Motorola Brute i680 – Tough iDEN phone, top-notch call quality

Thumbs Up:

Top-notch call quality; good feature set; solid built; rugged design.

Thumbs Down:

Poor photo quality from camera; 2.5mm headset jack instead of standard 3.5mm one; missing camera shutter on exterior; lacks dedicated Back key in navigation array.

Inside the Trunk:

Technology: iDEN
Band: iDEN for Sprint Nextel
Phone Design: Folder type
Caller ID: Yes
Other Features: Push-To-Talk, Bluetooth, Retractable Antenna

The Whiz Kid Speaks:

Motorola Brute i680 is an iDEN based handset for Sprint Nextel. It has 180MB internal memory and micro-SD expansion slot that accepts up to 8GB. The cell phone is compatible to hearing aids.

The external display has 160×120 pixels resolution and supports 65,000 colors. In addition, 2.2 inches internal display has 220×176 pixels resolution. 2-megapixel camera of Motorola Brute i680 features 4x digital zoom, self-timer, and video-recording.

1750mAH lithium ion battery has a life of 350 minutes talk time. The Brute i680 can withstand weather, shock, and dust.

Razzle Dazzle:

Motorola Brute i680 is 3.92 inches tall, 2.09 inches wide, and 1 inch thick and weighs 5.63 ounces. The cell phone is covered within strong plastic and rubberized skin. Its hinge is sturdy enough to withstand multiple opens and shuts at a time. The handset feels very solid while taking in hand. It gray and black color scheme gives an industrial look.

Inside Dope:

The iDEN based cell phones are limited in the United States. However, the famous manufactures are still launching handsets to capture the iDEN mobile market. There is a new member in this line – Motorola Brute i680 for Sprint Nextel. It is rugged and tough handset that offers Bluetooth, 2-megapixel camera, and satisfactory call quality. The Brute i680 is available for $119 with service contract from Sprint Nextel. It is military certified to withstand the elements such as salt fog, low and high temperature, vibration, shock, and dust. We dropped it on bricks and threw it on the marble floor, but there was no effect or scratch on it. We also dropped the i680 phone in water for 20 minutes and it still worked without any problem.

The external display sits on the front lid and has 160×120 pixels resolution that supports 65,000 colors. It shows recently called phone numbers and photo caller ID. You can also use it as camera viewfinder. The camera lens with flash is located above the external display. There is no dedicated camera key on the exterior, but we will prefer to have the same on the lid of a flip handset.

You will find standard Nextel button to access recent calls list, 2.5mm headset jack and speakerphone button on the top. Push-to-talk (PTT) button and volume rocker are located on the left spine. A combined micro-USB port for USB cable/charger is on the right spine, which is covered with a rubber flap. We will prefer the manufacturer to include a 3.5mm headset jack, especially on a iDEN handset. Micro-SD card slot is located behind the battery cover that is secured by locking mechanism.

You have to flip open the phone to access the numeric keypad and internal display. 2.2 inches internal display has 220×176 pixels resolution that supports 65,000 colors. This resolution is a perfect match for a rugged handset. You can customize the backlight time and text size for the internal display. Motorola Brute i680 has one-page menu interface in both icon and list style.

Navigation array sits underneath the internal display of Motorola Brute i680. It consists of two soft keys on the top and four-way directional pad with center select button in the middle. The menu key and Talk button are in the left side of toggle, whereas camera key with End/Power button sits in the right side. We missed a dedicated back button on the navigation array. When phone is in standby mode, the up direction shows Settings, down displays recent calls list, and side buttons allows navigating through shortcut icons. Numeric keypad has tactile, backlit and spacious buttons.

Motorola Brute i680 can store 600 contacts in its phonebook. Each entry can save seven numbers, one email address, and notes. You can organize the contacts to caller or PTT groups and pair them with one ring-tone and photo for caller ID. The basic feature set includes date-book, alarm clock, 20 polyphonic ring-tones, call timers, memo pad, multimedia and text messaging, and vibrate mode.

Being a Sprint Nextel phone, Motorola Brute i680 offers all Direct Connect PTT services including Direct Talk for out-of network PTT chat, Group Connect for in-network chat with up to maximum 20 users via PTT at once, and International Direct Connect. The additional highlights of the i680 are voice playback while browsing menus, voice recorder, PC synchronization, USB mass storage, GPS, application manager, and stereo Bluetooth. For GPS, there is Sprint TeleNav service to get local search and real-time directions.

2-megapixel camera features video recording, 4x digital zoom, auto-focus, geo-tagging, and self-timer. The image editing options include seven resolutions, two shutter sounds, four color tones, macro mode, white-balance, exposure control, and two quality settings. The flash remains lit when you are in camera application. The photo quality of Motorola Brute i680 was average white testing. The shots were looking dim with little image noise even in bright lighting. You can record the videos in two modes: 1 minute for MMS and longer in normal mode.

You can access the simple interface of music player at both displays. It features album art, equalizer with nine settings, shuffle and repeat modes. Music player interface can be personalized with numerous visualizations and themes. You can transfer music from memory card, Bluetooth, or USB cable.

Motorola Brute i680 comes with one game titled “Family Guy Uncensored”. You can personalize the phone with wallpaper, color themes, and clock formats. More options, Java games and ring-tones can be downloaded using WAP 2.0 browser.

We made few calls through Motorola Brute i680 via Sprint Nextel service for testing. The overall call quality was good. We received clear, loud and natural sound at our end with little background hiss. The callers received loud and clear sound at their end, but they could tell we were calling through a cell phone. The speakerphone call quality was the best with loud volume at both sides.

We also made Direct Connection PTT with another Brute i680. The call had very little audio distortion, but both of us were able to hear clearly even in loud environment.

Motorola Brute i680 has a battery life of 5.8 hours talk time. Its digital SAR is 0.59 watts per kg in accordance with FCC radiation tests.

Nitty Gritty:

If you need a rugged iDEN handset with top-notch call quality and functional feature set, then buy – Motorola Brute i680.

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