A sleek, sharp new Droid

Droid Razr M Android smartphone by Motorola Mobility LLC
$99.99 after $50 mail-in rebate and a two-year service contract with Verizon Wireless.

The original Droid Razr was as sharp as its name, an astonishingly thin Android phone marred by feeble battery life. Later versions featured beefier batteries and cases, making this line of phones look more like cleavers than razors. But the latest in the series is still a sleek and classy piece of gear.

The Razr M is slightly larger than an iPhone, with an elegant white aluminum case clamped together with visible screws. As with other Razrs, the back is made of Kevlar, not to stop bullets, but to give the phone a brick-solid feel in the hand. Motorola says it’s coated the phone with water resistant nanocoating inside and out, even the circuit boards. So it should survive a brief dunking, though I couldn’t bear to take the risk.

With a dual-core processor, a slot for adding up to 32 gigabytes of flash memory, and support for Verizon 4G LTE wireless broadband, the Razr M is definitely a high performer. And its organic liquid crystal display screen is lovely to look at.

For $199.98, the Droid Razr M would be a good deal. At $99.99, it’s outstanding.