MOTOKRZR K1m

 

Motorola has been known to give its phones catchy names housed within four-letter acronyms; the RAZR easily being the most popular of these, also befitting its knife-thin form factor.

Yet in all fairness, the RAZR isn't -- and never has been -- the most feature-laden handset on the market, nor is it the most reliable. Sexy as all get-out, sure, but clearly a matter of style over substance; cell phone as fashion accessory, not nessecarily a bad thing.

Now, blending style and substance both is Motorola's new KRZR, a mobile with a similar name, similarly sexy looks, but little else in common with the RAZR. That is to day, KRZR's general craftsmanship is certainly in theme with the freakishly successful RAZR -- same slick flip, same keypad, similarly subdued color scheme and similarly small display screen on the front -- and cranks up the "sexy" a notch or two. The KRZR K1m is a much prettier phone with a slick veneer that looks both lush and rugged, metal and glass with a chrome-plated bottom (it's also a fingerprint and thumbsmudge magnet). So confident in the overall design, in fact, Motorola even claims that the glass panel on the front is virtually unbreakable (feel free to test the claim; I didn't).

Then, busting loose of "mere spin-off" status, the KRZR goes a little slimmer and longer -- a wee thicker and heavier because of it, but almost imperceptibly so... just enough (like, 0.3 ounces) to make the phone feel like a distinct model in its own right.

Too, the KRZR K1m is no airhead. Good thing considering what cell phones are expected to do nowadays. That said, the KRZR K1m isn't exactly "fully loaded" either, but there are enough bells and whistles to keep the average tech-savvy fashionista satisfied.

For the most part, Motorola and mobile music have been a pretty good match thus far and the symbiosis continues. You can download tracks directly while the included MicroSD memory card also gives you the freedom to add your own music files no matter where you originally got them.

Playing the music is easy and the K1m gives you the option of listening with the flip open or closed. When closed, the front panel will show you touch-sensitive controls for easy navigation, responsive without the frustrating oversensitivity suffered by the like of the LG Chocolate phone, among others.

But while the music function is nice, the playback quality doesn't follow suit. The audio lacks clarity -- inconsistently so -- and depth. The stock headphones connect through a special USB port, so using and alternate set of high-quality headphones might prove problematic without the correct fitting or adapter.

On the phone call side of things, a slight, background hissing sound sometimes creeps in during phone conversations, all the more noticeable, at times, if someone on the other end is using a handsfree to talk. Not a huge problem, but lack of polish nonetheless.

Other than that, the K1m really doesn't have any new features or enhancements that would characterize it as an innovative product, just one with sex appeal and a few bonus features, like an onboard 1.3-megapixel digital camera/camcorder that comes off as a shaky, low-grade afterthought, plus the music and other downloadable content.

For access to said content, however, requires a subscription plan ranging from $10-$20/month, which is a bargain considering you can expect to drop $2 per song without it.

Still, the KRZR K1m is really an evolution in design rather than an evolution of phone features; a dead-sexy me-too device which will no doubt serve loads of consumers well -- especially when Motorola launches other color models of the KRZR.

Details
Reviewed: Feb. 21, 2007
Type: PersonalTech
From: Motorola


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