Wow I was like, “Hey who designed that handset?” that was as soon as I spotted the new MotoKRZR!

VS.
To tell you the truth, looks wise, nowadays Motorola is doing the right thing by spending some of it’s moolah on design, looks, sophistication and ergonomics. Compared to it’s competitors, it has an edge in this dept. Although Nokia’s handsets have been far more superior technology-wise, there’s no denying that Motorola has transformed it’s image from that of a grand-daddy mobile company (which it is, considering it is the one which introduced the mobile phone and was an erstwhile leader in the segment until of course a certain Finnish company started bombarding the market with a huge variety of handsets and the rest as they say is History!) to that of a Happening! company. Technology wise I would consider Nokia still superior. Of course, there’s other factors where they need to be improved upon by Motorola in order to reach it’s erstwhile market leader position (which I don’t see happening anywhere in the next 2 years or if Nokia would have it, never!) namely, the phone software, universal charger concept, ease-of-use and of course the mother of all features: The Connectivity (or the network reception).

Coming back to MotoKRZR, it is as being touted by everybody as the phone that will succeed the hugely popular MotoRAZR handset from Motorola. So to be able to continue, let us compare the phones head on.

MotoKRZR vs. MotoRAZR
Ok, now I don’t mean to say MotoKRZR is better than MotoRAZR. I am only trying to see the new features and improvements made over MotoRAZR.

SUMMARY OF FEATURES FOR THE MotoKRZR:
• Ultra-slim form factor
• Hi-quality imaging via 2MP digital camera with 8x digital zoom, and image editing
• Premium video capabilities: video capture and playback MPEG4 (15 fps CIF); audio/video streaming (3GPP); video progressive download; record up to 25 minutes of video on embedded memory
• Integrated Stereo Bluetooth wireless technology connectivity for hands-free convenience
• Enhanced phonebook with new contact fields: URL, IM, Postal Address, Birthday, and other information
• MicroSD slot for optional upgradeable memory
• EDGE for high speed data access (class 12)
• Rich, pre-loaded J2ME games, screen savers
• Downloadable themes, ringer tones, images, animations
• Midi, MP3, AAC, AAC+ enhanced music player for listening to your favorite music on-the-go
• PIM functionality with Picture Caller ID
• Voice memo, enhanced predictive text and enhanced voice recognition for easy, hands-free connectivity
• MotoSync – sync your contacts and calendar at the touch of a button
• Push-To-Talk and Push-To-View capable
• Screen3 technology for zero-click access to your favorite news, sports, and other premium content.

Now let us take a look at the MotoRAZR’s features below

SUMMARY OF FEATURES FOR MotoRAZR:

• Updated and streamlined Motorola RAZR V3 design
• 1.23 megapixel digital camera with 8x digital zoom, video capture and full screen viewfinder
• iTunes® music software or Motorola’s Digital Audio Music Player** with mini-USB stereo headset
• Airplane mode
• Hot swappable MicroSD™ memory card
• 262K color wallpapers & screensavers on internal display
• 65K color support on external display
• Speaker independent name & digit dialing
• Dedicated browser and messaging keys***
• Integrated Class 1 Bluetooth technology with imaging, printing, peer to peer gaming profiles
• Motorola’s SCREEN3 technology* solution featuring zero-click access to news, sports, entertainment and other program content*
• Rich, pre-loaded or downloaded J2ME™ games, screen savers and MP3 ringtones

Ok now that we know the features of both the phones we can have a clearer picture. First of all, as proved by the pictures, there is a marked improvement over the design where MotoKRZR definitely has an edge. Next, the camera. I know that the camera has been upgraded in recent variants of the RAZR but still we are comparing the base models of both the handsets which means we will ignore the variants outside the standard specs. The camera provided with the KRZR is a 2MP camera in comparison to the RAZR’s 1.23MP. Nowadays, there is a clear trend amongst buyers of the camera-phones: they are sure to go for a phone which has a higher resolution camera in-built. That way, itself makes the KRZR a clear winner. But hey wait a sec. here. I’m not finished yet. And please! Let me finish if you are really interested.

Ok, Now the only point that needs consideration here between the two phones is the stability (Oh yeah! I have lost hundreds of dollars over that little folly that I have made so many times without even realizing it). Now as we have seen that KRZR is certainly more cool features wise but thing is, It’s still new on the market. Yes that’s the bottomline. I want to emphasize on this part of any product. Being new makes it a tough bargain. I remember how I tumbled into this territory. I was looking to purchase my first camera phone and went to the dealer’s decided upon purchasing the Nokia 6230 (Oh yes! I’m a Nokia user). I was about to purchase it when I suddenly set my eyes on the Nokia 6260. Now the 6260 was really asking me to purchase it and that’s what I actually did. Now since the 6260 was new at the time, I was in trouble. Software problems, camera problem (it was VGA!) and what not. The result was: I had to sell it after a month and at about half the price just to get rid of it.

That was only an example of what really one can do. So the result of this discusssion can be: MotoRAZR is good with all those shiny new features and all, but it is better to wait for it to improve upon any potential problems that may arise during it’s starting days. Ok that’s it. So you have been advised on the various aspects. You can go ahead now.

The verdict is, yes, MotoKRZR will eventually be able to succeed (and possibly replace) the MotoRAZR. But, you the buyer has to wait. For the people who can’t (wait), please purchase the set and utilize it properly so that you can help in improving the product!

Well I guess I better allow the keyboard to rest now and see you all in another article.

Please note:

1. Images are linked from their parent sites and maybe copyrighted. Used only for reference.
2. The sub-models used to differentiate between the two models are: MotoKRZR K1 and the MotoRAZR V3i. For the purpose of standardization, the features specific to these sub-models have been displayed in this article.
   

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