Motorola is one of those companies that has gone under the radar recently, with other companies like Apple, HTC and Samsung dominating the smartphone market. This is something we don’t fully understand, as recently Motorola was one of the most impressive mobile phone manufacturers, continually releasing models at the forefront of technology. Well, July 2011 heralds the release of the Wilder model, a phone at the budget end of its range that they hope will put the company back on the radar and provide some serious competition for the big boys at this end of the price scale.
There are many things that will captivate the masses in the Motorola Wilder. First of all, aesthetically speaking, the Wilder is incredibly similar to Motorola’s previous release, the Defy. Rugged yet with sleek and elegant lines, the Wilder definitely has a place in the smartphone beauty pageant. There’s a physical phone button on the face for easy access to the home menu, a lock button on the side, and a volume rocker button on the side as well. The resistive touchscreen is a tiny 2.8-inches, but it looks great strictly speaking, and the sliding screen acts as a notification bar, keeping you up to date with the latest news, missed calls, and unread messages.
If you’re like us and treat your phone a little less than it deserves, perhaps spilling a cup of tea here and there with your phone in the line of fire, then you’ll love the fact that the Wilder is splash resistant. and dust.
Since the phone is priced so cheaply, you can’t expect much in the way of fancy features, but there’s a lot for such a small cost. The rear camera is only 2 megapixels, but you manage to get some decent shots in bright light, the 6X digital zoom is a modest touch that doesn’t really do much, but the camera can also shoot VGA-quality video.
There’s a decent music and video player, as well as FM radio, however you do need headphones plugged in to act as an antenna. Speaking of headphones, the 3.5mm jack allows you to use your own headphones instead of the ones that come in the box. Another nifty feature is the inclusion of Soundhound, a program that detects and identifies music tracks.
Internet connectivity isn’t too bad, and there are features that give you quick access to social networking sites, such as Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube. There are also a variety of games to enjoy, including the old favorite Tetris.
To be completely honest, when it comes to flaws, Wilder has a few. First of all, we think the screen is too small at 2.3 inches, but maybe that’s because HTC’s latest models have spoiled us. Quality is excellent for a screen of this size, but we weren’t overly impressed.
Also, the 2 megapixel camera was a big disappointment and without a flash you can’t really take pictures on a night out. We were also disappointed by the measly 5MB of built-in storage, but if you buy a microSD card, it supports up to 32GB, which some of the higher-end phones can’t even reach.
In conclusion, for the price you can’t expect much from Motorola’s latest release, but what you get works pretty well. If you’re looking for a phone with a decent camera then stay away as you won’t be getting Bailey style shots with Wilder, but all in all it’s a pretty decent phone for the price that will help Motorola dominate that end of the market.