Motorola is on a hot streak. From its fashionable Razr to its iTunes-friendly Slvr to its productivity-geared Q, the company has produced one groundbreaking phone after another. The Pebl isn't groundbreaking, but it is a smart-looking phone for anyone who uses mostly voice services and wants good battery life.
I tested T-Mobile's Pebl in green, which reminded me of Volkswagen's Gecko Green New Beetle (Motorola also offers black, blue, and orange models). The Pebl sells for $300 (as of 8/4/06, with a two-year service agreement).
The clamshell Pebl weighs 3.9 ounces and feels substantial in your hand. Measuring 1.9 by 3.4 by 0.8 inches, it has a long and narrow monochrome LCD on the front that displays a clock, the signal strength, the battery life, and caller ID. Just below the screen is a battery charge and Bluetooth indicator light, and below that is the camera lens. On the right side of the phone is a single button that triggers a voice command feature; the two buttons on the unit's left side let you control the volume and the camera. On the back is a speakerphone speaker.
The phone has a nice rubberized texture, and a magnetic latch. To open it you slide the top piece down a few millimeters, which causes the clamshell to spring open. The black interior of the phone is shiny and fingerprint-prone, but the screen is bright and clear.
The keypad doesn't have individual keys; it's a single continuous surface with wavy dividers separating the numbers. Near the top center is a tiny four-direction pad with a select button in the middle that I found difficult to use. The keypad itself also takes some getting used to, and Motorola's icons aren't always helpful. I also found myself looking at the screen for guidance in using the programmable soft keys.
During my informal voice-call testing, the phone performed well. Voices sounded strong and clear on both ends, and the speakerphone had plenty of volume.
The Pebl offers support for e-mail, text messaging, and three instant messaging services (AOL, ICQ, and Yahoo), but its small shape and lack of a full QWERTY keyboard make it less than friendly for data entry. Inputting new numbers and accessing existing numbers in the phone book are both straightforward and efficient, but even with ITAP predictive-text capabilities, typing a message on a numeric keypad is an exercise in frustration. Web surfing isn't much better, although T-Mobile's T-Zones service makes accessing specially formatted content relatively easy. Regardless, I would use the Pebl for such functions only in a pinch.
The phone's VGA camera and video capture capabilities are more fun to use. I was able to snap decent photos with the low-resolution camera (the maximum setting is 640 by 480), and I enjoyed capturing short bursts of action with the video feature. E-mailing images and video clips from the phone is also pretty easy. Other goodies include support for Java-based games (only demos come with the unit), voice-memo capabilities, and MP3 ring tones. Motorola bundles a travel charger, a strap, an earbud headset, and a beefy user manual.
The Pebl performed well in our battery tests, averaging a run time of 9 hours, 31 minutes.
This handset doesn't have all the bells and whistles that you'll find on some other standard cell phones, and if you're looking for a phone that does data well, you should keep shopping. But if you're seeking a fun-to-use phone that looks good, the Pebl may be for you.
Tom Mainelli