Review: Motorola's Pink RAZR V3c for Verizon

Motorola RAZR V3c

Motorola RAZR V3c

Motorola RAZR V3c

There are probably few people around today that have not at least seen a Motorola RAZR once before. Here in the United States, Motorola's home turf, there is probably no phone out today that can be identified, by name, by as many people as the RAZR. Old or young, pretty much everybody knows what one is.

The technical term for this scenario in this industry is "success", and the RAZR has indeed been that shot in the arm that Motorola needed to help put its mobile phone unit back on track, to give it focus. Following the unexpected (to me, at least) success of the magenta RAZR V3 on T-Mobile, Motorola built a truly pink version of the RAZR for Verizon wireless called the V3c, which supports Verizon's EV-DO V CAST video clip service.

I'm not a pink kind of guy, and I really don't like the look of the magenta/pink V3 for T-Mobile, but I truly like the pink V3c's style for some reason. I smell another success....

Physical Aspects

Physically, the RAZR V3c looks exactly like the original V3 - with one minor exception. At the time that Motorola's designers were first working on the V3c for the Korean market, the megapixel camera module they had to work with was just a bit too thick. As a result of that, they had to add that bulge around the camera lens in order to get the module to fit.

Otherwise, the physical attributes are more or less the same. The V3c weighs 97g (3.4oz), and measures 98mm x 53mm x 16mm (3.9" x 2.1" x .6"). The top half of the folder design has a volume rocker switch and the smart key button on the left side, and the voice dialing/recorder button on the right side. The external sub-display is still a 65k STN unit that is usable, but not particularly nice. The lower half of the folder houses the battery, antenna and speaker (in the bulge below the keypad), and the miniUSB port that is used for power, data, and wired headsets. The user replaceable battery, with its metal cover, and a rubber covered external antenna port are located on the back.

Inside everything looks just as it was on the original V3 except for a slightly different cut pattern in the metal keypad and the color of the rubber that fills those cuts (for the backlighting). Even though that rubber in our review unit was pink, the backlighting is still blue. The keypad itself will take some getting used to for those not already familiar with the RAZR and SLVR line of handsets. Some key feel was sacrificed in order to maintain the thin profile of the device, but with that said, the keys still do have a very obvious click to them. It isn't the best keypad for super-fast text messaging, but it will be fine for most people. The d-pad controller doesn't translate as well in this form, though, and you will be wishing for a more traditional d-pad before long. It is accurate, but it just isn't easy to use quickly.

Overall the RAZR V3c feels very solid and well built. The hinges on past RAZR handsets have served me well, and I have no reason to expect that the V3c will loosen up even after a lot of use. Most of the exterior is metal. The only real exception is both sides of the antenna area below the keypad. That is made of plastic so as to not interfere with antenna reception.

 

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