Motorola QUENCH

This should be an easy review to piece together. The Motorola Quench is the third phone in a series of mid-tier Android smartphones running the MotoBlur social networking software, and we didn't love the first two the Dext and Backflip. So it should follow that the Quench should also receive a lukewarm reception, it is after all, almost exactly the same as the Dext but without a QWERTY keyboard. Though we were surprised by this latest edition.

Size and Weight :

The phone weighs 124 grams and measures 117 x 59 x 12mm.

Network and connectivity:

The networking feature of this handset are 2G Network (GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900), 3G Network (HSDPA 900 / 1700 / 2100), HSDPA 850 / 1900 / 2100 - American version. The connectivity feature of this phone are GPRS (Class 12, 32 - 48 kbps), EDGE (Class 12), 3G (HSDPA 7.2 Mbps; HSUPA), WLAN Wi-Fi (802.11 b/g, DLNA), Bluetooth (v2.0 with A2DP), USB (microUSB v2.0).

Camera and Video:

A 5-megapixel camera with a single LED flash doubles as a video recorder but photos taken are only good enough for the odd happy snap. The 5 megapixel camera on the back can also capture what Motorola call "HVGA" video at 24 frames per second, so we guess that this is 320 x 240 pixels. Video capture capabilities have been a bit weak in this current batch of Motorola handsets, especially when you consider that some rivals now have HD video.

Memory and Display:

It has a internal 512MB ROM & 256MB RAM. Card slot microSD, up to 32GB, 2GB included. The QUENCH has a 3.1" 320 x 480 pixel TFT touchscreen display on the front. But there are also five navigational buttons below the display. The home, menu, search and back buttons are regular Android fare, but the large, optical trackpad is a highlight. This sits nicely against the stainless steel trim that surrounds this phone's 3.1-inch capacitive touchscreen giving the Quench the presentation of a phone with a much higher price tag.

Entertainment Features:

The Motorola Quench also has an upgraded music player, placing it ahead of most other Android smartphones. The Quench's music player integrates TuneWiki, an application that displays lyrics for currently playing tracks, and you can also search quickly for the artist or track title on YouTube in the music player menu. The media player supports MP3/WMA/WAV/eAAC+, MP4/H.263. The others feature of this handset are Digital compass, Social networking integration with live updates, Google Search, Maps, Gmail, YouTube, Google Talk, Document viewer, Photo viewer/editor.

The rest of the Motorola Quench is mostly standard Android fare and that is good news, with access to the Android Market for third-party applications a highlight. We also felt the Quench was slightly zippier than the DEXT during general use, but there is still a slight pause when applications open and close, so it's not as fast as more expensive smartphones on the market.