“Motorola Brute i686 (Sprint)”

Posted: 25 Feb 2011 03:16 PM PST

Specifications

Service Provider: Sprint
Screen Size: 2.2 inches
Screen Details: 176-by-220, 65K-color TFT LCD screen
Camera: Yes
Network: iDen
Bands: 800, 1900

The Motorola Brute i686 ($119.99) is a push-to-talk cell phone for Sprint's Nextel system, very similar to both last year's Motorola Brute i680 (4 stars) and the classic Nextel i580 (4.5 stars), a great, rugged push-to-talk device that came out in 2006. The only problem is, these phones haven't progressed all that much since then. That's leaving the Brute looking a little unsophisticated nowadays, although it's still a good choice if it has the features you need.

Design and Call Quality
The i686 measures 3.9 by 2.1 by 1 inch (HWD) and weighs a robust 5.6 ounces. There's no denying this is a big phone, but it can still fit into a large pocket or on a tool belt. It is housed in sturdy gray and black rubber that feels solid, but comfortable to the touch. There is a covered 2.5mm headphone jack on top of the phone and a covered micro USB connector on the right side, along with a push-to-talk button and volume controls on the left. The phone's 2.2 inch, 176-by-220-pixel internal LCD looks a little low budget; selecting a shortcut icon enlarges the image to expand over the phone's screen, turning it into a pixilated mess. The large numeric keypad that is easy to press, even when wearing gloves, and the five-way control pad keeps navigation of the standard Nextel UI simple.

The i686 is a dual-band iDEN (800/1900 MHz) device that works on Sprint's Nextel network. Reception was solid, and voice quality was quite good, with bright, clear sound in the earpiece and plenty of volume. Calls made with the phone sounded great as well—crisp and natural. The speakerphone sounds fine and can reach extremely high volume levels. Calls also sounded excellent when paired with my Aliph Jawbone Icon ($99, 4 stars) Bluetooth headset. Voice dialing worked fine over Bluetooth. Push-to-talk worked well, with clear sound and volume to spare. This is a good phone if you plan to use it outdoors or around a lot of noisy interference. The vibrate function is plenty powerful, and battery life was great, at 12 hours and 18 minutes of talk time.

Multimedia, GPS, and Camera
There is a microSD card slot underneath the locked battery cover. The lock must be opened with a coin or flathead screwdriver. It would have been nice to see some small tool provided with the phone. Once unscrewed, I found the door incredibly difficult to pry off, and attempting to remove the battery increased my frustration further still. The phone accepts microSD cards up to 8GB, and my 8GB SanDisk card worked fine. The phone plays a good number of music files, including MP3 and AAC, so it's a shame that it has a nonstandard 2.5mm headphone jack and headphones aren't even included. Music sounded very good on a wired headset once I was able to rustle one up in the PCMag Labs. Music also sounded great over my Altec Lansing BackBeat ($99.99-$129.99, 3.5 stars) Bluetooth headphones—rich, bassy, and clear—though the music player didn't display any album art. 3GP video playback was terrible; video size was no larger than a postage stamp, and the audio was totally out of sync.

The i686 has a 2-megapixel fixed-focus camera with an LED flash and can geo-tag photos. Picture quality was average, at best. Test photos mostly looked blurry and washed out, and details were lacking. The camera can also record videos at 352-by-288-pixel resolution, but recorded videos were jerky and blurry.

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Sprint Cell Phone

Saturday, February 26, 2011