Motorola V551 / V330 / V547 / V555 / V557
Average Ratings
I LOVE U MOTO
This is the second motorola phone that I have had the pleasure of owing. The graphics are awesome, the ringtones are fabulous, and the speakphone option is a total plus! I can't say enough good things about this phone!
I only have a couple of negative things to say about the phone:
1) The manual sucks...this is probably the worst product manual I have ever seen (actually, the v400 pm is worse, so I stand corrected). The pm for my previous phone (v60gi) explained every little detail of the phone. My advise to motorola is to bite the bullet and pay the extra buck to expand the manual to its full potential, and if they want a Spanish version (which takes up half of the v551 pm), DISTRIBUTE A SECOND COPY!
2) This is more of a problem with the tech people configuring the phones...CONFIGURE THEM PROPERLY! My v551 was configured improperly and the techies had a difficult time figuring out why the email/AIM options were not working...I still think they may not know how to do it, but there are documents floating out on the web with this information.
So, with all the options working on this phone, it is brilliant!
LOVE TEH PHONE
i love this phone..it does everything i need it to do. the mp3 ringtones are great..i like the blue rubber on the phone..it gets great signal..it could tell the difference with the EDGE.overall its a great phone.
I HATE THE V551
My Wife and I had the Motorola V551. We tried very hard to like this phone. It failed to do what a phone is supposed to do best. It gets HORRIBLE battery life and somewhat bad reception. We did the battery exchange and then the phone exchange. Same damn problem. I went back to the Cingular store and while I was waiting I witnessed two people returning a Razr V3 and a V220 with the same problem as me. I was the last customer that night and the salesperson could talk openly to me that he was given a free V551 from Moto and he sold it and kept his Nokia. He said they get more returns on Motorola than any other. I bought two Nokia 3120's. I know it doesn't have camera and Bluetooth but it gets AWESOME reception and AWESOME battery life. Take that Motorola. If you want cool camera and great Bluetooth and people saying "COOL PHONE" get the V551. If you want looooong battery life and GREAT reception buy Nokia.
Pros: great color screen, great camera and great Bluetooth, nice keypad,
Cons: battery life stinks, reception is weak, cant see screen in sunlight, charger is slow, EDGE browser is slower than my GPRS Nokia. (I proved it side by side in the store. The sales person was shocked and said that it must be a Moto problem also.) Random shut offs, menu is very sluggish; phone is sooooo heavy and bulky that I can not put it in my pocket. Speaker phone quality is XXXX. I hate moto chargers with that stupid clip design. The flip squeaks. I'm sure they're is more If I owned the phone longer.
Motorola V551 - Really nice phone, poor batteries !!
I have owned the V551 for 8-months, customer of Cingular in the Southern New Jersey area for many years - always good coverage and very pleased with customer service from Cingular.
The V551 really is a nice phone, the menu system took some getting used to and the manual is a bit vague. Some of the software/menus are "customizable" and the phone becomes more suited to your needs, once you get a handle on how to set it up. Initially I had very little interest in the photos and videos but have found both to function well and useful from time to time. Photos are not bad, with exposure and zoom settings. Video can be set to run much longer than the default setting. Not bad at all for a device that is primarily intended to be "a phone". The earpiece and ringer volume(s) are a bit low, even when turned up all the way. The phone works very well, clear and very rarely, if any, "failed calls". The screens are brite, nice and clear, when out of direct sunlight.
Motorola has apparently really "dropped the ball" with their batteries. Initially I was getting approx 3-4 full 24 hr days per charge and now I'm lucky if I get 1 or 2-full days out of a charged battery. Currently, I charge the phone every night so that I'm not caught with a dead phone! A few times the phone would not go into "charge" mode but cleaning the battery contacts appeared to correct the problem. The charger connection at the bottom of the phone is also very flimsy.
Correct the battery problem(s) and I'll be more than pleased!
Tough phone with nice features
I've had this for about a year and it has been great. It is tough and can take bumps and drops.
I have a USB data cable and can transfer pics and ringtones (mp3s) back and forth easily.
I can use bluetooth between my phone and Axim x50v.
Battery life is fine...I can go about 2 days with a little more than average use before having to charge it. I have a spare battery and charger so I always have one charged battery and I just swap batteries when I need to...I hardly ever plug the phone up to charge.
Screen is bright and clear.
I dont take too many pics so camera quality isnt important to me (I have 2 SLR digital cameras if I want to take pics).
Reception is great. (southeast united states) I get service in places my moto 720 did not.
Menu system could be better, but it works just fine for me.
these are not cons...just features I would have liked the V551 to have:
ringtones assigned to individual users
maybe have the speaker in the front so there is less of a chance that the ring will be muffled if the phone resting on a table (or soft surface like a pillow) I find myself setting the phone down on its face so the ringer will be as loud as possible.
maybe increase the volume of the earpiece
Great phone...it has been very reliable for me!
Great Phone, long term issue
I have owned the V551 for about four months now and it has performed admirably for me thus far. I switched from a Sony Ericsson T637 (which was the best ph. I'd owned til then) and have been more than satisfied with it. I enjoy the new, textured cover which prevents slippage while on smooth surfaces, and creates a snug fit in the pouches I purchased. There are many accessories available for the V551, making personalization easy. It comes with the Bluetooth wireless connection which works well, but sometimes mysteriously disconnects, usually during a call. Not a plus. Motorola needs some serious revision to its menus. Easy tasks are made difficult due to having the desired feature buried in an obscure, non-intuitive menu. It was frustrating when I first receive it and can still be today. Here's how it breaks down for me:
Pros: - Great screen! Super clear
- Great reception! I'm in dntn Chicago and have only had (maybe 5-6 dropped calls in four months. Can use ph in my apt elevator, 12 stories high.
- Bluetooth. If u don't have it, shame on you!
- Camera & video - I'm not a big camera ph. guy, but my pics. are usually good. Video is nice for impromptu clips, burns thru memory quick (only 8Mb in entire ph.)
- Light sensor for keypad, only comes on when it needs to
- Ph. is pretty light, although not as light as my T637
- Speakerphone is nice touch, xtra mics. on outside to use when closed
- Monochrome readout on front of ph. saves battery life compared to a screen you must illuminate
Cons: - Menus need serious wk. and the manual is a waste of paper. Moto offers no real help via any web or ph. assistance.
- Battery life could be better, even with battery saving features.
- No ph. flash
Possible design flaw: my ear receiver went on fritz in May possibly due to ph snaps shut on its own. Has tight spring for clamshell.
Bottom line for me, it's a ph worth the investment.
Motorola V330
I got this phone today and its the best phone I've owned.
PROS:
Ringers
Screen Quality
Call Quality
Speaker phone-You can even use it if the phone is shut
Games
Camera Quality
Signal
and alot more.
CONS:
Lack of Wallpapers and Screen Savers
Not Too Small
A small but not too small phone with a ton of features. Bluetooth, bright color screen, camera and more make this a good phone for everyday use.
Pros:
-clear sound
-good speaker phone
-great keys (they light up and all!)
-voice dial works quite well
Con:
-not too powerful (dropped calls, some weak reception)
-address book to sim is pitiful
-comes with too little ringers and can not download certain ringers at Cingular site (why?!?)
-manual is very, very lite on details
I would have given it a higher rating, but I really am having a problem with dropped calls. Other phones from Cingular in the same "weaker" areas seem to still hold calls.
Pretty Good...
I was very skeptical of purchasing this phone at first. I am a long time Nokia user and never really liked the concept of flip phones.
At first I thought I wanted the Nokia 6620, but because of its size, I later stopped at the 6230. Packed with features and small in size, the 6230 seemed like the obvious choice. The only thing that stopped me from buying it however, was the $140 two-year contract price. So when Cingular rolled around and offered the Moto V551 for $50 I thought Iâd give it a try.
At first, I wasnât sure I liked the phone. I also watched it closely to see if I would get the same problems some other people mentioned (white screen, bad reception, weak battery, etcâ¦)
I have had the phone for a week now and here is what I think:
· The screen is awesome with great resolution and crisp detail
· Speakerphone works great
· Camera has a 640x480 resolution and video is decent for a phone
· The calendar is pretty nice
· Bluetooth connects easy and fast to computer and headset (headset signal is a little weak at what I thought was range distance)
· Battery life is very good (it is going onto its 75th hour and I still have one bar)
· Reception is pretty good, although not as good as my old Nokia
· EDGE works great
· Syncing to computer over Bluetooth works flawless, although I still canât figure out the different phonebook database files
· MP3 support is very convenient
· UI is very mysterious at times (what is calculator doing under Settings?)
· Manual is almost useless
· Using the Phonebook is hardly intuitive, but once you get used to it, itâs fine
· Voice commands work OK
· Quad band should be nice once itâs unlocked
· Software has never frozen so far
I would have given the phone a 5 had it not been for its bad manual, challenging UI, and somewhat weak Bluetooth headset connection. If however I factor the price of the phone, I have to say it is a great buy and definitely something Iâd keep.
Best all around
I have sold this phone to thousands of Cingular customers, and this would be the one phone I would have NO problem saying is the best all around! It seems to get service when other phones don't. It's a Quad-band phone, so it can be used world wide! Bluetooth is becoming very popular very fast, and soon will be a must have feature! If you have Cingular or were thinking of trying it out, give the V551 a risk free 30 day test run! You'll love it! I give it a 5 star rating! That is my personal and professional experience.
