8 years ago, Motorola introduced the concept of thinness to mobiles in a big way. The 2004 RAZR was a clam-shell flip phone with stunning, razor-sharp design. 130 million units later, people discovered that the flip mechanism broke easily and that apart from look good and make calls, the RAZR didn’t do anything exceptional. The RAZR 2 came along in 2007, but the world had moved on.
Motorola’s mobile handset division was sold to Google in August 2011 for a respectable $12.5 Billion. Fans of this venerable American champion have been keen to see what Google will be able to release with Motorola in its own house. Unfortunately, the new Android powered RAZR smartphone will not be that device. That said, it’s still a mighty impressive unit, and offers a lot of promise for the year ahead.
The new RAZR looks as good inside as it does outside, with a mighty 1.2GHz dual core processor, 16Gb onboard storage, mini HDMI and an 8MP camera. And on the outside? A whistle-inducing thinness that rivals Samsung’s latest Galaxy offerings, and a similar big, AMOLED 4.3” display.
Assuming Motorola started work on this before the sale to Google, it seems like the boys and girls in the lab went all out and put their best materials on the line. The RAZR is as light as the Galaxy but more solid, thanks to a Kevlar backing. But the big innovation that even Apple might have to peek its head up for is the internal waterproofing, making the phone resistant to water damage. No-one’s suggesting you dip your space age phone in coffee, but a random splash here and there? No problems.
The RAZR seems almost too good to be true, and there are a couple of annoying glitches. Android 2.35 out of the box, hardware buttons and no ‘pure’ Android option. Though the RAZR will be more than peppy enough to cope with Android 4.0, and is officially compatible, it’ll take some time to see if this last gasp from Motorola will be the basis for Google-led innovation in the future, or the last of a dying breed. That said, owners of this RAZR will be thrilled with a stunning, powerful device.
PROS
Great design, excellent materials
Water Resistant!
Powerful internals
AMOLED Display
CONS
No 4.0 out of the box
No pure Android experience