Motorola V551 / V330 / V547 / V555 / V557
Average Ratings
bluetooth disables mp3 decoder
Phone works great, good affordable video phone.
I had this phone for 3 weeks already and I still miss my T616. I connect my phone to the laptop all the time and the bluetooth is nothing like my old T616, first of all, I have to repair the connection all the time. Also, for some unknown reason the mp3 decoder stop working if your using a bluetooth earpiece. This means that if you have selected an mp3 ringtone and are using the BT earpiece the phone won't play the ringtone and will default to a standard one. This is a HUGE BUG for me since one of the features I like about motorola is the standard mp3 capability. Also if the phone is in idle for too long, the bluetooth won't work at all, you will literally need to reset the phone so it works. Again, not a bad phone but too many bugs for me.
Nice phone but terrible battery
I've had this phone for about two weeks now on the Cingular network. I've got a motorola bluetooth wireless headset to go with it. I love the phone's features and the downloadable ringtones/wall paper and the wireless headset works great. The only drawback is the poor battery life. I have to charge the phone every 24-36 hours and that's only making a couple of short calls a day. I've tried buying a new battery from Cingular but it's the same story. I used to own a V60i which could go 4-5 days without charging so I'm a little disappointed in this new phone.
Poorly designed phone
Got this phone about three weeks ago with a new 2 year service from Cingular in New York City.
I have just returned it to Cingular (exchanged for a Nokia 6230).
First the bad news (CONS)
1) Incomprehensible menus: trying to change settings on this phone is like pulling teeth. Menu items are in strange non-intuitive places.
2) Infuriating delay when entering numbers while connected to a call. For some reason the phone doesn't let you type in numbers quickly when connected. Using the phone with any kind of calling card, voice mail service, etc, is an excercise in frustration.
3) Cartoonish color/skin schemes. There is nothing simple, clean or easy to read about the graphic interface selections.
4) Ring/Vibe: the rings are too quiet and the vibe isn't strong enough to make it through a tough pair of jeans - much weaker than any phone I've owned.
5) Poor camera menus: saving/taking photos is a pain with more counterintuitive menu items.
6) Short battery life
PROS:
1) Good bluetooth connection with my Mac
2) Speakerphone is really loud
My advice: there are a lot of phones with far more user-friendliness than this one.
You can do better
I have cingular service in the NY. long island area, had att before it's OK. Got the phone for $50.00 plus a $50.00 rebate.Love the looks and feel of the phone it's solid. Had nokia phones in the past i wanted a flip phone this time, what a mistake.As for the pros: it's solid, rubber looks good. Cons: speaker phone sounds cheap, like it has a cracked speaker. Hard to download ring tones, navigating is difficult. Poor manual. Battery life is a joke, two days and it needs to be charged and i hardly talk on it, i charged my nokia once a week. To bad nokia doesn't make a great looking flip phone like Motorola.
Great Phone
This is a super phone - so far. I really can't understand all the complaints I have read from users about the menu interface. To me it is as intuitive as possible. Maybe I just haven't tried lots of other phones, but, to me, the menus on this phone are easy to navigate and not at all confusing.
I like the call clarity, the great speakerphone, and the super color display. It would have been nice if they could have provided at least one full game, though (all they provide is a short demo of one game).
My wife and I both have the V551 (and they are both "AA" phones) - so I hope we don't have any issues with locking-up or white-screens. So far neither of us have had this.
Battery life, while ok, could have been longer.
So far I am quite pleased.
Feature Packed Phone Low Signal Strength
Pros: Lots of nice features. Crisp clear display.
Cons:
Small outside display.
Low signal strength inside my home and office building.
I am using the phone with Cingular service in the Houston, TX metroplex. I work from a home office. Whenever I am home I have little to no bars at all. My daughter has an LG C1300 which is also Cingular. It has perfect reception anywhere in my home. The same scenario applies inside the office building of my best client.
I am seriously considering returning the phone for an LG 1400.
V551 is off the hook!
I bought this phone from Cingular today and so far, I love it. This is the best Motorola phone that I have ever used.
Pros:
Nice Size
Great Display
Good Reception
Great Speakerphone (my favorite)
The only con about this phone is.. do they have faceplates for this phone, if so please let me know. I have looked all over the internet looking for faceplates to this phone.
Great for the $$$
This phone is an excellent buy if you are looking for a phone that offers advanced features, but not a steep price.
Pros:
Call quality
Screen quality (excellent 65k, Motorola has one of the best.)
EDGE works great and allows very quick WAP access.
Java is better than average, but not great.
Speaker is also better than Sony, LG, Sanyo, Nokia. The only competition includes Samsung.
You can record more than 15 seconds of video, but you are unable to send it via MMS. Great feature not offered by many Samsung and Sanyo phones.
Reception and signal quality is better than my LG L1200 and L1400.
Cons:
Occasional dropped calls.
Lacks a color display on the outside.
One button access to the internet can be annoying if you have large fingers.
Motorola's menu interface is somewhat "slow."
Videos are not great but average for a VGA.
Overall great cell phone for the price, and I do prefer this phone over all my other phones (LG L1400, LG L1200, Samsung e317, Motorola V400, Motorola V6000
All that glitters isn't gold
I just switched to Cingular in the Ft. Lauderdale, FL area and got the V551. Now, that the initial period of marvel at this triumph of technology is over, here is my humble opinion:
* Nice screen size, good color and definition. The option to add and customize onscreen icons is well conceived and helpful. Little choice of wallpapers and screensavers but it's forgivable. A bigger problem is the fact that the screen is virtually invisible and thus useless and annoying in bright sunlight - not a good thing in the "Sunshine State".
* The camera and video are nicely done. Easy to use and adjust. Good clarity and color.
* Software and interface - here we start getting into troubles. I do recommend reading the user manual in its entirety as I have, even if you are technically inclined. You will eventually figure out how everything works but you'll need patience. The menus are a little tedious and counter-intuitive. You will find yourself looking at the screen and fumbling with the buttons a lot. Something as simple as switching between calls when you have a call waiting, can test your dexterity. The software is a little sluggish and reaction times seem to vary depending on "moods".
* The phonebook is good. It supports multiple numbers per listing and is easy to scroll through and edit.
* Speakerphone volume and clarity are good but I really wish they had included a dedicated external button to activate it. Voice command works OK as long as there's not too much background noise.
* RECEPTION. Here I really have to express my disappointment. Outdoor reception is good but indoor reception is terrible. I'm not sure if it's the phone or Cingular but I think it's the phone. Very weak, unreliable signal inside buildings.
I think I'm being as objective as possible in this review. Overall, once you get over the hype and other cool but otherwise less useful features of the phone, it's just an "OK" phone, nothing more. Worth $150.
The v551 works great with Cingular
I'm using the Motorola v551 on Cingular and this phone works great. The in-call reception is outstanding and calls are very clear. The EDGE high speed data is a must-have if you use MEdia service, it works three times faster than GPRS, and this phone proves it. Video recording is short, like most carriers, 15 seconds, but the quality is fairly decent for a phone.
It's no wonder that Cingular has this model as one of their exclusive handsets. It's price is good, software works smooth, EDGE high speed data, and a nice sized flip phone. The only reason this one falls very short of a 5 rating...the outer display is not color. This is only beginning in the way of phone offerings from Cingular, the best is yet to come...and what a wonderful start with the v551.
