The L9 is a direct successor of the L7, and the two do have a lot in common. In fact, there’s almost no difference between them: same dimensions, same weight, same RAZR-derived styling.
The L9 retains the stylish looks and solid construction of its predecessor, albeit with a nice non-slip rubbery coating on the back, and otherwise adds very little to the L7’s spec. It does get EDGE support, FM radio, microSD memory card slot, and a more powerful camera (2mp – below average pictures, though) and a redesigned keypad -- on a plastic plate, not a metal one as in the L7, and has rather good raised dividers between the keys. The keypad is easy to use and the layout spacey enough to push the desired button without mistakes.
The other novelty is yet user interface by Motorola, but definitely not an unqualified success – and it seemed very slow in our test unit, though production models will probably do better.
Overall, there’s not enough improvement over the L7. It had better come with a low starting price if it’s going to attract any new fans.
The mix as before, plus FM radio
SPECIFICATION
Size:
Length 113mm, Width 49mm, Depth 11.5mm
Weight
96g
Main display
TFT, 16M colours, 240x320 pixels, 31x41mm
Camera
2 MP, 1600x1200 pixels, video (CIF)
Connectivity
Quadband GSM, USB 1.1, Bluetooth 2.0
Battery
Standby 350h, Talk time 4h
Features
20MB internal memory, microSD card slot, FM stereo radio
VERDICT
FEATURES 70%
SALEABILITY 80%