Motorola's i860 is everything Nextel users have come to expect in a phone, and more. This flagship phone has all of the great features and durability of past Nextel models, plus a built-in camera and support for multimedia messaging.
Design
Click the image to get a closer look at the i860's features. |
The i860 is no ordinary clamshell. Like other Nextel phones, it's built tough for construction and utilities industry users. The phone sports a very large 176 x 220 TFT color display with a stunning 262,000 colors. Meanwhile, the outside cover features a supplementary 95 x 96 color display that can display photos, images, time, call information, battery and signal strength, and more. The built-in camera and LED flash are located above this display. The speakerphone unit is located on the rear of the phone, while the trademark Direct Connect and menu scrolling functions can be controlled from the side of the phone. The phone's control pad also features a five-way button that can control most of the phone's functions. Finally, a small button on the hinge of the phone's flip mechanism automatically opens the phone for quick access-- a real plus if you have your hands full.
Calling Features
The i860's built-in address book can store up to 600 contacts for quick and easy management of phone numbers and email addresses. The phone comes with built-in polyphonic ringtones plus a vibrating alert. More polyphonic ringtones can be added, as can MP3-based ringtones. Voice activated dialing makes calling your friends, family and associates as easy as saying their names. You can also speak numbers and control other phone features with the sound of your voice. Access the last 20 sent and received calls for quick call return or number storage via the recent calls list. A built-in speakerphone makes it easy to talk without having the phone to your ear and the i860's GPS location technology pinpoints your exact location when you dial 911.
One of the key features of any Nextel phone is support for Nextel's Direct Connect walkie-talkie technology. The i860 fully supports the service, which allows for one-touch conversations with anyone else on a Nextel phone. It's like a having a CB radio with enough range to cover all of North America. The i860 also features a walkie-talkie private speaker button. This switches from the external speaker to the earpiece for private conversations or to minimize disruptions in quiet environments.
Messaging, Internet and Tools
The i860 features MMS-based support for mobile-to-mobile or mobile-to-email text and photo messaging. When used in combination with the phone's built-in camera, MMS opens up a whole new world of messaging fun. T9 text entry, which is a technology that makes it easier for people to enter words and text on handsets, is built into the unit-- a plus for mobile email and text messaging users.
Getting on the Internet anywhere is easy with the i860, as well. Nextel's optional Nextel Online package allows you to read and send e-mails, exchange instant messages and view your favorite web content on your phone. Nextel Online also features games, ringtones, realtime news and sports updates, virtual address books, and more-- all delivered to your Nextel phone.
Another Nextel innovation supported by the i860 is Nextel Direct Send. Simply push a button and instantly send all your contact info to another Nextel phone. It's an easy way to get people into your contact list fast.
The i860 ships with a calendar and a calculator, as well as a voice recording application that can record phone conversations if you need to replay directions or meeting times. A time and date clock are also included.
Imaging and Entertainment
The i860's 640 x 480 camera features a digital zoom and built-in flash that makes it easier to get quality shots in low-light situations. The i860 can also capture 10-second video clips. The phone's Media Center application and large internal memory allows you to store hundreds of photos in a variety of file types.
The i860 is packed with a number of Java applications. TeleNav for audible driving directions is included, as is 1KTV multimedia for news (both require a subscription). Preloaded games include ESPN Bassmaster Demo, Space Invaders Demo and Boulder Dash M.E. Demo. More game downloads are available via the Nextel Online service.
Vital Statistics
The Motorola i860 weighs 4.76 ounces and measures 3.45 x 1.85 x 0.98 inches. Its lithium-ion battery is rated at up to 165 minutes of digital talk time, and up to 65 hours of digital standby time. It runs on the IDEN 800 frequency. The phone comes with a one year limited warranty.
What's in the Box
Motorola i860 handset, standard lithium-ion battery, i860 standard battery door, i860 carry holster, black rapid travel charger, user's manual.
1 The worst phone I've ever owned
My experaience with this phone has been terrible!
This phone is absolute garbage! Failed miserably within first 3 weeks.
Purchased 2; 2nd phone is fine, but 1st is a lemon.
I purchased 2 of these phones. 1 works fine (actually a decent phone) the second is crap. Does not hold a charge for more than 26hrs, car charger does not work on phone (but works on other i86's), speaker phone cuts in and out, and the phone drops voice tags (voice activated dialing) at random.
Nextel's response: call Motorola and pay $55 to have phone covered under warranty. (Nextel only covers the phone for 15 days -- Day 17 is not covered)
2 This phone is not for amateurs
All these other retards dont know how to work the phone thats why they say it sucks. If you know what you are doing, you can get as many as up to 30 actual mp3 ring tones on to the phone for free, the same goes for games, apps, and wall papers. This is a better phone than some of the others on the market. As a nextel customer for years, this is one of the best phones they have ever produced.
3 Atrocious
This phone and the Nextel service is atrocious. If you want a quality product with good customer service, DO NOT buy anything from Nextel. Constant static, loss of signal, dropped calls, the whole bit. Don't even try to talk to their customer support about your issues... it's like talking to someone on the other end of one of my dropped calls.
4 i860 problems
I purchase a i860 ,i'm a very heavy user of radio and phone,it has some issues that just appear after lots of use,the flip cover,with the spring system and the lock ( close position) gets worn out and doesn't stay close,replace once under warranty and broken again after 2 months.The ring tone,for a expensive phone comes load with lousy ring old tones, and 2 midi ring tones that doesn't worth a penny,the games in it are only crap "demo" versions.You have to buy everthing else....The camera are ok compared with other brands.If you have a choice don't buy NEXTEL service (expensive for short features and benefits) ,purchase Motorola RAZOR it's better....
5 It's ok, but not all that . . .
Well, what can you do. You have to take what Nextel gives you if you want their service. They do not have much of a choice for their top phone, compared to others. Ok, you've heard the good things let me tell you the bad things. I just bought one.
The first thing is, it could use a "In-Service" little light on it so you could tell if it is working, without taking it all out of its holster, etc. There is no little flashing indicator lights on the outside case this time.
Next, it could use a "message waiting" light on the outside (like other brands). So every time you walk away from the phone, and come back, you don't have to pick it up and stare through the dim front window to see if someone has called, or go through the steps of lighting it up so you can see. It's a shame.
I guess talking to the back of the phone is cool now, since it was on The Apprentice - oh well. Another thing is, the keypad lights are not that bright, and real tiny numbers, etc. I can deal with the tinyness, but you can hardly see them at night - just needs to have a little more light [evenly] shining through all the buttons. Fades out towards outer edges of keypad.
My phone has an annoying rattle in the ear speaker when volume is loud - the speaker phone rattles a bit when loud too, or with a deep voice coming through. Hmmmmm My old i95cl didn't do that. It would blast perfectly. Might have to send it back.
That last thing is, the standard ringtones are the same as the old i95. I thought I was going to get some fancy stuff, like which comes standard with other models (bell ringing sound, etc). Just the same old corny Nextel sounds.
The good, or OK stuff now. It downloads ringtones pretty easily and cool. The push button flip open is cool. Of course, the two LCD's are cool (front one's color is not as good is inside one). The black color is a change, and coolish. And all the other standard Nextel stuff is there. The only reason I am keeping Nextel is because I know 2 people who DC me. I don't know if it is worth the coolness though . . . . The overall phone, minus items listed above is pretty cool though, stylish.
Later: Big "Mr Cool" J
6 Excellent phone
I wanted a Camera phone and the i860 is a great camera phone. The ringtones, everything is there.
Also has the direct connect walkie-talkie service, which is awesome.
Great phone, A++++
7 This phone is pretty good
I liked this phone it seems to be tough. Takes pretty good pictures. But had ordered it off of Nextels site. They even gave me a code that saved me $50.00. Here it is for you all to share (CL897L) case sensitive. On the shopping cart page. It is like an invoice thing. But I think it is a very good choice. You will enjoy the phone.
8 uhhhhh
first of all if you are thinking about joining nextel for this phone DONT( michigan has horrible service i dont care what their coverage map says!). i bought this phone from amazon 3 weeks ago(1/05) 1st week i had trouble with signals strength(dropped calls and 1-3 signal strength max) thought it was nextel but because i owned an i95 earlier and had the same problem nextel claim it was my sim card on that phone this was after the warrenty expired so i buy an i860 thinking that signal strength would be better plus its a camera phone but i had the same problem with the i860 so i took the phone in to a nextel service center they tell me they dont have any swaps the best they could do was upgrade the service guy takes the battery out of the phone mind you WITHOUT POWERING IT OFF then puts the battery back in and asks me " Does your phone always power on and off by its self?" it didnt before i took it to you!! so he gives me motorolas phone number and tells me to have motorola give me another phone i call and have the phone picked up that day 2 days later i get another phone i push the power on button and the phone just cuts back off this is the second phone so instead of calling motorola and having to wait another 2-3 days i go to a service center again they swap my phone for me i push the power on button and it powers on yes i say to my self. then later that day i recieve a call from my girlfriend i answer the phone and it cuts itself off what the hell this is the third non working i860 i have had in 3 weeks!!!! today 2/7/05 i take it into a service center again but this time no swaps the take my phone and tell me i will have to wait 12 days and give me a loaner an i205 a bulky contruction worker phone. hopefully the 4th phone will work!! but my recommendation is if you are not a nextel customer dont become one!! but if you are i860 is the best looking and has the most features of all 5 nextel phones out now even though the picture quality is bad for a phone that motorola had at least 2 years to develop
9 heres another review
before i review this, i just want to say, i hate when people complain against nextel and sprint, first off, i just finished reading the most stupidest review ever, no caldender on a phone? like wow you don't have a calander in your house or something? jeez, and if you got 13 bux on you go buy the wire at this site, you can put a calander, and other apps, anyway the phones great every possible feature to a nextel phone that we always wanted is here, by far there is a lot of features mostly every one i know wanted, camera, not really a better speaker but eh..um theres a spot light..ya anyway, it has loads of space to put lots of stuff, more songs to download, oh and by the way the kid with the review with sprint and nextel and started the no calander nonsence, you know you can put outer wallpaper right? its called "The wire" ya..you can set it as 1 wallpaper once you download the app, or you can put it to other wallpapers and let it switch every 5 seconds, you can put flashing key pad, all that, but no everyone wants to compare nextel and sprint, drop it here ok? NEXTEL AND SPRINT WORSE IDEA EVER WHOEVER SAYS SPRINT IS GOOD, THEY DON'T HAVE NO CLUE WHAT IT IS TO OWN A CELL PHONE, SPRINT=0 SERVICE, my friend has sprint, he has more service then me, wanna know why? because he bought the most expensive phone for 400$ but he didn't want to pay that price, so he argued with customer service and threathend to leave sprint, WHO WOULDN'T GIVE GOOD SERVICE? the minute when sprint phones and nextel phones come out as 1 stupid phone, GOODBYE NEXTEL, sprint is going to make nextel just like one of those stupid other companies like t mobile or verizon, oh and one other thing, do we nextel people have delays on clicks? i don't think so, do verizon and sprint, oh you bet ya, 5-20 second delays.
10 Please Believe Me That This Is Nextel's Best Phone!!!
I know it has been said about almost every single Nextel phone that has come out since the i730, but this phone is well worth the price, and its features our the best. In my opinion, this is Nextel's best phone since the i95. To me, the i730 and i830 were pure trash!!! I can actually get a signal on this phone. In addition, does not redial all crazy or drop calls. My two most favorite feature are the internal display and being able to send text messages and pictures without having to go through the whole routine on logging on to wireless web. Another thing I was happy about with this phone is the metal battery housing is scratch proof unlike the i730 and i830. In today's age, we all know cellphones are costly but I can honestly say just like the previous views that this phone is worth every single penny.
11 Best Nextel Phone By Far!!
First off, I've been a Nextel customer for over 2 years now and started with an i90 phone. I absolutely loved that phone for the entire time I had it and couldn't have been more satisfied. However as the times change so do features, looks, and functionality of a cellular phone. I figured it was time to upgrade and got my i860 at a relatively low rate of $300 on a 1 year contract(being that the phone had just come out) on my personal account. I had seen the phone online and pictures of it, and for some reason I wasn't too attracted to it, but I went out on a limb and got it anyway. Now I must say this is by FAR the best phone I've ever had. I work for Nextel so by default I should already know everything about the phone....WRONG. I seriously figure out something new or different that I can do to it every week, and to this day I haven't had a single problem with it.
Pros:
Great design, not too big not too small.
Very large inner display...(Looks a lot better than any other company's phone that's not a Motorola.
25Mb worth of memory...Most phones have 5 (V700, Razor, etc) I have video's, games, applications, tons of pictures..and Lord knows how many mp3's on here and it's only used 30% of the memory.
Anyone who has a data cable and knows what programs to use knows you can make all kinds of changes to the phone, such as making your background show up on the outer display, change color palettes and schemes, and create your own ringtones and wallpapers to TOTALLY personalize the phone to however you want.
Camera..Looks good if you get your resolution just right...no complaints on that except there's no flash.
Coverage where I live is better than any other provider in town, and it picks up a lot better than my old phone.
User friendly...Pretty easy to use..for the jacka$$ that said the phone doesn't have a calendar, yeah buddy it does, called a Datebook which you can switch to a calendar mode.
And to be quite honest more than any other feature the phone offers, my favorite thing is the push to open flip activation button. Regular flip phones just plain suck when compared to that.
Direct Send..Automatically sends someone's contact information to your phone whenever they Direct Connect you, or vise versa.
Cons:
I only have 3...
I HATE the flap that goes over the charging port, if you had an older model phone before this you'll probably rip it off.
The holster scratches the housing of the phone at the bottom.
I wish they made a black OEM battery door instead of the blue, because it looks out of place with the color scheme.
In conclusion, I couldn't be more happy with this phone.
12 A Bit Expensive, But Thus Far, Worth It
I recently made the upgrade from the i730 to this phone. I got tired of the i730 because almost every Nextel customer has this phone and it was hurting my eyes looking at it. For me, the i860 was not hard to get used to because it has almost every single freature as the i730, with the exception of the camera. I like the new feature where you no longer have to go on the internet to send and receive text messages. What I like most about the phone is its internal screen. The internal screen is the only reason why I did not return the device. I am was not that intrigued with the open flip button, because I get the feeling it is going to wear out with age of the phone. The battery life is about the same as any other Nextel phone (It all depends on your cellphone usage). Unless you do not mind paying the phone current expensive price, wait until it goes on sale.
13 I860
This phone is great. I must agree that it is the best thing Nextel has ever had. However, I must disagree with the previous review which compared Nextel to Sprint. Sprint may have the most technological phones but what good is a pretty phone that has horrible service? I had a Sprint for about 6 months and I was always in trouble with my mom b/c I never answered my phone which was b/c it never had service. I've never had this problem w/Nextel. Of course every phone loses service at some point but not every 10min. Everything about the i860 is hot and well worth buying it.
14 i860!
this may be the most advanced nextel phone to date, but it's still at least a year behind sprint technology (Except for PTT, which was a patent so it doesn't count!). I had this phone for a day before I didn't like it. Right now there's no downloads for it. You can't switch the camera to the flap for self-portraits like you can on a Sprint phone that's over a year old (and costs less). The outside screen is fairly pointless. When picture caller id comes up, it's so small it doesn't even make sense to use it out there. Your wallpaper doesn't show up on the outside either. It's a white-background big screen of nothingness.
Features: They haven't changed on a nextel phone in years. The one thing that bothers me the most is no calander. Come on! that would be great! Sprint's done it forever!
In the recent calls screen, the little picture next to the person's name is just as big as the name. If you have no picture assigned, you get this orange silouette of a person, how useful.
The flip button is cool. I'm gonna miss that.
Oh, this might be isolated to my phone, but the java system crashed right away. Now there's nothing on it, and nextel hasn't made the download page available yet for this phone, so I have nothing.
To me they should have ironed out these tiny details before releasing the phone. It's aesthetics are sleek, but it doesn't hide the nextel-shawdiness of the inside for very long. I'd save my money. My contract is up after 5 years of Nextel (...), I'm switching to Sprint with their Toshiba 4050.
But! You can't beat the service. It's nice.
And the screen is big, but pointless really because of the layout of everything.
15 best nextel phone to date!
this is the best nextel phone to date...that's all i need to say, really...although the camera is only .3mp, it still takes pretty good photos...plus you can make your own .mp3 ringtones and .jpg wallpapers...if you're considering going to nextel, this is the phone to get...it beats out any phone out there...if you thought nextel was behind the times with their phones, they've caught up with the i860...
16 Nextel wins with this baby
It's about time Nextel scores a 10. The i860 is one of the best phones on the market. The camera takes up to a 600x480 pic and once taken, you can send the pic to any phone or any e-mail address...presto! The best news is that you don't pay for sending or recieving pics. One of the best features of this phone is it's ability to use Mp3s as ringtones. Nothing like your favorite song playing to alert you. Plus, you assign a ringtone and a pic for each of your callers...very cool. The external display is nice also. It will display the pic of the person calling.
The battery time is a bit less than other phones. I have noticed about 25% less overall time. Still, it's a small price to pay for such a feature rich phone. The external speaker is clear and loud. The phone has a very nice holder/clip that protects it better than previous models. Nextel has added a push button flip activation. Very cool. Just push the hidden button and it opens. The phone fits nicely in the hand and feels comfortable. The only con on this phone is the small buttons. I have big hands and sometimes press the wrong buttons. Overall, it's the sweetest phone I have owned. Nextel is also coming out with the i930 and the i960 in the near future. These phones will also have the camera feature but will incorporate the pocket windows system thus they will be called smart phones. They will be a little bigger than the i860 but will have a great new feature.....an SD card slot that can accept more memory.
17 Picture me Talking... Can you see me now?!?
What can I say? I love this phone. If you're going to have the best service provider, you might as well have their best phone. A camera phone with Nextel has been long awaited-since 1999 with me. As always, I suggest speaking with the local phone techs before purchasing a phone. They always know, and will be upfront and honest, if the particular Motorola phone is of good quality or not. Although I didn't have the self-control to wait a month and adhere to my own advice, allow me to give you my 2 cents on the phone and Nextel as a carrier:
1)I though I broke my flip the first time I opened it. It clicked and stuck... FYI: There is a button on the top right side of the flip to push for auto-open. I now feel like Neo off of the Matrix.
2)I would rate this phone about 10x better than my i730. It's smaller, the LCD on the outside of the flip is huge, the LCD inside the flip is twice as big as that of the i730!!! Can you say a 640x480 camera w/ GPS, Picture caller ID, and MP3 Ring tones? I don't why as of yet, but I also seem to be getting better coverage with this phone than that of my i730-maybe about a bar in the plus.
3)The 10 seconds of video w/ sound that I can record has been a blast.
4)The data on this phone is superb. I have to say Telenav Track showing the map and talking to you on where to drive is great with the i860. The flip with double the viewing area is a godsend. There isn't a better phone to use it on. From all the Nextel users that I know, "If you are a business owner and don't have a data solution to enable the tracking of workers, vehicles, assets, shipments/delivery-you're undermining the competition and not utilizing Nextel's biggest differentiator other than the 2way..." A lot of my business contacts love a service called XORA that does this and there is a 15 minute presentation on their website.
5)Picture quality is pretty good. I suggest using the max resolution, which boosts you to 640x480 if you're going to send it to someone. Choose the wallpaper resolution for the obvious. Don't forget a 4x zoom, self-timer, and a shutter sound that is linked to your phone volume. Don't let anyone fool you. The flash pretty much sucks-but the ability to keep the light turned on has been useful for finding things I drop in the dark. So what if I now have a $400 phone/camera/flash light...
6)Want your name to show on the phone? Create a profile with what you want displayed. Want an alarm clock? Use the Datebook and create an event for the time you want to wake up. Want to find a hidden menu for Nextel Techs? Hit #, *, Menu, <right arrow> to trace the towers, find out how many mins the phone has used, the SIM/MSN #, and see options that you will probably never understand.
7)The games are decent at best that come with the phone. I like the Space Invader Demo though. What's important is that you can buy or "obtain" hundreds of games because the phone is java enabled. A key thing to note is that Nextel's are business tools in nature. Hence, you can note the focus of business tools on the phone. If you're looking for some cheap play toy, you're looking at the wrong carrier. If you're looking for a status symbol, read on...
8)The Sprint/Verizon Walkie Talkie's suck. If you don't believe me try them. Nextel uses 2 systems in their towers (a duplex and a simplex-one for voice one for 2way). On a user end, a person 2waying from Florida to Hawaii will note instant connection. Verizon/Sprint only have 1 system in their towers. The way they 2way is using 'packets' from the cellular. What is unavoidable is the packets having to go through the landline telephone network. Put it this way, make a call and see how long it connects. Umm, average 5.7 seconds (according to the studies I've read). Now picture hitting a walkie talkie button and waiting 5.7 seconds for each response.
9)The battery life is typical that of the other Nextel phones. Not better and not worse. Charge it every night and you'll be fine (and I talk 4000 minutes a month). A Nextel phone uses more juice because the phones are setup to "actively seek out a signal." Other carrier's phones are programmed to sit in a dormant state until the signal "comes to them." I'm sure you can figure out these advantages on your own...
10)An account setup fee is typical. A first month proration fee is also typical among cell companies. Also, taxes are taxes--you pay the same high percentage no matter whom you have.
11)Coverage, it depends where you are located. I'm guessing in the deserts of Arizona you'd have bad coverage. However, of the 20 or so states I've visited, Nextel has had SUPER coverage. Last year I can vouch for about ever Vegas Casino. Oh, did I mention there is never roaming charges with any plan?
12)Check out the News articles to see what worked for communication during all 4 (thus far) hurricanes in Florida. It wasn't the landlines, Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobile, AT&T... Only the Nextel walkie-talkie worked (and as you'll read saved lives)!!!
I hope my technical background and insight from 5 years of having Nextel help. I can't see any angle where you could go wrong with getting this phone-it truly is the best.
18 The Best Nextel Ever
I have owned many cellphones over 15 years. The i860 is the best cellphone, that I have ever purchased. Also, I currently own a V600, which is on the AT&T network. However, I have to rate this new i860, as 5 stars. I am telling all my friends, and family to get this great phone
19 Motorola Nextel i860
This is a really cool phone. Improvements would include an actual flash instead of just the "spot light" and a camera that is more than almost a third of a mexapixel...maybe 1 at minimum. But all-in-all, this phone is great and something new for nextel.
