Motorola T720i - a high end phone of its time (Motorola T720i)

Member Name: ecolier

Product:	Motorola T720i
Date:	08/10/09 (28 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Good mix of features

Disadvantages: No camera on board, Screen poor quality, Build quality bad etc

The Motorola T720i officially reaches its 7th birthday this quarter. Having been released in Q4 2002, it is now virtually completely obsolete but can still be seen in some films depicting the early 2000s. At the time of release it was a successor to the T720 phone, virtually of the same specification.

--- the BASICS ---

The T720i is a clamshell phone. It has 2 screens - 1 outer black and white screen and 1 inner colour screen. The phone supports basic mobile phone functions such as making and receiving calls, sending text messages in addition to more advanced but optional features such as MP3 player and a camera.

--- USABILITY ---

(Introduction)
As the T720i is a clamshell phone there is a flipping mechanism. It rocks - literally. The spring helps to some degree but one gets a feeling that the screen and the keypad will detach any minute - not that it even happened in the years I have been using it.

The phone is fast and up to speed - but we shouldn't really be commenting on the speed of "old" phones. They should all be fast.

The design of this phone is one of the selling points. It is very stylish and the small size (when folded) is a welcoming feature. The weight at 102g is slightly on the heavy side though.

(Sound and Multimedia)
There is no multimedia to speak of. The only slight multimedia feature is a picture viewer - but that is if one have plugged in the optional camera. Similar an optional plug in MP3 player - which allows MP3 playback is also available. I have purchased the camera module but not the MP3 so I cannot review this aspect.

The sound is loud and clear - no missed calls with this phone. The polyphonic ringtones (where have I heard that word before??) are of a nice range - even though it is only 16 chords.

(Internet and Messaging)
The internet works to the best of its ability. It supports GPRS and so only "slow internet" works. The screen is not designed to display web pages so many things become distorted.

Typing text messages is easy thanks to the relatively large keys. Entering into the mode is not. So is entering details and everything else - one has to get past screens after screens in order just to start typing your message - agghhhh!

(Screen and Camera)
The screen is of adequate size for a phone like this. The 4096K colours definitely showed some problems (compared to 256K or 16M colours of today's phones) but is OK. Don't expect HD quality output though.

There is no camera on board the T720i and an optional module have to be purchased. This camera is quite poor really but it is what you would expect for a phone of this time. It was top of the range then! It produces 640 x 480 photos and one can save 15 photos with the phone. There are also some limited photo editing functions like adding frames to the photos.

--- CONCLUSION ---

The T720i was a top of the range phone in the early 2000s. It has a colour screen and various other features (such as games) that can keep the user occupied. But the technological innovations simply means the T720i is no longer capable of standing up to phones of today. Indeed maybe sim cards may not even work in this phone. I would have recommended it 7 years ago but not now

Box contents:
T720i phone
Headset
Travel charger
CD-ROM (for advertising purposes only, connecting the T720i to the computer is possible but need to be with additional cabling)

Summary: Was a good choice in 2002, not so much now.

Processing/Quality:
Reliability:
Ease of use:
Sound quality:
Variety of features: