Teeny Phone Welcomes Abuse - Film At Eleven!
Written: Jul 14 '00 (Updated Jul 14 '00)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Sturdy, small, easy to use.
Cons: Small size makes it a little cumbersome at times, antenna wears poorly, clip (and phone) always falling off.
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| e-diva's Full Review: Motorola StarTAC 6500 Cell Phone |
General Impressions and Battery Life
My Motorola StarTAC has been indispensable and nearly indestructible. It's the first mobile phone compact enough to be comfortable for daily use. It charges quickly and overall has been useful for me on a daily basis.
I've been using my StarTAC for about six months. I carry a single battery which carries enough of a charge to last from approximately 8AM to 11PM powered up with a few hours of talk time used each day. I purchased a dual battery charger which makes it easy for me to dock the StarTAC upright next to my alarm clock so I don't forget it in the mornings.
Sound and Comfort
The sound quality of calls made on the phone is exceptional, especially for its size. The volume adjustment on the side of the phone makes increasing or decreasing the volume easy in mid-conversation, which is nice.
My StarTAC is a little cumbersome to talk on, however. Imagine, if you will, trying to cradle a phone of this size between your ear and shoulder as you grab a piece of paper to write something down while talking. Can't imagine it? Well, try it with a deck of cards and see how comfortable THAT is! I've waited on hold for 30 minutes on this phone and found it to be an exceedingly uncomfortable experience.
It's also a little too tiny which makes one-handed dialing difficult. My hands are about average for a woman, guys with large hands seem to have an impossible time trying to manipulate this tiny phone. But if you want small, this is the cheapest small alternative out there.
The Interface
The StarTAC has up and down buttons and an "Enter" button in the middle on the left-hand side of the phone. You can navigate through menus with these scroll buttons. The LCD screen is easy to read and navigation is as decent with this phone as with the Nokia and Qualcomm phones I've had in the past. It's not great but no cell phone menu system I've used yet has been. Entering in phone numbers takes patience and changing options usually means scrolling through EVERY possible menu option trying to remember just where that one silly option you want to change is.
On the plus side, reading text messages on the StarTAC is easy and intuitive and each message can be deleted with the touch of two buttons.
And a word about rings - I, like the next person, hate meals, movies and social events interrupted by the sound of a mobile phone ringing. The vibrating ring is a useful feature and in my opinion, a necessity for every cell phone. The StarTAC is configurable to not answer the phone when you flip it open so I usually flip open the phone, note the caller, and if at all possible, wait to call them back when I am in a social situation. The vibrating ring feature makes all of this possible without my bothering anyone in public, which is terrific.
Quality Consumer Testing (AKA - Cat Beats Up Her Cell Phone So You Don't Have To!)
I've also abused my Motorola StarTAC - I wish I could say that I was just stress testing it to benefit you, the reader of my review, but in fact, I'm something of a klutz when it comes to a phone this small.
First, the StarTAC clip falls off regularly. I wear a variety of pants, shorts and jeans and so not every pocket is firm enough to hold the clip in place. I don't like clipping it directly to my waistband so I usually clip it into a pocket. The StarTAC has handled oh, a half dozen falls to the ground (followed by cursing and scrambling to pick it up, of course) with great aplomb. Each time I check it and it's still working just as fine as ever. Yes, I'm a bad cell phone owner, but at least others can learn from my experience.
And yes, the stress testing gets worse. Here at Cat's Testing Labs I've actually dropped this phone under a stream of running water and soaked it. That's right! SOAKED IT, so that you, the home viewer, don't HAVE to! The StarTAC didn't power up after that - until the next morning, when all the components had fully dried out.
The one susceptible piece of this phone seems to be the antenna. Mine is currently bent at a 20 degree angle and I will be getting it replaced soon. There hasn't been anything that specifically caused this antenna to bend and warp like this, but over six months of wear, it's gotten a little bent out of shape. These are fairly cheap to replace.
Summary
The StarTAC is a very good value for the money. There are officially smaller phones available but they are insanely expensive right now and I believe the StarTAC makes it obvious that smaller may mean more difficult to use. In certain situations the StarTAC is so small as to be cumbersome and may be particularly difficult for those with large hands to use. However, if you are looking for a very small, very convenient, mobile phone solution, this is a sturdy phone and should serve you well.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
e-diva
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Member: Cat
Location: Washington, DC
Reviews written: 34
Trusted by: 12 members
About Me:
Opinions from a 29YO cat-loving, childfree, Miata-driving geek. What could be better? :-)
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