pleasing metallic design
Verdict: if you’re looking for a mid-ranged performance phone at a mid-ranged price then this is it. You’ll be pleasantly surprised by its not so mid ranged battery life. Buy.
This Motorola Razr M’s cousin: XT890 “i”. It bears the exact same dimensions and specifications with 2 differences- radio and SoC processor. The Razr i is powered by Intel’s mobile Atom single core processor running at 2 Ghz which Intel claims is more efficient than all other multi core processors you see today.
The Intel Atom is something else. It runs on the x86 architecture, as in what you normally find on PC computers, as opposed to ARM. And while it runs at 2 Ghz, its speed and performance is not as straight forward as it may seem.
Read on to find out how the Razr i fares under our own testing.
Specs and info
Intel Atom Z2460 2 Ghz dual threaded single core cpu
edge-to-edge 4.3inch Super AMOLED screen
2000 mAh battery
8 megapixel camera
Jelly Bean 4.1
1GB RAM
3G HSPA-only
Price: $450
Design and build quality
the kevlar back won’t catch any bullets… but it’ll turn heads.
the Motorola logo has holes drilled into it to allow for sound from the ear piece
metallic screws are visible, is part of the design language
+++++ kevlar back plate never fails to provide a premium feel; impress
+++++ aluminium makes up for 90% of the chassis
+++++ very thin bezels- phone dimensions are almost exactly the same as the iPhone 5 but the screen is bigger @ 4.3 inch, and the battery is also bigger @ 2000 mAh
+++++ hardware camera shutter button
+++ slim profile with a good weighty feel in hand
Display
++ Super AMOLED- proper blacks, vibrant colours
+ 960×540 resolution is quite acceptable
+ video playback is surprisingly comfortable as it fills the entire screen and subsequently most of the phone’s surface
Camera
++++++ camera launches faster than you can say “fast”
+ day time photography is not bad
—- low light and night time photos are full of noise, alleviated slightly with the built-in flash
Photo samples (click to enlarge)
Software and features
motorola’s own beautiful Circles widget
the epitome of practicality. Way before Blinkfeed happened.
++++++ kudos to Motorola for thinking things through. the Home screen is very practical- swipe right for quick settings. the skin is not very light so this is as close as a pure-Google experience you’ll get out of something that’s not Google branded.
++++ SmartActions is back. you can use this to help you adjust certain settings according to time, location and various other triggers. Most useful for turning off features that drain battery.
some dude smiling at his phone.
SmartActions is quite an accomplishment
Performance and battery life
Sunspider result is absolutely amazing. Reference: iPhone5 scores 914
++++++ ridiculously good battery life under normal usage; idle battery life rivals the Galaxy Note 2
++++++ ridiculously fast web browser
++ the 2Ghz cpu speeds along nicely when you’re not trying to do too many things at once
—– not a strong multitasker. despite Intel’s effort to dispel the multicore myth by claiming a dual threaded singlecore is more efficient, the Motorola Razr i proves this to not be entirely true.
– minor UI lag when loading is heavy. suggest changing the transition animation speed to 1.5x
– GPS is not quite precise enough, better than AGPS
battery life scenarios:
And finally: the best case scenario:
1 day and 20 hours. that’s 24+20 frigging HOURS.
