Motorola W233 Renew review
Network and connections
A phone that certainly doesn't make people talk about it for its technical features, but for an innovation in the choice of materials. The network support is in fact a GSM Dualband, on the frequencies of 900 and 1800 MHz. Coverage turns out to be fairly good for local use, although it does suffer from the lack of the other bands. Bluetooth connectivity for communicating with other devices is missing, however you can count on the USB 2.0 output to sync with your PC via the data cable. It's also possible to surf the Internet, thanks to the internal modem and the WAP browser; data traffic management is handled by the GPRS protocol.
Design and features
The designers' proposal is a device in Candybar style, simple and effective to use. The lines manage to give an uncommon image, also thanks to the unusual colors. But the thing that matters most is the attention to environmental impact. The W233 Renew is in fact built with recycled materials, from the recovered plastic body to the reused cardboard packaging. The care has been so attentive that this phone has earned the Carbonfund.org certification, the leading American body dealing with carbon offset. On the front side is the screen, a 1.6-inch CSTN with 65,000 colors. This technology offers a lower image quality than TFT, but decidedly better power consumption. Below is the standard numeric keypad, with well-spaced keys that are comfortable to use. The weight is rather low, just 83 grams, which allows for very good portability.
Main features
The phone's overall management is geared towards speed and ease of use. That's why the menus are intuitive and practical, making the use of the various functions immediate. The basic management utilities are complete, with a phonebook for contacts, a calendar for appointments, an alarm clock and a calculator. The audio quality of calls is good, even in speakerphone mode. There's also a voice recorder and support for multiconferencing. Java support allows you to install small applications, to partly customize your device. Composing SMS and multimedia messages is fast, with T9 predictive text support.
Entertainment and multimedia
The section dedicated to entertainment is fairly limited, as there is no camera present. However, you can count on a music player, so as to have a bit of fun in your free time with your favorite music. Also, a few fun games always come in handy during a trip. Available memory can rely on support for microSD cards, for a capacity of up to 2 GB. Battery life is very long, also given the low power consumption of the W233 Review: up to 18 days in Stand-by.