RAZR Cellphone Question

Our contracts are up shortly and we are changing providers and doing the new cellphone evaluation process. I can get a MOTORAZR v3m for $29.99 after rebates. One of the aspects that is important to me is being able to sync with my Mac address book, which is making me look past the otherwise good looking Sanyo and Samsung phones I could get for free. This one seems to have some other cool features, like being able to record short videos.

Does anyone have one of these models? It takes a microSD card and at least on paper would be something capable of playing vlogs and podcasts and such. Does it actually work that way? I don’t trust the unholy pairing of cellphone makers and providers to provide such a useful feature unfettered. Seems like making it so that you can only view videos you have bought from them would be right about their speed. Let me know if you have one, if you like it and if it can view arbitrary videos. Thanks.

Published by

dave

Dave Slusher is a blogger, podcaster, computer programmer, author, science fiction fan and father. Member of the Podcast Hall of Fame class of 2022.

8 thoughts on “RAZR Cellphone Question”

  1. I can’t talk specifics of the v3m, but I have a v3c, and have been reasonably happy with it. I think the unholy alliances you speak about will help or hinder your enjoyment and use of the device as much as anything. Verizon is my provider, and I have the impression they lock their phones down more than, say, Cingular. In any event, for what it’s worth, the v3c experience:
    Mac Sync: This works for me. May have been updated, I should check it out.

    The camera feature is OK, but it’s hard to compose a shot, given the ergonomics of the device. Holding the phone with both hands, and taking deep breaths, yield the best results.

    Verizon doesn’t allow, at least on the 3c, plugging the phone up to your computer, via USB or Bluetooth, and dragging photos off the phone to your Mac. Surprise, they want you to email them to yourself. Ca-ching.

    One other downside, it that I periodically need to reboot the phone. It sometimes freezes up, and only after screaming “Hello” several times do I realize that it’s time for a reboot. I generally do that after a recharge, so all is OK.

    Can’t say much about the SD card, and the new features these phones now have.

    As I say, I’m a generation back, both chronologically, and cell-wise. But I think at least some of my experiences will be applicable to the 3m.

    -k-

  2. I sync my razr with my macbook pro all the time. It works flawlessly if you are using bluetooth. Some carriers limit thier bluetooth to only voice for headset, so be aware, but I sync calendar, addressbook, pictures, movies, and mp3s (ringtones) all the time.

  3. Thanks guys. John, I’m assuming that if you sync mp3s and movies that you can play them satisfactorily on the phone once they are there. The carrier is Sprint. Anyone using that?

  4. I am using Cingular, but yes, to answer your previous question, they play fine. I do some editing to them before hand, but that is not required. The only reason I edit is for size. For instance, I encode my mp3s for my phone at 32kbps. I do this for two reasons, the speaker that plays ringtones isn’t exactly a hi-fi, and I don’t have much space on my phone, so I like to jam as much on there as possible.

  5. I have the older RAZR v3 w/o the microSD slot but can confirm it does work with iSync fine (under MacOS Tiger; YMMV Mr. Jaguar 🙂 and it does play mp3 files fine. You need to use Bluetooth to sync, as others have indicated. I’m on Cingular… and I actually made $50 after rebate via Amazon about this time last year. The camera is crap, BTW.

  6. I have played with the RAZR and my mac before and no probs. However, with Apple phone on the way – I would hold off to buy a phone that could sync up with your address book as well as you calendar and other possible apple apps.

  7. Andre, unless the iPhone will start out free with service or very cheap, there’s no chance I’ll get it anytime soon. That’s the driver for me, that these things are cheap or free with the new service. I never get these things early anyway. I’d rather buy them used from the early adopters when their attention gets distracted by the next newer shinier thing.

  8. i got both a t-mobile and cingular razr v3. the t-mobile can accpet and play mp3 as ringtones or as full lentgh songs with no problem. the cingular cant. the mp3 will upload via bluetooth but after that it says file type not recognised. and i wouldnt even see the file in the audio section. please help.

Comments are closed.