Although this phone was originally introduced at a far loftier price of £180 (or higher) only a year or so ago, it has come down in price considerably since then, and at £70 it has become one of the best current contenders for a starter smart phone. At the time of purchase its main contender was really the Windows Phone based Nokia Lumia 610, which is also a decent phone with a slightly better screen, but with no upgradeable storage and a far more limited choice of apps.



The phone's looks are sleek, and it's comfortable to hold and carry, though it isn't exactly what I would call "Mini". The case is however nice and secure, with the the award winning Gorilla Glass protecting the 3.2" screen. The screen is definitely small, but crisp and clear enough to still get the most out of many phone apps, and can handle, if a bit awkwardly, web-browsing and e-mail without too much effort. Although the touch-screen is capacitive, it does seem less responsive to touches around its edges; touching with the very tip of a finger is more successful, but less natural, though users with less chunky fingers may have better luck than I!



Internally the phone has a 600mhz processor, which is capable enough for many tasks but can get bogged down quickly with too many services installed, or when running complex apps. The savings in battery life however will usually outweigh the greater time spent processing, and the speed is more than sufficient for most casual gaming. Where the phone most falls short however is with its limited internal memory; it only comes with around 150mb of internal storage, and only about 50mb of this is usable, and will be consumed quickly simply by updating the bundled apps. To supplement this the phone comes with a 2gb MicroSD card included, however not all Android apps can be moved to the SD card, and they must still be downloaded onto the internal memory first, which is not always going to be possible (the official Facebook app for example is 40mb, which may not fit, and cannot be moved). Given the attention given to the rest of the phone I'm surprised that Motorola did not set the SD card as the default storage target, or even combine it with the internal memory via a caching mechanism to keep the cost down; as it is any user will have to be very careful about installing apps, and should move everything that they can onto the SD card via the Manage Apps option, more advanced users will want to follow a guide for setting the default storage location to the SD card.



In terms of the bundled software, this phone comes with the usual Android apps, Facebook, Twitter etc. However, Motorola has added a number of extras that really improve the quality of this phone; of particular note is the bundled Swype keyboard, which makes text entry on the small screen extremely easy, indeed much easier than most other smart phones (but perhaps not tablets, which can be typed onto normally). Also included is an Activity Graph and a Social Graph, which are a pair of home-screen widgets that present an attractive spiral of your most frequently used apps and contacts, respectively, which are a neat addition. The addition of Dashboard, an easy to use pedometer, is also a nice bonus.



The area where the phone really shines for me is in its battery life; with its smaller screen and modest processor, along with a generous capacity battery it is possible to get up to four days on a single charge, with a little care (turn WiFi off at night, don't run too many apps, keep screen brightness on auto etc.). Playing games or doing a lot of browsing will of course chew through the battery more quickly.



For anyone looking for a good smart phone below £100 (like I was) I would firmly recommend this one with the caveat that you'll need to do a little app juggling to keep your internal memory free, but by using alternatives to the more bloated apps (such as Facebook) it shouldn't be too hard.



This phone is also ideal for anyone looking for something to serve for a weekend camping/fishing trip, as the durable case, scratch-resistant screen and water resistance should keep it safe, and by turning off anything that consumes too much power the four day battery life should ensure you still have access to the compass app or flashlight when you really need it!