Color screen and animation, with the Motorola C350.
Written: Apr 13 '04 (Updated May 20 '06)
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Pros: The latest technology. Almost a mini computer.
Cons: Dark screen to save the battery. Really hard to see without the back light.
The Bottom Line: This has the latest technology for free. I probably won't use most of it, but like the longer talk time and battery charge.
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| Susie-34668's Full Review: Motorola C350 |
Every year I write a review on my new phone. It is funny, this time because I loved my Motorola C330 so much I had planned on keeping it a little longer. Well my one year contract had run out, and I think T-Mobile and Motorola thought I might take my business elsewhere.
I received a letter from them offering me a new phone, the Motorola C350, for free. I would continue for a further year with my contract with T-Mobile. $19.95 a month for 60 weekday minutes and 500 weekend minutes. Nationwide and roaming included. They gave me a 1-800 number to call. Within a couple of minutes I was told that my phone would be with me within 5-7 days. There would be a pre-paid envelope to return my old phone. I could keep all the accessories. If I did not return this phone I would be charged $100.
My new phone arrived 5 days later. It came with a charger and ear piece. Also instructions to transfer my SIM card from the old phone to the new one. This card contains my number, phonebook addresses, recent calls, etc.
So what is different with this phone?
My last phone was contoured to my hand. This one is not. It is the same size as my last one. It is silver gray. I really don't think it is as pretty, but only a women would say that. To me it is functional. It does fit into my leather case, so I didn't have to buy another one.
With any new phone it has to be fully charged up. Older phones have taken hours to do this, but the Motorola C350 battery was fully charged in no time at all.
To switch on press the red telephone key on the left side. Hold it for a couple of seconds. Then the M comes on.
The screen has the signal strength in the left top corner. Right hand the battery level. If I had any messages they would show between these. There are 2 different ones, for text and voice. In the middle of the screen is the time of day, T-Mobile, and at the bottom, 2 quick (called soft keys) menu items. I chose recent and phonebook, but any of the menu's can be switched into these places. On my old Motorola I also had the date. I read the 84 pages of instructions and still couldn't get the date on my phone. I headed up to the Mall, where we have a T-Mobile store. The people working there hadn't seen this new phone. The guy who was helping me took about 10 minutes to finally get the date in for me. My time and T-Mobile were large. He zoomed out of them, and was able to put in a third row, hence the date. This is really important for me, because I don't carry a diary or calendar with me.
From this screen you can receive a call by pressing the green telephone button, on the right side of the phone. When finished press the red telephone on the left. You can press the number buttons to make a call and then the green phone key, or better still, put them in the phonebook.
The person you are calling is high lighted in the color of your choice, so you are less likely to make a mistake.
Between the 2 quick menu keys as I call them, in the main menu. Press the center to bring up the first one. Mine is messages, which is self explanatory, then scroll up or down to read the rest. They are:
Recent Calls: Goes into received, dialed, notepad, call times. I use this each month to delete the amount of minutes. Starting fresh on the cycle date of my month.
Ring Styles: Mine is vibrate and ring. I had a normal ringing tone, but the guy at the store put music in for me. Now after I finish a call, or go out of a function, I get dancing animation too. Cool.
Media Center: Is themes, my tones, picture viewer, motomixer. Allows you to play with downloads to create you own pictures, sounds etc.
Datebook. Give you a calendar where you can enter an event.
T-zones. I have not been into.
Web Access. Haven't used this function either.
Phonebook
The phone book was a lot of fun. With my old phones I had to key in the whole thing. Pressing a key several times if it was the last letter on that button. This phone likes to do the work for you. It guesses the name, and puts several on the bottom of the screen for you. I found this to be of help with easy names, but when it cames to doctors etc., then I had to key it in myself. You can enter 100 numbers and names.
Alarm Clock.
Calculator
Games: Astromash, MotoGP. Snood21. Haven't had time to try any of these out.
Voice Dial. You have to add these via the phonebook.
Fixed Dial
My Menu: MegaTones, Wallpapers, Screensavers,
Settings: A very important function. Call forward, phone status, In-call setup, security, other settings. Other setting also goes into personalize, initial setup, network, car settings, headset. In personalize you can change the 2 keys (pads) to your favorites. Change the color too. Initial setup, changes time and date, touch dial, back light length of time, zooming, scroll, animation, language, contrast.
AIM. You need to go on-line to use this. I just wanted a phone.
The one thing I really like about this phone is that I have a colored screen. Multi-colored. At the left side of each of these functions is a picture of the function.
The one thing I really hate, and I do mean hate about the C350 is that when the back light goes out, the screen can hardly be seen. In the house with the lights on I can just about make it out, but living in the Sunshine State, forget seeing anything when I am outside or in the car. The answer is "No I don't drive and look at the phone", I only pick it up when Len is driving. I asked the gentleman in the store why this was, and he told me it was to save the life of the battery. Progress? I don't think so.
Standby Time is up to 215 hours.
Battery Talk Time is up to 290 minutes.
During the week I do not have to charge the battery. I switch off at night. During the weekend I use my phone for say 100 minutes, so Sunday night it gets a charge.
Another good point with this phone is that I can lock it. It can be done 2 ways. Either by pressing the menu key and then straight after the * key, or you can put in your own code, so that no one else can use it.
For any youngsters out there. The phone lets you change covers and keypads. There is a section on this in the manual.
Dimensions of the phone: 98 x 43 x 17 m.m. Weight 84.5 g. Volume 72 cc.
If you purchase this phone and any pay plan, charges apply for text messaging, alerts, and each MegaTone, and Wallpaper purchase. (Taken from the box)
If you are interested in this phone, you can see if they now have it at your local phone store, or contact:
Personal Communications Sector
600 North U.S. Highway 45
Libertyville,
Illinois
60048.
1-800-331-6456
or www.motorola.com.
The clarity is wonderful, and I can use it anywhere, without losing the signal. This is a must.
I am not going to bore you with detailing all of the information, as the 114 page manual does a pretty good job. If there is anything you really want to know, or if you think I missed it out, please leave a comment, or e-mail me.
While waiting to get this review submitted, I was out eating with friends. My phone case was attached to my purse. I hit the side of my chair with it. The phone fell out, and landed on the floor. The back came off and the battery came out. This is a sleek, shiny, phone. Not always a good point though. Glad to say it still works.
Thanks for reading.
Susie.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): free
Recommended for: Professionals On-the-Go - Internet and Email is a Must!
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