Not the most stylish phone, but good features and call quality

Summary

I switched from Verizon to T-Mobile and needed a new phone. I like to get the greatest value for my money when I buy something that I will have to use for at least a year, so I checked the features available on all the phones T-Mobile offers and eventually selected the Motorola V360. I am very satisfied with the phone so far.

Features I was looking for:

Camera - The V360 does not have a megapixel camera, but the VGA camera with 4X zoom meets my needs. I don't take a lot of pictures and when I do they are usually for sharing with another cell phone user. The camera takes clear pictures that view nicely on a phone or in an email.

Internet - The V360 can connect to the T-mobile Internet service or the T-Mobile Web, a smaller text-only service. The connection is fast and reliable.

Voice dialing - Voice dialing with the V360 requires some training but then works well. It is NOT nearly as good as the voice dialing on the PEBL. It is best to keep the voice commands short. Voice dialing setup has an irritating quirk; there is a timer on the screen to show how long you have to record, but this is useless unless you hold the phone in front of you to record. Unfortunately, this may result in the system failing to understand the voice command.

Call quality - The V360's call quality, to me the most important quality of a cell phone, is excellent. Though not quite as clear as a RAZR, it is very close.

Basic Function

The menus are clear and easy to navigate. The phone includes all the usual amenities, including contacts calendar, and notes. Games are available and play well on the clear, colorful screen. A limited number of ringtones and themes are included and others can be downloaded. The dialing buttons are slightly raised and easy to use. Text, photo, voice, and video messaging are all available, as well as IM. All work quickly and easily as long as you have a decent signal. The Voice Notes are especially nice, as you press one button, record and send.

But, it ain't a SLVR!

The V360 is not going to turn a lot of heads, but it's not ugly either. Mine is navy blue with a silver trim and quite attractive. However, the beauty of this phone is the added features that did not have to be sacrificed for attention-grabbing good looks. Many people complain that the outer screen is grayscale. Since I only use the outer screen as a clock, this just didn't matter to me.

Final Thought

The V360 cost me $49.99 and included more features than phones costing four times that much. The only phone for less than $100 that I found with equal functionality was the Nokia 6101, an ugly phone with lousy call quality. I can easily recommend the Motorola V360 to anyone who wants a good, reliable, feature packed phone at a reasonable price.