Review GSM/UMTS smartphone Motorola A1000

The beginning of the review>>>

Applications in Motorola A 1000

Home is a default screen. A list of last events of the current date, the number of various messages and fast switch tags are displayed. The ideology of this screen is taken from a Pocket PC world and I can't judge how necessary it is here.

All the data about the current condition of the device is shown in the status line. Having touched the icon with a stylus you can see expanded reports.

A navi line with 6 icons is always present in the upper part of the screen. And if in Sony Ericsson products not only their disposition but the whole set may be changed here it's impossible, the navi line is firmly fixed. The first item is a home screen and then phone service. Having chosen the second bookmark you'll see a large keypad for entering numbers. You may switch to the call list by one pressure from here. There are three lists in the phone. The lists are maximum complete and not only date and time are specified but the duration also. Unfortunately, there are no any expanded tools for working with lists and other ways of representation are absent. Those who used a possibility to switch between a compact (similar calls are summarized) and expanded mode (all the calls are displayed) in P900 will surely understand me.

Web browser is in the third bookmark. In principle if I say that is a bit changed version of mobile Opera that'll be enough. The browser supports full screen work, rendering pages for screen possibilities and getting extra plug-ins. Its possibilities are up to all the modern demands and the phone deserves only good praise in this characteristic.

Messages. All the message types are traditionally combined in the one list. The device supports up to 3 accounts (IMAP, POP3, SMTP protocols with a possible authorization for each protocol). There are templates for SMS and mass mailing. A limitation of 100 Kb is traditional for MMS.

Contacts There is a possibility to create any number of fields that is up to 8 by default with phone numbers, e-mail addresses and a full post address and a photo. There is voice dialing for any number but not for a name. A note is a text notice and you also may assign a personal melody to a name. The phone book possibilities, sorting it and representation are the maximum for today and are comparable with Sony Ericsson products.

Applications. All the other applications are gathered here; let's consider the main of them.

Calendar or organizer. I won't consider all the possibilities of the application and will only say the organizer is equal to those that are possible to see on a handheld. Here are weekly, monthly and daily views. Recurrent events, notifications and other useful things may be set. The organizer will surely satisfy all your needs.

To-do list. There is a to-do list in addition to the organizer, priorities, sorting and all you need for comfort work is here.

Music. The player supports mp3, MIDI, AMR, WMA, XMF, WAV, AU, 3GA, MMA formats. A possibility of repeating the track is interesting to mention. The payer is very simple and such programs cope with their tasks well.

Calculator. It's similar to a usual one and there is no engineering view, that's a pity.

Time. There are several alarm clocks besides setting time in this item. All of them may be set as once or recurrent in a specified period of time. Any file may be chosen as an alarm signal.

Control panel. All the settings connected with the device functioning are gathered here. Formatting memory cards, selecting screensavers and screen settings, system sounds and many other things are done from here. All the GPRS and Bluetooth settings are also here.

Pictures. This is a photo album where you can view files as small icons or a list of file names. Any file may be viewed in details and then information about its size, date and a picture expanded to fit the screen resolution will be shown. You may also see an increased picture thus you'll have to use scroll bars to see the parts of the picture.

Voice. Dictaphone works only in the standby mode and there are no any limitations on the records' duration except for the free memory.

Video. That is a simple video files viewer (including the files recorded using the device).

SyncML. There are settings for remote and local synchronization, everything works with no problems.

Picsel Viewer is the most interesting application of all preset. Viewing various office documents is possible with one program, for example, PowerPoint, MS Excel, MS Word, Adobe Acrobat, graphical files. That is only a viewing program where editing is impossible. Other manufacturers do not have similar programs or offer it for an extra fee.

Impressions

The quality of connection rouses no cavils and the signal volume is enough in the majority of cases, it's heard well. The quality of the call signal or its melodiousness is average and the signal is not very vivid despite the presence of the two loudspeakers. The mp3 player is realized rather well, the sound is comparable with phones by other manufacturers but that's better to install another player program.

The device is interesting in the fact it has no rivals in the 3G networks. If you plan to use it in usual GSM networks than any advantage over Sony Ericsson P900 is minimal and also A1000 is inferior to the elder model in possibilities (except for the camera).

The camera of A100 is not bad as compared to other Motorola models. But still loses to Samsung D500, Sony Ericsson S700. The camera is considered in a separate report.

In conclusion I'd like to say A1000 is surely a step forward for Motorola and the product looks interesting. But unfortunately it still has bluetooth problems and that puts serious limitations on the everyday use of the device. The model with the price of 700-750 USD competes with Sony Ericsson P900/ P910. A good package may be referred to advantages (depends on the country, in some bluetooth headset is not included into the kit), good basic functionality and the presence of a great number of compatible programs. Due to the absence of many Symbian-devices with a touchscreen A1000 is an interesting offer and it's cheaper than the rivals in the majority of countries. Those who use А920/А925 should certainly pay attention to A1000 since the devices are greatly different though having similar interfaces. And no doubt A1000 has no rivals as a 3G phone based on Symbian and having a touchscreen. This product is for those who understand how and what for they are going to use the device. So, Motorola A100 is not a mass solution.

Review of the camera possibilities will appear in the nearest future>>>

Eldar Murtazin ([email protected])
Translated by Maria Mitina ([email protected])

Published — 21 January 2005

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