Digital Trends

Motorola SLVR L7

March 1st, 2006 | by Stewart Wolpin

Features and Design

Its metallic Nano-like looks are what will attract buyers to the SLVR. Pitch black with the now-familiar RAZR etched keypad glowing with a bright ice blue backlight and a vivid 2-inch screen (a half inch larger than the Nano's), the SLVR (4.5 x 1.9 x 0.45 inches, 3.5 ounces) is about half the size of the Nano (3.5 x 1.6 x 0.27, 1.5 ounces), which makes it seem a bit more substantial than Apple's music-only player. Of course for $199 you get 500-song capacity with a Nano, vs. only 100 songs on the SLVR.

But just how "limiting" are the SLVR's features? Its 100-song capacity, when compared with even the $69 Shuffle's 120 song space, seems miserly bad. But at an average of three minutes per song, 100 songs equals around five hours of music, which ought to be plenty for daily commutes, exercise sessions and local trips to the market.

The SLVR includes a pre-installed 512 MB Micro SD card that will store your iTunes songs, Bluetooth capabilities, Cingular EDGE compatibility, a VGA digital camera, AOL, Yahoo! and ICQ instant messaging and built-in stereo speakers. However, the SLVR's Bluetooth does not include A2DP (Advanced Audio Distribution Profile), necessary to stream stereo music to the growing number of stereo Bluetooth headphones. Included with the SLVR are standard wired stereo earbuds with an in-line microphone. A USB cable for PC connectivity also is supplied.

As an EDGE phone, the SLVR connects to the Web and to the Cingular MEdiaNet store for ringtones, games, wallpapers and application downloads; there's a soft MEdiaNet link on the splash screen, along with a direct iTunes access soft key. However, even though the SLVR is an iTunes phone, there is no connectivity to the iTunes site to download tracks. That feature may have to wait until Apple produces its own iTunes phone.

Oddly, the SLVR lacks the usual spate of helper apps such as a calendar, calculator and alarm clock. But there is an Airplane mode that turns off the wireless so you can use the SLVR just as a music player.

The SLVR's candybar orientation and good looks create their own problems. You don't want to clothe a phone this pretty in a protective case, but it definitely needs one. Both the metallic keypad and especially the LCD screen exhibit every fingerprint and cheek smudge and require constant buffing to maintain their glamour. Some users may be reluctant to place it in a pants pocket for fear of scratching the surface. And with no hold button or key lock that we could locate, accidental song skipping or last number dialing could result when stored in a pocket or purse. A Shuffle-like lanyard solution would have solved most of these shortcomings.

Image Courtesy of Motorola