Motorola Krzr K1 review

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7.3

very good

Average user rating from 3 users

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Motorola Krzr K1 user reviews

July 4, 2007

Posted by: Strange Visitor

"Cooler than a polar bear in a refrigerator"

What I like:

Slim, stylish, good reception and call quality

What I don't like:

Glass front gets greasy and covered in fingerprints; Still a problem with personal ringer ID acting as message tone; Main and outer screens could have been a little bigger

Review:

To begin, this review refers to several phones I've owned recently, for comparison. I'm a bit of a phone addict, the K1 is my 22nd in 9 years.

I recently bought a Sony Ericsson z710i, but with summer now here I was looking for a second phone which would easily slip into my jeans pocket.

Having had a Razr in the past I decided on the Krzr K1, having been won over by the dark blue good looks of this clamshell.

The build quality, as always with Motorola, is excellent. The phone feels sturdy, at 102g, it's not the lightest, but at least you know it's in your pocket.

The hinge feels reliable but smooth as you open the flip. There is no slight sideways movement that I've found on some other phones.

The main screen has 162,000 colours, but is disappointingly small at less than 2 inches, and resolution is not the greatest at 220x176 (compared to the 320x240 of the Samsung D830 and Nokia 6131, both of which I've owned - I really do buy 4 phones a year..)

The external screen at 96x80 pixels is more than adequate for displaying signal strength, battery life, incoming calls and messages etc.

If you like to keep your phone scratch free and clean as I do, a big minus point is that the glass front of the K1 attracts greasy fingerprints like you wouldn't believe. Fortunately I wear specs for computer work, so I had my lens cloth available for cleaning the K1's front panel.

However, not to be outdone I bought a crystal case which adds little to the bulk of the phone and keeps it's outer casing in pristine condition.

Having had appalling signal reception on my recent Nokia 6131, I was pleased to find the signal strength was good on the K1, and call quality is more than satisfactory. This is my 5th Motorola, and apart from the Startac 130 in 1999, I've always found their call quality and signal strength impressive.

The Motorola menu system is for fans only. It really is an acquired taste. After not having had a Moto for a couple of years, it took a while to readjust. I always believe that if you are experienced with mobiles, yet still have to read the instructions to find an obvious function (in my case adding to speed dial) then it's not very intuitive.

The one irritating "feature" which has still not been resolved by Motorola, is the fact that if you choose a ringer ID for a contact, that ringer is also used as their message tone. This means, without looking at the screen you don't know whether you're receiving a call or text.

The MP3 player is adequate, the 2MP camera is poor in quality, but to be fair, it's a phone. I use a proper digital camera, video camera and MP3 player for these functions.

The keys have raised rubber separators which mean it easy to text without having to look at the keypad. Despite the flat appearance there is an obvious response you can feel when pressing a key (unlike the Samsung D830).

Despite minor drawbacks, I still like this phone a lot. My main criteria are as always, good reception and call quality. The size and weight make is suitable for slipping into your pocket.

At £100 on 30/06/07, it's definitely worth the money I paid for it.