Motorola RAZR2 V9

Expected Q2 2007
15th May 2007

The Motorola RAZR2 V9 looks almost identical to the RAZR2 V8 - it's just a little thicker but otherwise the differences are slight.

Unlike the V8, the RAZR V9 is a 3G phone with HSDPA support giving a maximum download speed of 3.6Mbps. It's not the first HSDPA RAZR though, Motorola have been an early adopted of 3.5G in their clamshell devices.

As with the V8, the RAZR2 V9 features a very large 2.0" 240x320 pixel display with a touchscreen and haptic (tactile) feedback. This means that many of the V9's functions can be controlled from the external display. At 2 inches diagonal size, we believe that the RAZR2 has the largest external display of any phone we've seen.

Motorola tell us that the RAZR2 V9 features video calling and a close examination of the handset reveals that there only appears to be one camera.. so presumably video calls are made using the external camera and screen.

The camera itself is a disappointment. It's just a 2 megapixel affair with no autofocus or flash and a pretty low video resolution of 176x144 pixels. In this respect the V9 isn't that competitive with a lot of the high-end 3G phones it competes against.

The RAZR2 V9 can play back a variety of audio and video formats, using the external display as a media controller. Internal memory is 45MB (a lot less than the V8) but this can be expanded by up to 2GB using microSD cards. Stereo audio playback is either via a wired headset or compatible Bluetooth accessory.

The phone is designed to be tough with a stainless steel casing around an internal chassis to make it strong, and the external display has been coated to resist scratching.

Again, there are many other improvements that the RAZR2 V9 shares with the V8 including a much improved user interface, voice recognition and feedback and a web browser, email client and a range of other applications.

It may not be the first HSDPA RAZR, but it's certainly the best effort to date. The two elements that are most offputting are the so-so camera and the somewhat unimaginative styling.

Motorola say that the V8 and V9 should be available in certain markets from July 2007.

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