Made To Order. Review on Motorola c300

Everybody I know, or for that matter, everybody I do not know, tells me how cute this mobile is. Everytime I flash it, a series of 'oohs' and 'aahs' inevitably follows. But while investing in a mobile, cuteness is not the only parameter.

I've had this phone for the last 2 years, and you will not find it in Indian markets now. A secondhand version will cost you somewhere in the region of Rs. 2000. It is an extinct phone, by today's standards. It set me back by a least 5000 smackeroos. This, despite having the ubiquituous Nokia 3315 around at 4800.

It has a sturdy cover, and is available in a single color: metallic silver. You may never find an original cover to replace it, or for that matter, even a Made In USA (read Ulhasnagar Sindhi Association) one. For some stupid reason, it never did become as popular as the 3315. But believe me when I say you will never need to. Its that strong, I have lost count of the number of times I've dropped it. It still survives.

At 82 gms. and 101x42x19 mm. (H x W x D) it was (then) the lightest entry-level Dual-Band GSM cellphone around. Back then, polyphonic ringtones were as recent as MP3 ringtones are now. So it was a decent first-buy because of the features it offered.It came in 3 background screen colors: white, blue, and yellow. It is one of the simplest phones to use with an icon-based and list-based menu system at hand.

The phone comes with 4 games pre-installed: Brick, Numbers, Snake, and BoxWorld. PIM (Personal Information Management) made life simpler for Motorola users with its easy-to-use calendar, scheduler, alarm etc. The volume at 70cc was enough (I can still hear it ring in a crowded Virar-fast local). Moreover it has a Vibracall feature.

People can send you ringtones from other makes (Nokia, Ericcson, or Samsung) and it may work on yours, but no way can you send one of those ringtones you took hours to make on your compiler and expect it to work on theirs. An integrated antenna adds to its beauty value.

And now the part that was always going to be an issue for hardcore users. It has just 100 numbers storage. The internet browser is unusable. Battery talktime at 330 minutes makes Nokia see red, but 170 hrs. standby time is a poor feature, indeed.

All said and done, you can use a Motorola c300 if you are someone who uses your mobile like a landline and want a really uncomplicated phone, this is the baby you should be looking at, just for the fringe benefits. Or else, you should've gone for that feature-packed 65k color screen, mp3 ringtone phone, a year ago.

Take your pick and be content with it as long as it doesn't go kaput or unless your network doesn't support your mobile.

On an end-note, I'd like to add that I still use it. I'm a contented man.