Motorola V60c (Cellular One)

Reviewed on 6/12/03    Updated on: 11/22/02    Sexy phones usually come at a price, so it isn't shocking that the V60c, Motorola's answer to Nokia's 8800-series phones, initially cost big bucks. This follow-up to the V8160 is cased in a rugged aluminum housing, has nice features and an external LCD, and matches up well against other stylishly elite phones. Truth be told, we didn't want to return it after our two-week loan period expired.

Design of Motorola V60c (Cellular One)

As noted, instead of a plastic casing, the trimode (CDMA 800/CDMA 1900/AMPS) V60c has an anodized aluminum casing that we're happy to report seems scratch resistant (we carried the phone with keys in our pocket) and doesn't show fingerprints like Nokia's chrome 8860 does. The phone also features a sturdy, retractable antenna and good-sized, well-positioned keys. Put it all together and the phone measures 4.5 by 3.42 by 1.77 inches and weighs 3.6 ounces, or 0.6 ounces more than the V8160 and V8162, both of which have plastic casings.

When comparing the V60c to the V8160, the first thing you'll notice besides the aluminum casing is that the V60c features a standard display. It's backlit (electroluminescent) and still pretty readable, particular when set to display text in the larger font. But we prefer holographic displays. There's also an external LCD that allows you to view caller ID info, text messages, or time and date without flipping open the phone.

Like the V8160, the V60c displays only three lines of text (or two with the larger font) in Wireless Web mode. That's not exactly ideal, but you do get Openwave's microbrowser version 4.1, which displays graphics, albeit crude ones.

Features of Motorola V60c (Cellular One)

The other thing you'll notice is that Motorola has redesigned its user interface. Overall, the phone is easy to navigate, but we can't say this is the simplest or most elegant UI we've seen, and you'll have to read the manual to take advantage of the phone's shortcuts and figure out how to use its more advanced features. They include: a voice-recognition system that allows you to create voice-command shortcuts to favorite features or dial up to 20 contacts by saying their names; a voice recorder (that stores two minutes of notes); a 400-entry phone book; a date book; and SMS messaging, which must be activated with your service provider. More standard features include call history, caller ID, an alarm, three-way calling, and customizable ringer tones.

To add more functionality, Motorola says it offers an FM radio accessory, a data kit that turns the unit into a wireless modem, and TrueSync software (cable included) that allows you to sync the V60c's phone book and date book to a PIM on your Windows PC.

Performance of Motorola V60c (Cellular One)

When it came to talking, we had no complaints about the phone's ergonomics and had an easy time finding the earpiece's sweet spot. Using Verizon's service in New York City, we were pleased with the sound quality, and signal strength was good, even when we roamed over to an analog network.

Like the V8160 and V8162, the V60c doesn't offer great battery life. Motorola says you'll get up to 150 minutes of talk time and 150 hours of standby time from its standard shipping battery. Our tests confirmed the talk time but fell a little short of the standby claim.