Motorola Razr V3i D&G Special Edition Gold

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If you think the trendy Motorola Razr doesn't try hard enough to be stylish, Motorola is on a serious quest to prove you're wrong. The company that started the thin phone revolution and gave the world the first gadget in bright pink has partnered with Dolce & Gabbana to produce a special blinged-out version of the Motorola Razr V3i.

A perfect cell phone for anyone with the Midas touch, the Razr V3i D&G is clad in a bright gold skin and features D&G-themed wallpapers and ring tones. The feature set and basic form factor unchanged form the original gray V3i; this is a phone for fashionistas rather than gadget-fiends. As with the all D&G couture, you'll pay a lot for the privilege--S$488 (US$347.26) (with a two-year mobile contract) to be exact.

	The Razr V3i D&G makes a big statement.

The V3i D&G strikes a pose from the moment you get out the box. The shiny gold skin is truly unique and is sure to catch glances on the street. The color scheme extends to the inside of the phone as the navigation array, the keypad buttons and the border surrounding the internal display are covered in the same bright hue. You also get a gold D&G dangle that attaches to your handset, and the box is covered in gold as well. It may be a bit much for those with a more understated style, but slaves to fashion should be impressed.

Otherwise, the V3i D&G is no different from previous members of the Razr family. It sports the same dimensions as its V3i siblings (98 x 53 x 13.9 mm) and the same weight (100g). The external and internal displays, the navigation controls and the keypad are similar as well.

The V3i's feature set is mostly unchanged, except for one big difference. Unlike the standard V3i, this V3i does not come with integrated support for iTunes. While we're not fans of the iTunes/Motorola marriage, support for Apple's popular service was one of the unique offerings on the original V3i, and it was a feature many people looked for. Unfortunately, owners of the Razr V3i D&G will have to live with Motorola's generic music player instead. Otherwise the feature set is good, but not fantastic. Among the highlights are Bluetooth, a 1.3-megapixel camera, a digital music player, Bluetooth, a microSD card slot, a speakerphone, basic organizer functions, text and multimedia messaging, and support for IMAP4 and POP3 e-mail.

For even more bling, the phone comes with themed D&G wallpapers, screen savers and ring tones. And for a really-over-the-top effect, the handset says "Dolce & Gabbana" when you turn it on and off. Overall the V3i D&G is a goldmine (pardon the pun) for high-end label lovers. Unfortunately, there are no D&G games. You get just three Java (J2ME) titles: Asphalt Urban GT, Bejeweled, and Solitaire.

We tested the quad-band (GSM 850/900/1800/1900; GPRS) world phone and call quality was about the same as on the original V3i. Overall, audio quality was fine, but volume was low and voices sounded fuzzy from to time. Again, we were disappointed in the lack of no support for EDGE networks. Music quality wasn't stellar either, but it's passable for short stints. See our review of the original Razr V3i for a full performance assessment.