Review Motorola C200

Motorola C200 is produced by BenQ (ODM-request). C200 is a low end device. This device has a minimum of functions like Motorola T191, that’s why its cost is very low. The experience in sales of T191 shows that the end users of this segment demand from the device only one function - communication, and C200 provides it rather good.

The differences from Motorola T191 are minimal. The appearance of the device was changed, the aerial became built-in. Motorola C200 has interchangeable covers, so its sizes are a bit different: 105,5 x 44,1 x 19,5 mm. The handset weighs 84 g. This weight is comfortable, so you can carry the device anyhow you want.

The phone is equipped with lithium-ion battery (550 mAh). According to the manufacturer it could provide up to 120 hours of standby time and up to 6 hours of talking time. In reality the phone operates about 3-4 days in case of 20 minutes of talking. It’s a good index for such model.

The display has a resolution of 98x64 pixels that allows displaying up to 4 text lines (16 symbols each). The backlight is green (LED) and rather bright. In the standby mode on the screen are displayed: signal level, battery indicator (4 points), date and time, information about provider and icons for soft keys – phonebook and fast access to WAP. You can enter the menu using the center key under the screen.

The keys are made of plastic and they are pleasant by touch. The backlight is green and it is clearly visible as on light, as in darkness. The alphanumerical keys are not big and are located near to each other. It is rather inconvenient: when you dial a number, your finger touches near by keys. The control is realized by 2 soft keys and 2-way navigation key.

Menu’s organization is very simple: 2 lines of icons, when you choose 1 of them you see text label. Each item has its own number. Shortcuts number navigation is available. Also you can set up 9 shortcuts for fast access.

The first item of the menu is phonebook. The device can store up to 100 numbers; 1 number is corresponded to 1 name. The names can be typed in Russian and in English, but T9 will be available only in new firmware version. A name can’t be longer than 15 letters, a number - than 20 figures. The voice dial is available (up to 10 labels) and it can be activated by moving the navigation key. Each number can be corresponded to 1 of 5 groups. For each group you can set up personal icon, melody and alarm type (melody, melody plus vibration alert, vibration alert, no sound), and also SMS alert. The phone has 27 ringtones and also you can create up to 5 melodies. C200 can copy one or all entries from phonebook to SIM-card or conversely. Two memory types are divided, so you can’t use them at once.

Call logs are also stored in this menu (Phonebook). Date and time of the call are also shown. You can look missed call even if the keyboard is blocked; the block will activate after the look-see. Manual blocking is enabled by long pressing #. To disable it you should press right soft key and then *.

Messages. Here you can create and read SMS-messages. The phone has 20 preset templates and 5 user templates. The phone supports EMS, so SMS Chat is also available. You can send one of 25 preset animated icons. By the way, the device supports long SMS-messages up to 765 symbols (English only).

The phone has automatic switch on/off at predefined time. This function can be set up for single or every day operation. C200 has very nice screen saver – a crocodile tries catching a spider. It’s a pleasant feature. You can also install up to 5 additional screen savers.

The WAP-browser has 1.1 version, its settings are simple and clear.

The alarm can (works even if the phone is switched off) be adjusted for single of every day operation. Unfortunately the alarm’s tone can’t be changed. Automatic time control (the phone compares adjusted time with provider’s time) function could be very useful during trips. The device has hourly reminder, in my opinion this function is useless. Simple stop-watch and usual calculator make their job.

In organizer (Calendar menu) you can look dates for month and also type in small notes (up 19 symbols) for certain date. It’s possible to adjust sound alerts for reminders – rather simple and uninteresting.

The last thing I didn’t mention – 3 games: Snake, Box World and 5 Stones. The first game is typical snake, the second one is a logical game with lots of levels, and you should arrange boxes to pointed places. The last game is usual tic-tac-toe.

Impressions

The phone has no problems with communication quality, ringtone volume and sound level. As a whole, this phone is not bad low end device, which is the successor of T191. The deliveries begin in autumn, the price is about 75$, that makes the sales of this device high (as there’s lack of such devices in this segment). Technologically this device is an exact copy of T191. Menu’s work is improved, software bugs are removed. In general, the device is balanced and very simple.

Eldar Murtazin ([email protected])
Translated by Andreas Von Horn ([email protected])
Published — 8 September 2003

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