[Mobile Tech News reviews the new V265 CDMA BREW handset from Verizon and finds it just may be the phone you're looking for to give yourself or someone else this Holiday Season.]

By Jean Panke, Mobile Tech News -- The V265 recently launched by Verizon Wireless was originally announced back in June at the BREW Developers Conference. The V265 is a CDMA handset featuring an integrated VGA camera, 4x digital zoom, self-portrait capability, advanced MMS for capturing and sharing photos, plus BREW technology. It has a clamshell design and a sleek silver and black housing. If you're looking for a solid reliable mobile phone to give as a Christmas gift with solid phone functionality plus some fun extras, this just may be the one. Verizon Wireless has the V265 available nationwide for $99.99 after a $50 mail-in rebate along with a two-year contract.

Let's take a closer look at this phone and its features. The side keys include a volume up/down key and an on/off speakerphone key. The front display shows the signal strength, battery charge and time and a display size of 96 pixels x 32 pixels STN. When you open the phone, the home screen appears with the normal status indicators. The internal display measures 128 pixels x 128 pixels and has 65K colors with 5 lines of readable text. The main navigation key accesses Shortcuts, Get It Now, Message Center or the Web Browser. Or you can hit the menu key and get to Contacts, Recent Calls, Messaging, Get It Now, Mobile Web, Media Gallery, Settings, Tools, or Phone Info. The OK button in the middle of the navigation key selects the highlighted item. The bottom of the screen displays the current soft key functions. Just press the left or right soft key to perform the function indicated and off you go.

The V265 has all the usual call features including call waiting, call forwarding, call transfer, voicemail, 3-way calling, automatic answer and mute call. It also features speed dial, 1-touch dial, and automatic redial. With the phone open, you hit the Phone key and all your recent calls are listed, both incoming and outgoing. You can easily return a call or access a number by scrolling through the list and highlighting the number, press OK, then the phone key and you're connected.

Typical first step items when you get a new phone involve entering contact information of friends and family including names, numbers and email addresses. The contacts list on this phone is very user friendly. I liked how easy it was to enter numbers and email addresses off the keypad. The phone basically walks you through the entire process hassle free. The text messaging option involving the iTAP(R) method took some getting used to. Due to time constraints, I found myself using the TAP option instead. The nice thing is that you can switch back and forth between TAP and iTAP right from the text entry screen. Basically, text entry and contact info entry is a no-brainer.

Another one of the first things people like to do is further personalize their phone. The V265 lets you assign screen savers using a photo, picture, or animation. An animation displays for 1 minute and then the first frame of the animation displays. You can also personalize wallpaper. Personal ringers can be assigned to incoming calls. The soft key labels and menu feature icons in the home screen can be changed to personal preference as well. You can also create a shortcut to a menu item used frequently for easy access.

The camera is basically a one-key operation. With the phone open, press the Camera key once to activate the camera function and hit it again to capture a picture. There are lots picture enhancement options available. Once you activate the camera, the bottom of the display offers zoom and brightness options using the navigation key. Hit the menu key and you can select auto repeat, auto-timer, set lighting, image style, or resolution settings. Resolution options are high (640x480), medium (320x240), and low (160x120). You can also title the picture. Once you capture the picture you can save, erase, store it or send it to another picture phone or email address. You can select the Pictures Menu and easily view all the send or store options available.

Using the built-in speakerphone and using the speaker independent voice dial feature, you can find a contact name without touching the keypad or pre-record a voice dial tag. Just simply speak a name and the name will be found in the contact book and dial the desired work, mobile or home number. You can also record memos with a touch of the key on the right side of the phone The V265 also has location based service capabilities (network subscription dependent feature) when you make an emergency call using the assisted-Global Positioning System feature (AGPS).

Overall, this is a great phone for the money. It has exceptional phone functionality, average camera capabiity, good ergonomics and terrific styling. It would have been great to have a larger screen, but then Verizon would have a higher price tag on the phone. The crisp 65K colors helps offset the smaller size screen.

Detailed Specifications:

- CDMA 800 / 1900 / 800, Connectivity - CE Bus; 1X-RTT

- Browser - WAP 2.0/OW 6.2

- Size 3.6 x 1.8 x .9 inches, Weight: 3.77 ounces

- BREW 2.1

- USB connectivity to PC

- Memory 2.75 MB Flash

- 64 level polyphonic Midi and MP3 Ring Tones (embedded/downloadable)

- PIM (phone book, calendar, calculator, alarm)

- iTAP(tm) (predictive text)

- Blue Backlit Keypad

- Retractable Antenna

- 5-Way navigation key with center select

- Dedicated Key (Camera)

- Multi-Language Support: English, Spanish

- Abbreviated Dialing - One Touch Dial keys and Speed Dialing

- Advanced voice recognition/Speaker Independent Voice Dial

- Calling features: Call Waiting, Call Forwarding, Call Transfer, Automatic Answer, Conference Calling (3 way), Voice Mail and Mute Call

- 500 Number Enhanced Phonebook

- Calling Line Identification (name and icon displayed if in phone book)

- Ringer ID (Distinctive alerts based on phonebook entries)

- Phonebook Categories (All, Business, Personal, General) with storage for Email Address

- Last Calls Made / Received / Missed

- Time and Date Stamp

- Phone Lock (Automatic/Manual)

- Lock Keypad

- Emergency Dial (911)

- TTY Digital Compatibility

- Imaging and picture messaging

- Screen savers (embedded/downloadable)

- Full Screen Wallpaper (embedded/downloadable)

- Preloaded Graphics and EMS Emoticons

- Games: downloadable via BREW 2.1

- User Interface with Zoom Setting

- Message Center (voice mail, text, info services)

- Clock and alarm

- Calculator/Currency Converter

- Calendar (Week & month view)

- Datebook with Search and Reminder

- Ring Alert & VibraCall(R) Alert

- Talk Time: Up to 180 - 210 minutes

- Standby Time: Up

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