| Motorola V70 |
| General |
| Network | Gsm 900 / Gsm 1800 |
| Announced | 2002 |
| Status | Discontinued |
| Size |
| Dimensions | 94 X 38 X 18 Mm |
| Weight | 83 G |
| Display |
| Type | Monochrome Graphic |
| Size | 96 X 64 Pixels, 3 Lines + Prompts |
| | - Iconic Revolving Design
- Inverse Image Display With El Backlighting
- Electro-luminescent Keypad |
| Ringtones |
| Type | Monophonic |
| Amount | 32 + 32 Custom |
| Customization | Composer, Download, |
| Vibration | Yes |
| Memory |
| Phonebook | 155 |
| Call Records | 10 Dialed, 5 Received, 5 Missed Calls |
| Card Slot | No |
| Data |
| Gprs | Class 8 (4+1 Slots), 32 - 40 Kbps |
| Hscsd | No |
| Edge | No |
| 3g | No |
| Wlan | No |
| Bluetooth | No |
| Infrared Port | No |
| Usb | |
| Features |
| Messaging | Sms |
| Browser | Wap 1.1 |
| Clock | Yes |
| Alarm | No |
| Games | Yes |
| Colors | |
| Languages | 16 + 11 |
| Camera | No |
| | - T9 (itap)
- Calendar
- Voice Memo
- Voice Dial |
| Battery |
| | Standard Battery, 430 Mah Li-ion |
| Stand-by | Up To 145 H |
| Talk Time | Up To 215 Min |
|
Motorola - V70Round & round with the Motorola V70
Major Differences
360-degree rotator form factor design
Inversed-coloured LCD
Electro-luminescent backlights
WAP over GPRS
iTAP predictive text input
Voice dialling
Calendar (datebook) and calculator functions Problems/Issues?
Usable screen area problem
Sales package (should contain):
1 x V70 handset with 'bright' chrome bezel ring
1 x V70 Mallard desktop charger
2 x V70 Li-ion battery
1 x V70 Leather case with locking belt-clip
1 x V70 quick start guide with accessories guide
1 x V70 headset with send/end functionality
1 x V70 user manual
Overview
I remember this conversation I was having with my friend the other day about how mobile phones have come a long way in how they are used, perceived and designed. Before, a mobile phone is a device to simply enable communications outside the home or office (where there was coverage, of course). Today, they are not simply devices to give us communicative freedom - but also to give us self-identification or status within society through design and to assist us in the swift and more complex world thanks to those added features we now take for granted.
We have seen much innovative design concepts over the past couple of years - with phones looking like toys or something like a lady’s compact, and ones that seem to complement the living room furniture.
Now it’s Motorola’s turn to bring out something that will have people talking (for a while). A new addition to the V-series of phones, the V70, encompasses a completely new design concept whereby in order to operate the phone you would need to turn open the cover (which is also the earpiece for the phone) to access the keypad. Another striking feature is the LCD - which, instead of having a white background, is now black with white lettering. I was pretty excited to get hold of the phone for review, and my hopes on this phone were pretty high that it would be a winner.
The V70 has a silver casing design, where the front cover (the one with the earpiece on it) is plastic and the back cover being made of some kind of light alloy. Taking this cover off to put the SIM and battery into the phone, I found it slightly difficult to “lock-in” the cover into position. After using it for a while, I realised that you need to keep the whole cover down while sliding the cover back into the slot - otherwise, you will find it slightly raised at the base of the phone.
After turning on the phone, I found the display to be quite clear considering that it does have a black background. Although the display supports up to four lines of text, the first line doesn’t really count because the signal and battery indicators are permanently shown. In addition, when you are typing an SMS message or you’re using the WAP browser, you only really get to use two lines because the bottom line also gets taken up by the menu key indicators - telling you what the left and right is used for!
"The keypad & menu system layout is similar to the one used on the V60"
The keypad and menu system layout is pretty much similar to the one used on the V.60 - with the positions of the answer and reject keys swapped around (that is, reject on the left and answer on the right). Additionally, the two menu keys uphold the same concept - where the clear/cancel key is usually the left key and the confirm/select key on the right. Some may think this is something different, but I find this a somewhat inconvenience since most of us have gotten to know that the “answer” key is always on the left-hand side, and the “reject” key is on the right. Therefore, it took me quite a bit of time to get use to the keypad layout.
Although I find the keypad to be too close to the casing, the keys are not very difficult to press. If they were a bit more raised, then it would be perfect! The electro-luminescent backlight on the MotoGlo keypad is one of the things that I really like about the V70 - especially when it contrasts the silver keys with the dark keypad backing. Sounds from the keypad were quite different from other mobile phones - but I thought they were too soft (especially in a standard street environment) even when I’ve set the volume up to maximum.
The menu system was not really all that easy to use either (but definitely better than the ones on the old StarTAC phones!) - as there were submenus under submenus under menus. One example is when I try to go and adjust the ringtone for the phone I still somehow get lost and have to start over to know where I am. This problem is partially contributed to the fact that only 2 lines are used to display the menus.
If you’re a person who has grown very accustomed to typing with T9 on (like me), then using the V70 with iTAP (Motorola’s version of a T9-equivalent) will be something you have to get use to as well. For each word sequence you type in, the iTAP feature will show a list of the words that you can choose from - and after finding it, you have to confirm the word by pressing the right menu key. I find using iTAP more time-consuming and there are more keystrokes involved (especially the part when you’re looking for the word you wanted!) Furthermore, typing words such as “we’ve” and “they’ve” becomes even more difficult. I personally prefer T9.
Talking on the phone was quite alright - with the earpiece having a loud-enough volume and the reception being very clear. Holding the phone up against the ear for a prolonged period didn’t bring up any discomfort either. I also managed to try using the headset with the FM radio headset that had two earplugs. Now, the funny thing with this was that when you listen to the radio, there would be sound coming out of both earplugs. But when you talk on the phone, only one side would be audible. Why can’t they just make it so you can listen to the caller on both ears - like the ones from either Nokia or Siemens?
The battery lasted for around two days with average usage (three with minimal). It’s a good idea to have a spare battery with you when you start seeing the battery meter falling.
Major differences...
360-degree rotator form factor design
The V70 features a new opening/closing mechanism that is a first of its kind. The rotating earpiece can be spun around the unit a full 360-degrees - a convenience for people who use the phone in either left or right hand where they can close up the phone in any direction they so wish!
Inversed-coloured LCD
Also new is the black-background white-lettering display, which looks pretty good as it contrasts with the phone’s silver casing. Although there are times it is a bit hard to see what’s on the screen, it’s pretty much comparable to that of a standard LCD. If the screen was slightly larger, then it would be even better.
Take a closer look!
Electro-luminescent backlights
The V60 uses a different type of backlight to illuminate both the backlights for the display and keypad area. Although not very bright, the electro-luminescent backlight provides the sufficient lighting and also gives a very unique look when the phone is in the dark.
WAP over GPRS
WAP access becomes greatly faster thanks to the availability of GPRS on the V70. A continuous connection to the Internet can also be maintained even when you are doing something else on the phone. A supplied cable also allows you to connect your PC up to the V70 to take advantage of the GPRS feature.
iTAP predictive text input
Similar to the T9 feature available on most mobile phones, iTAP predicts the words that you type on the phone’s keypad by analysing the keystroke sequence entered. A list of options is made available for a user to pick, and the word is entered into the message once that is done.
Voice dialling
The V70 allows for entries in the phone’s internal phonebook to have a voice entry enabling them to be dialled without the need to browse the entire index.
Calendar (datebook) and calculator functions
The V70 comes with a simple, but complete, calendar and calculator functions.
Problems/Issues?
Usable screen area problem
One of the problems that I find with this phone is the lack of space on the screen that the V70’s software and its menus make use of. Although the screen is a full graphics one, indicators such as the battery level and signal strength ones stay on wherever you are and whatever you may be doing with the phone (for example, writing messages, using the menus, WAP browser, etc). At the end of the day, you only really get two lines that are actually being used - making it as difficult as it was using the old Ericsson T28s!
In Summary
Aesthetically speaking, the V70 is well designed and very unique - especially with its 360-degree rotator form factor replacing the traditional flip design. It’s very comfortable to hold and weighing in at just 79 grams, it all adds up to the near-perfect phone design to date.
Unfortunately, when it came to using the phone’s menu and functions, it wasn’t as easy and friendly as I had expected. Knowing that Motorola had changed the user interface and hoping it would be much better than before, it was not something to be. The first thing I didn’t really like was the inversed key layout (for example, the answer/reject keys and menu selection key mapping) and the lack of room on the phone’s display. Also, the phone took some getting use to be able to use it with simply one hand.
I was there when the first StarTAC came out, followed by the V3688 “tablet” flip phone, and then now the V70. The V70 can be considered as being one of the most innovative. But on the software side of things, I think Motorola can do better in improving the user interface on their phones to make it easier for the user to grasp and understand. |
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