impressive slimness.
The fact we can only have five home screens is irritating too - the onus here is on widgets, and while you can resize them, we quickly ran out of space to chuck them.
Battery life is similarly unimpressive, with our Motorola Razr often beginning to panic around 8PM each evening. While is mostly lasted until charge time, it's irritating to be told you should be looking for a charger - like a child that worries too much about bedtime.
The fact we're not allowed to delete certain bookmarks also annoyed us beyond belief - sure, this is a little thing, but it's OUR phone and we should jolly well be allowed to choose which sites we want to look at regularly and which we don't. This had better be fixed with the next software update or we'll... well, do nothing. But keep moaning to people about it when they mention the phone.
Verdict
Motorola needed a phone like the Razr in its arsenal, and now it has one to be proud of. It's got all the dual-core power of the Atrix, plus a superior screen; more importantly, it's jumped from a squat chassis to a sumptuous slimline affair that glides into the pocket.
However, we're not sure about the way the screen is swamped in the frame of the phone, nor about the certain elements Moto has locked down - plus the battery life remains an issue.
Looks- and functionality-wise, there are many comparisons to be made with the Samsung Galaxy S2 - and we can't help but recommend that latter over this phone, with a superior range of customisation on offer and a snappier UI to boot.
