Motorola RAZR XT910 Review

For quite some time now the Samsung Galaxy S II has been riding high, being the most impressive mobile handset in the Android basket. But that was in the past. The one responsible for dethroning the S II is Motorola’s all new RAZR XT910. The company has restructured its once “cutting-edge” series with what could easily be a serious ‘milestone’ for the company, since Google got on board. Here’s a closer look.

Form Factor
As of now the S II is no longer the slimmest smartphone on the shelf as the RAZR is a little over a millimeter slimmer at 7.1mm. It features a rather impressive looking 4.3-inch Super AMOLED Corning Gorilla Glass touchscreen that’s extremely clear and legible in all lighting conditions, irrespective of intensity. The colours are sharp and quite intense, but just a little on the darker side. A few diamond-cut aluminium accents add to the overall elegance of the design and thanks to its KEVLAR fiber (not it’s not bullet proof) and splash-guard coating that extends to the boards on the inside of the handset, it’s also quite a durable device. It survived quite a few drops and rigorous use over a week or so and emerged unscathed. The S II, as great a device as that is, always felt a bit ‘plastic-y’, for lack of a better term. The RAZER is quite a contrast and gives off a very cool, distinguished look with a premium-like finish.

A little wide for small hands though

Micro HDMI, USB and 3.5mm handsfree sockets are also located at the top of the device. This may not be the best location, specifically for the charging port as it can inhibit your comfort level to hold the device while taking a call. A silver screen lock/power button is located on the right side just above the volume rocker. Following the latest trend of ‘uni-body’ designs, the RAZR is equipped with a flap on the bottom left side that’s the entry point for inserting a micro SIM and micro SD card. In addition to support for up to 32GB of external memory, the RAZR also comes with 8GB of internal storage leaving you with plenty of space for media et al. An 8MP AF camera with an LED flash is located at the rear near the built in speaker that is loud and quite clear for calls or other audio. A 1.3MP front facing camera is also on board for video calls via chat networks.

It doesn't get any slimmer than this... yet

The RAZR comes off as a well designed device that looks polished enough for the Board Room and durable enough for most other landscapes as well.

HDMI as well

Features and Performance
Interface
Motorola’s MotoBLUR has been beefed up extensively and functions like a dream on the RAZR. Widgets are fluid and well designed for ease of access. Widgets can even be resized and moved around with gridlines providing you assistance throughout. The only drawbacks are that the homescreens don’t loop and don’t switch orientation in landscape. The main Apps Menu does translate well into landscape and even allows you to create groups but not folders. Swype is pre-installed and makes typing a speedy task once you get used to it. The large screen also facilitates quick typing on the landscape full screen QWERTY keypad.

A refined UI for an elegant looking handset

Running on a 1.2GHz Dual Core processor with 1GB of RAM, you’re quite assured of speedy handling and the RAZR delivers quite well on this promise. There is, however the tiniest hint of lag that’s only noticeable when you look for it, but other than that it’s every bit as good as the Galaxy S II with a slightly less cramped UI in our opinion. With Android Gingerbread, a swipe to the right from the lock screen will directly activate the camera that opens up within an instant.

AI for your peace of mind

A feature called Smart Actions is what makes the RAZR seriously stand out as a true ‘Smart’ phone. It takes into account a variety of factors, such as battery usage, location etc. and provides extremely helpful options on how to preserve power or get the best out of the handset. For instance, based on a location that you can pre-determine or the handset recognizes as one that you seem to be at most of the day, it offers choices of Work or At Home and allows you to define settings for a profile. The profile will automatically change the moment you arrive at the destination. The Smart Action app acts as a sort of AI for the handset and offers up some seriously handy tips to save on battery life as well.