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Motorola Slvr L6 review: Motorola Slvr L6

The Motorola Slvr L6 is a budget version of the Slvr L7. It looks similar, and at 11mm thick it's even slimmer than the L7, but some of the features have been downgraded -- it doesn't have a memory card slot, for instance. But it's better value than the L7, if you're after a slim, simple phone

Andrew Lim
3 min read

The Motorola Slvr L6 is a budget version of the Slvr L7. It looks similar, and at 11mm thick it's even slimmer than the L7, but some of the features have been downgraded. It doesn't have the L7's expandable memory slot, it's tri-band instead of quad-band, and the screen only displays 65k colours.

6.5

Motorola Slvr L6

The Good

Slim form factor; Bluetooth; GPRS; colour screen.

The Bad

Curvy keypad is hard to use; low-end VGA camera; poor audio quality.

The Bottom Line

This is a good, slim phone that feels very light in the hand and features a colour screen, Bluetooth and a camera, all for a low price. However, it's disappointing that the keypad is not easy to use and the audio quality is muffled. If you're looking for a decent phone under £100, then this is definitely worth a look, but try the keypad out first before you hand over your hard-earned moolah

That said, if you're looking for a slim phone and can live without those features, the L6 is better value than the L7 at around £70 on pay as you go, or for around £100 SIM-free. If you don't fancy pink, it's also available in silver.

Positives
The best features of the Slvr L6 are its size and weight. It doesn't look too bad either, although we don't think the peachy pink is as striking as the hot pink of the pink Razr. At only 86g, this light phone doesn't drag you down and it won't spoil the lines of your suit, because it measures a pen-like 11mm thin. The screen is bright, displaying 65k colours and has a 128x160-pixel resolution. Like the L7, it has a speakerphone mode that's great for conference calls or hands-free and a welcome addition to this entry-level phone.


The Motorola Slvr L6 is thin and light

The L6 has exactly the same connectivity features as the L7 and features Bluetooth, which is useful for hands-free headsets and transferring files to another phone or PC. There's also GPRS connectivity and a WAP browser, which is limited by the screen's size and 65k colours, but is useful for using the L6 as a modem. This means you can access the Internet through the L6's GPRS connection and a Bluetooth or USB link to your laptop or handheld organiser.

Negatives
On the negative side, the keys on the Slvr L6's keypad are a little too angled and small to press easily and although they look good, they're not as responsive as the keys on the L7. The L7 based its keypad on the much-loved Razr V3 and therefore the buttons were large enough and straight enough to press easily. The L6 keypad is curved and much smaller and therefore makes pressing each key more of a struggle. You have to look at what you're doing, instead of trusting that following a straight line will correspond to the right key.

The audio quality on calls is also disappointing on the L6 and unlike the Razr series, calls sound muffled even with a full signal. The L6's 0.3-megapixel camera is the same resolution as the camera used on the Slvr L7, Pebl and Razr. Consequently, it doesn't take great photos and is really only meant for MMS and contact images. With only 10MB of internal memory and no expandable memory slot, it's not likely that you're going to be using this phone for storing lots of snaps anyway.

Conclusion
All the standard features are there in the Slvr L6, including a calendar, alarm clock, polyphonic ringtones, calculator and Java games, but this is a basic handset in terms of its features. Indeed, this is a very simple phone that's not trying to be anything other than slim.

If you're looking for a fashionable phone with a colour screen and Bluetooth connectivity, and you can overlook the slanty keypad, then this is definitely worth a look.

Edited by Mary Lojkine
Additional editing by Nick Hide