Droid Razr HD by Motorola: Best Android phone available?

My partner and I purchased Motorola Razr HDs last weekend. I opted for white, he for black. We also bought Otter Box cases to make sure our phones stay protected in the event of an accidental drop.

We went into the local Verizon store with the intentions of buying two Samsung Galaxy SIII’s, but quickly changed our minds after talking with a couple of salespersons. Both said the S3 gets returned frequently because of reception issues, and both recommended anything by Motorola. After comparing the phones, reading multiple online reviews (many mentioned reception issues), and realizing the phones had essentially the same specs on hardware and size (although the Motorola has a much higher build quality), we decided the Razr HD was the phone for us.

I love my phone so far. The battery life is crazy, and it isn’t unusual for me to have 50% battery life left at the end of the day. I also love the screen and the sturdy build. Most of the internal elements have a water-proof coating, the backing is Kevlar, it has solid aluminum edges, and the screen is made from scratch-resistant Gorilla glass. This phone also has the purest Android experience available outside of buying a Google Nexus.

The Razr HD features an 8 megapixel camera, a 1.3 megapixel front-facing camera, a 4.7 inch Super AMOLED display, a 1.5Ghz dual-core processor, 1GB of RAM, and a 16GB internal hard drive. It currently runs the Ice Cream Sandwich version of Android’s operating system, but has been promised an upgrade to Jelly Bean before year end.

All in all, I am very happy we went with this phone over the Samsung Galaxy SIII. If you are considering an Android smartphone, this little gem deserves your consideration.

‘My Friend Michael’ by Frank Cascio

This was, quite possibly, the best book I have ever read about Michael Jackson. Mr. Cascio has given the world a very special gift with his insightful stories as he paints a beautiful and vivid picture of a very real, very complicated human being. I have been a fan for 20 years and I thought I knew just about everything there was to know about Michael, but this book has changed my perception of the superstar on so many levels. Thanks, Frank!

The purpose of art

“The purpose of art is to comfort the afflicted, and to afflict the comfortable.”

That quote was posted in the comments section over at Fighting Windmills several months ago, and it crossed my mind this evening after watching a foreign film that left me feeling quite uncomfortable.

The Bubble tells the rather tortured love story of two men living in Israel – one Palestinian and one Jewish. The conflict between their two regions threatens to tear them apart at every turn, but they struggle through, determined to have a relationship despite the odds. The shocking ending left me feeling terribly disturbed, sheltered, and thankful to be living in a country where my problems are more like minor inconveniences when compared to other parts of the world.

A review of Verizon’s LG Chocolate 3 VX8560

After two months and four different cell phones, I have finally found one that makes me happy. It is the new LG Chocolate 3 – a bluetooth music phone.

While I like phones that provide some level of entertainment, this is first and foremost an excellent phone. The call quality is great, the speakers and volume controls are nice and loud, and battery life is exceptional.

Design

The form factor has changed from the second generation Chocolate (VX8550), transforming from a slider into a clamshell. I’ve been rather partial to slider phones, but the transition to my first flip-phone has been quite painless. I love the large screen on the outside that displays important phone information and is customizable with full-color backgrounds. I chose the black version of the phone and although it is so shiny that it attracts fingerprints, I like the way the outside screen practically disappears when inactive. I also was glad to see that the back of the phone is made of a soft touch material that feels great in the hand and should resist scratches.

The inside screen is beautiful, bright, and easy to read. The menus have been greatly improved over the last Chocolate, and I found the directional pad much easier to use than the navigation wheel on the previous generation. Those who are partial to the older Chocolate’s navigation wheel will be pleased to find a similar wheel placed prominently under the outside screen which allows the user to scroll through options while the phone is closed.

The keypad on this phone is one of the most spacious that I have seen. It should be extremely easy for anyone with large fingers to use the phone for dialing or texting.

Features

This phone has been designed to render your digital music player completely unnecessary. Not only does it have a whopping 1GB of memory built right in, it also supports adding microSD cards up to 8GB. Popular music formats are supported, including mp3, wma, and unprotected AAC and AAC+. The music player works flawlessly and can even be used while texting or browsing the web. Sound quality is excellent and many will appreciate the inclusion of a standard size headphone jack.

The phone includes a 2.0 megapixel camera and camcorder that supports photos up to 1600×1200 and videos up to 320×240. A basic photo editor is included for zooming, rotating, and cropping pictures.

This device seems less restricted by Verizon’s firmware than previous phones, as I was able to send an mp3 directly to the phone from an AT&T device – something that was impossible on the VX8550. A USB cable that doubles as a charger is included with the phone and allows syncing of music or access to the microSD card from your computer. While Verizon still restricts using stored mp3s as ringtones, I have been able to easily drag-and-drop files directly into my ringtones folder using BitPim.

The coolest feature on the phone has got to be the FM transmitter. You can tune to any unused FM station on your car stereo, set the phone to the same station, and listen to the music that you’ve stored on the phone through your car stereo speakers.

Final Thoughts

I adore this phone. It’s a delicious-looking number that does exactly what it’s supposed to. Even though the last several weeks of trying to find a suitable phone and wireless provider have been rather stressful, I am glad that I stumbled across this little gem.

Additional Photos

Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller’ celebrates 25 years

From Amazon.com:

Should several of the tracks on the 25th anniversary edition of Thriller find their way onto your MP3 player, you’re going to have to admit: the music holds up. “Beat It” is not about to go stale, at least not without a rumble, and neither are “Billie Jean” and “P.Y.T.” Even if you put the record-hurtling hits aside, you’re still left with the realization that without MJ, there might not have been a JT [Justin Timberlake], never mind a Ne-Yo (listen closely to “Human Nature” and “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’”). The bonus DVD bundled with the expanded CD includes a digitally redone version of the famous title-track video, among other clips, and it still astonishes with its choreography and attitude. As for the new tracks–Fergie inserts herself into “Beat It,” Will.i.am takes on “The Girl Is Mine” and “P.Y.T.,” Kanye West remixes “Billie Jean” (with characteristically subtle brilliance), Akon duets with M-Jack on “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’,” and the unreleased ballad “For All Time” (from the original Thriller sessions) is shined up and tacked on–they will suck you in like it was pop music’s hugest year, 1983, all over again. Start brushing up on your moonwalk now. –Tammy La Gorce