Feature rich mobile phone. Review on Motorola W388

I purchased a Motorola W388(Motoyuva) for my daughter for Rs. 3568+ Rs. 400(for 2GB card) from Essar Retail Ltd, Visakhapatnam in Jan-2009.

This phone has a host of features like 1000 phone book entries(with multiple fields possible in each entry), 750 SMS storage, FM radio, Mp3 player, data cable, recording, VGA camera, Airplane mode, etc. The driver CD provided installs like a breeze. There could be a few problems when going into data mode if you use any other similar looking data cable, even from higher models of Motorola. Music quality is average and the volume is too low. The inability to use a better head set is a disadvantage. The provided head phone is flimsy.

Charging cum data interface is through a mini USB port. One can charge the phone either by the supplied mains charger or through the USB port of your PC, using the data cable. A separate mini head phone jack is provided, so you cannot use the regular 3.5-inch jack headphones.

The only major problem I found is the very low battery life. After a full charge the battery lasts only for 16 to 18 hours, not even 24 hours. After a full nights charge the battery gets drained completely by 9 pm the next evening, even if it is not used to listen to songs.

I do not know if other users have the same problem. No one has talked about it in their reviews. I have a feeling it could be a problem with my battery.

Here is the detailed spec.

MOTOROLA W388

Connectivity: GSM 900/1800 and GSM 850/1900

Talk Time: Up to approximately 550 minutes, approximately 9 hours

Standby Time: Up to approximately 400 hours

Battery: BQ50/940 mAh

Weight: 86g

Dimensions: 46 x 109 x 14.7 mm

Display: 1.8” 128 x 160 65k TFT

Audio: iMelody, MIDI, MP3, AMR

Features:-

· Motorola’s CrystalTalk technology

· Messaging: SMS, EMS, MMS, SMS Chat²

· Supports 7 African languages and Hinglish, Bengali, Tamil, Telegu, plus Catalan, Basque,

Galician

· WAP 2.0 Dual Stack browser/GPRS Class 10

· USB 1.1

· Integrated MP3 player and dedicated music key

· Manage and sort music on your phone with Music Manager

· FM radio with RDS and stereo support, record FM radio for the phone’s alarm, share favorite

stations with friends through text messaging

· Up to 2GB external memory with optional removable microSD card

· Demo Mode and Airplane Mode

· Picture ID for viewing caller’s photo on display