Great phone if you have fat finger syndrome! (Motorola MOTORAZR2 V8)

Member Name: pmcds

Product:	Motorola MOTORAZR2 V8
Date:	11/09/08 (373 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Very good all as a phone and anything else you'd expect

Disadvantages: Buttons not so sturdy

If you're anything like me, choosing the right phone can be a bit of a nightmare. I have what I like to call 'fat finger syndrome'. Yes, my fingers aren't very dainty, despite all the tap-tapping I do in writing these reviews. So, when it came to choosing my phone, which I did over the phone whilst negotiating a new deal on my contract, I was keen to express how important wide buttons were.

This is the phone that was recommended to me by the lovely sales assistant I was speaking to on my old, wide-buttoned phone. I figured I would give it a go. At the end of the day, if it wasn't suitable, I could send it back.

So, a few days later, my brand new phone arrived in the post, and I have to say, I was initially very impressed. It has a rather sleek look and feel to it, and fits perfectly into my pocket. I don;t even notice it's there, which unfortunately hasn't been the case with previous phones I have had. It's 5x10cm, and just over a centimetre thick, and these measurements are quite good, especially considering how wide the buttons need to be for me.

It's a flip top phone, another advantage seeing how I used to have one with exposed buttons and only realised this was an error for me once I received a phone bill that said I had phoned one number for 6 hours whilst crunched in a corner in the pub one sweaty, drunken night. So, flip top = another plus point. Thumbs up so far.

So, using the phone. It looks good, feels good and is the right size (bonus that I won't phone Oz inadvertently from my pocket, too). The phone itself has many good features. Personally, I like to use a phone to.....shock horror.........phone people! I know, I know, get with the times, get with the times, and I know that phones are so much more than that for most people these days, but it is important to me that the thing actually works well as a phone! And it does. It is a bit annoying that the screen saver kicks in quite quickly, but this is adjustable, and a minor insignificance. Other facilities that I use often are texts, which are very simple on this phone; large storage memory for numbers and appointments, a good calendar and calculator facility; a very good camera; and online access.

The camera is probably the most impressive feature. Phone cameras I have had experience with in the past have sucked in comparison. This has an integrated camera with 2 megapixels and you can zoom up to 8 times in. You can also take videos on a MPEG-4 format, and this is all quite simple and easy to use as well.

The games on the phone are limited, but let's face it, if you want to play games on something small, you can just buy a Nintendo DS instead. They don't cost that much more than a phone and they're not even that much bigger, either.

Moving swiftly onto my final and, unfortunately, negative, point. After a month or so of using the phone, I noticed that the one of the buttons wasn't working properly all the time. Worried I was being a bit heavy handed (as us fat fingered types can be!) I took care, but soon I ended up having to be extremely slow and precise when pressing buttons to ensure the right ones had pressed. There is obviously something wrong with the keypad, and while this is probably not a design fault, I have been no more heavy handed with this phone than any other. It is probably just a bit less sturdy than my previous phones. Or, there's just something wrong with it.

As I mentioned earlier, I use this mainly as a phone and am not too fussed with the extra application you get with with it, so what's it actually like as a phone? Well, the first thing I like is that when someone phones you, the display on the front talls you who it is. The screen is quite large, so you can do this discreetly if need be, and either answer by opening the flip top or cancel by pressing the button on the side. Navigating through the address book to find a number is quite easy - a simple push of the right arrow key on the directional pad on the inside and you're there. Sound quality is also very good, with volume easy to adjust during the conversation.You can also switch to a speaker quite easily if you want more than one person in on the call or if you need your hands free for something, and the quality and sound on this are also very good. If anything, the call sound for the recipient on the other line can be a little echoey (so my mum says!) which apparently is a typical problem encountered with Motorola phones. The battery life is decent enough. It will last you close to a week if you don't use it much, but once you're in a call or sending lots of texts it does use up quite a bit of battery. I have invested in a car charger and keep it charged up all the time to avoid the battery running out. This supposedly shortens the phone's life, but I only plan on having this phone for the next year or two until my next free upgrade.

So, in conclusion, this is a good phone overall, and, faulty buttons aside, a good choice. It fits perfectly in my pocket, doesn't weigh much, stops me from dialling inadvertently, and does everything I want it to, and more. I give this phone a big thumbs up.

Summary: Good phone from Motorola

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