Motorola MPx220
Average Ratings
good enough for me
speaker could be a little louder for louder surroundings but it's fine for me. awesome mini computer for on the go activities.
Cingular doesn't support the data side!
This is a great phone! I like the quality of the hardware and the windows functionality with ActiveSynch is flawless. But since Cingular has the exclusive in the US, you had better be prepared to pay a lot of money for voice service only! I have spent the greater part of two days trying to get the phone to work as a data modem and get my bluetooth iPAQ to access the internet through the phone. Also, it will not access your pop3 email through the Windows Messaging function. After consultations with Cingular Tech Support, they acknowledge they DO NOT SUPPORT these functions on their system.So, buyers BEWARE!
MPx220
I had the predecessor to this phone, the MPx200 for about two years before losing it and needing a replacement. I went through 3 of those through warranty exchange and hope that I don't have the same experience with this one. I planned on upgrading sooner, but apparently the phone was temporarily unavailable due to inherent problems. I had to replace my first one because the speaker sounded like it was blown. I've had the MPx220 for about a week now and here are my initial observations...
Pro's:
- Many improvements in the Smartphone software
- Cell phone reception is much better
- Phone is lighter
- Has a camera (which I don't really care about, but is fun)
- Better external volume control
- Better Media Player
- Slide show for pictures
- High "cool factor"
- Seems to work better with ActiveSync
- Turns on and off more quickly
- Bluetooth
- Charges with USB, so if you travel with a laptop you donât have to take the AC charger.
Con's:
- Doesn't use the same battery or car charger as the MPx200 (requiring additional $$$)
- Uses Mini SD Card vs. standard (as with the MPx200) - more $$$ to spend
- Caller ID with picture is not as flexible as on Smartphone 2002
- Battery life lasts about two days (which is okay, but not as advertised)
- The operation of the "home" key does not work as described in the manual - it takes you to the www vs. the quick-key menu (you have to push the on/off switch to get to there)
- Display is hard to see in sunlight
- Uses 2.5mm headphone jack, so it's tough to get a decent headset
- Not as many standard ringtones
- Doesn't ship with any headphones - the MPx200 came with 2 sets
Other comments...
To everyone who complains about the camera functions: IT'S A PHONE!!! If you want to take pictures, then buy a camera. If you want to talk, then buy a phone.
It is a bit on the pricey side, but using Smartphone to sync with Outlook is really easy, and you donât need a PDA.
Bad Moto bad!!!
All I can say is that when you read reviews and all of your problems are the exact same as everyone else's, something is terribly wrong. Motorola should be ashamed for letting this device be out so long with so many problems. Just recently it was finally recalled but if you think Cingular will do anything for you if you were stuck with one you are sadly mistaken. You'd think they'd at least offer the (their smartphone replacement) for a discount or something.
Luckily I have a friend who works for Best Buy (where they were sent back first) and they swapped it out for a V3 Razr. Granted I swore off Motorola, but I needed Bluetooth and they don't carry the Sony Ericsson a710.
This was definitely the worst phone I've ever owned.
I can't imagine being without this phone now
This phone is awesome; it became invaluable to me almost instantly. With this phone I now have my full Outlook Calendar and Contacts with me at all times. In addition to that I can carry the important documents from work that I might need at any given time. With this phone I have all of those things whithout having to carry another device with me.
That ActiveSynch works well; it has never failed on me. It takes no time at all to Synch up the contacts, calendar, plus any programs I have waiting to be installed on the phone.
There are many things you can control at the touch of a button; even assign speed dials to programs you think are buried to far in the menu. I think many things people complain about are just user error. (i.e. "you can't activate the speaker phone while on a call without navagating through the menus." That's not true; you can activate the speaker phone by simply pressing the send button when you're on a call.) I have grabbed a few third party products that are out there and made the phone even more functional.
Yes, the camera is bad and there are a few other oddities; but overall this is a great phone and the benefits far outweigh the negatives--at least for me.
Good Professional Phone (Part 1)
Business consultant (IT), international traveler, highly dependent on voice and data, carry a Blackberry. Been using the Mpx220 for 3 weeks on the Cingular network in the DFW metro area.
Objective:
Combine cell phone and Palm PDA (3,100+ contacts, hundreds & hundreds of pages of notes, currency converter, multi-time zone clocks, other apps) into a single 'small' device.
Observations:
Mpx220 well made, feels solid in the hand. Keyboard and softkeys easily accessible for my medium size hand/fingers.
Screen resolution is very good, external screen a nice touch for time/caller ID info.
Operating system is "very stable", surprisingly fast, no hangs/crashes in three weeks using voice/data.
Voice quality is excellent; voice reception in fringe areas good to very good. Data connectivity average to poor.
Phone speaker volume is 'barely adequate'. Using Moto Blue HS820 connections are static free and volume very good.
Added software: Fizz Monitor, Fizz Traveler and Smartphone Find. ActiveSync installed with no problems.
Challenges:
Phone documentation is inadequate. Phone features found by trial/error.
Cingular retail stores know "nothing" about the phone, tried three different stores. People are untrained.
Cingular 800 support no better. Spent a couple of hours with them on email issue, no help.
Overall:
Good phone for the professional. Could be great if data issues resolved.
Great handy phone for Proffessionals
I have been using MPx220 for about 2 weeks now on Cingular network at Bosie. I am very pleased with the phone as it does all that I had expected to do. It has everything for a busy professional like synching up with your outlook mails/calendars/tasks, bluetooth (I have a HS820 set that works great)& speakerphone that hepls you to handle conference call effortlessly, conferencing feature to connect up your teams etc. With some real good utilities (I have an eval copy of FlexWallet 2005) life becomes so easy. Phone has excellent voice clarity (I have the 1.3 firmware), great bright display, and a very user friendly keyboard layout. It of course has all the other "jazzy" features like polyphonic/custom ring tones, MP3 playback capabilities, ability to attach pictures to contacts etc. It took me about a week to "discover" all the features because the manual that comes with the phone does not cover everything. Being an IT professional it was fairly easy for me to do the discovery! I am sure a non-computer savy person might find it slightly difficult to know about the settings (it's a mini-PC). Since there is no touch screen, I had to practice navigating through various features & options using the keys.
Overall a GREAT PHONE for the PROFFESSIONAL.
Pros:
1. Outlook synch up feature
2. Expandable SD card (we can get up to 1GB card in the market)
3. Bluetooth, Speaker phone, conferencing features
4. Very handy (size wise) for the features that it has.
5. Very usable keyboard layout
Cons:
1. Picture quality taken with the camera is not good
2. User Manual is not good- does not cover many of the features.
3. There are some bugs (I found 1) with the OS- like inability to uninstall software.
4. Phone specific accessories are not much available in the market (I am struggling to find a good case for this- I had to return 2 universal cases that I thought would fit the phone).
So far, so good...but complicated!!!
OK. All I wanted was a phone with the normal features of voice dialing, speaker phone, custom ring-tones, blue-tooth, and then having the capabilities of receiving email on the road. The camera, internet, mp3, storage and the rest was an extra added attraction. So far I have been able to do most of what I want but whew, this thing is complicated. Not the phone so much as the interface with Cing. Been on hold a whole bunch of times and have had to transfer to many different "support" staff at Cing. I think that I may soon be able to have the whole thing figured out but the learning curve is large, at least for me.
PLEASE READ!
For a lot of you, that are listing con's about the speaker, and ear piece volume, there is a new flash, or software version available for this phone that fixes some problems.
A phone ahead of its time
So I keep this short and sweet... I can't believe some have gave this phone low rating because of the camera and earpiece quality. Come on... the camera is a fairly new feature to phones and they will get better with time... its not like Motorola is pitching this as a replacement for your 5 megapixel digital camera. The earpiece volume is an issue but can be fixed if you turn your phone to outdoor mode. The real pluses to this phone are: OS from Microsoft (contacts/calendar/email), removeable memory, design, antenna strength, and MP3.
Personally, I'm glad that Motorola decided to partner with Best Buy... I was actually able to talk with a sales person, buy it, and be on my home in about 10 total minutes; versus a Cingular store which trys to sell me what they make the highest commission on and takes forever!
