Motorola V180 / V186 / V188
Average Ratings
Reliable, and great battery life!
Pros: Long battery life, nice clear display, lightweight, easy to use.
Cons: None really.
So far, this seems to be an excellent phone. It's reception is not as good as my LG L1150 that I used to have, but this one has a MUCH better battery life. I can go 2 days with it on 1 bar, which includes me talking on it, too. The display is very clear, it's very lightweight, and simple to use.
Ok phone
Its an ok phone for the price. It has a junky display It is like half the size of my V600s. It is easy to use though. It has like 4 screen savers/wallpapers. The games are ok. If you are looking for a budget phone buy it if not dont.
Ok while it worked
It's performance the first week was acceptable. Since then it has been downhill. Just yesterday the display went haywire making the phonebook and other features useless.
V180 - Decent phone for the average user
I work for a reseler of Cingular service here in Eastern Tennessee, and as such I have had quite a bit of experience with this phone and yes, this is the phone that I carry at the moment.
Pros:
Good speakerphone
Changeable faceplates
Easy to find accessories (aftermarket)
USB Connectivity for data use or synch
Reception *usually* above average
Cons:
Phone just feels cheap
Below average speaker quality
Screen fails quity often
1 in 10 has horrid reception with no reason
Bottom attaching earpiece and charger stinks
Speaker on back of phone
Overall:
Speakerphone 7/10
Call Quality 6.5/10
Reception 7/10
Durability 4/10
"feel" 2/10
Features 7/10
Has Potential But . . .
PROS:
--Speakerphone
--Nice display
--Nice Moto UI and menus
--Light and small
--I liked the design and black color.
CONS:
--First one's mic didn't work, so had to get another one; inconsistent quality.
--Reception was only adequate.
A nice entry-level phone, but Motorola seems to be having QA/QC issues with this and other models. Hopefully they'll get back to the drawing board and fix the issues.
V188
When I first got my cell I had the basic nokia, and I loved that thing. Recently I switched carriers and now have the V188. I like the service, but I really wish it had a camera. I like the simpleness of the phone, and I realize the V220 has a camera, but my carrier doesn't offer that phone, and I hate to buy another unlocked device. I like the look, but I do wish it came in different colors. I miss the face plates on my nokia. I love the speaker phone, and the ring tones are awesome.
I like this phone
I am pretty happy with this phone, within the limits of the existing technology here in rural Alabama. The phone is GSM only, which limits it, as most of the area is covered by TDMA. Cingular should have carried the GAIT phones for another year as they upgrade the existing equipment to GSM only. You know, we rural people are always thought of last. Nevertheless, this phone has a lot features which make it much more than an entry level phone. Personally, I don't like kiddy ring tones, I want my phone to sound like a phone. This one will do either. I also don't like photo displays, and I can cut them off on this phone. I also don't want a phone to browse the web, so I put shortcuts over the web browser crap, and I am happy. The phone sound quality is excellent. Most people comment that I sound as if I am on a land line phone. I love the speaker phone, especially when driving. However, it could be a little louder and a little clearer, but it is OK.
Pros:
1. Only GSM, should be available as a GAIT phone
2. Speaker phone is a nice touch
3. Size and ease of use
4. Doesn't have a damned camera, and I am glad. I cannot have a camera phone at work, and this is the best non-camera flip phone I have found. More companies are outlawing camera phones, so I hope the manufacturers will make more flip phones available without them.
Cons:
1. Each time I plug my phone (3rd V180 I've tried, too) into the charger, it reverts back to the default ring tone. Never fails. I just simply wait till it beeps immediately after plugging it into the charger, and reset the ring tone to vibrate and loud. It is the only real problem I've had with the phone - and all 3 I tried did the same thing, which Cingular and Motorola say no one has complained of - yet!
2. Web crap. I have a computer, don't need this junk on a cell phone.
3. Motorola doesn't have missed calls log. They need to start incorporating one in their phones.
Good Little Phone
I have been using this phone for about two months or so on T-Mobile's network. I have been very happy with the results. The battery life is good. The only downside to this phone that I have found is that the car cord and the AC charger are not compatiable with other Motoola phones. I really like the hi fi ring tones from T-Mobile.
No external antenna for this phone
My phone has been ringing off the hook with V180 owners looking to hook up an external antenna to this phone to improve their signal quality. Very frustrating. Motorola did not design an external antenna port into this phone so, unlike most other phones, there is no way to hook it up to an external antenna. A car kit with an external antenna connection? Nope. The "car kit" does not have this feature.
Problems with the v188
First of all I was looking for a small phone to carry when i did not want to carry my much bigger Ipaq, I tried this phone for a grand total of 4 hours and took it back, first of all let me say that I wasnt looking for the best but after having it for a few hours I found the phone to have just too many problems.First of all the best part of the phone was probably the speakerphone,I'm listing the Pros and cons below.
Pros, Speakerphone volume seemed decent, weight was decent.
Cons.
Talking to other people on the V188, everyone said my voice was quite low with a problem hearing me at times, LOW OUTGOING VOLUME.
Screen was terrible, Washed out, hard to see.Very dull.STN screen
Keys were annoying to use, hard to push.
Case seemed very cheap.
Voice dialing was not good as it had a hard time hearing the name you would say(probably due again to something being wrong with the voice volume .
Menus were just NOT easy.
So I returned the phone, too bad Motorola seems to throw these cheap phones out with not much thought of quality.I know they make better phones.
