The rubberized keypad buttons also are well-designed. They're raised above the surface of the phone and are clearly separated from each other. We had no issues dialing by feel, and the bright backlighting and large numbers on the keys made it easy to dial in dim lighting.
Features
The 600-contact phone book has room in each entry for seven phone numbers, an e-mail address, an IP address, a Direct Connect number, and a Talkgroup number. Contacts can be organized further into a variety of groups for regular or push-to-talk calls, and you can pair them with one of 16 polyphonic ringtones. Other essentials include a vibrate mode, text and multimedia messaging, a calendar, a voice recorder, a speakerphone, a notepad, call timers, and call forwarding.
The i570 doesn't have Bluetooth, but it does offer voice dialing. It wouldn't be a Nextel phone without the carrier's Direct Connect walkie-talkie service. You'll also find Group Connect, which lets you chat with up to 20 others via PTT at once, and Direct Talk, which gives you out-of-network walkie-talkie chat with another Direct Talk handset at a range of up to 6 miles.
Like its Motorola i580 big brother, the i570 supports Nextel's second line service, which allows you to add a second line to the phone with a different phone number--perfect for users who want separate digits for personal and business use. Nextel was one of the first U.S. carriers to offer the functionality. It will cost extra, of course, but you can have separate ringtones, separate billing statements, and even phone numbers with different area codes.
You can personalize the i570 with a choice of wallpaper, color palettes, and alert sounds. If you don't like what comes on the handset, you can download more options and more ringtones with the WAP 2.0 wireless Web browser. You get a fair choice of Java (J2ME) applications, including two game demos (Space Invaders and Tetris ), 1KTV streaming content, and TeleNav and Trimble subscription-based navigation services that take advantage of the i570's GPS support.
Performance
We tested the dualband (iDEN 800/900) Motorola i570 in San Francisco using Nextel service. Call quality was admirable with satisfying clarity and volume. There was little static or distortion. The only quibble we had was that voices sounded a bit robotic on our end. It wasn't distracting by any means, but it was noticeable. On their end, callers said they could hear us fine, and they didn't report any major issues. Speakerphone calls were also agreeable. We had no trouble being understood, and we could hear our callers plainly. It's best if you call from a quiet location, though.
The i570 has a rated battery life of 4.08 hours talk time. According to FCC radiation tests, the i570 has a digital digital SAR rating of 1.05 watts per kilogram. The i570 has a rated battery life of 4.08 hours talk time. We had a pretty good tested talk time of 6 hours and 8 minutes.
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