Confessions Of A Calculating Mind. Review on Motorola E365

You don't often read a review that also doubles as a confession; my review of the Motorola E365 is just that... a confession that sometimes the mind does (mis)rule the heart!

I have been an avid user and admirer of the Nokia 3110 for over three years. In late 2004, I decided to finally take the big, bold step into the world of color screens and pseudo-cameras. Like so many of us, I read a thousand screens of online reviews, haunted a dozen forums, and window-shopped shamelessly.

Finally, I narrowed down on the Motorola E365, my calculating mind impressed with facts like:

-- The screen was much larger than any similar-priced phone

-- It has a 65K color screen (Only premium Nokias offered this)

-- Its camera had a resolution of 640 X 480 (Same as above)

-- It was CHEAP!!

To get a great screen and a decent camera for less that 10 K sounded great, and I zipped off to Alfa in Andheri, a great place to shop for mobile phones. It's also a great place for mobile-gazing crowds to gather; in true Indian tradition, every potential buyer brings at least one more person to consult with. I no longer find it unusual to see entire families laying siege to the passageway, discussing the merits and demerits of a phone.

Taking a deep breath, I plunged into the murmuring hordes and slowly clawed and ''Excuse me''-ed my way to the counter. I caught a glimpse of the nearest harried salesperson.

“Show me an E365!” I shouted, “Motorola!”

To my surprise, the young man stopped balancing five boxes of phones long enough to give a strange, pitying look. That should have warned me. But then his cold, professional side took over, and ten minutes later I owned my first camera phone.

The color screen was a beauty; images were bright, large, and clear. This fascination wore off in fifteen minutes; I hated the text font and was not impressed with the packaged graphics and animation.

The gripes continued… the keypad was stiff and awkward, SMSing a royal pain, and the 640 X 480 pictures don’t exactly set your soul on fire; images are blurry and colors just weird. Don’t be surprised if your blue shirt looks green on the computer monitor. For the first few days, I used to keep checking my wardrobe to see if some mysterious fungus had infected my clothes, or if my memory cells were on vacation.

On the aesthetic front, I soon grew tired of its gold-tinged, somber design. On the other hand, it was pretty compact and definitely stood out at that crucial moment when the entire dinner party plonks their phones on the table, stealing judgmental glances around the display.

Overall… a competent enough phone, yet too many niggles and just not exciting enough.

p.s. I now own a Samsung C210, so expect a review on that soon!