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Motorola V3 Review

Phone rating:

In a nutshell: The RAZR V3 was the original superslim phone, and is still a great-looking handset. The V3 has a basic camera, MP3 ringtones and Bluetooth wireless connectivity, but is missing more advanced features such as a music player, video camera and memory card. Still, it's available incredibly cheaply now, so if you want a basic phone that's slim and good-looking, the RAZR is still a good bet.

Review: October 2004. Updated September 2007.

The Motorola RAZR V3 was one of the most talked-about phones of 2004 and is still a real head turner. Why? Because it's the thinnest phone currently available in the UK. There are others that come close, but at 13.9 mm it's dramatically thinner than your average mobile measuring 20 mm or more. And it's a clamshell, so when you open it up it gets even thinner!

Motorola are clearly very conscious of the look of this phone - it's not thin by accident. A huge amount of attention to detail has been put into its design, from the beautiful anodized aluminium finish, to the unique precision cut keypad that looks good and helps to shave some extra millimetres off the V3's vital statistics. The phone is striking to look at, apart from the "thinness factor".

The use of metal alloys in the construction of the V3 sets it apart from the plastic used in so many phones. It looks and feels like a very high quality phone. The keypad deserves some discussion. It has a revolutionary precision-cut design, with the numerals chemically-etched to keep the pad flat. It feels different to other keypads but is not a problem to use. In the dark, the whole keypad lights up with a blue glow giving a very cool effect.

Despite its size, the V3 is a well featured phone, although not as fully featured as others in its price range. Let's start with the display. The external screen is a full colour screen, but nothing out of the ordinary. It displays useful information like incoming calls, battery life and signal strength. Inside however is a fantastic 262,000 colour TFT display that is comparable to the display used in the excellent Samsung D500.

The V3 also comes with a digital camera, video playback (but not recording), full Bluetooth™ wireless connectivity, polyphonic ringtones (including MP3 ringtones), Java games, a speakerphone and quad-band capability for global roaming. The phone has been designed to be practical as well as beautiful, and is easy to use with intuitive menus, similar to the Motorola V600. The aluminium alloy case is not only lightweight, but strong too, and should survive everyday bumps and scratches.

The V3 is a great phone, designed primarily for its looks, but with a pretty good specification too. As always with this type of phone, the functionality is reduced because of the phone's size, but it has a reasonably good feature set. When first released at the end of 2004, the V3 was expensive and exclusive, but now the price is more reasonable and it has become a very popular phone. The new RAZR 2 V8 moves the technology forward to 2007.

Features of the Motorola V3 include:

  • Internal display: 176 x 220 pixels (34.8 x 43.5mm), up to 262k TFT colours, with graphic accelerator
  • External display: 96 x 80 pixels, 4k CSTN colours
  • Integrated VGA camera (640 x 480 resolution) with 4x digital zoom
  • Video clip playback (MPEG4 with sound)
  • Bluetooth™ wireless connectivity, plus enhanced mini-USB
  • 24-voice polyphonic ringtones and MP3 ringtones
  • MOTOMIXER™ (Remixable MIDI ringer software)
  • Downloadable Themes: animated screensavers, wallpapers and ringtones
  • Downloadable 3D Java™ games plus 3 embedded games: Skipping Stones, Golf, Billiards
  • Integrated hands-free speakerphone
  • Voice-activated dialling
  • SMS, EMS 5.0, MMS
  • Group SMS, SMS Chat, Instant Messaging
  • Predictive text: iTap
  • E-mail
  • Slideshow application
  • Picture phonebook (1,000 entries)
  • User-customisable softkey functions, main menu and shortcuts
  • WAP 2.0, GPRS
  • Internal memory: up to 5 Mbytes
  • Vibration alert
  • Calculator, currency converter, date, alarm, clock, calendar, PIM functionality
  • Quad-band (GSM 850/900/1800/1900)
  • Size: 98 x 53 x 14 mm
  • Weight: 95g
  • Battery standby: up to 12 days
  • Talktime: up to 7 hours

Motorola V3 User Reviews

Love your mobile? Hate it? Please share your experiences to help other people choose the phone that's best for them. Please do not review this phone if you have not used it. This is a review site, not a forum, so please don't just ask questions. Please do not use swear words or offensive language, and please, no advertising!

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Average rating from 104 reviews:

Reviewed by Peter Swales from UK on 28th Sep 2012
I have resurrected my V3 despite having a Nokia C3 smartphone, which I am not very carried away with despite its up-to-date features.
Its looks, material used and features still meet my needs today'
Everything about the V3 is superb, it cannot be faulted.
Peter Swales
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Reviewed by mathew leckie from britain on 10th Aug 2012
this is a great phone its good for texting and its small enough to stick in your sailing jacket
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Reviewed by Kit W from USA on 18th Apr 2012
I bought this phone from Carphone Warehouse while I was still living in the UK. I got the upgrade version which included the ability to record video. I can't remember what the other upgrades were. I bought it SIM free and unlocked. I make use of Motorola Phone Tools to back up the phone which I highly recommend doing. There is plenty of space for videos, pictures and music too. I often wonder if I'm the only person in the USA who has the Dr Who ring tone LOL.
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Reviewed by zhao from liverpool on 25th Dec 2011
bad phone
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Reviewed by jordon from england on 7th Feb 2005
at first i thought the phone was stunning, it sounded great and looked great. when i then came across many difficulties, such as, no video recording, it didnt have enough memory to store 1 SONG let alone a list of music, it doesn't have MP3 player, it doesnt have any memory to download pictures and video clips. Its memory is ONLY 5MB, where as a phone such as the black, samsung D500 has 80MB! The quality of the pictures when there taken is the only good standard about this phone and it does have a very good quality, colour screen. But it is very average considering the look of the phone and how amazing they make it look..but its not!
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Reviewed by Mane from UK on 5th Feb 2005
Brilliant. Had an NEC and a Nokia in the last year, this phone is better than either, it even makes me enjoy text messaging. Phone book does store multiple entries, lots of people say it does not, but it does so in an easy and intuitive manner, you can also split your contacts into whatever groups you like, and there is picture phone book and voice dialling. The menus are simple graphic interface (or a list if you really need words), but are all customisable so even if you don't like them how they are you can set it up however you want - you can even set-up voice-activated menus, combined with the voice dialling make this an incredibly practicle phone for the car or other headset-wearing environment. The screen is big and beautiful, the other screen is little but does everything you could reasonably expect it to - photo of who is calling you is particularly nice. Keypad - I love it, I have big hands so like the wide buttons and the short but precise key-action. Although you should try this as it is nothing like the loose plastic/rubber keys you may be used to and some people hate it. The phone is metal alloys and is light but tough, I treat my phone pretty rough but the V3 is as-yet unmarked - and it has that slinky-cool feel that is so much nicer than plastic. Comes with a CD and lead to sync with PC (outlook or its own date and address book), transfer files, etc. This is not an amazing piece of software but does everything you would expect it to and gives you a mini-V3 on your desktop. Oh, it is also really easy to install so long as you FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS. To summarise: Stylish, practical, controlled by the power of your voice, this phone does everything I need or want it to. Only thing missing is upgradable memory.
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Reviewed by Tom from Australia on 5th Feb 2005
This fone is the worst piece of junk i have ever cum across. The memory is absolotely poor and it doesn't have a video camera don't get this fone if you want a good fone get the SE (Sony Ericsson) k700i. SHAME ON U MOTOROLA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Reviewed by CL from UK on 5th Feb 2005
I received the V3 as a handset upgrade from Vodafone last week, having paid £100 for it on my current tarriff. I was originally thinking of selling it immediately on Ebay, since they were going for £275-300. However, when I opened the box and started using the phone, I decided to keep it. The reception is clear, the menus are easy to use, it looks great and I can use MP3s as ringtones. Unfortunately, within 3 days the phone started to malfunction, with the display becoming 'blocky' and unreadable. Finally, the phone started to cut out and would not switch on again. This was not for want of charging, since I charged it fully when I received it. Vodafone is sending a replacement next week. I hope this one works...
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Reviewed by Ben from UK on 5th Feb 2005
Had the phone about 2 week now and no complaints the phone is truly outstanding in every aspect! I find the phone very erganomic, especialy the key pad which is fantastic for texting on. The phone also looks excellent made completley from alumium, and the superb 262k TFT display i never feel embarased showing the phone off. There is a USB cable suplied with the phone and software so i just hook it up to the PC and download MP3's, Wallpapers and videos for free. Only complaint i realy have with the phone is no video capture just playback. However this is an easy compramise for a superb phone!
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Reviewed by sj from england on 31st Jan 2005
I was about to buy this phone but changed my mind as it appears too flimsy. I have heard from quite a few people that though they love the phone, they have broken theirs. It is a beautiful looking thing but my phone gets thrown around a lot so its not for me.
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Reviewed by Joe from UK on 30th Jan 2005
This is a fantastic phone. Not only does it feature a bright and beautiful 262k screen, a fantastic camera and a great sound throughout, bu it is one of the thinnest phones in the world (if not the thinnest). It fits very comfertably into your hand despite it's wideness but it is also very light. Only improvements would be video capture and more memory, although i'm suprised how much they managed to fit into this small package. Beware of the software that comes with it, however, as it is a bit dodgy and may have you roaming the world wide web in search of an answer to your problem, but i personally don't think it should put you off from buying this beautiful piece of hardware.
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Reviewed by chloe from england on 30th Jan 2005
at first i thought this phone looked quite good but it is really hard to use the keys as they are so flat which made it hard for me to do anything on it and that was a real let down.
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Reviewed by Ow Yeong from Malaysia on 29th Jan 2005
Nice screen that powered by ATi Graphic Accelerator! Thin keypad & really small in size.
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Reviewed by Tim Overfield from England on 28th Jan 2005
To review this phone is simple. If you want the best looking phone around and only have a few numbers in your phonebook then this is the phone for you. If you have 40-50 numbers (not names - numbers) then the abysmal phone book will drive you crazy as it incredibly old fashioned. We got two of these as an upgrade for the business - they are going back as the phonebook is not fit for purpose. Appearance wise this phone has no peers, functionally it is a toy.
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Reviewed by Andy from UK on 27th Jan 2005
Why? The question that I keep asking myself over and over again after buying this phone. The only answer I find is that it looks good. The OS is the worst pice of junk that I have ever seen. Why didn't Motorola just stick command line propmt in there instead, would probably be easier to navigate. The phone is slow. I could get to almost any menue position in under 5 seconds on Nokia, on here it takes forever and a day. It also lacks video recording!!! Why???? The lower model V620 has video capture but the more expensive, very expensive, V3 has no such feature, only the bog standard camera. This thing also eats battery power for breakfast. The keypad lights and stuff cut out, but this is supposed to happen. There is a light sensor above the keypad that detects if you need the backlight switched on or not. Nifty idea, sometimes gets it wrong tho lol. I'll be taking mine back though, not really impressed as the looks spend their time in my pocket, while the functionality spends its time in my nightmares.
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Reviewed by Michel from USA on 27th Jan 2005
Really nice... except 1. The software tools are the worst I have ever worked with. Very ennoying to sync up the calendar decently! 2. It just died on my. Screen blank, nothing helps! I am on the phone to get it replaced. Can't wait!
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Reviewed by Andy franklin from UK on 27th Jan 2005
Quality phone......the looks are quality...everyone who see's it wants one for the looks alone....wanna make your mates envious get one. The camera looks good with good quality..digital zoom works very well. and the fact that the phone can be closed and the photo calling display appears on the outer screen in colour is a nice touch when someone calls you. All in all you wanna look good get one and be astounded by the feel...look and thinness of it.
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Reviewed by Milos from Serbia and Montenegro on 27th Jan 2005
I bought this phone a few weeks ago,and it is very good,i like it a lot. Camera is of a good quality,easy to use and it looks sexy. When it's in your pocket you know you look good when you have to answer a call,people are going to stare at you and think 'mmm,i wish i had that phone,what an amazing person'. Just buy it and feel good!
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Reviewed by BB from UK on 27th Jan 2005
I'm an absolute dyed in the wool man Nokia man, or at least I was! I tried a V50 a few years back and hated it(deeply),so was very sceptical when offered the V3 as a free handset in the O2 shop. But, having lived with it for a few days I am a true convert. The quality is stunning, the Menus intuative and simple to use. Combined with the 'phone envy' it induces in other people I can't recommend it highly enough.
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Reviewed by Paul Chan from Australia on 26th Jan 2005
Pros: -excellent screens Cons: -extremely poor battery life, terrible motorola user interface and bundled software, easy to stain keypad(!), isn't as impressive in real life (only the inner surfaces are metal, the outside is still plastic!) Conclusion: -only phone on the market which tries looks classy / impressive... BUT has terrible user interface / software, poor battery life, and not as physically impressive in real life.
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Reviewed by Cheri from UK on 26th Jan 2005
A truly wonderful phone. I've always gone back to Nokia whenever I've strayed, but this is perfect. Very clear screen, intuitive menus, looks and feels fantastic and call clarity is the best I've ever had. I don't need to use the software, so cannot comment. But I do need/use a lot of texting and the very strange default to the number 1 everytime you try to put a fullstop at the end of a sentence is very frustrating! Why default to numerics at the end of alpha text? That said, everything else about the phone is so good, this is a fairly minor irritation. Now desperate for more accessories, including additional charger and even Motorola have sold out . . .
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Reviewed by ste from uk on 25th Jan 2005
I recently upgraded to this phone from a samsung e800. My old phone had major problems but the phone company refused to fix this without a receipt that I was not given..... So to cut a long and agonising story short Phones4U were delighted to see an unhappy customer of another local phone shop. They basically offered me £30 cash in hand and £150 in 6 months if I took out a 12 month contract for the V3. I walked out of the shop delighted with my 2hours haggling (SERIOUSLY) and home to play with my new (and jaw droppingly good looking) toy. The kit that came with the phone is rather delightful; charger, data cable, software, leather case, hands free kit and cleaning pad. But on to the phone. The phone itself is great, screen is sharp and bright, camera is decent and the look of the overall phone brilliant. It has bluetooth, a video player and plays true tones. A lot of ppl seem to be having problems wit the software but I can honestly say after a reboot of both PC and phone I have had no problems. After using samsung phone for the past 3 years I found the menu to be a little hard to use at first but it is quite logical once persevered with. The text facility is a minor niggle that I just cant seem to get used to but I am sure a weeks play will resolve that issue. The only other fault with the phone is that you can't be permanently discoverable with bluetooth. I believe the reasons for this is that there may be a bug in the software which would allow the phone to be hacked but the option would have been nice. If you buy this phone and decide that you want rid of the locked on ringtones and pics etc then software called p2ukman can be downloaded and used to delete things. Please do not do as I did and fanny around with it and delete things u may later need I.E. icons and other things as I may need a firmware reload. All in all this phone is truly outstanding and would recommend one to anybody.
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Reviewed by Chris from London, England on 25th Jan 2005
Great looking Phone, simple to use, and fantastic clarity when making or receiving calls. I've used Nokia's for the last 12 Years, and this is my first Motorola. I'm instantly converted. Who cares that its expensive? At least I know that every Chav/Chavette in the UK can't afford it, so lets hope the price stays high!!
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Reviewed by Tom from Austria on 22nd Jan 2005
Good phone, but Outlook-synch is a disaster. Killed my appointment/contacts DB several times. Ended up with having incorrect statuses on both the Outlook and the phone. I'll buy me a SE or Nokia now. Not as cool looking but PC synch works.
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Reviewed by Ian from UK on 21st Jan 2005
What can I say...it is way better than I expected. I have in the past two years had Samsung, Nokia, and Sony-Ericsson. After reading all the reviews I became dubious about the V3. People complaining about software and linking to their PC. I personnal use a phone maining for talking and the occasional text. This phone in my opinion is supurb in all respects. I have even used it for data, picture messaging and connecting to my PC and it is without doubt the bees knees! I would recommend it to anyone who is a true phone user and not looking for gimmicks. The only downside and it is small is that you leave prints all over the screens and casing.
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Reviewed by Amp from UK on 21st Jan 2005
This is the first time I've bought a phone for looks. It's also my second MOTO, my first was a V600. I've got 3 more days to evaluate this phone but after 4 days I'm impressed. The font on my V600 was too small- this phone has the same poor software but I can now see the screen without squinting. As long as you see this phone as a phone and nothing else you'll be well pleased. For the last 6 years I'd been looking for a mobile device that does everything and I gave that quest up 2 years ago. The cameras on a mobile phone will never be as good as those on dedicated cameras because of the low battery voltage/current involved. The PDA functions are always too fidly. These types of functions are gimicks for kids.I do carry my PDA as well as my new phone and the Bluetooth functionality although quirky does work well. Every once in a while a manufacturer comes up with a design statement that just makes the competition look tame- the last time I saw this was with the original Ericsson T68(Joystick). The V3 is the only modern mobile thats stands out from the crowd. My mother likes the look of this Phone! my doctor commented on it. This is the ferrari of current mobile phone design. The design even makes those expensive Vertu phones look tame. That keyboard is a technical masterpeice and the packaging(metal box) makes you feel special.Buy one to show your grand children because nobody will come up with a better design for the next tens years at least.And if you don't buy one-good! It means mine will be a collectors item in a few years time.
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Reviewed by -ChEsTeR- from england on 21st Jan 2005
wkd phone!!!this phone is a perfect size with a well set out menu.the camera ia top quality and the screen is large.you can even see your face on the keypad!it is a flip phone with perfect weight.ITS THE THINEST PHONE I HAVE EVER SEEN plus its got all the top notch gear you would expect.this phon is perfect-ChEsTeR-
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Reviewed by oreef_Roxy from malaysia on 20th Jan 2005
this is the most exclusive and yes very special phone..when i used it i feel like im entering the millenium zone..i mean the REAL millenium zone..every eyes are lock to the phone..but what im afraid of is to break the clam..hahaha..coz im rough and always on the go gal!!
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Reviewed by mark from uk on 19th Jan 2005
all thease people moaning about meory size get a life its a fun phone with loads of fun little features and also people haveing to wait a couple of seconds to wait for menus to load get real will ya . oh no two seconds of my life have gone missing damn what are you thinking if you want fast big memory and cd playback sound then get a small laptop or small note book if you want a phone thats fun slim and ok can be a little bit hard to get use to the menus but hey no ones perfect we all need to learn how to use things when we first get them i have had mine two days and can quite easy get round them as for pc software i cleaned up my pc got it working ok and hey presto the phone works like a dream with the pc my tip for all you wanna be pc engineers is to make sure your pc runs well first this phone highlighted that my pc was going down the toilet if you love nokias so much that i saw a lot of people bitching about how great and fantasic they are then stay with nokias for gawd s sake quit your whining about how good they are if they was that good why did you leave them in the first place.. in closing if you want a fun stylish phone this might be the one for you if you love nokias then stay with nokias cos this is nothing like them p.s. last nokia i had the creen kept failing on me i had a few they all had that fault thats why i said i would never have another nokia again
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Reviewed by Nic from Cardiff on 19th Jan 2005
After spending a few months shuffling around phone shops - this is the little number that caught my eye. I needed a phone that had bluetooth, with a small task organiser, good ring volume and a decent composer for text messages. Plus I also needed something to view images for graphics at work. This phone has everything I need. In all honesty I don't want a camera / video player on my phone but it's practically impossible to get a phone without them these days. (I've got a high resolution digital camera at home so why would I want poorer quality one on a phone??) The menu is customisable which is nice and I can remove the icons from the desktop which is also decent. The menu system is not the best (I'm used to Sony Ericsson) but it's usable and I'm happy with it. The lightness and strength of something so compact reminds me of the PowerBook which is particularly fantastic and it also looks good. If you're looking for a phone that has all the trimmings then get a Samsung D500 b ut if you're like me and just need the essentials in a nice wrapper then get this. It's pretty nifty and has a nice big screen. (*If I could change it I would get rid of the camera as I find it to be pointless. Also - A note to all the people complaining about the 5MB memory - get an iPod shuffle or flash memory stick and stop moaning! It's a PHONE!)
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Reviewed by Damo from UK on 19th Jan 2005
Well, I've had this phone since the day of release back in October(ish), and I wouldn't change it for anything, it's the best phone I've owned (and I've had lots). Several months use has highlighted a few issues: dust particles have started to appear on the reverse of the main screens plastic cover, but these are only visible under certain lighting conditions. The mobile Phonetools application provided with the phone for the PC has had problems with my phone since day 1, namely it won't download SMS messages from the phone (I've recently got the motorola guys on the case though and this does appear to be an isolated incident from feedback I've had, hopefully they may get this sorted). Other than that, this phone is amazing, a definate must have, stylish, sleek and sexy AND it won't give you that unpleasant "bulge" in the trouser pocket that most other phones give... I'm just waiting for the next version of the phone which comes with Symbian software and a memory card slot (well, one can dream about it anyway!).
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Reviewed by Lee from England on 17th Jan 2005
Well finally picked up phone at weekend, wanted this phone mainly for its looks i had had a previous Motorola clam phone and was very dissapointed to find the software was virtually unchanged on this version. My 3 star rating goes completly to the look and feel of the phone, its by far the best in terms of quality with a lovely feel to the opening of the screen with a precise click once fully opened, keypad is great to use, i was worried about it being hard to get used to. all in all a great looking phone ....BUT.....the operating software is SO SLOW, and in comparison to nokias latest phones looks bit dated too. When using GPRS its like using an old pc thats not on braodband..zzzzz also even just scrolling through the various pics i have already taken seems to take an age and the filing system for the pics is useless compared to say a sony ericson. the whole system seems so sluggish and just lets the amazing design of the phone down. I will however stick with it but can see me changing it sometime this year. so 3 stars go to the looks and feel alone.!
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Reviewed by Georgi Popov from Bulgaria on 16th Jan 2005
The phone speed is good, but it has all bad things, that every Motorola has. It is too expensive, the synchonization with PC is very poor. If you try to copy all contacts to pc edit them and then copy back it to the pc the half of contacs its gone!!!
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Reviewed by GARY from UK on 16th Jan 2005
All you low rating 'TECH HEADS' need to get a life. Moaning on about lack of memory on meeting schedules and all that guff. This phone clearly is not designed as a business phone or as a pda. 'ITS FOR POSING DOWN THE PUB THE WITH !' Its for pulling out of your back pocket in some minimalist wine bar and having it clocked by some jealous sod or some fit bird next to you who says 'Is that a V3 mate'? And you casually reply, 'Yeah, had it while now, sexy little thing isn't it'! Thats why you buy it. Because you want the kudos of owning it. The fact that it does have a few good features, nice clear screen and gets you plenty of poser points, made it might choice. But hey, Im just an avarage bloke. Cheers.
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Reviewed by BIG PIMPA from Ireland on 16th Jan 2005
The motorola v3 is just simply amazing! I mean like aircraft-grade aluminium and copper alloy PRECISION CUT keypad! How sexy does that sound? I just love my V3 even though it cost £00! Have u seen the advert on tv for it? Like omg! how sophisicated does it look? all the thin things the laptop and plasma tv, and then everything folds and the woman picks up the v3 and the keypad flips and spins on the fone, simply superb! Ok now for the downsides! The glitches! The operating software, like come on motorola u can do better than that! Its lazy! acts like a drunken elephant when u ask it to do anything. And there a 1-2 second delay on the key presses,i find this delay is only in the menus, not texting (relief!) texting is a dream, so simple! on the beautiful keypad. The second glitch is the 5Mb memory! Come on motorola ur having a laugh arent ya! 5Mb! its a crying shame! Its not fair that all those PLASTICY nokias have more memory and MEMORY CARDS SLOTS! Motorola should have thought about these glitches. Apart from these knockbacks you will be buying the most beautiful phone in the world! When you see the metal, YES BRUSHED METAL sliding box it comes in, you know your in for something special. Lift the metal beauty (V3) in ur hand and u feel that its very very special, flip it open and run your finger down the copper alloy precision cut keypad and you will never set it down! The functions are goo d although some fones are better. You have (Bluetooth, VGA camera, MPEG4 Video playback, MP3 player/ringtones, 265K internal screen, 4K external screen, Handsfree speakerphone, JAVA games) Buy this fone if u want 2 look like a celebrity! Believe me you wont be disappointed to own this little multimedia marvel!
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Reviewed by Rob from England on 15th Jan 2005
What a waste of a model body! The phone only rates good despite its impressive look and feel! Was very excited to get it....everything was cool EXCEPT (!) THE PHONEBOOK IS USELESS and so is the software for ur comp! The software mixed up my numbers with their names when added to the comp! It couldnt properly synthesise and in the end I ended up having to delete all the numbers on the phone and sim (MANUALLY) and re-entering them into the phone! I can't emphasise enuf how awful the phone book is. Next.....ringtones! Comes with a seriously limited choice and although some are OK, others sound.....well kinda analogue-like! Also not as easy to change quickly to low settings on the same ringtone as Sony Ericcson are and vibrate is too low.......what can I say......you wanna hear the vibration too when its on ur desk don't ya???? Good qualities mostly based around its looks......in a nutshell, thats all it has going for it and I miss my old phone!!!! If only I could have Motorola styling and Ericsson know how.....we can dream! Hey you guys get together and conquer the world ;-)))))
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Reviewed by grunger from england on 14th Jan 2005
such a cool phone a must have!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Reviewed by M from England on 14th Jan 2005
Amazingly sexy fone, get it NOW!!!!!
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Reviewed by james k. from uk on 13th Jan 2005
The v3 is an amazing phone that can only be flawed by its low memory and that it can't capture videos other than nthat its pure perfection it slim, light and doe s everything else you could possibaly want in a phone!!!!
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Reviewed by Jamie from UK on 13th Jan 2005
Dont bother. I got the first one in December 04. Opened the box & put the Sim/Battery in only to find half the keypad did not work. Got the replacement 4 days ago and its faulty already. The build quality is rubbish!
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Reviewed by Gerry from Ireland on 13th Jan 2005
Great looking phone. Some really modern touches. Software is just average but the battery life is so so so bad. Not a business phone at all. Light goes off, calls are dropped for no reason. I just want to chuck this thing in the bin half the time.
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Reviewed by monpeth from UK on 10th Jan 2005
The phone is very pretty (I have had three of them in the last week), but the software, especially address book synchronisation and general communication with the computer, is catastrophically bad. Each of the phones has had a different software problem. Motorola says they'll take four days to look into the latest one, which is that the phone can'tcommunicate at all with the computer. If this is what it's like on day one, what will it be like after a couple of weeks or months? Very, very sadly, (it is a lovely-looking phone) I think I'm going to have to take it back and call it quits, after wasting the better part of a week on hold to various helplines etc. If all you want it to make phone calls, I'm sure it's fine, but the whole point about advertising extra features is that they should actually work. Vaguely. Sometimes. At least on the day you buy the phone...
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Reviewed by Chris from Northern Ireland on 9th Jan 2005
I see many people are happy with the v3. ok it looks the part but as some other people have mentioned, the software is a major downfall. and has anyone noticed all that lovely aluiminum has been spoiled with a plastic back (not the battery cover)? my backlight stops working from time to time and sending threw bluetooth can cause the phone to just die. batter life is the pits. I am really upset this is the only phone i paid for on contract and its the worst phone i've had! But as i said it looks good.
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Reviewed by Benn from England on 8th Jan 2005
This is a marvellous phone. Anyone who wants a PDA should buy a PDA, likewise if you have a Sony 910 then stick with it, you are comparing 2 totally different products. HOWEVER... If you want a PHONE!! that looks amazing, has really great signal strength and clarity of calls (mine's on O2) and gadgets galore then this is VERY hard to beat. I've had Nokias ever since the 2710 and have just finished with my 7250i. This blows them out of the water. This fits in my jeans pocket without being intrusive and is about a third the thickness of a pack of fags. The menus are different and will take some time to get used to as will the predictive text and other features but wouldn't life be a bit boring without a challenge and they are easy enough to allow you to use all the basic features without having to read the manual too hard. As previously stated, the phone is not slow unless you load it up with silly screensavers, ringtones and video. If you make calls, send messages and want to get your Outlook on the phone as well, this is ideal and I'm in love with it!!!
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Reviewed by Jon Revis from UK on 7th Jan 2005
Having observed the variation in scoring for the V3 in the many reviews it was with some trepidation that I went ahead and placed the order. I've been a company-supplied Nokia user for many years and shared the other reviewers views on the ease of operation and performance of the Nokia operating systems. Upon opening the impressive metal box that houses the V3 and its accessories I was immediately blown away by the sheer beauty of the V3 - how could this sliver of metal be a fully fledged communication device? Having bought the phone on contract using the same airtime provider as my company phone I substituted my own SIM card and booted her up (OK so I charged it for 2 hours first). Hey presto I was now admiring the colour screen, though I was a touch concerned at the time it took to appear. I didn't bother trying some clever synchronisation to get circa 200 numbers into the V3, I just set about punching them in by hand. One advantage of doing this was that I quickly became proficient with the Phone book and changing upper/lower/character options. For the first few days of using the phone I noticed that the first time I went to access the phone book, the V3 paused while it loaded it from somewhere to somewhere. A week into my affair with the V3 and I've not noticed this pause since - maybe I'm just not immediately looking to access the Phone book any more? Because my car if fitted with a Nokia hands free cradle I also purchased the Motorola HS810 Bluetooth earpiece - driving over 30k miles a year I spend much time on the phone while driving and a handsfee kit is absolutely essential. I've recorded Voice notes against about 15 people (Rough guess)and have found the recognition software to be brilliant - I have rarely had to say a name more than twice even with some pretty intrusive road noise. Pairing the HS810 to the V3 was a breeze, they found each other within seconds and have been a couple ever since. Accessing the WAP functions was simplicity itself - switch from the default Vodaphone to O2 as the nominated service provider and bingo, lots of text and little pictures! Probably won't use it much (or ever!) but at least I know it works. Nope I tell a lie, I used the WAP service to download some new ringtones that I felt worked for me. Anyhow, one week on and my initial uncertainties have completely evaporated. As a phone the V3 is stunning! It is a thing of beauty and envy, and am absolutely certain that I made the right decision.
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Reviewed by Keithj from England on 6th Jan 2005
I'm not quite as negative as some. It IS a beautiful looking phone, and performance is mostly excellent. Some of the best features aren't documented (like changing ring profile without opening the flip - essential in my line). My major niggles, which Motorola could so easily have avoided: - The phonebook. It stores each number separately. That means you can't use "two word" voice dialling like SE - you have to assign separate voice tags to home/mobile/work for each person. Badly thought out there, Motorola :( - The phonebook only responds to one keypress. Select phonebook, press M and you get the first M in your list. Then press O and it goes to the first O in your list, not to MO - SMS received tones: if you set individual ringtones for your most frequent callers, you get the same tone if they send you an SMS. I respond differently to an SMS compared with an incoming call. Don't Motorola know that folks do that? - Menus don't "cycle". If I want to go to the last photo in the collection, I have to wade slowly down the lot. With SE, I could press "UP" and it would go from the first direct to the last. With the V3, when you get to the bottom of the list, you get a different beep, and that's as far as it will go. It should go back to the top. - There's no Infra-red. Not essential, but I find that most PCs and laptops will work happier with IR than with Bluetooth. - It won't pair with my SE bluetooth headset. It finds it OK, but that's as far as we get. - The Bluetooth won't work for Internet access with my laptop. There are settings the laptop wants to know (Windows XP SP2) that the manual doesn't tell. It works fine with my iPaq, so I know the capability is there. But the size, shape, feel, and weight are excellent. Definitely a "classic".
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Reviewed by M Asif from U.K on 5th Jan 2005
The Best Phone in the whole world. very nice very sexy very slim very smart & very fantastic phone..very easy to use , very easy to send /write text messages. Motorola is the Great.
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Reviewed by Omar from UK on 4th Jan 2005
what about it only having 5MB memory???? Isn't that a downside to it?? No option of anyexternal memory!!!
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Reviewed by Hec from Oz on 3rd Jan 2005
Very Sweet phone, not only great pose value but lots of useful features as well. Downloading pics and MP3s onto the phone has been a snap with the included software, and the menu couldn't be more intuitive if it held you by the hand. Very recommended. BUY IT!!!!!
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Reviewed by Saj from UK on 2nd Jan 2005
Fell in the with the phone from the first moment. Used many differnt brands in the past and just wanted something more exotic and differnt to a boring nokia. I have been using both a 6310i and a 8910i ( 8910 for when posing) I have sold the 8910 and will keep the 6310 for back up. Apart from the nokia battery life I wont miss a thing. The V3 offers both those phones and more in one package. For those that complain that it dosnt make a cup of coffee then go get a coffee machine. I would definetly recommned not to purchase this phone as I want to keep it to myself and keep it exclusive.
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Reviewed by Andy P-S from ENGLAND on 20th Dec 2004
Hey just got this fone 2day and after being an avid Nokia user (10 phones - 10 Nokias) i chose this mostly due to its looks. You really wont be dissapointed trust me!!!! Its incredibly easy to use after only half an hour and i can now text easily n quickly. However i do need help: Can anybody on here with a V3 please post on how to dload music onto the phone. ive installed the fone and its detected it but then i can t do anything with it and the little phone that appears is not my phone. Also when i click on the multimedia centre button the screen on it just goes blue. Can someone advise me how to download music please????????
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Reviewed by Kevin from England on 20th Dec 2004
A CRYING SHAME!.....Right off the bat when you see the metal box it comes in, you know you're in for something special. Picking the phone up is sheer delight, it feels sooo solid and absolute sheer class. The quality of the build is almost beyond description. As everyone knows, it's built mainly of polished metal with only 2 pieces of plastic as part of the body. The screen is very large and probably only beaten in size by the SE S700i. It's difficult to convey just how thin this phone is....it really IS very thin! The build quality extends to the extremely solid hinge of the clam which Motorola have even styled so superbly! The beautifully etched keypad which glows brightly makes it extremely easy to see and find the keys when texting/dialling, and the feel of the keypad is a TOTAL DREAM. There is simply nothing to touch this phone in design.....it is years ahead of it's time. Everything is so solid...nothing bends awkwardly when closing or opening the clam and feels like a single piece of cast metal. Other more usually basic elements such as the mini-USB socket for the charger are SUPERB...When plugging/removing the charger it is a SOLID, EASY fit with no wobbling jack. When using this phone you are aware that you are holding an extremely sturdy piece of metal genius & weighing no more than the plethora of plastic nastyness that is most mobile phones. It feels cool to the touch as metal does....Awesome...The screen although large is not quite up to the competition in terms of quality of display. For instance transferring a pic from a Sharp GX10i let alone a GX20/30i to the V3, one can immediately see that the screen definition for whatever reason is not in the class of the Sharps or the SE S700i. Edges are ragged, colour over saturated, and small detail completely blurred, compared to a Sharp GX10i. Don't compare the same pic on a GX20/30i or you'll be REALLY disappointed....As far as the camera on the V3 is concerned, again it's hugely disapp ointing. The camera seems to be exactly like the Motorola so called "triplets" (V500 V525 V600), and is extremely poor in any light condition. It is simply a waste of time compared with the Sharps and far worse than even the 1.3 MP SE S700i. But one can't have everything...... However there are FAR MORE darker forces at play here, forces that totally destroy the HUGE and UNDENIABLE superbness of this otherwise FANTASTIC phone.....And that is it's SOFTWARE. If ever a criminal offence was ever made by any phone manufacturer of any model to totally junk a piece of BRILLIANCE, this is it!!...Ok, the software is almost identical to all Motorola's other "triplet" phones, with all the known problems of extreme slowness. The V3 literally "lumbers" like some drunken dinosaur at everything you ask it to do. Scrolling through your pics takes 1-2 seconds for it to load it to screen as you scroll..that's 1-2 secs for each pic your trying to scroll. Connecting via GPRS takes about 8 seconds longer than most other phones, (I timed it against a GX20 and a Samsung D500) each page on GPRS that you go to takes A-G-E-S. Now everyone harps on about menu's and how intuitive they are for that particular person etc etc.....it's a never ending argument, everyone has their preferences, and the menu system on the V3 is only slightly poor overall in my view...it's livable with, but nothing can make up for Motorola's software functioning in all other areas......It's like running Windows 95 (or 3.1 even) on the latest fastest super computer...try and imagine that for a second....It's so frustrating, and all the time your cursing whichever IDIOT at Motorola having overall control of this V3 project, allowed their bog-standard much troubled usual software to be put in this phone!!!! It's UNBELIEVABLE that a company with such a SUPERB WINNER in most other areas of this phone, COULD NOT BE BOTHERED to write some half decent software for it!!!! I hope they are never allowed near a phone project again. It frequently freezes when on GPRS, and you can't scroll down the on-line menu's till the whole page you're on has downloaded. SLOW SLOW SLOW. The usual Motorola problems of it turning itself off at times is there yet again, and sometimes you'll pick it up, and it'll say it's charging, when it's not plugged in anywhere! All you can do is keep turning it off for 5 seconds or so. My first one from Vodafone, the beautiful keypad display packed in after 5 days. It's simply criminal to spoil so ABSOLUTELY a wonderfully built phone. When you send this phone back (which you will) after buying it, you'll be crying over the decision...all over that silver Special Delivery wrapper back to the Post Office or to the shop. If you MUST buy this phone, get it on Orange, as "Vodafone Live" is not supported, and Vodafone told me they do not ever intend to support it with Voda Live....which means you can't get images or pictures displayed when on GPRS. With Orange you can get images. I sent my (second one with working keypad) from Voda back (crying all the way to the Post Office), and ordered it on Orange, to give it one last try. At least I had images/pictures now....but it didn't compensate for the hopeless software problem, and I sent the Orange one back yesterday......and I'm still not over the SHEER WASTE of opportunity that this phone had...I hate it, and love it, but at the end of the day, I need a phone that I can use properly and not be severely disappointed every time I press a key. Seriously, someone at Motorola needs their head examined over this phones software coupling. It's a MAJOR TRAGEDY & UTTER WASTE of a beautifully superbly engineered otherwise WONDERFUL phone. If you MUST buy one, buy it on-line so you can benefit from the 14 day distance selling regulations, (Yes some High St shops don't need to give you a 14 day return grace) You will return the phone, I can assure you.....Sadly!!!!! And like me you'll probably wonder WHY OH WHY MOTOROLLA!!!! in tears to the Post Office......Absolutely criminal. I'm not going to be stupid and give this phone 1 star, but I give it 3 stars overall, It IS a BEAUTIFUL design.
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Reviewed by the smoith from england on 19th Dec 2004
For looks, theres no better. its sex. the menu is nowhere near as bad as some people say. but thats not y u buy it anyway. camera is good enough. the keypad is amazing. if u wanna look good, buy it. end of story.
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Reviewed by PAUL from USA on 19th Dec 2004
I love this phone. I've been using wireless phones almost since they first became available. This particular phone for me has been the best to use. About the only thing that I miss on this phone versus others I have used is EDGE on the browser. The styling, performance, and ease of use for this phone is simply the best.
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Reviewed by Harith from Wales on 18th Dec 2004
Before I bought this phone, I was a little apprehensive. I had read the reviews on this site beforehand and what I got was a mixed picture. Thinking retrospectively, after checking out the phone for myself I have to say that all the negative reviews must have been posted by rival manufacturer agents! This phone has it all - it looks good, it feels good, it sounds good, dammit it even smells good (I haven't tried tasting it yet but it is tempting)! I admit that my two previous phones were motorola but having seen my phone, my wife has just returned her brand new Samsung D500. We are going to compare it with the Nokia 7200 instead. I know I will not be disappointed. If anyone is in two minds about this phone.... go on just do it, you will never regret it.
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Reviewed by Vassilis from UK on 15th Dec 2004
Excellent phone!!! There is absolutely no problem with the response of the menu...loads of extras included...voice dialing is a nice thing to have...the speaker phone feature is an absolute winner! Its style is amazing. Probably one of the best phones in the market. You will fall in love with it !!
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Reviewed by sims 2 from pleasent view on 14th Dec 2004
dis pone is sooooooooooooooooooooooooo slim a fink it's on a diet
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Reviewed by Keith from UK on 13th Dec 2004
Just recieved phone on upgrade. Always had a Nokia. This phone is fantastic!! As easy to use as nokia. Superb looking, great features, very clear reception, excellent battery life. have to say I thought it would be difficult to navigate but just as easy as nokia. I am converted. Go out and buy it. You wont regret it and you will be the envy of all your friends.
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Reviewed by Helen from England on 8th Dec 2004
The Motorola V3 is the Italian sports car of mobile phones: unbelievably sexy, slightly temperamental in the handling. You love it, you hate it. And don't even mention what it does in the dark ...
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Reviewed by Y. Gi from UK on 7th Dec 2004
Great Phone... better caller group with more profile to create then nokia... self memories words messagers... roaming warning tone... perfect mpeg 262K from quicktime... keypad light with sensor for battery life. & lot of things not in the manual, got to try it yourself... its a phone not to be worry
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Reviewed by Michael Davies from UK on 6th Dec 2004
I must agree with Gavin Lloyd, the V3 is lovely to look at and geat to hold - but that's it! When it comes to using it what a disappointment, I'm afraid it scores 0 out of 10 for me. I'm a business user and I want a mobile phone to be just that, a phone that will ring when someone wants to contact me and that I can use easily and safely use when I want to call someone myself. I have almost 300 contacts in my phone book and close on 500 entries with office, mobile and home numbers. I've spoken with several help desks (Vodaphone and Motorola) and been into 3 different Vodaphone shops. The closest we came to transferring the numbers from one phone to the other was using Bluetooth to forward the data but despite 3 apparently successful attempts each time the message came up on the V3 "File too big to open". Also, voice dialling from my SE T610 is straightforward, first say the name then the number I'm calling (home/work/mobile) and I'm connected. This just isn't possible on the V3. My last "gripe" is with the Bluetooth connectivity. It kept dropping-out for no apparent reason so when I was on the move I could neither pick up my calls or dial out. Reluctantly (that's because it looks SO GOOD, it's SO SLIM and is SO LIGHT - which is why it's got 2 stars from me and not 1!), my V3's gone back to Vodaphone, I'll keep my SE T610 until I can find something that will properly take its place. There must be others like me who don't want cameras, movie clips, endless ring tones etc., etc - surely someone out there can give us a mobile that's slim, light and easy to use!
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Reviewed by Steve from UK on 4th Dec 2004
All i can say is that people moaning about its ease of use on menus and no shortcuts etc... u r lazy, get a grip... all those moaning about connectivity... buy a PDA instead... this is a phone! I think it is brill... has a few points which I would like another way, but everyone has preferences!!! Sexy phone for sexy people :oD Buy it!
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Reviewed by Gavin Lloyd from UK on 4th Dec 2004
I'll keep this brief! The phone is a delight to look at and is great as a second mobile phone that is bought for form rather than function! Usability, however, is another matter: It suffers from the usual counter-intuitive menu system common to most Motorola's - that's to be expected! The real let down, however, is the software supplied with it; synching with Outlook is pretty much impossible as the software is a lite version (as mentioned elsewhere on this page) so you can't synch directly with your contacts etc. The only way to synch is to import data from your current address book as a .csv file in the supplied software, try and match the fields up and then hope it works ok. In my case it doesn't - even after trying to edit the raw data file it uses! Oh, and don't think about purchasing the full version of the software - I just did that - and it doesn't support the V3 - thanks BVRP & Motorola!! Bottom line; if you buy this for its looks it is great. If you want to use all the supplied functionality forget it, you'll be throwing the thing out of the window within half a day!
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Reviewed by PitBull from Switzerland on 1st Dec 2004
I have this phone on Orange Switzerland - replacing an externally very battered but still functionally excellent 2-year old Nokia 6310i. Prior to that I've a Nokia 6210, Motorola StarTac130 and Motorola 8200. Good points: - Excellent clamshell design. - Excellent keyboard which is probably the way forward for future mobiles. - Excellent screen and sound quality. - A poser's delight and generates lots of awe. Bad points: - Expensive: but then it is the "latest&greatest", and prices will no doubt drop in due course. - Battery life is quite poor: it's died on me over a long weekend abroad (Thursday night through Monday night) having been charged overnight Wednesday and with only very light usage. My old Nokia would easily last a couple of weeks under similar conditions. - Speed of operation is very slow: seems to take an age to navigate through the menus and do what you want. - Menu system is appalling bad in comparison to Nokia's: clearly was not designed by anybody with a clue about menu design. - Signal sensitivy is very very poor: it loses network connection in the drawer under my office desk or in the toilet cublice at work - never happened with the Nokia. It sometimes even loses connection in the buses or trams in Zurich, which is farcical. To me, this alone is the killer. I will not be keeping the phone.
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Reviewed by M@ from Australia on 25th Nov 2004
I'm surprised by how many people are bagging the phone book in their reviews. Did you even try to work it out before complaining? You might notice, when you are editing a phone book entry, the dirty great big option that says --MORE--. If you select it, you can add multiple phone numbers, email accounts, etc. Sure it's the case that when you do this, you get multiple entries in the phonebook list (Matt with mobile icon, Matt with home icon, etc) but: a) this is kinda handy as you can assign custom pictures to each line - e.g. a photo of Matt for the mobile no. and a photo of his dog for his home number b) this is no more or less of a hassle than first selecting a contact, then selecting which number to dial c) the phone book is more navigable than you might think if you use the (completely customisable) categories, so a proliferation of entries (such as the person with 450 describes) should still be entirely manageable if you're savvy ... given that the phone will hold 1000 entries it is unsurprising that they *have* thought about this. d) the voice tags also work surprisingly well and can be customised for each number of a contact
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Reviewed by M@ from Australia on 25th Nov 2004
I *love* this phone and would have happily given it a 5 star rating had it not been for the lack of Mac support. One the plus side, both the handset and the Bluetooth headset charge over USB through my Powerbook and the Bluetooth link works just fine for file transfers. On the minus side, the included disc is PC only (grrr), it is not compatible with iSync and it does not mount as a drive when I connect it via USB as I had expected it might, so the *only* way to transfer files is over Bluetooth which is much slower. I've had mine for about a fortnight now - you can read my full review at: emanations.braininavat.net/archives/000153.html
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Reviewed by Jim from USA on 24th Nov 2004
I've gone through about 25 phones in the past 2 1/2 years, and the Motorola Razr V3 is BY FAR the best over all phone. It's sleek design, high tech material (esp. the number pad), and cool exterior looks...added with Moto's user-friendly operating system and Bluetooth technology makes for the best phone out there. Sure, if you are looking for a PDA phone, this is not for you. But for those of us who want a phone to use as a phone...plus a little extra (VGA camera, cool Java games, MP3 ringtones, MPEG4 video clips, etc.), this little gadget is the best.
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Reviewed by Dom from England on 23rd Nov 2004
This is the feedback I left for Motorola, which incidently their website couldn't accept due to an error in its configuration. It's not the easiest of tasks to push against the buttons on the screen side when holding the lower part of the phone. The software:- it should be completely intuitive to use... and right now it isn't. The way options are presented needs to be completely changed e.g. I don't want to plough through five menus and options just to lock the phone. And I don't then want to be prompted for both an unlock and sim lock code - yes I know I can switch these on and off - but be reasonable. Screen icons - I should be able to pick up the phone, having never seen one before and immediately see or deduce what each of the icons mean. As it happens, the icon that told me the phone was set to vibrate looked like there was something wrong with the phone, like it had a fault!? Motorola has an excellent name to the uninitiated.. but behind the scenes the real story is a far tale. The manual I got with the phone - poorly designed, poorly written, cluttered, unattractive. The mere point that as a techie I had to resort to RTFM says enough! The software that came with the phone for my PC????? Motorola, are you having a laugh? I've just spent top whack on your latest phone and you don't even make the software, not only that but it's generic and my phone isn't even listed. APPAULING! If you worked for me you wouldn't last the week. I'll close on this point, if you're going to write a sexy warm-up sequence to be shown when the phone boots, at least make sure the phone's processor can show it smoothly without skipping frames. Honestly, why did I buy the phone? Honestly - because Jack Bauer has a clam phone. I've been a Nokia customer for a _VERY_ long time and thought phone manufacturers were much of a muchness -- excepting that Nokia is by far the superior.. but whilst you have a fantastic looking product, it doesn't perform anywhere near as beautifully. Having hesitantly relinquised my Nokia 6310i, I am now glad to be picking it back up whilst I wait for my Nokia 6230 to arrive :-) Now there's a happy ending!
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Reviewed by Moza from London on 23rd Nov 2004
10/10 for looks, design and style. Very happy with the handset for the basic uses of a mobile. However it is a bit slow on the memory side of things, no record vid camera, MP3 Player, FM Radio etc. Then again if you want an all singing & dancing phone get a Sony Ericson S700i. Overall the V3 is a great posing phone that attracts attention. Best for the niche stlye market..
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Reviewed by Ditch from USA (Washington, DC) on 21st Nov 2004
Where to begin? Well let's start with the obvious, it's a wonderful bit of kit! Sleek design, tiny, well made, durable (so far), excellent screens, solid signal reception & simply the most sophisticated build I've ever come across in a mobile phone (and I've owned quite a few). Perhaps the best part is that I can carry this phone in my wallet due to its slender proportions and quality fold up design! Personally, I don't like belt cases and while highly pocektable, putting it my wallet means one less thing I have to tote around, but still have the benifits of when needed. On the downside, yes this puppy is expensive no doubt about it! But it's also a technological tour de force when it comes to putting so much into so little space. You're not ONLY buying a great design, but also high quality components and let's face it, the price will come down as all tech products do eventually. Two other negatives I've found so far are as already mentioned in other reviews, the address book is total junk (come on Motorola, get off your bums and put a decent address book and "TO-DO" list capabilty in this thing. On a side bar, it does sync perfectly with my Mac Powerbook G4 using a USB cable, but I've yet to get the bluetooth conectivity to work for syncing (yet). Finally, this phone SHOULD have been built with the EDGE data capability instead of the dated GPRS. I suspect that the next gen of this device will have EDGE and hopefully a more well thought out address book and to-do list capability. Once those have been added, it will be virtually the perfect mobile phone. I know that there are those that will bitch about no video capability or memory card slot, but let's face it, this product isn't designed to be a multi-media or convergent device like the SE P910 or the PalmOne Treo 650, it's meant to be a truly high end phone. In that respect it does its job with aplomb! There simply isn't room for a memory card (while keeping it's present dimensions), and multimedia would require much more memory (although that too would be a good thing if it didn't affect the size) and perhaps a faster processor. Conclusion, it's the Apple Powebook, B&O or Delorean of mobile phones. Sleek, sexy and capable, just not quite perfect (but a really good first effort) yet. As for recommendations, if you're looking for a first rate mobile phone (not PDA), there are few that can compare today to the Razr... Bravo Moto, you're back in the game!
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Reviewed by Jerd from France on 20th Nov 2004
It's the dogs; the best. I'm glad it's so pricey. We don't want poor people joining our club
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Reviewed by Lee from England on 19th Nov 2004
I am a sucker for shiny things. And this is the best shiny thing i have bought, a full 10/10 Magpie award! What can i say its thin and its fab looking. Downside no flash memory card! which will make this phone loose its pulling power come next year. But as a fashion item the design is the business, Aircraft grade aluminium and magnesium and quad band to boot. Who needs 3G or smartphones when it looks this good.
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Reviewed by Simon from UK on 18th Nov 2004
I had this phone for a weekend. Yes its a beautiful looker. If you want a posey phone then this is the one for you. If you want a phone to text, make calls, store numbers, use the net, connect to a laptop - then look elsewhere. The menus are pants. There are no shortcuts, its up arrow left arrow click click up arrow click blah blah. Nightmare. Texting was awful - i kept losing messages and having to type them all out again. I would recommend getting the plastic mock-up for posing - cos as a phone it's useless. By the way - i sold the phone on Ebay
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Reviewed by Pilot from UK on 17th Nov 2004
Good Points: Thin. Very thin. Superscreen Packed with features for its small size Comes with USB cable Bad Points: No video playback General Comments: I've been waiting eagerly (and with envy) for this phone, and finally I've got it! OUT OF THE BOX the RazR comes in an aluminnuim case, which contains:- -> Motorola V3 RazR -> 3.6v Lithium Ion Battery -> Leather Case & belt clip -> A cool Handfree Headset -> A USB DATA CABLE!!! -> Software CD with about 100Mb of extra Content -> Screen wipe -> Instruction Manual -> Warranty Info Book -> Quick Guide ...now that's quite a bit of kit! You get to see the phone itself without even opening the box through a display window, which is nice, but enough about that... STYLE/BUILD QUALITY It's got more style than a cobra-king in an Escalade. The phone is 13.9mm 'thick' according to specifications. I've found that it's this thin when it's closed, so when you open it it's even thinner! It's really protective so when you drop it, it won't do as much harm as you thought it'd do. Unlike the cheap plastic on my previous Nokia 3200... the phone has got awesome style to it. Some argue that the mic at the bottom of the phone looks really bulky when opened. IT ISN'T. It's actually a very cool design as when you're talking you know 'where to talk' as it's obvious where the mic is. Also it acts a protective mechanism for the screen as most clam phones can get opened if something gets inserted into their gap. Don't go getting any funny thoughts... KEYPAD They are really nice, but it takes a few goes with the phone to get used to em. Oh, and this has to tie in with the build-quality as I forgot to mention earlier that the phone is ALL-METAL (yes, including the packaging). The keys are nickel-plated-copper-alloys (applause), and the main body is anodised-aluminium-alloy (applause). Sorry for the long words. They work well, and there's a nice blue backlight so you can see them in the dark. I reckon they look cool - especially down town at night, but enough about that... SCREEN Mm-mm-mmmm! How about that?!? This display is really really really nice. I can't stress this enough! Well, maybe I can... OK, it's not as sharp as the Sony Ericsson K700i screen, but it can display more colours on it. 256K to be precise. Some people have heard that it's 64K, it's not, it's actually 256K. Photos look brilliant on it. The outer screen is 4K. Wait stop, this doesn't mean it displays 4 colours, it means that it displays 4,000 colours, hence the 'K'. It's used to display the notifications such as new messages, missed calls, etc... It also displays a pic of the person who's calling you, which is handy. So you get two colour screens for the price of one really. CAMERA Yes, I know that you know and Motorola know and so does everyone else that this phone cannot record video. Don't be put off because the camera makes up for it combined with the superscreen and considering its petite size. The USB cable is useful for transferring your pics to your computer. A zoom function is available WHILE using the camera, and NOT after you've taken the photo. Also there's a brightness/contrast feature again WHILE using the camera and NOT after you've taken the photo. Oh, and I forgot to mention: about the video. -you can playback the video for sure... and it does it really well! you can actually get up to about half an hour's worth of video on the phone's memory(-see later section). Pretty cool as you've got your USB cable to download the video from your computer. OS (operating system) the OS (or menus as some call it) is just like existing Motorolas. But with the MUCH better screen they've added some luxury features for us. Like backgrounds and a sharpened font (or lettering). It's dead easy to navigate and there are three themes that come pre-installed on the phone: moto, solver, and a red one. I like the silver meself as it goes with the all-metal phone. I think there's more themes on the CD you get with it, but I'm not sure I haven't checked it out yet - too busy playing with the phone! STORAGE I've heard people say that you can only store one number with each name, and it seemed so to me as well at first. BUT FEAR NOT! I talked to Motorola via their website and said that it comes like that as Factory Settings (if you know what I mean). They've told me that this can be changed in the Phonebook settings and you can actually have more than one number in each Name. Genius! Also, the 5-6 Mb of storage on the phone may put people off. You shouldn't be! Once again Motorola rescues us by supplying a USB cable for us to make up for it! Believe me I'm a heavy user of this phone and a heavy fone-fotographer, yet I only used a max of 3Mb on the phone. ...and that's for all the extras I've stored on the phone. This is because when you've finished snapping you just transfer your pics to your computer, and you 'empty' some space on the phone. Genius! BATTERY LIFE Good. Very good. I used it for 2 days NON-STOP and the next day there was still a bar left in the battery icon!. I haven't checked how Bluetooth affects battery life on it yet as I haven't got one ...yet! Also I noticed that there's a separate Bluetooth LED in the front which indicates that it's on... I think. PRICE The bad news. -is that I've heard from websites that Motorola aren't gonna bring down the price to attract more users. Shame. It costs about £200-400 I think. But it's value for money as it comes with loadsa kit. I got mine for £20. On contract the phone is expensive as well. But this is a phone that will refuse to go out of date as it's ultra thin and packs a whole host of features that you could ever ask for from a phone of this size. OVERALL superb. ...anything else?
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Reviewed by Richard Shuttlewood from England on 16th Nov 2004
I got one of these on the launch day and I can safely say, its is syuperb. Looks and functionality. Ok, so the menu system isn't cutting edge but it does everything I could possibly want it to. People complaining about it being slow, don't fill it up with mp3's!!!!!!! Some people seem to be dumb for the fun of it some times. Bad points, memory is small and I'm forever cleaning it as I don't want to mark it. I would say buy one, but I want to be the only person with one :)
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Reviewed by Ewan from Britain on 16th Nov 2004
I agree with Ooner! This is my first 'cool' mobile. First thing don't be put off by the keys they are very easy to use and do click. The phone is generally of a very high quality with some nice touches. BUT HOW can such an expensive phone still be so unintuitive. The text messaging has that same non-nokia clumsiness and is frustrating to use even with experience. It is also unbelievably slow - the predictive text although clever is painstaking a 5 year old Nokia keeps up better. Then there is the delete or scrolling through the menus. It's like an old 186 it is sooo slow and it remembers the key strokes so you can have to wait five minutes for it to delete the extra twenty characters that you pressed delete out of frustration. Hard to believe such a 'high tech' phone has such deficient processing power / programming. If you are a texter please think twice about buying this phone. Why do they not just copy Nokia? Sony are in second place for intuitiveness. I don't think the next generation will improve as Motorola etc have been making un-user-friendly phones for years Was tempted to give it 3 but lets face it this thing isn't about functionality. Also very disappointed in the cheap plastic lower third of the phone. I think they must have run out on the budget. At £500 each rrp it is hard to see how! Definitely NOT worth the money but I still LIKE it. Get yourselves an online 02 tariff. p.s. A very useful tip from jack00h on the iTunes thank you! The MP3 ringtone quality is very good.
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Reviewed by Stephen Macpherson from UK on 15th Nov 2004
I have had this phone for 3 days and have totally fallen for it! Everyone else in the office has as well! Unlike some of the other review submitters I have had no problems with connectivity or setup. Moving from my SE T610i has been easy with the V3 having a much faster operating system and superb screen. The only niggles are with the contact book not being able to store multiple numbers for each contact, and having to buy the Motorola PhoneTools software (£50). Motorola should have thought about this before launching the V3. Overall the V3 is a dream, the Bluetooth setup works really well with the connection quality much better than the T610i. I love it!
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Reviewed by Ooner from Malaysia on 14th Nov 2004
Bought this phone a week ago and I think it's fantastic! Slim design, battery life, solid feel, all excellent. Menu system is a bit hard to get used to, not as intuitive as SE T630/610/K700i or nokias for that matter, but then again its' classic motorola menu system; maybe they will improve in the next gen of phones. Quirks: turned off my SE HBH-600 headset one night but left the bluetooth ON on the phone; resulted in the phone battery being drained completely within a few hours, somehow the bluetooth didn't go into standby mode. Other than that, it's a fantastic phone, just remember to turn the bluetooth OFF when not in use!
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Reviewed by ALLAN PEARCE from ENGLAND on 12th Nov 2004
COULD DO WITH BIGGER MOMORY THAT IS NAMES AND NUMBERS AND MUCH LOUDER RINGS SO WE CAN HEAR IT IN THE CAR I HAVE NOKIA 7610 BUT WANTED TO CHANGE ALSO MORE RINGING TONES THANKS
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Reviewed by IJD from UK on 11th Nov 2004
I just had to have this phone, it looked superb and, from the spec., did everything I wanted from a mobile phone. I bought one, took it home and after fighting with the OS for a few hours trying to make it work for GPRS dial up took it back and swapped it for a SE P910. The Motorola is a good looking well engineered case with a really good display and works well as a phone. For anything else business related like GPRS dial up, email, bluetooth headset connections and so on it fails miserably. If you want to buy a phone that does data well, works 100% with headsets and has a more intuitive interface I'd recommend the SE 910 over this phone.
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Reviewed by jack00h from uk on 8th Nov 2004
This phone is great!!!!!! Use iTunes to create MP3 ring tones for your mobile phone After discovering my phone can play mp3 files as ring tones, I immediately grabbed some of my favourite songs and tried to crop and convert them. After trying to do so using Quicktime Pro and iTunes (far more hassle then it's worth), I gave up until I found a hint online (posted by an anonymous forumite elsewhere) that lets you do the same thing in iTunes in half the time! First, in iTunes you need to go to Prefs, then Import, then change your import settings to mp3 (I used 112kbps, quality is less important than compactness for my ring tones). Then, find the song you want, and go through the song to figure out which part you want to be the ring tone (IE: 00:30.00 to 00:42.00) and then Command-I to get info on the song. Under the Options tab in the Get Info menu, check both start and stop time and enter the start and stop times for the ring tone section (IE: Start time 00:30.00 End Time 00:42.00). You may want to play it once to make sure it's well cropped. Then, just select the song in your library and go to Advanced -> Convert Selection to MP3. It will automatically convert ONLY the portion of the song that you selected to a new, cropped MP3 file, which can then be dragged onto the desktop and used. This is infinitely easier than trying to crop and convert in another application, and now you can have the coolest ring tone on the block in half the time! iTunes is free to download from www.apple.com/itunes For those that dont know its also a great music player and easy to use music cd burn software.
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Reviewed by Egghead from England on 6th Nov 2004
Mario, You need to alter the way in which your phone list is displayed, it's in the manual. Outlook sync is still a problem though with truncation on long titled meeting requests.
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Reviewed by Dylan from UK on 5th Nov 2004
Its simply the most desirable handset out there. The guy who bought the P910....goood luck with the brick...clearly lost the plot on the point of the V3.
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Reviewed by Paul L. from United Kingdom on 5th Nov 2004
Excellent! I don't need to write about the exterior looks do I? Despite claims elsewhere the OS is not slow, bluetooth works fine and Outlook synching works well if you purchase the outlook synch software (for me). Oh and and you CAN store names and addresses in the address book. The OS is very intuitive (except for the way the address book distinguishes SIM contacts and phone contacts and makes lots of distinct entries). I think other reviewers of this phone have confused intuitiveness with looks - the OS simply doesn't look that great (a tad toy town - which is at odds with the exterior styling) and this is my only criticism. Motorola have a history of being hard nosed engineers and whilst they have of late got to grips with designing good looking hardware and have fully sorted out their UI navigation woes, they haven't done so well in the simple on screen looks department. Sorry Guys just look at the UI compared with say the Sony Ericsson K700i. But this is a minor critici sm.
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Reviewed by Ian from Hong Kong on 5th Nov 2004
I agree with all of the raves about the styling and good looks and feel of this phone, but on the very simple task of accessing your stored numbers in the Phonebook, it is a disaster. The most you can do is type the first letter of the name you want and then you have to scroll from there!! I have 700+ phonebook entries loaded and that is not very convenient. [I had absolutely no problem downloading them from my PC by the way. The synch is slow but i works fine - so far]. But, as you might expect for this phone, there is one very sexy way around this - use voice dial!! That means you don't even need to look anything up. Just push the Voice Dial button, say your prerecorded name and hey presto - it dials the number. Only drawback - having to go through and record 700 UNIQUE name sounds for every entry in the phonebook. I've done 6 so far!! Great looking phone though.....
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Reviewed by paul from singapore on 5th Nov 2004
try to get use to it friend.... now then i know that phonebook categories was useful, to get more perfect picture (setup the requirement from picture setup) &batt. last even longer when you switch off display timeout. cool... glad to have this phone
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Reviewed by Mario from Italy on 4th Nov 2004
Here I am, finally I'm the lucky owner of the raz v3, so: Very Bad: - Outlook sincro very bad (even with mobile Phone tools pro version!) - Cannot search for a contact in the list; just scroll by the first letter of the name (if you have about 450 contact it's a nightmare) !!!! - Contacts again: if you have more info for a contact (4ex. 2 telephone numbers, 1 email you'll have 3 contacts and not 1 with more fields. This makes search more complicated and long. Bad: - Price - Mmm... display and keyboard get dirty ;) So so: - Signal reception Good: - Battery life (still 4 days with no recharge) - Internal and external screen resolution - ... everything else Very good: - Shape, thickness and design. ciao
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Reviewed by Mr Lee from malaysia on 4th Nov 2004
As a business man, proud of using this high-end phone. on the go anytime anywhere...user friendly... keep it up motorola.
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Reviewed by David from London on 3rd Nov 2004
Are you people insane?????? this phone is simply outstanding and has so many advantages!!! it simply rocks maybe some phones like PDA is better but The PDA's are so BIG, but this, this is the crazy mother!! stop chating nonsense about this fone and go get youre selfs a life with youre brick fones !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Reviewed by Kasper Andersen from Denmark on 30th Oct 2004
When I received the box with my new Motorola V3 I was amazed - and that was just with the box it came in! This is ofcourse of no matter if the phone cant live up to it - but trust me, it can. Not only is this -in my opinion- propably the best designed mobile phone ever, but the phone is just as easy to use as it is beautiful to look at... and this coming from a guy who has allways used Nokia phones. Up until now in my opinion, Motorola phones has been somewhat difficult to use regarding the menus and software. But with this phone I didnt even have to read the manual. I would recomend this phone to anybody who likes clamshell-phones! And may I just say - this phone is slim!! I absolutely love it!
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Reviewed by Argo from England on 25th Oct 2004
It looks absolutely brilliant and I can call people on it. Perfect!
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Reviewed by ChrisH from UK on 24th Oct 2004
Pretty enough ... but really really stupid software. Just 2 examples: a) Beam a vCard from another phone - sometimes it works and sometimes it says "too big to save" - what's happening is that if you add a picture to an addressbook entry on some phones, the sender will embed the pic as part of the vCard (a totally valid and standards compliant thing to do). Fair enough the V3 addressbook can't handle that ... so the right thing to do is just omit the pic not junk the entire card! b) Email client (jeez you'd have thought they could have got this right) can really only handle pure text/plain message bodies - otherwise you have the joy of burning your gprs packets to d/l the whole message only then to be told the message can't be displayed. The problem seems to be the standard mime multipart/alternative (contains both html and plain text versions of the body) - the whole point being if you can't to the html - you can still read plain text. V3 clearly has no idea about multipart/alternative - unknown format - duh! Oh and the IMAP4 stuff is simply broken ... reviewing a mail server log of a V3 session would be funny if it wasn't so sad.
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Reviewed by Mario from Italy on 22nd Oct 2004
To raydude: which hack are you talking about?
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Reviewed by raydude from UK on 22nd Oct 2004
Great Battery life Great bluetooth Great screen, size and responsive Operating system Only let down is the poor synching tools - you will battle to synch it up. Suggest you install the hack that lets you synch it to Outlook! Nice phone very fast to start up and easy to use!
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Reviewed by NAZ from Scotland on 21st Oct 2004
This phone is fantastic & the performance is great,with excellent features.Fantastic build quality,Best ever screen,value for money & worth the money. It's the baddest bad boy on the market. ********** Star's
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Reviewed by Backer from UK on 21st Oct 2004
I can't believe a couple of your customers have given this a 2 star rating. What planet are they on? This is simply the neatest, coolest business phone avilable. It is intuitive to use (I have not even read the manual yet!) The sound qulaity is excellent, and it is just so thin, it's beautiful. Full marks from a business user who is critical of phones.
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Reviewed by MJ from UK on 21st Oct 2004
This phone looks fantastic, as soon as I saw a review for it a few months ago I just had to have it. but to be honest it stops there. Although I did enjoy using this very flash phone, I didn't find that the features of the phone matched up to my expectations, and have opted to go for the SE P910i as I think it has a lot more to offer.
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Reviewed by Blair from UK on 20th Oct 2004
After 1 week and several exchanges with Motorola support I still couldn't get the V3 to synch with Outlook. Then found that the supplied software is a "lite" version and you need a hack to get it working. The OS is typical Motorola - OK if you like that sort of thing. The phone looks great but if you need anything beyond the pose value, give it a miss. I've sent mine back, The Distributor tells me they've had a lot of comments from similarly disappointed customers.
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Reviewed by Rob W from UK on 20th Oct 2004
First the good points... This phone is very slim, and very well finished in beautiful metal with a very "tron" like blue backlight for keypad and a large internal display. The sound is loud and has dual outlets to ensure that it can be heard all the time. The box it comes in is outstanding (aluminium finish, with CDROM, manual, USB cable and leather carry case with belt clip) - but hey, it's just packaging. RF performance is also good too. HOWEVER! The fonts are very large and blocky making the size of the screen redundant and the ugly. The menu system is a nightmare and not intuative at all. The phone book can't store many different numbers and will not allow addresses to be stored. The phone itself is soooooooo slow that even my Nokia 7250i beat it hands down. My V3 RaZor had bluetooth (soory SuperTooth) problems and it would drop the connection to my computer, to the headset (somtimes when on a call in the car), and had difficulty recognising other phones. I also couldn't view pictures from a Nokia 6320 of 43KB, despite one of the photos I'd taken being 49KB! The memory is only 5.5MB. I hated to love it, and eventually I gave in and took it back. I now have a Sony Ericsson K700i and am very happy with it, save battery performance, but I have an in car charger, and it comes with a mains charger so... Be warned. This is phone is "mutton dressed as lamb". If all you want is a basic, BASIC, phone and can stand how slow it is, and want a phone that looks cool from the outside, then this is it. Otherwise, come on Motorola, sort out your act!
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Reviewed by cmj from England on 19th Oct 2004
Fantastic build quality. Best ever screen - very good from almost any viewing angle. Thought the keypad would be strange but it is fantastic. Very loud, practical ringtones, nice games. The OS is typical moto, but you get used to it quickly. The missing features (video recording, mp3 playing and 1MP camera) are instantly forgotten when you see and feel how cool this phone is. Worth the money instead of a free phone? Oh yes, without a doubt. Hopefully this phone will change the mobile industry completely and we will see more and more metal casing and slimness of this kind!
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Motorola V3 "handy hints"

Submitted by becca from USA on 13th May 2005
look, i just want to say where you ALL CAN SEE that there IS, i repeat THERE IS a way to have multiple numbers or phonebook entries UNDER ONE NAME. PRIMARY CONTACTS. find that in the settings, and then when you're in the phone book, you just hit left or right to see the different numbers. i have 3 different work numbers in my phone, ALL UNDER ONE NAME. it doesn't say my company's name 3 times. only once. this is on all of the v series phones. i am SICK of reading about people complaining about this when it says in the manual how to change it!

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