Motorola WX295 Review

Motorola WX295 is a low-end budget phone which has a clamshell design and comes with all the easy to use features. The phone does not compromise with its looks and looks very stylish for its price. It is a GSM phone and works under GSM 900/1800 and GSM 850/1900 network. The WX295 comes with various features like bluetooth, MMS messaging capability, camera, FM radio and memory expansion capabilities.

Body Design
This affordable Motorola phone has a physical dimension of 1.8 x 3.8 x o.65 inches and weighs just about 2.9 ounces, thus making it a very handy and a pocket friendly phone. The handset is predominantly made of plastic. Although the phone has a plastic build, the casing does not make any creaky odd noises. This Motorola phone being of a clamshell design has two display screens. The external display screen is a small black and white OLED screen and has a maximum resolution of 96 x 16 pixels. This OLED display only reveals itself when you get a text or a call message. The main screen inside is a TFT screen with an output capacity of 65K colors and measures 1.8 inches. It has a maximum resolution of 128 x 160 pixels.
The whole of the keypad floor is covered by a single piece of plastic mat, and, beneath the mat, you will find the actual buttons. This flat keypad with no distinguishing borders for each buttons can lead to errors while texting but also is good in another way as it prevents dust from getting inside the phone. The D-pad which is below the display has an excellent tactile feedback and is very comfortable to use. The camera shutter key on the left side of the handset is the only other physical key on this phone. The charger port which also acts as the miniUSB connector port is on the right side of the phone.

Multimedia
The phone has a VGA (0.3 megapixel) camera that can capture images at a maximum resolution of 640 x 480 pixels. The camera comes only with the basic entry-level features and does not have a flash, auto focus or night mode shots. But, the inclusion of a camera in a phone of this budget is an accomplishment in itself as we find only a few other low-end phones that does. This flip phone also has an MP3 player and comes with a built in FM radio with RDS capabilities that supplies you with non stop entertainment.
You can also browse the web with this wonderful and affordable mobile phone. Web browsing happens with the WAP 2.0 browser which displays the web pages in xHTML. Sadly, you will not get the quality of a full HTML page, but we can’t complain too much considering the price of the handset. Most of the cell phones in its price range do not have a camera or an MP3 player; forget web browsing capabilities.
The WX295 supports MIDI and MP3 ringtones with option to download more and store in your handset. The same case applies to the wallpapers. The phone also comes with a list of pre-loaded games which will allow you to pass the time. Unfortunately, the device does not support the installation of any more applications or games.

Memory
The WX295 has enough internal memory to store 800 phonebook contacts along with a fair share of your messages, ringtones and a few pictures. Even though, this phone is a budget phone, it has an external memory drive where you can store your bigger sized files like MP3, photos and wallpapers. The overall memory of the phone as whole can be increased by a maximum of 2 GB through the microSD slot.

Connectivity
This clamshell phone from Motorola is a dual band GSM phone that supports GSM 900/1800 and GSM 850/1900 networks. It has GPRS Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots) which has a maximum download speed of 32-48 kbps and takes care of your online connectivity. The phone comes built in with the WAP 2.0 web browser which enables the viewing of xHTML page of all the websites.
The local wireless connectivity of the phone with other devices is handled by the integrated bluetooth version 2.0 in the phone. This technology enables the transfer of data and files between the phone and other bluetooth enabled devices like a computer, a printer and other mobile phones. The phone also has a USB connector which helps in the wired connection of the phone with other devices, say a printer or a computer.
The one thing we missed in this handset was a 3.5 mm headphone jack as this phone has the proprietary headphone jack which also doubles as the charging port of the phone.

Performance
The mere inclusion of the camera even though it is VGA camera is a plus point for this phone. The affordability of the phone has taken away from us the privilege to complain and find faults with the phone. This phone has a lot of features that most of the phones in its price range don’t. On top of the VGA camera, it also has internet connectivity powered by GPRS. It also boasts of its integrated bluetooth technology. The overall design of the phone is stunning and reminds us of the Motorola Razr-line which proved to be hit. The MP3 player is of a very good quality considering its price and this phone also has a built in FM radio with RDS features.
The only fault we could find in this phone was the absence of the 3.5 mm headphone jack and it would have been wonderful if the expandable memory of the phone was more than just 2 GB, not that we are complaining!

Verdict
Due to the low retail price of the handset and its surprisingly loaded features, the Motorola WX295 will be hit in the low priced mobile market. It is the perfect handset for the people who have a very low budget for a new phone, but still want a decent set of features in it. I recommend this phone if you don’t really care about Wi-Fi or GPS and just want a phone that does the main functions of a phone and just a little bit more.
The Motorola WX295 is available for a jaw dropping price of just $75.

Reviewer’s Rating: 4/5