Introduction & Design
One of the most popular mobile phones of all time, the Motorola RAZR V3 was originally announced in 2004 and has since become ubiquitous in the hands of users all around the world. Nicknamed RAZR (razor) for it's groundbreaking slim profile, the clamshell V3 originally sold for upwards of $500 - even with carrier discounts - and soon became a status symbol much like Apple's iPod in the hands of the style mavens and techies alike.
Two years later, Motorola has released the first significant redesign to the RAZR line, the KRZR K1. While minor upgrades to the V3 - V3i, V3m, V3x - have surfaced over the past two years, none altered the form factor of the original RAZR. The KRZR - pronounced "craze-er" and sure to inspire some, um, crazy marketing campaigns - is just more than half the width of its predecessor and trades the V3's cold steel chic for a rich, mirror-like glass finish and rounded lines. The result is one of the sexiest mobile handsets ever produced. It would shock me if Motorola didn't have another fashion frenzy on its hands with the KRZR.
The KRZR is currently available in two versions - the GSM K1, and the CDMA/EV-DO K1m recently released through Verizon Wireless and Alltel in the US. While a Cingular-branded GSM version is said to be coming to the US, it has not yet been announced. The main differences between the K1 and K1m — besides the different radio bands — lie in the camera and music player controls. The GSM K1 features a 2.0 megapixel camera, while both Alltel and Verizon's K1m models have only a 1.3 megapixel camera but add backlit, touch-sensitive music controls to the front panel below the external display. The GSM K1 relies on the use of side-panel buttons to control music playback while the flip is closed. This review will focus on the unlocked, unbranded GSM K1 as tested on the T-Mobile network.
Finished in "Cosmic Blue" with gun metal grey accents, the K1 measures up at 103 x 42 x 16mm in size compared to the original RAZR' V3ms 98 x 53 x 14.5. So the KRZR is significantly narrower, and a hair longer and thicker than the V3m. At 99g, the K1 is also one gram heavier than the V3m. The combination of a reduction in size with basically no change in mass explains the KRZR's solid feel. While by no means a heavy phone, the K1 feels undeniably solid in hand, likely due to the glass finish and sturdy design features (including a rock-solid hinge).
This phone is flat-out beautiful. It arrived in one of the neatest - if also most gimmicky - packages I've ever seen, with dual "wings" that pulled out of the main box presenting the phone on one side and accessories on the other. The phone itself was covered in a plastic protective film on the interior screen and keypad and the exterior glass finish. Peeling away the protector revealed a gorgeous medium blue exterior with something of a hazy mirrored finish. Honestly, my first thought was "Star Trek For Fashionistas."
The KRZR is also much nicer to hold and use than the RAZR. Narrower and longer makes the K1 easier to hold and more balanced in the hand then the V3, and when held open to my ear the handset just feels like a phone should - in place against my ear on one end and near enough to my mouth on the other to inspire confidence that whoever I'm talking to can without question hear me. The phone also takes a little effort to open and flips shut with a satisfying snap, leaving no doubts as to its construction. In fact, the deceiving heft of the handset gives it that solid feel people tend to associate with quality - even though it actually weighs only 3.6 ounces.
The front panel of the phone, done up entirely in hard reflective glass, is particularly chic. The sensor for the 2MP camera is almost hidden, appearing as a small red dot at the top center, sans flash. About a third of the way down the panel, there's a postage-stamp size 65K color display. Again, the Alltel and Verizon-branded K1m models also feature a trio of touch-sensitive music controls beneath this display. The unbranded K1 lacks these controls.
Opening the flip reveals a keypad on the bottom half of the phone and a display on top. The keypad is made from etched metal that will be very familiar to RAZR users. Buttons are primarily white on a blue background, with a silver five-way directional keypad, four softkeys (two of them blue), and green call and red hang up keys above a standard 12-button dialing layout. The keypad is backlit, and uses a very "modern digital" font that looks especially space-age when lit up in a dark room. The display takes up about four-fifths of the upper half of the phone's interior, and two circular Motorola logos at the top and bottom of the handset are done up in grey to match the rest of the trim.
A rocker switch and single button on the left side of the phone serve multiple functions depending on what mode the phone is in, including volume, camera access and zoom, and music track select and play/pause. A sole button on the left panel is used to access voice command functions, and a covered USB port on the bottom of the left panel connects to the included AC adapter or a PC data cable. The back of the phone is finished in a soft-grip blue plastic that's easy to hold, and a silver button releases the portion of it that serves as the battery cover. Beneath the cover are slots for the included battery and SIM and microSD memory cards.
Where the RAZR was groundbreaking in its thin profile, the KRZR is more evolutionary in terms of overall design. Corners are rounded, lines are sleek, surfaces are inviting to touch. Motorola did a marvelous job in designing the successor to their most inconic handset since the StarTac. While I do worry about the K1's exterior scratching over time, it certainly is a gem to behold fresh out of the box.
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4.7
