Motorola V365 (AT&T)

CNET editors' rating: 3.0 stars Good
Detailed editors' rating
Design: 6.0
Features: 7.0
Performance: 7.0
Overall score: 6.6 (3.0 stars)
• Average user rating: 4.0 stars out of 41 reviews
• See all user reviews

Product summary

CNET editors' review

• Reviewed by: Kent German
• Reviewed on: 12/01/2006

You'd be forgiven if you expected Cingular's new Motorola to look like the Motorola V360 for T-Mobile. Though they're siblings, the V365 barely resembles the V360, and that's a good thing since we never thought the V360 was too pretty. Instead, the V365 flip phone takes its design cues from the Motorola V557. Yes, its overall form factor is bulkier, but it has the same silver face bordered by a dark, rubberized ring with a camera lens perched in the top-left corner. The feature set also is comparable, with offerings such as a VGA camera, Bluetooth, and a speakerphone, but the V365 adds an MP3 player, push-to-talk support (PTT) and a memory-card slot. Performance is satisfactory, too, but we prefer the Sony Ericsson Z525a for a Cingular PTT handset. The V365 is a reasonable $99 with service.The Motorola V365's design is a bit deceiving. It may not look like much when viewed straight on, but when you turn the phone on its side, you'll notice immediately that it's a whopper. At 3.54 x 1.65 x 0.95 inches, it's thicker then some smart phones and almost twice as thick as Moto's celebrated Razr. We're not sure why Motorola gave it such girth, as it makes the V365 a bit clunky and heavy (3.9 ounces), but we have to admit it's a change from the current thin-phone mania. The V365 fits only in bigger pockets, but it did benefit from a solid construction and a comfortable feel in the hand. Also, it does without the external antenna of similar Moto phones.

The 1-inch-square external display is bigger than the screen on the V360, but sadly, it remains monochrome so there's no support for photo caller ID. It shows the date, the time, battery life, signal strength, and the phone number called ID, but no display options are customizable. Above the display is the camera lens, but the V365 lacks a flash and a self-portrait mirror.

A small speaker sits on the rear face of the V365. It's not an ideal location, but we're more displeased that Moto stuck the MicroSD card slot behind the battery cover. Surely on such a beefy phone Motorola could have found a better place for it. The voice-command button sits on the right spine just above the mini USB/charger port, while the PTT button and a small volume rocker rest on the left spine above the headset jack. Thankfully, the V365 doesn't use a proprietary connection.

The 1.8-inch internal display (176x220 pixels) is typical Motorola. It supports 65,000 colors, which is quite adequate for most uses, but we wish Motorola would embrace 262,000-color resolutions on more of its midrange handsets. You can change the display's brightness and the backlight time, but the font size is fixed. Also, we hope Motorola updates its stodgy menu interface soon. The navigation array is set a good distance from the display due to the oversized hinge, but it's tactile and easy to use. A five-way toggle is your primary tool, and you also get two soft keys, a dedicated menu button, and the Talk and End/power controls. Both the toggle and the soft keys can be set as shortcuts to user-defined functions. Finishing the array are shortcut keys for the camera and Cingular's Internet service. The only thing missing is a dedicated back/clear key, but we're used to that omission on Moto phones. The keypad buttons are large and well spaced, and we like that they're raised above the surface of the phone. They also have a bright backlighting for dialing in the dark.The Motorola V360's feature set is soundly midrange. Though it adds some goodies not available on the V557 or the V360, it contains few surprises. The phone book holds a hefty 1,000 contacts, with room in each entry for six phone numbers, a street address, a birth date, and a nickname (the SIM card holds an additional 250 contacts). You can organize callers into groups and assign them any of 14 polyphonic (24-chord) ring tones for caller ID. You can pair them with a photo as well, but remember the images won't appear on the external display. Basic features include a vibrate mode, text and multimedia messaging, a calculator, a datebook, and an alarm clock. Beyond the essentials, the V365 also offers full Bluetooth, support for Cingular's PTT network, a speakerphone (usable after you place the call), e-mail, and instant messaging, as well as voice commands and dialing.

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User reviews

• Average user rating: 4.0 stars out of 41 reviews
• My rating: 0 stars Write review

• Showing 3 of 41 user reviewsSee all 41 user reviews

• 4.5 stars

  37 out of 37 people found this review helpful

  "Take the editors comments with a grain of salt.."

  by cruiser218 on December 5, 2006

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• 4.5 stars

  12 out of 12 people found this review helpful

  "Phone is superb if you need something that WORKS"

  by gboybama on December 27, 2006

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• 5.0 stars

  10 out of 10 people found this review helpful

  "Great Buy"

  by mandypo on April 14, 2007

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• See all 41 user reviews Write review

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