MOTOKRZR

As I wrote on Monday, due to the vast conspiracy of cell phone manufacturers to construct their products with some type of space-age material that is actually repelled by human skin, my cell phone of four years is no longer with us. R.I.P. LG VX6000, I didn’t even get the chance to give you a proper name, though if I did I suppose Leggy (LG) or Vixy (VX) would’ve worked.

You have to understand, though, it wasn’t my fault. I was leaving work, rocking to some song on my iPod (I would like to tell you it was some cool Alternative band nobody has ever heard of, but it was probably Bon Jovi), and carrying the bag I bring my lunch to work in. All of a sudden my phone rings and in the confusion of trying to get the device out of my shirt pocket, I dropped it on the ground as I had so many other times. Let’s just move on before I get too emotional.

I would like to say that with my newfound phone freedom I purchased a shiny new iPhone. I could say that, but I’m not a liar. I just can’t justify the $599 price tag for something I will use occasionally to call people and other times to check sports scores. That money can buy a lot of toddler clothes, or a lot of beer, depending on what type of mood I’m in.

Instead, I jumped on Verizon’s web site knowing it had been a while since I had last upgraded my phone. Sure enough, I was eligible for a “free” phone if I extended my plan for two years. Extending my plan was no big deal for me since Verizon has yet to tick me off (remind me to tell you my thoughts on Comcast) After perusing the lengthy list of what was available for free, and being tempted by the ones that were only discounted, I chose the MOTOKRZR, though I haven’t tried all of the features yet. From an aesthetics point of view the phone is very nice in either the open or closed position. The MOTOKRZR is longer than the RAZR and narrower and the version I got is a shiny red. I’ve gotten a few “woos” and “ahs”. That’s always nice.

The call quality on the MOTOKRZR has been very good, which is important to me since that is what I use my phone for most. I have yet to try any of the music playback functions, though it does include that. I just don’t see the point in playing music on my phone when I have my iPod in my other hand.

I have used the 1.6 megapixel camera included with the phone and it seems to perform fine. It doesn’t have a flash but when well lit does ok. Again, I have already have a camera, so this feature doesn’t mean a lot to me.

Bottom line is that if you want a phone that looks nice and works well doing phone type things, you might want to give the MOTOKRZR a try, especially if you can get one for free.

Somewhat related, I saw an interesting article last week comparing sales of the iPod and the RAZR in which they predict the iPod won’t quite match the sales of the RAZR.

Now, all I need is a nickname for my phone. Suggestions?