When we first set eyes on Nextel's latest Motorola iDEN offering, the i550plus, an eerie feeling of déjà vu came over us. At a quick glance, the i550plus seems exactly like its predecessor, the i500plus--a rather bland-looking hulk of a cell phone. Upon closer examination, however, we discovered that the i550plus has a redesigned keypad and a sleek, silver bezel that covers the earpiece and encircles the enhanced display. In addition, Nextel has thrown in last ten-call received/sent memory and a missed-call indicator. Otherwise, the phones are identical. As such, the i550plus shares all of its predecessor's strengths and, unfortunately, its weaknesses.
Same Old Story
Like the i500plus, the biggest shortcoming of the i550plus is its size--the phone measures 5.2 by 2.1 by 1.6 inches and weighs a hefty 8.6 ounces. Therefore, the i550plus is a bit too big for a shirt pocket but will rest comfortably in the palm of your hand. If you plan to carry the i550plus on your person, we'd suggest splurging for the optional belt clip. An excellent feature set more than offsets the i550plus's bulky facade. All of the basics are present, including voicemail, text and numeric paging, caller ID, call waiting, call forwarding, and a 100-name phone book. Plus, you get all of the business-related features you'd expect from more expensive
Nextel offerings, such as Direct Connect (which turns the phone into a digital walkie-talkie); three-way conference calling; a built-in speaker phone; and a group-list feature that allows you to send the same voicemail or text message to several recipients.
Smooth Surfing
Like other Nextel plus phones, the i550plus has built-in wireless Web access via Phone.com's microbrowser. Overall, we found Nextel's wireless Web interface and service intuitive and easy to navigate. We also appreciated the phone's upgrade features, which include the missed-call indicator and last ten-call sent/received memory. As noted, the display and keypad have been improved. The backlit display can support up to six lines, and the keypad's rubberized buttons are more attractive than the i500plus's but no more responsive. One thing Nextel did not upgrade, however, is the phone's menu system; it's still dense.
Battery Woes
Performance-wise, the i550plus is on a par with its predecessor--that is, the service is good, but battery life is less than stellar. Nextel claims that the nickel-metal-hydride battery will deliver an impressive 5.5 hours of talk time and 85 hours of standby time. Though standby time proved to be accurate, talk time was off by approximately 50 minutes. For a phone of this size, we expected more. Even more disturbing was how long it took to recharge this puppy--nearly 6 hours. That's a pretty awful state of affairs, considering that most new phones recharge in less than an hour. That said, there's no doubt the i550plus is better than the i500plus.
For the same price, it offers several key features not found on the original, plus all of the mainstays you'd expect from a Nextel phone. However, if you're looking for a compact model, the i550plus isn't for you. You'll be better off anteing up the extra dough for the sleeker i1000plus.
