Next-Gen 3G RAZR DownUnder

Written by Adam Gosling

Tuesday, 25 September 2007

Motorola has released the next generation MOTORAZR onto the Australian market making the RAZR2 V9 available from Telstra for A$799 and the RAZR2 V8 exclusively from Vodafone for A$749 for a short time until Optus also gets to sell the V8 model locally. The 3G HSDPA-capable flip phones are more than a mid-lifecycle revamp for the RAZR and are the second generation of the hugely successful handset which Motorola has announced will be a prevailing brand for the company. Despite being able to shave another couple of millimetres off the slender flip phones, the new RAZRs have some great new features that may make existing RAZR owners want to upgrade as well as attracting new owners. The company says the new handsets are not only thinner, they are stronger and the new cast aluminum hinge has been tested to more than 100,000 flips in lab testing to help ensure that every time a customer flips open the device, it will work perfectly. But there's new features to improve the experience beyond the general look and feel which has benefited from new build materials and finishes. The RAZR2 incorporates what Motorola is calling CrystalTalk technology on the V9, which automatically adjusts audio to ensure clear calls even in a noisy environment. There's also up to 2GB of on-board memory, all but eliminating the need for add-in storage, and Motorola says it has sped up the menu system so that navigation is ultra-fast. Powered by the new ARM 11 processor, processing speed is 10 times faster than the original RAZR and with high-speed USB 2.0 it only takes a few seconds to transfer a song. "With the modern style and powerful performance of the MOTORAZR2 V9, Motorola is once again redefining the mobile phone," said Andrew Volard, Managing Director, Motorola South Pacific. "This device takes the world's best-selling feature-phone to the next level. With more than 100 million RAZR's sold worldwide, people are now hungry for the next iconic feature phone. The RAZR2 delivers the ultimate mobile experience in a slim, strong and smart form that people will want to own, and others will envy!" Both phones have big dual screens. The 'largest-in-its class' 2-inch external screen offers up crisp pictures for caller ID and then inside the display gets even bigger at 2.2 inches with twice the resolution of the original RAZR. Motorola really focuses on the materials it uses to build its premium handsets and the RAZR2s are no exception. At the core of the V9 is a stainless steel internal frame to provide strength and durability, while the exterior lens is made with chemically hardened glass to be more scratch resistant. Meanwhile, the seamless casing uses a soft touch back and a "stunning" vacuum metal front finish. The external display incorporates Motorola's breakthrough "haptics" technology, which provides users with vibrating feedback in response to their finger taps. This, combined with the virtual music keys, allows the user to effortlessly control their music with out opening the flip. Just browsing -- The Web-browsing experience, including a full HTML browser1 in the new RAZR takes advantage of its stellar internal display and high-speed wireless data connections for faster, bigger and richer surfing. Built-in email functionality gives easy, PC-like access to both personal and corporate email accounts. SUMMARY OF FEATURES: Sleek, slim iconic RAZR design with clamshell form factor, metal and glass housing, internal antenna, tandem 2.2" and 2.0" 240x320 QVGA 262K colour displays Touch-sensitive external music keys Integrated 2.0 megapixel camera, with 8x digital zoom Connectivity featuring Micro USB, USB 2.0 Full Speed, USB mass storage and version 2.0 Bluetooth wireless technology with Enhanced Data Rate 3G High-Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) 3.6 Mbps wireless broadband connection and EDGE/GPRS class 10 & 12 850/1900 UMTS and 850/900/1800/1900 GSM 2100 UMTS and 850/900/1800/1900 GSM 45MB of end user memory and support for up to 2GB of memory with an optional microSD card Stereo Bluetooth wireless technology supporting A2DP and AVRCP profiles Video and audio streaming¹, capture and playback Video telephony and See What I See capable Messaging via MMS, email, SMS, MotoSync Independent Voice Recognition motorola.com/v9/au/ www.motorola.com Related news items Garmin Does Phone Nav -04/10/2007 Vodafone UK Promises All-You-Can-Hear Music -12/09/2007 Semi-Rugged With Grunt -05/09/2007 Phone, iPod Link With New Music Pack -03/09/2007 Mobile Speakerphone From Jabra -30/08/2007 Newer news items New Brand For Sony Ericsson Smartphone -11/02/2008 A Better Looking Touch Screen -11/02/2008 New Year i-mates Announced -04/12/2007 The Poor Man's Palm -02/10/2007 Armani, Prada, Labels Get Mobile -26/09/2007 Older news items Nokia E51: Smarter Than It Looks -19/09/2007 New Pearl Colours Coming -18/09/2007 Palm Goes Consumer With Treo 500v -12/09/2007 First Windows 6 Palm In Australia -12/09/2007 HP Goes iPaq Mad -06/09/2007 Tag This Now: