The Rapture VU30's photo quality is decent. There is little image noise, but colors were faded and images were slightly washed out. Videos were about what you'd expect from a camera phone; which is to say, not great. The Rapture has 67MB of internal shared memory, but you can use a micro-SD card for more space.
As an EV-DO phone, the VU30 supports the full range of Verizon's 3G services, including the V Cast video service and the V Cast Music Store with Rhapsody. The music player's interface is identical to those on other Verizon phones. The handset also supports Verizon's VZ Navigator GPS service.
You can personalize the Rapture with a variety of wallpapers, clock formats, and alert tones, and you can type a personalized banner. You can download more options and additional ringtones using the WAP 2.0 wireless Web browser. The Rapture doesn't come with any games, but you can buy a range of titles from Verizon.
Performance
We tested the dual-band, dual-mode (CDMA 800/1900; EV-DO) Motorola Rapture VU30 in San Francisco using Verizon Wireless service. Call quality was satisfying on most fronts. On the upside, the signal was clear and strong and we suffered from no static or interference from other electronic devices. Also, voices sounded natural. On the downside, while the volume level was loud enough for most environments, we did have some trouble hearing in noisy places. In those cases we were able to hold conversations, but we had to ask our friends to repeat themselves.
On their end, callers were mostly pleased. They could tell we were using a cell phone, but on the whole they mentioned the clarity of the signal and the voice quality. A few also mentioned a rather soft volume level, but it was fine for most occasions. Automated-calling systems could understand us most of the time.
The Rapture's speakerphone quality is decent, though not spectacular. You have to turn up the volume pretty high if you want to hear, and at those loud levels the voice quality is somewhat distorted. Callers could hear us as long as we were speaking close to the phone. Bluetooth headset calls, however, were somewhat improved.
Streaming-video quality on the VU30 was just average. Though videos loaded quickly and played without interruption, the player-frame size is quite small and the video quality is pixelated. Sound quality wasn't bad, however, and the audio was in sync with the video. Music quality was pretty good. The single speaker has a respectable output, but headphones will provide the best experience. Songs downloaded in about 30 seconds, thanks to a strong EV-DO connection.
The Rapture has a rated battery life of 4.5 hours talk time and 19.6 days standby time. It has a tested talk time of 2 hours and 40 minutes. According to FCC radiation tests, the VU30 has a digital SAR rating of 0.88 watt per kilogram.
What You'll Pay
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