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
Best VZW phone out
Coming from a Samsung a670 and a Kyocera Koi, this phone is remarkable.
Pros:
-Big, nice looking screen
-Call quality and reception are top notch
-Speakerphone is loud and clear
-Messaging/keyboard are easy/feels good
-Battery life is outstanding
-Transflash card is extremely handy
-MP3 player sounds great
-Camera is fairly decent for a phone
Also, with the TF card, you don't have to pay to get pictures off the phone, which is nice.
Haven't found any cons yet.
Definitely check out this phone. It's the most bang for the buck VZW has.
Good phone but still some bugs
I have had about four of these phones b/c they all keep having the same problem, it keeps freezing up and dropping everything that im doing. As a phone goes its awesome, great reception, hardly ever drop a call, people sound very clear on the phone, bluetooth has an echo every time i use it but overall works ok. Just pray that you never have to go into a store they're useless. They give you the run around and try to tell you this and that about the phone, most of which isn't true or is irrelevant. How do I know this?? I work for Verizon Wireless in their call center and the stores are retarded and can't help you at all.
Great
PROs
LOUD ringer, at last
E815 now lets you to off load your pics on Trans-card 256Kb without any mods to the phone ! just use win explorer Verizon listen for a change because of all the returns of the V710
Camera is better than average, just set it to 1280x1024 approx 300Kb each a 256Kb card is enough, I have shown pics the phone took but on the computer they couldnât believe it came from phone donât judge them on the phone display, its day & night difference
Contact names fly by
Charging, antenna connections are the same Iâve read someone complained about connections ends he hopes they change them soon ? huh ? go back to the old days of every 2 yrs upgrading one would have to buy new car/desktop charger every time come on get real.
Trouble with the battery life, a tip, stop using V-Cast so much, it eats battery life get your news, weather, sports, etc from somewhere else remember this its first ready a cell phone anyway too much per month $15, I donât do e-mail on a phone period. I use text messages but no web surfing I use a laptop for that, if Verizon changes the pricing for V-Cast for minute use or flat fee of 3 or $5 a month for news/weather it would be worth it
Bluetooth, I really donât care about it donât use it, if âtheyâcan hack it, âthey will.â
Great Speaker phone sounds great and a extra, set it on speaker then scroll down your contact phone list while driving, a voice goes through the list try adding an adjective at the end of the first name very funny
E815 has the best EARS I canât find a weak area, I havenât had a drop-call since well I canât remember, âno-signalâ never happen with my old T720 or the E815
If you drive a lot use a roof top $20 antenna keep the RF out of your head ! I donât really worry about it but remember when coffee, wine was bad for you ? I like clam-shell design (shielding) way better than straight-up style.
Itâs one hell of a phone, would buy the E815 again ? faster than you can say LG !!
CONs: None I care about
Area S/E PA
Awesome Phone
Phone works great...better than the V710. Camera still same quality...but hey, it's a phone. Syncs up awesome with my Apple PowerBook's iCal/Address Book! VCAST works great, but...VCAST SUCKS!!! Why don't they just have streaming TV - Seriously, two minute clips are ridiculous! As Verizon customers our phone choices over GSM phones are really limited, but in my opinion this is the coolest lookwise and functions are great too! No phone is perfect and you'll always find something wrong, but there are a lot of rights with this model.
Not Too Shabby
First of all I just have to say WOW to this phone. The style, the vibrant colors, and the buttons are all awesome. Ive been messing with my vx7000 for a long time now and i've been waiting for a adequate upgrade. the vx8000 seemed too big and i didnt like the blueness of the 8100. v710 too many problems, so i decided wit the e815 and glad i did.
Pros:
Vibrant Color
Strong Build
Loooooooooong Battery Life
Easy Buttons and User Friendly
Camera is nice
Voice Clarity
Reception..I Have Full Service EVERYWHERE
Cons:
Extendable Antenna, i hate those
Kinda bigger than a cell phone should be
Closed outta internet and it kinda froze/glitched on me
Excellent Phone
I gotta say this phone is excellent. I use to have an lg 4400 and just upgraded. As far as reception its much better than the lg 4400. I haven't had one dropped called yet where i usually get dropped calls while inside my dorm...Concrete block. Everything is on point with the phone. Can't ask for anything better except for minute details.
Pros
Reception
Call clarity
Screen
Picture Quality
Bluetooth
Can actually speak on the phone while going 90 mph with the windows down. Not lying at all.
Battery Life
Cons
Video quality is OK not that great
I don't really like how they made the button so small
My mom thinks the phone has to many buttons but i think it's fine
Overall i think the phone is the hotness. As far as phone quality it doesn't get much better. It's a great phone. I love my new phone.
What a phone...
I picked this phone up the day it was released at the Verizon Wireless Kiosk at Circuit City after waiting 2 months in anticipation. This phone holds up to the anticipation.
Pros:
1. Reception (which is amazing)
2. Battery Life - I cannot stress how long this battery lasts. 4.67 hours of talk time, I can use this phone all day watching VCast TV, playing MP3s, and talking and I come home with 2 bars of battery left. Amazing.
3. Speakerphone
4. Decent camera for quick shots (with 4x digital zoom)
5. MP3 Player (can make custom playlists)
6. Price ($99) isn't bad for what you get
7. Vcast TV is neat-o
8. Keypad and overall phone build feels sturdy, not some cheap plastic feel you get on some phones.
9. Great "no training" voice recognition.
Cons:
1. Verizon disabling OBEX on bluetooth. Greedy, thats all they are.
2. The speakerphone could be a little louder, because its hard or impossible to hear while driving with your windows open. (I know, picky picky haha.)
3. No analog roaming, but Verizons network is almost all digital anyways, and in several years, analog will be done completely.
Conclusion: Get this phone if you need a multimedia phone that has great reception, has amazing battery life, and all the bells and whistles. I am extremely satisfied.
Side Note: To all the Motorola haters who say stuff like I had to take this phone in 5-7 times to get it replaced, listen to this. My parents both have V265s, and I have the E815. None of us have had ANY problems. No exchanges, nothing. If Motorolas quality control was as bad as you say, Verizon would have dropped them long ago. Not to mention that they would be losing business because of a smear on their reputation.
815 Yes or No
The bottom line is that for the same price of the 710, you have got to go with this one. Feature for feature, the 815 comes out ahead. The battery life is a bit better(bigger battery), not by much though. I strongly recommend the extended battery. Voice dialing is better on the 815 and the menu is much faster then the 710. The 710 is a winner, make no mistake about it. This is a close one to call but there is no question that if you are going to buy a phone and have to choose between the 2, the 815 is the way to go.
Phone is OK, missing VERY, VERY important features
Ok, this phone is OK, nothing to crazy. It's missing VERY important features on a phone. The vibrate function is weak, this should hardly be considered a business phone. You just wont feel this thing vibrate. Before you buy it, CHECK THE VIBRATE
Also, another thing, this phone is missing a MISSED CALL MENU. Motorola user Interface sucks.
Basically when you get a missed call, motorola bunches BOTH your received calls AND missed calls into ONE menu...THE RECEIVED CALLS MENU... how stupid... I did not receive a missed call, I missed it!!!
Also no safety feature for missed calls. For example, your phone rings(or vibatres) and you miss a call. You grab it, and you SLIGHTLY hit any side keys, your missed call goes into the RECEIVED CALL menu. Even if you open your flip after you missed a call, the inside screen wont tell you that you missed a call...you have to be constantly check to see if you missed a call, and the only way you can tell if you missed a call, is a tiny little arrow next to the number that you have to strain your eyes to see. both missed calls amd received calls are there. This is what kills the phone.
As for battery life, it depends. The EVDO network is still in its infancy. What does that mean? EVDO will kill your battery. Even if your in a huge EVDO network, and I am in NYC, inside buildings and such, the phone will switch from EVDO to 1x, this kills your battery. the fix, force your phone into 1x, although picture and text messages might stop working as it did for me. So 1x is better in the long run, EVDO = battery killer.
Reception is good, and thats about the only thing, camera is ok, although some have better then others.
Pros : Camera is decent , Speaker phone with flip closed, good reception, battery life (if you force it into 1X), MP3 ringtones,
Cons : Vibrate is almost non existent, ITS MISSING A MISSED CALL MENU!! , not tri mode, EVDO network cripples the phone, EVDO network kills the battery, no safety feature for missed calls!!!
