Motorola WX345 - Flip Phone 1.3 MP Camera

Consumer Cellular No-Contract Phone

What can you do with the Consumer Cellular Motorola WX345? You can take pictures, listen to music and the radio. You can even check out the mobile web on this simple flip phone. The WX345 is a good cell phone for the price – $35.

The camera takes 2 megapixel resolution pictures, and the music player uses common MP3 files. The radio should pick up your favorite FM stations, and mobile web access lets you check the latest news, sports and weather. Like most phones today, it also offers Bluetooth for connecting to headsets and handsfree devices.

This is one of two flip phones offered, the other being a Doro phone.

No-Contract Consumer Cellular Phone in Silver or Red

Camera

The 2.0 megapixel camera on the Consumer Cellular Motorola WX345 works pretty well. I took a couple of photos and they seemed to be pretty good (a big improvement over the camera of the W408g). The colors were a little dull on this cloudy winter day, but you see quite a bit of detail. You can take pictures in resolutions from 1600 x 1200 pixels (UXGA) all the way down to 240 x 160 pixels (QQVGA).

You can send the pictures you take via Bluetooth or by picture message. If you send them by picture message, the resolution is automatically reduced to a smaller resolution image to fit within the size requirements of MMS messages. So, for example, a 2 MP image that had a file size of 275 KB was reduced to a smaller image with just a 7.5 KB file size. If you transfer the image over Bluetooth or via data cable, you can keep the full resolution.

Sample Photo

Here's a sample of a quick photo I took with this phone. (I've reduced the resolution to fit the page and decrease loading time.)

MicroSD Memory Card

You can store your photos on the phone’s internal memory or on a microSD card that you insert in a slot in the back of the phone. In the camera settings you set the card as the storage location for the photos you take.

Music Player and FM Radio

MP3 Music Player

You can listen to your music on standard stereo earphones or even on the phone’s speaker. To use the MP3 music player you need to have a memory card inserted into the phone. You cannot store your songs on the phone’s internal memory.

Transfer Your Music

You can transfer music to the memory card either via data cable or via Bluetooth. It’s faster via the data cable. You can even transfer them directly to the memory card using a memory card reader/writer. For example, you could insert the microSD memory card into an SD card adapter and stick the whole setup into the SD card slot in your computer.

Create Playlists

Once the songs are on the card, you have to do one more thing to listen to them on your phone – you have to create a playlist. Then you use the music player to play the playlist. The music keeps playing even after you close the phone. However, the music pauses if there’s an incoming call or if you’re doing something else with the phone such as taking a photo.

In addition to listening to your music, you can also listen to the . . .

Radio

The WX345 has a cool FM radio so you can listen to your favorite stations. You need to plug in your earphones because they act as the antenna. So maybe there’s a talk show you like to listen to, but you have to go somewhere. As long as there’s good reception, you can still listen to the show on your phone’s radio.

Record Radio Programs

If you’re busy, you can even record the radio programs. You turn the recording on and leave the earphones plugged in. (Unfortunately this phone doesn’t allow you to schedule the recording in advance.)

Mobile Web

You have basic mobile web access so you can check out the news, weather and sports. You can also connect to social networking sites like Facebook and also the shopping sites eBay and Amazon.

Download Ringtones

The phone comes with 15 generic music ringtones in a variety of styles. They're not bad, but if you want something more, you can download popular ringtones from Consumer Cellular for about $2 to $3 each.

Games

Two simple games are included with the WX345. They are Copter and Chicken. In Copter, you fly a helicopter while avoiding obstacles and crashes. In Chicken, you have to avoid the “thorns”. Nothing fancy, but may help you pass the time in certain situations.

Tools

The Motorola WX345 comes with a small set of basic yet useful tools. You have a calendar with integrated task list. You can set up to five alarms on the alarm clock. You can set the alarms for specific days of the week. Finally there’s a basic calculator for addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.

Motorola WX345 Tutorials

When your package arrives, there'll be a small black booklet which is the Motorola WX345 manual. If you want more information. Consumer Cellular has created a set of informational videos and tutorials on YouTube. Here's that WX345 playlist.

Get One?

This is actually a pretty good phone that’s not only useful for keeping in touch but also provides some entertainment via photos, music and games.

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