The Silver-Bullet - Motorola Improves an Already Great Phone...
Written: Nov 08 '02
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Pros: Sharp, tiny, great ergonomics, packed with features, BETTER ANTENNA
Cons: Priced a bit high, but now well within reason, lacks advanced PDA features
The Bottom Line: Packed with features, sharp and attractive, a New & Improved antenna and software AND now for AT&T TDMA - the V60t is a winner
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| nick1326's Full Review: Motorola V60t |
Everyone who's ever read my Motorla wireless reviews has to realize that I'm a big fan of Motorola...While the wireless handset market has certainly gotten ultra competitive, (and hence, some incredibly capable little phones are being introduced to market) I belive that Motorola truly offers the most convenient balance of intuitive features, design, ergonomics and (quasi)-affordability...The V60T is yet another example of Motorola Excellence, built on the already proven platform of the V60C, now of course for AT&T TDMA network AND with a few more nice features and a welcomed software upgrade.
When I first decided to get rid of my Vader, I looked at many phones, and since I'm a verizon user primarily, I made a great decision on purchasing a V60C... The V60's chassis was based on a stronger aluminum casing, had a much better antenna design (even FURTHER improved on the V60T- more on that later) and was packed with great features, a perfectly ample phonebook, datebook and other goodies - Needless to say the V60T is another winner, and while there's not too much that seperates them, the differences are important to cite (obviously NETWORK - you can now use a "V60" phone on AT&T's TDMA network (hence the "T" in V60t!!!!). However the software upgrade and antenna are also important differences and I'll discuss this later.
The brushed aluminum case looks fantastic and feels like a tool - not like a toy. One compaint I've had for a long time is that when I went to Europe I always noticed great cell phones -- My fiance had a great Panasonic phone in Poland which was remarkable small for a non-filp PACKED with features and felt great. FYI, Europe has had 2-way SMS service for literally YEARS now, and somehow in our "high-tech" USA home, we still have BLACKBERRY PAGERS? what century are we in here!!?!?!? A while back we began to see 2 way SMS capable phones come into play - and thankfully Verizon has supported that service for quite some time now.
The antenna feels alot better on this phone - and the radiation factor is considerably lower than almost all other competitors' offerings. One slight downside to me was the size - Although still miniscule, I certainly welcomed any next reduction in size, provided the phone was big enough when open to actually TALK on. The Vader was just about perfect- it had ample size to reach from your ear to speaking range for the mic - UNLIKE many of Nokia's phones in the "little-guys" line-up. Despite being slightly larger than the original Vader, the V60 feels TONS better, and has been much more egonomically refined that the 8162. The difference between the V60C and V60T is the beefiness of the Antenna Sleeve - Although the antenna height off the chassis from base-to-tip are identical, the base-foundation of the antenna is actually taller on the T - meaning the antenna's cylinder has more surface area to be supported by, since the inner tube (effectively the base) sticks further into the antenna's body (inner tube slides into outer tube). While the V60C's antenna was MUCH MUCH better than the Vader's, the V60T took it to the next level and really helped prevent those antennas from breaking. My fiancee uses AT&T and thus a V60T- her phone takes lots of abuse from jean pockets to handbag shuffling, in-car dropping etc and the antenna is still 100%.
Tri-mode is another big plus for this phone - I thought dual mode was great, I mean I was able to talk while under the east river on the LIRR (long island rail road) while commuting home - how cool is that...However with TRI-MODE my underground conversations are PERFECT - uninterupted and almost as clear as a good land-line connnection. The audio components of this phone are a large improvement over any prior offerings, nice job Motorola.
The phone book is plenty big, at 400 entries with typical multi-number capability (nicer icons for fax, pager, mobile, home etc too - a nice touch really) The V60 has an added date book which I found great. Personnally I hate PDA's - I think it sucks to have to carry around so mch crap in this day and age - I see people carrying 1 cell phone, 2 pagers a PDA and laptop - I mean what's next, a Star-Trek inspired Enviro-suit to fit all your tech gadgets and a portable microwave?!?!?! The phone even has an FM radio feature in it! Although my use for this is limited, I'll admit, it's nice to have this especially when commuting on the train and trying to find out what subways are runnig better etc. again, great ideas brought forward into the actual product arena - Kudos Motorola for having the forward-thinking engineers to bring this stuff to life.
Battery life is plenty at 2.5 hours talk-time. the browser is just fine for me - I mean how detailed can you want a browser in a cell phone - serves my purposes, and WAP software providers on the web are becoming more plentiful - check out the Motorola site for the best WAP services on the web to date - again, great service provided by Motorola here. You can purchase extended-life battery packs for under 40 dollars now on Ebay (obviously more for Motorla brand). The generics are fine - nowadays handsets are a 2 or so year life cycle, so using a non-motorla batt. only saves you money and offers more talk time - WHY NOT? With a super-life battery you get 6.5 hours and 6 days of standby....DAMN- the only issue is the battery cover is replaced by an aftermarket cover about 1/8" an inch deeper.
Finally the software update - My own current trooper (my V60C) has taken lots of abuse, continues to work like a champ BUT- sometimes has a slow initialization and occasionally has a network-grab brain fart and I don't get an actual connection. The V60T's software initializes much more quickly, picks up network with more consistency and still has the features of the "C" model... For me, I much prefer Verizon's network, so I'll stay with the C model - however AT&T fans MUST be thrilled to be able to use this great phone, because it aside from a few advanced PDA features that I don't care about on a phone anyway (that is what ACTUAL PDA's ARE FOR!!!) this phone satisfies all my wireless/communication needs.
I'dl ike to remind everyone that my cell phone IS my phone - I still refuse to have a land line - just like I stated in my past cell phone reviews. This phone is clearly the winner over everything else out there - looks, feel, quality, the whole package. I think the smartest move America can make is moving towards mobile phones which INCORPORATE PDA features, such as the date-book. Motorola has moved forward here and I am firmly convinced they're on the right track. I've been writing epinions opinions for some time now and like to look back on my past entries...Ironically perhaps not too far down the road I'll look back on thie V60 review and laugh because of how antiquted the phone is as compared with future stuff....However until then this phone is clearly the leader in features, size, clarity and comfort - you really can't ask for more in a cell phone as I see it. Let's also recall that when the Nokia 8190 came out it sold for over 800 bucks...it still costs over 400 and radiates the hell out of your brain, check latest rad. specs and see for yourself. Street price on this phone is at 350 and falling - worth every last red cent. Do yourself a favor and upgrade today - you will not regret it.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 199.99
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Epinions.com ID:
nick1326
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Location: Long Island, NY
Reviews written: 232
Trusted by: 93 members
About Me:
Music, Motorcycles, Drumming, Surfing, the finest cigars and living life to its fullest...
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