Motorola Gleam Vintage Mobile Phone

The Motorola Gleam was a relatively low cost flip-phone which was one of the last of its type being launched as late as 2011, and only providing 2G GSM connectivity.

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The Motorola Gleam was a relatively low cost (around 80 Euros or equivalent) flip-phone vintage mobile phone dating from 2011 when the last of this style of phone was being launched - may be Motorola was trying to corner this section of the market before it finally disappeared.

When closed, the Motorola Gleam has a small form fact - this was the reason for having a flip-phone which enabled it to be fitted into a pocket very easily, whilst still having a reasonable sized display and keypad when opened.

Front view of Motorola Gleam (open) vintage classic mobile phone

Front view of Motorola Gleam (closed) vintage classic mobile phone

Front view of Motorola Gleam (internal view with battery removed) vintage classic mobile phone

Front view of Motorola Gleam (internal view with battery) vintage classic mobile phone

The Motorola Gleam has a dark matte plastic case which makes it look like a reasonably standard flip-pohone. However it uses an LED Matrix display on the outside front of the closed device. This displays the time, gives an indication that it is alive when it is turned on, receive a call, message, etc - a very useful feature.

This vintage mobile phone was found to be easy to use. Not only was the screen clear and the buttons or keys on the keypad large, they were backlighted and well spaced, and users found the menu easy to navigate.

The phone incoporated a 2MP camera which was located on the top of the outside front of the phone. The camera was able to produce adequate images, but was not good in the dark, and also with only 2MP it did not give the best images. However, for a relatively low cost phone of this era, it was quite adequate.

Also on the phone there is a volume control rocker and micro-USB port on the right-hand side. There is also a 3.5mm headphone jack on the left-hand side which enables the phone to be used for music whilst on the move.

Although it could be used for making and receiving calls and texts as well as playing music, there were few other facilities on the phone, making it a relatively basic device, although what it did, it did well.

Motorola Gleam Vintage Mobile Phone Specification Summary
Parameter	Details
Technology	2G GSM
Introduction dates	Announced Feb 2011, released May 2011
Dimensions	106 x 53 x 13.9 mm
Weight	105g
SIM type	Mini-SIM
Display	256k colours TFT, 240 x 320 pixels
Card slot	microSDHC
Phonebook	800 entries
Call records	Yes
Internal memory	5MB
Camera	2MP stills, and video
Wi-Fi	No
Bluetooth	2.1 EDR
GPS	No
Radio	Stereo FM
USB	micro USB 2.0
Messaging	SMS< MMS, Email
Browser	HTML
Games	Yes
Battery	Removable OM4A, 3.7V Lithium ion 750mAh
Standby time	Up to 500 h
Talk time	Up to 6h 20m

Although the Motorola Gleam was a basic phone, it provided an ideal entry point for many users to be able to use mobile communications technology and it was often used with pay-as-you-go contracts.

This vintage mobile phone had some nice touches to it, although it was limited in the capabilities it provided, but it was easy to use, providing a good screen and large buttons for the keypad.