Motorola SLVR L7

The RAZR revolutionized the clamshell phone and the SLVR L7 is here to do the same thing for the candy bar. In fact, the SLVR is even thinner than the RAZR, but it’s more than just a pretty face. This sleek world phone rocks iTunes, albeit with the same 100-song limitation of the ill-fated ROKR. If you’re looking for a head-turning cell that can keep your head bopping between calls, the SLVR won’t disappoint.

Even though it’s not quite as striking as the RAZR, the SLVR impresses with its 0.45-inch thickness and 3.5-ounce weight. This candy bar boasts the same flat, precision-cut keypad as Motorola’s famous clamshell, with the same funky backlight. It’s not as wide as we would like, but the raised rubber numbers provided surprisingly good feedback. More annoying is the circular D-pad, which is positioned too close to the Open Menu key above it. On several occasions we pressed the latter key when were simply trying to navigate up in a menu.

The left side of the phone has two Volume buttons and a dedicated key for the My Stuff Menu, which launches the VGA camera or Video Camera application. On the right side you’ll find a Voice Dial button, a microSD card slot, and the USB port. This port is used for both charging the phone and synchronizing music with iTunes.

Unfortunately, Motorola couldn’t find room for a regular microphone port, so you’re forced to use the included USB headset/earphones combo. Our tunes sounded a bit muddled through this set, so we recommend using the USB adapter to plug in higher-end headphones. The polyphonic speaker delivers enough volume to hear the SLVR in a quiet bedroom or hotel room.

Like the ROKR, the SLVR includes Apple’s iTunes software, which makes it very simple to transfer tracks to the phone. Too bad this phone uses USB 1.1 like the ROKR; it took us over ten minutes to transfer 28 songs. You can store up to 100 tracks on the included 512MB microSD card. The bottom line is that the SLVR won’t replace a high-capacity iPod, but it’s better than juggling a Shuffle and cell phone.

In other ways, the SLVR feels like it’s a generation behind other phones in its price range. For one, it doesn’t support Cingular’s EDGE network, never mind the carrier’s faster UMTS/HSDPA technology that it is gradually rolling out. Instead, you’re stuck with slow GPRS data, which Cingular makes tolerable by enabling users to customize the MEdia Net homepage. With a few clicks we were able to make the first screen display news headlines, local weather, and the latest scores from our favorite sports teams. Downloading Tony Hawk’s American Wasteland took a reasonable 40 seconds, but the SLVR took its sweet time installing the application afterward.

The low-res VGA camera leaves a bit to be desired compared to megapixel camera phones. However, the SLVR captured decent e-mail worthy shots (provided there was enough ambient light) and pretty smooth videos. Pictures, games, and the iTunes app all look good on the 176 x 220-pixel display, which supports more than 262,000 colors; unfortunately, the screen picks up smudges pretty easily.

As a phone, the SLVR delivered better-than-average audio quality during phone calls. Bluetooth 1.2 support means that you can pair this candy bar with a wireless headset for talking, but not for music listening. Expect up to six hours of talk time and  considerably less than that if you’ll be using the iTunes app often.

Overall, the SLVR extends Motorola’s winning streak of sleek designs while adding everybody’s favorite jukebox software. As long as you don’t care about over-the-air music downloads or video streaming, this phone offers an attractive balance between style and substance.