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Rugged clamshell cell phone with push-to-talk capability
- Speedy EVDO data network
- Push-to-talk capability
- Body built to military specifications
- Good call quality
- Decent resolution camera/camcorder
- Strong speaker, nice keys
- Standby battery life is sharply criticized
- Video playback is choppy
- Voices sound a bit metallic
- Complaints about freeze-ups
The Motorola Renegade V950 is a clamshell cell phone on the speedy EVDO data network with a rugged rubbery body built to military specifications and push-to-talk capability. It's loaded with features -- 2-megapixel camera/camcorder, music player, GPS receiver, powerful speaker and support for instant messaging and email. The sharpest criticisms in professional and owner reviews concern battery life -- not talk time (most come close to the promised four hours) but standby time. As a professional review at PhoneArena.com says, "We fully charged the phone and let it sit, untouched and inactive. When we came back 22 hours later, it was dead as a doornail." One owner review at PhoneScoop.com says you can improve standby time significantly if you disable the push-to-talk feature.
Of course, push-to-talk capability is a major reason why people buy the Motorola Renegade V950 in the first place. The various options will let you connect instantly with as many as 35 people at a time, and most reviews say call quality is good, although a bit "metallic." Another lure is the support for Sprint TV, Sprint Radio and the Sprint Music Store. Most reviews, however, say video playback is choppy on the 2.2-inch internal display screen (there is also a 1.5-inch color LCD on the front), and owner reviews complain about freeze-ups. There is a microSD memory card slot (a 256 MB card is included) behind the battery, and reviews say the Motorola Renegade V950's keys are large, raised and tactile. The gist of the PhoneArena.com review is that the Motorola Renegade V950 offers a better build and features than most of its peers ("Just make sure you have plenty of chargers on hand.") If durability in harsh conditions is your key concern, reviews say you can't beat the Casio G'zOne Boulder on Verizon Wireless, but battery life is not great on that one either.
We found the best professional review at PhoneArena.com, which does the best job of criticizing the battery problem. Other helpful professional reviews can be found at CNET, CrunchGear.com and InfoSyncWorld.com. We found about 50 owner reviews at CNET and others at PhoneScoop.com and PhoneArena.com.
Our Sources
The Motorola Renegade's call quality gets a score of nine out 10. PhoneArena says it fell a bit short of the promised four hours of talk time, no biggie. The problem was "miserable" standby performance, the battery was drained after less than a day of inactivity.
Review: Motorola Renegade V950 Review, Editors of PhoneArena.com, Oct. 15, 2008
2. CNET
While CNET gives the Motorola Renegade V950 an "excellent" rating, about 50 owner reviews combine for a mediocre score. The most negative user reviews generally mention freeze-ups and poor battery life. CNET's battery test yielded more than the promised four hours of talk time.
Review: Motorola Renegade V950 (Sprint), Kent German, Sept. 22, 2008
Reviewer Doug Aamoth describes the Motorola Renegade as a clunky-looking phone that's fast and has good call quality. "Battery life felt a little bit short, as the phone needed to be recharged about every day and a half to two days," he says.
Review: Review: Motorola Renegade V950 (Sprint), Doug Aamoth, Oct. 23, 2008
This review is skimpy and a bit ambiguous by InfoSync's usual high standards. It's primarily useful for the ratings chart of best rugged phones, which includes several Motorolas but not the Motorola Renegade V950.
Review: Motorola's V950 Is Just What Nextel Fans Needed, a Razr of Their Own, Philip Berne, Apr. 3, 2008
More than two dozen owner reviews combine to give the Motorola Renegade V950 a high average score, with only a few scoring it less than 3.5 out of five. One user review says you can greatly improve the battery standby time if you turn off the push-to-talk function.
Review: Motorola Renegade V950, Contributors to PhoneScoop.com
About 15 owner reviews give the Motorola Renegade V950 a good consensus score, but even some of the positive reviews complain about poor battery life.
Review: Motorola Renegade V950 Reviews, Contributors to PhoneArena.com
