Motorola V551 / V330 / V547 / V555 / V557
Average Ratings
Great Phone
This was the best phone I have ever owned. I had the v557 for Cingular and I used it for about a year or so.
PROS:
-Small Flip Phone
-Good Camera
-Very Easy To Use
-Loud Ringtones
-Bluetooth
-Very Durable
CONS:
-Drops Calls
Personally I believe this is the best phone Motorola has came out with.
Long Lasting Phone with alot a features
I've owned this phone for about 2 years now and I have to say I really like the phone but there are some reservations (see below.) One of the primary reasons I like it is because it gets really good reception. Second, if you are into features...this phone has alot. For a clamshell phone it is a little bulkier, which I liked since it fit well in my hand. This was important since the bluetooth didn't work as well. Speakerphone works average. Some of the drawbacks is the bluetooth did not work well with my plantronics headset and the annoying webbrowsing button. Finally the battery life is giving out (which for its use I am surprised it lasted this long) and I am comparing buying a new battery or going with the Motorola L7.
Pros:
-Good Reception
-Alot of Features (Camera, Calender, Video, Custom Ringtones and pictures)
Cons:
-Bluetooth drops connectivity
-Webbrowsing button placement annoying
-Computer Connectivity requires special cables that you have to buy
Bullet proof
the v330 was my first cell phone ever, I picked it because my brother works at Assurion and he said this is the phone they get the least amount of calls about. So I went ahead and got it mostly because I wanted a phone that was reliable more than anything else. I had the phone for about a year before it got stolen three days ago. I was pleased with the overall build of the phone, it was very resilient of falls, dropping it three or four times on hard concrete and a bunch others on softer surfaces the phone just showed up a few scars on its case but no damage to the internals. I must add I once dropped it on wet sand and the phone was caked in it, I just brushed it off, blew some air at it and it worked like nothing happened. I always like the feel of the buttons, they felt durable and of high quality. I like the external display, the fact that you can see who is calling you before you open the phone is very useful. The size and weight never bothered me too much but it is a heavy phone.
All in all the phone made me feel asured that I didn't need insurance because of it's resistance. I would have never guessed it would get stolen, since it was not such a hot looking phone.
the only cons I had with it.
The camera could have been of better quality, yet it would have brought the price higher, but the camera being so small made it rather useless.
The volume was indeed rather low and made it hard to hear the person when in noisy environments (compared to my sister's phone which is a nokia)
This phone SUCKS!!!
I have cingular and live in Morris County, NJ.
I researched this phone (V551) for quite a while before I purchased it. Holy crap, what a waste of $!!! The phone didn't work at all at my job but everyone else's phone did. My husband and son both have bottom-of-the-line LGs and their phones had full bars at my job. The V551s ringer volume was bad-I could barely hear it ring even when it was up as loud as it could go. Here's my basic pro's and con's on this phone...
PRO'S
sturdy phone
customizable menu
changeable faceplates
CON'S
ringer volume stinks
reception stinks
can't hold a bunch of text messages-i had to keep clearing them out so i could receive new ones
screen kept blacking out
pain in the butt to charge
just a crappy phone overall
This was my 1st Motorola and I swore it would be my last but I'm now thinking about getting the V635. I hope I don't have the same problems as I did with the V551!
Save Time, buy another phone!
I bought 2 of these phones at the same time. One for my wife, and one for me. Both of us liked the phones at first. The features seemed OK and the connections were reliable. But, a huge problem occured with both phones about the same time. The phones do not plug into the charging cord properly. You plug in the charger, you twist it, you bend it, you pull it half out of the phone, you step on it, you let an elephant step on the connection, still nothing. It takes us about 5 to 10 minutes per phone to get the phone to start charging, then if anyone moves the phone or breathes on it, another 5 to 10 minutes to get it to charge. What good are all the nice features if the phone wont charge. I do not know about other Motorola's, but I would avoid them all as this is a basic necessity and has been perfected by other companies for years. Save yourself time and frustration, look at other brands of phones.
Good features / Voice cuts out
I've owned the v551 for over a year now. I'm in San Antonio, TX with Cingular.
PROs
* Edge
* SyncML
** allows free over-the-air contact backup
** Syncs with google calendar (really try this - scheduleworld.com)
CONs
* Few Spots where the phone beeps indicating no service
* About have of my calls include a multiple split seconds of no sound. I wind up saying "what?" a lot. I can't answer yes or no questions because a short reply usually doesn't get transmitted.
* Slow menuing
Final note about the syncing: If I put in "first last" for the name in my phone, it sends it over SyncML with the names swapped. I know that it's just one field and it has to choose, but I'd have preferred first last instead of last first.
Excellent long-lasting phone but outdating fast
This phone is an extremely well-built workhorse. It has lasted me 1.5 yrs and that's the longest any phone has lasted me. Others I either got so fed up with them a threw (Sony Ericsson white screen of death) or they broke after a few drops. This Moto has survived many practice and accidental drops with just surface scratches!!!
PROS:
- Extremely well-built phone. Perfect weight and size for a flip-phone. Withstood 1.5 yrs of abuse and still ticking :)
- Nice bright OEL blue outer display w/ giant digits for time
- Camera images, although subpar quality, always looks the best they can regardless of how grimy the lens gets
- Inner display is large and bright
- Lots of software available to customize phone (all through bluetooth or USB)
- Buttons are well-placed and easy to use (see cons section for outer buttons though)
- Speakerphone was able to be software-modded to make it louder. Now it's perfect
- Easy to use desktop stand charger
- Menu navigation is the best I've come across in a cellphone
- Great appointment calendar with reminder alarm. Calendar can be assigned to a function button (a big plus)
- Speakerphone works with phone closed!
- Decent battery life (even after 1.5 yrs)
- Too many more to list
- Signal strength is perfect for me
CONS:
- Outer buttons are easily pressed and may change the 'style' of ringer accidentally
- Menu speed is a bit slow
- Quickly becoming outdated in technology
- no animated desktop wallpaper
- external antenna (but gets great signal)
- rubberized chassis will quickly rub off
- For some reason it will not make calls if connected to my car charger. Maybe the car charger's fault
Overall, this is a wonderful phone. After 1.5 yrs, I have switched carriers and unlocked the phone so I can keep using it. I got a free Ericsson W300i with the new service, but I'm keeping this V330 because it's just more reliable and user-friendly. If you want a phone to last a long time, this is the one to get
Junk
This phone is Junk. The reception is so poor you have to find a spot and stand still. I really have nothing good to say about this phone.
Motorolas need to be better quality
I've had this since early 2005 and about a year after, it has been nothing but problems.
This is a little fyi about me. I always pay my cell phone bill on time and have never dropped the phone in water, dropped it to cause a major shock, or made any alterations whatsover. Also, i purchased it at 3rd party retailer and i'm not deaf or need a hearing aid.
I switched from Verizon to Cingular on the hopes it would not be much of a difference (except the phone plan was less expensive and offered more than Verizon...that was one mistake). Anyways, this phone has just been the most dismal investment i've ever made and will be the LAST Motorola i purchase, I guess i was unlucky to buy a p.o.s phone).
The Pros about the phone:
1. Good Display and sharp colors.
2. Nice outer material and fancy outer display
3. The camera (for the technology back in 2005) was great.
Cons outweigh the pros big time:
1. The most annoying part, is the ear piece speaker is sooo quiet. I leave the volume level on 7 (the highest) and end up having to use the speaker phone to hear the other party adequately.
2. Following on this, the battery has been drained more than necessary, causing increase charging intervals and most likely wearing it down prematurely. Battery life was poor.
3. Now, this may be related to Cingular towers in Tampa, but the reception has been completely unacceptable. Verizon slams the door on Cingular over reception in my opinion.
I argued with Cingular and tried to get a new phone, but their customer service is flat out ignorant. Maybe the phone was defective, reception is poor due to Cingular, or I screwed up not saying anything during the warranty, whatever. I was with Verzion for 4 years and NEVER had a problem with the T720 (cheap) and the VX-6000, period. They cost more, less selection, but quality is big on my list. Motorola needs to overhaul its quality control before releasing its phones. Once this is up, Verizon, i'm back with the VX-8300!
Ok phone
Ive owned this phone for about a year and half and it has some pros and cons
Pros
small size
takes ok pictures
does videos
shutter sounds
cons
-video sucks its blocky
-you have to hold phone still to take a pic
-lags
-you have to watch dialog to send picture messages
-Buttons push on side easily
-browser is slow
i would not suggest a different pone like the pebl or the Htc Mda its more money but its well worth it
