[ricktat]

This review may be over 10 years old but I am going with the Nexus. I do not want some huge book to read.


I received the StarTAC 7868 as my first-ever cellular phone in October of 2001. My previous experience with cellphones was very limited, occasionally borrowing one from a friend to make a call.

I knew I was in trouble when I saw the size of the manual - it is huge! And in this case, size equates to complexity. The phone is supposedly capable of performing all sorts of functions, but accessing that functionality is close to impossible for me. The menu-based user interface is inscrutable. There seems little logic to how you perform most functions, and even basic things like adjusting volume are difficult to do. I would give Motorola an "F" in the interface department.

Aside from that I have had a few other troubles as well - the antenna broke and needed repair, and battery life is atrocious. At first I thought I had a bad external charger, so I had it replaced and got some new batteries, but nothing really changed. This is a real disappointment because a cellphone whose batteries are always dead is not a useful device.

On the plus side, it does seem to have very good sound quality. Other people that I talk to who are using cellphones often are virtually unrecognizable. The StarTAC has no such problems. Sound quality is excellent both incoming and outgoing.

Perhaps I'm being too harsh because I'm not someone who is into cellphone culture. I look on them as a barely necessary evil and I certainly don't want to be chained to one. Using one for web surfing, calendar functions, etc., is absolutely beyond my comprehension. But I was hoping my first would be one that was charming and useful enough that maybe I could begin to understand why the things are so popular. Unfortunately, after using the StarTAC, I am only even more baffled as to why people love them so much.

Recommended:
No

Amount Paid (US$): 150

[milan03]

Brilliant!

[Turbod]

Your review is wrong, one of the best phones I have ever owned. Lol! But seriously, I put that phone through everything and it worked everytime

[ricktat]

I didn't write the review.. I was reading it to help me compare.

[digitalslacker]

LMAO
pretty awesome, thanks for the laugh!

[Mr. Poppalopolis]

I know that my Samsung SCH u-540 was a great phone. It held up for I think about 3 years with constant abuse. I would throw my phone around (literally), it would bounce off the ground/wall or whatever and be totally unscathed. I will definitely buy a Samsung phone in 2011!

But, Samsung's build quality seems to have declined a huge amount. Or maybe I shouldn't say build quality as I haven't owned any new Samsung phones, but the material quality and durability have definitely gone down. That's true of all smartphones, but any Motorola or HTC is almost guaranteed to weigh more and feel more solid.

[Andrew Ruffolo]

My first cell phone:


Loved it! I think I had 150minutes shared with my parents and I left it in my glovebox in case of an emergency.

[robrecht]

My first cell phone:


Loved it! I think I had 150minutes shared with my parents and I left it in my glovebox in case of an emergency.

What phone was that? I had something like that before I got a StarTAC.

Thanks, Robrecht

[tntdroid]

My first was the startac. Had to load minutes on it from Verizon. Awesome device.

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk

[CynicX]

Startac > everything else

[Andrew Ruffolo]

What phone was that? I had something like that before I got a StarTAC.

Thanks, Robrecht

It was a primeco qualcomm phone... don't remember model.

[turb0wned]

Startacs where actually better than some of these smartphones like hawei.

[turb0wned]

Startac was back when Motorola actually made a good phone.

[JoJoCal19]

My first cell phone, Audiovox PCX 1000XL, circa 1999, my senior year in High School. Was with PrimeCo, which became part of Verizon Wireless, and still with them after all of these years. Man I remember how expensive it was just to get 100 minutes as a HS student working part time.

[paul-c]

Click to view quoted image


My first cell phone, Audiovox PCX 1000XL, circa 1999, my senior year in High School. Was with PrimeCo, which became part of Verizon Wireless, and still with them after all of these years. Man I remember how expensive it was just to get 100 minutes as a HS student working part time.

That was my first phone too. That Audiovox was awesome and I still miss it. And yeah, I was in the same boat as you with the expensive minutes. I didn't care though, I was a teenager. The summer of 1998 was great and that phone was along for the ride.

[atlasmike]

That was my first phone too. That Audiovox was awesome and I still miss it. And yeah, I was in the same boat as you with the expensive minutes. I didn't care though, I was a teenager. The summer of 1998 was great and that phone was along for the ride.

Same here around the same time. I was a junior in HS when I got my first cell and this Audiovox was the one on Primeco. I was the only kid in school that had a cell.