STILL IN A LEAGUE OF ITS OWN (Motorola V50)

Member Name: Goldilox

Product:	Motorola V50
Date:	25/01/03 (1078 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great Reception, Quite Hardy, Great Looking

Disadvantages: none I've come across

Since my Philips c12 started freezing on me I thought it was about time I start looking for a new mobile phone. It had served me well, two and a half years precisely and even though it was starting to resemble a brick I was very happy with it.


So what was my new choice of mobile?
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Well after scouring the internet for a bargain, I came across the Motorola V50. Okay it may not be the newest phone on the market, but who cares? It rings people doesn’t it, which is what a phone is supposed to do. If I want to play games or take a picture I can use a playstation or a camera. I see no need in paying £400 for a phone just because David Beckham has one and he can play a car game at a checkout.

I found this little bargain on the www.dixons.co.uk website for £79.99 pay as you go (which means you have no monthly charges or line rental, you just top up when you need credit, via top-up cards)

It is a web exclusive which means you are unlikely to find it for £79.99 pay as you go in any shops. I recently saw it advertised at £79.99 in a paper but that was as a contract mobile. If you want to take a look for yourself, visit www.dixons.co.uk and then selected from the home page “COMMUNICATIONS” ---> MOBILE PHONES ---> MOBILES PAY AS YOU GO ---> then in the “Brand” scroll box select Motorola. This will automatically bring up the web exclusive offer for you.


Now about the Motorola V.50
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It is a small phone, about 83mm in length with an active flip open lid. The design is very good as it prevents the mobile screen and keypad from damage. If for example you drop it or it’s shifting around in you pocket or handbag, the keys won’t get damaged and miss dialling is also prevented, as the keys can’t accidentally press and dial avoiding a possible expensive phone call. I sure had them from time to time wi
th my old phone.

The handset is lightweight (82g) which is also a plus point as it won’t weigh down your pocket or handbag like some of the bricks can do and you are provided with 200 minutes talktime and 140hrs of standby providing you have your battery properly charged. I’m not 100% on that little fact however as I find myself charging my new Motorola much more frequently than my Philips c12, although it does last a long battery time, I predict it’s probably not as much as 140 hours!


Now onto the V.50 features
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I didn’t realise a phone could have so many features, I guess my old phone being brought 2 and ½ years ago was a little ancient in the technology stakes.

Anyway by clicking the “MENU” button which is clearly stated on the handset the phone menu is brought up onto the mobile’s screen which is roughly about 2.5 by 3cm (sorry I can’t find my ruler, or I’m just a bit too lazy get it!).

I am going to write about each of the options you can select from the menu in the order that they come in on the display below:

~ ACCESS INTERNET~

The V.50 can access the Internet because it is a WAP enabled phone. You simply press “OK” on the access internet option and it will dial up for you. You then have the option of reading your e-mails, finding out the latest footy scores or checking the weather for example. I have only used this once, but successfully and I didn’t want to waste my credit as I can use my computer for free to do so. It is quite expensive at 20p per min, but I can see it being very handy in an emergency. (Such as male screaming to find out a footy score after a TV has blown up or your radio signal is lost!)

~VIRGIN XTRAS~

From this option if you select it you can top-up you mobile with call time, get help with your phone, shop on the internet, find out latest offers, get
travel information, listen to music and listen to information about going out or staying in. This info is all made relevant to you as when you register your phone they automatically know which area you are likely to be in.

~PHONE BOOK~

This is pretty simple really. It’s just like a phone book but stored in your handset electronically. You can voice dial from it which means you can set up names and numbers and using voice recognition just speak into the handset to automatically call people. You can view the ten last calls which you made and view your own personal number which comes in useful, when like me you can never remember it. If you don’t like the idea of voice dialling you can also set up one touch dialling, which would mean you only have to hold down a selected number to ring someone.

~ALARM CLOCK~

These are alarm clock features whereby you can programme your phone to send you reminder messages. Great once again if you have a memory like a fish!

~CALL RELATED FEATURES~

Here you can view your battery meter to estimate how much battery time you have left. You can also restrict your phone number if you want to call someone and not let them know who called or is calling, as well as having the option to call-divert, talk and fax, use call waiting or you can turn on call barring just in case you have psycho ex-boyfriends who won’t stop calling you. You can also turn on you ‘Key answer only’ option which means you can see who is calling you first and you don’t just answer your phone as soon as you flip the lid of the handset up.

~MESSAGES~

Oh the great old world of text messaging. I’m sure every one knows what an SMS TXT is by now, but if not have no fear because they are just messages in text (and sometimes picture) form which can be sent from one mobile phone to another. Therefore from this option you probably now realise you can compose, view and sto
re text messages. You can also retrieve voice mail messages, which is similar to a home phone answering machine. There is also a nifty idea called Voicenotes whereby you can record a conversation with someone (by pressing the small button next to the aerial) and then replay it at a later time. This is very useful if you have complicated details to remember and you cannot write them down. There are also a few more complicated functions (none of which you’ll ever need to use) so I’ll skip them and you can read about them if you decide to buy the phone.

~PHONE SETUP~

From here you have the option to adjust your ring tone, decide whether you want your phone to ring or vibrate (or both), choose your ringer tone (there are 11 – all quite annoying; so I would recommend you compose your own or download one from the internet). You can also select your alarm ringer tone, set a message alert tone, edit a music tone or take a look at the quick access set up. Even more options in this section include a phone lock (for extra security), contrast editing and a few bits and bobs to do with your sim card and extended menus.

~NETWORK SELECTION~

From here you can view available networks for your mobile phone or if you travel abroad for example you can do a network search to find local networks to use. There is also a preferred network or the option to find a new network. If you choose to buy this phone from the Dixon’s web exclusive offer then your network will be with Virgin.

~CALL METERS~

Call timers lets you view things such as how long your last ten calls were for. This may be useful if someone else borrows your phone and you’re feeling stingy and want to charge then, or simply if you want to see how long you babble on for and realise why you have to top up so often.

~GAMES~

Then of course there are the pointless games to pass your time when you’re on the bus or listening to
someone really boring! The V.50 has three games; Towers of Hanoi, Baccarat and Bricks. ‘Towers of Hanoi’ is a simple strategy game to time whereby you have to make a pyramid on a pole from a bunch of blocks. It can be trickier than it sounds. ‘Baccarat’ is based on a card game where you have to guess an amount of money on whether the player or dealer will win, lose or draw. ‘Bricks’ is the game where you have a ball bouncing between a bat a block of bricks and the idea is to remove all the bricks by hitting them with the ball.

So there you go…those are the main features of the Motorola V.50, but there is still far more to the phone. For example….

PRESS THE UP ARROW
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By pressing the up arrow on the bottom right of the handset, a picture options screen is selected whereby using the left and right arrows on the handset you can scroll through a whole load of phone options much quicker. Such as you can find out the date/time, see if you have any messages or missed calls and compose messages for example.

When you receive a message your phone will either vibrate or ping with whatever tone you chose it to, you have the option to read it immediately or if you don’t an envelope picture will appear in the top right hand of the screen to let you know you have messages you have not read.

The “M+” key on the phone is a quick button for adding a new person to your phone book; this is quite handy as it saves time when you want to add someone quickly without the hassle of having to scroll through loads of menus. The envelope with three ))) key simply quick dials your voicemail.

There are a few other features on the phone, but these are pointless to describe as they should make no difference to a consumer opinion and they can be learnt about by reading the manual if you decide to buy it.

Overall, my personal opinion of this m
obile is very high. I have not encountered any problems with it at all and I find it simple to use, and the handset design makes it quick and efficient, especially with the voice dialling option. When the usual cost for this mobile is between £150 to £200 I say “Get to Dixons.co.uk quickly”

So there you go! The Motorola V.50…my new mobile bargain!

Sam x

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