Motorola EX115 Hands On Review!

First of all, why dual-on GSM? Why now? After all this time, never crossed in my mind to use dual-on GSM phone. Until my BlackBerry primary network which using Telkomsel was 'broken'. I complained about how my signal reception is very good, I connected to BIS network (EDGE uppercase or 3G BlackBerry) but can't send a single 'hi' to anyone in my contact list. So I decide to use CDMA network in my Tour and its much better actually in my location.

So, I now have two GSM Sim Cards that I need to bring with me anywhere.  And my jeans pocket won't fit for another phone. After a search, I fall for this brown-thin-sleek Motorola EX115 (other choices are Lenovo Mobile which are just launched in Kelapa Gading last week).

In short, I finally then have the phone in my hand. As usual, nowadays the cellphone box is designed to the minimum. Thanks Apple for that. Motorola EX115 comes only with a travel charger and manual book. No cable data, no handsfree and of course no pouch or whatsoever. The phone design itself is good in my opinion. The material used is similar to the black version of Motorola Q8. It is plastic with semi-rubberized material which I haven't found out what the name is. It is quite thin and I could say it's the best compared to other MTK-phones (china manufactured - local brand).

My EX115

The phones come up with 3 Megapixels camera which gives you a decent image and it also have built-in timer and several effects (sephia, negative, sketch, etc). It's good to have it although its lack of flash and auto focus.

Here are some sample from camera shots :

Embossed Effect

White Inverted Effects

Move on to the most important part of this phone : QWERTY keypad. I've been using many of qwerty keypads from many phones. Sony Ericsson P910, Treo 650, Nokia E61, Motorola Q8, BlackBerry 8800, 8520, 9630 and this EX115 have the same sensation with the Q8. The button felt kinda hard but it's okay. Texting is easy using this phone. You type the message, add the recipient number, and then choose from which SIM you want to send the message. Same thing applies for making phone calls. Type the phone number and when you press dial, you will be asked from which SIM you want to start the call.

Next is the media player. I always thought the phone will have a very decent media player. But I was totally wrong. The Music Player in this phone comes with 3D surround and Bass Booster and it's very good! Reminds me of  ancient MotoROKR (Motorola E398) phone. It's definitely a plus point for this side. The phone also have microUSB slot and it is definitely also a plus because it could use my BlackBerry data cable and charger.

The minus? Have I mentioned even one the minuses? Yes nothing man ever made is perfect. The OS the EX115 comes with is most likely MTK-based. It's similar to most local brands and its not very user friendly when it comes to SYNC. You could sync the phone using the same PC Sync for other MTK's but it's very unfamiliar for me because these past years I was spoiled by the easiness of ActiveSync, iTunes, OviSuite and Google Sync. One of user also stated that he kind of disturbed by the backspace / delete button placement. When normally it's located below the letter 'p', EX115 put it in the left side of hung up button.

Well, besides of the sync issue, this phone is doing okay. The battery could last for around one and a half day in my usage. If you ever found one near your local store, my advise is buy it! Of course if you really need dual-on GSM phone. :)

@romeo_tango