Slick phone (Motorola SLVR L7)

Member Name: bhayanid

Product:	Motorola SLVR L7
Date:	23/11/08 (175 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Very thin, nice display

Disadvantages: Sound, limited memory and features

Motorola L7 review

This was the third ever phone I had after my old Samsung, and was a significant update with lots of new features and a slick new design. However was it just all about the looks with this phone or did it have the whole package? I will split my review into categories so anyone who is considering buying this phone can look for specific information. The nickname for this phone is SLVR which stands for sliver, although some people say silver as well. Officially it is sliver, but doesn't really make a difference which one you choose.

Design: This phone was made with a lot of style and at the time of release was the thinnest phone in the market, which was the main advertising point. With adverts comparing this phone with a ruler to other phones on the market. Also the flip phone version of this product was released at the same time, so the user was able to choose whether they wanted a thin phone that could flip or not. It has a metallic pad, with the buttons quite easy to use on it, although not as easy as say the old Nokia which were very responsive. Everything in the design makes this a dashing phone that would appeal to most people.

Display: This phone has a high quality screen, where the colours really stand out and strike you. For the technos out there it has a display with 262k colours and high resolution. The screen size is average size, of course you expect to watch movies on it, as it is still a casual phone made for the average consumer who likes going out.

Camera: The camera is ok but can not stand up to the high pixel cameras that have come out over the last 3 years. It is just a low resolution VGA camera with 0.2 mega pixels. You can expect to use it to capture memories of you and your friends going out or some sighs, but do not buy this phone for the camera as if you are a scenic person it would be much better to buy a digital camera with 7 mega pixels plus. A good touch is the video recording which is not of great quality but it is a good touch none the less.

Connectivity: There is good connectivity for this phone with wireless Bluetooth available so you can transfer songs amongst your friends or any pictures etc. There is also USB connectivity which is a must for all phones these days, so you can transfer files to and from your computer and with the disk that comes with the phone, there is a special package for the transfers from your phone.

Memory: The L7 accepts memory cards up to the size of 512 mega bytes, however the cards are Transflash which are available at all retail outlets and the same for all phones at the moment. This is a decent size for storing all your pictures and videos and any MP3's you want to listen to. So a useful size, however it could do with being 1GB, but it is hardly a complaining point. If you choose not to buy a memory card, then the internal memory is 5gb, which is not a lot but enough to store an MP3 ring tone and a few pictures.

Sound: This is the one aspect of the phone that let me down. For normal sound its good and with the headphones there is clear loud sound. However for most users out there I am sure they have a standard paid of headphones that are user for all Ipods and MP3 players. I bought the connection converter for these headphones so I could use it for my Motorola L7 and they did work, but the problem was the sound was not loud enough and on its loudest settings it was just about my normal listening volume. So on buses and other loud places, it was virtually impossible to hear any music.

Features: The features are very laid out on this phone, just like the design, and for me the most important is the games as they provide a great past time. There are so cool little Java games on here that will provide lots of enjoyment, although not snake, but that is expected as snake is licensed towards Nokia. If you do not like the games, you can always download more of the Motorola website and transfer them easily using the USB connection. The ring tones are very nice quality and can support all the MP3's that you have transferred or uploaded to the phone. Messaging works as standard with other phones. The MP3 player can support MP3 files naturally, but also AAC format which is a nice touch to the phone. You can download screensavers, images and animations and transfer them to the phone, so really personalize the phone to suit all your needs. There is a picture caller ID so you do not need to strain your eyes to see who is calling as their pretty little face will pop up on the screen. There is a web browser which is straight forward to use, don't expect it to replace your computer but if you are on the move and watch to check the latest news or football scores, then it is perfect.

Weight: This is only 96g so very light and sometimes you will forget it is in your pocket which may be a bad thing, but it is great that it does not take up much room at all and that you can barely feel the weight.

Battery Life: This is a very good; even with listening to music you can expect the Battery to last two days, before a recharge is needed. If you do no use multimedia on the phone, you should be able to get three full days out, before it goes dead, so this aspect of the phone I have no complaints about as the high feature phones these days seem to need a recharge after just a days use.

Endurance: A very solid phone that I being clumsy have dropped numerous times a day, and the phone works perfectly. As it has a metallic cover and is not painted on, you do not have to worry about any wear and tear and the phone will still look good as new after a year's solid use, so this is a plus point for if you are looking to upgrade and sell your Motorola.

A very slick phone, that I would recommend to everyone, however if you are looking for a phone with high quality picture taking abilities and a huge range of multimedia features with the ability for it to replace your Ipod touch, then I would not consider purchasing this phone. For everyone else it is perfect. Below is the full list of features.

Features of the Motorola L7 include:
* VGA camera (640 x 480 pixels) with 4x digital zoom
* Video camera
* MP3 player (MP3 / AAC format)
* Display: TFT 262,000 colours, 176 x 220 pixels
* Handsfree speakerphone
* MP3 ringtones
* Messaging: SMS, EMS 5.0, MMS, Instant Messaging, email (POP3, SMTP, IMAP2)
* Push to Talk
* Java games
* Downloadable screensavers, images, animations and sounds
* Picture caller ID
* Phone book (500 entries)
* WAP 2.0, GPRS Class 10
* Web browser
* Connectivity: Bluetooth®, USB, SyncML
* Memory: 5 Mbytes plus TransflashTM memory card (up to 512 Mbytes)
* Quad band
* Size: 114 x 49 x 11.5 mm
* Weight: 96g
* Talktime: up to 400 minutes
* Battery standby: up to 350 hours

Summary: Should be considered by anyone looking for a stylish phone

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