Great little phone, Great big price. A comparison to the 8260
Written: Jan 06 '03 (Updated Jan 07 '03)
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Pros: Very small, sturdy, and feature filled
Cons: Features may not make up for high price
The Bottom Line: Great phone, but is it really worth the price?
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| cohall's Full Review: Motorola V60t |
To start, THIS IS BY FAR THE BEST LOOKING AND FEELING PHONE I HAVE EVER HELD! Motorola's new V60t is the top of the line phone currently offered by At&t Wireless. As such, they are also charging a top of the line price. At $200, the V60t is priced at least $100 more than At&t's next best phone, the Nokia 8260. And for $100 more, everything about this phone should be twice as good as the 8260. Let's start off by looking at the features.
First of all, the V60t is absolutely packed with features. For those of you familiar with the Nokia line of phones, you will find the Motorola menu and user interface quite similar, and very easy to navigate. Some of the features that are very similar between the 8260, and the V60t include;
1. A plethera of ring choices, customizable ring options, and various types of ring and vibrate settings. The V60t actually has 32 built in rings, as wells as 32 customizable rings. The Motorola also beats the 8260 in ease of switching between ring modes. No more pushing a tiny button on top of the phone, just push one of the easily reachable side buttons on the V60t to make your choice. One downside to the V60t is the ring and vibrate combo choice. With the 8260, you can get the phone to ring and vibrate simultaneously, with the Motorola, the same option has the phone vibrate for the first two rings with out sound. For the remaining rings, the phone sounds, but does not vibrate. This is something you may want to consider if you used this feature on the 8260 quite often.
2. Text messaging. Both phones have very similar text messaging capabilities. And both have the ability to guess what you are trying to type, in order to save time when searching for the letters on your keypad. Text messaging is a draw.
3. Phone book. The motorola has this one won, hands down. The V60t has finally given At&t a phone with voice recognition. A standard for most other wireless companies, the voice recognition is a feature I absolutely love. Once you have entered a name and number into the phone book, you just say the name twice and it is recorded. To call that person, simply push a button on the side of the phone and say the name. Two seconds later, the phone is ringing for the person you were calling. It's simple and great. A feature I can't reccommend enough. Both the 8260 and V60t have room for many phone numbers, but the voice activation gives the nod to the V60t.
4. Datebook. Both phones seem to have equal ability in helping you to keep track of your appointments. However, the V60t is able to connect to your computer through a USB port, in order to sync up with any other appointments from your PDA or computer. A great feature for the busy business type, or anyone who likes to keep track of there day electronically. Again, the V60t is the winner.
That is basically where the similarity in features end, and the V60t starts to show what its really made of. The following features are unique to the V60t, and leaves the 8260 far behind
1. Shortcut keys. The Motorola gives it's user the ability to reallocate which buttons do what function. I know it sounds confusing, but I'll break it down to simplicity. Have you ever been using your phone and said "Jeez, I hate that I have to push all these buttons just to do a simple task" or "I don't like the way this button does this, it should have used this button instead" or my favorite, "If i made this phone, I would have changed it to act like this, instead of the way it is now". Well, the V60t gives its user the opportunity to redesignate any key they want. Now, instead of being stuck with how the manufacture set up the phone, you can design it your self. If you want the volume key to be the voicemail instead, you can easily change it to be that way. This is a great feature for those who like to set up their phone exactly how they want it.
2. Voice Notes. The V60t with it's voice recognition ability, allows users to record voice notes to them selves. Instead of writing notes on your PDA or phone, just push a simple button, and it will record all the notes you need. Another quick and easy feature.
3. Outside caller ID display. If you are worried that because this is a flip phone you won't be able to see who is calling ahead of time, don't worry. Motorola thought of that, and put a small two line display on the cover of the phone. Most of the time this shows the time and date, but when someone calls, it displays the caller's number and name. If you miss the call, it will let you know if you have a voicemail or text message waiting as well.
4. It's a flip Phone! Now not all people like flip phones, but I will never go back. This is my first flip phone, and I couldn't be happier. The flipablility protects the keys, the display, and makes answering calls as easy as possible. You'll no longer have to lock your keys, or worry about making inadvertent calls when your phone is being bumped around in a bag. The flip phone takes care of all of these problems. Trust me, once you change to a flip phone, you'll never want to go back.
Now there are some features that the 8260 has, that the V60t doesn't. If these features are important to you, make sure you check them out.
1. A calculator
2. A currency converter
3. Business card
4. Group and profile settings
5. Games
PERFORMANCE (Clarity/Battery Life):
This will be a small section of this review, because the answer is so simple. The clarity of the V60t blows away any other Nokia I have ever used, especially the 8260. I thought the 8260 was great, until I heard this phone. No more light buzzing, no more choppy calls, just absolutely silent and amazing clarity at all times. The V60t wins this battle by a mile. As far as battery life goes, it is equal to the 8260, and probably better. I leave my phone on 24 hours a day, and talk quite often. With this pattern, I have been charging my phone about every 4th day. BUT, the V60t comes with a desktop charger as well as AN EXTRA BATTERY! So there is never any delay to my ability to use the phone.
PHYSICAL ATTRIBUTES.
The V60t casing is made up of a highly durable metal. It has great looks and is scratch resistant. Comparing it to the 8260: The body of the V60t is shorter than the body of the 8260, but the antenna on the Motorola makes the length almost exactly equal. The V60t is about 3 mm thicker than the 8260, and weighs just a touch more. However, the V60t feels so incredibly sturdy in your hand, and talking on it is ten times more comfortable than the 8260.
DURABILITY:
The other morning, I through my coat over my should and the Motorola came flying out of my pocket. From 7 feet in the air onto a hardwood floor, the V60t showed not one single mark of the incident, and not one single impact on performance. It doesn't get much better than that.
ACCESSORIES:
The V60t comes with a multitude of accessories;
1. Extra battery
2. Desktop Charger, with slots for both the battery loaded phone, as well as the extra battery.
3. Hands-free head set
4. Belt Clip
5. Speaker phone adapter
6. Cord-Only charger
PRICE:
At&t is offering the phone for $199. If you agree to extend or sign up for a 1 year contract with At&t, you will get a $40 rebate. For two years extension or new contract, you should be able to get a $80 rebate.
Final thoughts:
The Motorola V60t is in an amazing phone. It beats AT&T's next best phone in almost every case. Unfortunately, this phone has the price tag that makes almost anyone cringe. One needs to decide whether or not this phone is worth it's excessive cost. It is an awesome phone, but for $100 less, the 8260 sure is nice too. In the end, it's a matter of preference. Hopefully the information in this review will help you to make a better decision. And you can always check out my review of the 8260, my previously great phone to compare how I felt (and still feel) about it. Either way, you'll end up with an amazing phone!
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 299
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Epinions.com ID:
cohall
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Location: Boston
Reviews written: 11
Trusted by: 0 members
About Me:
I'm a 24 year old strategy management consultant, currently living in Boston.
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