Ross Catanzariti Good Gear Guide
Bottom Line:
The W220 is a very good offering if you want a handset without the bells and whistles, especially considering the low asking price.
The Motorola W220 is an entry level mobile phone with a solid range of features that performs well overall. Although it lacks the latest multimedia options such as a camera, the W220 represents a good buy for the user who needs a low-end phone at a very reasonable price.
Features
Basic phone functions worked well on the W220 and call volume was loud and clear. Unfortunately there is no hands-free speaker phone, but other standard call features such last 10 calls made, last 10 calls received/missed, as well as speed dialing, call diverting, call waiting and conference calling are all included.
The W220 supports standard SMS and MMS messaging with Motorola once again using their preferred iTap predictive text input. Despite being an entry-level handset, the W220 features basic multimedia functionality. The FM radio with included earpiece is a nice touch for a phone in this price range.
A rather odd feature is what Motorola dubs "Lantern mode". This forces the internal screen illuminate white so the phone acts as a lantern if you are ever caught in the dark. Lantern mode lasts for either 30 seconds, one or two minutes, depending on what it is preset to.
Design
Looking like a smaller, yet thicker version of the famous , the W220 sports a sleek, black colour scheme with an attractive, mirror-style front. The phone measures 95mm x 45mm x 16.7mm and weighs just 93g making it one of the smaller and lighter handsets on the market.
Motorola hasn't included an external display on this phone, instead using what they call 'expressive status icons'. These are three large, bright and clear LED icons that appear when a call or SMS are received, or when the battery is charging. Like most glossy surfaces fingerprint marks are an issue.
The W220 includes a 1.5in colour screen with a resolution of 128x128 pixels. It's small, basic and has a poor viewing angle, but is more than adequate to handle the applications included in the phone. Despite the screens small size, dialling numbers uses a large font, so it's easily readable.
A standard set of controls are present on the W220 with two selection buttons, a five way navigational key, answer and end call keys. Like the , the keypad lights up blue when pressed and despite the buttons being fairly flat, we found it quite responsive. The W220 uses Motorola's standard interface which didn't exhibit any speed or lag issues during navigation. The internal display is fully customisable with wallpapers and also displays caller information, battery life and signal strength.
According to Motorola, battery life is excellent, with up to 260 hours standby time and 7.5 hours talk time.
