The new Moto - phones for the aam aadmi

No one expects bells and whistles at rock-bottom prices, but Motorola's new "mass-market" handsets do score on their thin form factor and some basic features.

Motorola has launched not one or two, but three handsets, in its efforts to get a hold on the segment that was earlier left rather unaddressed by it "" the mass market.

Even though Motorola is still a long way from having a portfolio like Nokia (one that addresses every price point), the relatively cheap phones should herald a good start for the RAZR promoters in India. Priced attractively between Rs 3,000 and Rs 5,000, the latest C-series is close competition to Nokia's 6030 or 6610I.

The new handset models, Motorola C139, C168 and C261, are uncomplicated phones. No bells and whistles. While the names may seem thoroughly confusing, they have certain Motorola characteristics like thin form factors, integrated FM radio and even a camera.

Following Nokia's approach, these phones are directed at the group of less-pretentious users, who are happy enough with a basic functional menu.

The Motorola C139 comes with anti-slip side grips. While the display is pretty basic with a 64k colour display and the standby time is 450 hours (the company claims), at Rs 3,055, it's good enough to make/receive a call and send/receive an SMS.

The C139 has the usual goodies that go into a mobile phone "" an internal phonebook (stores up to 100 numbers), SMS, downloadable ringtones, three pre-loaded games and a calendar. This candy-bar mobile looks rather cute and at 85 gram, it's quite handy too.

The melody composer can be a good way to while away your time, but it has nothing else to boast. Yet the phone is a good upgrade for those still using one of the earlier black and white screen phones or those who need it for calling and SMS only. If you are an SMS buff, then it is advisable to look at the next in line, the C168, as the C139 comes with limited SMS storage space.

The Motorola C168 features a sleek and slim form factor and has a 64k colour TFT display, which is only slightly better than the C139. This one supports MMS messaging (if you get the operator to configure the settings), polyphonic ringtones, and an integrated FM stereo radio.

The sound quality is passable, though. While it supports MMS, it doesn't have a camera, which means you can only receive or forward MMS content. This dual-band GPRS phone comes with a 128x128 display and can store up to 600 phonebook entries and 250 SMS messages.

But the keys seem too hard and tightly placed to enable easy text messaging. The battery back up is decent; during testing, it lasted for two days. With a price tag of Rs 3,990, it is more affordable than the Nokia 6030 (approximately Rs 4,990), which has almost the same set of features.

The Motorola C261 is a smart-looking phone that comes with a VGA camera. Coupled with 64k colour, the 128x160 pixels TFT display does not do justice to pictures.

But at Rs 5,188, Motorola has just made the graduation to a camera phone easier for many. And remember, it is a mass-market phone so don't expect Motorola to upgrade it to a megapixel camera in near future.

With 5 MB memory, it can support up to 100 phonebook entries, but there is no option to expand the memory size. Since it is a camera phone, the 5-MB memory can be somewhat insufficient.

Features such as zoom and video recorder would have made sense too. The C261 boasts MMS capability, but what if you have a friend beside you and want to share pictures or ringtones?

The absence of Bluetooth is quite irritating. If Motorola wants to promote C261 as a multimedia device, it better consider putting a Bluetooth/IR link and an MP3 playback in the C261.

Both the C261 and C168 have speakerphones, but the sound quality of the C261 is much better. Also, the models are available only in black colour, which can be quite monotonous.