CNET editors' review
-
CNET editors' rating:
stars
Good
Detailed editors' rating
- Reviewed on: 04/25/2007
Though Verizon Wireless was the first carrier to score the Motorola Razr V3c and Krzr K1m, it was a bit slower on the uptake of the Moto's CDMA Slvr, the L7c. Rival carrier Sprint was first to market with the thin candy bar phone, and Verizon now follows with its own model. Except for a color change, the Verizon Slvr L7c is indistinguishable from its counterpart, and it also comes armed with a VGA camera and EV-DO support but it lacks a stereo Bluetooth profile. Call quality wasn't the best but it's a decent phone if fashion is your main concern. Verizon's Svr L7c is $69 with service.
Design
Like Sprint's L7c and the GSM Slvr L7, the Verizon Slvr looks like a bit like a Razr that's been hammered flat. The trim profile (4.5 inches tall by 2 inches wide by 0.5 inch deep) will appeal to thin phone enthusiasts who are partial to the candy bar design, and the lightweight (3.7 ounces) ensures easy portability. The Slvr has a solid feeling in the hand but it's difficult to cradle it between your head and shoulder. We weren't crazy about the bland silver color scheme; we much prefer the dark grey hue on the Sprint handset.
Unfortunately, Moto went for a lower-resolution display on the Slvr L7c. While the Slvr L7 model offers a full 262,000 colors on its display, the L7c taps out at 65,000 colors. Some users may not notice the difference as the display is perfectly serviceable for most uses. Yet, it's the inconsistency that bothers us. We don't see why our CDMA friends have to suffer. On the other hand, the 1.9-inch display is large enough and you can change the backlighting time and the brightness. The Slvr L7c uses Verizon's standardized menus, which aren't an improvement over Moto's clunky interface.
The navigation array is almost unchanged from the Sprint phone. There's a four-way toggle with a central OK button, two soft keys, and the Talk and End/power buttons. You can set the toggle to give one-touch-access to four user-defined functions but Verizon slightly altered the remaining controls. A Back button replaces the Clear key while a camera/camcorder shortcut replaces the dedicated speakerphone control. The flat keypad buttons are a bit cramped and, there's little separation between the individual rows so users with large digits should give the phone a test drive before buying. The keys are brightly backlit for dialing in the dark.
A volume rocker sits on the left just above the Motorola "smart" key. This control doubles as the speakerphone key when you press and hold. The Mini USB charger ports rests on the right spine just above a control that initiates voice commands and starts the voice memo recorder. The camera lens is on the back of the phone without a flash or self-portrait mirror while the microSD card slot is crammed rather inconveniently behind the battery.
Features
The Slvr L7c's phone book holds 1,000 contacts, each of which can take five phone numbers and two e-mail addresses. You can assign contacts to caller groups, pair them with a picture for photo caller ID, or assign them one of the 20 polyphonic ringtones. Other features include a vibrate mode, voice commands and dialing, text and multimedia messaging, a calendar, a voice recorder, a calculator, a world clock, an alarm clock, PC syncing, instant messaging and e-mail, speakerphone, and a notepad. Bluetooth is on board as well but unlike the Sprint handset, it does not support stereo (A2DP) and most object exchange profiles.
Most helpful user reviews
- Average user rating: 2.0 stars out of 15 reviews
- My rating: 0 stars Write review
-
Showing 3 of 15 user reviews
-
5 out of 5 people found this helpful
-
3 out of 4 people found this helpful
-
2 out of 2 people found this helpful
- See all 15 user reviews Write review
Submit your review
%20Cell%20Phone%20reviews%20-%20CNET%20Reviews&srcUrl=http://reviews.cnet.com/cell-phones/motorola-slvr-l7c-verizon/4505-6454_7-32421553.html){kind=small}