Camera Phones Plaza

Looks are everything these days, and we have the long standing RAZR craze to thank for that. The RAZR in it's various forms has sold 50 million copies and every manufacturer, including Motorola themselves hopes to replicate that success with the "next big thing".

So far the likes of the SLVR, PEBL, LG Chocolate and other pretty faces haven't managed, though some have done well in their own right. The KRZR is Moto's most recent attempt to meld Jaguar tastes with slim-is-in hip good looks. The K1m is the CDMA version of the KRZR not to be confused with the blue GSM network KRZR K1 (not offered by any US carrier at the moment).

Actually the KRZR isn't impossibly thin, though it's certainly slim enough to look good and fit in most any pocket without requiring careful sit-downs. To give you an idea, the RAZR V3 is .54" thin and the KRZR is .67".

But it is very narrow, unusually so. The RAZR is a wide beast, though nobody seemed to mind and the KRZR is so much narrower it almost doesn't look like a phone when closed. It might be a bit too narrow for big-fisted men, though women will likely find it fairly comfy.

Music quality through the built in speaker is surprisingly good and quite loud. Along those lines, should you wish to watch V Cast video sans headphones, you'll be pleasantly surprised (though those around you might not be if you're in a public place). Music quality is of course much better through a set of stereo earbuds and the phone makes a decent MP3 player.

The KRZR can take up to a 1 gig card, which means you can carry a decent amount of tunes with you (approx. 350). Some folks have reported sucess using 2 gig Micro SD cards. Video playback on Verizon's $15/month V Cast service looks good on the 1.9" 176 x 220 main color display which is bright and sharp though not an industry best. We did note loss of audio-video sync and some stuttering frames however.

The 1.3 megapixel camera is good compared to other 1.3MP camera phones with generally correct exposure and pleasant colors. The camera sometimes sets color balance incorrectly, so some photos show a purple or overly warm color cast and there is noticeable JPEG noise, but it's better than most (non-Nokia) smartphones and though as good as the 1.3MP LG phones on Verizon. The camera can take photos at a maximum resolution of 1280 x 1024 in JPEG format as well as lower resolutions for caller ID and MMS. It has a self-timer, multi-shot mode, brightness, contrast and white balance settings, color effects and you can turn off the shutter sound. If you close the flip, the outer LCD becomes your viewfinder which is handy for self-portraits.

The camera can take videos at 176 x 144 resolution in H2.63 format and you can set video length to short, medium, "fit to video message" or long (limited only by the amount of space on your memory card). The KRZR can save photos to a memory card if present.

The conclusion is that it's hard to get better looking than the MOTOKRZR; the phone will turn heads (at least until everyone has one) and it looks like a $500 fashion accessory. Fortunately, it sells for a good deal less than that, though the price is a bit high for the phone's features. Then again, the ever so fashionable Nokia 8801 will set you back even further, so the KRZR might look like a bargain in some circles.

But this is more than a fashion accessory, and thankfully the KRZR performs well at its primary job: making and receiving calls. Call quality is excellent, among the best in Verizon's current offerings and the phone has good ergonomics and is easy to use, though broad-handed men might find it a tad too narrow. The music player is good, though not earth-shattering but it makes a nice way to carry around a few hundred tunes if you get a MicroSD card to store then and a set of stereo headphones. Given the KRZR's music prowess and price, we are disappointed Verizon didn't include a stereo headset in the box.

Read full review on MTR.