Motorola V265 / V266 / V276
Average Ratings
The Review: Motorola v265!
Tryin' to keep it Plain and Simple... Let's Begin...
PRO'S
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+ Good Speaker phone.
+ Voice Dialing is Excellent.
+ Built Strong to Last Long.
+ Signal Strength is Great.
+ Small and Durable.
+ Predictive Text is very helpful.
CON'S
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- Worst Battery created in Mankind.
- Camera is not the Best, but is Alright (When it came out).
- The Date cannot be viewed on either Screen.
- Extremely small internal screen.
- Very little Memory (Also, no memory card slot).
Overall Rating: 2.5/5
I am very happy wih this phone
My NE2 time had come so I set out to get a new phone. Previous phone was Mot V60. Chicago area user. I first got the LG 6100. Nice screen, camera, bells, whistles. However, reception, and that annoying no sound for 1st few seconds of a call killed it. I returned it and got the 265. Love it.
Pros:
- The best reception I have every had. I can get calls at my desk now, and in the train station tunnel!
- Sound is great
- Build seems pretty solid.
- Small size, fits in pockets.
- Looks great, nice style
Cons:
- Camera is not that good, oh well. I have a Kodak for that.
- Screen is small. I am OK with the color quality. Not crisp, but most of the time its closed and in my pocket so who cares.
I also looked at getting the v710, but I could not get myself up to paying the extra $150 for a better screen, camera, limited bluetooth, and some more bells and whistles.
If you need a good quality phone that looks great and will not let you down, this is it.
Great PHONE - I got what I asked for
Pro's:
Audio quality - amazing
Iffy (TBD over time):
build quality - so so, not the tank quality of v60 (but that phone slowly cracked apart on me).
Con:
Camera (if you really care) - not much to speak of (my fist camera phone).
I've been using the v60i for 2+ years and way happy, and the v265 has filled the void in all respects except solid feel (there was no Verizon phone more solid than v60).
I wanted a no frills high quality phone, and its all I got. Sound quality (spoken and ear-piece) are great - much better than my old phone, and the speaker phone is as good as it will get a on a non-office phone. It works very well overall [in a dead silent room people can't tell whether you're on speaker or not]. Reception is top notch, helped by extendable antenna, and I have yet to experience signal breakup.
The camera is lame, partly because the screen can't do much visual justice to anything more than menus. It functions, but they're better "camera" phones out there...this is a phone with a camera. Maybe emailed pics would be better, haven't tried. While the screen is a smaller than other phones, its big/bright enough once you tweak the contrast just a little.
Other details:
- The external screen is perfect, black white is nice looking and functional.
- The ringer's crank (speaker can blast)
- Keypad illumination is a great blue, and is controlled by light sensor to save battery life, very slick. Keypad buttons are great - better than old phone.
- External side buttons on the side of the phone are much harder to push than old v60, which got hit in my pocket too easily, so its a welcomed improvement although you have to accept that there's one sweet spot you have to hit. A related notable improvement over the v60 is there's no sound when you change ringer status using the outside buttons.
It's a keeper
I wanted to replace my aging T730c, which while had never given me a single problem throughout the 122 hours of talk-time logged onto it, I needed more.
I saved up for the V710, but when the VZW store said they were out of it and they were hard to get, I opted for the V265 instead. I heard how poor the camera was and was 'turned off' by the tiny screen, but after getting it I was impressed and those negative images faded out.
The camera works as good as I would expect. I've never used a cameraphone before, but have used various cheap digital cameras and this one works very well. I appreciate the zoom and easy to work brightness control right on the screen.
The colors, while only 65,000, is certainly more than ample for everything. The T730 was something like 4096 and there's a big difference, especially in the weather radars via GiN. It's almost like watching it on a TV, it doesn't matter that the screen size isn't 2.2" I have no trouble seeing it.
There are two things that I don't really like but will learn to live it (I supposed) I can't find a way to display the date anywhere on the phone without going through several menus. I like having the date as well as time on the outside display, or even the inside but don't have it witht his phone. The external LCD has a giant clock on it, and room for the date too with a smaller font size, but oh well.
The other pet peeve is with the ringers. They all suck. I prefer 'plain' and what's plain is aweful. I like 'pachelbel's canon' as a ringer, I like a closest to a real telephone noise as possible, I really liked the T730s 'Answer the phone" ringer that featured voice. I don't get that here. If I could upload a midi or something that'd be fine as well. Don't know how. Certainly it isn't free.
Regardless, the V265 is a pretty good phone. At purchase time, I had considered returning it when the V710s came back in stock, but now have decided against it- mostly due to the additional cost! Go for it!
Great phone
I would like to start by saying that a bought this phone because my Samsung A530 was starting to show sign's of aging. I live in North West New Jersey where Verizon works very well, but it has always been my complaint that the phones that i have had in the past would not work well in my house. However to my surprise this phone now works flawlessly in my house.
Pro's-
Call Quality
Pice(i payed next to nothing like $25 after rebates)
The voice recognition is top notch
The key pad is large( i have some sausage fingers, lol)
The button's on the outside to adjust the ringer
Speakerphone works well too
Con's-
The size of the internal display
The camera sucks but i don't plan on using it
The button's on the outside are kind of tricky
I hope this wasn't too wordy, and this helps make someones decision.
Very Good...Not Great
I have had this phone for two weeks. I stuck with my Startac forever (after buying the T720 and giving it away 30 days later) I was searching for a small Tri-Mode phone. Camera is irrelevant to me.
This phone has excellent signal strength, equal to or greater than the Startac (probably one of the greatest of all time). The small screen is a drawback, especially when compared to LG, Samsung and Audiovox. It seems like Motorola went cheap on that item when they have better screens in other phones. The camera is as bad as everyone says, but don't forget that you can zoom AND adjust Brightness before you shoot. Besides small and Tri-Mode, my other requirement was compatibility with Outlook Calendar. On this point the V265 excels (although functionality is somewhat hampered by that small screen). I bought the Mobile Phone Tools kit from Motorola and the synch process is great. Now I have the primary function of my PDA where I will ALWAYS have it handy.
Pros:
-Customizable menu interface
-Outlook Calendar Synch
-Signal Strength
-Voice Dial (but also see CONS)
-Speaker phone is as good as I would expect from a cell
-Design/good looks
Cons:
-Camera ain't too good
-Voice dial needs two commands to get to name directory
-Backlight comes and goes, even in the middle of calls when punching keys
-Small Screen
-Screen washes out in sunlight, but is you set it with NO wallpaper and highest contrast it is acceptable
-I wish it was smaller! Keep the camera and give me a full feature TINY phone! Motorola makes some amazingly compact stuff for Japan, why can't we have it?
-The standard holster is too big and sticks out too much. I miss my tight and close Startac cradle
V265 A Dissappointment, Especially for Motorola
I've owned a lot of phones over the years, three of them being Motorolas. I've been very happy with all them, but unfortunately this phone is a major exception. I purchased it 6 months ago (April 2005). I had to exchange it within a week because the screen would randomly reset itself back to the "desktop screen" while I was trying to add contacts, take pictures, get , etc. I also had trouble with the charger receptacle connection. I had to position the phone just right in order for the phone to charge correctly. This problem occurred with both the AC charger and the OEM car charger. I went to the Verizon store and was given a brand new phone and AC charger. The screen problem was fixed, but the charger problem still existed. I also noticed that the battery life was terrible. I couldn't get more than an hour of talk time on a full charge, even in 1X mode. Battery performance has deteriorated rapidly over the last couple of months to the point where I have to charge it every night, even if I only use it for 30 minutes a day. On top of that, I'm losing signal strength everywhere I go, sometimes not even getting service in places I used to get great service. We have another phone (Samsung A-650) on the same account and it has not experienced any loss of reception whatsoever. The list of problems I've had with this phone goes on and on. This is without a doubt the worst phone I have ever had and I can't wait until I become eligible to buy a new one at a decent price.
Pros:
Looks/Sounds decent
Cons:
Not durable.
Dull, tiny screen is impossible to see in the sun.
Terrible camera quality.
Bad battery life.
Continues to beep for missed calls even after you check your voicemail.
Occasionally becomes slow in responding to keys pressed (it won't start dialing for 5 seconds after the SEND button is pressed).
Occasionally has to be reset in order to get a decent signal.
Charger receptacle is too loose for a secure connection with the charger.
Eh....it's a phone
Have this phone as an Employee line. Hate it. Phone calls sound like they are coming from a walkie talkie. Picture qualitie is crap. Phone actually experiences lag...if this phone was in a game of counter strike it wouldn't even know it was dead until 5 minutes later. Battery lasts 1 day if i'm lucky. I keep begging management for an upgrade but i don't see that happening anytime soon. Go with they 8910 on alltel's network Better Sound quality and Better picture quality plus it's 40 dollars cheaper at only 19.99
I love this phone!
I have never had a Motorola before (started with an LG vx1 then went to a Samsung a530) this phone blows my previous 2 out of the water in terms of signal quality and call clarity.
My Samsung had wonderful screen, and despite the V265 not having the same color scheme, its just as good, though not as big. I almost went with the vx6100 but was turned off by the lack of signal it had in the mall I was in when side by side with the 265. The camera isnt very good, but its a nice extra feature. I did not want a camera phone and it had no impact either way in my decision. Verizon had said that Radioshack carried a V260 which was the same type of phone just no camera, but after checking it out and seeing how ugly the 260 I had to go with the 265.
I would say the only con besides the camera is the fact there is no date displayed on the caller id. The pros are very numerous, the most important ones being signal strength, the advanced voice command, call clairty and lack of dropped calls.
Very Solid Phone
I think Verizon may have finally found a successor to the Startac. This phone has equal or better reception than my old Startac had when they are side by side. I am very impressed.
It looks like a cross between the v60 and the v710, and its camera acts like it too. This is not a camera phone folks, it just has one built in. I have a friend who has the Nokia 6225 from Sprint and I used to think that camera was bad, this one is probably worse. Though it does have zoom and a decent lighting control.
The pros definitely outweigh the cons as its speakerphone is on par with the Sanyos offered by Sprint, the reception is fantastic and its user interface is excellent. I think this phone will appeal to first time users and long time phone users alike. It's appearance is very appealing as well as its small but sharp color screen. I could go on and on with the pros but I think you get the point.
Its cons are very overlook able unless you want a good camera. The camera quality is terrible as well as the way the pictures are stored. The zoom is good but also kills what quality it has on its main setting. Also no flash, but why have a flash on a bad camera?
Bottom line, get this phone if you want a great phone that works. Do not get it if you plan on using the camera ahole lot. I havent had a single dropped call and think I am satisfied finally giving up the Startac.
