Introduction

For the past year, Verizon Wireless customers have had to hear their Cingular and T-Mobile friends gloat about their ultra-thin phones. Well no more. Just in time for the impending Christmas shopping season, Motorola will be releasing the RAZR V3c.

Contrary to repackaged phones like the Pink and Blue RAZRs, the RAZR V3c has upgraded features and functions along with its new gray finish such as a 1.3-megapixel camera, MP3 player, EV-DO broadband technology for video-on-demand, and Bluetooth wireless technology; all in a familiar chemically-etched keypad and razor-thin design.

Enhancing the RAZR V3 to embrace today's technology, the RAZR V3c offers more robust multimedia with the same revolutionary design in hopes it will do in 2005 what the original did a year ago.

Design

Offering a familiar ultra-thin design, the new RAZR V3c is encased in a uniquely refined steel gray finish. Due to its 14 mm thinness, rigidity was a manufacturing concern. However, by combining aircraft-grade aluminum with a chemically-etched keypad and blue electro-luminescence panel, Motorola managed to create the RAZR V3c to be sturdy enough to withstand everyday wear and tear, while maintaining its slim profile.

Prominently displayed on the front, a 65K-color 96 x 90 LCD displays basic information such as time, network status, and battery strength, and even functions as the camera viewfinder when the flip is closed (useful for self-portraits and being included in group shots).

Located above, a lens to the 1.3-megapixel camera is able to take photos up to 1280 x 1024 px in resolution, a considerable improvement over the original RAZR's 0.3-megapixel camera last year.

Offering convenient access to voice functions, the Voice Key on the right side activates MotoSpeak advanced speech recognition (also allowing consumers to record voice memos). On the left, standard Volume Keys adjust call alert volume, and switch to and from Vibrate and Silent Modes. Located nearby, the Speakerphone Key doubles as a Smart Key to anticipate likely subsequent actions (such as selection after highlighting a menu item), and a mini-USB port allows users to connect the RAZR V3c to a PC (also functioning as the Stereo Headset, Charger, and Accessory Connector Ports).

Revealing the internal 65K-color 176 x 220 px LCD, Menu and Left and Right Keys situated below offer convenient navigation through the menu structure, while the standard 5-way directional keypad is surrounded by Send, Camera, Clear, and Power / End Keys.

Due to the inherent design of clamshells, when folded, the thickness of the keypad presents a problem when creating a thin phone. A traditional raised keypad would have increased thickness considerably. Thus, Motorola engineers figure out a way to create a completely flat design. By covering a touchpad in nickel-plated copper-alloy, Motorola chemically etched numbers and symbols into an electro-luminescent strip. The result was a futuristic, wafer-thin, keypad that illuminates a light-blue glow in the dark.

Out of the box, the Motorola RAZR V3c comes with a standard 740 mAh Li-Ion Battery, Travel Charger, Battery Door, Welcome CD, Quick Reference Guide, and User Manual.

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