Ok, I wont be buying the Iphone just dont have an extra 600+ 2yr contract money lying around and anyway I'm much more interested in a full touch screen 80 gig ipod sans phone!

So I've been eyeballing the Motorola RAZR v3c


So the only question when buying a new phone is does it Sync Your iCalendar/address book on your Mac? Not can it, does it! Apple's web site says it will Blah Blah Blah! it often lies about syncing with non apple systems.


So my questions are simple...

Do you own one?

How painfull is it to sync?

Do you bluetooth or USB sync?

Can you sync photos with iphoto?

Should I buy a RAZR?

F.W.

I have owned a razr (not the newest model) for two years now. I would have to say the battery life is not long, sound volume is not good and both my wife and mine when it comes to charging is a pain in the butt. You have to play with the connector to get it start charging.

I have a co worker who owned two of these phones and had the same issues.

I have synced some contact info and as I recall it was not that hard to do, I did it via blue tooth if memory serves me right. Have not done any sysncing with iphoto

this phone may look cool, but I can not wait for my contract to be up in 2 months (cingular) so I can dump this phone and get something that has good volume and better battery life.

I've had a RZR for several years now and I can tell you that of all the phones I've had, it's the best.

Good sound, good battery (it's never enough), ok menu (I really dislike the Motorola address book on this phone) but the syncing has been flawless. Perfect every time. iCal, Addressbook and swapping pictures is so easy with this phone.

All in all, what I like about the phone has greatly out-weighed what I don't like. With all the rebates, you can't beat the price. When I bought my first RZR I paid almost $400 for the phone and $125 for the bluetooth headset.

Cingular service provider.

Linda

I would agree with Linda that any phone the battery is not what you would like. The phone sound quality is good but the speaker volume is lacking. Though that can be different for each person who uses the phone.

Firewall what provider are you going with? if it verizon you can do a "test dirve" of the phone for a month and see how you like it.

I'll weigh in on this too. I have a couple of RAZR's that I use when I don't feel like carrying the Treo 650.

Likes
The RAZR is extremely thin and fits easily in a shirt pocket. I haven't had any issues with battery life, although I'm used to charging any cell phone I've had each night. So as long as it lasts a 14 hour day, I'm good. No issues with sound volume or sound quality for me. The bluetooth works with everything I have tried pairing it to including two cars.

Dislikes
The Address book sucks! Motorola by default uses the "one contact per phone number" method. So If Jane Doe has a home, work and cell number, Jane Doe will be listed in the Address book of the phone 3 times. There is a way to toggle the display so you on see one "Primary" contact, but it's still not what it should be.

Syncing
The newer RAZRs now include address information such as address, city, state, etc. To the best of my knowledge iSync doesn't sync this information. It just syncs the name and phone number. Also the biggest disappointment is that iSync doesn't sync the contact photo. I have always sync'd my RAZR over bluetooth. So I can't speak to using a USB cable to sync.

I'm spoiled by The Missing Sync on my Treo which syncs:
All the contact info
The contact photo
Songs from iTunes
two way sync with the photos in iPhoto and the ones you take with the phone

Although iSync doesn't sync with iPhoto, the RAZR can share the photos you take with your phone back to your computer pretty easily over bluetooth by browsing the device. You can also add photos and mp3 files this way as well.

Originally I bought the RAZR out of frustration with bluetooth on my Treo (not working right with my car). Since that time I have worked out the bluetooth issues (a hard reset does wonders sometimes) and I haven't touched the RAZR since that time. Having my contacts addresses is critical for me. So I was a little disappointed that on my newer RAZR that iSync didn't sync this info. I guess I'm a smartphone guy and I'm just holding on until the iPhone ships.

It's a good to hear from people who actually use the product and have overcome any Mac compatibility issues.

@ D. Finegold
Thanks for the warnings

@ Linda
Strong endorsement but sadly what I need is a better portable address book, I'll will be getting this phone for a lot less than your original price so there's that.

@ Terry White
Thorough and in-depth information as usual thank you. Hmmmmmmmmm the Treo 650 you say, let me go check ebay?


Wow I really appreciate the responses to my inquiry. Sigh... I know I must replace this near solid state "Mesozoic Era" nokia phone I have soon. Still you all have given me to think about.


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Thanks

Do you know about PhoneScoop.com ?

I found it useful for phone reviews, including user experiences. It's difficult sorting out user error from meaningful true experience sometimes, as our expectations, technical savvy, and judgments vary so much.

If you're thinking about a Verizon phone, I like the store at Westland mall (even though it's not near my home). Tony Pate is very good. A Philippino-American salesperson is also very good (forthright & honest) there.

I know I don't like Windows Mobile in PDA's, but it sounds like you just need a phone.

If you can hold out until June or July, iPhone's will become available.

I don't believe you can buy eBay phones and "reconstitute" them at some wireless carriers.

Here's a partial scoop on one of the Razor phones:

I Just bought a Razr V3m-can it sync with outlook or ical--how do you do this?

Natalie

You should be able to sync it with your contacts and iCal via the iSync app over Bluetooth.

You would first need to pair the phone to your Mac
Then you would launch iSync and configure it for syncing with your RAZR.

quote:

Originally posted by artphanto:
I Just bought a Razr V3m-can it sync with outlook or ical--how do you do this?

Natalie

I did pair up the phone and computer via bluetooth-it is recognized, but when I try to add the device in isync, it shows up , but I get the error message "isync can not connect to this device" I looked to see if my phone is compatible and it is, but I can't get isync to work with it?