Mobiles Review

Motorola’s next Linux-based smartphone will have a slim, lightweight flip-phone design similar to its Razr phones. The A1200 was debuted by fashion designer Vivienne Tam at a Dec. 26 Shanghai press event. It has been registered with the FCC, suggesting it may soon reach the US.

The A1200 has a compact, keypad-less design with a clear plastic flip lid that enables it to have only one LCD, a 2.4-inch QVGA (320 x 240) TFT touchscreen display with 262K colors. Hardware controls include a 5-way joystick, volume controls, camera button, voice recognition dialing button, and a “smart menu” key for controlling basic closed-lid functions. The device weighs 95 grams, or about 3 ounces.

Like the Linux-based Rokr E2 announced last week at CES in Las Vegas, the A1200 will have a stereo headphone jack aimed at music listening headsets rather than mobile phone headsets. It also has a built-in speaker.

Like Motorola’s earlier A780, the A1200 is based on an Intel XScale PXA270 processor. It will reportedly come with 8MB of user storage, expandable to 512MB through microSD or “T-cards.”

The version of the A1200 registered with the FCC will be a GSM/EDGE phone operating on the 850/1800/1900MHz bands. The US version will also have a bluetooth radio, and a built-in 1.3-megapixel camera that doubles as a business-card scanner. One clever feature is a mirror just below the camera lens, to assist with self-portraits.

Software features include an Opera web browser, Picsel’s software for viewing Microsoft Office and other proprietary document formats, Real One multimedia player, IM client, SMS/MMS client, call log, calendar, notepad, alarm, POP/IMAP/SMTP email client, task manager, world time clock, calculator, file manager, still and video camera capture software, and a multimedia recorder and editor. Additionally, the A1200 will support Java-based games and other user-installable applications, as well as SIM-card applications.

Additional software features include handwriting recognition, soft keyboards for English, Pinyin, and Zhuyin, and Motorola’s bluetooth synchronization client, dubbed “MotoSync”. MotoSync supports the SyncML standard, as well as Microsoft’s Exchange Server 2003, according to a draft of the A1200’s user manual. A USB cable can also be used to sync the phone.

This Motorola V276 review is based on a technical analysis of the cell phone’s technical specifications, it doesn’t constitute an actual hands-on review. It outlines the strong and weak points of the Motorola V276. The strongest points are listed with a sign while the weakest points have a sign before them. This Motorola V276 analysis is generated automatically based on our specifications for that phone and since manufacturers do not always detail technical specifications clearly, some information may be missing.

Weight and Size: The Motorola V276 weighs only 3.9 oz. This is rather lighter than many ther phones and should make it comfortable to carry around.
Camera: It includes a camera (VGA), which is not necessary but may be handy and make your experience better.
Phone Book: It can store 500 phone book entries.
Built-in Speakerphone: It includes a built-in speakerphone, which will prove useful in a car or in other situations where you need to use your hands while talking.
Battery Performance: It has only a maximum rated standby time of 150 hours and a talk time of 175 minutes, and it may be too low for your needs, especially if you travel a lot and plan to use your cell phone often.
Color Display: The color display’s color mode is 65,536 and its resolution is 128 x 128. A color display helps for browsing the wireless web or viewing pictures and, of course, the larger it is, the better the experience and, the more colors, the better your pictures will look.
Analog Roaming: It supports analog roaming. Analog is the older North-American cellular technology, however North-American networks are increasingly converting to large digital-only networks, which makes analog a not-so-useful feature (check coverage maps for your area to discriminate on that aspect).
Bluetooth: It is Bluetooth-enabled, which is an interesting plus. Bluetooth is not really necessary but may be handy if you want to use a wireless headset or exchange data with your (Bluetooth-enabled) laptop, for instance.
Infrared: It doesn’t have an infrared port. Infrared is convenient, especially if you own a laptop (most laptops are infrared equipped), you can then use your computer to transfer contacts, ringtones or pictures (if the phone supports these functions) to the Motorola V276.
Text Messaging: It features a special way of typing text, either a full keyboard or some predictive text entry method such as T9 or iTAP. This will be useful if you need to send short messages: it’s much faster.
Voice Note: It includes voice notes . A voice note system is pretty useful to make quick notes and reminders while on the road.
Free Custom Ringtones: I don’t have enough information on this phone to know if it can accept free ringtones, which means that you may not be able to add free ringtones, you may be stuck with using your carrier’s paid ringtone service. If that matters to you, many other phones allow you to do it yourself and for free, which makes a difference if you’re serious about personalization. To help assess this phone’s behavior with ringtones, check out the ringtone compatibility list.

Intro
Are you perpetually lost but don’t want to be weighed down by an additional GPS device? Then Verizon Wireless may just have an answer for you with its new Motorola V325. The handset takes full advantage of Verizon’s newest network offering, called VZ Navigator. It offers a respectable alternative to Nextel’s TeleNav GPS service, complete with voice-activated turn-by-turn directions, maps, and an extensive points-of-interest database. The V325’s design could use some improvements, and we lament the lack of Bluetooth, but the phone’s feature set and quality performance still should appeal mostly to the practical business user who prefers functionality in a relatively compact handset. The V325 is fairly priced at $129, but you should be able to find it at a discount.

Design
Although the Motorola V325 is hardly a cell phone for a supermodel, the unassuming design is somewhat attractive. The brushed-metal finish with a black grip border gives the exterior of this clamshell a sharp but not overly modern appearance, and we like the thin, ring-shaped LED light that sits inside the black border. The light flashes in four patterns when the phone rings, or you can turn it off completely. With dimensions of 3.6 by 1.9 by 0.9 inches and a weight of 4.1 ounces, the phone is long and feels somewhat heavy, but it still ranks far below the usual GPS-equipped Nextel behemoth. The 1-inch antenna may make for a tight fit in smaller pockets, but it is large enough to fish out of a bag or a purse without much effort. The stubby antenna also extends, but it is flimsy and easily bendable. On the other hand, the clamshell’s construction is similar to that of other Motorola models, such as the V557, and should prove durable over time.

We are disappointed with the Motorola V325’s external display, which is grayscale and very tiny; plus, it has no programmable settings. The external display packs in as much information as possible in the rectangular area, including the time, battery life, signal strength, various message icons, and caller ID (where available). The placement of the camera lens at the top left of the phone is a bit high, which made it hard to avoid taking pictures of our index fingers. There is no camera flash or self-portrait mirror.

As with other Motorola handsets, the side buttons on the Motorola V325 remain a nuisance, with the volume rocker doubling as the ringer-style select. It is very easy to accidentally turn off the ringer or change the ringer style inadvertently. Besides the two buttons controlling the ringer select, the left side of the spine has a covered headset jack. The button on the right side of the spine activates the voice-record memo when the phone is open. The back of the V325 has a large speakerphone, which is activated by the left side button when the flip is open. Unfortunately, Motorola does not include an external dedicated camera button.

The Motorola V325’s internal display measures 2 inches diagonally (176?—229 pixels) but supports only 65,000 colors. The screen is bright and easy to read, but the difference between the 65,000 colors or the 262,000 colors on higher-end phones is definitely noticeable. The backlight timer on the internal display can be set to 5, 10, or 20 seconds. The brightness can be adjusted, but the font size cannot be changed.

The Motorola V325’s five-way navigational buttons have an attractive blue-backlit line in place of arrows or icons, which not only makes it easy to use the control in dark conditions but also gives it a modern look. The four outer navigational buttons are set as shortcuts to the camera’s pictures menu, Verizon’s Get It Now service, the Web browser, and the calendar, while the center OK button opens the menu when in standby mode. These shortcut keys are not programmable. There are two soft keys, which when on the background screen are set to Messages and Contacts. Below the soft keys sit a dedicated camera button on one side and the Clear button on the other side, as well as the Talk and End/power buttons.

All navigational and keypad buttons have a blue backlight, which is attractive against the glossy finish of the black keypad. While the buttons on the keypad are large and have a nice rectangular shape with a slight U-shape curve, they are also flat against the surface of the phone, making it impossible to tell them apart when dialing by feel.

The Motorola V325’s menu navigation is not intuitive or well designed. We were forced to use different buttons to control the same navigation command in several situations. For example, sometimes we had to push the Clear button to go backward, and other times, this navigation command was controlled by one of the soft keys, so going back two steps usually involved pushing two different buttons.

Features
The Motorola V325 has a phone-book capacity of 500 contacts, with an impressive flash memory of 64MB for all applications. Each contact stores four phone numbers, two e-mail addresses, a fax number, and a ring tone. The handset has three predefined caller groups, but we also successfully set and named our own groups. You can pair contacts with a photo for picture caller ID, but the image shows up only on the internal display. The V325 includes an impressive 50 ring tones. We were able to record our own tones, and the handset supports MP3 tones as well. Unfortunately, the vibrate mode cannot be combined with a ring tone??“it is one or the other. Organizer features include a calendar; an alarm clock with three settings; a world clock; a notepad; and a calculator. Other offerings include voice dialing and commands; text and multimedia messaging; voice memos; PC syncing, a speakerphone that can be activated before you make a call; and a WAP 2.0 wireless Web browser. On the downside, there’s no wireless connectivity. Bluetooth or even an infrared port would have been a nice addition to the handset.

The highlight of the Motorola V325 is the GPS system, which allows users to take advantage of Location Based Services, such as obtaining maps, as well as written or spoken turn-by-turn directions for walking or driving to their destination. This is the first Motorola handset to take advantage of Verizon’s new VZ Navigator application. At $9.99 per month or $2.99 per day (plus airtime), the service lets you choose directions by the fastest, shortest, or simplest route, and it will adjust automatically if you go off route. Maps can be zoomed or panned, and you can place and receive calls when using the application. You can also do a local search of 14 million points of interest, as well as save preferred locations to the phone’s memory. Check back soon for a full review of the service.

The Motorola V325’s VGA camera has a 4X zoom and three resolutions (640?—480, 240?—320, and 120?—160). The camera also features a 5- or 10-second self-timer; adjustable brightness; white-balance effects; three file-quality settings; three shutter sounds (there’s also a silent option); four color effects; and 10 fun frames. We were a bit disappointed with the picture quality, as it was nearly impossible to take a picture that was not blurry. Plus, it was quite hard to keep our fingers out of the way, due to poor lens placement. Once you take a photo, you can crop the image size and rotate or flip the orientation. We were able to remove the red-eye, as well as add color effects and elements such as fun frames, text, and clip art. The neatest feature on the camera, however, is the ability to warp the picture into new shapes. You also have the option to send or save the picture.

Performance
We tested the dual-band, dual-mode (CDMA 800/1900; AMPS 800) Motorola V325 in San Francisco on the Verizon network. Call quality was quite good, with clear conversations and loud volume. Callers could tell we were using a cell phone; however, they didn’t report any significant drawbacks. The phone does pick up some wind noise, though we could hear well when using it on a crowded street. Speakerphone quality was diminished somewhat, but it was fine overall.

The Motorola V325 has a rated talk time of 3.3 hours and a promised standby time of 8.3 days. In our tests, we got 4 hours of talk time, and though we fell short of the promised standby time by 3 days, we were satisfied with its performance. According to FCC radiation tests, the V325 has a digital SAR rating of 1.14 watts per kilogram.