Motorola A1000 3G Phone Review

	Motorola A1000 3G Phone Review
	This is a review of the Motorola A1000 handset and was undertaken in November, 2004 by Kevin Thomas of 3G.co.uk. This review covers the phone only and does not address the performance of 3's 3G Network. The Motorola A1000 screen shown left booting up. How nice to see Moto confirming this is a 3G handset. The review is supported by a number of relevant photos - click thumbs for high quality photos.
1)	HANDSET INTRODUCTION
Intro	The Motorola A1000 is an improved and slimline version of the A925. It is a PDA / 3G Smartphone type and runs the Symbian 7 operating system with a stylus for touch screen operation. The A925 has sold well since its introduction in March 2004 and expect this new version to do even better. Well done Moto ! Key attributes for A1000 versus A925 : A1000 116 x 57.5 x 20 mm and 165 grams A925 c148.5 x 60 x 24 mm and 212 grams This shows that the new handset is 32mm shorter and 47 grams lighter. The A1000 supports all 3's video mobile services as well as offering advanced PDA functionality including a Microsoft document viewer, email, handwriting recognition via the touch-screen and calendar & contacts synchronisation with a PC. Left the Moto logo lights up blue. OK I will buy one just for the lit up logo ha ha. To see how the handset looks against the current best 3G selling phone in the UK see the photos above.
2)	LOOKS / FEATURES
Looks	My first impression of this handset was not so good. Then I put the battery in, put the back on and looked. Nice size. Not too weighty. Cute stylus. Lotta screen. Then I thought nice job Moto this is a cool handset.
Front	The Motorola A1000 has a 4 way navigation key and another 3 key buttons on the phone ( send / end / triangle key ). The screen is large at approx. 40 x 62 cm. Towards the top are 2 gaming keys. The forward-facing camera ( for both camera pictures and video conferencing ) is housed towards top right of the handset. Watch out for the blue lit up Moto badge - see photo.
Left	The left hand side of the phone houses the camera key, volume keys and one of the 2 speakers.
Right	The right hand side of the phone houses the power on/off, screen lock, speakerphone key, earpiece socket and the second of the 2 speakers.
Back	The back of the phone features the reverse camera and the cover for battery/ SIM access. The cover can be removed with ease.
Bottom	This houses the charger socket, serial/ USB connector socket and the stylus.
Antenna	Internal antenna.
Navigation	Home screen is spilt into 6 zones : application selector bar, menu bar, information snacks, personal information, application shortcuts and status bar. Although the product is packed full of the latest technology, it is simple to use. The touch screen uses a stylus pen and handwriting recognition technology. The menu system is navigated via icons on the touch screen, as well as dedicated 'hot buttons' for the most popular applications such as, 'home' and '3 services '. When browsing, the 'forward' and 'back' options operate just like on a PC. Stylus stored in slot provided. Stylus is metal and plastic combo.
Keypad	The virtual keypad is accessed via an icon towards the bottom of main screen. Once you tap it with the stylus you can start your typing. However, with this type of phone you should seriously consider using the handwriting recognition facility. I mean after all this phone was designed for it.
Display	Main Screen ( colour LCD ) TFT Activevmatrix Touch-Screen Size 39.9 x 61.4mm 65,535 colours Resolution 208 x 320 pixels The Motorola A1000 65,000+ colour screen can hold up to 20 lines of text - will show video content, such as Barclaycard Premiership goals and the latest film clips, with an impressive clarity and resolution.
Picture Camera	Cameras: 1.2 Mega-pixel Camera with 4x Digital Zoom (external facing) plus Internal Facing VGA camera. Select between front and back camera 4 x digital zoom Variable picture quality Variable picture size
Video Cam	Video camera is dual-purpose with picture camera. See above. Good video picture quality. Video conferencing picture quality is adequate to good.
Memory	24 MB internal memory Expansion - Transflash Memory Card (up to 256MB )
3)	SPECIFICATION DETAILS
Mode	3G WCDMA Tri Band : GSM900, GSM1800 and GSM1900. Works in the US. WAP - WAP 2.0 / MIB 2.2 Will work on WCDMA ( 3G from 3 ) and on GPRS ( O2's Network ) when outside 3G area.
OS	The Motorola 1000 runs on the latest version of the open operating system, Symbian OS v7.0 and incorporates the latest pen-based user interface. Applications can be downloaded, such as games based on Java and C++., from 3.
Weight	165g This is the weight of the phone (with battery) and is measured in grams (g). The LG U8110 weighs in at 126g.
Volume	115 cc
Dimensions	116 x 57.5 x 20 mm A comparison LG 8110 : 95.7 x 49.5 23.1mm NEC 616 : 103 x 53 x 26.4mm
Battery Life	Battery life Battery is 3.6V Lithium at 1600mH. Standby: 200 hours Talk time: 225 mins Video call: 105 mins Talktime comparison for other models LG 8110 : 140 minutes NEC e616 : 93 minutes Note : Battery life is affected by lower signal strength and to which network you are hooked up to.
4)	CONNECTIVITY
Bluetooth	Yes
InfraRed	No
USB Port	Yes
Content	Allows access to 3’s content services, ranging from news and weather to games and entertainment. However, the service does not provide open access to the internet through this handset i.e. a walled garden scenario.
MMS	Yes
MIDI	Polyphonic ringtones
JAVA	J2ME
5)	COMMUNICATION
Video	Yes Download a 1MegaByte video clip in about 40 seconds via 3G. 2 Way Video Call With an integrated digital camera and high speed data transmission, you can enjoy the next best thing to being there.
LBS	Location Based Services- Yes
MMS	Multimedia Messaging - Yes
SMS	Yes
POP3 E-mail	Yes
PIM	Yes
6)	SOUND
MP3	The Motorola A1000 has an MP3 player on-board for playing music to the loudspeaker or to the supplied stereo headphones. Sound quality is good.
Vib Alert	Yes
Speaker	Yes - 2 one each side.
7)	IN THE BOX
In the Box	1 x Motorola A1000 3G Handset 1 x Mains Charger 1 x Li-ion Battery 1 x USB Data Cable 1 x Headset Instruction Pack and booklets ( in colour ). Software on CDROM - Phone Manager and Manual.
8)	CONCLUSION
	This review covers the Motorola A1000 only and does not address the performance of 3's 3G Network. The score is based on a checklist developed by Kevin Thomas of www.3G.co.uk.
	GOOD POINTS
	Neat and business like
	Handwriting recognition / virtual keyboard
	Good battery life
	Transflash memory card option ( extra 256MB )
	Trendy speaker design / functionality
	NOT SO GOOD POINTS
	Looks too business like to attract trendy teens
	No Infrared
9)	SUMMARY AND SCORE
	This is a PDA that any business person would probably be pleased to use and show off to their colleagues. Looks good on a desk too. Nice bit of kit which could well be attractive to a lot of non business users. I can see a lot of A925 owners wanting the A1000 badly.
	Kevin Thomas scores the Motorola A1000.
	87 out of 100
	Find out more about this phone and take part in discussions at 3G Forum
	Click links below for earlier reviews
Past Reviews	NEC 228 = 84 out of 100.
	LG U8110 = 87 out of 100.
	Motorola A925 = 84 out of 100
	NEC e616 = 85 out of 100
	Motorola A835 = 84 out of 100.
Copyright	You are advised that this material is the copyright of Kevin Thomas 2004 on behalf of www.3G.co.uk and is my own personal view only. (C) All rights reserved 2004. Whilst every care has been taken in the preparation of this review, Kevin Thomas nor 3Gcouk cannot be held responsible for the accuracy or authenticity of the information it contains, or any consequence arising from it.
Terms used
Tri-band	Different countries operate at different frequencies, which means that if you wish to use your mobile phone outside your home country, you generally need a handset that supports multiple frequency bands. A dual-band phone operates on two frequency bands, 900Mhz and 1,800Mhz, allowing you to use it in the UK and Continental Europe. A tri-band phone operates on three frequency bands, GSM900, GSM1800 and GSM1900, allowing you to use it in Europe, Africa, Asia, nearly all of North America and Australia. Quad-Band - Different operators are allocated different frequencies for GSM phones to work on in Europe / Asia this is 1800 /900 MHz in the Americas this is 850 / 1900 MHz. Therefore a Quad band phone works in all four frequencies and consequently works in most of the world. Short hand - 4 operator frequencies

Battery/Video Times	Battery / Video Times - The total time a battery can power a phone for mobile calls. As the phone drains the battery during a call, the talk time left in the battery is diminished until the phone is turned off or the battery recharged. The longer the talk time the less frequently you will need to recharge.
Battery Standby	Battery Standby The time a battery can power a phone in the standby mode, switched on and ready to make or receive a call, without being used for an actual call. The longer a phone is in standby mode, the less standby time remains in the battery.
Bluetooth	Bluetooth® is a revolutionary new technology that allows different electronic devices to share data and communicate without using wires. These devices include phones, printers, personal computers or laptops. In order for it to work, both devices need to be “Bluetooth® enabled”.
LBS	Location Based Service Combined with services from the network service provider, integrated AGPS technology enables you to find your way around. AGPS helps you find your favorite stores or restaurants at a moment's notice Global Satellite Positioning (AGPS) enabled for enhanced location services
MIDI	Musical Instrument Digital Interface
MMS	Multimedia Messaging Service
POP3 E-mail	The POP3 e-mail function allows you to use your phone to access e-mail. (The e-mail is retrieved from a server over the air).
USB	USB (universal serial bus) is a fast (1Mbps) path for data transfer between the phone and an external device, such as a pc.
VOD	Video on Demand
WAP	Wireless Application Protocol