The Motorola w385 is a sleek and handsome phone with a few choice features and a low price tag. On the outside of this clamshell phone is a small LCD that shows the time, battery life, caller ID, and signal strength. It is monochrome (white with a dark blue background), but since the phone is black and white, this actually adds to its attractiveness. However, the minimal size means that Picture ID only works on the internal LCD. This screen is larger in size and supports 65K colors, which isn't the best for viewing web pages. Newer phones offer better crispness on their internal screens, but the low price necessitates such sacrifices.

The w385 includes a camera phone, but one shouldn't expect high-quality snapshots because the camera is VGA, which was standard back when camera phones were introduced. Now these photos are best for Picture ID, simple reminders of moments, and little else. The camera does feature a self-timer, a zoom, and controls to generate some effects, as well as a self-portrait mirror. Files can be saved in the surprisingly large 30MB of internal memory, or you can send them to friends via Bluetooth or MMS.

Another surprisingly large feature is the size of the address book. Up to 1000 contacts can be stored, each with the ability to hold five phone numbers and two e-mail addresses, and can be given distinctive ringers with polyphonic or vibrating features. If you'd rather avoid scrolling through an address book to make calls, you can record the names and use voice dialing instead--especially useful if you invest in a Bluetooth headset.

Otherwise, the phone's feature set is somewhat unexceptional. When you're dealing with a barebones phone, obviously the most important review criterion is how well does the actual phone work. The w385 performs exceptionally well: Sound quality for both incoming and outgoing calls is superb, and there were no dropouts experienced. Calls were devoid of static or other interference, and the speakerphone also fared quite well. Meanwhile, the battery offered about four hours of talk time and 440 hours of standby. Overall, the Motorola w385 is an attractive phone that offers very reliable performance with a few lower-end features to round things out.

Pros: Excellent call quality, inexpensive
Cons: Unimpressive LCDs

Warranty
1 year