Screen

Both the interior and exterior screens are well-lit and look crisp and clear against the MAXX Ve's black frame. Their TFT (Thin Film Transistor) technology provides the highest color quality among color LCD displays.

At 1.7-inches, the exterior screen is slightly larger than previous RAZR models, and shows relevant information such as the caller ID, date and time, signal level and battery strength.

The interior display uses a standard 65K-color LCD, as opposed to the more vibrant 262K-color display found on the RAZR MAXX V6 and the LG VX8700. However, what it lacks in vividness it makes up for with resolution, offering a large 2.2-inch screen that takes up most of the space on the interior flap. Since video streaming capability is one of the selling points of the Ve, a 262K-color screen might have made more sense; however, at 65K-colors, the video streaming quality is good, but not amazing.

Given the fact that the battery usage time is 215 minutes, the Ve probably couldn't handle a larger color display. Both the interior and exterior screens use TFT technology, which refresh faster and offer brighter contrast levels than older, STN (Super Twisted Nematic) LCDs, but use more energy.

Audio

Like the V3m, the Ve is a fully-functional MP3 player with 24/7 access to VCAST Music, Verizon's online music store. To purchase tracks, users navigate to the "Get it Now" button on the menu and press "Music & Tones." Songs are downloaded at $1.99 each to the music library, which can be found on the "Music & Tones" tab under "My Music." The music library automatically creates separate lists according to genre, album, playlist, artist or song and also offers a shuffle setting.

The Ve's added support for Stereo Bluetooth (A2DP Profile) means users can lose the wires when they rock out to their favorite tunes. Dedicated music buttons on the clamshell eliminate the need to open the phone when pausing or skipping a song.

When transferring music from or to a PC, users can access MP3s or WMA files either locally or purchased from the VCAST Music service. Music purchased on the Ve is not compatible with Mac OS. Transferring music from the Ve requires Windows XP and Windows Media Player 10.

The Ve's other audio functions include a robust speakerphone, voice-activated calling, voice records and adding sound to a picture message.

Messaging

With the MAXX Ve, Verizon offers as many choices for messaging as it does multimedia. Users can say it with text, email, instant messaging, pictures or video.

For emailing, Verizon offers a service called "Get Email", which limits users to sending and receiving email from their Yahoo!, Hotmail and AOL accounts. The Ve also offers access to the most popular instant messaging clients such as AOL IM, MSN Messenger, and Yahoo! Messenger.

The combination of high-speed connection and video camera makes the Ve a good choice for those interested in video messaging, although video messages are limited to 15 seconds in length.

Text messagers accustomed to T9 predictive text will be challenged by the Ve's iTAP system, which was developed by Motorola. Users sending SMS can input up to 160 characters per message.

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