Motorola Pebl U6

Key features

• Original oval design
• "Rubber" surface
• Automatic opening
• Outer monochromatic display
• Top-class TFT main display with 262K colors
• Plain keypad made of glossy metal
• Email client
• Built-in VGA camera
• Bluetooth

Main disadvantages

• Increased weight
• Keypad surface catches fingerprints
• Poor touch orientation on the keypad
• Limited internal memory of 5.8MB with no card slot
• Illogic distribution of menu items

Motorola PEBL U6

Motorola PEBL U6 is not any phone; it resembles a true pebble. The handset attracts one's attention not only with its untraditional design, but also with its material, which feels like hard rubber. Motorola PEBL U6 is so stylish that it could hardly remain unnoticed by the people around you. It has dimensions of 87 x 49 x 20 mm and weighs approximately 110 g. Besides the black version we had the opportunity to test, the manufacturer is currently offering other color versions.

Comparison to a key • Looks like a pebble in the palm • First-hand originality

Totally round

The front cover is decorated with an oblong oval glossy plastic cover, under which one can find the VGA camera lens, the state LED, the manufacturer's logo, and a rather narrow outer display of 32 x 96 pixels. The low resolution of the latter, however, is not a reason to get worried since it is with inverted colors; that means font becomes light if background is dark, tuning-in with the overall concept of the phone. When on stand-by the outer display shows signal strength, battery state, and an analog or digital clock. Of course, it also alerts the user about incoming calls or received messages. Letters are displayed vertically in order to fit into the display screen. To read them easily you need to turn the phone to an angle of 90°. Font can be orientated towards right or left. This option is selected from the main menu. Under worse light conditions the display gets back-lighted in white.

Outer display is only monochrome, but still pretty legible • VGA camera lens

The state LED is located beneath the display. It blinks in green when the phone is being charged and in blue when Bluetooth connection has been established. It has no further functions, which I find rather regretful. For example, it could have been used as an alert of incoming messages or missed calls.

A flat display made of glossy metal welcomes you when you open the phone

The left side of the device features a standard swing volume key and the so called "Smart key", which has a user configurable function. This key helps change current ringing profile without having to open the phone. On the right side you will find a single key meant to activate the voice-dialing application.

Motorola PEBL can hardly be mistaken with any other mobile phone

Do not waste your time in searching the data connector on the bottom of the device. The cable and charger connector together with the eye-let for the hanging stripe are smartly hidden in the top edge of the handset. The connector is a miniUSB one. It works with any common cable, like the one of your digital camera, for example.

Data connector is unusually mounted on the top edge of the device

The rear cover protecting the battery is decorated with a white Motorola logo. Here you will also find the loud speaker grill and the release button. The battery is Li-Ion one, with a capacity of 820 mAh. According to the information published on the official site of the manufacturer, it is able to supply the phone with 400 minutes call time or 250 hours of stand-by time. The SIM card is located under the battery and is easily taken out when needed.

Rear side of the phone is made out of thin cover • Loudspeaker • Removing the battery