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Features
As we said earlier, the RIZR doesn't offer any feature surprises, but it remains a satisfying choice for a midrange phone. First, however, we'll present the basics. Each contact in the KRZR's Phone Book holds six phone numbers, three emails, a Web site URL, three street addresses, a nickname, and a birthday (the SIM card holds an additional 250 names). You can organize contacts into groups, or pair them with a photo or one of 34 (24-chord) polyphonic ring tones for caller ID. Other essentials include a vibrate mode, a voice recorder, text and multimedia messaging, an alarm clock, a calendar, and a calculator. On the higher end, there is a speakerphone, voice dialing and commands, USB 1.1 connectivity, an integrated Google Mobile application, POP3 and IMAP4 email, full Bluetooth, and PC syncing. Bluetooth is onboard as well, but its options are limited. At 23MB, the onboard usable memory is a bit skimpy, but a microSD card slot gives you more room for cards up to a 1GB. On the downside, the card slot is located behind the battery cover, which is tricky to pry off.

	The Motorola RIZR has a flash but no self-portrait mirror.

Like the KRZR K1, the RIZR has a 2-megapixel camera. You can take JPEG pictures in four sizes (2 megapixel, 1.3 megapixel, 640 x 480 pixels, and 320 x 240 pixels), and another innovation offers you a selection of three quality settings. Other features include a multishot option, an adjustable exposure setting, a self-timer, six color effects, five lighting choices, an 8x zoom, and five shutter sounds (plus a silent option).The camcorder shoots MPEG-4 clips in two resolutions (176 x 144 pixels and 128 x 96 pixels) with sound; editing options are similar to the still camera. Videos meant for multimedia messages are capped at six seconds; otherwise you can shoot for as long as the available memory permits. Image quality was poor for a 2-megapixel camera. Images were bit blurry, and colors weren't always sharp. Also, shots were too dark.

	We didn't love the RIZR's photo quality. (click for larger image)

You can personalize the RIZR with a variety of wallpaper, screensavers, menu styles, and color skins. If you want more options or more ring tones, you always can download them via the WAP 2.0 wireless Web browser. Gamers get two Java (J2ME) titles: BlockBreaker Deluxe and Platinum Sudoku. The RIZR also offers a digital music player that plays AAC, AAC+, and MP3 files.

Performance
We tested the quad-band (GSM 850/900/1800/1900; EDGE) world phone and found that the call quality was on par with the KRZR K1. Voices sounded natural, and there was no background hiss or static. Even better, the volume level was much better than on the RAZR. Callers said we sounded fine, and they couldn't always tell we were using a cell phone. Speakerphone calls weren't as satisfactory; voice quality was somewhat muffled with a slight echoed effect. On the other hand, Bluetooth calls sounded better.

The Motorola RIZR has a rated battery life of 6.6 hours talktime and 14.6 days of standby time. In our tests, we got a very respectable 6.5 hours of talk time. According to FCC radiation tests, the RIZR has a digital SAR rating of 1.02 watts per kilogram.

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