I REALLY like my StarTAC digital phone. Got it from Bell Atlantic. Before that I had an Ericsson that looked like a big box and people used to tease me when I wore it on my belt. Also, the system I was using previously kept "cutting out" in "dead zones" which was maddening.

The StarTAC is so small no one even notices it. The Bell Atlantic "one price for all long distance" ($79.95 for 600 minutes each month) is terrific. Now I talk with my family in Wisconsin several times a month, as long as I want. I make business calls on the way to work, during the morning commute. I check stock prices during the day by calling a service that "reads a menu" of stock prices to me. And this phone is so lightweight, I use it while walking and no one knows I'm "moving while grooving" on the phone.

Also, Bell Atlantic solved the "dead zone" problem and now the only time it cuts out is when I move between "nodes" which seems to happen with most cellphones.

We became aware of this product when my wife bought one -- I thought it would be too small for me (it's REALLY compact). Then she talked me into getting one and I found that it's really easy to use. The menu is a "drill down" menu and the editing takes some getting used to but they have some special menu access buttons that make it easy once you learn it. I keep forgetting how to change the menu items but the system is ergonomic enough that punching a few buttons usually gets me to where I want to be, so I can honestly say that the controls are "intuitive."

My wife likes the small microphone that makes it easy to use, "hands free" while driving (a legal issue in many states).

I also like the padded leather case, which is durable and protects the phone against damage if you drop it (which I have). Older models had leather covering the earpiece which was not good, but the newer cases have a thin nylon covering that is much better, which indicates to me that Motorola keeps improving their technology.

I would like a longer battery life and some competitive models have been offering longer life before recharging, but the compact size of this phone makes it worth the small inconvenience of recharging and when in the car I use the cigarette lighter accessory so I seldom have to charge it at home overnight because it charges when it's plugged in, in the car.

Last but not least, we were at Bell Atlantic for something else recently and they invited us to "update the software" in our phones, something that was really surprising and wonderful, I thought. So our phones can even be updated, and the technician did it in a few minutes from a computer. That was REALLY impressive (since I am a computer maven and technology is part of my job).

So, I must say that my life has truly been changed by this little device and I am much more productive at home and at work because of it, and I can do lot of things I couldn't do before - like talking to my mother who lives halfway across the country in another state and I used to talk to her once a month. Now my wife and I talk to her every few days and she loves that, of course.

I can really recommend this product. It's really great, and I can't wait to see what comes next on the technology trajectory from Motorola.



Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 200