A posers delight!?! (Motorola T720i)

Member Name: preciouskdg

Product:	Motorola T720i
Date:	22/02/04 (375 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: quite smart

Disadvantages: bulky, limited features

I have had my Motorola T720i for about six months now. I wanted a phone that had a flip front and a camera so I was pleased when I was offered it free with my monthly tariff upgrade. I got mine from O2 website but I have seen them available for all types of prices, from £50 - £180, all over the place. Ebay seems to be a good place to look!

When it arrived my pleasure became a delight. The small shiny little phone with colour screen and flip cover. It also has a screen on the top of the phone, for when it is closed. This shows the date, time and battery charge.There is a flashing light in the top right hand corner of the phone which tells you whether or not you have a signal or not - green for yes, red for no. The phone itself is two inches wide by six and a half inches long, fully opened. It is half an inch thick or three quarters of an inch when closed!

As this phone has the ability to send photos, there is a special satellite link within the phone. A special little jigsaw piece style emblem shows on the screen when this is enabled. If you are in a poor signal area, it is difficult to get the satellite link, as it takes anything from thirty seconds to ten minutes to send a file!! I havent bothered much!

On the side of the phone is a volume controller, up and down so it is quite easy if you are in a quiet place to adjust volume. There is another button too which says it is for storing voice tags. If anyone has a clue what these are for and how to do them, then let me know because I havent been able to work it out!

It was nt long before the disappointment set in. I had wanted a camera phone so that I could have pics of my son as a screensaver. After a few hours of frustrating play I realised this wasnt possible with the T720i. You can only have what is on the phone. The camera is detachable so you get a separate little case for this to be kept. The camera is quite big too, two inches by an inch added to the bottom of your phone! Q
uite a brick to be honest! The lens of the camera doe srotate a full 180 degrees with ease.

I tried to take some pics at Toddler group one day but before I could get the focus on the camera the children had moved. My friend whipped out her Nokia camera phone. No detachable camera and the pic was instant. She set hers to be a screensaver. She said, ' Oh lets have a look at your new phone.' I reluctantly showed her but just got remarks such as ' Wow, thats a brick!! Cool though' but then 'Oh doesnt it do this or that or the other' ' Oh, it only has one game!'. My camera didnt get any pics because I had to stay still for that long the kids got bored ( and the adults!) It is true that the phone does only haveon egame, Grand Prix Motorbike Racing. It is very good graphics for a phone but it would have been nice to have something else too. Games from be downloaded quite readily from the internet but they cost you from £1.50 per minute as with tones and logos.

The phone itself takes some getting used to but isnt that hard to use. The keys do sound a bit tinny but again you get used to it. The keys are metallic looking in silver, as are the dials. The keys do up like on some phones but rather than a green ring around the key, it is the whole key that is illuminated from behind.

The screen measures one and half by three inches. Not very big compared to the actual size of the phone.

When you turn the phone on, the screen shows a motorola sign on a checkered background then a girl holding up a motorola. The menu screen has the network scrolled across the top. There is a clock face and also a digital clock and date is also shown. There is an option of four quick keys on the menu page. These options are controlled by a round key at the centre of your keypad. It has four arrows, rather like a dial seen on some nokias.You have the chance to change these to what you wish. I usually have the calendar, redial, calcu
lator and messages. Obviously it is up to the individual. There are also the hot keys, left and right as on most phones. For these I use Phone book and settings.

In the main menu, there is a media centre ;- This controls 'Mytones', if you have the patience to work them out, and 'Picture Viewer. These are pictures which are built into the phone. They are nothing brilliant ; a sunset, a beach, a bird, a sunflower! Exciting stuff!!

Shortcuts:- This is a section for all of the web address shortcuts which O2 recommend, such as 'Chat', 'Mail'. To be honest, I havent really used this function, as it costs too much money.

Chat:- I havent used this either so I am not sure how this works. I assume it would connect to a chat network. I have seen the function available on Nokias.

Games and Apps :- This is Javav Powered. You can use the camera or play Grand Prix in this setting. The camera uses 157k of data space and 169k of prgramme space. Hope this means something to you it means gobbledy gook to me!

Webaccss :- This can connect you to O2, stored chosen pages, and other web shortcuts.

More:- Picture messages: send photos you have taken to other compatible phones. Recent calls list, Ring styles : These are polyphonic but the variety isnt very good. If I could afford it I could download some corkers! The phone has the regular ringtones such as sirens, bells, Baccanale, Badineri,El Choclo, Funkadellic. All very tinny and nothing like some you hear!

The phone book and messaging service are pretty simple to use. They have standard controls as with most mobiles. Its just a case of getting used to it! There is a dictionary option too for those of you who are used to predictive text.

My overall opinion of this phone is that it is generally okay, it was free and it was the phone I asked so I shouldnt complain! I wouldnt recommend for youngsters. They are better off with a Nokia I think
. More games and groovy gadgets. And they are a bit more robust.

The charger comes in two pieces. It has a kind of plug which fits into the charger and then into the phone! Very peculiar but it works so what the hell! The phone usually charges in about four to six hours and a fully charged battery, depending on use of course, usually lasts me a week!

I must contradict myself slightly because I have got slightly attached to my phone now but next time I think I will go for practicality rather than coolness!! When asked if I would recommend this phone I have said no but you really must just go have and have a try with it. It has its attractions!

If Ive missed something, let me know, and Ill add it asap!!

Thanks for reading this edited review.

Kerry xx

Summary: