Motorola Mobility hasn’t been one of the most prolific smartphone manufacturers over the past 12 months, having had its hands full with other things after the Google buyout, but now it’s back with the Razr D1 (pictured in silver above) and Razr D3. The pair are currently only headed for Brazil, but the press blurb hints this is their first port of call on a wider journey, so we can presumably expect them in other countries later on.
The question is, will we care when (and if) they do arrive? Well, it depends on not only your expectations, but also your budget for a new smartphone. If you’ve been holding on for the Galaxy S4 or the HTC One, then the Razr D1 and D3 are unlikely to sway you. However, if you’re considering something a little more affordable, they could be worth investigating.
First up is the Razr D3, which happens to be the more technologically advanced of the two. It has a 4-inch display covered in Gorilla Glass, a 1.2GHz dual-core processor and 1GB of RAM. It also has a backside-illuminated, 8-megapixel camera with HDR capability and comes with NFC too. It should provide a healthy standby time thanks to a generous 2000mAh battery, plus there’s 4GB of storage space and a microSD card slot to up this figure if you feel the need.
More modest Razr D1
As for the Razr D1, it’s considerably more modest. The screen size is 3.5-inches – small for a modern Android smartphone – while the processor has a single core and runs at 1GHz. It does have 1GB of RAM, plus the same 4GB of memory and microSD card expansion option as the D3 though. The camera can still take HDR images but has 5-megapixels, while the battery has dropped to 1785mAh; but given it’s lower specification, the standby and talk time should still be good.
Both phones will ship with Android 4.1 Jelly Bean installed, but Motorola has said it’ll guarantee an update to the next version of the OS when the time comes. And so it should, seeing who it’s owned by. The Razr D1 will go on sale today for the local equivalent of $280, while the Razr D3 will follow soon for around $400.
The Razr D1 and D3 are probably two examples of the devices Motorola already had planned for release before or shortly after Google’s acquisition, a schedule which was left in place by the new owners. We’re yet to see the first Google-influenced Motorola Android phone, but we may not have much longer to wait, as the so-called X Phone is rumored to make its debut at Google I/O in May.
