| Mini-Review of the Motorola i830 |
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This mini-review will reveal that the i830 is really just a small version of the i730. Before reading it therefore, you might want to read the i730 review first so that you have some idea of what I think of that phone. I’ll then dedicate this review to discussing the similarities and differences between the two models. Last Updated: 14-Jul-2004 |
Before reading this review, please read Some Thoughts on Phone Reviewing.
General
Without a doubt the i830 is the
smallest and lightest iDEN phone yet produced by Motorola. At only 3.94 ounces
it weighs no more than many of the GSM and CDMA models presently on the market.
In terms of size, the phone is also right in there with many other clamshell
models, at 3.35" x 1.77" x 0.79" (85mm x 45mm x 20mm). By comparison, the i730
weighs 5.1 ounces and its size is 3.60" x 2.00" x 1.10" (91mm x 51mm x 28mm).
The styling is a bit square, but the phone actually looks better in person than
it does in photographs. The phone comes in copper and silver (well, more like
gray), but I’m not sure if Telus is giving you a choice. The one I saw was
copper,
and while I wouldn’t have personally chosen that color, it did have a certain
charm compared to virtually every other phone, which these days are silver by
default.
The keypad has the same layout as the i730, but the keys are smaller and more
closely spaced. They are also recessed a bit more, and I didn’t find that I
liked the keypad as much as the i730’s. The i730 doesn’t exactly have the
world’s greatest keypad to begin with, and so the fact that the i830’s keys
aren’t as good doesn’t bode well for it. That aside however, I didn’t really
have any specific complaints about the keypad during the couple of hours I got
to play with the phone. Barry did say that the tiny multi-function keys on top
of the phone were markedly harder to use than the same keys on the i730,
however.
Phone features and functionality are virtually identical. They both use exactly
the same screen, and precisely the same menu system. The only difference I could
see at all was the auto-change feature for the wallpaper, which was minor at
best. Beyond that the phones are absolutely identical in function, including the
GPS receiver.
Small size does impose one rather obvious limitation to the i830 however, and
that’s battery life. The i830 uses a very small battery, which according to
Barry, who also owns an i730 (the one I originally tested near the end of last
year), the battery life on the i830 was similar to the i730 in pure standby, but
at least half in talk time. A larger-capacity battery is apparently available
for the i830 (with a bulgy back plate no doubt). This will make the phone fatter
and heavier, but it will still be smaller and lighter than the i730.
RF
Performance and Audio Quality
So aside from the difference in size,
appearance and battery life, what I was most interested in was any difference in
RF performance and
audio quality. The first thing I did was to place calls to the same
recordings using the i730 and the i830. While the i830 seemed to have slightly
lower earpiece volume, the tonal balance and general quality of both was the
same. However, the “tickling” sounds I mentioned in the i730 review are not
present on the i830, which is a good thing.
To test the speakers on the two phones Barry and I tried a number of different
tests. To compare the difference in volume and quality of the units during
speakerphone operation we call the same recording on each phone, and then we
turned the speaker on and off alternately to compare the speakers back-to-back.
The i730 had a slightly richer sound, and it seemed to be a little louder, but
aside from that it was difficult to tell the two phones apart.
To test the ringers I walked across the parking lot while Barry held the two
phones up in the air and played various ringtones at full volume. Some of the
ringtones (such as the super-loud Ringer 3) seemed distinctly louder on the
i730, but other loud ringtones (such as Ringer 6) sounded virtually identical.
It obviously mattered what frequencies were used in the tones, as the i830
didn’t seem to reproduce lower frequencies as well as the i730, but did equally
well on higher frequencies.
RF performance was tested at an arena on Conestoga Drive in Brampton. Due to the
construction of the arena, and a lack of any sites right nearby, no provider
worked well (if at all) inside the rink area. We could drag calls into the rink
area on Mike and not have them drop, but there was considerable audio
interference as the SQE drops below 10.
Throughout a series of side-by-side tests it didn’t look like there was any
difference between the two phones at all. Both held on to the signal equally,
produced similar audio problems when SQE got very low, and showed virtually
identical signal strength and SQE readings at all times (when on the same
channel).
I certainly like my i730 very much, but if I were buying a new iDEN phone today
I’d certainly consider getting the i830 instead (simply for its smaller size and
weight). The functional differences the two phones are non-existent for all
intents and purposes, which means you can choose between them based purely upon
size and styling considerations.
