The lowdown
Motorola's RAZR proved that even though it is now possible for manufactures to pump all manner of high tech accessories a lot of people would prefer to sacrifice features for a more compact option. These ultra-slim handsets are selling like hotcakes and Motorola has established a name for itself with these compact, lightweight units. The L6 is more of a budget offering to those who prefer the skinnier side of mobile telephony.
What's good?
Dimensions of 110 x 49 x 10 mm do make this candy-bar handset one of the most compact mobiles out there and it won't weigh down your pocket at 80g either. Its looks are pretty appealing and it has surprisingly good, clear voice reception. You can also use its GPRS connection to access WAP service and email.
What's bad?
The L6 sufffers from a number of minor flaws that all add up to seriously detract from its ability to compete with other handsets. The flat RAZR-like keys are a fiddly to use and make texting a real pain especially if you don't have dainty little fingers. The battery life won't exactly blow you away; it is stated as nearly 6 hours talk time or 380 hours standby time, but when we field tested it with a combination of calls, texts and WAP the power started to wane after about a day.
Even though Motorola is obviously cutting back on features to conserve bulk, the 10MB of internal memory seems weak at best and, again like the RAZR, the basic VGA camera is a let down too. It probably would have been better to let the low quality camera go in favour of another feature.
Do you need it?
Ultimately the L6 suffers from having too many higher spec and higher quality rivals, not least of which come from Motorola's own camp. I've mentioned the RAZR as a rival a few times in this article and there is also the SLVR (a higher specified version of the L6) which makes a far better alternative. Anyone buying a phone on contract should consider that although the L6 starts from free, so too do most of its direct rivals, but those using pay-as-you-go might be pleased to learn that it only costs £70.
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| Useful Links: |
Zoodex
, Motorola, |
| Features: |
Ultra-slim, compact design
4x zoom VGA camera
GPRS powered WAP and email
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| Verdict: | 
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