Motorola V551 / V330 / V547 / V555 / V557
Average Ratings
great phone
bought the phone outright. love the phone, when you first unpackage it it can be a little cumbersome to figure out all of the variety of features this fine piece of technology has to offer. but once you get the hang of it you will love it too.
Moto V551 Right for me, and right for you too
Ok so this phone is amazing. I just switched from Verizon to Cingular and am so happy i did. This has got to be the best phone i have ever owned.
---
Pros-
---
Speakerphone
Price
Bluetooth
Video
Speed
Look
Zoom
Buttons
Motomixer(ringtone composer)
I Haven't even looked at the rest of the phone but there are minor things that bug me:
---
Cons-
---
Adress Book Is strange
Speed dial automatically changes to 1
Security in Settings is strange
Overall i highly reccomend this phone, its a steal.
Everything Relative
Most of the reviews I've seen so far in general don't seem to represent my personal viewpoint, so I thought I'd take the time to write a few quick notes about the v551.
First off, something that will speak volumes: I'm upgrading from the P.O.S. Sony/Ericsson T226 free phone from AT&T. It actually wasn't a horrible phone, but being a straight-bar phone rather than flip, I was constantly keeping the lock on to keep from dialing numbers accidentally with the phone in my pocket.
Anyway, I bought the phone straight up to avoid contract agreements and popped my SIM right into the v551 and was up and running in no time.
I used to use only motorolas in the late 90's, but eventually switched to the generic junk they give you for free because I didn't need the phone for business any longer. I always swore, however, that I'd end up getting a good Motorola again some day. Unfortunately, I started reading reviews staying that Motorola's build quality has fallen apart some over the years.
Luckily, with my v551, I have to say that build quality is excellent. No problems whatsoever. I wanted a phone with decent connectivity and build quality and RF quality - I don't care about stupid gimmickry like camera junk. Unfortunately, I found that getting a phone without a camera meant giving up all of the decent features (NOTE: Won't someone produce a phone as good as the v551 without a camera for $50-75 less?)
Anyway, I was blown away at how far phones have come. I'm %90 weighted toward functionality, with only %10 reserved for gimmicks, and I'm super happy with the v551. VERY customizable - set all of the menus up as you'd like. GOOD batter life despite some reports. Just got off a 3 hour (yeah, 180 effin minutes) phone call with the parents and i'm at 4 of 6 bars still. Bells and whistles? I can't say. Strong signal and custom EVERYTHING? Fantastic.
I highly recommend this one. Good RF, customizable, decent battery, quality build, generally decent aesthetics.
-c
V551
Pros: The phone looks and works great by itself.
Cons: The bluetooth connection has issues I have a Jabra 250 wireless headset and it drops the connection all of the time, even when the phone is attached to me. I purchased the 98655 Bluetooth Wireless Connectivity Kit with the latest 3.0 software available from Motorola and my computer still can't find it. In other words don't waist your money. The fact that it is a video phone is a joke. The quality is as terrible as the pictures it takes.
WOW
This phone is great.. ok ill go stright to it
Cons:(very minor stuff)
-The phone is fairly big
-The volume is not too loud..only up to seven(it is loud enough to hear in normal environment but louder woud be nice)
-The memory space is not big enough( i like to put music in mine and already takes more than half with one song)
PROS!:The sound is great
-the speaker phone is outstanding
-my signal is great everywhere
-easy to navagate around the phone
-video is fun to play with
-vivid pictures for VGA
-EDGE is a huge plus
-fun themes
-sleek design
-the rubber shell is handy, makes it a little more duable
-very solid phone
-its like the Razor V3 but a way better price!
-bluetooh works above par(love bluetooh!)
what more can i say! its a great phone and the pros blow away the cons! if your thinking about getin it then get it!
Love it!
I would rate this phone a 5 but the user manual stinks. I am usually good at figuring out techincal "stuff", but this phone isn't so user friendly. Other than that, I love this phone! The outside is durable. The phone feels sturdy, unlike the samsung x427 I had.
In my opinion, you get a phone to use as a phone. Not as a camera or for internet. Many of you are complaining about the internet being slow (remember it is a phone!) maybe you should get a sidekick or better yet a PC. Those of you who think the video camera is "choppy" or the photo quality is poor, you should get a digital camera. The camera works great for quick photos on the go.
I wish that the phone had come with more ringtones, but i can download more.
I hope I continue to find good things about this phone!
The Good, the Bad & the Ugly
I switched from a Nokia 8265 using digital service through ATTWS to the Motorola V551 using GSM service through Cingular. At this time, I'm not so sure it was the right move. I don't blame this on the phone. Instead, I believe it is the GSM service. The digital service was always clear & dependable, but the GSM signal is distorted and unreliable about 50% of the time when trying to conduct business over the phone. By the way, this is my second V551 due to a malfunction in the "9" key on the previous phone. When pressed once, it would "999". This was annoying since most of the calls in this area start with a "9". Anyway, here are a few pros & cons.
PROS:
-The larger size of the keypad is a nice touch.
-4x zoom feature on camera has been useful.
-The textured shell has a good feel and helps to keep phone from sliding around in vehicle or falling out of shirt pocket.
-The clock on outer screen is easy to read.
-Great high volume levels on ring tones & speaker phone.
-Vibration setting will get your attention.
-Speaker phone feature is very handy when on hold or retreiving voice mail while taking notes.
CONS:
-Phone is thicker than I'm used to.
-Menus are not as user friendly as the Noikia.
-No quick menu access for "missed calls"
-Button on side of phone is too easy to hit while removing phone from pants pockets.
-Entering symbols in address book is tiresome since they are not all displayed at once on screen.
-Speaker crackles like a cheap transister radio if using highest volume on speaker phone setting.
BETTER REPLACEMENT
I have to admit at first I wasn't really happy with picking up this phone. I purchased the v3 razor phone..and after a week of owning it I dropped and broke it. Well since there is no insurance on that phone, I had to end up gettin the v551. I was highly upset going from a Maybach to a BMW , but I am really happy with this phone. The phone is just a cheaper/ more sturdy version of the v3 razor phone...So to all those that are like me and just get a phone because its the newest thing out..think before you do on this one..get the V551 and save yourself some money...
Motorola V551 Good, but there are some problems...
If it were not for the poorly written, useless manual, and a few issues, I'd give this phone 5 stars. That being said, so far it's a very good phone, packed with many features! And not "disposable" as many new wireless phones are. I wanted a durable, easy-to-dial layout with good sound quality of the V551 sold me!
Unfortunatly though made, the user Motorola V551 interface is NOT very "user" friendly compared to a Nokia or Kyocera. But for the core phone/voice mail features I'm finding my way. No thanks to the awful, incomplete manual!
The sound quality is superb over other "tinny" sounding minatures. The ring/ vibrate tones are good, though more business sounding rings are preferred for the adult business crowd : ) The blue texture is very nice -- I slapped a case on it anyway, to preserve the finish and have a saftey strap that I like.
I have fairly large fingers and did not want the hassle of hard-to-dial "dainty" keypads. This is one of the wider flip-phone models. It's fairly easy to dial, even with gloves on. Dialing with gloves on? Yes! One does find the need to dial with gloves on in colder regions!! : )
As a flip-style phone, I like the security of knowing it's off when I close it. The weight and bulk some complain about is what attracted me to the phone. The Moto V551 feels substantial, and when opened it feels phone-like and cradles my face well. The speaker phone is excellent and I will try out the blue-tooth capabilities soon.
The one phone number per name is unfortunate - a hiearchical phone book is perferred. I am unclear on the SIM vs. Phone storage options reg. contacts and the manual is useless in clarification.
For my basic phone needs I am very satified with the Motorola V551. And it's nice to know I have more "advanced" features/options for future use as I need them.
Good phone
Okay, I am coming from Verizon and an LG 4400 to Cingular and this phone.
I love the phone. I wasn't sure I would at first, because it wasn't what I wanted, but overall I do.
PROS:
1. Most of the phone is customizable to suit me.
2. Bluetooth is a good thing and works nicely with my Mac.
3. MIDI and MP3 ringtones. I use ringtones to determine who is calling me and whether I want to bother finding the phone to answer it. Being able to upload more ringtones is good.
4. Call quality is great.
CONS:
1. The button shortcuts (web button and the toggle button) are not customizable as far as I can tell.
2. Camera. I admit, this is a personal preference, but I don't like them, and I'm finding more and more situations where I can't have a camera phone.
3. Ringtones. I wish it had come with more ringtones standard.
4. Address book. The address book is not intuitive, and needs to be re-worked to make it view based on the contact, not the numbers. (In other words, I don't want a seperate entry for each number.) However, there seems to be an work-around to that, that may work for what I want.
Overall, I highly recommend the phone. 4 out of 5 stars for me is just an indication that it is not "perfect" for me, however, no phone I found is.
