Nobody can deny that Motorola's RAZR V3 was a huge commercial success. It had a lot going for it, including that sexy and slim profile. But in spite of its success in the market, there were still some things that needed to be addressed. The newest version of the RAZR for GSM networks, the RAZR V3i, is an evolutionary upgrade to the V3. It seems quite obvious that Motorola was thinking "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" when they went about creating this upgrade.

For starters, the physical size of the V3i is the same as the V3, which is to say that it is about six tenths of an inch in thickness (about 14mm). Weight is also about the same at 3.4oz (97g). But this time around the V3i gets a new, gunmetal-gray exterior with a cool, brushed pattern on the top half of the folder design. The Motorola logo also now glows blue. Otherwise, apart from some minor cosmetic changes made to the exterior and the flat but functional keypad, physically the V3i seems pretty much the same as the V3.

The basic features are also the same, with a few exceptions. The V3i supports all four of the GSM frequency bands, so it should work most anywhere in the world (if you have international roaming on your GSM account). The V3i's internal antenna seemed to work well--call audio quality was very good and we had no problems in weak signal areas. The large 262k color display appears to be the same--still nice and bright--and the external display is also the same, meaning it is functional but not at all awe inspiring. The battery in the V3i has been upgraded a wee bit and managed to power the handset for just over 8 hours of talk time in our tests.

There is still no EDGE data support in the V3i, sadly, but the Bluetooth system is very good and supports data connections as well as headsets and car kits--though not in stereo. The camera's user interface has been updated to include a very easy system whereas the d-pad can change most all of the camera settings on the fly without the need for menus. The camera module itself has also been upgraded to a 1.2-megapixel model that generates nice looking photos with good color balance, even if the focus is a bit soft (especially for subjects closer than 4' away).

Another upgrade is the inclusion of speaker-independent voice dialing and commands. With this system, there is no longer the need to train the phone for various contacts names. You just speak the command (such as "Name Dial"), and tell it the name of the contact--it's that simple and works superbly. Another change that helps in making calls is a new multi-character search mode for finding contacts, something people have been asking about for a long time. In some versions of the V3i you will also find Apple iTunes support, just like in the ROKR E1. There is a 100-song limit, though, which is a shame since the new microSD memory card slot can hold cards as large as 1 GB in size. The non-iTunes versions will not have a song limit when using the default Motorola media player.

Pros:

Thin and sexy
Good battery life
Bluetooth

Cons:

No EDGE support
Metal keypad is not for everybody

While not a massive upgrade, the RAZR V3i gets enough boosts in the right places to ensure its spot as one of the most popular mobile phones in the world. The added features are all very nice to have, and the hold-over features from the old V3 still work as well as they did the first time around. If you like the RAZR V3, you will probably love it in the new RAZR V3i version.

--Reviewed by Michael Oryl, editor in chief of www.MobileBurn.com