Motorola RAZRi UK Sim Free Smartphone

 Brand Motorola | Model: XT890

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Motorola RAZRi UK Sim Free Smartphone

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Motorola MobMotorolaRazr i Black SM3649AE7B1 Phones Mobile Phones

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Superb Mid-Range Handset, 6 Jan 2013

By 

Carl "CJC" (Manchester UK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Motorola RAZRi UK Sim Free Smartphone (Wireless Phone Accessory)

After giving Windows Phone 8 a try and deciding it wasn't for me (primarily because of the horrendous amount of bugs as stated in my review for the HTC 8S I returned prior to this purchase), I was in the market for a decent Android phone that wasn't huge like the Samsung Galaxy S3, and wasn't stocked with manufacturers bloatware. In a nutshell, this phone fit the bill perfectly.

Size and Build Quality: In terms of size, the handset is a little bigger than an iPhone 4/4S, although a little slimmer. However, unlike the larger Android handsets, this device can easily be pocketed without making a huge imprint. The build quality of the phone is also solid. Whilst not quite up to the standards of the iPhone 5, in my opinion is beats the build quality of the somewhat flimsy Samsung Galaxy S3, and is definitely up there with the HTC One X+. And unlike the Nexus 4 and iPhone 4S, of which the rears are both covered with glass, this could probably take a bit more of a knock.

Screen: The screen is superb for a midrange handset. Whilst it is not HD, it is still a respectable 960 x 540, which is the same as other popular mid range Android handsets such as the HTC One S, and higher than other mid range windows phone handsets such as HTC 8S or Nokia Lumia 820 or the Samsung S3 Mini. Colours are bright and vivid, text is clear and readable. Can't ask for any more than that.

Android: One of my only gripes with this handset is that it didn't come with Android 4.1 Jelly Bean out of the box (although it still comes with the very capable Android Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0.4). However, this is not the end of the world as this handset is due to get upgraded to Jelly Bean in the first quarter of 2013 (sooner than the Galaxy S3 I think). And as this is a sim-free handset, you won't have to wait for your carrier to approve the update.

On the intel atom processor that powers the phone, Android is speedy and responsive. Some professional reviews have commented that because the phone is running on an Intel processor rather than an ARM processor as many other Android phones do, some of the apps on the Google Play store won't work. So far I have downloaded and installed a variety of apps including PlayerPro, Spotify, Dropbox, Skydrive, Fruit Ninja, Facebook, Twitter and National Rail to name a few, all work flawlessly.

This is also the closest version to stock android that you will get that isn't a Nexus device. Motorola have made a few changes, of which some I found useful, some not. At present, the circles widget that contains time/weather/battery level I find very useful, although I probably won't use this once I get the jelly bean update with Google Now. There is also a dedicated screen by default (one swipe to left from home screen) with quick access to settings such as bluetooth and wifi which I found really useful.

In order to sync with a PC you need to install motorolas software. Not the end of the world but considering on my old HTC desire running Android 2.2 I could sync and transfer content without installing any additional software, its a bit 2005 to be expected to do this. However, with Spotify and Google Play music, I have less of a need to do that these days so for me its not a deal breaker.

Call Quality: Again no problems here, calls have been clear and crisp so far.

Battery Life: Battery life on this handset so far has been nothing short of superb. I use my phone generally to listen to music, for the odd call, lots of texting, checking social networks and checking email on the fly, and I have no problems getting a day out of it, could probably even stretch 2 with careful use. I have screen set at minimum brightness and wifi always on (although I think 3g automatically turns off when connected to a wifi network).

Storage: The phone has a micro SD card slot so storage can easily be expanded up to 32GB. The phone comes with an 8gb SD card slot built in.

Conclusion: Probably the best mid range android handset on the market, and easily the best of the smaller Android handsets, especially once it gets the Jelly Bean update (which is due to happen this quarter according to the Motorola website). Highly recommended to those who want a non Apple phone that isn't supersized.

5.0 out of 5 stars razr i, 5 Jan 2013

By 

Terry Boardman - See all my reviews

This review is from: Motorola RAZRi UK Sim Free Smartphone (Wireless Phone Accessory)

Bought this for my wife at christmas, chose it because i have a razr maxx wich i think is a great phone.
She loves it, large screen but compact and light is just right for her and it is a very fast and capable phone so much better than her previous one (samsung s2 i think! ) which failed constantly on all levels.

4.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic phone, 4 Jan 2013

By 

R. Fountain (London, United Kingdom) - See all my reviews

(REAL NAME)
  

This review is from: Motorola RAZRi UK Sim Free Smartphone (Wireless Phone Accessory)

Had it for a few months and I still prefer using it every day over a SGS2, SGS3 & N4. Great ergonomics, build quality and battery life, nice screen, good value & in spite of what a few people have said, I think that the camera is very good, especially useful is the baked in HDR feature. It's every bit as fast and fluid as any dual or quad core Android i've used. The only down side is the lack of immediate pull down options for short-cuts to auto-rotate, bluetooth etc.. but there are plenty of free 3rd party apps to resolve this.

Motorola advertised that they would update this handset to Jelly Bean (4.2) before 2013 - Surprise, surprise they failed to do so. Even under Google's ownership Motorola is still pants at fulfilling any promise of a firmware upgrade, on time. Maybe in 2013, as they have now stated? Either way, i'm not really bothered, this phone on ICS is almost perfect. If it had a user replaceable battery, it would be 5 stars. The best 'Q' phone of 2012?

5.0 out of 5 stars super phone, 30 Dec 2012

By 

dave - See all my reviews

This review is from: Motorola RAZRi UK Sim Free Smartphone (Wireless Phone Accessory)

for the money beats all rivals, very fast, good camera, easy to use, highly recommend.easily fits in your pocket, good battery life.

4.0 out of 5 stars Bargain!!, 26 Dec 2012

By 

Denis Dennehy "Denis" (Manchester) - See all my reviews

(REAL NAME)
  

This review is from: Motorola RAZRi UK Sim Free Smartphone (Wireless Phone Accessory)

Before the review - a bit of a background on me.. I am a geek. A very well paid geek, who becomes an expert on anything I am asked to do or anything I personally want to buy.

When buying a phone a am after bang for my buck. The Samsung SIII is still the Android phone to buy at the moment if money is no object. But if you wanted a phone almost as good for much less money... 4 months ago I would have said get a HTC One S (when my wife got a phone), 1 months ago (when I got a phone) I would have said this Razr i, now the phone to get in this price bracket is obviously the latest Google Nexus 4 (if you can find one).

Now for this phone - it looks good, it is quick, the battery is fantastic (sometimes it makes it to 2 days on light use), and I now expect better updates from Motorola now that it is owned by Google. It is easily as good as my wifes HTC One S she bought a couple of months earlier, and the battery life is better.

I would give it 4 stars, but I reserve that for the first Android phone I own with a 3 day battery life (battery life is as important as CPU on a phone - in my view no phone deserves 4 stars yet).

5 of 9 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Not as good as Razr XT910., 4 Dec 2012

By 

Tim - See all my reviews

This review is from: Motorola RAZRi UK Sim Free Smartphone (Wireless Phone Accessory)

I got this phone as an upgrade for my Motorola Razr (XT910)

The Razr-i does what it says on the tin, fast phone, fast camera with dedicated physical controls(!), good-ish browsing...

I didn't keep the phone though as it doesn't live up to either the previous Razr (XT)910 or the Razr Maxx.

Having an Intel chipset means that the new Razr-i has PROBLEMS handling internet media.

Specifically, if the site you are visiting has Flash content (e.g. videos) the new chipset doesn't know how to handle the video, that's a major let down and downgrade from the original XT-910.

You visit for example BBC or CNN and instead of viewing the video you just see a hole in the web page. Same problem as i-Phones, NO VIDEO, frustrating!

You try to use BBC's i-player for videos and it doesn't work, so you get annoying error messages. And the problem won't be solved any time soon, because with HTML5 (that Razr-i uses)digital rights for BBC videos are not ensured, as they are with Adobe's Flash.

On the flip side, you can download apps such as "Tune In" or specific site apps to LISTEN to the content, but not all sites have apps for the sake of Intel chipset phones. Plus you may end up with lots and lots of individual apps.

*Given that Adobe continues Flash support of Windows PC platform but not Android, I would recommend go for an older model (Razr or Razr Maxx) with a chipset that allows full Flash capability!*

I would highly recommend the original Motorola Razr, or Razr Maxx instead for media streaming, especially for Adobe Flash content.

You can still manually download and install Flash from Adobe's website, despite Google Play (aka Android Market) not having it. It will work fine with any browser with the original XT910 but it won't work with Razr-i, due to the Intel Chipset. :(

ALSO ANNOYINGLY, Motorola has removed one of the four touch controls from the new Razr -i thus crippling the user friendliness feature further.

As if this was not enough, unfortunately the new Razr-i (in contrast to Razr XT910) does not support Motocast, which allows you to connect from anywhere in the world with your computer, via 3G for example!

Bottom line? Horses for courses. If you want a fast, modern, high-tech phone VERY WELL priced, well built, go for the Razr-i.

If you want full desktop computer functionality though? Go for the Razr or Razr Maxx (both XT910) and also purchase the original Motorola docking (media)station.

Then you can have a full desktop experience with physical keyboard, mouse and view phone screen on any HDMI monitor which with its built in loudspeaker and via the docking station's built in Firefox browser, gives you full PC experience!!
Act quick for the Razr Maxx, as it's just been discontinued.

All in all because full Internet capability is important for me, I'd give the new Razr-i 6.5 out of 10 and the Razr Maxx 9.5 out of 10.
Also, I would have appreciated it if Motorola revealed clearly that this phone is handicapped in the Internet front instead of saying next to nothing about it.

Otherwise the phone does pretty well and honestly what it says it does.

Good luck with your shopping.
Tim

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, 3 Dec 2012

By 

Labbydog "Kevin" (Suffolk, UK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Motorola RAZRi UK Sim Free Smartphone (Wireless Phone Accessory)

I was looking forward to the release of this phone, however I did have an issue with it, I was unable to store contacts on the phone, spoke to Motorola and Amazon, Amazon sent out a replacement phone, which had the same fault, went back to Motorola who requested the phone back to their repair dept, whatever they did fixed the fault.
The is easy and intuitive to use, but most of all it works as a phone perfectly, the battery lasts for day's with me, I only use it as a phone, with the occasional visit to maps and guidance.
In truth I have a phone full of features which I most likely will never use, but it fits nicely in the pocket and feels nice in the hand.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Good allround performer with great battery life, 30 Nov 2012

By 

Stephen H - See all my reviews

This review is from: Motorola RAZRi UK Sim Free Smartphone (Wireless Phone Accessory)

Likes
- The battery life on this phone is fantastic. I've found so far that I get about full day of really heavy use (multiple calls, web browsing, games, listening to music), or two days of normal use on one charge. Whereas on my old HTC Desire HD I was getting about 1 day tops for similar normal usage
- The size and weight - it's compact and light. The Galaxy S3 and HTC One X are great phones, but just a bit too big for everyday use if you ask me. This is spot on.
- The camera button. It's a shame not more phones come with a camera button. It's great on this phone as you can be in camera mode and taking a picture from standby mode with only two presses of a button (one to load camera, one to take picture). And it generally can all be done in about 1 second. The picture quality is variable, but decent for casual snapping and it shoots 1080p video pretty well.
- Speed. It's fast and handles running multiple apps at the same time really well. No major gripes with any of the games I've run on it so far.
- Call sound quality and reception is pretty good
- The screen colours really pop to life, and I've found it easy to see in bright day light. If you look at it really closely it's definitely not as crisp as say the Galaxy S3's screen, but it's still very nice.
- I use my phone at the gym a lot and think my old one took a bit of a beating from sweat damage. The XT890 is apparently somewhat waterproof, which should help with that.

Dislikes
- Virtualisation of the internal storage as an SD card causes problems with getting stuff onto SD card (e.g. You can't move apps, but you can move music, videos, pictures. This means if you have a bunch of games and some music downloaded via Spotify on there you'll fill up your space pretty quickly). Possibly related to this is that it isn't as straight forward to hook up for USB file transfers as some other Android phones, but it's still easy and their are even easier alternatives available (like Airdroid)
- I switch between English/German a lot when I type and so I need a keyboard that easily switches between the two. The stock keyboard supports dual language, but you need to press a few key strokes to switch. Not a major gripe as it can be but easily fixed by installing another keyboard (e.g. I use SwiftKey)
- The update to Jelly Bean is taking a while to be released. Rumour at time of writing is January

All in all I'm really happy with the phone so far, and would recommend it to anyone who likes not having to charge their phone all the time and is after a decent camera for casual snaps.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Wow - New Motorola RAZRi is awesome!, 29 Nov 2012

By 

GadgetMan - See all my reviews

This review is from: Motorola RAZRi UK Sim Free Smartphone (Wireless Phone Accessory)

This is a really nice phone. It has a real quality feel to it and a nice weight in the hand.
Phone is constructed of aircraft grade aluminium and kevlar with Corning Gorilla glass - superb build quality.
It is superfast with its Intel 2GHz processor.
Calls are crystal clear and Internet speeds are incredible.
Early days yet, but went for this instead of an iPhone5 upgrade and I am well pleased.
After a long period in the wildnerness, Motorola is back and how!
What a great new phone.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars super moto!!!!, 28 Nov 2012

By 

chep - See all my reviews

This review is from: Motorola RAZRi UK Sim Free Smartphone (Wireless Phone Accessory)

Had this phone for a month now and I can't fault it.

It feels and looks great, the edge to edge display is a real head turner (especially from iphone users) and
the screen which is made of gorilla glass has little to no glare, which means you can turn the brightness
to the lowest setting even during the day, which saves loads of battery power.

As for the intel processor side of things all I can say is my missus has an HTC 1x and we
play the same games and run the same apps and other than the screen size difference they
all perform the same.

Two things I have noticed with the RAZR i are the wifi indicator shows weak connection even when close to the hotspot.
(this has not effected my download speeds or connectivity)
and out of the box I noticed youtube and other video streams were a little pixelated.

I fixed this by ticking the box for 'forced GPU rendering' in the developer options in the settings
and now everything looks great.

One proud smart phone owner here.

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