Thumbs Up:

Slicker than most of the Nextel phones; good performer; functional feature set including GPS, Bluetooth, 2-megapixel camera, and micro-SD card slot.

Thumbs Down:

Average captured video quality and few editing options for video recording.

Inside the Trunk:

Technology: iDEN

Band: Dual-band of iDEN 800/900

Phone Design: Folder type

Caller ID: Yes

Other Features: Bluetooth, Push-to-Talk, dual display, micro-SD card slot

The Whiz Kid Speaks:

The Motorola i890 has 180MB internal memory and micro-SD expansion slot that accepts up to 8GB cards. It is compatible with M3/T4 hearing aids.

1.8-inch external display sits on the lid and has 160×128 pixels resolution that supports 65,000 colors. 2-megapixel camera features 4x digital zoom, focus free adjustment, and video-recording. 2.2 inches internal display has 320×240 pixels resolution.

The messaging features are e-mail, text, picture, and multimedia messages. The additional highlights are Bluetooth 2.1 EDR, speakerphone, and Web browser. The supported audio formats are Real Audio, eAAC+, AAC+, MIDI, WMA, WAV, MP3, and AAC.

The connector set includes 1×micro-USB. The i890 has battery life of 205 minutes talk time and 100 hours of idle standby time.

Razzle Dazzle:

The Motorola i890 is 1.98 inches wide, 3.9 inches tall, and 0.66 inch thick and weighs 4.2 ounces. It has large external display, touch music controls, and a slim design. The handset feels comfortable and sturdy while holding in hand. The shiny face attracts fingerprints and catches light. The rear side is covered with soft-touch material.

Inside Dope:

The Motorola i890 for Sprint Nextel is much like the previous Motorola i9 and Motorola Razr2. The i890 does not have a rubberized packing, but instead it is a bit stylish and throws a trim shadow. It costs $129.99 with two-year Sprint contract after a mail-in-rebate of $50. It is one of the slicker handsets for Sprint. The i890 has all Nextel offerings and performs passable. However, its photo quality is average and memory card slot is located behind the battery cover.

The external display with three touch controls sits on the lid. The Nextel smart button is located on the hinge and you have to press it to active the controls. The speakerphone button sits on the top hinge and you can activate it before dialing the numbers. You will find the Nextel PTT (Push-to-Talk) button and volume rocker on the left spine. The handset lock switch and combined micro-USB port (USB cable/charging) are on the right spine.

We like that there is a button on the right hinge to flip-open the phone automatically. However, you have to grip the Motorola i890 firmly else it will fly out from the hand while pressing the hinge button. You can flip open the phone to access internal display and alphanumeric keypad.

1.8-inch external display has 160×128 pixels resolution that supports 65,000 colors. It displays photo caller ID, signal strength, battery life, and date/time. You can access the music player and camera without opening the phone.

The camera is located in the middle of hinge that allows capturing self-portraits when phone is closed and other’s shots also when phone is opened. We are disappointed that there is no flash to improve the picture quality. As usual, the micro-SD card slot is located behind the battery cover.

2.2 inches internal display of the Motorola i890 has 320×240 pixels resolution that supports 65,000 colors. It exhibits good graphics and allows adjusting backlight time, color theme, wallpaper, and text size. The Nextel menu interface is icon-based.

The navigation array sits beneath the internal display and consists of two-soft keys, four-way toggle with middle OK button, Talk key, menu button, Web browser shortcut, and the Power/End key. The toggle allows accessing phone book and menu navigation. The navigation array is well designed and spacious for easy usage. The alphanumeric keypad has backlit, flat and large buttons. However, the numbers are marked in small sizes. We could text and dial without any problem.

The Motorola i890 can store 600 contacts in its phone book. Each contact can save seven phone numbers, one email address, notes, and one IP address. You can organize the contacts into caller groups and pair them with one ring-tone and a photo for caller ID. The basic features are text and multimedia messages, a date-book, an alarm clock, a speakerphone, call timer, a memo pad, and a vibrate mode.

The advanced highlights are a voice recorder, PC synchronization, USB mass storage, application manager, voice commands, voice dialing, and stereo Bluetooth. What’s more – you will also get voice playback option with female-Barbara voice and male-Sam voice, which reads out menu choices on selection and text on typing it.

The Motorola i890 also offers some Nextel Direct Connect PTT services including Direct Talk (for out-of network PTT-chat features), Group Connect (to chat with up to 20 users through PTT at a time), and International Direct Connect. In addition, the Direct Send is also available that transmits contact information to other compatible mobile handsets.

2-megapixel camera of the Motorola i890 features geo-tagging, digital zoom, self-timer and video recording. The still capture settings include five white balance presets, exposure controls, four color tones, two quality settings, and six resolutions. You can record the videos with sound in three resolutions. We are disappointed that the other recording options are limited. The phone allows recording video up to 60 seconds for MMS and longer in standard mode.

We captured some still photographs and recorded clips for testing. The overall photo quality was below average. The pictures looked blurry with dull colors. We will recommend using this camera in enough lighting as there is not flash. You can transfer the pictures and videos via MMS, and saved them on internal 180MB memory and micro-SD cards.

The Motorola i890 has some Java applications, Sprint Nascar Mobile and NFL Live, and TeleNav GPS service. There is also a calculator suite that contains: a loan payment & interest tool, a metric converter, a standard calculator, and a currency converter.

We made few calls through Motorola i890 via Nextel Service for testing. The overall call quality was good with strong signal strength and good clarity. We received natural and loud sound at our end with a little wind noise. We were able to hear the voices even in loud environments. The callers received good sound at their end with some background noise. They could tell we were calling via a cell phone.

The speakerphone call quality was loud and clear, while the Bluetooth headsets provided better calling experience. The Direct Connect PTT calls were also fine with a bit static.

The battery life of the Motorola i890 is three hours of talk time. Its digital SAR rating is 0.45watt per kg in accordance with the FCC radiation tests.

Nitty Gritty:

The Motorola i890 is an attractive iDEN handset, but its captured picture quality is average. It is not tough and sturdy like its predecessor.

If you do not mind the mediocre picture quality form camera, then Motorola i890 is a good iDEN mobile to buy for Sprint Nextel.

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