Motorola V551
REVIEW DATE:  01.07.05 
 
  Total posts: 2 
  $149.99 - $199.99 
 

By Sascha Segan 
Cingular subscribers, we've found your phone. The Motorola V551 is an attractive phone that works well, has the features you want, and is available at a price you can afford. This brilliantly balanced combination makes it our Editor's Choice for feature-rich phones.

In most ways, the V551 is just like the company's fine V505. Slight design changes include a metal front that is now subtly grooved instead of stippled, making the phone seem more stylish and less industrial. The bright color screen is the same, as are the excellent signal and speaker quality. The buttons are big, easy to press, and backlit.


The V551's still camera doesn't quite match up to the V505's. Photos were a little brighter and bluer than the V505's, but they were still in the top rank of VGA camera phones. (See our camera phone gallery for comparison.) The V551 adds a video camera capable of capturing choppy 30-second videos; the phone's 6MB memory holds about 150 pictures or 12 30-second clips.

The V551 also supports EDGE, doubling the V505's speed for sending photos, picking up e-mail, and connecting to laptops as a modem. Using a laptop and a Bluetooth connection, we got slightly faster than dialup speeds uploading and downloading ZIP files. The handset's EDGE speeds were in line with other EDGE handsets we've tried.

A basic POP3/IMAP4 e-mail client is another welcome addition. The V551 shares the V505's excellent Bluetooth support, AIM client, and so-so gaming performance. With Motorola's $29.99 Mobile Phone Tools software, you can sync the phone's contacts and calendar with Microsoft Outlook.

There are a few features, like external picture caller ID and speaker-independent voice dialing, that we wish were on the V551. And sure, Cingular's more expensive phones, like the Siemens S66, Nokia 6620, Nokia 7610, and Motorola MPx220, outmatch the V551 in terms of features. But for the average Cingular subscriber who wants to make calls anywhere in the world, play Bejeweled, occasionally snap photos, and maybe check IMs or e-mail, the V551 is a very good choice.

Benchmark results:
Jbenchmark 1: 44
Jbenchmark 2: 1203

Battery results:
Continuous talk time: 8 hours 27 minutes