Motorola E815 / E816 Hollywood
Phone Scoop Review
Oct 11, 2005 by Eric Lin
In-depth review of Motorola's first EV-DO phone for North America, the E815 for Verizon. read review ›
User Reviews
Average Ratings
Great phone great features...
I got the phone today and I am impressed by it. Have been playing with it all day. I had the LG VX7000 and the reception was weak with that and I am very impressed but the E815's reception. Voice sounds clear and the ringers are mighty loud. The overall look of the phone is sleek. I love the bright big screen and I think navigating around the menus is fairly easy. Tried out VCast too seemed pretty cool. Picture quality is better than the LG Vx7000 but this is a 1.3 megapixel compared to the VX7000 camera. To comment on the size of the phone I think it is good. just like the vx7000. Great for me as I have big hands and I've had some smaller phones which just got annoying. The one bad thing about the phone is the Vibration mode. I put the phone on the table and called it to see if it would move around and it didn't even do that. Very weak and poor vibrate option. Overall love the phone and so far so good. Would recommend it to anyone.
PROS:
- Reception
- Size of phone is good
- Nice styling SLEEK design
- Loud ringtones
- Camera is crisp
- Keypad is nice
CONS:
- Vibration mode - Can't feel it at all
- Charger. (I think I will invest in a desktop charger, can't stand the little end they have to plug into phone)
- No accessories at the moment in the stores (belt holster)
Decent Update to the V710
The title doesn't really express how much I love this phone, though I'm so glad I waited for this instead of getting a V710 last year. And it's cheaper, I got the phone and HS850 blue-tooth headset for less than a V710 was when it first came out.
I've had multiple V60's over the years since the original V60c I got when it was ~$600 new and I bought a slightly used one off eBay for $300 and thought I made out. Motorola won me over, especially since iTap rocks the socks off T9 anyday and I do a fair share of smsing.
The E815 is anything and everything you could ask for in a phone, camera seems quite nice though I haven't really downloaded any pics off the phone at full-res as I don't have a transflash card yet. The keypad is great, nice, big buttons that glow a nice shade of blue and you don't see the back-light between the keys like on the V710 which I always thought made it look cheap. Battery-life seems good, things like EV-DO seem to drain it down a bit, but even playing around with it all day it has 4 of 6 dots left on the battery meter.
iTap is much-improved since the V60, it now actually learns words after you type them out once, and also fills in the end of a word as you type it so you can just hit up and it'll fill in the rest of a long word for you without you having to tap it out. The new voice-dialing is cool too.
Pros:
-Improved keypad
-Good build quality, not metal like my V60, but solid-feeling and the all-silver look is better in person, I like it
-Nice screen
-Relatively cheap
-Blue-tooth!
Cons:
-No analogue if you need/want that
-EV-DO a waste of money as far as I see it for little streaming video clips
-Small Get-It-Now games selection at the moment cuz I think the system doesn't recognize the phone yet and so assumes the phone can't play the games, so no Tetris yet :-(
Extremely Happy!
We purchased two E815s in July, after researching the all the available models. We were using ancient Nokias, so these were quite an upgrade.
We have very pleased with these phones. Neither my husband nor I have had any problems with the phones.
Bluetooth was a big factor in our purchase. Although we had never used it before, we knew we wanted to have the wireless headsets. (We use the Cardio Scala 500 with no problems.) The headsets are great, but we wish that Verizon didn't choke the other Bluetooth capabilities.
We are pretty much basic cell phone users. We use them as phones...
I did have the VCast free for a month. I just didn't get the point of it. I wish that Verizon had given us some actual instructions or at least descriptions of the service. I may have enjoyed it more.
If you want to use the phone as an mp3 player, the sound is not too bad.
Pros - Great reception, big, bright screen, picture IDs, TransFlash slot.
Cons - Verizon restrictions.
Time will tell
Only have the phone a few days - was VERY hesitant about Motorola - have owned LGs and Samsungs (my personal favorite) for years and Motorola - once the champ - has gone way downhill in recent years. The reviews here and otherwise made me take the plunge. The phone has been very fun to play with- I'm not a fan of the phonebook setup - Samsung & LG make this simple - but visually the contact list is crisp and easy to read. Love that the phone is bigger and hence, easier to dial and navigate. Ringers are LOUD and not as stupid as Samsungs (which are so quiet and strange they should just leave them off - even just a simple bell is quiet). Call clarity and camera are superb. Gets a signal anywhere. Haven't really had to charge yet but to see the same old Motorola charger was disconcerting. Why no belt clip? Feels solid and well-made. I'm hoping I made the right decision.
Awesome
I don't have many complaints about this phone at all. I just joined with verizon and i was so glad to hear that they had a new Motorola phone. I had the v300 with T-mobile and loved it, but i needed a company with better service. So i switched to verizon. I couldn't have asked for a better phone.
Pros:
-It has a large screen
-Has all the features needed
blue tooth, speaker phone, video, camera, v-cast, plus everything else
-Voice command is very cool say something and it pretty much does it for you.
-Sleek design
-Bright colors on the inside screen
-Nice ring tones (there aren't many but what's there is ok)
-Responsive buttons
-and more
Cons:
-Vibration isn't the best
-Ring tones could be louder
-Sucks the energy like crazy i have to charge it every night
The greatest combination ever; the best phone with the best service
buggy software
I recently changed carriers and upgraded my phone to the Motorola E851 and the 1st 2 weeks were great. However, most recently the phone has been acting up in the weirdest way. 1st the phone ringer style randomly changes from silent to high or vibe to low (imagine being in a meeting with phone set silent and the thing all of a sudden rings on high) #@?!
2nd the Head Set jack does not seem to work fine. I have tried 3 different types of head sets - either too low or automatically engages the voice command option.
The good news is that Verizon has agreed to replace it as after 2 software updates .. the bugs still existed. Overall a very nice phone ... just a bit complicated for me.
Good phone, but has some issues.
Pros:
Clear sound
Good screen
Expandable memory
Good reception
Pretty good camera
Good battery life
Cons:
Antenna feels kinda flimsy
Vcast seems to eat up memory for even bothering to access it (w/o saving videos), it's not too bad, but it's noticeable.
Very weak vibration
External speaker could be in a better place
Overall, it's a nice phone without a lot of problems, but a couple of the problems (Vcast eating up memory, weak vibration) are fairly irritating, though not so bad that they make the phone worthless.
Useful Update to V710
Having come from a V710, which I found to be a reliable and steady performer overall, the E815 presents a very nice upgrade to the V710. I actually had held hope the E815 could be manipulated into an EV-DO modem for my HP iPAQ for Bluetooth DUN, which for EV-DO speed hasn't panned out, but I tip my hat and want to thank BLubak1 for pointing out how activate the supposedly disabled Bluetooth DUN feature. I have no doubt that one day hacks will show up for enablement of this. I am cruising at 1xRTT speeds (clocked on 2WIRE.com) same as my V710, but this phone's other improved features and quality have convinced me that this was indeed an excellent upgrade.
Pros:
Excellent digital reception and voice call quality in Puget Sound region of Washington on Verizon Wireless;
Improved camera quality and options for stills, about the same for video quality compared to V710;
Ergonomics are similar to V710 in weight and size, but the tactile response in the keys are improved;
Faster processor impresses when running most applications;
VCast is a bit pricey and gimmicky, but I must admit I use it, I do like it and it does turn heads;
Background can be changed on external screen, not possible on V710;
Voice commands software are a bit improved;
A digital clock shows on the external screen when the phone goes to stand-by mode;
Mobile web browser is very fast;
Compatibility with other Moto products (chargers, USB cable, V710 holster, etc.);
Neutral:
Same screens (still very clear, big, and bright internal screen, not complaining, just not noticeably improved over V710);
Same menus and layout, just ok, not great;
Speakerphone clarity and volume still very good, earpiece volume too, no change;
Cons:
Dropping analog capability (understandable since Verizon is all-digital in 2007);
Weaker vibration mode than already weak V710;
VCast and faster processor are battery hogs;
Keypad light better (imo) on V710
Conclusion:
I'm keeping it and enjoying!
Lovin it
I love this phone. I didn't really want to write a review, but I thought that i read through all of them to get useful info so I should also tell people what I think.
I had the v710 for about a month and then I decided that I wanted this phone instead. I think this phone is great.
pros
build quality IS better than the v710
obeymoto is very good
I think the camera is really good. I just took some pictures in the dark
speaker phone is nice
I like the color
Battery is Supurb
Cons
echo in phone sometimes
That's all I can really think of. I like the phone a lot. I was thinking of exchanging the phone for the 8100, but have changed my mind and will be keeping it.
e815-GREAT PHONE
The e815 really exceeded my expectaions, i expected it to be a slight upgrade from the v710 which my mom got a year ago and was a total let down. I was debating wether to get the new LG or the e815, but im glad i made the decision to get this phone, its GREAT. When i got it i was impressed by the software look of the phone, which is much better than the v710, the phone is very costumizable. I was also impressed by the much better camera than the v710, with this phone you can actually take pictures inside! i have no problems with the outside screen, i think its great, and if you're complaining about not being able to see the time when the light is off and the phone is closed, you probably have eye problems, unless you are trying to read it in direct sunlight. The phone is a little bulky at first, but nothing you can't get used to. I'm very picky about phone size, but i find it to be fine for me, and you tend to not mind it after a little while. i had the samsung a670 which is small before this phone. If you're into all the cool phone features you'll love this phone, the vcast is amazing, the mp3 player is great, the camera is great, bluetooth is very good exept for the fact that verizon crippled it. if you get this phone, it is a must to buy the original motorola pouch ONLINE, and the bluetooth accesories, DO NOT get the holster in verizon, its expensive and it's not original.
PROS:
-GREAT RECEPTION
-GREAT CAMERA
-MUCH BETTER KEYPAD THAN THE V710
-GREAT EARPIECE VOLUME
-GREAT BIG SCREEN
-NICE WALLPAPERS
-LOTS OF MEMORY SPACE
-NICE EASY TO USE APPEALING SOFTWARE
-GREAT BATTERY LIFE FOR HAVING A BIG COLOR SCREEN
-GREAT MP3 AND VCAST (NEW YORK AREA)
-YOU CAN ACTUALLY SEE THE TIME WHEN ITS ON STAND BY ON TEH OUTSIDE SCREEN UNLIKE THE V710
-GREAT SPEAKERPHONE!
CONS:
-A LITTLE BULKY, NOTHING TO WORRY ABOUT
-SOFTWARE FREEZES RARELY
-CRIPPLED SOFTWARE(VERIZON'S FAULT)
-RINGTONES ARE SO SO (BETTER THAN V710), BUT THERE'S ALWAYS GETITNOW!= )
