Motorola V330 Phone (T-Mobile)

The V300 is a tough act to follow, but Motorola has a winner on their hands with their V300 successor, the V330. With welcome additions like Bluetooth, quad-band GSM and high-speed EDGE data capability, and a VGA camera with video capture, the V330 packs a powerful new punch.

Take a closer look at the V330's functions.

Design
The V330 features a sleek clamshell design with a large, high-resolution 176 x 220 pixel, 65,000 color screen. The outside cover of the handset sports a supplementary 96 x 32 monochrome display that can display time, call information, battery and signal strength, and more. Up and down buttons for volume control are placed on the left side. Most of the phone's features and on-screen menus are controlled by a five-way center button on the handset's control pad. A USB-capable data port is housed on the unit's top edge, and there's a standard jack to accept universal hands-free headsets.

Calling Features
The V330 supports polyphonic ringtones as well as MP3 ringers, allowing you to use portions of your favorite songs to alert you to incoming calls. You can also assign pictures and ringers to your most common callers. A number of ringtones come preloaded on the phone and more ringtones can be downloaded from T-Mobile's t-zones service. There's even an included application, MotoMixer, that enables you to mix your own ringtones.

Speed dialing, which allows you to call pre-programmed numbers with one button is built in, as is a vibrating alert. A speakerphone makes it easy to talk without having the phone to your ear. Meanwhile, voice activated dialing makes calling your friends, family and associates as easy as saying their names. The V330's phone book can hold up to 1000 contacts; if you have that many friends and colleagues, more power to ya'! Lastly, the phone's Bluetooth connectivity means that your favorite Bluetooth headset is fully compatible.

Messaging, Internet and Tools
The V330 has all the bases covered when it comes to messaging and Internet connectivity. The phone features support for AOL Instant Messenger (T-Mobile messaging charges apply), and there's also a built-in web browser for t-zones downloads and mobile web browsing. T-Mobile's t-zones service lets you receive and send emails, read news headlines, get weather updates, download games and ringtones, and more.

The V330 comes with a built-in email client (with support for POP3, SMTP and IMAP4 email standards), and traditional text messaging, as well as video, picture and sound messaging are also supported. iTap text entry, which is a technology that makes it easier for people to enter words and text on handsets, is built into the unit-- a plus for mobile email and text messaging users.

A number of handy software tools are bundled with the V330 including a voice memo recorder, a calculator, a calendar and an alarm clock. You can also use the phone's Bluetooth capability to set up a wireless link with a Bluetooth accessory or connect to a computer or hand-held device to exchange and synchronize data. The phone supports the SyncML PC synchronization standard, which can be used with Motorola's Mobile Phone Tools PC application to manage and synchronize contacts, calendar and other data with your PC.

Imaging and Entertainment
With 5 MB of internal memory storage, the V330 shines in the entertainment department. The phone's VGA (640 x 480) camera features a 4x digital zoom, image quality options, and an auto-timer so you can be in your pictures, too. Capture stills and then send them to your friends via MMS messaging or email, or to your PC via USB or Bluetooth. The V330 adds video capability, too, meaning you can capture short video clips and, just like photos, share them how you see fit. The phone also supports custom graphics for wallpapers so you can dress up the phone to suit your fancy.

If you're into mobile gaming, the V330 has you covered. The phone ships with a full version of Pinball, as well as trial versions of Bejeweled and NFL 2005.

Vital Statistics
The Motorola V330 weighs 4.3 ounces and measures 3.5 x 1.9 x 1 inches. Its lithium-ion battery is rated at up to 425 minutes of digital talk time, and up to 235 hours of digital standby time. It runs on the 850/900/1800/1900 MHz GSM/GPRS frequencies. The phone comes with a one year limited warranty.

What's in the Box
V330 handset, lithium-ion battery, travel charger, user's manual.

Comments

[A30Z0RCM2PV86I]

I owned the V300 and found it to be a bit quirky, strange things would happen when ever I charged it, when it was finished all the personal settings would revert back to factory standard. They seemed to have fixed that with this latest version of the phone. My understanding is that they have combined the features from both the v300 and the v 600 to make this phone. I've only had it for 1 week and so far so good I always enjoyed functions such as speaker phone, voice dialing and voice memos, now I get the blue tooth and a much better redesigned key pad along with video clip capabilities. All of this is good news! If I had to pick a down side I would have to say that I'm dissapointed that Motorola decided to make this phone look exactly like the v300. I like what the body of the phone feels like, but a change of color would be better, maybe silver.

[AQ3C08MMLS0Y3]

I've had T-Mobile since it's voicestream days and along with the great service, I've had a line of dissapointing phones. From the Nokia 8900 series to the Motorola T720 to the Ericson T610, I've had a rough time finding a phone that works for me. Finally, out comes the V330. No more annoying buttons, small/flimsy casings or bad reception. This phone is great!

The V330 is a sturdy feeling, easy-to-use phone with some great features. It's operating system takes some time to get used to and has some strange layouts with the multimedia features, but overall it is fairly straight forward. It definitely feels like a tough, rugged phone with some weight to it - so when it's dropped it doesn't shatter. Finally, the reception and sound on this phone is far superior to my past Ericson and Motorla.

In my opinion, this is probably the best phone that T-Mobile has out currently. It's also a more cost effective alternative to the V600 or the future V635 with comporable features.

[AVLDQY3JWB6HU]

I like this phone. It feels well made and has a beautiful quality generously proportioned screen; a definite plus for folks who like games on their cells. Although the Amazon listing calls it a Tri-band phone, it is in fact Quad-band. Most importantly for me, it speaks Mac. Using a data cable ( pick up a cheapie on ebay ) it functions flawlessly with iSync for iCal and Address Book. The only thing that I'm not very pleased about is that contact email and addresses don't seem to transfer to the phone ( the only reason I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 ). There might be a way to accomplish this, but I haven't been able to figure out how to do it.

But what I really like about his phone is that it functions quite handsomely as a wireless bluetooth modem. My phone uses the T-Mobile network, and combined with the " all the data you can eat " program ( around $20 a month ) and my iBook with a D-Link BT adapter, and I'm good to go. The set up is a bit complex, but the nice folks at T-Mobile supplied me with the info.

It's controls are very easy to use and it looks great, I live in a signal challenged area, but I have found that the V330 works better then any other cell I have ever owned. The photo quality isn't anything to write home about, though the zoom feature is pretty effective. Generally speaking I like my cell phones to have data card capacity, particularly for photo storage, but T-Mobile has a nifty Album feature which lets you store your pics online. I was also impressed by this little phone's sound.

The V330 is a real winner!

[AYABYPACOJ1R0]

I've had this for almost a year now and its not upto the expected quality.

Its very slow in retrieving numbers from the memory and things like that when compared to Nokia which is much faster. Also not very user friendly.

The pictures are not very sharp or good enough and I had to buy a digital camera after I bought this phone.

Overall, not very pleased as there are better phones in the market.

[A2NUBEC0RKT7ND]

My husband and I bought the same phone--big mistake--over a year and half ago...currently waiting for our plan to expire to go back to att now cingular. live in aus, tx, and constantly get dropped calls all day mostly at night. It drops calls 9 times out of 10. Sometimes 4 to 5 times just within an half an hour of talking. our friends and fam hate talking to us on the phone. it's either the crappy phone or crappy service, which we don't recommend if you live here. we've complained several times and t-mobile will do nothing.

Pictures are grainy. Phone is somewhat bulky for what it is.

The only redeeming quality is the speaker phone. But drains battery pretty frequently. Nokia has the best battery life out there.

[AQQEM7FH2BK9Q]

I've had this phone for awhile now and I must say that, I am quite pleased and happy about it. The battery life is great and the ringtone/MP3 tones, sounds amazing. The keypad is also very comfortable to use. It may be a teeny bit big, but overall.. Motorola V330 is a great phone. Bah, the speaker also works well!

[A17CG48R7OOB8X]

but WHY would you get it? EVERYONE has this phone. Don't do it.

[A2ACAO79X0B8OT]

Important: Ignore all reviews that mention anything like "I have owned this phone since January", "I bought this phone a year ago and...", etc. All of these users are reviewing the older version of this phone, the v300, which had many less features and much more problems.

If you are looking to get service with T-Mobile, this phone is by far the best available. It is Quadband, which means that you will get the best coverage here and abroad. Many T-Mobile phones do not support the 850mhz band, which has become increasingly important to T-Mobile customers in the past year. Although none of T-Mobile's native network uses 850mhz, T-Mobile has recently made many roaming agreements in areas of Northern Wisconsin, Minnesota, Mississippi, Alabama, Texas, and more. This feature will only become more important. Currently, the only T-Mobile phones that support this band are listed at this website: www.t-mobile.com/morecoverage . T-Mobile has only announced these new roaming agreements in the Minneapolis area, but do note that they are elsewhere too. I also suggest looking here: http://howardforums.com/showthread.php?t=652305 to see a general map that shows the expanded coverage in Minnesota and Wisconsin.

Currently, Amazon is also selling the Nokia 3220 and Motorola v188, which also allow roaming in these areas.

Compared to the v300, the v330 also adds EDGE for faster data speeds, video recording, bluetooth for wireless headsets and wireless syncing with your computer, *improved reception quality on all bands*, and an improved keypad design.

[A218FU54NKRF6B]

This phone sounds allows calls the be as clear as a land line. I am a former ATT/Cingular customer and just switched to Tmobile, this phone, combined with the great service has been excellent. When I talk to people on it, they think I am on a land line. AMAZING. Very pleased with the V330

[A1Y0BYISC8NXJ7]

I've had this phone for 1 1/2 years. Over the past month I've been fighting getting it to work when flipped open. Took it to Tmobile for service and told would cost $70 for maintenance or buy another for over $100.

Have never dropped this phone! I would argue that it's poor quality- very disappointed.

[AS2WVZCN9AIJK]

Ok here's a first Q, are the people who gave this phone a horrid rating check to make sure it was the V330 and NOT the V300? That brings me to my second point, the look of the phone is almost exactly the same as the V300 (now THIS particular model was almost crappy) so people might have confused it. A friend got this phone a little while ago and so far he seems to have no problem with it, in fact he is immensely satisfied and I am myself planning to get this phone and after much much asking around and reading countless reviews, I dont think the phone has bad reception OR drops calls , I would blame T-Mobile in some areas. So practice before you preach!!!

[A1BX4JOD9I3CSN]

Phone arrived and worked well right from the start. Bluetooth connectivity with DataPilot software works (phonebook and calender). Camera functions nicely. Browsing capabilities are very well refined. Text entry seems a little cumbersome (Prefer the A630 for this). My wife loves it (it is her phone, mine is the A630) because she doesn't really care about text entry.

[AA2HR50Z9ARIK]

Good:

The screen is big and bright. The sound is loud and clear on the handset and on the speakerphone. You can transfer your own Midi and MP3 files for ringtones from your Mac (avoiding network fees). You can store 4MB of JPEGs on the phone for a brag-book. Speakerphone on V330 can be activated anytime during a call. No software install nec for Mac OS.

Less Good:

Some of my favortite features (like calculator) are deep inside the menus. Mac OS iSync works only over USB cable (and it's a special Motorola cable for this model), and file transfer works only over BlueTooth. But they both actually work! Sound is distorted over standard audio plug earpiece, but sounds great on the BlueTooth earpiece (for $80). Be carefull using the holster accessory (make sure it clicks). Camera is VGA (it is just a phone, after all), but works well in low light.

[A3T9V4SV32S5ZK]

First off, anyone who says they had this for for 6+ months (or 1 1/2 years for the matter) is ignorant and confused with the V300. The V330 is the culmination of the V300 and the V600. It has the sex appeal of the V300, along with the pimp appeal of the V600. Coupled with a bluetooth hands free head set, this phone surpasses most every expectations. Among the most notable qualities are voice dialing, mp3 ringtones (which can be transferred directly from your computer via Motorola's Mobile PhoneTools 3.0), video camera in 2 modes, VGA digital camera with 4x zoom and AIM with the quickness.

The cons a few and far between:

-Aim use is charged PER MESSAGE through T-Mobile. Unless you have the 500 SMS messages for 2.99, AIM can rack up a few extra dollars

-The video camera is hard to configure to get the longest video/audio clips. However, if you wanna call motorola, the reps in Iraq will get you all the facts on recording video within 5 min.

All in all THIS PHONE ROCKS!!!

[A32SBWHZ094BW5]

Considering this phone is new to the market, I am laughing at the reviews that say they have had this phone for a year+...

Only complaint, wish it didn't look like the v300.

Best feature (for me) Blue tooth is compatible with my car...I love driving handsfree:)

[A2D3787PQ9LEJC]

Excellent call quality, compact, not too heavy or light, good battery life (goes a few days with moderate use between recharges), loaded with useful extras like calculator, alarm clock, calendar. Speakerphone works well, decent camera for a phone. Relatively easy to use and navigate thru features. Lots of available entertainment for whoever's willing to pony up extra dough. Bluetooth is awesome. It is exactly what was missing from v300. Motorola could've restyled it though.

[A1SANNLW6FW564]

I have a small criteria that a cell phone must measure up to:

1. must work at home

*where I do most of my calling

*my parents can hear me very clearly

*not full signal since I live more on a hill

2. must work at work

*full signal strength

*is also get good signal around town in San Francisco

3. must have bluetooth

*wireless headset is a must...we live in the 21st century...wires are no good!

The V330 so far meets all of that criteria. So far so good!

I have an Apple powerbook and just upgraded to Tiger. The iSync did not recognize the V330 which is *not* a big surprise since it's so new but this phone is just like the V551. So I found this link:

http://www.macosxhints.com/article.php?story=20050520214153122

I followed the instructions and added the configurations found at that link. So now the V330 syncs up with my iCal. yah!

I don't really care about features like camera or video recording. Yeah it works...blah blah. My only gripe which is common with other users, the menus are not intuitive. You have to dig deep into the menus to turn on or off the bluetooth. Lame. The datebook is not super easy to get to. The color screen is nice, but hey I've been staring at a black and green screen on an old Samsung phone for the past 4 yrs...so anything color is nice.

[A3TQP19F72ETSH]

My problem is with the carriers who do not get the best possible deals from the phone manufacturers. I have seen lots of great deals where with a NEW contract, you can get a great phone for nothing. Yet if you have been with T-Mobile, or any of the service providers for a long while, they can not give you that great deal you may find elsewhere.

I think the service providers are missing the boat and loosing customers because they do not reward customer loyalty, but rather prefer to spend additional money to recruit new customers.

I have been with T-Mobile at least 3 years, maybe more, and have put all three of my kids, plus our foreign exchange student on T-Mobile. Now I need a new phone, and wanted the free deal on the MotorolaV330 I saw on line but thye can not give me that deal. Makes me want to let my contract run out so I can come back next year and get the better phones that the current loyal customers can't get.

Just had to get that off of my chest.

[A2RRYDCPJ4T8OV]

I'll start by admitting I've only had the phone for 2 weeks. So far I'm pretty happy with it. (As some other reviews pointed out, this phone only became available in May. Reviews saying people have used it for months are probably mistaking it for the v300.) The jury's still out on T-mobile.

Pros -

-Pretty good voice sound quality

-Good sound quality on mp3 ringtones

-can communicate with laptop using bluetooth without additional software (I was able to add mp3s)

-Screen is very bright

-Very long redial list - 10. (My old phone had 5)

-Works well with the Motorola HS820

-The size is nice

-Plenty of faceplates available (I noticed someone gave it a bad review because it's blue - that's changeable!)

-Speakerphone's clearer than I expected it to be.

-Buttons are easy to use and intuitive

-Outside display is easy to read

Cons -

-I'm sure I read somewhere it has USB connectivity. I want to clarify that it does NOT come with a USB cable.

-Motorola didn't include any sync software. It's available for an additional charge.

-Menus are not intuitive.

-The phone takes FOREVER to turn on.

The camera is a typical phone camera. I certainly won't be using it to take any special shots I want to keep forever. I wish it could store addresses along with phone numbers.

I've been using T-mobile for 3 years. I had a samsung phone from Voicestream, which was bought out by T-mobile quite some time ago. Just in the last 6 months I started having a dead zone in my neighborhood and in a couple of other areas around town (Savannah, GA) where I had previously not had a problem getting a signal. When I contacted T-mobile, they told me I needed to get a new phone. Unfortunately, that didn't help.

Although it isn't perfect, I like it better than any of my other cell phones or any others I have used.

Just a tip - if you are replacing a phone, you can transfer the sim card long enough to copy your phonebook. If you don't have your numbers saved to the sim card on your existing phone, there's probably an option to copy them there.

[A3VM00ROQUSRC2]

I've had this phone for a couple weeks now and I must say that it is one of the best phones T-Mobile has to offer. Its Quad-Band, which means you can take advantage of improved coverage as T-Mobile signs roaming agreements nationwide. Its got a decent camera that performs very well in low light situations (which is important because there is no flash.) Bluetooth works flawlessly and is easy to set up.

The jury is still out on the soft-touch finish, mainly because I am unsure if it will hold up over time, but so far, so good.

The menu took a little getting used to as some of the items aren't logically placed. For instance, to adjust the brightness of the screen, you have to go into the "Settings" menu and then a submenu called "Initial Setup" and then choose "Brightness", rather than a simple "Display" option in the Settings menu.

But, once you're used to the menu, things like that aren't really an issue.

Speaking of the display, it is very bright and sharp, one of the best I have seen. Its not quite QVGA, but its definitely one of the better screens on the market. It shouldn't disappoint.

The keypad has generously sized, well spaced buttons and makes for comfortable and speedy text messaging. Be advised that this phone does not have T9, but a similar text entry technology called iTAP, which works a little differently than T9 does. I got used to it within minutes, so it shouldn't be a problem for anyone that regularly sends lots of text messages.

Reception has been pretty good, as it holds a usable signal pretty well. Call/sound quality is okay, but not as good as the K700i that I used to have. The speakerphone is okay, but the sound crackles a bit at high volume.

And as it was said before, ignore any review that says they've had the phone for "about a year now" or for several months, as the phone was released in the second quarter of 2005, May to be exact. They're reviewing the physically similar, but older version of this phone, which is the V300- a model that lacks bluetooth, has an unorthodox keypad and has an older and slower menu than the updated V330.

Thanks

[A3LLOKWLWN80M]

I basically wanted a flip phone with Bluetooth technology. The video and camera features are a plus.

- Bluetooth technology.

- "T-zone" and "Camera" buttons are on keypad (for easy access).

- great mp3 sounds/ringtones.

- super bright display.

- pretty simple to use.

NOTE: Remember to keep Bluetooth OFF when you're not using Bluetooth. Keeping it on drains the heck out of your phone's battery.

Nowhere near the loaded features I had on the Nokia 3650, which I will miss but the Motorolla V330 gets the job done.

[AHFCTM0GXSIWD]

Like most people these days, I use my cell phone for almost everything. And the organizer/addressbook/phonebook/appointment book MUST work. This phone's so called phonebook, is just that. Phone numbers! Oh yes, it does include names, and even email addresses. Big deal! Are we supposed to maintain a separate organizer for street addresses, and various other important notes?

That, along with not having the wonderful email functions of my Nokia 3650, has made me decide to return the Motorola 330, after only having had it for less than a week. So much for a second phone line. At least maybe until the new Razor comes out in October.

I thought maybe I could live with those "minor" problems, but I guess I'm just too demanding.

Aside from that...it's a decent phone. :)

[A2Y9MQOXAZY073]

I was a little skeptical getting a new phone over the internet, but great Amazon's price (and very generous rebates) convinced me otherwise.

I received a phone within three days (free shipping), programmed - ready to go. Amazon's instructions regarding rebates and how to keep the same phone number (from T-Mobile) were crystal clear.

This phone has everything you need: great voice quality, easy to use, Bluetooth connectivity, acceptable digital camera pictures.

In short: very happy with this purchase. It was a very pleasant on-line purchasing experience.

Thanks Amazon.com!

[A30AQZ0PDXBZB9]

I recently purchased a Motorola V330 from T-Mobile and so far it has been a very good phone. It has excellent features like Speakerphone and Bluetooth. The only drawback is the design which looks like the old Motorola V300 phone and is too bulky and heavy. Ocassionally, it will drop calls. Other than that- I am satisfied with this phone! But beware-T-Mobile has the worst customer service!! If you really want a phone like this, I recomend Cingular which carries the Motorola v551.

[AA5CMG3A9BZ6T]

I have been a T-mobile customer since 2001 and up until recently I used the well out-dated nokia 3390 phone. The phone had limited features but great reception and vocal quality was always clear. Once in a while i had a few dropped calls but it was nothing to pull your hair out about.

Recently, I switched to the Motorola V330 expecting an upgrade in quality as well as features. This Motorola phone is complete garbage. While the camera is fun to play with, the perks end there. The menus are convoluted and the button response is sluggish at best. The phone drops probably every third or fourth call, and my 2001 model nokia got better reception. The worst part of this phone is when you try and place a call, sometimes it will freeze while dialing the number leaving the "dialing person x" screen up on the display. At this point, you cannot do anything besides turn the phone off and turn it back on again. Also, it successfully sends text messages 40 to 50 percent of the time. The rest of the time, I recieve an error saying that it was unable to send.

I do not know if the phone that I recieved was a refurbished model or anything like that (t-mobile is known to do that) but I am currently trying to recieve another phone to see if it will work better. Bottom line, stay away from T-mobile. My friends use VERIZON which has more DEPENDABLE SERVICE and BETTER HARDWARE for the same price.

[A1KJPVML2PKNCF]

I was very excited when I took this phone out of the box. My last phone was 3 years old and the prospect of a camera, the ability to browse the internet, voice dialing, and a speakerphone all in my new phone sounded fantastic. However, the reality did not match up.

The most outstanding shortcoming was the poor reception this phone got. I made the mistake of assuming that a brand new phone would get reception at least as good as my old one. I couldn't get reception in my home or at work. (My old phone did fine in these places although it might have only one or two bars.) The speakerphone quality was poor. This was my first phone with internet, so I can't compare it to other phones, but the experience fell short of my expectations. Keying in words with the 0-9 keypad was extremely time consuming and the view of the "internet" was greatly limited by what was mobile friendly. Most web pages gave an unfamiliar error message. I also discovered that no games were available for download.

Upon discovering the phone's poor reception, I made the mistake of trying to make it work rather than returning it immediately. It has been nearly a month (gasp!) rather than 14 days, and now I am stuck with a $200 early termination fee if I leave my T-Mobile contract. Before sending it back, I went to the local T-Mobile store twice. The first time I went on the advice of T-Mobile phone support, who told me they could troubleshoot my phone. They said all they could do was give me a new SIM card, which did not improve the reception. The second time I went to try to return the phone, but they told me that a phone I got through the mail cannot be returned through the store. I decided to mail it back, thinking that a company with the reputation for customer service that T-Mobile has would not hold me to a contract made for a phone that didn't work as advertised (they advertise "good" reception in my neighborhood). I spent five and a half hours on the phone this weekend trying to get through and explain to them why, but I never got off hold. I tried to use the form on their web site, but that gave a server error. I sent them a letter with the phone explaining why I wanted to terminate my contract. I was able to email them, and in response I got a series of terse emails indicating that no one had fully understood my problem or read my questions. One of the responses actually said I couldn't cancel my service unless I called customer support on the phone! How was I supposed to do that? Wait six hours? Other emails from T-Mobile told me that I was stuck with my contract, in spite of the fact that I had returned my phone.

I am on hold right now, actually, for an hour and twenty minutes and counting. I have been a loyal customer of T-Mobile since 2002, when they were VoiceStream, and I used to recommend them to my friends.

T-Mobile has also been entirely unsympathetic to the fact that this mobile phone is my only phone line. When I called initially to troubleshoot my phone, they told me I would need to call from a separate phone in order to troubleshoot it. This was one of the reasons for my delay in returning the phone (I thought it was really possible to fix it!) One of the reasons I bought this phone and agreed to this contract was that there was a two day outage of the T-Mobile network in suburban Chicago (later confirmed by the Daily Herald) that led me to believe my old phone was broken. Because I didn't have another phone to call T-Mobile, and they're not in the habit of advertising their outages on their web site, I found out about the network outage from a waiter at a local restaurant. In my experience, this company is really not friendly to customers who depend on their phones.

I would like to note that I got my V330 and T-Mobile contract from T-Mobile directly, and not through Amazon, so my experience does not reflect the Amazon.com experience.

[A2XC3K2CR93BJO]

This phone has the worst reception, and worst sound of any phone I have ever used.

I was excited to get this phone [upgraded from a SE T610 -- a wonderful phone besides the common recharging problem]. It had all the features that were important to me -- namely a colour screen, bluetooth, and lots of contacts. The phone was an utter let down.

As stated above the reception is HORRIBLE. It will drop calls with all the bars showing, people are constantly saying, "What?!? SPEAK UP?!?" and that's IF you can understand what they are saying. The simple act of moving your head will change the reception quality. What good is a cell phone if you need to stand completely still, and don't interrupt the speaker (because interrupting the speaker degrades their voice quality).

Stay AWAY from this phone.

[AZFZMDDEQFRMZ]

I placed an order on July 7th. The availability was 1 to 2 days at the time of order. However, after I placed the order, the confirmation stated that the estimated shipping date is July 13. Today is July 14 and I check my order status. The estimated shipping date has changed to July 21. I called Amazon customer service 1-800-201-7575 and certainly it wasn't helpful. I plan to cancel the order if they further delay the shipment. Don't order cellphone from Amazon if you are in hurry!

[A3S81UFJPP02F5]

[...]

On to the instrument now. This phone has the following pros and cons (IMHO):

PROS:

[A3EZD11AFUX23K]

The difference between a good cell phone and a great one is in the small details, which this phone misses.

On the positive side, it has almost all of the features I want:

1. Big 2.2" color screen with SVGA quality

2. Bluetooth for wireless handsets

3. Built in speakerphone

4. Voice activated dialing with bluetooth

5. 640 X 480 camera with 4X digital zoom

6. AIM Instant Messaging

7. Plays JAVA games

8. Internet and instant messaging

9. Large 5 MB memory capacity which can store lots of pictures, video and games.

10. You can purchase a cable and software to u/l and d/l pictures, ringtones, etc. directly from your computer. With a little hunting on-line, you can also get software to really mess with the phone!

11. Most thematic elements can be changed including Polyphonic ringers, wallpaper, screensavers, etc.

So, what is wrong?

1. The phone book is misorganized: Almost every person I want in my phone book has a home phone number, a cell phone and a business phone. I want a phone book that has one entry for each name, and then a subdirectory for each of the different phone numbers and e-mail addresses.

2. The 5 way navigation key with center button is hard to use as it is too small, and the button in the center is hard to push, particularly if you have large fingers.

3. The "call" and "hang-up" keys are not properly backlit so that it is almost impossible to see them, even in a nearly pitch black room. (Why is the camera button well lit when you have no need for a camera in the dark?)

4. The hands-free voice dialing requires such precision in the timing of saying the name, and you have to say the name loud, and in a quiet environment, or it won't work. This virtually requires you to look at the phone when saying the name, which defeats the purpose of "hands-free."

5. The phone is a bit on the heavy side, at 4.3 ounces, although not horribly so. (For example, the Motorola Razr and Sanyo SCP8200 weigh in at about an ounce less.)

6. The front screen is the typical little motorola blue/gray clock display instead of a proper color screen.

In summary, it is a good phone which, if Motorola had invested a bit more creativity and care in developing, could have been a great phone at the same price. Again, it is the details which are wrong.

[A2GQY2PQ17XWFF]

First of all, the reason I bought this phone is solely because of its quad-band capabilities. I travel all over the world, and its good to always be in touch with people no matter where I am (and believe me, I've been to some strange places.)

I didn't buy it for the Bluetooth technology or for the built-in camera, though I'm sure they work great too. To me, a camera phone is a camera phone, and while the Bluetooth technology is exceptional from what I've heard, I have no intent of looking like a cyborg walking down the street. So scratch that from my decision making.

Anyway, the last phone I had was the Nokia 6610 (tri-band.) It's also a great phone, just a bit outdated (that, and I've superglued it back together twice.) Comparitively speaking, here goes:

1.) The V330 definately needs to be clipped to your belt, otherwise you have a big bulge in your pocket (no pun intended).

2.) While it weighs 4.3 ounces, is not heavy. Compare it with all of the new stuff coming out, and it's light. Besides, if you can't handle 4.3 ounces, then how do you drink beer, with a straw?

3.) My biggest annoyance is the phone/SIM card memory. Obviously, the phone does not work without a SIM card. If you're like me, you want your numbers to be storred on both the SIM card and the phone memory, just in case. However, if you copy everything over from your SIM card to the phone memory, you end up with every number you have being listed TWICE. There is absolutely no way to tell the phone to only show SIM memory or only phone memory. (I even asked tech support.)

The only way to see the numbers once is to have them saved ONLY to your SIM card or ONLY to your phone memory. The problem is that the SIM card holds 250 entries, while the phone holds 1000. Given the choice (which I shouldn't even have to do), I use the phone memory. I actually had to put the SIM card back in my old phone to erase it, as the only way to do it in the V330 is one at a time.

4.) My other quirk is the users manual, primarily the phone book. The instructions are terrible! I'd like to think that I'm an intelligent person, but I litterally had to experiment to figure out how to use its features. And this goes for almost all of the features. 1-Touch Speed Dialing, which you can only use from the phone memory, isn't even talked about. And the "Smart Key" on the side of the phone, I've yet to figure out what it even does. I guess I'm not smart :-)

5.) The last thing I care about is the fact that I can't lock the phone without going through about a 5 step procedure to do so. If you don't lock it, the outside butons get pressed, which changes your ringer settings (vibrate, loud, etc...). If you do lock it, then you have to press a code to answer the phone if it's ringing (hope you remember it), and meanwhile, it keeps ringing and bothering everyone around you.

So that's my critique. I plan on keeping it, just to see if I like it better over time. It was painful to get it set up the way I want it, buut I eventually got it there. Just a few leftover annoyances that I'm sure I'll get used to. Personnally I like the Nokia 6610 phone (as I don't use all of the bells and whistles). the only reason I got this one is because of it's quad band capabilities, which I haven't yet tested out.

[A1UJ053C8PA2XK]

I just purchased a V330 and have fallen in love with it! Reccently I had a V300, and thought it was pretty good, but the feature difference between the two phones is amazing. The V330 has so many more capabilites.... the reception is much better, the screen brighter, the camera greater, the look sleeker.... everything about my new phone is great! Keep up the good work!

[A2D4HM4H0DRICD]

I ordered my phone on June 14,2005. Note said ships within 2-3 days. Its July 13,2005 and I just received the phone! I never received an email from Amazon customer service for the delay. If your in a rush for this phone call Amazon customer service to verify that it will ship in the "2-3 day" stated on the screen.

[A3GBOCNEQ8AAP4]

I have owned about half a dozen cellphones over the years. I never paid (after rebates that is) for one and I intend it to stay that way, so this review is not for those willing to blow wads of cash for the latest and greatest because they use it professionally or have an all-overriding need to hear people gasp when they take their phone out of their pockets. Obviously, you would not expect a "better than free" phone to have the absolute greatest specs available. Still, the V330 is a surprisingly full-featured phone.

I also believe that discussing coverage issues is largely moot in phone reviews, because depending on your geographical location, you may think that signal strengths are absolutely perfect, or that (put your provider here) is the worst carrier ever. I get five bars at my house, but only two or three at my work.

So far I only talked to customer service once, but they were perfectly helpful and hold times were not excessive.

When I was shopping around for this phone I had a few requirements that I definitely wanted:

1. It had to be a flip phone. I had enough of the "bar" type devices, especially the cumbersome process of locking the keypads and difficulties of answering calls quickly when fishing it out of pockets, backpacks, etc.

2. It had to have a camera. This was just to make it a bit more fun. Seems like you only have half a phone without it.

3. I would have liked a quad-band phone so that I could use it anywhere during my travels.

I was not too worried about bluetooth, voice dialing, or speakerphone capabilities, but it is definitely nice to have those as well. Bluetooth is especially sweet because you can easily up- and download pictures, games, create new ringtones, etc. without having to pay all those fees to T-Mobile. It is too bad that they have no games on their T-zones yet though.

The phone has a decent battery life as well, although leaving bluetooth on does shorten it considerably. The keypad is well laid out and handy, and the "joystick" button is easy to use and fairly intuitive. All in all it is a good phone, voice quality is great, and I can actually hear the person at the other end which was not always the case with my previous (Nokia, Samsung, Mitsubishi, etc.) phones.

Now for the few and minor shortcomings: The manual is much too brief in the discussion of the many, many features of this phone. Most of the omitted stuff is fairly straightforward to discover though. The built-in memory is not all that plentiful (5 MB). This could certainly be improved upon. Voice dialing takes a bit of patience and I am not fully convinced it is a very useful feature. And the phonebook lists each number separately even if they belong to the same person, resulting in tons of duplicate lines. This is probably the most annoying feature of this phone. But for the money, I can live with that.

[A12VBCCUYOIHLV]

I've only had my phone for a day, but I wanted to correct some earlier reviews that stated otherwise. I did have to update iSync via Software Update, but after that the sync worked perfectly--all my address book contacts and calendar events popped right over--fantastic!

[AYCUU7KD5GSSX]

I've had my Motorola V330 for about 2 weeks, and I love it. Unfortunately, the manual has been of little help in learning how to use the phone.

Several reviewers have had phone-book problems, specifically, the nuisance of having multiple entries for each person. I have found a way around it. First, set one of the entries for each person as "primary contact" (see p. 25 and 75 of manual). You can then sort your categories by Name, and the additional entries for each person can be accessed with the up/down key. This still leaves the unwanted SIM-stored entries. What I did was set up a new category (p.74)(call it whatever..."My List"), and then I selected each of the people I wanted in the new category. Do this for any new categories you want... My Business, Family, etc. I categorized all my numbers into a category of my own making. The entire list can still be viewed in "ALL", but you will wind up with just one entry for each name. It's roundabout, but it works.

Hopefully, we can solve each other's problems on this site.

[A26VFXPDVGDXGW]

I've had my phone since February and it's okay. At least once a day the phone just freezes up or hangs up on whoever I am talking to at that time. And it does that even when I have full signal. I plan on buying a new phone and from other review I've read it probably won't be another Motorola.

[AHV8UBV8XHBGH]

Okay, so I have only had this for a couple of days so I can't really speak about battery life, but I am already lovin' this phone. Having bluetooth and mp3 ringtones is awsome; I will never pay for another ringtone, AND they are the actual song (MIDI can go to hell). Quad band GSM is cool because I know that I can get service anywhere in the world. I havent had it freeze or anything. The main display and the camera look great, in some cases the digital zoom is actually useful for shots that will stay on the phone(normally throwing away pixels make cameraphone images look horrible). The quality of the speakerphone and the voice quality is average, but nothing to complain about. The external screen is sharp and is quite legible even w/o the backlight, imho. Its up to debate whether not having an external color screen is a bad thing, as a color screen needs the backlight and therefore wastes more power. The phone is compatible with any standard 2.5mm headset, which is nice. So the only feature that I really regret is the lack of a flashcard slot. I guess they do this because thats one of the few features that only the high end phones have, but if this had a transflash slot I could use this as an MP3 player (although this this would obviously require the data cable instead of bluetooth). Another very minor quibble I have is that the photos are too small when you have them for picture caller ID, they could easily be a sqaure inch, but the images show up in 1/4 of that size (even though the extra area is completely wasted!). All in all, however, I am very pleased with this phone, I paid $100 for it AFTER rebates, so the price here is a steal. GET THIS PHONE, is all I have to say.

If you do get this phone visit [...], you can download great wallpapers (just use the ones for the v300, since they are the same)

[A2N562RLHHY44B]

I've had the phone for 14 months. It's been very reliable. I've dropped it many times, got some chips and scratches on the cover, and the phone keeps performing at top grade. The battery life is getting shorter over the time tho. I start to charge it every day, when I used to charge it every two days.

Voice quality is superb. Menu is easy to follow (I never needed to read the manual.) What I like most over other phones is that it captures absolutely beautiful pictures with nice colors and reasonable details. I also purchased a data cable to tranfer pictures onto my laptop, easy!

Unfortunately, the signal reception is poor at my place. Before you buy this phone, check the reception of T-mobile in your area. This is a great phone if you are lucky to live at a 5-bar region. Otherwise, get ready to apologize (to the other side of the line) over and over again every time your call gets dropped. :P

By the way, I'm not sure if this is sth. about T-mobile or the phone-- summer daylight saving time doesn't get adjusted automatically, you have to restart the phone (twice a year).

[A2UKDAJY6WILU7]

I was a Nokia user for a few years with 6610 as my last handset, and I was little hesitant to buy a phone from a different brand, so I ordered the V330 through T-mobile ($100 upgrade) after I was sure I could return it (within 14 days). When I got the phone I was pleasantly surprised that I liked and I was able figure out and use the most useful features at once, so the phone stays! I will give my detailed reactions to the phone to the paragraphs to follow based to my last phone (Nokia). It is a lengthy review, but you can go directly to the features that interest you.

Phone Manual: Covers only the basics do not expect to learn everything from the manual; I was kind of frustrated at first but, as I was discovering features of my own I had a discovery satisfaction.

Sound Quality: I will only say that I get the filling that the other person is next to me! The speakerphone is not super, is just ok. The volume for both modes is sufficient.

Ring Styles: You can select vibrate, vibrate and ring, vibrate and then ring, soft and loud.

Ring tones: I have tried it with midi and mp3 songs. The midis are always excellent, however, with some mp3 the sound is not that good, probably because of the process of converting them to smaller file size for the phone, and I plan to find a good mp3 editor to edit my mp3's for the phone. If you upload a regular song the sound is great, but probably it will use most of the phone's memory. The volume of the ring tones is loud enough but compared to my Nokia is not as loud; however, I never used my Nokia to its maximum anyway but it is nice to know that you can.

Personalization: You can personalize the wallpaper, colors, screen saver like most phones, but what I liked most is that you can personalize the home keys (cross in the center), left/right menu keys, and smart key functionality: You can assign them anything you want from the main phone menus like: Phone book, AIM, Ring styles, phone status, e-mail, Bluetooth etc. With that feature I have very fast access to the features I need most.

Shape: I like the clamshell design, I really like it when I use games, t-zones or any feature because I can hold its keypad horizontal with my fingers and have a pleasant view to the screen.

Screen: Very bright and clear screen.

Outside Screen: Blue letters, I like that I can easily see the time. I wish if the ringing mode was shown on the outside screen as well.

External buttons: With the volume key and the smart key when the phone flip is closed you can change the ringing style by pressing the volume key first, and then the smart key. In addition, when the phone is ringing and you press the volume key the phone goes to a silent mode of ringing, that's useful because sometimes I might not be able to answer it and I might don't want to reject the call.

Camera: VGA: 640x480, nothing to be exited about.

Java: You can install java games and applications, there many free on the internet, so if the phone misses a feature you would like to have, there is still hope that it might be a java program for that. I install mine either using Bluetooth or WAP, it took me a while to figure it out. If you want to send a java game or app to game or app to your phone from your computer, somewhere in your pc's Bluetooth application it should have an icon named: OBEX Object Push on "Motorola Phone", where "Motorola Phone" is the Bluetooth name of the phone. The only thing you have to do is to drag and drop the ".jar" file to that icon and follow the prompts on your phone to accept and install it.

Internet: You can even have an HTML browser on Java (there is one available on the internet to buy), but you have to have the Internet plan in order for that to work. In my opinion it does not worth it to have the internet plan just for that, but if you have it anyway is not a bad idea. By the way, you can access many useful sites just with t-zones like: mobile.google.com, mobile.yahoo.com, in addition to them there many other sites if you do a search for them. For the t-zones e-mail to work you have to have the "T-mobileWeb" feature on your plan which I believe is the same as the paid t-zones option T-mobile used to have.

The phone is listed to have its own POP3 email capabilities, but there is not dedicated application for that, I am not sure if it is something on the messages area.

Messages: I am not a heavy text messages user but I have send a few regular SMS and MMS and I liked the messages application, however I think this phone (I wasn't able to find it) does not have delivery notifications option for SMS, however, there is for MMS.

Bluetooth: Is a nice to have, you can transfer files and use wireless hands free. I have tried hands free operation by connecting my phone to the computer as a head set but the sound was not stable, it will be ok for 1-2 minutes, and then it will be terrible. However, I tried my phone with HS-850 and the sound is great, in addition, I am using the HS-850 with my computer for internet phone conversations and the quality is also excellent. It seems soundwise my phone and my computer are not a good much, it's not a problem anyway I just wanted to test it out of curiosity.

Networks: Quadband (850/900/1800/1900) which works with all the GSM frequencies available. In addition, you have the option to select the mode manually (instead of auto): either 850/1900 or 900/1800. In that way I believe you save power because it only scans in two bands instead of four. I have mine in 850/1900, the USA bands. The reception is as good as my Nokia's, maybe slightly better. The nice thing about V330 is that you can attach an external antenna on the back, this is very useful for me because on the office I have 1-2 bars and I have to be still whenever I am talking to the phone, which the external antenna I am expecting things should much more better.

Battery: It takes 3-4 hours to charge when it is empty. In terms of battery life it lasts a day or two but keep in mind I used the phone a lot for calling, wap access and Bluetooth usage so I believe will last much longer after I settle a little and I don't "play" that much with the phone. I am a little bit disappointed for the battery status indicator, is only three bars, I wish it had more steps like in the phone status, battery information which has six bars on there.

Phone Book: Not as good as my Nokia, but is ok. If you want to add more information to a name make sure you transfer it to the phone's memory, you can have more numbers for each person but you will have his name appearing as many times as its phone number's. The good thing there is an option to group the same person's numbers when you go through the menu.

Voice Dialing: I don't use it much, but seems to be fine.

Calendar: It's called date book and is has what is expected from a calendar, does not have a birthday mode like my Nokia. I think this phone does not have to do lists (some sites list it that it has, at least I was not able to find it).

That's my experience with V330 so far, thanks for your patience reading my review.

[AH366O9EHXVUO]

v330 sucks, every now and then the phone gets disconnected, poor voice quality, bad signal strength inside the house....

I am returning it within the three day of purchase s I am totally pissed of with it.

[A18YK0PNZV50XS]

I switched from a Samsung E715, which was a great phone. As this is my only phone, I need reliability, so I did quite a bit of research, and went ahead and bought it.

Pros:

Cool looking phone, sets itself apart, for sure.

Bluetooth, I LOVE wireless headset feature!

Nice screen, sound quality is fine.

Cons:

Hard to find a good case for it other than the dang puches.

Speaker for ringtones and speakerphone is on the back. If you lay your phone down (or put it in one of the stupid "pouches") you will muffle the volume considerably.

Takes forEVER to charge. Allow at least 4 hours every time.

Overall, a good solid performer. I haven't experienced any of the issues the negative reviews stated, and am very happy with the phone.

The BT headset I am using is the Cardo Scala 500, and they match up well.

I have been a Tmobile customer for three years, and while I can get better coverage elsewhere, I have been spoiled by Tmobile's customer service, so they keep my business.

[ATB5NJILUOTQI]

I have been using this phone for quite some time now, it has not given me any trouble at all. The only down side of this phone is that it a bit heavy and the camera is not that great. Otherwise this is proabaly the best flip phone T-mobile has to offer.