Motorola KRZR K1m thoughts

Had my RAZR V1c stolen at work the other day, which gave me the perfect
opportunity to "upgrade" to the new KRZR K1m. My thoughts:

(BTW, this is for Verizon Wireless service in NY, with firmware
24.1_00.25.0C)

Pros
- The styling. After all, that's what this phone is all about, no? The
phone is larger than the RAZR in 2 of 3 dimensions, and is also a smidge
heavier. But it looks definitely looks sleeker and dare I say makes the
RAZR look somewhat outdated. This phone is also easier to handle than the
RAZR.
- The build. Very solid feel to the KRZR. When I first picked up the RAZR,
I thought it felt sorta flimsy, though I never actually had any problems
with it. My all time fave in terms of solid construction feel was the Moto
V60c, and this KRZR unit is right up there with the V60c.
- Call quality. Just as good as my previous V710 and RAZR, which were
already good units for call quality.
- Signal strength. I was very disappointed with the signal strength of my
RAZR V1c, which was clearly inferior to my previous V710, and I'd say this
model is somewhere between the two units. Still need more testing though...
- Screen quality. Both the internal and external screens are brighter and
more pleasing to look at.
- Button placement. Much better than the RAZR, as the side buttons are now
on the main unit, so when the phone is in the open position, and you are
taking a call, it's much easier to manipulate those buttons. The RAZR took
a step backwards in this regard from the V710, and now Moto has fixed/gone
back to the original design.

Cons
- The Verizon UI. I absolutely hated it when I went from my V710 to the
RAZR V1c, and I still hate it now. Both ugly and dysfunctional. God how I
wish Verizon had left the underlying Moto UI...
- No significant technological upgrade. I have a problem with "upgrading" a
phone mainly for its looks and without any real substance.
- Mini-USB cover. There's a cover/latch overlying the mini-USB plug, which
is annoying because I have to take it off (and it's tricky to get that
sucker off) everytime I want to recharge the phone.
- Keypad. With the RAZR it was already kind of difficult to navigate the
keypad without looking/in the dark, and the KRZR makes it even harder.
- Screen size. Inevitable, I suppose, with this form factor, but it's
disappointing to go from a larger screen (V710, RAZR) to this smaller
screen.

No Comment
- MP3 playing. I'll use my iPod for music, thank you very much.
- Camera/video quality. Useless to me ever since they moved to the Verizon
UI and elminated mini-pics from the contact list. Any serious/semi-serious
picture taking will go to my DSLR or my ultracompact digital camera.
- Games. Sorry, I'd rather use another device for portable gaming, not that
I have that much time for that...

The KRZR K1m costs $250 with a new contract, and $350 without. We'll see if
it was worth it...
--
Charles C. Shyu
http://home.earthlink.net/~shyuc/shyu.html

Form before function. Ahh, America, ain't this a great country?
"Charles C. Shyu" <charles_shyu@nymc.edu> wrote in message
news:4OsWg.11895$UG4.3333@newsread2.news.pas.earth link.net...
> Had my RAZR V1c stolen at work the other day, which gave me the perfect
> opportunity to "upgrade" to the new KRZR K1m. My thoughts:
>
> (BTW, this is for Verizon Wireless service in NY, with firmware
> 24.1_00.25.0C)
>
> Pros
> - The styling. After all, that's what this phone is all about, no? The
> phone is larger than the RAZR in 2 of 3 dimensions, and is also a smidge
> heavier. But it looks definitely looks sleeker and dare I say makes the
> RAZR look somewhat outdated. This phone is also easier to handle than the
> RAZR.
> - The build. Very solid feel to the KRZR. When I first picked up the
> RAZR, I thought it felt sorta flimsy, though I never actually had any
> problems with it. My all time fave in terms of solid construction feel
> was the Moto V60c, and this KRZR unit is right up there with the V60c.
> - Call quality. Just as good as my previous V710 and RAZR, which were
> already good units for call quality.
> - Signal strength. I was very disappointed with the signal strength of my
> RAZR V1c, which was clearly inferior to my previous V710, and I'd say this
> model is somewhere between the two units. Still need more testing
> though...
> - Screen quality. Both the internal and external screens are brighter and
> more pleasing to look at.
> - Button placement. Much better than the RAZR, as the side buttons are
> now on the main unit, so when the phone is in the open position, and you
> are taking a call, it's much easier to manipulate those buttons. The RAZR
> took a step backwards in this regard from the V710, and now Moto has
> fixed/gone back to the original design.
>
> Cons
> - The Verizon UI. I absolutely hated it when I went from my V710 to the
> RAZR V1c, and I still hate it now. Both ugly and dysfunctional. God how
> I wish Verizon had left the underlying Moto UI...
> - No significant technological upgrade. I have a problem with "upgrading"
> a phone mainly for its looks and without any real substance.
> - Mini-USB cover. There's a cover/latch overlying the mini-USB plug,
> which is annoying because I have to take it off (and it's tricky to get
> that sucker off) everytime I want to recharge the phone.
> - Keypad. With the RAZR it was already kind of difficult to navigate the
> keypad without looking/in the dark, and the KRZR makes it even harder.
> - Screen size. Inevitable, I suppose, with this form factor, but it's
> disappointing to go from a larger screen (V710, RAZR) to this smaller
> screen.
>
> No Comment
> - MP3 playing. I'll use my iPod for music, thank you very much.
> - Camera/video quality. Useless to me ever since they moved to the
> Verizon UI and elminated mini-pics from the contact list. Any
> serious/semi-serious picture taking will go to my DSLR or my ultracompact
> digital camera.
> - Games. Sorry, I'd rather use another device for portable gaming, not
> that I have that much time for that...
>
> The KRZR K1m costs $250 with a new contract, and $350 without. We'll see
> if it was worth it...
> --
> Charles C. Shyu
> http://home.earthlink.net/~shyuc/shyu.html
>

Thanks for the review!

Charles C. Shyu wrote:
> Had my RAZR V1c stolen at work the other day, which gave me the
> perfect opportunity to "upgrade" to the new KRZR K1m. My thoughts:
>
> (BTW, this is for Verizon Wireless service in NY, with firmware
> 24.1_00.25.0C)
>
> Pros
> - The styling. After all, that's what this phone is all about, no?
> The phone is larger than the RAZR in 2 of 3 dimensions, and is also a
> smidge heavier. But it looks definitely looks sleeker and dare I say
> makes the RAZR look somewhat outdated. This phone is also easier to
> handle than the RAZR.
> - The build. Very solid feel to the KRZR. When I first picked up
> the RAZR, I thought it felt sorta flimsy, though I never actually had
> any problems with it. My all time fave in terms of solid
> construction feel was the Moto V60c, and this KRZR unit is right up
> there with the V60c. - Call quality. Just as good as my previous
> V710 and RAZR, which were already good units for call quality.
> - Signal strength. I was very disappointed with the signal strength
> of my RAZR V1c, which was clearly inferior to my previous V710, and
> I'd say this model is somewhere between the two units. Still need
> more testing though... - Screen quality. Both the internal and
> external screens are brighter and more pleasing to look at.
> - Button placement. Much better than the RAZR, as the side buttons
> are now on the main unit, so when the phone is in the open position,
> and you are taking a call, it's much easier to manipulate those
> buttons. The RAZR took a step backwards in this regard from the
> V710, and now Moto has fixed/gone back to the original design.
>
> Cons
> - The Verizon UI. I absolutely hated it when I went from my V710 to
> the RAZR V1c, and I still hate it now. Both ugly and dysfunctional.
> God how I wish Verizon had left the underlying Moto UI...
> - No significant technological upgrade. I have a problem with
> "upgrading" a phone mainly for its looks and without any real
> substance. - Mini-USB cover. There's a cover/latch overlying the
> mini-USB plug, which is annoying because I have to take it off (and
> it's tricky to get that sucker off) everytime I want to recharge the
> phone. - Keypad. With the RAZR it was already kind of difficult to
> navigate the keypad without looking/in the dark, and the KRZR makes
> it even harder. - Screen size. Inevitable, I suppose, with this form
> factor, but it's disappointing to go from a larger screen (V710,
> RAZR) to this smaller screen.
>
> No Comment
> - MP3 playing. I'll use my iPod for music, thank you very much.
> - Camera/video quality. Useless to me ever since they moved to the
> Verizon UI and elminated mini-pics from the contact list. Any
> serious/semi-serious picture taking will go to my DSLR or my
> ultracompact digital camera. - Games. Sorry, I'd rather use another
> device for portable gaming, not that I have that much time for that...
>
> The KRZR K1m costs $250 with a new contract, and $350 without. We'll
> see if it was worth it...

I don't think that America should be singled out for your criticism. Wasn't
the RAZR hugely popular in Asia and Europe as well?
--
Charles C. Shyu
http://home.earthlink.net/~shyuc/shyu.html

"X-Zone" <XZone@guesswho.com> wrote in message
news:fqvWg.11215$GR.1300@newssvr29.news.prodigy.ne t...
> Form before function. Ahh, America, ain't this a great country?

10-Oct-2006, From Ellery Davies -- Ellery (at) StarBus (dot) com

I also purchased a new MOTOKRZR on day 1 (it was available at Verizon and
Moto web sites on Oct 9). But first some background.

I bought and then flipped a Samsung SCH-a990 on Eaby (got $500 - buyer
doesn't need a contract). This was supposed to be the final statement in
phones, short of using a PDA. It has 3.3 MP camera, MP3 player, etc. But one
small problem. It can't get a signal in a garage, an elevator, a mall, under
a tree, etc... You get the idea. So I turned sour to the idea of form (and
even features) over function! I had grown used to my history of Moto phones:
v8160, v60i, v710, E815. These things ALWAYS pull in the signal and never
drop the call.

On the other hand, form is neat. I figured that I would wait for the Krzr or
Capri (slider model). When the Krzr finally was introduced yesterday, I had
no choice, becuase I had been using my wife's cell phone for a month. She
really needs one and Verizon won't let me temporarily provision any of my
old phones (they claim it's becasue the phone must support E911 -- Not the
real issue, but that's another story). So this is really a review about
signal quality: (drum roll, please)...

Keep in mind that like the Samsung a990, the KRZR has no external antenna:
The ability to pull in a call falls somewhat between the incredible "v"
series phones and the totally inept Samsung a990. I would say that it is
closer to the legendary capabilities of the Moto series.