HP TouchSmart PC, $1,149.99
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37 out of 37 people found this review helpful
4.5 stars
"Take the editors comments with a grain of salt.."
Pros: Battery life, call quality, funtionality as a cell phone
Cons: Unnecessary bling
Summary: It's time for CNET editors to revamp the way phones are rated, and have a dual rating system - one for cell phone features and functionality, and a second one for all the bells and whistles that add nothing to a cell phone's primary function. Then you will have an honest rating system.
First, I'm not sure why any manufacturer thinks that thinner is better. IT'S A CELL PHONE, not a piece of paper. This phone FEELS like your holding a cell phone in your hand, not a toy.
You'd be hard pressed to find a phone with better call quality. Sound is clear, with no interference. And I've yet to go anyplace where the signal strength is less than three bars. 95% of the time it is a steady 5 bars. Finally, a cell phone that doesn't lose a signal.
Menus are easy to navigate, and the internal screen is bright and clear.
There are probably better PTT phones on the market than the V365, but at least the PTT button doesn't get in the way like on the Sony Ericsson Z525a. Pick up a Z525a once, and you'll see what I mean.
I don't need to see a picture of who is calling me. Not sure why anyone would. But for some reason, the CNET editors think that is important. Good grief, what's this world coming to?
Battery life is excellent, going almost a week with moderate usage before needing to be recharged.
If you're looking for pretty, look somewhere else. Remember that a phone doesn't have to be pretty to function well. As far as functionality and features for a cell phone, the V365 is top drawer, not midrange as the editors would have you believe. If you want a cell phone that functions like a cell phone, this is it.
- 9 replies to this review
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1st off the audio is on the back side instead of the front and the audio for sound is poor even when maxed out even with a bluetooth it could stand some improvment on the audio for listing.
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I am like you, I separate aesthetics from function and place function as the selling point. I just got this phone and was able to find my way around quite a few features without looking at the manual. That speaks volumes to me since I am not super tech savvy. This phone is seriously user friendly. I haven't made call from several areas yet so I can not speak the the call quality but that is not why I am commenting. I am just agreeing with you and so far, I am not sorry I "bought" this phone (got it as a freebie with the contract).
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You are dead on. I live in rural area, so call quality and signal strength affects my decisions more than bells and whistles. Thanks.
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The external display they cut down for being Mono LCD is a plus. You can see it in the sunlight and don't have to turn it on every time you want to see the time.
Voice quality is a lot better than the Motorola V3XX which got better ratings.
Need someone that is able to hear correctly doing the reviews. -
I'm with all of you on this one. I want a phone that works well in remote locations as well as cities, is good for intern'l use and does kill the battery in 5 hours.
I went to the Cingular store and tried a bunch of them including the new Palm Treo 680 (really cool, but really pricey), the Samsung Blackjack (what is that, a phone or a gaming device?) and a few LGs. I liked the Nokia's, but way too expensive for a basic phone and no flips that I liked. The sales guy said he used the Moto V365 himself and thought it was a great basic phone with a few useful options. I have to agree. I got the bluetooth ear piece (not really crazy about it yet, but it works ok, especially while driving) and walked out without paying $500 for features I would probably never use.
I prefer the flip feature so I won't destroy the screen or key pad. I like the USB charger set-up. Connects right to my computer. Thus, the Moto V365 was my ticket. I would give this phone an 8.0 for basic features and leave the rest of the games and toys for my Palm T/X. -
I just made a cnet user name, just to comment on this review. Thank you for being realistic about this phone! I just finished sending a letter off to cingular about how I'm switching to Nextel because all of the phones on Cingular service want to be cameras and mp3 players, and they're terrible phones. THANKS for this review.
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Absolutely agree Cruiser. I can't believe these CNET idiots that make comments like, "this phone is bulky." Maybe they should have to carry one of those good old Motorola bag phones that I had back in the 80's. Then they will know what bulky means.
Most of the phones these days are too small to reliably hold on to, including my Samsung A900. My girlfriend has the A940 and it feels a lot more solid in the hand. -
Finally a useful review. I'm not 14 and don't care if a cell phone will make movies and play songs. I want to dial it and have conversations that can be understood. CNET--TAKE NOTE.
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Cruiser218 - Thanks for a very useful review. I was disappointed to see the 6.6 of the editors' rating. Call me odd and old fashioned, but the features I'm MOST looking for in a phone are: reliability, clarity, signal sensitivity, battery life and ease of use.
Sounds like this is a pretty good phone, and I'm going to go look at one in the store tomorrow. If I had gone solely by the CNet rating, I might have missed this one... and all because the editors can't seem to get enough unnecessary bells and whistles.
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