Motorola SLVR L6: High-end looks sans high-end features

At a svelte 113 x 49 x 10.9mm and weighing 110g, the silver SLVR (for sliver, not silver) L6 is one sleek and ultra-slim (slimmer even than the more expensive SLVR L7) mobile phone with a 1.7-inch, scratch-resistant 65k-color LCD screen, a RAZR-inspired etched keypad, 10MB of memory, Bluetooth and USB connectivity, a voice-activated dialer, a speakerphone, and a 4x-zoom VGA camera with video capture/playback.

The P9,990 L6’s front features Menu, Send, Power/End, and Left and Right soft keys surrounding a five-way directional keypad. On the left, a Smart Key lets users quickly access likely actions to follow (such as Select when a menu item is highlighted), while a dedicated Camera Key on the right gives consumers quick access for impromptu moments. Also on the right, a charging port doubles as the accessory outlet.

The back of the L6 integrates the VGA camera, which snaps photos at a somewhat low 640 x 480 resolution. And instead of the hardened glass used to protect the L7’s camera lens from scratches, the L6 has a plastic cover.

Controlling the 4x zoom and brightness levels (-2 to +2) with the directional keypad, users can adjust basic functions with a click of the thumb. Bundled with additional camera effects, the L6 includes Effects (color, black & white, antique, and negative), White Balance (auto, cloudy, sunny, indoor home, and indoor office), and Self-Timer.

For full-motion capture, the L6 supports MPEG-4, H.263, and AMR Audio formats to record and playback at Sub-QCIF (128 x 96 pixel) resolution. The L6 lacks Full QCIF (176 x 144 pixel) recording found on the L7.

The L6 integrates a standard music player, capable of accepting MP3 and AAC files. Rather limited with the 10MB memory, it is not suited for anything more than clips of MP3 ringtones, which are wonderfully loud and clear.

I still applaud Motorola’s ingenious TAP predictive SMS which I find far better than T9. You only need to type in the first three letters of a word for TAP to suggest the whole word and you only need to hit the right key to finish the word.

Yet another feature I appreciate is the easy customizability of the interface. You can choose between list or icon formats and even arrange the order of the list or icons. You can even assign which functions to become shortcuts in the two hotkeys.

One minor gripe I have with both the L6 and L7 SLVRs is the 2-5-8 column of buttons that are positioned lower relative to the 1-4-7 and 3-6-9 keys on either side. This means you have to consciously lower your thumb a fraction of an inch to hit that middle column when you’re "blind-texting."

The L6 can store up to 500 contacts on its phonebook, also incorporating essential PIM (Personal Information Management) applications like an Alarm, Calculator, Currency Converter, and Datebook. It lacks an e-mail client, but fortunately supports J2ME (Java 2 Platform Micro Edition), allowing users to download and install Java-based games and apps.

With minimal calls and texts, the battery could last for up to three days, but with lots of voice calls and texts, expect to charge the battery every 36 hours, which still isn’t bad.

All things considered, Motorola’s SLVR L6 offers high-end looks without the high-end features at a lower to mid-range price.