Motorola Motoyuva W230

It’s great to see mobile phone manufacturers incorporating multiple features into low-end handsets targeted at the entry-level segment. The Motoyuva W230 is a slight upgrade from the previous Motoyuva that was simply a basic radio mobile. The new version promises to be a step ahead by incorporating an MP3 player. But does it deliver? Here are my findings on the W230.

Design
I rather liked the candybar design of the W230; it’s ergonomic and lightweight. Unlike some other basic models, the W230 doesn’t have an often-hard-to-use rubberized keypad. It has a 2.5mm earphone socket on one side and the miniUSB charging / PC docking port on the other. The speakers are on the top. The 1.3 inch CSTN display has a resolution of 128 x 128 pixels and 65k colors.

The W230 sits comfortably in your hand. I liked the design from all angles except for the fact that it lacks a hot-swap slot for the microSD card. Of course if you do buy a 1GB microSD card it’s not like you’ll be removing it often, but it helps to have an easier facility, doesn’t it?

Features and Performance
The W230 is a simple phone, so it doesn’t offer any extravagant features. However, that doesn’t mean it doesn’t try to deliver. From the Media point of view the W230 seems VFM. The FM radio is easy to use and has superb reception, even while commuting inside the train. It includes auto scanning and setting presets.

Sadly, it didn’t seem to be able to save the channels correctly and ended up saving the same channels twice. You might as well set the frequency, fine-tune it, and save the presets yourself by holding down a number key on the keypad that will correspond to the channel preset. It’s a cinch. There's also a recording feature for the radio.

The MP3 player is strictly a no-frills job. It has a simple interface and the handsets nav-pad can be used as controls for the player. The output is not too loud but the quality of sound from the bundled earphones are decent. It supports MIDI, MP3 and AMR formats. The player also allows users to create their own playlists.

Motorola’s CrystalTalk technology has been incorporated into this handset, and I checked it out. Though the person at the other end could hear me just fine, I found the line less than spectacular. of course, it could be an issue with just this particular piece. I hope so.

Other now-established features include games like Sudoku and Tetris, calendar, stopwatch, calculator and alarm clock. What it lacks is a currency converter and a world clock application. It supports GPRS and WAP for net connectivity, and there's a loudspeaker for handsfree conversations. Battery life is not great but it's adequate – a full charge lasted me a day and a half with music, FM, messaging and a few calls. About 6 hours or so of talk would deplete the battery.

The Bottomline
The Motoyuva W230 is an entry-level handset that is simple and easy to use. It costs Rs 3,240, and considering it comes with a decent MP3 player and FM radio with good reception, it’s worth it. There are enough basic features, and with GPRS as bonus, plenty of users will be happy with this handset.