- Jul 15, 2003
- 80,287
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To recap, I recently made a crummy review of the Nokia 6301 purchased through T-Mobile. It was crummy because I only reviewed the items which were important to me. Will try to do better this time.
Right after I turned in my T-Mobile phone I checked out Sprint. Based on all the available internet information I decided on a rugged phone with GPS, the Moto i580.
http://www.phonescoop.com/phones/phone.php?p=875
BUILD:
Sturdy, as a rugged phone should be. It meets the Milspec standards for durability but I don?t really care about that. I was in the Navy for 9 years and to me Military Grade means overpriced and rotten quality. But this phone is tough. It can be left in direct sunlight all day with no ill effect. It can take severe abuse (I beat it on my kitchen counter as if I were trying to hammer nails). No problems with it. Didn?t even drop a call. It?s better than some of the other Rugged phones because it?s also waterproof. I was able to fill my bathroom sink and plop it in for a few minutes. When I felt like playing with it again, all I had to do was shake the water out of the speaker holes and it worked fine.
The phone has typical no-nonsense Moto Flip looks. It?s not unattractive, but certainly not a glamour phone. The i580 is designed to appeal to its target audience: Hard, mean construction worker types who may just as likely throw the phone in anger as accidentally drop it a couple hundred feet. It?s got a good solid feel all over, easy to grab and hold. The outside buttons are easy to find. Sometimes a little too easy.
There are two top buttons which can easily call someone (likely your last call) and you would never know about it. These buttons cannot be reprogrammed or disabled, which is actually pretty annoying. Depending on how you have this thing holstered you may always be touching these buttons and not even realize it. The battery latch is surprisingly good. This may not be important but I suspect we have all used at least one phone where we thought "how could they make that so poorly?"
BATTERY:
Weak, even more noticeable considering this is supposed to be a hardy working mans phone. With no use at all it frequently died after 24 hours. Tried charging it for a whole day even after it said it was done after 4 hours. That only helped slightly. Data use sucked it dry even faster than voice. Was not able to test PTT (walkie-talkie mode) since I don?t know anyone with a Sprint phone. I think they make extra large batteries and charging stations for this thing but that?s not enough. As expensive as it is and for its intended purpose, the included battery should really be much better. I guess they assumed someone would have it in their work vehicle and be able to charge it throughout the day. Also, like many modern phones the battery meter seems to be broken or just useless. Many times after a charging it would show full only to dwindle down and be dead within an hour. Would sometimes die while indicating half full.
DISPLAY:
Not too great compared to some other phones out today, but more than good enough for a work phone. You can check out the stats on the Phonescoop page if you like, but those numbers don?t always tell how good a display looks, and this one is just OK. It was good enough for looking at the GPS. The external display is basic B/W LCD with a backlight, WHICH IS PERFECTLY ADEQUATE FOR ANY CLAMSHELL, ESPECIALLY A WORK PHONE.
I do not understand all the obsession today with having a huge, hi-color outside display on flip phones. Its a complete waste and totally unnecessary. If its really a big issue you should just get a bar phone or PDA phone and have the superior size & color and not even have to open it. Quit whining about the outside display, its stupid.
Where was I? Oh yes!
The outside display shows names & numbers as well as battery life and signal strength.
WIDEN and Walkie-Talkie:
The WIDEN network is slow, plain and simple. I don?t know if Sprint offers anything faster but this phone can't support it. Took a long time getting any sort of data. Luckily the GPS program is already installed for you but simply using the GPS Navigator is difficult because of the rotten data speeds. More on that later. It wont matter too much overall because this isn?t a real multimedia phone and you can't do proper web browsing on it.
The Push to Talk mode seems kind of neat but I never got to test it with anyone. Supposedly Sprint/Nextel has received high marks for this feature and its very useful to working types who may need to talk constantly but don?t wish to purchase proper handheld radios.
You can also use it to talk with someone off the network completely (for example, camping out in the woods with no cell tower at all). Given the rotten battery life I would probably just use a decent radio if I were out hunting or camping with friends.
VOICE CALLING:
OK. Nothing special in the way of features compared to other modern phones. Call quality was average. Like most other big, tough Motorola?s the speakerphone and ringer can be made PAINFULLY loud or not. Vibrate worked well, I suspect even somebody using a jackhammer would still feel it go off in their pocket. You can set it up to auto-answer or auto-disconnect while opening & closing, or not. That might seem minor but its very important to a supervisor who may wish to keep it closed and use both his hands while talking to his people, and I have found one or two clamshells which didn?t let you make that choice. Never dropped a call but I only used it in the suburbs.
MULTIMEDIA:
Weak, but it was never supposed to be strong. You cant do much with images or audio. The built in camera is basic but functional. I didn?t evaluate image quality because I think cameras on phones are really pointless. If you were using this on a construction site and had to take pictures for various reasons you would definitely want a real camera.
Did not come with a memory stick as I recall, but that could be one of those things which changes rapidly. One month they don?t put any memory in the box, the next month they put 4 gig sticks in for free with every sale. Onboard memory is limited, but with the lack of web browsing and limited number of useful downloads you probably wont care.
Unlike the average Nokia you cannot use a wide variety of image formats and I don?t think any of them can be used for wallpaper or caller ID pics. I tried messing around with my own memory stick and couldn?t use anything of my own, JPG, BMP, GIF, animated GIF.
Audio was the same. It would only recognize some MP3's and that?s it. Cant use them as ringtones but would play them with a basic media center. I think they just want you to download wallpapers and ringtones for 2 bucks each over their clunky, slow browser.
The loud, stereo speakerphone was actually pretty good, but since this is a work phone and battery life is limited you probably wont use it much.
You can give basic customization to your menu and color scheme. Some features were buried and difficult to find even after tweaking. Have been told that other modern Motorola?s (especially the RAZR VE20) are much better with interface and customization. Since this is a working mans phone it probably shouldn?t matter much.
GPS:
This was my first chance to personally use ANY sort of a GPS navigator and I'm glad I didn?t base my opinion on only this unit. Am happy to say I have found and used much better phones & services since the i580.
It takes a VERY long time to make a trip or find places. The navigation interface is a pain and when you save a favorite you cant give it a name. When you go back to your favorites in only shows the address, so you have to remember what the address of the local Sprint Store or Hooters is and select it to start your trip. (8503 Rixlew Lane by the way.) If you screw up or decide to make an unexpected detour the service does a mediocre job of rerouting your directions, but it takes a very long time and you could easily miss an important turn while waiting, in which case it has to make up a new set of directions, which takes time. I never found a way to change the volume of Bitching Betty while in a trip so if things suddenly get much noisier or quieter in your car you may have to stop the service, go back out, adjust volume, and start it up again. Since the speakerphone is so strong if you aren?t careful you may give neighboring vehicles directions while on the road. Interestingly enough, it actually finds your LAT & LONG very quickly. This could be of good use to a construction worker or outdoorsman. Just plan on using your Boy Scout skills to actually get around. Bring a map if you're in the woods.
CONCLUSIONS:
The main reason this phone costs much more than other Rugged models is all the extra features it has installed. But none of the special features function well and the battery is still poor for a work phone. You can get Unlimited Data packages but I can't see why you'd want to. If you really need a rugged phone (and I still like Motorola) you should get a lesser, cheaper model that does its job well and nothing more. Or get the one higher model and actually be able to enjoy all the features properly.
Incidentally, these guys say pretty much the same things I do only they write better and they understand the features and they're trusted and more objective and they have pictures.
http://www.infosyncworld.com/r...otorola-i580/7163.html
I would still go with Sprint/Nextel if I needed a basic rugged phone. But I discovered that I don?t actually NEED one so I probably wont go back anytime soon.
If you have any questions or think I missed some important features to discuss please make a comment.
Right after I turned in my T-Mobile phone I checked out Sprint. Based on all the available internet information I decided on a rugged phone with GPS, the Moto i580.
http://www.phonescoop.com/phones/phone.php?p=875
BUILD:
Sturdy, as a rugged phone should be. It meets the Milspec standards for durability but I don?t really care about that. I was in the Navy for 9 years and to me Military Grade means overpriced and rotten quality. But this phone is tough. It can be left in direct sunlight all day with no ill effect. It can take severe abuse (I beat it on my kitchen counter as if I were trying to hammer nails). No problems with it. Didn?t even drop a call. It?s better than some of the other Rugged phones because it?s also waterproof. I was able to fill my bathroom sink and plop it in for a few minutes. When I felt like playing with it again, all I had to do was shake the water out of the speaker holes and it worked fine.
The phone has typical no-nonsense Moto Flip looks. It?s not unattractive, but certainly not a glamour phone. The i580 is designed to appeal to its target audience: Hard, mean construction worker types who may just as likely throw the phone in anger as accidentally drop it a couple hundred feet. It?s got a good solid feel all over, easy to grab and hold. The outside buttons are easy to find. Sometimes a little too easy.
There are two top buttons which can easily call someone (likely your last call) and you would never know about it. These buttons cannot be reprogrammed or disabled, which is actually pretty annoying. Depending on how you have this thing holstered you may always be touching these buttons and not even realize it. The battery latch is surprisingly good. This may not be important but I suspect we have all used at least one phone where we thought "how could they make that so poorly?"
BATTERY:
Weak, even more noticeable considering this is supposed to be a hardy working mans phone. With no use at all it frequently died after 24 hours. Tried charging it for a whole day even after it said it was done after 4 hours. That only helped slightly. Data use sucked it dry even faster than voice. Was not able to test PTT (walkie-talkie mode) since I don?t know anyone with a Sprint phone. I think they make extra large batteries and charging stations for this thing but that?s not enough. As expensive as it is and for its intended purpose, the included battery should really be much better. I guess they assumed someone would have it in their work vehicle and be able to charge it throughout the day. Also, like many modern phones the battery meter seems to be broken or just useless. Many times after a charging it would show full only to dwindle down and be dead within an hour. Would sometimes die while indicating half full.
DISPLAY:
Not too great compared to some other phones out today, but more than good enough for a work phone. You can check out the stats on the Phonescoop page if you like, but those numbers don?t always tell how good a display looks, and this one is just OK. It was good enough for looking at the GPS. The external display is basic B/W LCD with a backlight, WHICH IS PERFECTLY ADEQUATE FOR ANY CLAMSHELL, ESPECIALLY A WORK PHONE.
I do not understand all the obsession today with having a huge, hi-color outside display on flip phones. Its a complete waste and totally unnecessary. If its really a big issue you should just get a bar phone or PDA phone and have the superior size & color and not even have to open it. Quit whining about the outside display, its stupid.
Where was I? Oh yes!
The outside display shows names & numbers as well as battery life and signal strength.
WIDEN and Walkie-Talkie:
The WIDEN network is slow, plain and simple. I don?t know if Sprint offers anything faster but this phone can't support it. Took a long time getting any sort of data. Luckily the GPS program is already installed for you but simply using the GPS Navigator is difficult because of the rotten data speeds. More on that later. It wont matter too much overall because this isn?t a real multimedia phone and you can't do proper web browsing on it.
The Push to Talk mode seems kind of neat but I never got to test it with anyone. Supposedly Sprint/Nextel has received high marks for this feature and its very useful to working types who may need to talk constantly but don?t wish to purchase proper handheld radios.
You can also use it to talk with someone off the network completely (for example, camping out in the woods with no cell tower at all). Given the rotten battery life I would probably just use a decent radio if I were out hunting or camping with friends.
VOICE CALLING:
OK. Nothing special in the way of features compared to other modern phones. Call quality was average. Like most other big, tough Motorola?s the speakerphone and ringer can be made PAINFULLY loud or not. Vibrate worked well, I suspect even somebody using a jackhammer would still feel it go off in their pocket. You can set it up to auto-answer or auto-disconnect while opening & closing, or not. That might seem minor but its very important to a supervisor who may wish to keep it closed and use both his hands while talking to his people, and I have found one or two clamshells which didn?t let you make that choice. Never dropped a call but I only used it in the suburbs.
MULTIMEDIA:
Weak, but it was never supposed to be strong. You cant do much with images or audio. The built in camera is basic but functional. I didn?t evaluate image quality because I think cameras on phones are really pointless. If you were using this on a construction site and had to take pictures for various reasons you would definitely want a real camera.
Did not come with a memory stick as I recall, but that could be one of those things which changes rapidly. One month they don?t put any memory in the box, the next month they put 4 gig sticks in for free with every sale. Onboard memory is limited, but with the lack of web browsing and limited number of useful downloads you probably wont care.
Unlike the average Nokia you cannot use a wide variety of image formats and I don?t think any of them can be used for wallpaper or caller ID pics. I tried messing around with my own memory stick and couldn?t use anything of my own, JPG, BMP, GIF, animated GIF.
Audio was the same. It would only recognize some MP3's and that?s it. Cant use them as ringtones but would play them with a basic media center. I think they just want you to download wallpapers and ringtones for 2 bucks each over their clunky, slow browser.
The loud, stereo speakerphone was actually pretty good, but since this is a work phone and battery life is limited you probably wont use it much.
You can give basic customization to your menu and color scheme. Some features were buried and difficult to find even after tweaking. Have been told that other modern Motorola?s (especially the RAZR VE20) are much better with interface and customization. Since this is a working mans phone it probably shouldn?t matter much.
GPS:
This was my first chance to personally use ANY sort of a GPS navigator and I'm glad I didn?t base my opinion on only this unit. Am happy to say I have found and used much better phones & services since the i580.
It takes a VERY long time to make a trip or find places. The navigation interface is a pain and when you save a favorite you cant give it a name. When you go back to your favorites in only shows the address, so you have to remember what the address of the local Sprint Store or Hooters is and select it to start your trip. (8503 Rixlew Lane by the way.) If you screw up or decide to make an unexpected detour the service does a mediocre job of rerouting your directions, but it takes a very long time and you could easily miss an important turn while waiting, in which case it has to make up a new set of directions, which takes time. I never found a way to change the volume of Bitching Betty while in a trip so if things suddenly get much noisier or quieter in your car you may have to stop the service, go back out, adjust volume, and start it up again. Since the speakerphone is so strong if you aren?t careful you may give neighboring vehicles directions while on the road. Interestingly enough, it actually finds your LAT & LONG very quickly. This could be of good use to a construction worker or outdoorsman. Just plan on using your Boy Scout skills to actually get around. Bring a map if you're in the woods.
CONCLUSIONS:
The main reason this phone costs much more than other Rugged models is all the extra features it has installed. But none of the special features function well and the battery is still poor for a work phone. You can get Unlimited Data packages but I can't see why you'd want to. If you really need a rugged phone (and I still like Motorola) you should get a lesser, cheaper model that does its job well and nothing more. Or get the one higher model and actually be able to enjoy all the features properly.
Incidentally, these guys say pretty much the same things I do only they write better and they understand the features and they're trusted and more objective and they have pictures.
http://www.infosyncworld.com/r...otorola-i580/7163.html
I would still go with Sprint/Nextel if I needed a basic rugged phone. But I discovered that I don?t actually NEED one so I probably wont go back anytime soon.
If you have any questions or think I missed some important features to discuss please make a comment.
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