Camera

Initializing the integrated CMOS VGA (0.3-megapixel) camera turns the L6's screen into the camera viewfinder, with the lower portion of the screen displaying available memory and user settings.

Identical to the cameras found on the SLVR L7 and RAZR V3 (released last year), the L6's lens is rather disappointing, only able to capture photos up to 640 x 480 px in resolution.

With camera-focused phones from Samsung and Sony Ericsson pushing past 1-megapixel to 2-megapixels and above, the L6 uses outdated imaging technology. Consumers shouldn't expect to use the L6 to replace a digital camera, but it still works great for snapping unexpected moments.

Picture quality can also be switched between QQVGA (160 x 120 px) and QVGA (320 x 240 px) resolutions, but users will probably stick with VGA (640 x 480 px) since approximate image file sizes are only 50 KB for VGA, 16K for QVGA, and 3 KB for QQVGA; almost insignificant compared to the 10.0 MB of storage space available.

Controlling the 4X Zoom and Brightness Levels (-2 to +2) with the directional keypad, users can adjust basic functions with a quick press from the thumb. Bundled with additional camera effects, the L6 include Effects (Color, Black and White, Antique, and Negative), White Balance (Auto, Cloudy, Sunny, Indoor Home, and Indoor Office), and Self-Timer.

For full-motion capture, the L6 supports MPEG-4, H.263, and AMR Audio formats to record and playback at Sub-QCIF (128 x 96 px) resolution. The L6 lacks Full QCIF (176 x 144 px) recording found on the L7.

Overall the L6 isn't a great camera phone. Using technology found on mobile devices over a year ago, Motorola has decided to use old parts while other manufacturers push the megapixel boundaries. Good for taking photo wallpapers or contact IDs, the still and video capture offers mediocre quality at best.

Basic Features

The tri-band (850/1800/1900 MHz) L6 (released for Cingular) operates on GSM frequencies worldwide, provided it is unlocked. An international version of the L6 is runs on 900/1800/1900 MHz frequencies (dependant upon region).

Should consumers purchase the L6 from Cingular, it will be locked to the network, a common carrier practice to prevent customers from taking discounted phones (purchased in conjunction with a plan) to other carriers. However, good-standing customers can usually request the unlock code after 90 days of service. Only after it's unlocked will users be able to take it to other networks.

Motorola rated the L6's 820 mAh Li-Ion battery at an impressive 5.15 hours and 372 hours of talk and standby times respectively, slightly less than the L7's optimal times. When manufacturers and carriers list talk and standby times, they usually include disclaimers about variable performance and often refer to the times they publish as maximum times. Actual talk and standby times are lower.

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