Motorola Brute i686 (graphite, Sprint Nextel)

Pros: Has the same initial quality and look of the i680. The CNET editors were fooled by the i680.

Cons: This phone looks like the i680 and very likely suffers the same hinge design flaw.

Summary: Get a warranty rider in writing for the hinge.

If you want a look into your future, read up on the hinge problems of the i680. Run a google search on "i680 hinge bulletin" and read the motorola service links. If you still want to buy this phone, get a guarantee in writing that this phone has a new design hinge that will not fail for the duration of your contract on pain of free replacement each time it happens. I bet they'll find you a different model by the second phone.

The armor is made of weak material that makes it look like the phone is abused more than it is. You can rub across a sharp table corner in an industrial environment and take a chunk out of it. That will probably be used to "prove abuse" and deny warranty.

Have 8 in our "fleet", the 4 most used phones all have the RH hinge broken by the first anniversary. Local Nextel store claimed it was abuse and not warranty after the first one (at about 6months). Three more have broken in the last two months.

I am about to ship them all off to our national provider for replacement.

Just before or just as the hinge breaks, the hold-open spring fails as well. Have you ever tried to talk on a flip phone while having to brace open the top so it doesn't flop shut and hang up your call?

I am convinced that the other 4 i680's we have will fail eventually if we don't replace them first.

STAR TAC mechanical quality is long gone. I think the i686 is the same phone with minor waterproofing tweaks. I suspect the hinge is the same and the model number change was to help hide from the steadily accumulating bad reviews.