The smartphone have turned into a real necessary these days if for no other reason than to keep up with our ever increasing email. But not everyone needs, or can afford, an iPhone5, Samsung Galaxy S3 or whatever the newest hot smartphone is of the moment. And that is why there exists "starter" smartphones which are in a category of smartphone purchased usually for kids and those watching their budgets.
Smartphones in this "budget" category are introduced on to the market priced at around $99 with a 2 year contact and are usually capable of doing just the minimum functions. That is what I was expecting in reviewing the Verizon Droid Razr M, which is one of the newest and cheapest contract smartphones in the Motorola Droid Razr lineup. But the Verizon Droid Razr M is no "starter" smatphone, even though it's priced like one.
From the moment I took the Verizon Droid Razr M out of the box, I was impressed by everything about it - and my positive feelings only increased the more I used it.
Here are 5 things I really love about the Verizon Droid Razr M -
The Razr M is a small smartphone is comparison to phones like the Samsung Galaxy S3. So you would think that the phone would have a small screen to match, but it does not. The Razr M has a big, brilliant, edge-to-edge 4.3" screen - which is way bigger than the 4.0" screen on the iPhone 5. So for people who want to carry their smartphones in their pants or shirt pockets, you will have no trouble fitting in the Razr M. Plus the screen resolution is stunning, which I was not expecting on a budget phone. And the screen is made from Corning® Gorilla® Glass which means it is one durable phone.
2. Latest Version of Android OS
Most "starter" phones run older versions of the Android operating system, but not the Razr M. This smartphone sports Android 4.2 which is the newest version of the Android OS. The phone that I received for review came with Android 4.1, but I received the upgrade over a weekend, which gave the phone all the new features of Android, including Google Now.
Usually I am not that into installing lots of screen widgets on my smartphone, but the Droid Circles Widget has got to be the most useful widget ever made. The widget consists of 3 circles which give you information at a glance.
The smallest circle tells you the percentage of battery life for the phone. The middle circle tells the weather including high/low temps for the day, the current temperate and the if it is sunny, raining or cloudy. And the biggest circle has the date and time and a quick link to set an alarm. Since I use my phone as my alarm clock, I loved being able to get to the alarm setting so easy. Also, you will never miss a text message since the message shows up in the biggest circle.
4. Sturdy and well-made
Most starter smartphones are made of cheap plastic to cut costs. But the Droid Razr M looks like a smaller version of the of the other smartphones in the Droid Razr lineup. It is very well-made and sturdy and has the same look and feel of all the other Droid Razr smartphones.
5. Verizon 4G LTE
Most starter phones only work on 3G networks. But the Droid Razr M is very fast with its 1.5 GHz dual-core processor on Verizon's latest 4G LTE network. Even though more expensive smartphones now have quad-core processors, the Razr M is still plenty fast enough to play games, watch Netflix on the go, and stream music using Tune-in Radio or Google Music with no worries.
In addition to all these awesome features, the Verizon Droid Razr M comes preloaded with Green Power, my favorite app for increasing a smartphone's battery life and the Razr M can also be a hotspot for up to 8 wi-fi enabled devices.
The Verizon Droid Razr M is the budget smartphone that looks and acts likes all its higher priced Droid Razr cousins and is currently available for $49.99 with a 2-year contract.
CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THE VERIZON DROID RAZR M
Enjoy!
Disclosure: I was loaned a Droid Razr M for review by Verizon Wireless. All opinons are my own.
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