Oct 26, 2004 09:47 AM
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If I had to make a wish list of must-have features for my next phone, it would include a camera of at least 1-megapixel, Bluetooth, and a web browser. Motorola's V710 delivers on all these feature requests, and adds other desirables as well—MP3 support comes to mind—that I wouldn't necessarily consider must-have, but that do add value. How does this new CDMA Bluetoother stack up?
Find out after the jump.
I have to admit, when the phone arrived I was excited. Pulling it from its box, I appreciated the fairly slick design, all black and chrome and businesslike. The phone is by no means a lightweight, coming in at around a quarter-pound (about 130 grams). It gives the phone a solid feel, but it can also make you think you have a lead weight in your pocket. The backlit keys are nicely sized and spaced, and I found Motorola's UI to be adequately intuitive. And of course, going through the featureset was like Christmas. Bluetooth! 1.2-megapixel camera! It's everything I want!
About as tall as a Mountain Dew can, but only a tenth as refreshing and delicious.
Well, no, actually. Starting with the camera, well, it kind of sucks. It's easy to forget that, like the megahertz myth of days gone by, the megapixel myth is still alive and kicking. No amount of megapixels could save this camera. Photos in bright light tend to be washed out; as the light level decreases, photos become grainy very quickly. The camera's brightness controls only make it worse, and digital zoom is right out. There is a bright white LED on the front of the phone which can be turned on and off via the camera menu, which I found works great for a flashlight, but fails miserably as a camera flash. There's really nothing to like about the camera. I've seen better looking (if smaller) pictures from sub-megapixel camera phones. Must-have feature #1: blown. And so, my heart begins to crumble.
Then I discovered that the Bluetooth earpiece is awesome. It would be no problem at all to make and take calls all day, driving down the street with the phone in your briefcase in the back seat. The connection is strong, the speaker is adequately loud, and the microphone has no problem picking up the wearer's voice. I found the TTS+voice recognition features to be almost flawless. The one problem I had was that it read an unusual foreign name incorrectly, forcing me to pronounce it incorrectly when I used the voice dial. Not a big deal, though, and ultimately forgivable. My heart leaps...only to fall back, crushed, when I discover that the earpiece pretty much sums up Verizon's Bluetooth support. You can use a headest, or you can connect via a PC to use the V710 as a modem. That's it. You can't sync your PC or transfer files via Bluetooth (if you want to move pics, video, or audio back and forth you have to use TransFlash or Verizon's pay service), nor can you "go toothing" and send Bluetooth messages to other Bluetooth users (*cough* pay service)...in short, the Bluetooth is intentionally limited by Verizon in the most unfortunate way. Must-have feature #2: half-baked.
Open, you can see the screen and button layout, both of which are pretty reasonable. Hamhands not included.
The last must-have requirement on my list (excluding, you know, the ability to place and receive telephone calls) is wireless web. This is by no means a new or unique feature, and one would think that it would be hard to mess up, but for some reason, no matter when I used it or where I was, it was painfully slow. As in, if I was on a 20-minute bus ride and wanted to read up on the latest news, it was faster to wait until I got home to use my PC. Launching the browser was fast enough (that'd be Motorola's department) but actually getting to VZW's home page took an ungodly amount of time, every single time, and getting to any other page was practically out of the question. Must-have feature #3: blown.
So much for my must-have features. I must say, as a consumer I'd feel cheated at this point. But the fact is, when viewed strictly as a telephone, the V710 is fantastic. I never had a problem with dropping calls, even in places where other CDMA phones I've used had no chance. The reception remained clear under even the most adverse conditions I could create, and the quality of the audio was good both coming and going (excepting the MP3 playback, which was not that hot—but hey, this is a phone, not a freaking $5,000 sound system).
In conclusion, the V710 rocks at making phone calls. Unfortunately, there are a lot of phones that rock at making phone calls that don't cost $300. Don't buy this phone for the features, unless you just can't live without a CDMA/Bluetooth phone and you only want Bluetooth so you can use the phone as a modem or utilize the earpiece. The V710 is so very close to being rad that I hate to have to pan it, but it just ain't there yet.
Related
Verizon Announced Motorola v710 [Gizmodo]
More Verizon/Motorola V710 Details [Gizmodo]
Motorola V710 On Sale at Radio Shack [Gizmodo]
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