Not a bad deal, but...
Written: Apr 28 '01
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Pros: Small, foldable, pleasant aesthetics, easily used
Cons: Aerial can break off, messaging and phonebook poorly implemented, range problems
The Bottom Line: I would recommend that those who don't enjoy auxiliary features like icons and ring tones should purchase this phone. Otherwise, look elsewhere, a lot of quality competition exists out there.
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| jdhpolson's Full Review: Motorola StarTAC ST7760 CDMA / AMPS Cellular Phone |
The Motorola StarTac model that I picked up is a nifty little machine, but a number of problems, specifically with messaging and fragility have raised some major concerns with me. The first thing one notices about this phone is its size - it's real small, and the 'flip-top' opening mechanism is rather nifty. The phone can also be set to answer a call when it is opened, which is a nice touch. The aerial can also be pulled up for better reception, but the apparent benefits of this are more aesthetic than actual. The battery life of this machine isn't bad either, running for about a week with no recharge (but if you talk, perhaps 2 - 3 days).
On first impressions, the Motorola StarTac is a nice, quite cheap ($130 US), trendy little phone. After a number of days, however, a few problems emerged:
1) Messaging is very poorly implemented, in order to send a message, one has to go through a myriad of menus, type in the message on the rather small buttons, and go through 3 more menus in order to actually send the message. This becomes annoying. Very annoying. Especially when companies such as Nokia have such nice features as Predictive Text Input, as well as easier messaging features (no need for menus in order to implement basic features for sure).
2) The phonebook is decidedly flaky, pressing a button on the side of the phone invokes it, but navigating is annoying, and editing details is a nightmare. Also, missed calls are simply displayed as "Missed Call(s)", rather than actually saying who called. Very annoying again.
3) This may just be me, but there are no icons. None. Zip. Instead of a friendly little face, all I see is "VMS GMS" (I live in Hanoi, Vietnam, so this may influence the display of my screen). This isn't a friendly phone, and this is why it is obviously targeted towards the business market. I was also given this impression by the lack of choice amongst ring tones, this is not a phone to give to image-conscious teenagers for sure.
So in conclusion, this is a phone that will suit no-frills business people to a T. The phone has a nice shape, small footprint, and doesn't take up a lot of time. The limited memory slots (100 on phone, 250 on SIM card) may get to those with a lot of friends/contacts/relatives etc, but this will require a slight compression of your phone book. In any case, I wouldn't recommend that non-business types buy this phone. It just isn't fun enough to use, when compared to similarly priced models from Nokia. Seriously.
Recommended:
No
Amount Paid (US$): 130
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Epinions.com ID:
jdhpolson
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Member: James Polson
Location: Sydney, Australia
Reviews written: 12
Trusted by: 7 members
About Me:
19 year old in Sydney, Australia.
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