Motorola VA76r Tundra
Phone Scoop Review
Jan 27, 2009 by Eric M. Zeman
Motorola offers up a rugged PTT phone for AT&T. The Tundra can take a serious beating and still get the job done. Check out Phone Scoop's full review and video tour. read review ›
User Reviews
Average Ratings
Good phone, BUT
Pros- Had this phone for eleven months, very good sound quality, easy to use, has all the features an average user needs
Cons - After about eight months, the hinges/bushings in the flip feature have worn to the point where the phone will NOT lock in the open position; this causes calls to be dropped if you are not careful to hold the phone in an upright position; two of my associates have this same problem with their tundra; carrier has replaced it in warranty period;
OUTSTANDING
Great Phone. I have had this phone for 6 months. I have had no problems with it at all.
Pros: Loud and clear. Good signal, display menu layout. Always has good bars even out in the country. I have never dropped a call.
Everything is good about this phone.
Cons. Sometimes slow display.
Get this phone is you want reliability.
AWESOME!!
I am VERY rough on phones, I have owned too many phones on AT&T to count, from the old LG C1300 / G4015 to the iPhone 3G, and none can compare to the durability and specs of the VA76r. The Tundra is the kind of phone where you can forget about it in the pouring rain or drop it in the snow or even drop it while rock climbing and it would take it like a champ, although I would not try putting it through the last one.lol. Built to withstand just about everything you can throw at it, there is only one downfall. The camera is not of the highest quality, but if your not doing photo shoots with it then you'll be fine with the camera. All the buttons are very responsive and the flip is VERY sturdy. I currently own 3 cell phones, the iPhone 3G, Sidekick LX 2009 (gotta love phones.lol) and the Tundra, and out of all 3 the Tundra is my favorite
Durable and reliable
Ive had my va76r for about 3 months now. I own a construction company and go to the bar often so in both cases i needed a durable phone. This phone is just as durable as they say Ive dropped it on cement, was running it fell out of my pocket and i booted it about 20 feet lol, and left it in the rain for about 10 min and it still works great. The size is a little big but thats because the plastic coating on the outside. The only problem i have with the phone is the menu loading once in a while it takes a couple seconds to boot up the next screen but it isn't all the time. Battery life is about 5 days with little usage around 3 days when sending 50 texts a day and 30 min a day on the phone. Reception is awesome everywhere i go i have 5 bars when others only have 2 or 3.
Biggest pile of crap I've come to use
this was a sad review to post, because I really tried to use this phone, but when the screen goes out 4 times your a little mad. had this phone like 1 year ago, and the screen when turned the phone would work but 4 secs when the phone was on the screen would go completely out. i had this happened on all 4 until i got the iphone. stay away. it wont work for you
Good RF Performance if you can Hear Caller
I have had the Motorola Tundra for one week. I am disappointed with the sound level on the handset speaker. The speaker phone sound level is OK. I had a Motorola V365 which is a predecessor of the Tundra. The sound level on the V365 was great. It is surprising that a higher end phone would have such a low sound level. These are usually for professionals or contractor use. We need sound level to hear. I am an Engineer that designs Radio Frequency hardware and have extensive audio knowledge. It is even more confusing to read professional reviews that say that say the audio quality is excellent, they are wrong. The DSP is not close to excellent on this phone. Callers frequently sound muffled and that makes it worse with the low sound level.
It's ok...
I used this phone for a few days and returned it. I live at a fringe area but the Tundra was able to pick up and hold to a signal with no problem. The external antenna works great and it's the best phone I have ever used in terms of reception.
But, the lack of personalize email was a problem. The voice dial feature works 30% of the time and for some reason Google Maps crashes. Another real problem is that the phone has GPS but only works with ATT Navigator but not other 3rd party software.
I really wanted this phone to work as it's been the best reception phone I've use but the other short comings were just too much.
Great Phone!
Hello!
I had the iPhone 3G and BlackBerry Bold. Both could hold a 3G signal, but sometimes would slip to edge. However, iPhone gave me issues and the Bold was to much for what I would use it for.
When I saw this Motorola Tundra, it was a perfect match. Not only does it have 3G, but it holds a solid 3G signal!
This doesn't have your touch screen or Blackberry features. However, it's a great solid phone and has plenty of features.
I'm happy I switch to this Tundra phone and will be keeping for long time. :)
excellent phone!
This much needs to be stated first. The Motorola Tundra is a BIG RUGGED phone. The phones size and outside aesthetics should not be a considered a problem. If you have seen the phone or have read reviews on it, you know that your getting a larger less eye appealing phone before you buy it.
For those of us who want or need a solidly constructed phone, At&t did a very good job with the Tundra. It is pretty much a Nextel phone that uses At&t's network
Pros:
1. Big, tough, and rugged. Perfect for people who are hard on their phones, have bigger hands, or who are just plain clumsy like me.
2. Best reception of any at&t phone available. If your used to getting one or two bars where you live, this phone is worth taking a look at.
3. Call quality is outstanding, and the speakerphone is loud and clear.
4. Push to talk feature worked pretty well. Your not going to beat Nextel at this, but for those who want to switch to at&t don't let the ptt capabilities hold you back. This phone does a good job with ptt.
5. For a "real man's" phone, it is very feature rich.
Cons:
1. Menu system is a tad slow
2. Keypad is divided by a little grid. This isn't a big deal but does feel slightly odd.
3. A phone like this isn't supposed to be aesthetically pleasing, but come on at&t. Make one in black next time.
None of the three cons were the least restriction in the phones functions. The Tundra is a good rugged phone with great reception, call quality, and ptt capabilities. As mentioned, Nextel is still the gold standard for these services...but their network isn't far reaching enough. If you need Nextel services without the limits of their network, this is a good alternative. I'd like to see at&t come out with a few more phones such as this one.
