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Motorola's revamped Droid Razr, in pictures

A photo tour of Motorola's new-look Razr, an ultraslim Android smartphone with a large display, somewhat clunky squared-off edges and a clutch of business features
By Ben Woods, Contributor
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Motorola Razr slimline

Motorola has introduced the Droid Razr, an updated model of its classic Razr series, which keeps true to its forerunners from 2004 by being one of the slimmest smartphones around.

The new Razr has a very thin chassis. It measures 7.1mm thick at its narrowest, though it reaches almost 1cm at its thickest. The handset, unveiled in October, is expected to launch in countries across Europe in November, but Motorola has yet to give an exact release date or pricing.

It packs some top-end smartphone specs into its slimline form factor, including a 1.2GHz dual-core processor, 1GB RAM and 8-megapixel camera capable of capturing 1080p HD video. It also has a front-facing camera with 720p video capture. Storage is provided by 16GB of internal memory, and the phone will support microSD cards up to 32GB.

Photo credit: Ben Woods


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Motorola Razr overall

The updated Razr has a 4.3-inch Super Amoled display. This means its overall size is not inconsiderable, measuring 130.7mm by 68.9mm. It weighs 127g, compared with the iPhone 4S at 140g.

The only hardware controls on the outside of the device are a volume rocker, and a combined screen lock-and-power key.

In ZDNet UK testing, the phone felt thin and light, but the square edges of the device made for an awkward in-hand feeling.

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Motorola Razr docked

The phone can be mounted onto one of two docks, sold separately. The Lapdock 100 (pictured) and Lapdock 500 are designed to give netbook-like performance through the addition of a full keyboard and an integrated touchpad.

The handset docks on the rear of the device, connecting to the micro-HDMI and power sockets. The Lapdock 100 comes with a 10.1-inch screen, and the Lapdock 500 has a 14-inch display.

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Motorola Razr Webtop

When docked, the handset automatically starts the Motorola Webtop app. This shows the phone display on one side of the screen (here on the left), while a browser can run on the other side.

This lets people have a desktop version of the Firefox web browser running while keeping access to any normal phone functions, such as calling, texting or emailing.

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Motorola Razr Motocast

The smartphone is powered by Android 2.3.5, also known as Gingerbread. It will be eligible for an upgrade to the newer Ice Cream Sandwich version of Android "in the first half of next year", Motorola told ZDNet UK.

The Droid Razr includes features not found on other Android handsets, such as the proprietary Motocast service. The Motocast service plugs into core apps, such as the media player, and allows Razr users to access films, music and other files, including office documents spread across multiple computers running the Motocast software.

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Motorola Razr Quick Office

For business users, the Droid Razr includes what Motorola describes as "government-grade encryption" for email, calendar and contact information. It comes pre-loaded with Quick Office software, so that owners can edit and view of common office files on the device.

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Motorola Razr Smart Actions

The Razr has a feature called Smart Actions that lets users pre-program certain actions to take place based on other criteria. For example, people can set the phone up to switch off Wi-Fi and location features, or silence the ringer within the 'Night' mode, activated at a set time when in a certain location, for example.

The image above shows a pre-programmed 'car' mode that automatically de-activates Wi-Fi , switches on GPS and sets the ringer volume to maximum when connected to a specific Bluetooth device.

In addition to the several pre-configured settings, Smart Actions is also user-configurable to allow people to define their own functions. Multiple triggers can be combined, too.

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Motorola Razr and accessories

Owners of the Droid Razr can also buy a number of accessories to extend the functionality of the handset.

One of the accessories (sold separately and pictured above) is a Bluetooth 'Smart Controller' remote control. This is used to control the phone, and it supports actions such as pinch-to-zoom or media playback when it is connected to a larger screen using the micro-HDMI out port. The remote also runs Android and has 'home' and 'search' buttons.

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