Worth the money (Motorola MOTO U9)

Member Name: MoleyGoldpaws

Product:	Motorola MOTO U9
Date:	13/08/09 (18 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Good solid mp3 phone

Disadvantages: Can be slow, camera not great

I first got this phone after my old mobile finally died. I used my o2 PAYG upgrade option to get money aff, I believe it was around £100 as new, which was over two years ago.

So first of all, on appearance the phone is a kind of jazzed-up version of the Motorola PEBL range, but with much needed features such as mp3 player, upgraded WAP and the like.

The first thing you'll notice is the dual screen when the phone is closed. As a clam-shell design, this phone works well. The outside screen is touch sensitive and this is both a blessing and a pain when it comes to using the mp3 player. When you enter the mp3 player and choose a track, you can then close the phone over and use the screen to skip tracks, play/pause and there are also a few side select keys down the side of the U9 which control volume etc. As the phone comes with a hands free earphone kit, you can plug this into the charger socket and your phone becomes a pretty good mp3 player.

So what's the problem then? Well, if you have the phone in your pocket the touch sensitive outer cover is a little too sensitive and can end up skipping, pausing etc while youre walking. A minor complaint perhaps, I have tried to find a way to lock the outer screen whilst in mp3 mode but have never managed to get it to work. While I'm talking of the mp3 player, it may be useful to get a micro flash card to boost the memory. I think the internal memory holds about 3 tracks so it's an additional cost to consider.

The U9 I own has a kind of smoky purple appearance although I have seen the same model in a pink, black and silver colour. The main body of the phone is encased in a soft rubber material which has worn well. Other than a few scratches on the shiny outer screen (which have not affected the function) the only other area that is visibly worn is the charger plug in flap.

Now onto the rest of the phone. It has the main things you'd expect, text message function with predictive text - which can be turned off. Screensavers and themes, display is clear and in picture mode you can zoom, scroll and link to other functions such as view photo then send via bluetooth, media message etc.

The camera isn't great, all my indoors photos have seemed dark and the absense of a flash doesn't help. It does have a video camera option which is good and would almost definitely require the micro flash card I mentioned earlier.

Most of the things you need are accessed through the File Manager, which easily allows you to delete, move or send files such as photos, videos and music.

Compared to the PEBL model, the WAP access is a lot more user friendly, including images and clickable links. I don't really use WAP and I guess if that's your thing, there are a lot more dedicated mobiles out there to give you that.

I'm looking around for a new mobile at the moment, it's no real reflection on the U9, just that I've had it for a while and looking for something with similar features. It can be a little slow at times so maybe a factor in choosing my next phone.

Summary: Average phone, good quality

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