With its shiny good looks and impressive features, the KRZR K1m is poised to succeed the popular RAZR. But is this sleek, 3G clamshell the new queen of the prom, or just another runner-up?
Review summary of the Motorola MOTOKRZR K1m:
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 If the RAZR was too wide for you, the KRZR K1m may feel just right. It does a good job as a phone, though it has a tough time handling the advanced video content Verizon offers. Features like GPS and speaker-independent voice dialing signal this as a next-generation phone, but inconsistencies in the user interface had us flummoxed. If you are looking for a capable, stylish phone, this could be it. If you want an advanced multimedia player for Web browsing and messaging, you'll want to keep looking, and RAZR owners are well advised to think carefully before ponying up for the new model. Release: September 2006. Price: $100.
Pros: Very good call quality and reception; V Cast music store has an excellent selection; music downloading is very fast; pretty to look at, when polished.
Cons: Shiny case picks up fingerprints quickly; streaming video is nearly unwatchable; music-dedicated buttons do not activate the music player; no stereo Bluetooth profile.
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Full review of the Motorola MOTOKRZR K1m:
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Design
Unlike the RAZR, the KRZR K1m has a glossy, reflective cover and a textured, almost rubbery back. Though it looks great in the box, glossy and reflective doesn't last long (as iPod owners know all too well). We were careful not to scratch our review unit, but fingerprints are inevitable, and unfortunately the rubbery back isn't sticky enough to keep the unit from sliding off a dashboard. And while the KRZR is a bit narrower than the RAZR, it is also 1/10 of an inch thicker, just enough to notice.
Music - Good
The K1m benefits from Verizon's well-stocked V Cast music storefront (the phone is also slated to arrive in Sprint's Power Vision lineup in November). Obscure live tracks, decades-old comedy albums, and contemporary hits are all available, and they all downloaded quickly over the EV-DO network. Music can be stored on microSD cards; the expansion slot is hidden under the battery door, but, thoughtfully, not beneath the battery itself. Though the phone features touch-sensitive buttons on its face for controlling the music player, you can't activate the player itself without opening the phone (a one-step control along the side of the handset would have been a nice touch). The buttons were a bit too sensitive, as well. Smacking the phone, or even grabbing it from a pocket, causes music to pause or sometimes skip to the next track. Finally, we were disappointed that this KRZR doesn't support stereo Bluetooth headsets (although the GSM version of the KRZR, the not-yet-released K1, does).
Multimedia - Good
Unfortunately, available video content simply can't keep up with V Cast's music store. The offering is mediocre, mostly filled with previews and highlights from films and network shows like David Letterman. All the streaming video we watched was very poor, some of the worst we've seen on a 3G phone, with continual stuttering and a slow streaming speed. Though accompanying sound was good, no streaming video played smoothly. The Web browser also suffered. Though the phone loaded average-sized pages relatively quickly, complicated pages, such as the New York Times, refused to load (as it often does on non-smartphone devices). GPS was good and reliable, handled by Verizon's VZ Navigator software. Maps took some time to redraw while scrolling around them, but directions proved accurate.
Calling - Very good
Call quality on the KRZR is very good; in fact, it's better than on most mid-range phones we've tested. Voices sound clear on both ends of the call, with no static or distortion. Though the KRZR packs plenty of features to make calling more convenient, implementation is somewhat inconsistent. For instance, though the phone has speaker-independent voice dialing, by default this feature is hidden beneath multiple sub-menus. And while the phone is able to look up names in the contact list as you type, there is no intuitive text-completion for this interface, so it may be easier to scroll than type the contact name. The phone features advanced functions like text-to-speech, which can read your contact list or speak numbers as you dial them, but conference calling is strangely absent. Reception on the phone was always good, five or six bars out of six. If you don't have a Bluetooth headset, you will need the included adapter to use the 2.5mm jack for your headset. While we always appreciate USB charging, carrying an extra adapter means one more accessory to track.
Messaging - Good
Messaging on the KRZR is a bland affair, with the same inconsistency problems found in calling features. The phone supports SMS, MMS, and the popular IM protocols for Yahoo, MSN, and AIM. The text editor allows 110 characters in an IM conversation and more than 160 for SMS messages, which is plenty. Though the editor will auto-complete text while you're typing in IM mode, the same is not true for SMS. Additionally, setting text entry for capital letters is confusing, and entirely impossible in the Web browser. This means that, although the phone is preset for MSN, Yahoo!, and AOL e-mail, if your password has any capital letters, you won't be able to enter it on the phone, a sloppy design flaw. Text on the phone tends to be blocky, probably due to a lack of anti-aliasing, which makes messaging a strain on the eyes. The keypad on the phone feels very similar to the RAZR; it is the same one-piece aluminum pad. The space between keys is wide and tactile enough that typing was pleasant and accurate, though the 5-way button felt a little too small for comfortable scrolling.
Camera - Mediocre
Though colors are accurately portrayed, fuzzy images from the KRZR's camera look much better on the small screen than when they are transferred to your PC. Bluetooth transfers are supported, but not available from any menu within the camera or the picture viewer. The interface for the camera is confusing, as some icons correspond to soft keys, while others are simply informational. Standard camera adjustments like brightness and white balance make the cut, as do some stranger options, including one that places ugly looking emoticon-like faces on your pictures, and another that "warps" your picture, allowing you to draw blurry streaks across it.
Related phones: Sleek Motorola handsets
Price and availability
Available immediately from Verizon Wireless and Sprint for $199.99 with a two-year contract; also available on Alltel for $400, or $250 with a two-year service agreement.
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