I'm just stating the truth. I have been really impressed with how good the coverage really is here in Pittsburgh.

Now I just need a darn bluetooth headset that works.... 😈

NOOOOO! Don't do it! Well, do it if you want to. The Nokia 6230 really is a much better phone than the 551. There are alot of issues on the 551. There is a virus in some software that makes the battery life suck(for lack of a better word right now), and they still haven't fixed that problem. 40% chance that you will get one with that problem. Also, the screen has a few malfunctions, and the reception is not near a good as the Nokia. Nokia is better than Motorola anyway, but the 551 seems to be almost like the Motorola T720 was, just not up to par. There are some that are satisfied with it though. Just my opinion. Good luck!

i have the phone and its better than my v505 i had with att.
battery could be a bit better but nothing to complain about.
v551 one has everything you need except
it dont have a memory card slot

Like I've said before, if it works for you, that is awesome. It should work. That is what it is supposed to do. I wish that mine had worked. I would have liked it.

If that is the price range you are looking for, I would reccomend the Nokia 6230 before I would advise getting the V551. I say this for many reasons.

1. The battery life on the 6230 is better than that of the V551.
2. The MMC card slot on the 6230. There is no way to expand the memory on the V551 but the 6230 will accept MMC cards up to 1GB.
3. Nokia phones traditionally get much better signal on the Cingular network than Motorolas.
4. The FM radio and MP3 features of the 6230 are well worth it. The V551 does not have either feature.

Also, the Nokia 6230 does have bluetooth functionality. It really has everything you can ask for in a phone, and then some. And it is in a very small package.

In summary, The Nokia 6230 will co...
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Also, I have a co-worker that has the V551 and I always have better signal strength on my 6230 than he does on his V551. And he is charging his 551 by the time we are leaving work every day. My 6230 still has full battery at that point. And I actually use my phone more than he uses his.

Hope this helps.

If you have any more questions, please, feel free to ask.

😁

Tell your coworker to sell thier 551 now, while it is still new to someone who needs a used one. Get the money now, cuz nobody will want them in a few months. Kinda like the 600. FLOP 😛 They would have a good phone if they would FIX THE ISSUES BEOFORE THEY RELEASE THE PHONE!

It's too late to sell it. He has already had it for about 4 or 5 months, and it is beat to hell. He works on the production floor as a supervisor, so his phone gets abused. I am lucky, I get an nice office job. 😉

my best friend has the 6230 and we always compare signal and his is never superior to mine.
ever.
always just about even.

and who really wants a radio on a cell phone? thats retarded.

As I stated, I work with someone that has the V551 and I consistently have better signal and less dropped calls with my 6230 than he does with his v551. This may depend on the market, but I can only state what my experiences are. And since I live in the market that this person is questioning, I feel that I should let them know what my experiences in that market are.

And if you would read the entire discussion, I was simply trying to explain to the person who posted the initial thread what features the 6230 has that are not included on the v551. FM Radio happens to be one of those features. And I just so happen to like having that feature on my phone, that way I don't have to carry 2 devices with me when I go jogging (my phone for peop...
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I live in Pittsburgh too, so its definitely not the market. Its all chance when you go with the v551. You either get the updated version, or not.

RUFF1415 said:
I live in Pittsburgh too, so its definitely not the market. Its all chance when you go with the v551. You either get the updated version, or not.

Thanks everyone, this is all great information...

Is there a way to see if you are getting the updated version on the V551 before you buy it? I know with the V710 on verizon (although I don't like the V710 at all), the older release is V710-SW-1.30.8F and the updated release is V710-SW-1.40.0

Is there a similar release number for the V551 that I could verify?

Thanks again, I really appreciate all the responses and advice!

I don't know that it is 100% software issues with the V551 that cause the battery problems. But, then again, I'm not a technician. There is a way to tell what software version you have, but I'm not sure if they have fixed the problem yet.

In my honest opinion, your best bet is to just stay away from the V551. Doing that will help you avoid any and all potential hassles associated with that phone.

I find the radio to be very convenient when I go to the gym, or when I am on the train to New York, or even for downtime at work. But that's just me.

I completely agree, Jackie. It is great not having to have too many devices tied to me when I am running or working out. 😁

Apparently a lot of people have grudges with the v551. I know 3 different people who use the v551 and not one of them have a bad thing to say about the phone, be it battery life, signal strength, or anything else. Buuuut, heed these people's warnings. Those 3 people might have gotten lucky with the phones they recieved out of the entire batch.

I would really advise being very careful with the Moto V551. I work with a gentleman (just outside of Pittsburgh) that has experienced all of the problems. My 6230 outperforms his v551 in signal strength and battery life each and every day.

I don't know about the RAZR, I have heard that it is very good for signal, but from what I have heard, SE's and Nokia's have the best reception on the Cingular lineup.

My SE z500a it THE BEST phone that I've ever seen/used when it comes to signal strength. The battery life is another story. Sometimes it seems to last me forever and other times it seems like its gone really quick. Its not even an issue of inconsistant use, the battery meter even fluctuates up and down sometimes. But SE is king in the signal department.

I don't have any problems with my 6230. It actually gets better signal than I ever got with Verizon in Pittsburgh and surrounding areas.

I love Cingular here. My friends and some others with Verizon always are saying how wonderful their service is and dissing Cingular, and all I can do is laugh. The funniest part is when the bills come and mine is considerably cheaper.

I've dropped about 4 calls with the Samsung x426 (AT&T) in a years time and have yet to drop a call with the z500a and have had it since January. What are your experiences?

I was with ATT in the late 90's when it was TDMA and it was great. I only left because of poor customer service. From that point until a few weeks ago, I bounced back and forth from Sprint and VZW.

Sprint is absolutely horrible. VZW is really good, however they are nowhere close on the technology of the phones.

In my eyes, Cingular had a lot to live up to, becasue I really was satisfied with VZW as far as Signal is concerned. But I am pleasantly surprised with Cingular. My signal strength actually is better with Cingular than Verizon (I still have my VZW phone, as one is personal use and one is business). My Cingular bill is higher than VZW, though (Cingular charges more for wireless internet, but also gives you more). But not...
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I agree 100%.

I have also had Verizon and Sprint in the past.

About Sprint...I was content with their coverage and signal strength for a good amount of time until I was notified that they were actually removing a local cell site. It totally killed their signal for a huge area outside of Pittsburgh and I simply couldn't handle it anymore. After that, I've never given Sprint a second thought.

Here is my rating for quality in Pittsburgh.

1. Cingular AND Verizon (because there are locations where one is slightly better than the other but both are so exceptional that it doesn't even matter.)
2. Nextel
3. Sprint
4. T-Mobile (I am guessing...I haven't actually used T-Mobile in the city)

I have not used Nextel, so I cannot speak to their rating, however, I would have T-Mobile second. A friend of mine has T-Mobile, and there is only 1 place in the entire western PA area where he does not have signal. It works really well for him.

Good to know. I wasn't sure because I have heard that T-Mobile randomly shuts down their towers for "maitenance" often around here, and it really angers some people I know.

Nextel works wonders around here.

Oh, well....I will keep Cingular. I am very happy with their phone selection and also with thier signal.

My only complaint is that I get static on my phone sometimes and that never happens on my VZW phone. But it doesn't happen that much for it to be a major issue.