The Motorola RAZR is probably one of the best smartphones that came out since the Motorola smartphone era started in 2007. It also uses the iconic RAZR brand and it is the thinnest smartphone up to date with a 7.1mm thickness. This is the GSM version of the DROID RAZR; the two phones are identical except for the networks they support.

Motorola RAZR specifications
 
The Motorola RAZR uses exotic materials, like Kevlar for the chassis and has a great looking design. It looks like most of the recent high-end Motorola smartphones but it stands out due to its slim body and lightweight construction. However the thickness is not uniform, it has a hump where the camera and sensors are. The chassis is made out of stainless steel, the back panel is made from Kevlar and it also has a water repellent nanocoating but it’s not completely waterproof. It measures 130.7 x 68.9 x 7.1 and weighs 127 grams.

The front of the device holds a 4.3” qHD (540*960 resolution) SuperAMOLED Advanced display with Gorilla Glass on top. The colors are saturated and vivid, the contrast ratio is superb, viewing angles are good but the brightness could have been a bit higher. Also it produces a very deep black color. Under the display we have the same set of capacitive Android keys while above we have a 1.3 MPx camera with 720 video recording and the sensors.
 
The left side holds the microSIM and microSD slots while the right side holds the power key and the volume rocker. The top side holds a 3.5 mm jack, microUSB port and the microHDMI port. On the back we have the 8MPx camera with LED flash and auto-focus and the speakerphone grill. Removing the battery cover gives access to 1780 mAh battery that gives the RAZR over 9 hours of talk time in 3G and

The Motorola RAZR is powered by a 1.2 GHz dual core TI OMAP 4430 CPU, PowerVR SGX540 GPU and 1 GB of RAM. The RAZR is very fast and every operation is done smoothly, from kinetic scrolling to opening apps.  The only downside is that zooming on a picture is done in stages and not fluidly.

The RAZR runs Android 2.3.5 and despite not having Touch Wiz or HTC Sense on top it has some very good looking 3D effects, transition and eye candy to please the eyes. Most of the widgets can be resized and the layouts automatically change with the new arrangement. The interface also offers very deep social network integration and a Social Networking app puts all the services in one. Also the Motorola RAZR should get Ice Cream Sandwich soon.

You get a nice set of apps like the contact app with heavy social network integration and Google sync; Organizer apps like: calculator, calendar (with multiple account sync and color coding), alarm, stopwatch and timer; GoTOMeeting; QuickOffice; MotoCast (which enables the streaming of files from an internet connected computer) and the MOTOPRINT app for wireless printing.
The Motorola RAZR also offers Smart Actions functionality that controls everything surrounding the device. For example if you activate the ‘work’ Smart Action it will know when you arrive via your GPS coordination and can even send a text that you have arrived. It can also sense when you are in the car if you connect it to a Bluetooth system. It’s a very nice feature to have and helps you be in control of everything you do with the RAZR.

The RAZR has a very good keyboard with a spacious layout and it doesn’t matter if you use the multi touch or Swype keyboard you will get a very good typing speed and will be able to compose messages and emails with ease. Also the big and very responsive screen and the great auto-correct function helps achieve the fast typing speed. The Gmail App remains the standard on all Android apps and it has the same easy setup process for most of the email providers. 

The 8MPx camera with auto-focus and LED flash takes pretty good pictures but the colors are a bit on the cool side and details could be better.  In low light condition the pictures are grainy and a bit noisy but the LED flash cancels that out. It also offers a wide range of shooting modes, effects and settings. Video recording is done at HD 1080p resolution @ 30fps, sound quality is good but the details are average and it lacks continuous auto-focus

In terms of multimedia you get the standard interface found on all recent Motorola smartphones with a nice looking 3D gallery in landscape mode, lyrics display and all the sorting, equlizer and playlist options. Audio quality is good; the loudspeaker produces a strong volume and sharp sounds.

The image gallery app separates the media into categories what can be accessed very easily but it’s not as good an eye catching as the TouchWiz, HTC Sense or even stock Android galleries. IT also has a stuttering when zooming, it lacks fluid zoom and uses stage zoom instead.

Video playback supports most formats and resolutions up to 1920*1080p and the combined efforts of the fast CPU and the great display gives us a very pleasant experience. Playback is smooth, details are plenty and the presence of the microHDMI port and accessories like the lapdock or HD stations means you can turn the RAZR into a full multimedia and browsing experience.  You will get 8GB of internal memory that can be extended via a microSD card up to 32 GB, to store your files.

In terms of connectivity you get quad band GSM, quad-band 3G with HSPA+, GPS with A-GPS and Glonass, Bluetooth 4.0 with EDR, Wi-Fi, DLNA, mobile hotspot, FM Radio, USB and HDMI. Web browsing is great thanks to the fast CPU and the great display. Browsing is fast and smooth even when dealing with flash content. It does its best to provide an almost desktop like experience.

In the very intense high-end smartphone race the Motorola RAZR gets our attention thanks to the slim, lightweight construction and with the fact that Motorola were able to fit all that high end technology in a device so thin. Overall the RAZR is a very well built device with all the features you would expect from a high end device but it will have to deal with some tough competition like the HTC Sensation XE, Samsung Galaxy S II or the iPhone 4S.