Avoid. Review on Motorola FIRE XT311

With so many budget android phones in the market, I decided to purchase this phone because of its touch and type keypad and cheaper price compared to market best seller Samsung. I did not wish to purchase full touch screen phones.My other option was Samsung Y PRO Duos which is about 1200/- more than this piece of Motorola junk.

In my 3 months of usage I am mostly using my trusted old Nokia than the Fire XT 311 which is the qwerty version of the XT 530.

A brief review in my 3 months of usage so far:

All specifications of the phone is available online so there is no point discussing. From a basic persons point of view I will sum up as follows. It is a very average phone in all aspects . It does not score high for anything and reliability is pathetic . The design is just okay. (Nokia and LG make their cheaper phones look 2 segments expensive).

It's got a plasticky look and is reminiscent of the Samsung Corby and blackberry. It gets scratched easily.

APPS

not recommended for app freak users. My internet usage is low. The phone felt slow even in 5 -6 apps . I have not installed more than these except for free sms apps and some music player apps. Even in this the phone behaves extremely sluggishly and there after switches off.

If you are into gaming avoid this. Period.

2) Net surfing is also slow. Quite comparable to some mid range Nokias.

3) The 3 MP camera is good and the only saving grace. However camcorder does not work at all!

This has amazing picture quality in good lighting conditions only. No flash though which is alright.

(Pl see the 2 photos that I have attached)

4)The phone is extremely slow. It takes more than a minute to access the photos in my 4 gb card.

5) Display quality and user interface is below average . It has a very bluish effect to it and looks cheap. It is extremely hard to see anything during sunlight or even cloudy days . Hats off to Sony here.

Screen size is also oddly positioned and small so one has to scroll sidewards often to view web pages

6) Like most androids, battery life range is nothing to write home about . Considering that I was unable to enjoy the net due to it being slow, my battery managed to last a day and half. Otherwise it depletes within half hour or 45 mins standby of net.

7) I also faced some minor complications with it unable to read the memory card and formatting I on its own. You have to then work it up via computer which is a lengthy process. This is not a phone where one just puts in the sim card and sd card and is on the go. Requires patience.

MAJOR ISSUES with touch screen

The touch screen is not sensitive and is erratic . I have observed that Samsung and Nokia touch screens respond better. You have to struggle with the touch pad. Within 3 weeks it stopped responding. Now there are hardly 3 -4 service centers in the city. The nearest one is also a tad far. It was duly replaced under warranty but took about a fortnight to do so. I am not satisfied with this phone as I cannot extract the advantages associated with android. It is slow and hangs. Another thing is it switches off on its own too often. Its a messy phone and the display menus are disorganized.

Now with light drizzles in these Mumbai rains. A little moisture cannot be avoided. But the phone suddenly stopped responding. The battery does not hold charge anymore. The touch screen has locked up. And its a beautiful junk now. I do not know how as its never been drenched and I have never faced such harrowing experiences with even my E 63. A second trip to the service center, where they make me wait for about an hour. They say there is some fungal formation which won't be covered under warranty. I do not intend to spend anymore for repairs and sell this off.

I am now going back to Nokia. I have had a bad experience with this android and maybe am not fascinated with it. Androids are good if you shell above 12 grands. I have decided to purchase a Nokia Asha 302 as I cannot waste money and this seems an ideal decision.

To sum it up, if one is on a shoe string budget and wants to buy an android, then he must stick to Samsung but not the dual sims.

For business phones and practical everyday users, just upgrade to another Nokia. One must not be tempted to try android below 10 grands as they aren't that great.

I was under the impression that Motorola phones are built tough like how they were in the early 2000s and that maybe they marketed it poor. But times have changed and so must my false thinking. Its a very okay phone. I am disheartened. PLEASE AVOID IT ANY COST. There are better phones out there which cost marginally more.

Warm Regards.

PS : I would also not recommend the low range HTC droids as there were 4 people at the service center which were very new and faced most of the above problems that I have discussed. This is my personal opinion by my experience.