RAZR V3x: Value-packed 3G clamshell phone

Dimensions-wise, the new Motorola RAZR V3x is a far cry from the quite literal razor-like thinness of the now iconic V3, one of the best-selling mobile phones of all time.

Compared to its illustrious forebear, the V3x has grown by 30 grams (to 125 grams), a millimeter in length, two mm in width and a significant 6.1 mm in height.

Thankfully, the newfound mass and girth have been put to good use. Simply put, every weakness of the V3 has been addressed: the paltry 5MB internal memory of the V3 has given way to a generous 64MB with an expansion slot for a microSD card up to 512MB; the VGA camera without flash has evolved into a stunning two-megapixel external shooter with flash (plus macro/landscape settings) coupled with a VGA internal cam for 3G two-way video calling; the 176x220-pixel resolution is now 240x320; the phone book now allows you to type in the first few letters of a contact so you don’t have to scroll from the very first entry of each letter as in the V3 (something that’s also been addressed in the mid-range V3i); and there are now 12 icons on the main menu instead of nine. There is also a new voice-activation feature and the phone supports AAC+, MPEG4, WMV, WMA, MP3 and Real Video/Audio files.

Kudos also to Motorola’s TAP predictive SMS which I find far better than T9 and which they have improved even further. Whereas you needed to type in the first three letters of a word for TAP to suggest the whole word, now TAP suggests a word even with just the first letter typed. Not only that, the V3x’s TAP suggests whole phrases instead of just single words when it recognizes a pattern (i.e. input "juan de la cruz" and the next time you do it, just type "j" or "ju" and the phone will suggest the whole name – complete with spaces – for you. Brilliant!

And while we’re on the subject of SMS, the V3x boasts new thin rubber dividers between the keys to aid blind texting.

Yet another feature I appreciate not just with the V3x but with most new Motos is the easy customizability of the interface. You can choose between list or icon formats and even arrange the order of the list or icons depending on which ones you use more often. You can even assign which application to open for either of the left and right hotkeys.

On the outside, the V3x is covered by a nice rubber-coated finish that makes the handset a grippy and tactile delight. It comes in black, silver or blue exterior colors with a silver finish inside that wraps around the edges to make the handset seem slimmer when closed.

Downsides? A few: the response time from the keypad lags with my lightning thumbs. It’s funny to hear the keypad still beeping and the letters still appearing even when I have moved my thumb away from the keys after finishing a sentence.

Battery life is also on the short side with charging required once a day even with minimal voice calls and zero use of the music player or camera. At least the charging time is reasonably fast: two hours for a full charge from a fully drained battery. Finally, the V3x loses the V3’s quad-band world phone status by being tri-band only.

Nevertheless, it’s still probably the best and most value-packed 3G clamshell phone on the market today.