Verizon Wireless: Motorola Droid

The Motorola Droid is probably the most powerful phone offered through a domestic cell phone carrier. While there may be a few critics, the majority of reviews are favorable about the Droid and tout it as superior to the famous iPhone. While I could go on about the features it sports, here’s a few for starters: Touch Screen, QWERTY Keyboard, WiFi, GPS Navigation, Camera, and plenty more. While that’s my number one choice, if you’re looking for another good alternative on the Verizon Wireless network, check out the HTC Droid Eris. It’s lighter, looks friendlier, and costs a fraction. The Eris will be receiving the Android 2.0 update that the Motorola Droid uses early next year.

Buy: Motorola Droid $150 | HTC Droid Eris $10
Links: Motorola Droid Review | HTC Droid Eris Review

Sprint: Palm Pre

Palm’s device is a fairly new entry into the Smartphone market. After being announced at the Consumer Electronics Show in January, it made  official debut on Sprint’s network this summer. It runs on Palm’s fresh WebOS that offers multi-tasking, streamlined interface, and organizes your data. There’s even an App Store with a few steps behind the Apple App Store and the Android Marketplace, but still has a good selection. With QWERTY keyboard, WiFi, GPS, and a 3G network, there’s plenty this phone has to offer. If that’s not in your taste, check out the HTC Hero. It was a hard choice deciding between the two, but the HTC Hero was also one of our favorite picks. It also sports all the essential features to make a good Smartphone and will even be getting the Android 2.0 update in the near future.

Buy: Palm Pre $80 | HTC Hero
Links: HTC Hero Review

T-Mobile: myTouch 3G

While T-Mobile is a fairly open network and can accommodate devices such as the iPhone unofficially, they don’t exactly have a best Smartphone. Sure, they offer the HTC Touch Pro2, but that’s not exactly the most ideal device as we pointed out with our review for the Sprint version. While this was a hard call, I would recommend the myTouch 3G. It’s compact, looks good, and has plenty to offer. With a good battery life, 3G network, WiFi, a 3.2 mega pixel camera, and running on the Android OS, it’s definitely a great device. If there’s another device I would recommend, I’d pick the BlackBerry Bold 9700 for business users and the Motorola Cliq if you’re looking for a cheaper Smartphone.

Buy: myTouch 3G $99 | Motorola CLIQ $99

AT&T: Apple iPhone

If I had to choose my favorite smartphone asides from the Motorola Droid, there’s no question it’s the Apple iPhone 3GS. It’s that simple. What’s there the iPhone can’t do? With over 100,000 Apps in the store, you’ll probably never get bored. Despite AT&T scoring last for 3G network quality, there’s always WiFi. With every iPhone supporting software upgrades, it’s fairly future proof. Just keep in mind, rumor has it that a 4th generation iPhone is almost out the door. If security and enterprise features are essential or necessary, the iPhone is probably not the best choice. I’d highly recommend the BlackBerry Bold 9700 as it’s a more traditional business phone. And of course, although not as fancy, it still has a 3.2 mega pixel camera, multimedia player, a web browser, and even an App Store.

Buy: Apple iPhone $200 (16GB) | BlackBerry Bold $0

Unlocked Device: Nokia N900

If there’s a device I’d have to select that isn’t available through any U.S. cell phone carrier, there’s no question that the Nokia N900 is my current pick. In all honesty, I wouldn’t know where to begin with this phone. It seriously has that much to offer. If there’s a feature available on the iPhone or Droid, this phone probably has it or can do it even better. With 3G, WiFi, a slide out keyboard, a 5 megapixel camera (plus another front-facing camera), unrestricted Bluetooth, 32GB of storage, microSD expansion, a Mozilla-based web browser, multitasking, Linux-based Maemo OS, and extensive media file format support, it’s simply a robust device. Unfortunately you won’t get a subsided price when picking one of these up. It’s now goes for about $500 through Amazon.com.

Links: Nokia.com N900 | Skatter Tech N900 Unboxing

This is a part of our ongoing Skatter Tech Holiday Gift Guides.

Faster and More Responsive
Android 2.0 was by no means slow. The update did make some noticeable improvements on speed and stability. Programs open, close, and switch quicker than before.

New “Unlock” Screen
The most obvious change when you first open the Droid is in the “unlock” screen. Though the principle is the same, the interface uses drag-able “tabs” rather than the “wheel” used in 2.0.

Battery Life Increased
This is Verizon’s claim and not my own, however, the phone did last the grueling holiday drive from Sacramento to San Diego with some juice to spare. That includes a solid two hours of music streaming with Pandora and a half hour of using Google Maps Navigation to find my way out of a shady corner of Los Angeles.

Auto Focus Fixed
Some people have reported problems with the Droid’s auto focus ability. The update fixes this and shortens the delay time between shots.

Improved Call Audio
Somehow, Google managed to improve the already impeccable audio during calls. The difference isn’t drastic in my opinion, but I’ll take their word for it.

Speakerphone Fixed
I never ran into this problem before, but when receiving a call on call waiting, the speakerphone turns off. The speakerphone now remains on.

Bluetooth Improvements
The update eliminates the background echo created when using a Bluetooth headset. If you have a car like the Lexus R400h which allows you to transfer contacts via Bluetooth, you are in luck. Android 2.0.1 improved the ability to beam up your phone book with Bluetooth.

Support for Seven-Digit Numbers
You can now send text messages and multimedia messages to seven-digit numbers. Also, you can merge contacts with seven-digit numbers.

Visual Voice Mail Delay Fixed
Verizon Visual Voice Mail provides an interface for your voice mail. It allows you to view caller information and voice mail information for each message without having to deal with the standard “to replay this message, press 7, etc.” New voice mail messages now appear right after they arrive. It used to take a few minutes for the message to show up. WiFi access has also been enabled.

Other Thoughts:
On another note, I’m hoping Google finds a better way to control the audio volume. Right now, there are separate volume levels for calls, ringer, media playback, and navigation.  To adjust the volume, you have to open a corresponding application and then use the buttons on the side of the phone to adjust the volume. For instance, I have to open the media player to change the media playback volume. So, if I’m listening to music at a reasonable level and the navigation decides to scream at me, I have to switch to the navigation application to relieve my ears. I’d like the side buttons to control the master volume have individual volume controls in the notification area. That way when I need to make a “LEFT ON ANDERSEN PARKWAY IN ONE QUARTER MILE!”, I can quickly turn it down.

Support: Droid Update Info
Related: Motorola Droid Review

If there is anything you should take from that last paragraph, it should be that I am hypercritical when it comes to reviewing smart phones because I have yet to experience the recipe for a so-called “iPhone-Killer”. So when I say that the Motorola Droid is my new favorite phone, you can take me seriously. Yes, yes, all of the smart phones in this generation do just about everything short of cooking for you. But the Droid just does it better with Motorola’s feature-packed hardware, Android’s new open source operating system, and Verizon’s high quality network. I’ll explain.

The Hardware
This phone is built like a tank. It weighs about an ounce more than the iPhone, but the extra weight just makes the Droid feel like it’s expensive and has a lot to offer rather than just a heavy burden. I was initially concerned about the sliding mechanism for the keyboard, which is often the first to break on phones with a similar form factor. However, this isn’t the case. The Droid is far from flimsy. Although the phone doesn’t sit flush on a flat surface; the shape of the back elevates the phone just enough so that it doesn’t vibrate off of a table or let the camera get scratched. The lip below the screen didn’t seem to serve any purpose, but I soon realized that it houses the microphone and helps the user to tell the speaker from the microphone.

I only have a few small complaints. My first complaint is with the external buttons. Don’t get me wrong, all three power, volume, and camera keys work fine, but they sit loosely in the frame, which feels as though it takes away from the quality of the build. My second complaint is with the battery compartment cover. It slides off rather easily. It even came off once when I pulled it out of a tight pocket in my backpack. I suppose that’s better than not being able to take it off at all, but it’s something to keep in mind if you like your jeans extra tight.

• Overall Quality – 5/5
• Mechanical Parts – 5/5
• External Buttons – 4/5

The Display
Measuring 3.7 inches and 480 x 854 pixel resolution, the Droid’s touch-screen display is beautiful, bright, enormous, and knocks competitor’s displays out of the park. The screen is both larger than the one found on the iPhone and also has over two times screen resolution. That means it can easily fit and render websites normally designed for computers. Plus, it’s large enough of a resolution to playback DVD quality movies. It’s also accurate and sensitive enough to register touches properly. Like all glossy touch screen phones, the screen tends to get covered with fingerprints and smudges, but it’s nothing your t-shirt can’t fix.

• Size – 5/5
• Resolution – 5/5
• Brightness – 5/5
• Quality – 5/5

The Keyboard
The Droid offers both a physical keyboard and an on-screen keyboard to suit your taste. The on-screen keyboard works perfectly in both horizontal and landscape modes. A key press results in both a sound and/or haptic (vibration) feedback. In fact, the on-screen keyboard is almost the same as the iPhone’s, so it should be an easy transition for those used to Apple’s keyboard.

The physical keyboard is pretty standard. The buttons are square and the keys become illuminated when it’s dark. There’s nothing incredibly special or annoying about it. The only issue is the layout. Rather than having slightly offset keys as found on standard keyboards, everything is aligned in a perfect grid. However, just like any other phone, you get used to what you have after a day of use. I shouldn’t understate the keyboard. Many smart phone owners are first time buyers who are accustomed to the traditional click and feel of physical keyboards. The Droid wouldn’t have been as interesting of a phone if it didn’t have one.

One major drawback to the keyboards is the lack of language interchangeability. Android does not offer native on-the-fly language switching. There are a few applications on the Android Marketplace that will do this for you, and something may be in the works for future upgrades, but I’m disappointed that the Droid can’t handle more languages than I can out of the box.

• On-Screen Keyboard – 5/5
• Physical Keyboard – 4/5
• Language Options – 2/5

The Interface
The touch screen interface is flawless, responsive, and frequently used, which makes the Droid extremely intuitive. Surprisingly the Droid lacks multi-touch gestures, while the European version, called the Milestone, offers it. I can’t imagine why they left this out, but hopefully it can get fixed with a future software update. But even without that, the Droid is just as easy to get along with. I felt that the double-tab to zoom command was easier than the pinch-to-zoom since it can be done with just one finger.

There are four touch-sensitive spots below the screen: back, menu, home, and search. The interface controls for nearly every application stay in an orderly manner, so the touch sensitive keys work perfectly everywhere. My favorite by far is search, which looks through both your phone and Google. Thanks to the Droid’s ability to multitask, this feature can be used at just about any time without losing your work. For example, say you are in a call with a friend and need to find the address of a restaurant. Just hit search and type in the name of the restaurant. If the information is not already saved in your address book, it will search Google and display results while remaining on the line.

• Multitasking – 5/5
• Touch Interface – 5/5

Voice Recognition
Android’s voice recognition engine is unparalleled and works with almost everything. That includes slang and even thick accents; “Call Kreestan” works just as well as “Call Kristen”. Android was even able to recognize my French and (bad) Spanish without changing any settings. “Direcciones al gymnasio” (Spanish for “directions to the gym”) gave me a list of nearby gyms while my locale was still set to English. Unfortunately, it doesn’t allow using this feature to dictate text messages, but if it did I would image it would work better than the Samsung Rogue. With laws prohibiting texting while driving, it would be a great idea to let you speak your texts through a hands free device.

• Voice Recognition – 5/5

Phone Calls
With all the other stunning aspects of the Droid, it’s quite easy to lose sight of its primary function: a phone. The Droid does not fall short in this category. Calls are as clear as ever and the microphone intelligently cancels out background noises. During one particular call, a caravan of buses passed by not three feet away from me, and the person on the other end didn’t even notice. Until I mentioned the busses to see if anything was heard, the caller thought I was in a quiet room. Signal strength was strong just about anywhere I went in Northern California and I didn’t face any dropped calls. And as I’ve mentioned before, it’s easy to multitask while on the phone. You can add callers, look up contacts, search for information – the only thing you can’t do while on the phone is use the microphone.

• Call Quality – 5/5
• Signal Strength – 5/5

The Android Roadtrip
The Motorola Droid’s features integrate incredibly well with its operating system, Android 2.0, so it’s hard to talk about one without the other. I decided the best way to really discover the capabilities of both by taking the phone on the road and use the Droid for everything and really push it to the limit.

We had no idea where we were going, but we knew what route we wanted to take, so we packed a lunch, hopped in the car, plugged the Droid into the stereo, and created a station for The Kills on Pandora.

Navigation
The Motorola Droid on Verizon is the first device to feature Google Maps Navigation. It’s a completely free service that offers 3D maps with voice guided turn-by-turn directions. The VZ Navigator available on most Verizon Wireless phones costs an additional $10 a month for use. A decent turn-by-turn direction App on the iPhone sells for a one time fee of nearly $80-$100. On the other hand Google Maps Navigation is entire free and is offers a lot more.

Our journey through Sacramento was a familiar one. Kristen (my lovely driver) and I were feeling the familiar drone of the autopilot set in, and decided that a caffeine fix was necessary. The Droid features a “Car Home” mode, which offers quick access to on-the-road navigation features. I hit Quick Search and asked for “directions to Starbucks”. The voice recognition registered all the terms successfully and gave me directions to a Starbucks right off of the highway in Folsom. The navigator showed us a Google Street View of our destination, so it was easy to point out where it was upon arrival. If I had the official dashboard mount, the Droid could have easily replaced my current GPS.

The drive through El Dorado National Forest is beautiful. There were lots of trees and mountains that probably should have thrown off the GPS or at least our streaming soundtrack, but both remained strong. We lost GPS signal once while weaving through mountain roads, but that lasted less than five seconds, and the only reason we noticed was because the navigation voice started to give us alternative directions. After seeing a couple small rivers running along side the highway, we had the urge to go find a waterfall. With the GPS and Pandora still running, I searched for “nearby waterfalls”. The browser remained fast even while driving through a forest with the other programs running in the background. I was given results relative to our location – our new destination was Vikingsholm in South Lake Tahoe.

• Navigation Interface – 5/5
• Accuracy of Directions – 5/5
• GPS Accuracy – 5/5

Camera & Camcorder
The Droid sports a 5-megapixel camera. It produces images with a maximum resolution of 2592 x 1936 pixels. The scenic road through El Dorado was a perfect place to give the camera a shot. With 16GB of memory on the included Micro-SD card, I wasn’t afraid to keep snapping. The camera took some great shots, though I did find that the automatic stabilization function needed the camera to remain still for a few extra seconds to work properly. The digital zoom produced some pretty grainy pictures, as expected. The flash kicked in at appropriate times and improved pictures taken in darker environments. Plus the geo-tagging feature marked coordinates of where those photos were snapped. With a program such as Google Picasa or Apple iPhoto, you can easily import and view your photo library on a visual map.

The Droid’s large screen is great for reviewing photos and videos, though I was most impressed when I played back the captured videos on my laptop. Videos are shot at an impressive 720×480 pixel resolution at 24 FPS. The quality was excellent and it didn’t jitter at all. Android also supports sending images and videos via MMS, email, or uploading to services such as Facebook and YouTube. The Droid’s camera won’t be replacing a traditional camera anytime soon, but it’s a big step up from other camera phones.

• Photo Quality – 5/5
• Video Quality – 5/5
• Camera Interface – 5/5
• Media Sharing – 5/5

Notification System
Android has a centralized notification system to keep track of the things happening on the phone. By simply dragging down the top toolbar, you can view alerts for new emails, texts, missed calls, finished downloads, calendar reminders, and voicemail. On the other hand, the iPhone simply places a number above Apps that have an alert, but that requires swiping through multiple pages to check on them. The BlackBerry Storm2 probably has the most similar ability with its built in news feed. Simply organizing those updates into one place makes thing easy and responding to those alerts is just a single click away. The system also provides a simple interface to access applications that are running in the background. For example, it will show what song it playing on Pandora. It’s definitely going to be hard to go back to other systems after giving this a shot.

• Notification System – 5/5

Speakers & Headphones
The Droid uses a standard 3.5mm audio jack and has no problem putting out high quality sound. It sounded just as good as my iPod Touch. But using headphones on this trip would have been selfish, so I cranked up the volume of the external speakers so that Kristen could listen in. The speaker’s sound quality was absolutely fantastic; they sounded better than my three-year-old Macbook’s speakers! The speakers would not put out much bass, but surprisingly they did not garble the rest of the audio. From ten yards away with a river running in the background, Kristen was able to clearly comprehend Jack White’s lyrics.

• Speaker Quality – 5/5
• Headphones – 5/5

Media Player
While listening to Pandora, I came across a song I really liked by the White Stripes. I clicked on the “Buy” button in the menu and it took me straight to the song’s page on the Amazon MP3 store. I bought the song and opened up Music for an encore. The purchased song was added into my music library with the existing songs from the White Stripes album. Although the phone’s media player offers all the basic functionalities such as browsing by Artist, Album, Genre, or Songs it does have a few issues. For example, you can’t view all the songs by a single Artist, but rather have to jump back and forth through the Albums by that Artist one at a time. Edit: The media player does allow you to view all songs by a single artist, but it was a little tricky to figure out how (touch and hold the desired artist, select “Play”, and hit the “Playlist” button to view all songs). It’s a well developed player and includes Album Art, a shuffle and a repeat feature. Although it could use a few tweaks, it’s a completely viable alternative to purchasing a dedicated MP3 player.

• Music Player – 4/5

Syncing
Before my road trip, I manually copied a few hundred songs from my computer to the phone with the included Micro-USB cable. The phone appeared as a mass storage device and didn’t require any software. Android automatically recognized the music and other content. Although people despise the bloated iTunes software, it offers an easy syncing relationship between a computer and an iPhone/iPod. Unfortunately, neither Motorola nor Verizon suggest nor include a tool to manage your media. Edit: Scratch that, Motorola just released a tool called Media Link which easily lets you manage music, photos, and videos. Computer geeks will find a solution that suites their needs, but others will be left in confusion.

• Library Management – 4/5

Battery Life
The battery was at about 75% when we left Davis. After four hours of multitasking, the Droid was just about finished with a little bit of juice left to take a few pictures, exceeding my expectations completely. The official specs claim 6.4 hours of 3G talk time and about 11 days of standby.

As we headed to the car to start our trip home, after four hours of heavy multitasking, the Droid gave me a low battery notification. It wasn’t just a standard, single-line message; it brought up a panel that displayed the power consumption of each running application. Right at the top of the list were my power hungry applications. I knew where we were going, so with 5% battery left, I closed all applications and put the Droid on standby. It stayed on for another hour, which was both unexpected and impressive, though I would recommend purchasing a car charge if trips like these are a regular occurrence. It only took about three hours to completely charge the phone once we got home.

• Battery Life – 4/5
• Power Management – 5/5

The Bottom Line
So that brings us to the big question, “Would you recommend the Motorola Droid over the Apple iPhone?” Yes and No. In terms of technical specs, yes the Droid is better. Yes, the Droid does have more features. And yes, I would absolutely recommend that you check it out, but in the end it is a matter of preference. I don’t believe the Droid will be the mythical “iPhone-Killer”, but there’s a good chance the Android platform will. For example the HTC Hero which we reviewed last week and the upcoming Samsung Moment on Sprint both run on the Android platform. This means all the same set of applications downloaded through the Android Market, similar to the iTunes App Store, will run on any of those devices. Unless Apple drops a bomb in the near future with some major changes to the hardware and opens up the software, Android has a clear shot to take out the iPhone.

If you’re convinced and ready to buy a Motorola Droid, it’s going to hit Verizon Wireless stores this Friday, November 6th, 2009. Due to high demand, Verizon is opening all it’s stores earlier than normal at 7 AM. It’s not that expensive either considering the powerful camera, GPS Navigator, and 16GB MP3 player it packs inside. It will only set you back about $199 after signing a new 2-year contract and sending in a $100 mail-in-rebate. If you’re an existing customer who’s eligible for an upgrade, you should be entitled to an additional $50 or $100 discount based of the price of your current calling plan.

Links: VerizonWireless.com Motorola Droid

Note: This review was edited by Sahas Katta.

I had some time to handle the device and mess with the interface. My first impressions were quite positive. Everything from Verizon’s marketing to the quality of the hardware to the Android 2.0 software are stunning. Ian Thackston will be publishing an in-depth review of the phone in the next couple of days, prior to launch. This should give you guys some time to read the review and decide whether it’s the right phone for you before you pick one up. In the meantime subscribe to our RSS Feed, Email Subscriptions, or on Facebook/Twitter to get notified when the review is up!

UPDATE: Read Our Full Review!

Link: Verizon Wireless Motorola Droid

This year at CES, of the cutting-edge gadgets, functioning bluetooth stereo headsets made their first appearance. Motorola had their “Bluetooth Active Headphones S9″ on display. The S9 is one of the first bluetooth headsets to function with any bluetooth device, that supports stereo profiles. The S9 is intended for music playback, however it also supports wireless voice calls. Also, unlike most other bulky wireless bluetooth headphones, these Motorola headphones are quite sleek, stylish, and light weight, weighing less than an ounce.

Active Headphones S9 Features:

• Crisp 1.3cm stereo speakers
• Compatible w/Bluetooth enabled devices
• Supports both phones and MP3 players
• Up to 6-hours of music playback
• Touch sensitive music & talk controls

The headphones have touch-sensitive talk/end controls on the left and play/pause controls on the right. Most initial reviews all seem to be giving the S9 a “thumbs up.” However if plan to purchase wireless headsets to use while driving, these are probably prohibited in most states since they cover both ears. In addition, they S9 headphones are quite pricey, current online retailers such as Amazon price it at $130. I’d recommend waiting for cheaper ones arrive since these are one of the first truly portable pairs.

Buy: Motorola Active Bluetooth Headphones S9
Links: Active S9 Headphones | Motorola Press

If you are looking for a decent phone with features such as a camera, bluetooth, music playback, microSD expansion, and navigator, the LG Chocolate (aka VX8500) is a great phone. The VX8500 has become quite popular over the last six months since many are purchasing it as a multi-functioning replacement for their iPod. The phone usually retails about $500 without any service and still costs over $99 with a new contract from Verizon Wireless stores. Amazon.com has pretty neat deal in which the phone’s final cost will be FREE after signing a new service contract and submitting a mail-in-rebate, which are usually trustworthy.

We do however feel that Verizon will be throwing out this phone in the coming months, so we don’t recommend purchasing this phone if you are some one who always wants the latest gadgets. We recently took a look at other phones, which we liked much better, such as the VX8600 (looks similar to the Chocolate, except in the form of a flip-phone) and the LG VX9900 (aka enV). Amazon.com is also offering large rebates on phones such as the LG enV and Motorola KRZR, which both will only cost $50 with a new service plan. No clue how long these offers will last so don’t wait if you want one.

Link: LG VX8500 (Chocolate)
Price: $75 (with contract) – $75 (rebate) = $0
Related: LG enV | Motorola K1m KRZR

If you are a Sprint customer you’re in luck. Sprint has just announced the availability of both the Motorola KRZR K1m and SLVR L7c through their service. Although Verizon Wireless has already had the KRZR since late-September, Sprint did however beat them in getting the new SLVR. Also as another bonus for Sprint users, phones offered through Sprint will retain the original user interface unlike Verizon’s phones.

Motorola KRZR and SLVR Features:

• 1.3 Mega-Pixel Camera
• Bluetooth Wireless
• TeleNav GPS Directions
• Phone as Modem EVDO
• MicroSD Storage
• Speaker phone
• Voice Dial + Caller ID
• Downloadable Java Apps

Both Moto phones will have access to all of Sprint’s new Power Vision services such as Music, Movies, and TV. Customers will have access to over 50 channels through Sprint TV, about 45 full-length movies such as “Spider-Man 2″ and “National Treasure” through Sprint’s pay-per-view Movie service, and thousands of songs through Sprint’s Music Store. All of which can be purchased and downloaded directly to the phone (no computer necessary).

The KRZR K1m is already available through Sprint’s online store for $199 with a new service plan, however Sprint hasn’t yet announced pricing or the exact launch date for the SLVR. When we tested out the KRZR K1m for Verizon, we didn’t exactly give it the best review because it literally had no new features over the RAZR other than the external music controls. However lets hope that these Sprint phones have something more to offer since they aren’t limited to Verizon’s software user interface.

Links: Sprint.com | KRZR K1m | SLVR L7c
Related: Verizon KRZR K1m Review

As we mentioned last Friday, Skatter Tech was able to get a hold of the brand new Motorola KRZR K1m for Verizon Wireless. The KRZR’s features include a 1.3MP camera, MicroSD, speaker phone, external iPod-like touch-sensitive controls, Bluetooth, and V Cast Music/Video. We had high expectations and hoped that the phone would be as good as it looked, unfortunately we ended up being quite disappointed.

Motorola KRZR K1m Specs:

• Provider: Verizon Wireless (CDMA)
• Form Factor: Clamshell Flip Phone
• Dimensions: 4.05H x 1.73W x 0.67D (inches)
• Weight / Battery Life: 3.6oz / 4hrs30mins
• Digital Camera: 1.3 megapixels
• Storage Space: MicroSD expansion (2GB max)
• Communications: Bluetooth + USB
• Others: Speaker Phone and Music Controls
• Price: $199 with new 2 year contract

KRZR Body – 5/5 stars
The shape of the KRZR is much more comfortable and natural to hold compared the RAZR. The phone is way skinnier than the RAZR, but is slightly thicker and taller. At first glance the phone looks expensive, sleek, slim, and glossy, however just as a PSP or an iPod the, KRZR’s coat is prone to fingerprints from even the slightest touch. Motorola has improvised the keypad dividing them with more natural grooves which helps finding keys, without looking, much easier.

Digital Camera – 2/5 stars
The KRZR’s 1.3 megapixel camera is pretty much the same as the one in the RAZR v3m. Other KRZR models have a 2 megapixel camera, however Verizon’s K1m has been cut down to keep prices low. Motorola has also failed to add a flash to the phone, which although not too powerful often will be handy when taking close up shots in the dark.

Display – 4/5 stars
The internal display is much crisper and brighter than that of the Motorola v3m. However it is extremely delicate and placing even the slightest amount of pressure causes the “ripple effect” in the LCD which may damage the display. The external display is a bit dull and with the fingerprints all over, it may be hard to see in sunlight.

Music Playback – 4/5 stars
Unlike the RAZR, the KRZR supports Mp3 playback as well as WMA and V Cast Music. Verizon’s Media Player is well developed and makes browsing through music easy. Users can view songs by artists, albums, genres, or search just as iPods do. The media player also offers the use of playlists, library shuffle, and even display’s album art. The #1 problem is that users must navigate through many menus before they can get their music started. (Can be annoying for people who plan to listen to music a lot.)

External Controls – 3/5 stars
The addition of external touch-sensitive music controls, which the RAZR lacks, was a good concept, but is flawed. There is no way for a user to start music playback from the external controls, the phone must be opened to do so. The controls are also sometimes too sensitive and the current song may be skipped or paused when the phone is picked up.

Speakers – 4/5 stars
The speaker phone quality is quite clear and has minimal or no static. It sounds more clear and is louder than that of the RAZR, however it is still poorly position on the back of the phone. Both music playback and speakerphone will sound muffled if the phone is in your hand.

MicroSD – 3/5 stars
The KRZR now supports use of up to 2GB MicroSD cards. The space can be used for image, video, and music storage. The card slot is unfortunately placed underneath the battery pack lid making it a hassle to get to. If you don’t have a USB cable and the drivers to sync music back and forth, it will be a pain to remove the card every time to transfer files.

Bluetooth – 5/5
Because Verizon has finally “un-crippled” the Bluetooth, the KRZR can now send phonebook entries, pictures, and other data between devices. When testing the handsfree feature with the Lexus IS250, we found that he KRZR now sends the phone’s signal strength, battery level, and other data to the car’s display, unlike the RAZR.

Overall the KRZR is a decent upgrade from the RAZR v3m. There is however a major lack of innovation. Even so, the KRZR will probably be replacing the current RAZR’s place in the market. If all you need is a phone with basic features that can make calls and looks good, this maybe for you. If you are picky and like customizable feature packed phones, there’s not much that the KRZR can offer. The phone is a bit pricy, currently about $199 with a new 2 year contract or $99 for existing customers eligible for upgrade.

DEAL ALERT: FREE Motorola KRZR K1m (w/ new plan)
Related: Verizon Wirelesss – Moto KRZR

Update: Verizon currently charges about $30 for a USB cable and some drivers, but if you already have the cable and are just looking for the drivers you can get it from the link below. Once installed, your phone will be detected as a portable audio device and you will now be able to sync the music in your Windows Media Player Library with your KRZR. After installing you may need to restart your machine. But once complete you will be able to use your computer to charge your KRZR and sync music. To start, go to Get It Now -> Music -> Sync.
Download: Moto_KRZR_Driver.zip (Note: driver found on developer.motorola.com)
Update: If the driver above doesn’t work, try installing the patch from Verizon’s site.
Download: Sync_Music_Fix.exe [Thanks for the info Elizabeth]

Looking for a new phone? Well the brand new Motorola KRZR K1m is now available through Verizon Wireless. After being frowned upon for being the last cell phone provider to get the RAZR, VZW is now the first to get the new KRZR. This new RAZR-like phone features a 1.3MP camera, Mp3/Mp4 playback (plus V Cast Music/Video), MicroSD expansion slot, Bluetooth, and Verizon’s V Cast services. The KRZR has now has many of the features that the RAZR lacked, which include external music controls (touch sensitive), a more robust battery life, and a slightly larger internal storage capacity.

Anyways if you wish to get one it is available online now for $199 with a new 2-year contract and $99 for existing customers who are eligible for upgrade. (Note: Won’t be in stores until October 5th) Although we havn’t had a hands-on-review yet, by the looks of it, it seems as though it will be a pretty good phone, despite the fact that it is a bit pricy. Also Skatter Tech will be getting a KRZR by Monday (10/02/06), so check back and expect an in depth review with plenty of pictures soon!

UPDATE: Moto KRZR Review (Verizon)

Links: Verizon Wireless | Motorola
Press Releases: Verizon News Center | MotoInfo Center

Today, Motorola announced the Motorola Q, a PDA Smartphone to compete with the Palm Treo and RIM Blackberry. The phone is powered by Windows Mobile 5.0 and supports the high-speed EV-DO network. The phone will be available starting next week (May 31, 2006) through Verizon Wireless. The Moto Q also includes a full QWERTY keyboard, Bluetooth, 1 mega pixel camera, miniSD expansion slot, and speakerphone. This phone will be especially useful for people that exchange many emails continuously since it supports synchronizing up to 8 Microsoft Outlook Accounts at once. The phone is quite expensive, and will run you $199.99 even after signing up to Verizon’s Voice/Data Plan and signing a 2-year contract. Although Motorola didn’t state when they would release this phone for other carriers, they probably will do so soon.

“On Verizon Wireless’s broadband EV-DO network, the Moto Q brings together all of the converged solutions you need to work, stay in touch or have fun.” – Ed Zander, Motorola CEO

This phone has not been officaly reviewed by anyone at this time, but the specs speak for themselves. The phone seems to be promising, however this such as the short 4-hour talk time may just not cut it for everyone.

Links: Motorola Q (demo) | Verizon Wireless (info)
Related: Offical HQ Images | PhoneScoop Specs