Camera Phone Reviews

Motorola RAZR V3i

Get the Latest Price on the Motorola RAZR V3

Engadget reports that Dolce & Gabbana will working with Motorola to produce a limited edition gold Motorola RAZR V3i.

Only 1000 gold RAZRs will be made. No word as to pricing as yet.

Motorola RAZR V3i Reviews

MobileBurn reviews the Motorola RAZR V3i and says, about the phone's camera, "The forementioned 1.2 megapixel digital camera in the V3i is a step up from the megapixel unit found in other Motorola handsets such as the V3c and V710. While it has a soft overall look to its photos, the automatic white balance and color saturation seem decent (though manual white balance settings perform poorly). The digital zoom acts smartly, cropping the full res photos to achieve its effect instead of resampling the image. Overall, the camera isn't a stunner like those found in the Sony Ericsson K750 or Nokia's N90, but it will please most people looking to capture random snapshots. Two things worth noting, however: the camera records photos in portrait format, which is unusual, and it does not focus well until the subject is around 4 feet / 1.3 meters away. This means that full frame face shots will be somewhat soft and out of focus. You can see what I mean in the sample photos here and in the Photo Gallery at the end of the story."

MobileBurn reviews the Motorola RAZR V3i, and comments on the phone's camera: "The forementioned 1.2 megapixel digital camera in the V3i is a step up from the megapixel unit found in other Motorola handsets such as the V3c and V710. While it has a soft overall look to its photos, the automatic white balance and color saturation seem decent (though manual white balance settings perform poorly). The digital zoom acts smartly, cropping the full res photos to achieve its effect instead of resampling the image. Overall, the camera isn't a stunner like those found in the Sony Ericsson K750 or Nokia's N90, but it will please most people looking to capture random snapshots. Two things worth noting, however: the camera records photos in portrait format, which is unusual, and it does not focus well until the subject is around 4 feet / 1.3 meters away. This means that full frame face shots will be somewhat soft and out of focus."

CoolTechZone reviews the Motorola RAZR V3i and says, about the phone's camera: "Unlike the mostly useless camera in the RAZR, the V3i has a 1.2 megapixel camera. It really should�ve been 2.0, since that would�ve put Motorola ahead of the market and right next to the best. Instead, Motorola simply chose to play catch up and bundled in a 1.2 megapixel variety. This keeps the costs down and makes the feature at least acceptable. The image quality is ok at best. It is certainly nowhere near the quality seen on Sony Ericsson�s K750i. If you leave things on auto, you get the best results. If you try fingering the white-balance manually, the results are substandard. Let things be on auto, for once, that setting works."

Pocket-lint reviews the Motorola RAZR V3i, and concludes, "Obviously Motorola feels that people will pay a premium for the improved photo capture, the option of shooting videos and a slightly better screen on the outside. We�re not so sure they will. ... While the V3i is a decent update of the original V3, its improved imaging skills do not add up to a large enough difference to sit above it in the range."

TechDigest reviews the Motorola RAZR V3i, and was disappointed in the phone's camera: "The 1.2MP camera was a mild disappointment in use: The default settings (which I imagine most people will stick with) yielded blurry results on all but the most immobile subjects and pictures were less impressive than you might reasonably expect to see on a recent model handset."

CNET reviews the Motorola RAZR V3i and writes, "The 1.2-megapixel camera takes pictures in four resolutions (1,224x768, 640x480, 320x240, and 160x120), but other options are limited to an 8X zoom, six color effects, five exposure settings, and a self-timer. We were hoping for a bit more from a megapixel camera, especially since you get five shutter sound choices besides a silent mode. The camcorder shoots MPEG-4 clips in two resolutions (176x144 and 128x96) with sound and a 4X zoom. Clips meant for multimedia messages are capped at a few seconds; otherwise you can shoot as long as the available memory permits. Photo quality was about what we expected for a megapixel shooter. Colors and objects were distinct, but brighter hues were a little washed out."

PCMag reviews the Motorola RAZR V3i and is not impressed at all: "The original RAZR's flashless VGA camera has been bumped up to 1.3 megapixels, but I don't think this is much of an improvement. ... Believe it or not, there is a next-generation RAZR platform in the works. It's called the RAZR XX and RAZR MAXX; Motorola showed it off in July. The Motorola RAZR V3i, however, is a shameful attempt to pass off tired old technology as a hot new thing and charge an absurd premium price for it."

Infosync reviews the Motorola RAZR V3i and writes, "Though it won't satisfy true iPod lovers, the iTunes-powered Motorola RAZR V3i makes for a better-than-average music phone, with the best music management software for any music-oriented handset (which, we realize, isn't saying much). Call quality and reception were both strong, and the phone's sound quality is on par with an iPod shuffle. We also appreciated the V3i's impressive messaging and e-mail capabilities. That said, we missed Bluetooth headphone support, which would have made the V3i a standout music phone, and the lack of 3G or even EDGE data access is disappointing."

Update: Motorola has announced that the RAZR V3i will be sporting three new colors: dark blue, maroon and violet.

"Merging the latest in cellular features with deep, jewel-tone shades and rich-looking finishes, the new RAZR V3i is the epitome of mobile sophistication. Beneath the stunning exterior, this handset is enhanced with the latest multimedia tools including an integrated 1.23 megapixel digital camera with a full screen view-finder, zoom, video capture and playback and MicroSD removable memory. Cutting-edge music capabilities complete the mobile package, allowing consumers to define their mobile personality through their musical tastes and color preference."

The Motorola RAZR V3i in color is expected to be available in the second quarter of 2006.