Review: Motorola W755
Screen
As noted, outside the top flap is a 1-inch 96x80 pixel screen; inside is a 1.9-inch 176x220 pixel display. Neither is exactly state of the art but they do the job.
The external screen displays the time in digital or analog clock modes. When music is playing, track title and artist info along with a song progress bar are arrayed and easy to read over the album art.
The inside screen is bright and clean both indoors and out; we had no trouble discerning images even in direct sunlight although they a got a little washed out, which is to be expected.
All videos can be expanded to "full screen" for viewing horizontally, although on this phone, "full screen" isn't much bigger than the portrait mode. Videos were bright and colorful but surprisingly splotchy and jaggy considering the relatively small screen area. On-screen text captions or IDs for talking head in the videos were difficult or impossible to read, depending on their size.
Signal
EV-DO signal strength was no stronger or weaker than other EV-DO phones we've used. I consistently had three or four EV-DO bars roaming around New York City, except when I was home in the northern most reaches of Manhattan where most cell signals go to die. Data wiggled through regardless of the number of bars; even with only a single bar, data speed wasn't only barely affected. Voice signals, however, weren't as consistent as we're used to; even sitting still, call volume seem to occasionally waver unpredictably as if the signal were waxing and waning.
Sound
Motorola's Crystal Talk technology produces plenty of volume. My callers reported I sounded clean, clear and loud, but what I heard often sounded a bit hollow as if the speaker were in a cave, especially when conversing with other cellphones. The usual cell warble was far more evident on cell calls than landline connections, which is to be expected.
The W755's speakerphone also offered plenty of volume and better than average speakerphone sound. But full duplex – simultaneously hearing your co-conversationalist while you're talking – seemed to work only one way. I could hear my co-caller when I tried to talk over him, but he didn't hear a word I said while he was yakking away.
Another minor issue is the W755's speaker location, on the rear of the bottom half of the phone. To more clearly hear your caller, it's best to either cup the speaker with your palm or turn the phone upside down so its hinged middle is sticking up in the air.
Ringtone volume was explosively loud at the top volume level and vibrate buzz equally violent. I got some odd stares when I jumped as the phone sprang to life in my pocket. As with many phones in vibrate+ring mode, you feel the phone before you hear it ring.
Music through the speakerphone also was plenty loud and provided adequate mono background music in quiet environments, especially when the phone's rear speaker faces up.
Battery
In my unscientific battery tests, I pulled in more than four hours continual conversation, 20 to 30 minutes more than Motorola's rated 220 minutes talk time. Motorola didn't rate music play time, but I got 14 and a quarter hours, although the final two-plus hours played with the low battery icon flashing.
The W755 is rated at an above average 390 hours (16.25 days) standby time, and takes only about an hour to fully charge. You are also prompted to disconnect the phone from the charger once fully charged to save energy.
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Motorola W755
