The Nextel Motorola i870 supports MP3 playback, but because it plays tracks from only TransFlash cards, you can forget about direct-to-device music transfers, let alone over-the-air downloads. The package includes a 32MB Micro SD card, which is enough room for only about six or seven songs, and an SD adapter for use with standard SD slots. To launch the audio player, just press and hold the play button on the phone's cover. Both the external and internal LCDs show the artist and song name and elapsed time during playback. The audio player offers shuffle and repeat modes; Rock, Pop, Jazz, Classical, and Bass EQ presets; and visual effects for the internal LCD. The external speaker isn't really suitable for music playback, so it's best to invest in a stereo headset (the i870 comes with the typical single-ear headset). Conveniently, the i870 comes with Roxio's Easy Media Creator software to create and transfer MP3s.
As for personalization options, you get 15 ring tones; of course, you can download more and assign different tones to each number for each contact. You can also choose from three desktop themes and set your wallpaper images to cycle at intervals ranging from five minutes to once a day. The Nextel Motorola i870 comes with several Java apps, such as Vijay Singh Pro Golf 2005 and 1KTV, an on-demand TV service.
We tested the Nextel Motorola i870 (iDEN 800) in the Chicago area. Call quality was generally good. When reception was strong, callers said they couldn't tell we were using a cell phone, and people on the other end sounded loud and clear. The integrated speakerphone also performed strongly, with callers reporting no problems hearing us even when we were a few feet from the phone.Battery life was another story. We maxed out after 2 hours of talk time--45 minutes short of Nextel's rating of 2.75 hours. Also, the phone heats up significantly after about a half-hour of conversation. Standby time wasn't much better: 2.3 days compared with the already unimpressive rating of 3 days. According to FCC radiation tests, the Nextel Motorola i870 has a digital SAR rating of 0.59 watts per kilogram.
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