Motorola MOTORAZR2 V8

The MOTORAZR2 V8 Luxury Edition without the...erm...Luxury, is a solid, but not outstanding handset. It will no doubt attract fans of the original RAZR, but with no real deal-clenching features to boast of, it won't be at the top of anyone's wish list.

Despite not being marketed by David Beckham, the V8 is still quite an attractive handset. Its dark blue finish does attract plenty of fingerprints, but makes for a handset that should definitely turn some heads. Build quality is notable – the flip hinge feels sturdy and the handset feels solidly constructed. The downside is that it's somewhat larger and a little heavier than we expected. The keypad is once again completely flat, but the large size of the keys and a comfortable five-way navigational pad ensure that the user experience isn't affected.

A real highlight is the touch sensitive music controls, which only become visible at the bottom of the external display when the music player is opened. They are responsive and are naturally helped by the large 2in display – once again the best external display we've reviewed on any flip phone. The internal display is no slouch either, displaying crisp, clear colours and text.

Unfortunately, Motorola's bland user interface, while speedy and easy to use, doesn't do the excellent dual displays justice. The V8's main menu design pales into insignificance when compared to some crisp offerings from rival competitors. Despite this, the general user experience is solid, and the keystroke lag when messaging and browsing menu items of some previous Motorola units has been completely eradicated.

The V8 lacks 3G or HSDPA-connectivity and doesn't come with a memory card slot, though there is 2GB of internal memory. Unfortunately, the music player is as basic as they come, with no equaliser and a standard 3.5mm headphone jack. The included headphones use a micro-USB connection and are average in terms of sound quality.

For connectivity, the V8 features Bluetooth 2.0 (with the A2DP profile for wireless audio streaming) and USB 2.0 – conveniently you can use the phone as a USB mass storage device with the supplied micro USB cable.

Motorola also claims the MOTORAZR2 V8 uses CrystalTalk technology, a feature that automatically accounts for background noise and adjusts the audio to match the ambient volume. We did notice its effects, though sometimes our callers complained of volume fluctuating regularly. Volume was loud and clear though, even in noisy background environments.

The V8 has a 2-megapixel camera with 8x digital zoom, but no flash means night-time photography is out of the question. Overall, the quality of pictures is about what we'd expect from such a low-specified camera.