MOTOROLA RIVAL A455 REVIEW

Very recently, Verizon wireless came out with another SMS-happy phone, this time from Motorola: the A455 Rival. Check out the Motorola Rival A455 review after the jump.

As per usual since the release of the industry defining RAZR, Motorola seems to be a generation behind in terms of body design. This phone looks like (and is just as thick as) the original LG EnV with a slightly larger screen and no external numerical pad. On the sides, you will find the usuall array of volume control and camera buttons, a USB port, and for the first time in a long while, a 3.5mm HEADPHONE JACK!!! No adapters necessary. But even though the phone looks a bit ancient, the phone is a bit smarter than it deserves to be. For example, when you hit the function key on the keyboard, a second LED lights up behind each key, and the red one dims out, allowing you to clearly see the functions without the letters. Clever.

Feature-wise, this phone is pretty standard. Bluetooth, a 2 megapixel camera, EV-DO, MicroSDHC support (8GB), GPS (aka VZ Navigator), compatibility with Verizon's visual voicemail service and threaded messaging, and the typical VCast features (though a bit more useful thanks to its REAL headphone jack). The OS looks as if it is the same as from the RAZR2, and with the obvious processor bump, the interface is quite snappy and responsive.

But don't get too excited about this apparent Motorola butt-kissing; the phone still has problems. For one, the Motorola Rival A455 is unnecessarily thick, especially when it doesn't have a touchscreen or many smartphone features. Now, that does mean that it has a reasonably large battery, but it shows that the design team is still a bit behind in terms of overall innovation. Also, the phone mixes up the button types on the front, with touch sensitive softkeys, and physical directional pad and shortcut keys. The buttons do, however, light up when they are avaiable, as they switch directions when the keyboard slides out. But in a world where haptics wins, three haphazard touch-sensitive buttons with no feedback whatsoever are not ideal.

Pros

• 3.5 mm HEADPHONE JACK!!!
• Lots of little clever design touches
• All standard media features
• Solid build
• Tween-friendly price and featureset

Cons

• Three touch sensitive softkeys with no feedback
• QWERTY keyboard keys are a little too recessed
• Looks like spawn of a Nokia Expressmusic slider and an LG EnV (the old ones) in a bad way

The Motorola Rival A455 is available now on Verizon Wireless for $99.99 after a $50.00 mail-in-rebate and a 2-year agreement.