Motorola Razr2 V9m (Alltel)

CNET editors' review

Photo gallery:
Motorola Razr2 V9m

After the iPhone debut, the launch of the Motorola Razr2 has been the biggest cell phone news of the summer. We've reviewed AT&T's Razr2 V9 and both the Verizon Wireless and Sprint versions of the Razr2 V9m, so now we turn our attention to the V9m with Alltel. Like its siblings, Alltel's handset offers a slick, stylish design and a host of high-end multimedia features. Of course, this being a Razr2, Alltel customized the handset's external display and added its own features, like its Celltop application and support for TeleNav GPS. It's not quite as action-packed as its counterparts, but it's still a very decent handset. Alltel's V9m is $299 with service.

Design
As we said with the other Razr2s, Moto did more than just update the original Razr V3's thin design, it completely revamped it. And to much success, we might add. The slimmer shape, cleaner lines, and oversize external display resulted in a much improved design that continues to dazzle. Alltel's V9m has the same dimensions as the other phones in the series (4.05 by 2.08 by 0.46 inches; 4.1 ounces), so it feels just as comfortable and solid in the hand. As for a color, Alltel joined Sprint in choosing the dark pearl gray hue. We consider it to be the dullest of the Razr2 colors, but it's not unattractive by any means.

The V9m is thinner than the original Razr.

Besides the steel body, one of the biggest attractions on any Razr2 model is the large and bright external display. Behind the plate of hardened glass is a 2-inch screen with a 65,000-color resolution. It shows the date, time, battery life, signal strength, and photo caller ID, but the backlighting turns off very quickly. You can turn it on again with a flick of the volume rocker, but it would be nice to have a longer setting. The display also acts as a viewfinder for the camera lens, which is right above. There's also a small light next to the camera lens that glows green when you're charging the phone. You can turn it off if you desire.

The Razr2 has a delicious external display.

Like the other carriers that offer the Razr2, Alltel had the freedom to customize the onscreen shortcuts for the missed calls list (the only carrier to do so), the music player, and the messaging menu. The former option is especially useful, as you can make calls using the speakerphone without opening the phone. And like the other Razr2s, the onscreen buttons give that nifty tactile feedback. Tactile feedback is also present in the side controls. The aforementioned volume rocker and Motorola smart key are on the left spine and a voice dialing control is on the right spine. And of course, the microSD card slot is behind the battery cover.

The V9m's microSD card slot is behind the battery cover.

The interior of Alltel's V9m is virtually identical to that of the other V9ms. The internal display is beautiful while the keypad buttons and navigation controls are flat with the surface of the phone. But here again, their large size and tactile "push" feeling made them easy to use. The four-way toggle gives one-touch access to four user-defined functions, and Alltel replaced Sprint's dedicated speakerphone control with a shortcut for the camera. Also, instead of a customized user interface, Alltel chose Moto's standard, and rather dated, menu design (more on that later).

Features
As previously mentioned, the Razr2 showcases multimedia functions, but we'll start with the basics. The phone book holds 1,000 contacts with room in each entry for three phone numbers, e-mail, Web addresses, and street addresses; a nickname; and a memo. You can save callers to groups, assign them a photo for caller ID, and pair them one of 33 polyphonic ringtones. Other basics include a vibrate mode, text and multimedia messaging, a calendar, a calculator, a voice recorder, and an alarm clock.

Higher-end features are also onboard Alltel's V9m. You'll find full Bluetooth, voice commands and dialing, USB mass storage, and support for the TeleNav GPS application. You'll also find Alltel's unique and user-friendly Celltop application, which gives you instant access to a variety of information (see our SCH-U520 review for more information on Celltop). When compared to the Verizon and Sprint V9m models, Alltel's phone doesn't have as many whiz-bang offerings--there's no integrated e-mail or instant messaging support--so power users may not find the phone to be a fit. If you want e-mail, you'll have to pay $4.95 a month extra, which is not a good thing.

The V9m's camera doesn't offer a flash.

The 2-megapixel camera takes pictures in four resolutions (1,600x1,200; 1,280x960; 640x480; and 320x240). Editing options include three quality settings, a self-timer, three color effects, five lighting modes, and a 5x zoom. You also can choose from five shutter sounds or you can silence it completely. The camcorder takes clips with sound in two resolutions (320x240 and 176x144) and you can choose a lighting effect. Clips meant for multimedia messages are capped at 20 seconds, but you can shoot for as long as the available memory permits. The V9m has a generous 65MB of available user memory. That's shared between all functions, so you're better off buying a microSD card for maximum storage. Photo quality was comparable to the other V9ms.

The V9m had excellent photo quality.

Though the Alltel V9m is compatible with EV-DO networks, the carrier doesn't offer a full-scale 3G video service like Sprint's Power Vision service, so there's no selection of video programming designed for your phone. For some people that won't be an issue, but we'd like to see more entertainment options.

On the other hand, the music player plays AAC, WMA, and MP3 files. You can organize your tunes by playlist and choose options like repeat and shuffle. The interface is pretty basic; you're limited to a selection of visualizations, but album art is absent. You can load tunes on the phone using Alltel's JumpMusic application, which allows you to transfer music from your computer to your handset with a USB cable. Alternatively, you can buy tracks from eMusic and then transfer them to your handset in the same manner. Unfortunately, wireless downloads are not supported.

You can personalize Alltel's Razr2 V9m with a variety of skins, wallpapers, screensavers, and alert tones. If you want more options and more ringtones, you'll have to download them from Alltel. No games are included, but you can access a variety of content through Alltel's Axcess Web service. You can also access such services as Netflix, Fandango, Facebook, and Flickr.

Performance
We tested the dual band (CDMA 800/1900; EV-DO) in San Francisco. Since Alltel doesn't have native coverage in the Bay Area, we tested the phone using Sprint's network, which Alltel uses as a roaming partner. As such, it's difficult to test Alltel phones with complete accuracy. But we can report that like its Razr2 siblings, Alltel's 9m performed quite well. Calls were clear with little static or distortion. Also, voices sounded natural, if a bit hollow at times, and the volume level is satisfactory. Like the Sprint and Verizon Wireless versions, the Alltel Razr2 V9m does not have Motorola's CrystalTalk feature, but we were pleased just the same. On their end, callers reported no problems except for a slight warble to our voice. The speakerphone also performed well, even at high levels, and we enjoyed decent calls with Bluetooth headsets.

Music quality again was agreeable. The single speaker at the bottom of the phone provided loud output and clarity. At the highest volume level there was little of the distortion or bass-heavy effect that we've found on other music phones.

Though we're not fans of Moto's generic menu design, it did run faster than the graphics-heavy user interfaces on the Sprint and Verizon phones. But that speed does come at a price. Instead of the slick Opera browser on the Sprint V9m, the BREW-equipped Alltel V9m uses a plodding WAP browser.

Alltel's Motorola Razr2 V9m has a rated battery life of 3.6 hours talk time and 12.08 days standby time. According to FCC radiation tests, the Alltel V9m has a digital SAR rating of 0.71 watt per kilogram.