Poor Earpiece Volume = Hard to hear in wind/noise
Written: Jul 15 '04 (Updated Jul 28 '04)
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Pros: bluetooth, voice dialing, color screen, camera
Cons: earpiece volume, motorola technical support is worthless
The Bottom Line: Latest technology should last you three years. Hope that you don't have a problem though, because you won't find any support
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| JBigDog's Full Review: Motorola V600 |
I have been using the v600 on the Cingular network in Chicago since the beginning of July 2004. [Note: I have updated this review at bottom to further explain defect in the phone, and to review motorola technical support] My main reason for selecting this phone was the bluetooth capability. Bluetooth allows you to connect two or more devises together without the use of wires. For example, I am able to use a headset (I use the Jabra Freespeak--read about it here: http://www.epinions.com/content_147927174788) that is not physically connected to my phone. Furthermore, I can walk up to 30 feet away from my phone and still use the headset. This is great if you are walking around your house or leave, your phone in the backseat of your car, or in your purse. With the headset, you can answer calls or place calls (via voice dialing).
I also selected this phone because I have had success with Motorola phones in the past, I wanted a color screen (updating from my old StarTac phone), and a camera.
Instead of touching on every single use of the phone, I will focus on my experiences through my normal use of the phone.
Look & Feel
The Motorola v600 is a flip phone. The outside color is silver and is composed of metal. The front of the phone has an external LCD screen with blue letters and a camera lens. The antenna is very sturdy (I don't think it would easy break like it did with my old StarTac phone).
When you open the phone, one half contains a full color display along with the earpiece. The other half contains all the keys and the microphone. The keys are positioned as on a regular phone. In addition, you have a send, end/power, left/right quick key, and menu button. Plus, you have a round button with up, down, left, right, and a center positions. The buttons are have a smooth feel and are well positioned for my 5'5" frame, meaning that I never have problems tapping an individual key.
The left side of the phone has a volume up/down jog and a smart key which changes functions based on what you are doing with the phone. The right side contains another button which is used for voice dial or for recording voice memos.
This phone is a little heavier than most, but I don't find it a problem.
Data Entry
When you enter in a phone number or any other type of data, a new window opens. I have noticed there is a short delay between the time you push a button and the windows opens. I do not text message, so I have never seen this as a problem. However, if you are part of the thumb generation, this may bother you.
Phonebook
I like the idea of storing numbers and e-mail addresses since a cell phone is a convenient way of collecting someone’s information. The phonebook suits my needs. I believe it will store up to 1,000 numbers. Each number is stored individually, thus while you can have multiple numbers for a single person, the phone sees this as it’s own number. I have decided to store my numbers on the phone instead of the SIM cards because this allows me the options of voice dialing and Picture ID.
Earpiece Volume
Under normal usage, the volume of the earpiece seemed fine. However, I noticed that even with turning the sound up all the way to 7 (the highest setting) it is still very difficult to hear if there is any noise. There have been many instances where I have been on public transportation or in wind when I am unable to hear the person on the other end (interestingly enough, this was never a problem with my StarTac). This is a HUGE drawback with the phone and I am not sure if there is a fix.
Bluetooth
This is great! But I already said that above. You have to learn how to pair the devices (make them “see” each other and remember that they “know” each other, but this wasn’t a big problem). The default setting on the phone is to turn bluetooth off so that no one can access your phone without you knowing (called bluejacking). This is a good security feature, but I don’t know if it can be bypassed.
Voice Dialing
I have found this to be a great feature. After training the phone through the phonebook, you push a voice button on the side and say the name. The phone will repeat the selection to you and then dial. This allows you to dial without having to look at the phone. Great for driving or even laziness.
Battery Life
I have been able to charge my phone every other night and still never get below two bars. I have found the battery life to be amazing as I can have several 2 hour conversations using bluetooth and still have enough battery power for three days.
Camera
It’s a camera on a cell phone. What more do you expect? There is a nice little mirror next to the camera lens so you can take a picture of yourself and aim it properly.
Ringtones
I think the amount of standard ringtones are dependent on the carrier. With Cingular, you get about three cool ones, and of course there is the option to buy more. I’m satisfied with what is on the phone.
Games
I have this stuntman driving game and a very addictive puzzle game. The puzzle game is called Bejeweled.
Office Tools
You can a calendar which has been sufficient for my use (student), an alarm, and several tools that I have not used.
Menu
What great aspect on this phone is the ability to assign shortcuts to any menu item no matter how deep it is buried. Shortcuts can be assigned to a number or even voice prompts. I find this a great feature because I use it to quickly, turn on my bluetooth to connect to the headset.
Speakerphone
This works great. You can select this option while you are in the middle of the call. The speaker is on the back of the phone (weird location) so I usually turn the phone on its side when I use this option.
Conclusion
Even with the earpiece volume problem, I would still recommend this phone. The bluetooth alone satisfies me. I have read that there are software cracks on the internet to increase the volume by I am afraid to try this on my own. You can also find some pretty good deals on the internet for this phone right now. Please note that the picture used by epinions is incorrect. Also, another reviewer mentioned that they had a problem where the external screen became unreadable. I have experienced this problem once and was able to fix it by turning the phone off and on.
Update July 22, 2004
I am now on my third new phone. I took the first one back due to the earpiece volume, however, with two additional phones, this problem has not been corrected. I'm starting to wonder if this is an issue with the Cingular network and not the phone?
Jumbled External Display
I only had this problem with the second phone (knock on wood). Basically what would happen is that you could not read the external screen. What exactly was this like? Imagine you took the external screen and divided it up into 5 lines
1
2
3
4
5
Each of those lines composed a larger picture, or in the case, the time. So if it is 12:00 PM, lines 1-5 would each print out a portion of the characters making up 12:00 PM. Line 1 would print the upper portion of the numbers, line 5 the bottom portion.
Now, imagine if those lines are randomly re-ordered.
3
2
5
1
4
You would not be able to read the screen. That's the best explanation I have.
Dropped Calls/Unable to Dial
My second phone also had a problem where I was experiencing dropped calls even with a full signal strength. In addition, I had problems where I was unable to dial out and if a person was trying to call me, the call would go directly to voicemail--my phone would not ring. I do not think this was a network issue, and instead I believe it was a defect with the phone.
Update July 23, 2004
Motorola Techincal Support
I'm am actualling going to decrease my rating of this product by one star due to motorola's technical support, or lack thereof. I believe that when you buy a product, you are also purchasing support for that product, especially with new technology when so much can go wrong.
Motorola's support is completely worthless. They are not interested in helping to trouble-shoot your problem and instead are more interested in getting you off the phone.
Let me provide an example. I called up the support number to ask about the earpiece volume. The support person told me that I should exchange my phone, so I exchanged my phone for a brand new one. There was no change in loudness.
I called motorola back, and spoke to a Marial (#85327). Please, note I don't know how to spell her name because she would not spell it for me and I could not understand her. When I asked her to spell her name, she kept on saying, "What is your problem." I explained my problem and she said, "This is the first time Motorola is hearing about this problem." I then explained to her that it couldn't be the first time because I called about this same issue before, so it has to at least be the second time (this made me start thinking whether or not motorola is hiding something and won't admit a error in the product). This women would also not let me finish my sentence and kept on interrupting and saying "that will solve your problem is that it?"
After trying to speak to this person for a little while, I requested to be transferred to a supervisor. She asked why, and I said, "you are not answering my questions and instead are trying to just get me to hang up." I was then transferred to Luke (#80029) who really wasn't any more helpful--he was still just trying to get me to hang up the phone. I have a feeling this is the way motorola trains its technical support people, and for all the money we pay for their phone, I think we really deserve more than this.
I will continue to update this review if necessary.
Update July 28, 2004
Jumbled External Display
I'm on my third phone and the display has been jumbled twice already in less than a week. This is clearly a problem with the phone.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 150
Recommended for: Professionals On-the-Go - Internet and Email is a Must!
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Epinions.com ID:
JBigDog
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Member: S
Reviews written: 120
Trusted by: 132 members
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