Motorola V180 / V186 / V188
Average Ratings
Great Basic Phone Works Really Well but is Very Small and Feels Plasticky
I've had this phone for two weeks and was able to compare it with the V400 which is it's larger, older brother.
First of all, reception is great just like on the V400. The audio is simply gorgeous. To think such great sound comes form such a small phone is astounding. Earpiece sound is full and loud, not tinny and so quiet like on the V400. It is a pleasure in actual use.
The Speakerphone works as soon as you press it after dialing out is it is very effective for handsfree use. That is my biggest beef with the V400, because it cannot be changed on that phone with any amount of hacking.
It's main weakness is its flimsy construction and its small and dull screen. Pressing the keys you can feel the keyboard squeak...
The external LCD is much improved from the stupid, dark V400 external LCD which requires tons of direct light to read. its backlight is white so it is easy to read. Another plus for the V180...
I reluctantly gave it back (because I did not want to pay for two phone lines) and kept the V400 because of its more solid construction and much better screen.
I would not hesitate recommending this phone if you want something that simply works very well right out of the box especially if you have small hands, have young eyes and only need a phone with basic features.
If you're considering both the V180 and the V400 I would strongly recommend you get the V551 if you can as it combines the best of both, but in Canada it's only available from Rogers, which is much more expensive to use than Fido.
Pretty Good!
PRO's
- Good Signal Strength (T-Mobile)
-MP3 Ringtones
-Color Screen
-Small Design
-Durable
CON's
-Not the best battery life
I have this phone with T-Mobile and it is a great phone and it gets great signals and I hear things clear. A winner for Motorola and T-Mobile!
Good Phone
I've this phone since the end of October and I love it.
Pros
Light Weight
Looks Attractive
Long Battery Life
Cons
Soft Ring (But isn't every phone are like this?)
Overall, it's the best entry level phone any user can ask for.
No Voice Dial With ATT Wireless
I bought this phone because I wanted to be able to voice dial. ATT advertised this to be able to voice dial. The phone can but after ATT overhauled it, it can not anymore. The instruction manual points to a menu that does not exist and I have read it front to back and been through all the menus several times BOOOO!!! Also no hook up for antenna booster BOOOO!!! It gets crappy signal compared to me Nokia phone. On my ride home the phone dropped the call 5 times compared to once with me Nokia after several attempts. Dont know what to do here EBAY!! Otherwise, I kind of like it. The phone book is crappy, one entry for each number and games??? What games???? Oh the one free demo of Bejeweled for 30 seconds a pop? No thanks!! ATT Ruined what was probably an okay phone!!!!!
Decent Phone
This is a phone for light-medium users.
PROS
*excellent battery life- 2 weeks or more!
*cool ringtones, both normal and those music ones- very loud, too!
*Great call quality
*small, but buttons are easy to press
*ease of use- menu navigation,features, etc.
CONS
*bad reception if not close to cell tower- calls will cut out
*calls will occasionally drop
*phone once froze up on me, i had to remove the battery so it would work again, but it only happened once
all in all, this is a great phone to have, unless you're a heavy user. for 99% of the time, it works great.
Quite satisfied
Had this phone on ATTWS GSM network about 6 weeks now in SE PA. Used to have a Nokia on ATTWS TDMA system for several years, but coverage/service deteriorated over time. Read all the comparisons and reviews of this and other phones on this site (very helpful). Very happy with the V180 and GSM re: functionality of phone, system coverage, signal strength, battery life (but see CON).
PROS - small, stylish, sturdy, excellent speakerphone, OK screen, very clear reception, ring volume more than adequate, battery life excellent (but see CON below).
CONS - Manual is poor (but on-line Moto/ATT help is good). Phone completely died twice after overnight recharging of a partially charged battery (had to remove then replace battery to "wake it up"). Heard this was common to Moto phones. Was told to NOT recharge until battery meter down to one or two bars, and then only for a couple of hours until battery meter is "full". I would much prefer being able to leave the phone on charge overnight (or even indefinitely) regardless of battery condition.
Nice phone but...
I am on my second V180. This one will also be returned. My first locked up twice, absolutely nothing would work. I had to remove the battery to get it working. AT&T replaced that one with the one I have now. This one will not play MP3 ring tones I uploaded to it. It actually will play in preview, but will not acknowledge it as a ring tone for calls, voice mail, etc. I am also dismayed as others are about the phone book entries.
If the third one is somehow defective as well, I'll certainly look into other phones.
I overall really like the phone. The looks, the size, and the ability to easily upload wallpaper and ringtones. Hopefully I can get one that functions correctly!
Tried to like it
I really tried to give this phone a fair trial. I used this website to make my decision for purchasing a new phone and switching to GSM. I looked forward to all of the features this phone carries.
PROS:
flip phone
nice size screen
technical features impressive
CONS:
Too difficult to quickly navigate to phone book. Alot of my calls are while I'm driving. I'm used to 1-button push through phone book coming from a Nokia.
Background pictures choices are limited to 3 choices, and all unattractive and busy. They take away from the ability to read the screen.
I have yet to feel the phone vibrate in my pocket. I've missed numerous calls. I have it set to vibe and ring and it only vibrates some of the times.
Every single phone call breaks up at some point, tinny voices alot of the times, and static with every single call at some point during the conversation. NEVER had a problem with my old Nokia.
I haven't had a use for the mMode function and I keep accidentally hitting that key and it launches me into it, which I have to wait for it to load in order to exit.
I hated my old, clunky Nokia phone, until I purchased the v180. I really forced myself to try and like it. My husband purchased the same phone at the same time and didn't complain, until he heard that I wanted to return mine. He is returning his as well. If anyone can make a suggestion, please feel free. I'm starting to read phone reviews all over again.
Does exactly what it is meant for
Have this phone with AT&T Wireless (Quad-band version).
Pros: Decent duplex speaker considering..
Ringers not to shabby (good selection)
Menus not a migrane to navigate like
many other Motorolas.
Not overdone for an entry-level flip
GSM phone.
Keypad buttons not too small,
nicely separated so accidental
misdialing does not occur.
External display.
Very good RF.
Cons: Display needs a bit more resolution
like the Samsungs and LG's.
External front scratches very easily.
Internal display could stand to be a
a bit larger. (There is room).
Pleasantly surprised!
The pros & cons have been pretty well covered in the other reviews. I migrated from TDMA & a Panasonic Duramax. I was expecting better audio quality, poorer reception.I had studied the TDMA selection pretty thoroughly when I got my Duramax. This one's too new to get that much info on. So I was taking my chances that the reviews I could find were reasonably objective. So, here's what I've found, after a week. I'll highlight only what stood out, since the other reviews were pretty thorough.
PROS
great audio
good battery life, after the first couple of charges
better reception than I got with my old
Duramax
screen fonts I can read easily
CONS
menus are very clunky, with some things sequenced in ways unlike any other phone
phonebook could have used subentries for extra numbers per name instead of multiple listings of the name with an icon for type of number
screen is difficult to use in sunlight
-----
Note: I do not use voice dialing, so that limitation was not a problem for me.
I'm not sure, unless you're pretty steady with one brand (and company's way of doing things) that you wouldn't need some relearning on any menu setup. There were only a few things that I had problems finding regularly, at first. And that was without looking in the manual -- do we ever? ;-)
All in all this promises to be a keeper.
