Motorola V2288

Motorola V2288e

I was devastated when I lost my Nokia 7110e provided exclusively for Orange customers, and as I had no insurance was looking for the cheapest option available to me. This is when this nifty little thing came to light.

The V2288e again is specific to Orange customers although is available to other providers also, but the model number is just V2288. What the difference is I am not actually to sure? I think it is something to do with the information services and the WAP capability of the phones.

Orange customers have an automatic 12-month block on WAP sites that have not been approved by Orange. This block is easily removed by calling to speak to them and the process is free.

The handset itself is sturdy and robust and is of a fair size, it is not to big yet it is not to small, it is quite slim and fits into your pockets or handbag very well. It does, however, have an aerial which is a feature I got used to not having when I had my Nokia 3210, but this is not an obstruction in any way, I actually find it therapeutic at times and find myself nibbling or sucking on it like a teat of a dummy, no comments on that thank you very much!

The phone comes with changeable facias like most phones do these days but the added bonus about this one is they are super sexy rubber suits. You can get the covers in three different colours, which are blue, red and white. The white cover goes one better that it is glow in the dark, perfect for when the power goes out!

Features ~

~ Screen

The screen is of a reasonable size 3cm x 2cm although the writing itself is very small compared to the standard of the Nokia. It has a backlight that lights up whenever the phone is activated in any way this is bright and illuminates well in the dark. You can also adjust the contrast of the screen to suit your individual needs, which is the first for any mobile I have had, well that I can think of any way?

~ Buttons

There are loads of buttons on the phone with the usual 0 – 9 and the # and * if these are missing there is something wrong with your phone. These are the standard buttons and are rather small and fiddly no good if you have massive hands I imagine, but as I am fairly petite I do not have any problems with them. The buttons are a lovely silver colour with black numbers and letters, they illuminate when the phone is activated also.

The other buttons on the phone are as follows: ~

~ Scroll

Of which there are 2 one up and one down. These are fairly straight forward in what they do which is to navigate through the extensive menus available on the phone, through your phone book or for reading your messages.

~ Menu

Self-explanatory really this is to activate the list of functions available on the phone. This is the biggest button on the face of the phone and can often be confused as the OK button and leads you to doing the wrong thing at the wrong time, making you have to start all over again.

~ C

This is the clear key and is again self-explanatory. It is easy to use and is easily identifiable from its unique red colour. This button can be used for various actions from clearing an incorrect digit in a telephone number to navigating away from a menu option.

~ OK

This button is for confirming any actions you have carried out and is the button to use when answering any calls and to read any newly received messages, if the message has been there for a while you will have to access it through the menus rather than just pressing OK. This again is unique with the writing being green for GO.

~ Answer Service

This is depicted by a little envelope and speaker and when pressed will automatically connect you with Orange Answering Services for your mobile telephone, this can also be accessed by pressing 1 on your phone. I often get this button mixed up with the C button as they are so close together and I end up calling my answer phone unintentionally.

~ Quick Access Key

This key is depicted by an arrow pointing upwards and is the quick way to access several most commonly used features of the phone, they are as follows: ~

1 ~ Access Internet

2 ~ Check Received Calls

3 ~ Find Name (from your phone book)

4 ~ Add a new number to your sim card

5 ~ Lock phones key pad

6 ~ Read Messages

7 ~ Write a message

8 ~ Activate telephone divert

9 ~ Switch between lines

~ Power Button

This is the smallest of all buttons and is located well away from all the main features and is identified by a little red circle with what looks like a 1 or an I inside, similar to that on standard TV remote controls standby functions. The use for this is basic on and off.

That is the main features on the face of the phone there are added extras at the sides. They are as follows: ~

~ Radio

This is a little black button located on the side and is depicted by a little musical note. When this is pressed you are presented with an on screen warning to insert the headphones as this is the only way the radio can be listened to.

The radio itself is an FM stereo radio and is of superb quality. The volume is adjustable with another 2 black buttons located at the other side of the phone and little arrows depict these up and down, to search through radio channels you would use the scroll buttons on the front of the phone.

~ Volume

As afore mentioned these are 2 little black buttons highlighted with little arrows and adjust the volume of the radio, they also can be used for adjusting the volume of the handset when listening to a call. This can easily be done by touch alone and can come in handy when using the phone in noisy streets.

There are 2 jack plugs on the phone and are simply for ~

1 ~ DC adaptor for charging the phone
2 ~ socket for headphones for listening to the radio or a hands free headset.

Now onto the phones internal features if that what you can call them!

~ Access Internet

This is straight forward access the WAP services via your phone, if you register with your provider you can open up a whole lot more benefits of using the WAP facilities, such as Banking form your mobile.

~ Information

Here you can access information on sport, news, finance and the lottery. You can get up to the minute information on a wide variety of subjects and this is sent to your phone as a text message.

~ Phone Book

This is straight forward and is self explanatory, this is where you will store all your telephone numbers, Numbers can be searched on by name or a location, this is a number given to where the number is stored on the sim card. Here you can also access last ten calls made, received and all call timers.

~ Call Related Features

These are all the features such as show battery meter, restrict your number from being sent and also setting up call diverts and call waiting. You can also set up call barring to prevent other people from using your phone.

~ Messages

This is the most used section of my mobile phone and is where messages are composed, received and stored. All messages can be saved in at outbox to be sent at a later time.

~ Phone Setup

Here is where you can customise the phone to your individuals, i.e. what type of rings you would like on the phone (the options with this phone are not great!!). What volume you would like your phone to ring at, the language you would like the functions to be displayed in. You can also change your security codes and lock your phone in this section.

~ Network Selection

I have never ever known what these parts of mobile phones are for so I won’t even attempt to guess. Answers on a postcard please.

~ Call Meters

Again here you can check all the times of all outgoing and inbound calls, also the total time of calls altogether. If you have a pay as you go phone it has the functionality to record how much credit you have left in your phone.

That is all the features of this little wonder and I can add that I have been more than pleased with this phone apart from the little niggles that I have highlighted throughout.

The battery life of the phone is actually very good although can be very deceiving, the battery pack is similar to that of a remote control and consists of 4 AA type batteries.

When I first charged the battery for the recommended time I noticed how hot the battery actually became, next time on charging I left in an open space on my kitchen surfaces and it was fine.

PLEASE NOTE: ~

The battery meter falls from 3 bars to 1 fairly quickly but it remains at level one for well over 10 hours without needing recharged in any way and that is with considerable use.
All in all I am delighted with this cheap little model and would recommend it to any one that is not looking for any fancy models and something just for occasional use.