Motorola Droid RAZR Smartphone Review

Design

When we first picked up the Droid RAZR, our first thoughts were that the phone looks a bit like a thinner version of the Droid Bionic. Indeed, the specifications of these two phones are very similar with the exception of dimensions and weight. The Droid Bionic measures about 0.4 inches thick, while the Droid RAZR is 0.28 inches thin. In addition to being thinner, Motorola was also able to make the Droid RAZR lighter than the Droid Bionic. The Droid Bionic weighs about 5.6 ounces, while the Droid RAZR weighs about 4.48 ounces, making it one of the lighter phones we've reviewed recently. One other key difference between the phones is price. The Droid Bionic is currently available for $100 less than the Droid RAZR.

Samsung Galaxy S 4G
4.2 ounces
Motorola Droid RAZR         
4.48 ounces
Nexus S
4.55 ounces
Samsung Galaxy SII Epic 4G Touch
4.6 ounces
HTC Droid Incredible
4.6 ounces
Apple iPhone 4
4.8 ounces
Apple iPhone 4S
4.9 ounces
Samsung Droid Charge
5.04 ounces
Motorola Droid Bionic
5.57 ounces
Motorola Photon 4G
5.6 ounces
HTC EVO 3D
6 ounces
HTC Thunderbolt
6.23 ounces

 

Like many smartphones today, the majority of the front of the Droid RAZR is consumed by the large, 4.3-inch colorful Super AMOLED Advanced qHD display that supports a resolution of 540 x 960. We have been impressed by Super AMOLED displays in the past, and the display found on the Droid RAZR is no exception. It's colorful, vibrant, sharp and offers excellent viewing angles.

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Just below the Droid RAZR's 4.3-inch qHD display, you'll find four traditional touch sensitive backlit buttons (Menu, Home, Back, Search).  The front-facing webcam is at the top of the phone just below the A in the Motorola logo.

In keeping with Motorola's Droid design, the Droid RAZR has a thicker area on the back of the device near the top. Here, you'll find the 8MP camera and flash. Motorola has also used this thicker area to house the microUSB port, micro HDMI port, and headset jack on the phone.

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Taking a look at the edges of the Droid RAZR, you'll see a door on the left side of the phone that opens to reveal the Micro-SIM card slot and microSD slot. The right edge of the phone houses a power button and volume rocker. The back of the phone has a soft finish with a zigzag pattern, Motorola logo, and a couple of Verizon Wireless logos. Material used here is Kevlar and is highly resistant to scratches and damage in general.

However, the Droid RAZR doesn't have a removable back plate or a removable battery. We're big fans of Android, but we'll admit that there are times where an app has locked up our phone and we needed to remove the battery to reset things.

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Since the Droid RAZR doesn't have a removable battery, this is not an option. In other words, if for some reason the Power button won't turn off the phone, you're out of luck. This non-removable battery is also a drawback since users won't be able to swap for a spare battery on high-use days that drain the phone.


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