| Motorola KRZR -Sprint Expert Reviews |
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Motorola KRZR -Sprint -- by Joni Blecher Follow me on Twitter--June 19th 2007 |
| Full Review |
| Motorola’s Krzr is one slick cell phone. It’s not only smaller than its older brother, the Razr, but it is even a little more stylish. This cell phone has all the latest multimedia features, including MP3 playback, a 1.3-megapixel camera, and a video recorder. Although the Krzr’s display isn’t as bright or crisp as that of other cell phones being introduced, it’s just fine for this small cell phone. If you’re in the market for a highly pocketable and stylish cell phone that’s easy to use and has stellar call quality, consider the Motorola Krzr. You won’t be disappointed. |
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| Call Quality |
Calls and speakerphone: We found calls typically to be loud and clear on the Motorola Krzr; however, occasionally we heard an echo on the line. We rarely needed to use the side volume keys to adjust the sound. Using the speakerphone didn’t degrade call quality too much, though the slight echo sometimes surfaced. If you want to use the speakerphone, you’ll need to first dial a number and then press the button with a speaker on it. If you’re not on a call, that same button activates the cell phone’s voice recognition application.
Audio quality: Playback of songs is decent through the cell phone’s speakers. If you want to listen to songs using a headset, there’s a mini-USB cable with a jack. You can buy an optional cell phone headset or wireless headset. Unfortunately, since it doesn't have a 3.5mm jack, you can’t plug in a traditional stereo headset that you would use with a portable music player. |
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| Ease of Use |
Menu/phone book: We found using the phone book and navigating through the menu fairly intuitive. Both are easy to use and view.  However, if you want to end an application, you can’t just press the End button. Once you press End, you’ll need to manually exit each application. This is done by pressing Yes when the prompt “Do you want to add this application” appears on the Krzr’s screen. Even entering and accessing phone numbers was easy. You can store up to 1,000 contacts, each of which can include 5 phone numbers, two e-mail addresses, and notes. Sorry, there's no room for a physical mailing address unless you enter it in the notes section.
Camera/video: The Motorola Krzr sports a 1.3-megapixel camera and the ability to record short videos. Picture quality is acceptable, but far from fabulous (images are a tad blurry), especially considering its 1.3-megapixel lens. Video quality isn’t much better, but you can see what’s happening on the screen. The cell phone lacks a flash, but we didn’t miss it. There are a few noteworthy camera features, including a self-timer, brightness, white balance, zoom, and color effects (sepia, black and white, and negative).
Music: Like the Motorola Razr V3m, the Krzr has a MP3 player that you can use to play music. As noted, the audio quality is pretty good through the cell phone speakers. Though this cell phone lacks the ability to adjust audio-centric controls such as bass and treble, you can create playlists on the Krzr, and there are Shuffle and Repeat song options. We particularly like that once the MP3 player is in use, you can control its features via the buttons on the face of the Krzr. (Note: You first need to turn the music on from the cell phone’s Music menu.)
However, unless you’re downloading music from the Sprint Nextel service, getting music onto the cell phone is an entirely different story. You can’t transfer music from a PC to the Krzr cell phone using Bluetooth. However, if you purchase an optional cable and software, you’ll be able to transfer music files to the cell phone by dragging the file from your computer and dropping it into the appropriate folder on the cell phone’s included memory card.
Connectivity/Bluetooth:We were able to pair the Motorola cell phone with a Motorola H500 Bluetooth headset. We should note using the Bluetooth feature decreases battery life. Call quality isn’t as stellar as when you’re not using a headset, but it is quite acceptable. |
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| Design |
Look and feel: When we first heard about the Krzr, we wondered how Motorola would top the Razr. Well, the company did a few good things. For starters, the back of the cell phone is slightly rubberized (like the Pebl). Plus, the front of the cell phone, which has a gunmetal coloring, shares a slight resemblance to Nokia’s high-end (costing $1,000 and more) Vertu line of cell phones. Additionally, there are touch-sensitive play/pause, fast-forward, and rewind buttons on the exterior, similar to the LG Chocolate. Thankfully, the buttons aren’t nearly as sensitive. In fact, we sometimes had a hard time getting the buttons working; however, with a little practice you can get the transparent buttons to work for you. We aren’t really complaining; we prefer this to the cell phone accidentally dialing or starting a song while it’s in a pocket or a purse. Our favorite element is its actual size. It’s about the same width as the Motorola Pebl and about half as thin. It’s a tad longer, making it about the same length as the original Razr.
The display is bright but not nearly crisp as, say, the screen on the Samsung A990. Our only quibble with the cell phone’s design is that the front of the cell phone attracts a lot of grease and fingerprints quickly. But we can live with that flaw – the Krzr’s that attractive. Additionally, there is a space underneath the battery cover where you can add the included MiniSD TransFlash storage card. We had a few problems getting the cell phone to recognize a 1GB card, but you shouldn’t have an issue with the included 64MB card.
Keypad: The trademark flat keypad found on the Razr is here as well. For some reason, it’s still supercool. With its blue-backlit numbers and lines, it looks like something out of the movie Tron. While you might think it would be hard to dial on a flat keypad, we found it pretty easy to do. However, we should note that those with larger hands should probably stick with the Motorola Razr. The Krzr is a perfect fit for people with smaller hands. Additionally, we did find occasionally that we accidentally hit the wrong button when using the round 4-way nav-key. |
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| Battery Life |
| In the battery life department, the Motorola Krzr had decent performance. We found that we could last three days before needing to recharge when using the Motorola Krzr regularly to make calls and send/receive text messages. Users who barely use the cell phone to make/receive calls and send/receive messages can wait about five days before needing to recharge, while heavier cell phone users will likely need to charge the Motorola Krzr every other day. Additionally, we did find the battery drained faster when we used Bluetooth. |
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Motorola KRZR -Sprint Expert Rating
