Motorola MicroTAC Lite XL Cell Phone
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Great (old) phone!
Pros
Standard Motorola protocol, solid feel, low cost
Cons
HEAVY, obsolete, batteries that are less-than-efficient
Recommended it?
Yes
The Bottom Line:
Nice unit, low cost, still available through Motorola.com, rugged, and very good sounding. I fell in love with the old phone again...
I am a Star-Tac man. Had one, loved it, lost it. Two weekends ago, I and my ex-future wife went surfing at New Smyrna Beach on Florida's east coast. What a great day-sun, killer waves, warm weather. As I was coming in on a big wave, I noticed people running towards our personal things that we left on the beach. With that, I quickly ran up to see what had happened. "Sorry, dude...a wave messed your stuff up!" That was the one thing I didn't want to hear. As I picked up my little Star-Tac 3000, I felt it vibrating violently, as these "convulsions" were the last signs of life that my great little, 4 ounced, 100 memory wonder phone showed.
I needed a phone...QUICKLY. I use that phone so my supervisors can annoy me at any hour of the day. But, I wasn't able to convince my bosses to purchase another Star-Tac for me. What to do? Then I thought of my old Tele-Tac 250 (identical to the Micro-Tac XL) that was given to me as a gift by an ex-girlfriend. Would this phone be sufficient for my everyday life as well as my demanding career. My two week test is complete...here are the results.
The Micro Tac/Tele Tac has only 10 memories. This is a potential problem for anyone that needs more. Sure, you could save the 10 most important, but sometimes more is better. For me, though, it's not that bad. Nextly, the Micro Tac uses Motorola protocol. What that means is that it is the same "machine language" that is used in ALL of Motorola's phones. Codes that work on the newest Timeport phones will work on the oldest "contractor phones"-the old "bone" phone. This is a plus for executing certain operations, such as Locking the unit, checking battery status, and changing system operation (from Home to Scan A/B for example). This universal language is one of Motorola's greatest assets.
The phone is bulky, however. My Star Tac weighed 4 ounces, where the Micro-Tac, with standard battery weighs roughly one full pound. There is simply NO WAY I can take my phone running with me anymore. I used to with the Star-Tac...but it's not happening with the big boy! Another area of concern is availability of batteries. Best Buy still carries the proper battery for this phone, but it costs in the price range of $40-60...depending on capacity. But...online outlets carry it for much less, so if you do have a desire to have one of these archaic phones, smart shopping will pay off.
Another feature that I truly love about this phone are the large, back-lit, rubber keys. Very good feeling, and easy to press in comparison with the little "micro keys" on the newer model phones. Further, the Micro-Tac/Tele-Tac is a VERY durable phone. When I used it before, I subjected it to torture...and no doubt it will see more. My Star Tac simply couldn't handle prolonged abuse like this.
One word of caution, though: This family of phones is STRICTLY analog. However, this isn't a problem since modern digital cell sites include analog transmitters/receivers on their radio bays. This ensures that this phone, while not cutting-edge, will be useful for sometime to come. Besides, analog sounds better, and there isn't that annoying "digital delay", as the digital data stream is converted back to analog voice by the phones microprocessor. Analog technology produces a more realistic recreation of human speech.
Overall...this phone, an old friend from my past, will service my life handily, but not fashionably. But then, function is more important than form in my line of work.
I needed a phone...QUICKLY. I use that phone so my supervisors can annoy me at any hour of the day. But, I wasn't able to convince my bosses to purchase another Star-Tac for me. What to do? Then I thought of my old Tele-Tac 250 (identical to the Micro-Tac XL) that was given to me as a gift by an ex-girlfriend. Would this phone be sufficient for my everyday life as well as my demanding career. My two week test is complete...here are the results.
The Micro Tac/Tele Tac has only 10 memories. This is a potential problem for anyone that needs more. Sure, you could save the 10 most important, but sometimes more is better. For me, though, it's not that bad. Nextly, the Micro Tac uses Motorola protocol. What that means is that it is the same "machine language" that is used in ALL of Motorola's phones. Codes that work on the newest Timeport phones will work on the oldest "contractor phones"-the old "bone" phone. This is a plus for executing certain operations, such as Locking the unit, checking battery status, and changing system operation (from Home to Scan A/B for example). This universal language is one of Motorola's greatest assets.
The phone is bulky, however. My Star Tac weighed 4 ounces, where the Micro-Tac, with standard battery weighs roughly one full pound. There is simply NO WAY I can take my phone running with me anymore. I used to with the Star-Tac...but it's not happening with the big boy! Another area of concern is availability of batteries. Best Buy still carries the proper battery for this phone, but it costs in the price range of $40-60...depending on capacity. But...online outlets carry it for much less, so if you do have a desire to have one of these archaic phones, smart shopping will pay off.
Another feature that I truly love about this phone are the large, back-lit, rubber keys. Very good feeling, and easy to press in comparison with the little "micro keys" on the newer model phones. Further, the Micro-Tac/Tele-Tac is a VERY durable phone. When I used it before, I subjected it to torture...and no doubt it will see more. My Star Tac simply couldn't handle prolonged abuse like this.
One word of caution, though: This family of phones is STRICTLY analog. However, this isn't a problem since modern digital cell sites include analog transmitters/receivers on their radio bays. This ensures that this phone, while not cutting-edge, will be useful for sometime to come. Besides, analog sounds better, and there isn't that annoying "digital delay", as the digital data stream is converted back to analog voice by the phones microprocessor. Analog technology produces a more realistic recreation of human speech.
Overall...this phone, an old friend from my past, will service my life handily, but not fashionably. But then, function is more important than form in my line of work.
