Camera

Hidden in the RAZR V3c slim shape is a powerful 1.3-megapixel camera. Built with a protective hardened glass, the lens is activated by pressing the dedicated Camera Key, turning the internal (or external) LCD into a viewfinder.

Able to leave the digital camera at home, users can snap pictures up to 1280 x 1024 px in resolution, high enough in resolution to make great prints. And to keep memories close, the RAZR V3c's mobile photo album sorts and saves pictures.

To get closer to the action, the RAZR V3c includes 8x digital zoom. While sounding impressive, regrettably digital zoom is not true zoom (optical), merely cropping the image instead of increasing resolution.

Designing camera phones with optical zoom has been a challenge for manufacturers. Requiring moving parts to focus at different distances, the front lid provides no room for optical lenses. But some devices such as the Samsung SCH-A970 have gotten around the space limitations by ingeniously building the lenses lengthwise along the hinge.

Regardless, the V3c contains a bundle of image correction features such as Resolutions (1280 x 1024 px, 640 x 480 px, 320 x 240 px, and 160 x 120 px), Self-Timer (Off, 5 sec, and 10 sec), Brightness (-3 to +3), Lighting Conditions (Automatic, Sunny, Cloudy, Fluorescent, and Incandescent), Image Quality (Fine, Normal, and Economy), and Color Effects (Normal, Sepia, Black and White, and Negative).

Limited by the 30 MB of internal memory, captured video on the V3c is encoded in .3GP codec (H.263 and AMR) format, taking advantage of MPEG-4 for delivery of video and audio.

Similar to other Motorola devices on the market today, the V3c's built-in camera is a considerable improvement over last year's RAZR. While the V3c's camera is hardly comparable to standalone units, for most consumers, captured photos are decent enough for prints, allowing users the added convenience of leaving the digital camera at home.

Basic Features

Released for Verizon Wireless, the original Motorola user interface has been replaced with a preconfigured Verizon menu found on other devices in their network. Exhibiting a overly simplistic layout, the menu structure is fast responding, but leaves only the bare essentials in usability.

Motorola rated the RAZR V3c's 740 mAh Li-Ion battery at 3.0 and 200 hours (8.3 days) of talk and standby times respectively. However, those are under optimal conditions. Handset manufacturers and carriers often list talk-time and standby-time ratings with disclaimers about variable performance and often refer to the times they publish as maximum times.

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