Motorola Startac 7868. A Tiny Lifeline
Written: Jul 14 '00 (Updated May 02 '02)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Size and Features
Cons: A few trivial problems
The Bottom Line: Excellent phone.
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| mnehr's Full Review: Motorola StarTAC ST7868W Cell Phone |
The Motorola Startac 7868 is my cellular phone of choice. Even though there have been some minor problems with the phone, the size, features, and convenience have made these problems seem trivial.
First Size and Ergonomics:
The Motorola Startac 7868 is one of the smallest digital phones available. Weighing just under 4 ounces, it is much lighter than any analog or digital counterpart I have used prior (including the Nokia 282, and Motorola PC650.) The phone, by itself, is somewhat easy to hold, both for it’s weight, but also the unique angle that the transceiver points. By itself, I do find that the gap between the back of the phone and your hand can create a small strain on extremely long calls. This can be remedied by attaching the optional auxiliary battery to the back of the phone. The auxiliary battery clips to the back of the phone and gives an extra ˝ inch of mass that, for me, helps provide a comfortable support for the phone. Due to it’s extremely small size, it is virtually impossible to hold the phone between your shoulder and ear, as so many of us are accustomed to doing with our home phones. This problem is remedied by the addition of a attached microphone which plugs into the top of the phone, and fits in your ear. This allows you to hold a conversation while keeping your hands free. The hands free microphone is also good for those who have jumped on the “Dangers of EM Radiation” bandwagon that has plagued the cellular phone industry. The hands free microphone keeps the transceiver away from your head, and limits the, so called, danger from this radiation. (A recent report on Dateline showed that the Startac models had the lowest EM Radiation emissions out of all phones tested, another positive point…)
Features:
The Motorola Startac 7868 has all the features expected in a digital phone. I am aware that most of the features have more to do with what my service provider offers, but from what I understand, the compatibility of the phone to work with these features is also a factor. My favorite feature is one called Digital Advisor, which allows my Startac to mimic the functions of a pager. Digital Advisor allows a caller to choose between leaving me a voice mail message, paging my phone just as if it were a pager, or having my phone paged with a alpha-numeric message. This way, instead of wasting the time with a phone conversation, the caller can just have the phone beep me saying “Call Office” or “Check E-Mail” (or any other message they see fit to see.) This feature also allows the caller the convenience of paging my phone via the internet, instead of making a phone call. The Motorola Startac 7868 is also equipped with Caller ID, so I can screen out all of those calls are less important. Screen out the boss, but answer the wife. The Motorola Startac 7868 also has multiple ringer styles, which for me is a trivial feature but for many people I know, seems vital (by the way they constantly change their ringer.) I also have the obvious features of Call Waiting, Call Forwarding, and Three Way Calling, all of which, should be self-explanatory. The phone also has a built in web browser, but, due to the fact that I use my Compaq I-Pac on the road for internet work, I have not had much of an opportunity to work with it. I do feel, however, that due to the small size of the screen, the internet browser is probably less than effective.
Service:
The Motorola Startac 7868 is, as good of quality, that one can expect from any digital phone. The advantages to the service on the Motorola Startac 7868 over some other phones is that it is what as known as a “Tri-Mode” phone. This means that the phone will work on, Analog, CDMA Digital, and CDMA-PCS Digital. To a consumer, what this means, is that, almost every where you go, you will find a good service signal. Please be advised, the quality of the service you receive plays more on the service provider than with the phone itself. Due to FCC guidelines, handheld cellular phones can only transmit a maximum of 6/10 of a watt, and most manufactures push this limit. I prefer the CDMA type digital service (Used by Virizon, Alltel, and most of the Bells) over TDMA digital service (used by AT&T), and GSM (used by Nextel.) CDMA digital service seems to have the largest coverage throughout the country, and provide a much higher quality service. (See my review on cellular phone service in which I explain the differences I found between these services.)
Convenience:
Other than the size of the Motorola Startac 7868, the most convenient part of this phone is the belt holster. (pretty lame huh?) The belt holster allows easy access to the phone, and a fast storage with out having to fumble with re-clipping the phone each time you are done talking. It is just a simple holster that clips to your belt, in which the phone slides in and out of, yet stays secure when not in use.
There has to be some problems:
…And yes, there are… Initially when I purchased the phone, I had to go back into the office 3 times to have something called a PRL (preferred roaming list) re-updated. If the service reps were not so nice an apologetic about it, this would have really upset me. Attention companies, quality customer service does make a difference in the impression of your service, even if one has experienced technical problems. My phone seems to be having another problem slowly come up, the antenna seems to be getting loose and I am afraid it will break soon. I will have this checked by a service technician as soon as I have time.
My overall impression of the Motorola Startac 7868 is favorable, and the small problems that I have experienced have been outweighed by the features and convenience of the phone.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
mnehr
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Member: Matthew
Location: Texas
Reviews written: 72
Trusted by: 192 members
About Me:
A Republican, Neo-Conservative, Quasi-Libertarian, MBA. Confused yet?
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