<![CDATA[Alas, Poor RAZR, I Knew You Well - Gizmodo Comments]]> <![CDATA[Alas, Poor RAZR, I Knew You Well - Gizmodo Comments]]> <![CDATA[Alas, Poor RAZR, I Knew You Well]]> Ok, so I've had my Razr for about 18 months. The first thing to go on it was the battery cover. I had a habit of taking the cover off and putting it back on as I enjoyed the satisfying "click" that it made. Well after doing this one too many times the battery cover spring and locking assembly basically exploded. Oh well, the phone looks awful without a battery cover but it is still functional. After about 9 months of having the phone the battery refused to last more than a day so I had to get a new battery for like $70 or something. Well, the new battery is now only lasting a day. I can't keep throwing money at this POS like this, it has to go. I love the slimness of it and the basic aesthetic design but it is just a pig of a phone. When typing in my passcode for my voicemail it goes into serious lag mode and it has a problem keeping the correct time in memory. I think tomorrow I'm going to get a new one. Bye bye RAZR.

VoxT

]]> <![CDATA[Alas, Poor RAZR, I Knew You Well]]> The European O2 Cocoon is absolutely the single most perfect phone I've ever held. It's totally unique, it's durable, the sound quality is outstanding, the OS is elegant, the functionality is top quality.

Everything about it is amazing, and all in this retro-futuristic 1960s sci fi amazing package. And it fits perfectly into pocket and hand.

It blows the modern "black brick" phone aesthetic right off the face of this planet.

[gizmodo.com]

And fortunately it's been out long enough that you can find a great deal on eBay instead of having to pay the outrageous original cost.

I picked one up for 250 Canadian. Amazing.

Pope John Peeps II

]]> <![CDATA[Alas, Poor RAZR, I Knew You Well]]> Gott Damn I've had a bad time with phones too. My last motorola was a piece of shit and thus I laughed at everyone (rightly) who got a RAZR. I got to laugh many more times after that too!

I've been in love ever since i switched to an all-purpose Sony Ericsson. Lovely hardy little phones.

My first one was a K610i which lasted a year until I accidentally soaked it in water for an hour. Upgraded a month ago to the T650i which is a lovely pretty 3G phone with a 3.2 megapixel camera, very bright scratchproof non-reflective mineral glass screen, intuitive UI... need I go on? It does everything I want and need and it's easy to use.

I'm in love!

snipergirl

]]> <![CDATA[Alas, Poor RAZR, I Knew You Well]]> @bigMoneyMIKE: Easy, Mikey.

[www.angermgmt.com]

johnnyabnormal

]]> <![CDATA[Alas, Poor RAZR, I Knew You Well]]> My mobile phone lineage:

- Motorola "Bag Phone"
- Motorola MicroTac
- Qualcomm candbar phone (have no idea what model)
- Nokia candybar phone (have no idea what model - monochromatic display)
- Motorola T-720
- Motorola RAZR
- Motorola SLVR
- HTC StarTrek 3125
- Apple iPhone

The iPhone is light years beyond all of the others. Hold out for a 3G iPhone this summer, and get a sleeve or case to protect it in your purse. You won't be disappointed.

EBone

]]> <![CDATA[Alas, Poor RAZR, I Knew You Well]]> No suggestions, but I had a RAZR when they first came to Sprint. It was great... I was so excited by its fit and finish that I chalked up the poor battery life, infinite delay between button push and reaction, and everything else wrong with the thing to being "quirky."

Two months in, those "quirks" became utter annoyances.

Ever since, I've enjoyed Samsung products.

Evil J

]]> <![CDATA[Alas, Poor RAZR, I Knew You Well]]> SHE FUCKING LOIVES IN SPAIN. Do ANY of you people even read? There is NO at&t, Sprint or verizon there.

Fuckwads.

bigMoneyMIKE

]]> <![CDATA[Alas, Poor RAZR, I Knew You Well]]> My V3r began to drop calls and give the blank white screen, my wife's v3 is doing it too. She's actually on the 3rd warranty replacement. #4 due in today, but this time it's a v3xx. I bought an unlocked Moto RIZR Z3 from a friend. I like it so far, not too bad.

J-Fu

]]> <![CDATA[Alas, Poor RAZR, I Knew You Well]]> I'm in the same position as you:

Silver razr v3 that is in Desperate need of a new battery, but I get the feeling I need to just upgrade. Just can't decide on a replacement...

What I personally want is a realy good camera, great cell reception, and enough internal memory for some music. Problem is, there's just nothing out there that fits my bill without adding 100 features that I will never use that drive the price into the stratosphere.

phor11

]]> <![CDATA[Alas, Poor RAZR, I Knew You Well]]> With the extended battery (which, of course, ruins the line of the phone, but whatcha gonna do?) the batter life jumps from "terrible" to "reasonable", but what cheeses me off is how unstable it seems. Until I got a Razr, I had no idea that a cellphone even *could* crash.

rraszews

]]> <![CDATA[Alas, Poor RAZR, I Knew You Well]]> @HibikiRush: for hatin == BAN

Evan394

]]> <![CDATA[Alas, Poor RAZR, I Knew You Well]]> I have a Sanyo Katana from Sprint. It works pretty well, I get some good picture detail and great battery life (about 2 to 2 1/2 days including my phone calls). It's thin and fits into my pocket alongside my wallet. I'd recommend it for a cheap yet usable phone.

Eschguy

]]> <![CDATA[Alas, Poor RAZR, I Knew You Well]]>

I had one of those as my last phone, and I was annoyed with the same things: lousy battery, lousy interface, lousy camera, etc. I now have a Samsung A737 Blue Phone (AT&T) [www.amazon.com] and while the battery, interface, and camera are much better, the signal is lousy. I think the double chin on the RAZR actually improved the signal. Unfortunately, that's the last thing people think about when choosing a phone.

Rain-man

]]> <![CDATA[Alas, Poor RAZR, I Knew You Well]]> I remember when the RAZR first came out... I had a friend that worked at a Cingular/AT&T store. Like two days after it was released I was in there talking to her and a guy came in and bought a RAZA w/o contract and just dropped his CC for the $750.00 that those chunks of shit cost when they first came out... I'm still laughing my ass off at that guy. ;)

I had a Sony-Ericsson T610 for 4 years and it never missed a beat, and I stopped using it about 3 years ago I just unearthed it to give to my boss who needed an uber-sturdy & small phone for when hes commuting on his bicycle (apparently he drops his phones alot while riding??). And low and behold after me beating the crap out of it for 4 years and then it sitting in a box uncharged for another 3 years. And hour of charging and its good to go!

I have an AT&T Tilt (Kaiser/TYTNII) unlocked on T-Mob service and I LOVE IT (recently upgraded from an MDA/Wizard to this BIG DIFF!!)

But I am waiting to see how the Sony XPERIA X1 pans out, it could be a serious iPhone killr.

bpapa9013

]]> <![CDATA[Alas, Poor RAZR, I Knew You Well]]> I, too, just came from that same (or at least a similar) experience. I now have the LG Shine, which has been a great move away from the RAZR.

dorko

]]> <![CDATA[Alas, Poor RAZR, I Knew You Well]]> Piffit...I kept my first phone in service for SIX years. Samsung clam-shell model (can't remember the specific model). Was as tough as nails, reminding me of the original Motorola FLIP phone from Waaaay back when. You could throw those old Flips across the room and not hurt them (but you could have probably knocked someone out if you hit them in the head!).

XJ_4x4

]]> <![CDATA[Alas, Poor RAZR, I Knew You Well]]> Here's my list from 1996 onwards:

Panasonic GD something or other
Ericsson GA 628
Nokia 8810 - this was kind of the iPhone equivalent in the day, people were wowed by it
Nokia 6310
Panasonic GD87 - first with a camera
Sharp GX30 - first with a decent camera
Sony Ericsson k750i
Blackberry 6230 - only had it for work, hated it
Sony Ericsson k800i - great phone
Apple iPhone - puts all the others to shame

Hedley_Lamarr

]]> <![CDATA[Alas, Poor RAZR, I Knew You Well]]> I feel the EXACT same way... I just bought more batteries but after a day, they just die anyway.... I bought those batteries since I'm hoping to wait for Android to come out... My wallpaper of my phone is of Android... how sad...

So.. right now I'm waiting for the perfect Android phone to come out.

I've "almost" bought several other phones but either ended up canceling the order or it just didn't work. I just love how thin the phone is.

mmm come on out perfect Android phone!! I'm waiting on you =)

JLo

]]> <![CDATA[Alas, Poor RAZR, I Knew You Well]]> I am in the same exact boat as you (Verizon Razr). The low power battery indicator has to be the worst designed feature of all time. Think about it. The battery is low, so in order to remind you every 3 minutes, it either beeps or vibrates, and this "feature" CAN NOT BE TURNED OFF, draining the battery even further. What makes it even more ridiculous is that this "feature" can go on for like 5 hours! The real culprit here is the lack of phone interoperability in the United States. Verizon I hear is starting to change all that.

razorweb

]]> <![CDATA[Alas, Poor RAZR, I Knew You Well]]> consider me part of the sony ericsson army. i've used every other brand of phone aside from samsung and my 810 is by far the best phone of the bunch. if you are looking for a regular cell, SE is the ticket.

nikkomorocco

]]> <![CDATA[Alas, Poor RAZR, I Knew You Well]]> Well, if you're looking for small, thin, and klutz-proof durable, I'd say a Sony Ericsson W880 is a solid bet. It's no iPhone, but it's got a great design as far as conventional phones go.

Usability-wise, Sony actually gave a shit about the small details. Hell, it's the first cameraphone that I've actually used the built-in camera, simply because I don't have to thumb through poorly-designed menus to find the feature. The phone's UI itself isn't perfect out-of-the box, mind you, but it does come with a theme, called Citybeat, that comes pretty damn close.

There are two usability caveats, though. First, the screen is glossy and it's not transflective, so sunlight readability is an issue, but not nearly as bad as the RAZR. Second, the buttons are tiny and take some getting used to (as in, you'll curse it the first week or so, and then love it thereafter).

Durability-wise, it's damn near unbreakable. No matter what gets spilled on it, no matter how many times I drop it, no matter how hot or cold it gets where I leave it, it just won't break. Hell, it's even rubberized so I drop it less often. Brilliant!

As far as scratching goes, it's not especially prone to it, but being a candybar phone, shoving it in the same pants pocket as your keys and scrambling to get to school/work in the morning will scratch the screen.

Battery is still working just as well as it was when I got it, but it is a relatively recent phone, so I can't comment on how it'll hold up in the really long run.

Seriously, among standard cell phones, this is one of the two that have served me best over the years. Sony Ericsson is the way to go, and I'm very pleased with my W880i. (Incidentally, the other phone I have fond memories of was an old LG flip phone. Not *old* old, but just barely old enough to have been released with a monochrome screen and no camera.)

DisposableInterloper

]]> <![CDATA[Alas, Poor RAZR, I Knew You Well]]> One of the most annoying things I have experienced with my V3 is when it rings or any sound comes out of it, I am forced to hear the speaker pop and chirp whenever I press a key. Its like the speaker is still active (can still hear faint white noise) and any button press causes it to make popping sounds. Very annoying when responding to text messages. The only way to make it stop is by changing the ring style.
Any other V3 users experience this?

Some other things I hate about my RAZR:

Automatically changing the ring style to loud when plugging in.
Interface lag.
Small text message capacity.
No quick way to activate phone lock.





thisisasignin

]]> <![CDATA[Alas, Poor RAZR, I Knew You Well]]> I will add my 10c,

I have the pure joy of owning a Sony Ericsson Z750a (Upgraded from a Motorola V551... god bless it's dead)

You know it's a wonderful thing to actually have HSDPA... there was a time I thought EDGE was fast. Now I can actually watch streaming video without a problem.

Battery life is okay I guess, I get about 60 hours before I have to charge it again. Not bad, not great... I miss going 7 days without having to charge (V551).

However I like having a UI that actually is fast, and I love the fact I don't have to worry about a "White Screen of Death" anymore. Or in the middle of a conversation watching the phone reset itself... and you're sitting there talking to yourself while the phone reboots.

I think it's safe to say the days of Motorola being something useful are long gone and dead. I no longer expect my phone to reboot, java actually runs fast. Google apps are fast and work, mail client is 2nd to none.

I just wonder why it took Sony Ericsson so danged long to release it... :(

I'd give the Z750a a 8 out of 10, and knowing how much I nickle and dime phone features... that's actually a phone that's worth paying attention to. Unlike any phone Motorola has released in the past 4 years.

The countless (and I do mean countless) versions of the V3 RAZR, Rizr, the blah, the bleh, the crap and crap. I can't even think of all the versions Motorola made of the razr... I can just say can't they let the DAMN THING DIE?

damm

]]> <![CDATA[Alas, Poor RAZR, I Knew You Well]]> I've actually had pretty decent luck with cell phones over the years, and I'm only on my fourth one now that I've had since I got one about ten years ago. My previous phones (all on Sprint):

-An old Samsung (I'm thinking it was an SCH-5900, but I can't be sure) that I used for something like five years with no problems before I retired it. It was a fairly high-end phone when I bought it, and it was one of the first WAP capable phones in the US market, if I recall correctly.

-A Samsung VGA1000, which had a camera, but it was a serious pain to use. I ended up losing it about two weeks before the two year agreement expired, and replaced it with

-A Sprint PPC-6700, which I have used for a little over two years. Battery life was never all that great, but since I've been a diehard Windows Mobile user since I got my first Axim X5 (still in use) it was a logical next step. The camera on this one got extensive use for my Blog. This just got retired in favor of my current phone:

-HTC Mogul: I got a great deal on a slightly used one of these, and in almost every way possible this is an upgrade over the 6700, with better battery life, built in GPS, more memory and EVDO Revision A in the latest firmware. About the only thing it doesn't do better is take pictures, since the camera on the Mogul is not so great, but I'm just going to switch to a compact point-and-shoot camera for most of my day-to-day picture taking anyway, so it's not a big deal.

During that time, I also spent a month conducting a product trial on a pre-release Treo 700wx for Sprint, and quite liked that at the time, but Treos tend to be an acquired taste though, so YMMV.

Vexorg

]]> <![CDATA[Alas, Poor RAZR, I Knew You Well]]> Hi Addy.

Take a look at the Nokia E51.
I bought this phone 'bout a week ago, because my faithful Treo 650 did that dying thing on me.
I couldn't be happier.

The reception is super, the battery-life as well (in GSM-Mode you can get up to 12 days of Stop-and-Go with one charge).
It's quite sturdy and the screen is really good, even in bright sunlight.

HSDPA,WiFi, EDGE, Bluetooth, IRDA and a simple mini-USB port make any type of connection very easy.

And oh, I forgot; I had it hooked up to my MBP in less than a minute. It syncs beautifully with iCal and the Addressbook. Even with iPhoto, Safari and iTunes.

The ericsson T39m was IMO the best phone I've erver had, until now.

mangochutney

]]> <![CDATA[Alas, Poor RAZR, I Knew You Well]]> @HiPnOtEk: I have a shadow. I cant WAIT to do a cell phone drive by with it. Ive tried throwing it on walls, concrete, all sorts of shit. The fucker wont just..DIE!

bigMoneyMIKE

]]> <![CDATA[Alas, Poor RAZR, I Knew You Well]]> I also have the original RZAR V3, in black. I've had no issues with it, except one. When I had a headset connected to it, it would not play my custom ring tone... just a standard one... and there was no way I could change that.

My contract with AT&T ended back in October 2007, so I've been contemplating upgrading my phone... but there really isn't anything out there I'm really interested in, and for some of the fancy phones being offered, you have to sign up for a "data plan", which kind of sucks if you want to get it at the discounted price. Oh, and I also hate those "fake" discounts being offered by the phone companies, where instead of actually getting a real discount on price you receive a "rebate card", that has to first be activated and used within a very short window.

Well, I think I'll just go ahead and keep my RAZR for now.. I forgot to mention that it was the first Cell Phone I had (owned about 5 previous ones) that was able to establish a connection inside my house. EVERY one of my past cell phone refused to connect inside my house and forced me to go outside when I wanted to make a call...

SBM_from_LA

]]> <![CDATA[Alas, Poor RAZR, I Knew You Well]]> @Buran: is all you do, commenting against people?

om nom de plume

]]> <![CDATA[Alas, Poor RAZR, I Knew You Well]]> Really, it should be obvious: Sony Ericson.

tokiwartooth

]]> <![CDATA[Alas, Poor RAZR, I Knew You Well]]> I was also thinking of buying a new phone and I was wondering if someone could someone recommend a good phone off of ebay. No more than $85 (including shipping). And no RAZRs or Blackberry please.

j0sh097

]]> <![CDATA[Alas, Poor RAZR, I Knew You Well]]> 1. I've had my RAZR for 2.5 years now; have replaced the battery (for 6.99$ with shipping from ebay) just 2 months ago; runs like it did 2.5 years ago. It's a reliable f4#@ing cellphone. I don't ask for more.
2. My wife has been gaga about the iPhone since the first little tidbits were coming out. We waited and waited, then waited some more, until we both played with one and said "this is slow as molasses in Alaska" then we decided to wait for the 3G.
3. Personally, I'd keep my damn RAZR until it ultimately dies the sad yet inevitable death that all complex things eventually do, except for that my wife has told me she won't get the iPHone unless I get the iPhone; and I know she really really wants the iphone, which pretty much means I want the iPhone too, even though I bet it'll be more green than I really want to spend on a fucking phone. I mean really, how many damn ipods do we have to buy before Stevie comes over and cleans my damn house for me?

sheesh!

banmojo

]]> <![CDATA[Alas, Poor RAZR, I Knew You Well]]> I had to get a goddamned Raz(o)r when AT&T decided that the old network was crap and forced me to switch to the newer and just as crappy network. Had to get it? Yes, because it was the only one that was cheap and still had voice command. Not that the voice command actually works worth a damn, so I spend most of my time scrolling down in the address book just to make a call. Can't even type more than one letter of a person's name to jump there. The buttons suck. It's slow. Why can't they just make phones without all this useless crap and software bloat? Hate it hate it hate it. Cell phones suck.

SpudMills

]]> <![CDATA[Alas, Poor RAZR, I Knew You Well]]> My LG VX8600 is getting old and a little beat up. It's my second LG ad I have been very happy with both of them.

Had a look at the LG Voyager today but don't think it's for me. Too big to fit in a pocket comfortably and no protection for all that glass (iPhone has all the same problems for me).

LG had nothing else exciting available. Guess my 8600 will have to hang in there for a while.

bdgbill

]]> <![CDATA[Alas, Poor RAZR, I Knew You Well]]> I had a RAZR as well, and hated it just as you did... I also had mine for years.

It's the only phone I've ever thrown across the room in frustration.

I got an iPhone and have not regretted it for a single moment. Waiting for the 3G is your best option.

The screen is also a lot more durable than you are thinking, I've already dropped mine a number of times without issue. It's a very dense glass that can take much more impact than something like a window pane or dinner glass.

kgelner

]]> <![CDATA[Alas, Poor RAZR, I Knew You Well]]> I also recommend the Sony Ericssons. I've been using the P910 since it came out a few years ago and the only complaint (if you can call it one!) is that it slows down a bit when there's more than 3000 text messages in memory. The keys are large enough that I can text easily without mashing 4 keys simultaneously and I can bluetooth a backup of my phonebook to my laptop so if I lose the phone, I don't lose all my numbers! There's a new model out to replace it, but why bother? It's still a great phone!

professor

]]> <![CDATA[Alas, Poor RAZR, I Knew You Well]]> I went through 4 razor's on warranty, until warranty ran out.
I only keep time on it just incase of emergancy, never use it.
The commerical's totally lie, where the guy girl drops it and it cuts right threw the floor. One of them dropped about three feet just falling out of my pocket and the back came out with the battery, i was just like wow this is crafty.

Worst $400 spent ever.

Jamaces

]]> <![CDATA[Alas, Poor RAZR, I Knew You Well]]> @OMG! Ponies!: Not everyone wants to write novels on their phone.

Buran

]]> <![CDATA[Alas, Poor RAZR, I Knew You Well]]> Blackberry Ftw.

Acemonster

]]> <![CDATA[Alas, Poor RAZR, I Knew You Well]]> If you can hold on, you really should wait until Apple releases the 3G iPhone and see what the have up their sleeve.

If you must get something now, I can vouch for the Palm Centro. It's solid in just about every way.

ThriftyTechie

]]> <![CDATA[Alas, Poor RAZR, I Knew You Well]]> I bought a Razr V3t to replace my RIZR Z3, and it was the worst mistake ever. I sold the Razr two weeks after I got it and bought a KRZR K1 and have never looked back. Still sluggish, but I'm using stock firmware. I have to install the T-Mobile monster pack, and it'll get faster after that. I like Motorola because they are so easily modifiable, but if you aren't interested in doing that and you are going on a CDMA network, get an LG or a Samsung. If you are going GSM, go Samsung or Nokia or Motorola.

mgoldman89

]]> <![CDATA[Alas, Poor RAZR, I Knew You Well]]> where did you find a startac? that phone and the iphone are the two greatest phones I have ever used, owned or touched. At the time, I liked my startac more than I do my iphone now (mostly because then I didnt need to check email and have a calendar that syncs either)

redkamel

]]> <![CDATA[Alas, Poor RAZR, I Knew You Well]]> @corhou99:

Yeah, right. "Dropped it under a race car," just sounds waay cooler than the truth; "Dropped it in the toilet while taking a dump."

Candyman

]]> <![CDATA[Alas, Poor RAZR, I Knew You Well]]> Nokia 6300. Lots of features, small size, beautiful screen-viewable in direct sunlight. GSM-you will need a provider that uses GSM.
I have one and love it. Waiting on the Nokia N78


Fountainhead

]]> <![CDATA[Alas, Poor RAZR, I Knew You Well]]> @Hiphopopotamus:

... sponsored by Apple.

MayorWest

]]> <![CDATA[Alas, Poor RAZR, I Knew You Well]]> @DeadWriter: I agree. Though I have coworkers who think I'm crazy for not having replaced my over-two-years-old RAZR yet. I just bought a new battery for it for $12 and it's as good as new again.

Petezah

]]> <![CDATA[Alas, Poor RAZR, I Knew You Well]]> Get a reasonably recent Sony Ericcson. Do not, under penalty of wanting to smack someone up-side of head even think about getting a Nokia. The ball has been dropped seriously on the usability. I had a Razr for ~3 months. I literally went out and bought a replacement Sony Ericsson as I could not take the craptacular UI. When plugged in (to a power outlet/USB port) it switched to 'you must be deaf' mode. And when handsets got attached, and when it felt like it.
I got an N95 and will be taking it out and shooting it as soon as the replacement SE turns up.

petesh

]]> <![CDATA[Alas, Poor RAZR, I Knew You Well]]> @regexp:
Can't blame products defectiveness when ur downloading stuff to "make it better"

If you leave them the way they come guaranteed to not have any problems except if you drop it leave it in the rain etc.

mricyfire

]]> <![CDATA[Alas, Poor RAZR, I Knew You Well]]> If you want a nice simple phone, I strongly recommend the Samsung e590. It is very nice in your hand, does not randomly switch ringtones, and has a nice camera. I love it.

Mr.Purple

]]> <![CDATA[Alas, Poor RAZR, I Knew You Well]]> A timely article - at least for me... I too am suffering with a Razor. I'm nursing the POS along until this summer when the next gen iPhone hits the streets (and coincidentally when my f'n verizon contract expires!). I've got an iPod touch and LOVE it - the phone will add everything I use.

jbacko

]]> <![CDATA[Alas, Poor RAZR, I Knew You Well]]> I'm on my sixth phone in six years. I bought an unlocked Nokia E50 in January '07 because of it's small size (that rivals the RAZR) and the Symbian OS with excellent Outlook sync features. It's replacement, the E51, also looks worthwhile.

onilpatel

]]> <![CDATA[Alas, Poor RAZR, I Knew You Well]]> T-mobile has the best phones including the T-moblie Shawdow and The new Shawdow2 comes out this year!!!!!!!!!!! yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyy Shadow rocks!!

HiPnOtEk

]]> <![CDATA[Alas, Poor RAZR, I Knew You Well]]> I had the same phone over four months ago, at first it was nice and cute and after a couple of days I sold it. and whenever i see the phone some nostalgic memories come..ow fuck its so hard to let go of the things you hate and loved.

Amiash Loves You

]]> <![CDATA[Alas, Poor RAZR, I Knew You Well]]> @Eliamias:
Belive it or not, there are 2 places where you set your ringtone on the RAZR. For some reason when its plugged in, it reverts to the one under TOOLS/AUDIO.

The way you normally pick a tune for your ringtone (SOUNDS/APPLY AS RINGTONE) doesn't work (for whatever reason) when it is plugged in. Just switch it under TOOLS/AUDIO, and the ringtone craziness will go away.


drewheyman

]]> <![CDATA[Alas, Poor RAZR, I Knew You Well]]> I hate the interfaces on Motorola and Sony Ericsson phones. The Nokia N Series are good.

I dare you to buy an Android OS supported phone.

KJA

]]> <![CDATA[Alas, Poor RAZR, I Knew You Well]]> get a sony ericsson and youll never look back

elislider

]]> <![CDATA[Alas, Poor RAZR, I Knew You Well]]> I used to want an all in one device to make calls, listen to music, browse the internets, read books, everything.

So I got a succession of devices that did all of those things. Some worked well, some worked poorly. All had completely sucky battery life.

Now I just carry a jailbroken iTouch and a POS Samsung. I have to carry two things but at least I don't have to plug em in every night.

smackswell

]]> <![CDATA[Alas, Poor RAZR, I Knew You Well]]> Joining the crowd: Get a Sony Ericsson.

Based on your previous experiences Addy, you already liked the Ericsson phone.
I had tried a Motorola (way early versions), and then 2 Nokias.

It was a whole completely different experience when I finally got my SE W810i.
And I would still be with it if I didn't buy my new K850, which is also great!

I don't even need an MP3 player. And now, I also don't need a digicam (K850 cam is 5Mpx).

Also, if you want something really thin, SE has some cellphones that almost look like a credit card or something.

But the one thing you'll like on SE cellphones is the interface. Simple, fast, with no bugs.

I still didn't try SE Smartphones, so consider what I'm saying only for normal cellphones...

Bokusatsu_Tenshi

]]> <![CDATA[Alas, Poor RAZR, I Knew You Well]]> Downgrade to a StarTAC. I'm still using mine (bought in 2000). They don't make em' tough like that anymore (though I'm Sprint Curve bound).

Skorpius

]]> <![CDATA[Alas, Poor RAZR, I Knew You Well]]> I owned three RAZRs. It is one of the few products I've ever owned that got worse with each generation. I then burned through two blackberries and a windows mobile device. The second blackberry and the windows mobile device (which was so forgettable that I can't even remember the vendor) are the first two phones that I ever used that crashed at least once a week. I than moved to iPhone. Good phone design is incredibly unrated. I've gotten every penny back on that phone.

regexp

]]> <![CDATA[Alas, Poor RAZR, I Knew You Well]]> @NightBlade: Yo dude, there is no CDMA service in that part of the world.

bigMoneyMIKE

]]> <![CDATA[Alas, Poor RAZR, I Knew You Well]]> I'm a big fan of the HTC Smartphones (currently rockin' the Dash), however, I too had the Razr for far too long. Once I re-flashed the firmware and unlocked it, it worked MUCH better, and I got amazing battery life.

Norcross

]]> <![CDATA[Alas, Poor RAZR, I Knew You Well]]> Hahaha! Good to see all you Razr lemmings are finally waking up.

dna

]]> <![CDATA[Alas, Poor RAZR, I Knew You Well]]> AT&T Tilt if you're going for a smartphone (I actually upgraded from a black razr [then a silver one once the black broke] this past week). It's a great, do-it-all WinMo smartphone.

alexmg2420

]]> <![CDATA[Alas, Poor RAZR, I Knew You Well]]> @HibikiRush: What's the point of this comment? This is a perfectly acceptable article: it's an essay written about one of the most significant consumer gadgets in recent years.

Excellent essay, by the way. I highly recommend the iPhone.

jopari

]]> <![CDATA[Alas, Poor RAZR, I Knew You Well]]> @strider_mt2k: I just got that phone to replace the Samsung I washed (see above post). I really like it so far, but was afraid to say it, heh.

maven2k

]]> <![CDATA[Alas, Poor RAZR, I Knew You Well]]> I feel your pain, Addy. I have had similar experiences with cell phones (I just washed my little Samsung U520 in the washing machine on Tuesday, I really liked that phone). I totally agree with you that as pretty and cool as the iPhone is, it is far too expensive to risk breaking it (and I would break it). Anyway, good luck with the hunt and be sure to let us know what you picked.

maven2k

]]> <![CDATA[Alas, Poor RAZR, I Knew You Well]]> "its ability to change ring tone to the Motorola theme whenever it feels like it"

Hahaha...

My death toll:

Factory Unlocked Treo 650: Battery life sucked, screen resolution good, hated using a stylus, crashed a lot, OS was more convoluted than needed, had a big fat ass.

Black Factory Unlocked RAZR: Yes, that German techno theme almost killed me from embarrassment too. It was OK for just doing calls and portability, but I got bored with it. Plus, the screen resolution sucked.

Factory unlocked Nokia N80: Absolutely the slowest, most retarded and overly complicated phone OS I've ever used. Just creating a screen saver was a laborious affair requiring external software for "skins" if you wanted it to look right. No OS updates unless your had a PC. Battery life sucked and it has a bigger, fatter ass than the Treo 650. Slider was coming open all the time.

After the death toll?

Apple iPhone: Love it. Want list*?

-3G
-GPS
-Copy & Paste
-More Apps

*coming soon...

johnnyabnormal

]]> <![CDATA[Alas, Poor RAZR, I Knew You Well]]> I never liked my RAZR.

Battery life sucked, and Verizon nerfed the BT profiles.
I had it hacked to the nines when I gave it up for my LG VX8600.

The VX8600 did everything I had to hack my razr to do right out of the box.

Good riddance to bad rubbish.

strider_mt2k

]]> <![CDATA[Alas, Poor RAZR, I Knew You Well]]> N95 for me. Better than anything else I've tried.

As for the RAZR, never liked it really.

Sleeper_Service

]]> <![CDATA[Alas, Poor RAZR, I Knew You Well]]> Motorola, we hire really expensive designers to make our phones, and use large groups of pigeons to write the software.

ShadowBottle

]]> <![CDATA[Alas, Poor RAZR, I Knew You Well]]> @tehronin: Totally agree. I also had my RAZR for three years, it's the black one, I loved its sleek design... and now I hate it so much, I nicknamed it my "stupidphone".
I bought an unlocked Pearl on eBay, went through the pain of renegotiating my contract with my operator (Canadian operators' customer service blow big time, especially Rogers), and I'm very happy. Clever interface, small enough (a little larger than a closed RAZR, but really not that much), and useable software to keep track of my life. There's the problem of memory leaks to be aware of, but apart from that it is a really neat piece of hardware. And yex, I'm now contaminated by the CrackBerry addiction virus.

Franssu

]]> <![CDATA[Alas, Poor RAZR, I Knew You Well]]> Yep, Sony Ericsson is the one to go for. Great user interface, works great with my Mac (though had to buy a little online portal for it..) However, why not just bite the bullet and go for a 3G iPhone in a couple of months. Can't beat that!
Whatever you do, stay clear of Samsung - what a user nightmare! I remember when I had one that there was no way to put a texted number directly into your address book or to dial it. You had to find a piece of paper, write it down and then redial it -(now that's what I call advanced user interface thinking!!!)

ecobore

]]> <![CDATA[Alas, Poor RAZR, I Knew You Well]]> @OMG! Ponies!:

I'll gladly live without cut and paste (for now) and document editing (for now) for the vast superiority of the iPhone over Blackberry in almost every other regard.

LagunaSol

]]> <![CDATA[Alas, Poor RAZR, I Knew You Well]]> @doobiebros22:
Dude, I've always had Sony Ericssons and they're a real pleasure to use. Great design and features.
Also, very few of the good models actually get to the USA, let alone AT&T.
Europe ftw!




NightBlade

]]> <![CDATA[Alas, Poor RAZR, I Knew You Well]]> If you want a good, powerful and relatively cheap smartphone, get something like the AT&T tilt or if your on verizon the HTC Touch. (you can buy the HTC Touch unlocked for AT&T and T-mobile too.)

Sam_Zebian

]]> <![CDATA[Alas, Poor RAZR, I Knew You Well]]> Funny post. Thanks.

Back in time, prior to me purchasing the phone before my current phone. I heard lots of good things about Sony-Ericson and I decided to see one in person before I ordered it online (Amazon). The buttons were freakin' tiny - granted, I have big fingers but I haven't had problems with any other cell phones made for people with smaller (normal) fingers. I passed on the SE and went with a Motorola SLVR. The Motorola user interface is so bad it must be a joke (I don't get the punchline, however).

After a few months, I ditched the Motorola for an iPhone and have been very, very happy with it. As for the cost (I originally thought buying a $500 was absolutely mad) I put things in perspective 1. Cellphone is the ONLY device that I carry with me everywhere (OK, almost everywhere) and use every day = my cell phone is important and worth spending $$ on 2. Look at cost per day - even a super expensive (over $500) cell phone works out to less than a dollar a day - why compromise over pocket change.

Good luck with your next phone, whatever it may be.

chefmitch

]]> <![CDATA[Alas, Poor RAZR, I Knew You Well]]> I'm sorry, but i should let you know that Sony Ericsson builds the worst kind of crap I have ever made a phone call on. I recently worked for AT&T and everyone who worked their hated them. Everyone who bought them hated them too. 9 out of 10 W580 where brought back and replaced in a month because those damn keys crack straight up the middle...and i recently went into my old store to say hey to my old banditos and i picked up a new Z750 and almost spewed chunks across the counter...then someone walked in with one...broken...wanting something...anything...other than that crap he was convinced to purchase....oh well...moto razr also sucks...agreed you should buy something new...I've had 7 phones in the last 3 years so I'm all about new...buy an iphone...and a case from the sounds of it....you [from my experience, won't regret it]

doobiebros22

]]> <![CDATA[Alas, Poor RAZR, I Knew You Well]]> Love my Blackjack II. Slim, shiny, tumbleproof, GPS an' it's *cheap*

otaking241

]]> <![CDATA[Alas, Poor RAZR, I Knew You Well]]> I just ditched my RAZR for a moto Q9h. I like it a lot. its nice to finally get high speed internet on my computer and anywhere I go.

mechfluff

]]> <![CDATA[Alas, Poor RAZR, I Knew You Well]]> @jackfrost132: scratch that, Nokia just dropped the N96 with 16GB of internal memory. [www.nseries.com]

jackfrost132

]]> <![CDATA[Alas, Poor RAZR, I Knew You Well]]> shut up
razr is just fine for me

AndersonBMX

]]> <![CDATA[Alas, Poor RAZR, I Knew You Well]]> @LagunaSol: Until you need to edit documents on the fly and realize that you have no cut-and-paste functionality.

BB Curve - I'm lovin' it.

God made the pretty girls pretty because he likes them more

]]> <![CDATA[Alas, Poor RAZR, I Knew You Well]]> @LagunaSol: I hate to admit it, but you're right. I refuse to enjoy any other Apple products, but they really set out to make a good phone...And succeeded. And I love the Aqwoah summerboard theme. If you don't have it you should get it. Fun theme.

Substance_D

]]> <![CDATA[Alas, Poor RAZR, I Knew You Well]]> My iPhone was expensive.

My iPhone was worth every single penny.

My iPhone is the best gadget I've ever owned.

So you can save a few bucks and play around with other devices you will learn to hate (as I've hated every other phone I've ever owned), or you can spend the extra money and fall in love on Day One.

It's up to you.

LagunaSol

]]> <![CDATA[Alas, Poor RAZR, I Knew You Well]]> Anything Sony Ericsson or HTC. I have over the past five years use only phones from those two companies. Sony Ericsson is great because they are incredibly innovative and great quality. HTC is just awesome. I currently use an AT&T Tilt (HTC Kaiser) and love it. Most HTC phones are on the bulky side, so if you want thin, then Sony Ericsson is the way to go.

basketcase456

]]> <![CDATA[Alas, Poor RAZR, I Knew You Well]]> @nikeplr: Agreed, the Nokia N95 is my Jesus Phone.

jackfrost132

]]> <![CDATA[Alas, Poor RAZR, I Knew You Well]]> At@t: The iPhone
Verizon: The LG Voyager
T-Mobile: The SideKick
Sprint: The HTC Touch/Samsung Instinct
Nokia: The Tube

Master Matoro





mastermatoro

]]> <![CDATA[Alas, Poor RAZR, I Knew You Well]]> Get a Sony Ericsson.

Nathan Drake

]]> <![CDATA[Alas, Poor RAZR, I Knew You Well]]> all of your problems OP, seem to be limitations set by YOUR CARRIER on YOUR DEVICE...stop bashing Motorola, its not their fault you won't buy an unlocked phone which was the way the device was meant to be used...lets all blame the manfacutring company for what the carrier does to the UI...fail, epicly....

ghstintheshell

]]> <![CDATA[Alas, Poor RAZR, I Knew You Well]]> Oh, that ringtone switching nightmare. I HATE that. Everytime you plug it in, if you get a call in while it's charging, consider the tone switched. Sometimes it switches back as you unplug it, other times not. And it's annoying squared because a) I hate having to switch it back and b) I hate (and hate is too mild a word) the Moto ringtone.

I too have to replace my Motorola after closer to several (4? 5?) years. I understand your unwillingness to jump even though you would like to blast the thing to smithereens.

Eliamias

]]> <![CDATA[Alas, Poor RAZR, I Knew You Well]]> I have had the same phone for 2 years. Its been fine for me, except the dust behind the screen problem. But now since my contracts almost up I'm gonna get a HTC TyTN II.

spyguy99

]]> <![CDATA[Alas, Poor RAZR, I Knew You Well]]> I liked the post. It's like re-enacting a birthday, sad, silly, and ... no dad don't beat me. - But I digress -

I am one who thinks we should all hold onto technology until we have a good reason to replace it. I tend to use tech until it's in the grave.

When I hear about somebody living with a phone for 4 years, it makes me happy. This is a great post for Earth Day.

DeadWriter

]]> <![CDATA[Alas, Poor RAZR, I Knew You Well]]> @Silent_Shark:
Well considering that Ericsson was the original phone making company & expert - not Sony - perhaps you want to call them just "Ericsson" then at least? :) By the way, the common abbreviation is S-E.

Kim98

]]> <![CDATA[Alas, Poor RAZR, I Knew You Well]]> @Kim98: I'm aware of that :p . Just saving time I guess. You could also say I left the 'X1' off too...

Silent_Shark

]]> <![CDATA[Alas, Poor RAZR, I Knew You Well]]> My KRAZR Red switches from vibrate to some fake reggae tune at the highest volume possible completely of its own volition, and at the most inopportune moments. But at least I'm saving Africa and feeding Bono's ego.

Nigerian Business Executive

]]> <![CDATA[Alas, Poor RAZR, I Knew You Well]]> Addy, you're my hero.

The Sword Master

]]> <![CDATA[Alas, Poor RAZR, I Knew You Well]]> At least you got the Moto interface. Horrible as it is, it's better than the Verizon UI that's on my RAZR.

jwest

]]> <![CDATA[Alas, Poor RAZR, I Knew You Well]]> @Silent_Shark:
Sony Ericsson - not Sony. The two are not the same companies. Back some 5 years ago Sony - unable to make a dent in the mobile phone market share of the Nordic giants Nokia and Ericsson - started a joint venture with Ericsson. The new company was jointly owned by Sony and Ericsson and was thus called Sony Ericsson. However Sony Ericsson is neither Sony nor Ericsson - it's a separate company.

Kim98

]]> <![CDATA[Alas, Poor RAZR, I Knew You Well]]> I agree, the Sony-Ericsson phones are pretty top-notch. I had a W600 for about two years before I got my iPhone, and now my sister-in-law uses it... still working perfectly like the day I bought it.

So, I would say (assuming you don't get an iPhone) you definitely want to go with a SE. I would... and I'm important. And things.

mcdonnr

]]> <![CDATA[Alas, Poor RAZR, I Knew You Well]]> Ummm... I don't see the point of this post? Obviously you're going to have issues with a phone that is 4+ years old. And you can do your own damn research when looking for a new phone. Wow.

Why is this a post on Gizmodo again? Geez guys.

HibikiRush

]]> <![CDATA[Alas, Poor RAZR, I Knew You Well]]> You got a lemon. My RAZR can hold 30 messages before showing up full.

Subterfuge

]]> <![CDATA[Alas, Poor RAZR, I Knew You Well]]> I'm still using my RAZR V3 (not a V3i, or any of the later versions, just a plain ordinary V3). It still looks great, and I've not experienced any bugs, except for the crap battery life.

I'm waiting on the Sony XPERIA to replace it. Hopefully I'll be in a decent job by then!

Silent_Shark

]]> <![CDATA[Alas, Poor RAZR, I Knew You Well]]> Really liked the HTC touch till i dropped it under a race car this weekend...a minute of silance please

corhou99

]]> <![CDATA[Alas, Poor RAZR, I Knew You Well]]> get any Nokia or Sony Ericsson (or iPhone 3G as well) just don't get Craptorola or bimbo phones from Samsung and LG

illutionz

]]> <![CDATA[Alas, Poor RAZR, I Knew You Well]]> N95 8GB....theres no other

nikeplr

]]> <![CDATA[Alas, Poor RAZR, I Knew You Well]]> Seriously*
damn missing Edit button!

Anyways, if you really like something thin and functional, you should consider the Sony Ericsson W890. If not, just get some other Sony Ericsson. XD


NightBlade

]]> <![CDATA[Alas, Poor RAZR, I Knew You Well]]> Helio ocean. Seriously

Pieman2

]]> <![CDATA[Alas, Poor RAZR, I Knew You Well]]> Get a Sony Ericsson. Seriosly.

NightBlade

]]> <![CDATA[Alas, Poor RAZR, I Knew You Well]]> I never liked those things.

CarbonatedWater

]]> <![CDATA[Alas, Poor RAZR, I Knew You Well]]> Ahhh, talking trash on Motorola... sponsored by Nokia.

Hiphopopotamus

]]> <![CDATA[Alas, Poor RAZR, I Knew You Well]]> If you want small and nice UI, I'd recommend something from SonyEricsson but not with UIQ in it.

phi

]]> <![CDATA[Alas, Poor RAZR, I Knew You Well]]> I just bought a new battery. Works swell. The ringtone switching thing... that one I never had happen. lol

aphex242

]]> <![CDATA[Alas, Poor RAZR, I Knew You Well]]> I likes the Pearl. Yum.

tehronin

]]>