Welcome Back, Motorola.
Written: Dec 30 '02
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Pros: Great voice quality, color screen, excellent reception, full of features.
Cons: Some of the "extras" cost extra to use.
The Bottom Line: Excellent phone with great clarity. Just don't forget to buy the extended life battery!
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| RBradford's Full Review: Motorola T720 Cell Phone |
My very first mobile phone ever was a Motorola, and from the looks of it, the last mobile phone I ever own may also be a Motorola. Remember the first flip-phones from yesteryear? They were big, bulky, and the battery life was about an hour. But they were COOL! Well, that's how I remembered Motorola, but they've come a long way since then.
First of all, let me clarify that I liked my first Motorola phone. For the time, it was pretty cutting-edge technology and design. However, mine moved on to the cellular graveyard when I left it on the bumper of a friend's SUV and he slammed the rear door on it. I can still hear the sickening crunch of plastic as it shattered.
Anyway, when I went to buy a replacement, I was seduced by the line of Nokia phones gaining in popularity at the time. I believe that's when I ended up with the 2160, the dinosaur relative of the Nokias on the market today. From there I went through several varieties of Nokia phones, the most recent being the 8260. However, in the past year, I've had a lot of difficulty with my carrier and decided to make a change. About a month ago, I finally switched from AT&T to Verizon and acquired the Motorola T720 in the process.
Reception/Voice Quality:
Although I haven't owned it for that long, I've been very happy with the Motorola T720. I travel A LOT and my mobile phone is often my only link with the rest of the world. The issue with my Nokia 8260 was that over the last year or so, I noticed a steady degradation of service. In New Mexico it was virtually impossible to get or keep a connection. Service in other states and major cities was not much better, including large cities like San Diego, Dallas, or New Orleans. I couldn't figure out if it was AT&T, my phone, or both, but finally I switched to Verizon and a new Motorola phone. Since then I've had crystal clear connections, without dropped signals, in all of the cities I've visited in the past month. This includes Sacramento, Phoenix, Omaha, and a few others. Most notably, I've received comments from people thinking I was on a regular telephone rather than a cellular phone due to the clear reception.
I've been very impressed by the sound quality of the Motorola T720. It's extremely clear and has none of that echo or tinny sound prevalent in so many mobile phones. Signal strenth/reception has been fantastic compared to what I had before with my Nokia/AT&T. I attribute this mostly to Verizon, but the phone seems to play a major part as well. Depending on your location, availability of service is going to vary, but I'm impressed with Verizon so far.
Features:
The Motorola T720 is packed with features, although I'll probably never use about half of them. Some of the features are going to vary between service providers. I'll comment about some of those available through Verizon, since that's my carrier now.
I won't spend much time on the physical phone itself, as you can quickly look up the statistics on Verizon's Web site or any other service provider that has this phone. Suffice it to say that the small, flip-phone design is great for anyone that wants a compact design that's easy to use. It's small enough to carry easily, while being big enough when opened to make for easy usage. I feel much more comfortable using this phone than with my former Nokia 8260. It's just a better fit when I hold it up to my ear.
There are two displays on the Motorola T720, one large color LCD screen inside and a small two-line display on the outside. The one on the outside displays signal strength, battery charge remaining, date & time while the phone is not in use. When it rings, this display shows the caller ID information for the incoming call. It's very handy for quickly seeing who is calling. The internal color display is large and very easy to view. The display settings are even adjustable, enabling the viewer to change contrast or color levels for better readability. The length of time that the backlight stays on can also be adjusted for battery conservation. The only issue I have with the internal display is keeping is smudge-free, as this sits next to your check when the phone is in use. However, it easily wipes clean and seems pretty durable.
The keypad and navigation controls are nicely sized and easy to use. There's a four-way pad in the upper middle of the handset, kind of like a small joystick, for going through the various menus. Also, there are three keys above it for selecting different options in the menus. Overall, it takes a little getting used to, but in the end the controls are fairly intuitive and easy enough to learn. My biggest challenge was learning that the large key on the left of the pad ENDS calls, while the large key on th right of the pad SENDS or STARTS calls. Fortunately, they are color coded (red/green respectively) to make it easier to identify them quickly. My problem is that they seem reversed compared to the location of the corresponding buttons on the Nokia phones, but I'm slowly getting better about hitting the right keys.
This phone includes a web browser (extra fee for Internet/Data access), a phone book with multiple fields for entry (kind of like Outlook or any other actual phone book application), datebook, calculator, media center (for customizing tones & displaying photos on the phone), voice notes (for recording voice memos/notes), and functions for customizing call & ringer settings. There's also a menu item for "Get it Now", a Verizon feature that lets you download tones, applications, and other new features. Connecting to "Get it Now" uses up call minutes, and many of the downloadable items have an additional cost associated with them.
For example, I did get one free downloadable ring tone with my purchase, but additional ring tones cost about $1.99 each. There are several "demo" applications available for free, but most real applications must be paid for in order to use. Some even have recurring monthly charges to use the application once installed, like a search function for locating nearby area restaurants, complete with reviews. I tried the demo, and it's really pretty sharp. The phone has built-in GPS, which it uses to search for restaurants (or other attractions) nearest to your location, then even provides directions on how to get there. I used it in Phoenix and found several options for dinner one evening, and the directions were dead on for each place. For a business traveler, this just one application that may be worth having. The phone does have a limited amount of memory space, but allows one to essentially archive unused applications in order to conserve space. They can also be deleted completely, but then must be repurchased to be used again in the future. Installation/uninstallation of applications is very easy. In fact, everything on the phone is pretty well menu-driven, providing detailed instructions as it walks you through how to do different things. Ultimately, it's very easy to use.
Battery Life:
Before deciding to get the Motorola T720, I read a lot of reviews and noticed one thing that seemed very consistent. Everything I read indicated that battery life is not very good. So, I made the decision to get the extended life battery with my purchase. In retrospect, I HIGHLY recommend this to anyone getting the Motorola T720. The color display seems to quickly drain the regular battery, but the extended life one makes a huge difference. On standby, my phone has gone several days without recharging. Talk time also increases dramatically, giving me about twice as much time as on the regular battery. Typically, with heavy usage, it seems like I can use the phone for about 3-4 hours before recharging. This is more in line with the specifications advertised by Motorola and the cellular service providers.
If battery life is a concern, definitely get the extended life battery. It should cost about $60.00, but I know Verizon gives discounts on accessories purchased at the time service is set up. Also, they gave me $10.00 off any accessory purchase when I set up my billing options via their Internet Web site. Do yourself a big favor and get the longer life battery. It adds only a little bulk to the phone, but not nearly enough to make it very noticeable. It's only about a quarter of an inch thicker than the original battery and still enables the phone to sit tightly in the included holster.
Other:
The Motorola T720 has a standard headset jack. This a welcome feature, coming from the Nokia 8260 with it's own proprietary headset jack. I've only used a couple of times, but my experience has been that the jack could use some enhancement. The maximum volume level seems very low, making it difficult to hear while using a headset. I have a Plantronics headset, so maybe the Motorola-made headset works better, but I can't speak to that. Also, since the phone must be open to use, and the phone can't be opened while in the holster, the headset can't be used with the phone resting on your hip in it's holster. This took a little getting used to for me, as I would often talk on my headset while walking through the airport or other such place. Not a big deal, but something to take into consideration for power headset users.
The Motorola T720 has a polyphonic ringer, providing it with a much richer sounding ring tone. Volume can be adjusted up and down easily by two buttons on the side of the phone. By adjusting the ring volume all the way down, it automatically switches to vibrate mode with no ringer. This is great for the times when you step into a meeting or someplace that you don't want a ringing phone to cause a disruption.
Construction of this phone is solid. It has a small external antenna that can be extended to improve reception. Also, the faceplate is removable and can be swapped out with the various "stylish" ones available in the marketplace. I haven't dropped mine (yet), so I'm not sure about it's resistance to damage, but I'm guessing it wouldn't do too well. The exterior is plastic, but seems like it will hold up just as well as about any other phone out there presently. I did like the stainless steel feel of the Motorola V60, but preferred the functionality of the T720. However, I'm not sure either phone would survive a fall, regardless of the construction material of it's casing. Personally, I think the small additional monthly fee for damage insurance is a good option and should be available from whatever service provider you decide to use.
This phone has built-in GPS service, which can be turned on/off, or set for 911 only. With global positioning satellite technology, this phone can be located in case of emergency. It's probably nothing I'll ever need, but it's nice knowing it's there anyway. Also, this enables the use of some additional applications as I mentioned earlier, like locating nearby restaurants, theaters, etc. I think this will likely be standard on all future mobile phones, and I'm glad to see Motorola implementing it already.
Overall:
So far, I've been impressed with the Motorola T720. It has excellent voice clarity and reception has been exceptional. The many features and upgradeability of this phone major factors in my decision to get it, and I think I'll probably have this one for a long time. It's not perfect, but I like it a lot more than any of my previous Nokia phones. I bought mine during a promotion by Verizon & Motorola. The phone was $149 with a $100 rebate for sending in an old, working mobile phone, making the end price $49.00.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 49.00
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Epinions.com ID:
RBradford
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Location: Dallas, TX
Reviews written: 109
Trusted by: 32 members
About Me:
I'm a Computer Hardware, Software, and Gadget Junkie.
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