Motorola RAZR 2 hands-on

Well, it's finally here, the RAZR 2, proper sequel to the Motorola RAZR, one of the best-selling cellphones of all time. This newb's got big shoes to fill, but at least in its GSM / EDGE and CDMA variants it's 2mm smaller (sorry HSDPA fans, it's the same thickness for that flavor of 3G). For fans of the RAZR form factor, though, this is what you've been waiting for: two huge, crisp QVGA screens, Moto's JUIX Java Linux platform, 3G, HTML browser, the works. All that's yet to be seen is the price and carriers; we're guessing somewhere in the range of $500, like where the original RAZR debuted. (Also, we did spot Alltel and T-Mobile up in here.) We've got plenty of gallery shots to indulge yourself with, so enjoy.

Gallery: Motorola RAZR 2 hands-on

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[everrette powell @ May 15th 2007 12:08PM]

they haven't done anything to impress me because i still have to look at the phone to send a text untill they fix that i'll remain unimpressed

[everrette powell @ May 15th 2007 12:08PM]

they haven't done anything to impress me because i still have to look at the phone to send a text untill they fix that i'll remain unimpressed

[Johnny @ May 15th 2007 12:34PM]

Sorry, but I have to be the first to say it. $500 for a RAZR makes the iPhone look a lot more reasonable.

[Damo @ May 15th 2007 2:39PM]

The $500 is undoubtedly the unsubsidized price. With contract it will be much less. Where as with the iPhone, it is $500-600 WITH a contract.

[crycry @ May 15th 2007 12:37PM]

huh I thought they sold 200 million of those Nokia 1000 phones? Isn't that the best selling cell phone of all time?

[Peter O @ May 15th 2007 3:11PM]

it says - ONE of the best selling phones not THE best selling phone.

[Anthony @ May 15th 2007 12:34PM]

I thought the KRZR was the "RAZR 2". I'm not a big Motorola fan, but I must say the thinner KRZR feels better in my hands & fits into smaller places- though it is a little thicker, I guess. I think MOTO's in dangerous territory. If they don't really come out with something new people are going to stop buying their phones- regardless of their "history" as making the #1 selling cell phone ever. Z6 looks interesting though.

[tehpwnmstr @ Aug 10th 2007 11:55AM]

teh razor wasnt teh best sellign fone ever. check facts, that belongs to a simple nokia set.

[Johnny @ May 15th 2007 12:37PM]

I always hear people trash them, but the RAZR has been a great phone for me and I hope the new one is too.

Sorry, but I have to be the first to say it. $500 for a RAZR makes the iPhone look a lot more reasonable.

[7of7 @ May 15th 2007 12:37PM]

You can tell it's running Linux by the screenshot. "Network error"
It's gonna be a bitch to recompile that kernel.

[OGHowie @ May 15th 2007 12:35PM]

This doesn't look like it'll make people jump to upgrade. Pretty similar to the existing RAZR but with better specs.

[steve @ May 15th 2007 12:54PM]

Pffffft another useless piece of Moto Junk

[Jeff Foster @ May 15th 2007 12:41PM]

wasn't everyone screaming "Who would ever pay $500 for a phone?!?!?" just a little while ago? i seem to faintly remember something like that...

I'm sure this thing will be subsidized down to less than $200 before you know it. (like, immediately.)

But, er, am i missing something? Hasn't Samsung had a thinner, more well equipped razr-like phone for months? selling for like $300 (without subsidizing)? why would this phone be anywhere near $500?

[Alex @ May 15th 2007 12:43PM]

Define "full html". Can it play YouTube vids? Can it do GMail's native interface?

[Justin @ May 18th 2007 6:19AM]

I'm sure I don't need to tell you that Youtube videos are in Flash, not HTML. And that Gmail's native interface, while rendered in HTML, is being powered by tons and tons of Javascript?

I sure hope people that ignorant don't post on stuff they don't understand.

[Derek @ Jun 7th 2007 5:10PM]

Whatever. His point is, don't push a feature to be something it's not....if you say full HTML browser, people are going to expect a browser that can render and handle anything that a desktop browser can. It's misleading. You're splitting hairs here.

[Kelvin @ May 18th 2007 1:19PM]

Best selling cellphone of all time? I don't think so.

http://www.engadget.com/2007/05/07/nokias-1100-handset-over-200-million-served/

[Dan @ May 15th 2007 12:49PM]

The Nokia 1100 sold 4 times as much as the RAZR - from Wikipedia

Over 200 million Nokia 1100 cellphones have been sold, making it one of the best selling consumer electronics devices in the world, beating the iPod (100 million), Motorola RAZR (50 million), LG Chocolate (10 million), and Sony Playstation 2 (115 million).

[Todd @ May 15th 2007 12:51PM]

I really like it, and I am going to buy one as soon as its available!

[John Stracke @ May 15th 2007 12:56PM]

Sigh. Just *yesterday*, I was Googling for a Linux-based 3G phone, and couldn't find anything. I wound up buying a Samsung A707 (aka Cingular Sync). If I'd seen this, I'd've waited.

[Adrian @ May 15th 2007 1:19PM]

The interface and tech specs look exactly like my current RAZR V3xx. Maybe the V3xx was a test-bed for them. The outside screen looks pretty nice and huge.

[Los @ May 15th 2007 1:17PM]

Major Self-Contradiction

http://www.engadget.com/2007/05/07/nokias-1100-handset-over-200-million-served/

"You heard right, this low-end candybar has put the 100 million iPods, 50 million RAZRs, 10 million Chocolates, and 115 million PlayStation 2 consoles to shame in terms of sheer units moved."

Hmmm.... Guess I won't be holding my breathe for that T-shirt I'm owed either.

Oh Well.

[Seamus Bartlett @ May 15th 2007 2:48PM]

Ok, like a dozen people have already pointed out that the RAZR is not the best selling phone of all time, and NOKIA's phone sold more, and etc etc etc, and somehow they're comments are rated highly, as if they were making an interesting or valid point.

Engadget didn't say it was the BEST selling phone---the article says "one of the best." Which it is---50 million phones is a helluva lot. All the article says is that the RAZR was one of the most popular, and is now getting an upgrade---I'm not sure why so many people are trying to find faults in the specific wording, when the point of the article is wondering whether or not the next iteration of the RAZR will manage to have the same success as its predecessor.

[Los @ May 15th 2007 4:13PM]

Dually Noted.

I stand Corrected. You are right.

Still love Engadget.

[kodekn @ May 15th 2007 6:19PM]

Seamus Bartlett said: "Engadget didn't say it was the BEST selling phone---the article says "one of the best." "

Los wins. Engadget changed the story, because originally it said "the best selling phone of all time". Nothing new there, Engadget has always been biased to Motorola which I guess is natural since they both are American.

Let's see whether these phones manage to stop Motorola's cell phone department's death spiral. All these new Razrs look uninspiring and old but the Z8 looks pretty cool. I've sometimes thought about buying a Motorola but then I hear the software sucks big time. If Z8 has got usable OS I might finally consider Motorola. I must say, though, that I'm not holding my breath since Motorola has got years to get it better but it hasn't :/

[Derek @ May 15th 2007 1:18PM]

Nothing there tempting me to upgrade from my RAZR. It's served me well since Nov. 2004 (longest I've ever kept a phone) and there's nothing on the market even vaguely tempting.

[Smartass @ May 15th 2007 1:37PM]

Stupid phone for the stupid

[Byrongman @ May 15th 2007 1:48PM]

"we're guessing somewhere in the range of $500"

That is what Engadget is spitting out. Its not an official price.

[Art @ May 15th 2007 1:52PM]

Loved my original Razr, best phone I ver had, can't wait to get this one. Wonder how much Verizon is going to lock it down though?

[Allan Clark @ May 15th 2007 3:17PM]

Ryan, I'd like to re-mention something:

JUIX IS DEAD

Check your sources. JUIX platform was canceled. Elvis is dead, Commadore 64 is dead, JUIX is dead. Grab a clue and an ounce of credibility.

[Mark @ May 15th 2007 2:02PM]

its funny to see people saying the iphone looks reasonable compared to this, especially since this will actually cost about $200 with a 2 year plan and the iphone costs more than twice that much with a 2 year plan. So no, the iphone does not look more reasonable.

[xxdesmus @ May 15th 2007 2:26PM]

That is one remarkably shiny (and smudge-prone) phone. I still don't like the Motorola interface anyways.

[Aru @ May 15th 2007 2:29PM]

The keypad looks exactly like that from LG's VX8600.
In fact, it looks as if Moto is trying to play catch up with the large external display and touch controls.

[xxdesmus @ May 15th 2007 7:03PM]

I own (and love) a LG VX8600...and this keyboard doesn't look THAT close.

Check the VX8600 here:

http://www.mobiletracker.net/archives/images/lg-vx8600-open.jpg

Similar, sure, but definitely not exactly the same. Actually, it doesn't look that similar at all...

[Aru @ May 15th 2007 7:09PM]

As an owner, I agree it's a great phone.

Razr v1 keypads:
http://z.about.com/d/cellphones/1/0/O/V/motorola-razr-v3c-g.jpg

I noticed the move away from the over-under-over style of separating buttons/keys. The solid, chrome line between number rows is something the 8600 has. I thought that Moto would've kept the distinctive Moto style on the keypad as a way of keeping their identity in the increasingly crowded ultrathin mobile market.

[GadgetGav @ May 15th 2007 4:21PM]

I can't believe that's just knocked $2 off Apple's share price...
It's an updated RAZR, sure, but how will it be to use. It's not a smartphone, though some will argue the iphone isn't really one either. I bet the iPhone user interface / user experience will blow this out of the water...

It can't be $500 on contract, as others have pointed out. You can get all these features for about $200 on contract now. It's no good saying where the original RAZR was when it was launched - times change.

[John Stracke @ May 15th 2007 5:58PM]

Define "smartphone". It runs

[Michael @ May 15th 2007 3:15PM]

All I can say is yawn. I have a RAZR right now and it's fine, but nothing that exciting, and I can't see anything much more exciting here. Personally, I like the looks of the KRZR more since it's not as wide...looks more professional to me. I agree with another person here, though, it's a bit thick. Reduce the thickness a bit and they've got me!

[bcbbjk14 @ Jun 20th 2007 12:31PM]

uch... for some reason, i cant stand the look of the krzr (however you spell it) they look much better wide. I can t wait to get this phone, looks great!

[Britt @ May 15th 2007 3:25PM]

Dude's thumb looks weird. Thumbnail is placed way too far back on his thumb; it's nearly touching his knuckle. Gross...

Oh, and the morons that buy a RAZR 2 at $500 are going to look just as silly months from now when they are given away for free with a contract, just as happened with the RAZR 1 (I guess we're calling it that now? I dunno). The world's hottest phone turned into the world's easiest to procure for free with a prepaid cell card pretty damn quick. Ghetto RAZR Gold baby!

[GadgetGav @ May 15th 2007 4:22PM]

I can't believe that's just knocked $2 off Apple's share price...
It's an updated RAZR, sure, but how will it be to use. It's not a smartphone, though some will argue the iphone isn't really one either. I bet the iPhone user interface / user experience will blow this out of the water...

It can't be $500 on contract, as others have pointed out. You can get all these features for about $200 on contract now. It's no good saying where the original RAZR was when it was launched - times change.

[OctaneZ @ May 15th 2007 4:21PM]

Have they done anything about the crappy battery life the RAZR had though?

[Neo @ May 15th 2007 8:05PM]

Does this thing have virtual voicemail?

[Los @ May 15th 2007 6:30PM]

Call me crazy, but I could have sworn that's what it said at the beginning.

I couldn't have misread it that bad.

[kodekn @ May 15th 2007 6:40PM]

Los, you were right, I saw the original wording, too. Like I said in my earlier post Engadget changed the story, apparently after the complaints.

[Johan S @ Nov 4th 2009 9:41AM]

Has anyone tried GPS at QVGA, let alone browsing?

It's horrible. We already have high dpi LCD tech to provide 800 or 1024 resolution (demonstrated by Samsung ..and already out in a hitachi phone)

And yeah I'd want my phone to be usable as an in car GPS if I am spending that much.

[nikster @ May 15th 2007 8:11PM]

that 'll look like a dinosaur here in the mall in south east asia. a phone from a forgotten era. lessee who has cooler phones out right now... Sony Walkman, Samsung Ultra, LG shine, LG (cheapo models which also look good)... and this is coming out in July when there'll be even more cool new phones out?

then again nobody has a RAZR in Asia anyway. they'll sell in the US where ppl don't know any better. i mean, really, these look good in comparison to the shit U.S. carriers offer subsidized - a collection of phone models that didn't sell anywhere else it seems. but not compared to any real hot phones out there.

expect sales in Asia close to zero.

[fuegochick @ May 16th 2007 11:41PM]

Looks alot like my Samsung Blade (aka A900)

[brendan Sheehan jnr @ May 15th 2007 9:06PM]

First Razr (and I owned one) was shit, this one will be shit too. Does anyone else think Motorola makes too many phones? Why the heck do they make sooo darn many? All the need to make is a maximum of three phones, make the three good ones that suit three different specific needs, customers or age groups. That make tons of phones, their software is crumby, their build quality is dire, and they all look too similar - it would take an expert to tell the difference, well not an expert, but the point is it's not easy enough to tell all of them apart.

[Eludium-Q36 @ May 15th 2007 10:21PM]

And they've got the nerve to state that this is to compete with the iPhone ! If they price this re-lipsticked razr at the expected $500 it will only serve to sell more iPhones since EVERYONE can see the extra value in that phone over this feeble Moto. Moto's entire executive team should be fired for this pitiful competitive response.