Motorola MA560 Review
By Ian Bell
September 19th, 2004
Summary
The MA560 is not a particularly advanced phone when it comes to some features. It does not have a large rolodex like address-book capabilities and you cannot add multiple handsets to it which allow you to expand the phone system more affordably. But it does have the most commonly used features and it allows you to use them easily and intuitively — which is what counts.
The physical look of the MA560 leaves something to be desired, especially since we put a lot of emphasis on both design and technology here at Designtechnica. But if you can look past its dark demeanor, the MA560 is a very rugged and solid performing phone, and one which we will certainly will compare future cordless phone too. With its rugged design and long lasting battery the MA560 is highly recommended for heavy use.
The MA560 is expected to be available October 2004.
Full Review
Introduction
One of the most overlooked consumer electronics out there are home phones. We use our home phones everyday yet, there are very few resources out there which help us make a wise purchasing decision when it comes to these items. Up until now, Consumer Reports has been probably the only place where you can find reviews on home phones. We have decided to start broadening our coverage here at Designtechnica to include home office corded phones and cordless phones. Kicking off this series of reviews will be Motorola's new MA560 5.8GHz cordless phone and answering machine, which was just recently announced.
Motorola's MA560 cordless phone and digital answering machine, is part of Motorola's second generation of 5.8GHz cordless phones. While its design may resemble the first generation product line, there have been several improvements to enhance performance and features. As of this review, we were unable to find this phone on the net for purchase, but our best guess would put the price of the MA560 around $70 price range.
Picture provided by Motorola
Features and Design
Let's get this out in the open right off the bat, the MA560 is not a pretty phone. It is dressed all in black and features a rubber side molding on the phones itself. At first glance you would think this phone was designed for the military or government services. The LCD display while bright, is pretty nonchalant. It has a bright yellow back light and dark contrasting text. The number pad lights up a bright yellow when they are pushed or when someone calls. The base is a little less rugged looking but is painted in the same dark black as the handset. The MA560 is not a particularly ugly phone; it just will not win any design awards. We think the new Uniden line of 5.8GHz phones look a lot more elegant for example. But do not let its look full you, the MA560 has a lot to offer on the performance and features side.
The cordless phone market is really interesting because of the way it has progressed over time. The first analog cordless phones ran off of the 1.7MHz frequency which is located just above the AM broadcast band. Reception was fairly bad and you had to have the phone pretty close to the base in order to use it. It wasn't until cordless phones hit the 900MHz frequency range that technology really started taking off. At the 900MHz band you could take the phone much further away from the base and you experienced better clarity with less interference. More advanced 900MHz phones had DSS (Digital Spread Spectrum) capabilities and up to 80 channels to choose from so you did not get interference from your neighbors phones or other radio devices. Digital Spread spectrum technology takes the digital information that is being broadcast and spreads it into multiple pieces over several frequencies between the receiver and the base. This helps to eliminate eaves dropping from your neighbors while they are on their cordless phones, as well as helps to increase the range between the handset and the base. 900MHz phones with Digital Spread spectrum in our opinion still have the best clarity and range of all cordless phones, even today when 2.4GHz phones and 5.8GHz dominate the marketplace. 2.4GHz phones were marketed as having an even greater operating range because of its 2.4GHz band, but they still can experience interference from other 2.4GHz phones, microwaves and even WiFi routers and networks which all operate on the same band. Enter the 5.8GHZ phones.
When phones operating at the 5.8GHz frequency entered the market, they were touted as having even more clarity than their 2.4GHz brethren and promised not to interfere with home network or other radio devices since there are still few products that work in the 5.8GHZ band. Most wireless home audio speakers operate at 900MHz, while WiFi networks operate at 2.4GHz, so if you get a 5.8GHz phone, this will help maximize the operating performance of all of these devices in the same area.
Motorola's MA560 not only features 5.8GHz technology, but it also has a digital answering machine and a battery which we are told can last up to 6 hours of talk time or 6 days of standby time — this is above average for a cordless phone. Caller ID is built into the phones handset and can be accessed via the caller id buttons located on the handset as well. The digital answering machine can record up to 15 minutes of talk time or up to 59 recorded messages; whichever fills up first. Basic settings for changing the password, greeting, and adding a memo are located on the base, while Caller Id, language, ring tones, and area code settings are accessed via the handset. The volume controls are located on the left hand side of the handset while the headset input and ringer controls are located on the right hand side. The MA560 comes with an optional belt clip which you can put on the phone should you choose to.
Testing and Performance
Setting up the MA560 is easy to do. The instructions are easy to read and the menu settings are easy to follow. The microphone built into the base works very well and does not require you to put your mouth close to it while recording a greeting or a memo. Recordings left by callers are loud and clear when being played back. The buttons on the handset and the base work very well and are not mushy when pressed. Some phones have mushy buttons that overtime can stick to the phone instead of depressing when they are pushed — the MA560 has nice solid buttons that light up when in use.
We found the volume on the handset to work very well. We were not forced to push the volume all the way up in order to listen to someone on the other end. We also found that the microphone in the handset worked well and we were not forced to speak louder in order for people to hear us. Accessing calls remotely is easy to do and does not require a lot of button pressing or long pass codes.
In some large cities you are required to dial the area code plus the person's number when calling someone, even local numbers. One thing we liked about the MA560 was that when you wanted to call a number stored on your caller id, you simply pressed the format button on the handset and it will change the number to include the area code or a 1+ next to the number for you, allowing you to change it from a local call to a long distance simply by pressing this button.
The operating range of the MA560 is better than some other phones we have tested. Unidens new 5.8GHz phones received considerable interference when the handset was more than 30 feet away. This was not the case with the MA560. We were able to walk 2 houses over before we experienced any sort of clipping or interference. We also did not experience any interference from our wireless networks or other 5.8GHz and 2.4GHz phones. The overall performance of the MA560 is above average. Keep in mind that you will still get more range out of a 900MHz DSS or 2.4GHz phones, but you will most likely receive interference on 2.4GHz phones.
One thing we have noticed with cordless phones are that while they may be advertised as 2.4GHz or 5.8GHz digital phones, these bands are usually only used in one direction (typically when you are talking) while the other direction (typically what you are hearing) is still operating at a lower frequency band or even an analog band instead of digital. We have no confirmation from Motorola that the MA560 uses 5.8GHz in both direction, but we are pretty confident that it does since there is no mention otherwise, even in the small print on the box or in the manual.
Battery life was surprisingly long and we were able to use the handset close to 6 hours before the battery life started to dwindle. Keep in mind that this is a new phone and because of its Nickel Cadmium battery, you should expect battery life to lower considerably over the life of the phone. We have yet to see a cordless phone with a Lithium-Ion or NiMH battery, so you will probably build up a memory with this battery over a period of time.
Conclusion
The MA560 is not a particularly advanced phone when it comes to some features. It does not have a large rolodex like address-book capabilities and you cannot add multiple handsets to it which allow you to expand the phone system more affordably. But it does have the most commonly used features and it allows you to use them easily and intuitively — which is what counts.
The physical look of the MA560 leaves something to be desired, especially since we put a lot of emphasis on both design and technology here at Designtechnica. But if you can look past its dark demeanor, the MA560 is a very rugged and solid performing phone, and one which we will certainly will compare future cordless phone too. With its rugged design and long lasting battery the MA560 is highly recommended for heavy use.
Specs
Additional features include: -
Motorola MA500 Series - Advanced 5.8Ghz Features At an Affordable Price The Motorola MA500 5.8 GHz analog cordless phone system series brings consumers the convenience of virtually interference-free communications in the 5.8 GHz frequency band at an affordable price. With up to 6 hours of battery life, 6-days of standby time, and tough, non-slip, rubberized side grips, these cordless phones provide advanced features with a fashionable touch.
Features include:
-
Digital Answering System-
Answering machine access from handset and remote telephone - Caller ID with Visual Call Waiting* - Speakerphone and keypad on base - 10 Speed Dial Memory Locations - 3 Ring Tones to choose from - Visual Call Indicator - Call Screening - 3 Line Backlit LCD Display - Backlit Keypad - Audible and Visual Low Battery Alert - Hands-Free Headset Ready - Wall Mountable