Messaging on the Sprint V9m is very good, with support for IM and email along with SMS and MMS messaging. The T9 predictive text input system worked pretty well for tapping out missives on the 12-key keypad, though heavy texters may well prefer a device with raised buttons.
Email required a free client download, but once I’d installed the application it was pretty easy to set up an account and also configure the software to work with GMail, Yahoo! and other third-party services. It’s worth mentioning here that you can’t read or write messages while listening to music on the V9m - unlike Sprint’s LG Muziq, the RAZR 2 doesn’t support any form of multitasking.
While the V9m’s Obigo Web browser only renders pages in single-column, and not full-page, mode, it still does a pretty good job of letting you browse full HTML sites on the go. Sprint’s 3G EV-DO network is pretty fast, and while the V9m’s browser isn’t in the class of the Nokias and Apples of the mobile world, it’s great for mobile-formatted WAP sites and pretty good with the rest of the Web.
Simple WAP sites load within a matter of seconds and are responsive to scrolling and clicking. More complex pages like CNN or the NYTimes site take awhile longer, but their images and text get parsed into a single column view and are generally quite readable and useful on the handset’s internal display. Scrolling through pages like these requires a little patience, but you are afforded access to areas of the Wild, Wild Web that WAP-only browsers simply cannot handle.
For better Web browsing, the Java-based Opera Mini browser may be installed and run on the V9m.
The Sprint Motorola v9m is a dual-band CDMA locked to the Sprint network for use in the United States. Data services are handled by Sprint’s EV-DO network, and the handset is compatible with the 1xEV-DO rev. 0 protocol.
Bluetooth implementation on the V9m includes support for file transfer, data synching and mono and stereo (A2DP) audio. I had no trouble pairing the phone with headsets or a Windows-based computer, though I had to seek out some shareware plug-ins to get the V9m to work with my Mac via iSync. Files may also be transferred between the phone and a computer via the included microSD memory card.
The V9m may also be connected to a computer via the included USB cable that connects to the phone’s micro USB port. Data transfer, synching, and charging are all supported over USB.
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4.5
