Motorola delivers Bluetooth, a megapixel camera, video messaging, TransFlash memory expansion and more in this flagship phone. Designed for Verizon Wireless users, all the tools and power a mobile warrior needs are packed into this premium tri-band clamshell.
Design
Click the image to get a closer look at the v710's features. |
The V710's overall shape is similar in design to Motorola's high-end GSM phone, the V600. The V710 ups the ante in many areas, however. The internal 2.2-inch 176 x 220 screen sports more colors (262,000 vs. 65,000) than the V600. The full-color, 98 x 67 supplementary external display is another step-up feature from the V600. This screen displays incoming call information, picture caller ID, camera self portraits, signal strength, battery life, current time and more. The 1.2 Megapixels camera lens and LED flash is housed above this display. An extendable stub antenna is placed on the top right side of the phone. A TransFlash memory slot is located next to the antenna. A standard 2.5mm stereo headset jack is present, as is a combined charging/USB data port. Most of the phone's features and on-screen menus are controlled by a five-way center button on the handset's control pad.
Calling Features
The V710 boasts some powerful calling functions that make it a perfect part of a mobile office. The office-quality speakerphone makes it easy to converse without touching the handset-- a big plus for car users. Enhanced voice dialing supports voice-to-digit dialing and name recognition for speedy dialing of contacts. The V710s voice recognition software supports voice commands from any user, not just a pre-programmed user's voice. Because the V710 is Bluetooth enabled, wireless headsets can be configured with the phone for total handsfree operation.
The V710's 10 MB of internal memory can be used to hold up to 500 contacts for quick access to email addresses and phone numbers. The phone lets you easily assign pictures to your most common callers. In addition to vibrating alerts, the phone supports polyphonic ringtones as well as MP3 ringers, allowing you to use portions of your favorite songs to alert you to incoming calls. A number of ringtones come preloaded on the phone and more ringtones can be downloaded from Verizon's Mobile Web service. The V710's GPS location technology pinpoints your exact location when you dial 911.
Messaging, Internet and Tools
The V710 is a mobile messaging, email and Internet powerhouse. An included email client supports POP3, SMTP and IMAP4 email standards (when used with optional Verizon data service). The V710's support for multimedia messaging means that text, photos, video and audio can be sent with ease (Verizon messaging charges apply). When used in combination with the phone's built-in camera, MMS opens up a whole new world of messaging fun. There's also a built-in web browser for Verizon Mobile Web downloads and mobile web browsing. Verizon's optional Mobile Web package allows you to read and send e-mails, exchange instant messages and view your favorite web content on your phone. You can check your e-mail, trade stocks online, compare prices while shopping, access flight information, get movie listings and find directions to the theater. 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.
Verizon's Get It Now wireless download service is also fully compatible with the V710. This pay-per-download service features application downloads, games and productivity tools. You can also personalize your handset with ringtone downloads and digital photo-sharing tools using the Get It Now service.
A number of handy software tools are bundled with the V710 including a voice memo recorder, a calculator with currency converter, a calendar and an alarm clock. And you can use the V710's Bluetooth capability to set up a wireless link with your favorite Bluetooth headset accessory.
Imaging and Entertainment
Plenty of good times are built right into this handset, and that fun is expandable thanks to the V710's TransFlash memory expansion slot. The slot supports an additional 128 MB of memory in addition to the phone's embedded 10 MB of memory. The V710's 1.2 megapixels camera with flash bridges the gap between phones and quality digital cameras. Support for up to 3 minutes of video capture is also included. An MP3 player lets you load up your favorite tunes and use the phone as a portable jukebox. Embedded animated screensavers and full screen wallpapers are built-in so you can set up the V710 to suit your tastes.
The V710 is BREW enabled, meaning it supports games written on the BREW platform. Games are available via the Get It Now service.
Vital Statistics
The Motorola V710 weighs 4.06 ounces and measures 3.70 x 1.93 x .92 inches. Its lithium-ion battery is rated at up to 3.33 hours of digital talk time, and up to 150 hours of digital standby time. It runs on the AMPS 800/CDMA 800/CDMA 1900 frequencies. The phone comes with a one year limited warranty.
What's in the Box
Motorola V710 handset, battery charger, lithium-ion battery, battery door, holster, user's manual, quick reference guide, welcome CD-ROM.
1 i paid too much for mine.
if you don't want to read this whole thing, take-home message is: you can get a phone with the same **useful** features that this phone has, for less money. but the phone looks so so pretty. my friends are all jealous of my phone, cuz all the features it has that their phones don't. but you really don't use most of the stuff this phone has.
also, it's kinda heavy. that motorola razor phone (the thin one) looks cool. you should also look into that phone.
i paid $400 for mine, for all the features the phone has...it wasn't worth it.
i use mp3 player, speech commands (but it usually doesn't work correctly) camera, and speakerphone (this works good).
i don't use, and i probably never WILL use, the bluetooth stuff, internet (you pay a monthly fee), video camera.
battery life is pretty bad. you'll be charging the phone every night while you sleep. or else it beeps loudly and very annoying.
the camera sucks. you need a LOT of BRIGHT light (like sunlight), or else it's pretty much black-and-white. the phone has a light, but it really doesn't help. bad quality and little clarity. even a disposable camera works better.
you can text/pic message your friends. you pay for this stuff too. but it's fun to text your people. you can also download games for a one-time fee.
phone comes with a memory slot. you pretty much NEED to buy that $50 memory card (and a port that'll transfer files onto the card), cuz there's hardly any free space on the phone (you probably couldn't put one full song on the phone). they say you get 10 mb. that's not much space (about 2-3 full songs), but most of it's already used up on non-deleteable sounds/pics. side note: for ringtones, make it mono (coming through one speaker)...that cuts file size in half. download the music program "audacity" to cut songs short for ringtones and change to mono.
speakers work good. speakerphone works real good too. you can give each person in your phonebook their own ringtone (but ringtones MUST be stored on phone, and there's really not much space available).
volume is pretty good on this baby.
2 Great Phone, Intellect is required.
I have had my Motorola v710 for approximately 5 months now and it does everything I want it to and more! I listen to my mp3's on at all the time. Plus I can take pictures and store them on my "trans flash" card which I have seen raging in price from $19.99 up to $34.99. The pictures look great, not a fan of the video feature though. If you are technically challenged do not buy. I would suggest this phone to people who can have a minute extra time to figure it out and doesn't need the whole thing spelt out for them. Great phone!
3 Not recommended
Extremely poor battery live, have to charge daily, sometimes twice per day! (I know, I can buy "fat" extended battery to improve operating time but some would say-car battery in your backpack can do even better...) Crappy quality camera (picture quality worse then expected) can drain your freshly charged battery in about 10-15 min. Plastic housing feels cheap and fragile , file transfer feature disabled by Verizon from both - bluetooth and memory card options.
4 Good phone, despite Verizon
First, the cons:
The camera isn't what I was expecting. I didn't expect Ansel Adams quality, but it's not what I get from my old 1 mp camera, either. But it's useful for taking snapshots.
The video is pretty useless as well.
The fact that Verizon forces you to pay to send these crappy videos and photos makes sure that you'll never use the camera (see more below)
A bit spotty for Mac OSX users
Verizon's software update further cripples phones usability (greedy bastages)
Pros:
Great sound (although you have to remember to keep the speaker over your ear). Truly great speakerphone- I've had friends have no idea that I was on a cell, much less a speakerphone. I think that between the speakerphone and the bluetooth headset, Moto actually almost meant for you NOT to use the handset in the conventional way
MP3's as ringtones are fun, but you have to work around Verizon to do it. (copy them to the optional transflash card from your computer, then to the phone)
Seems to have great signal strength, at least here in LA. I have very few drop-outs in areas that my old V8160 was really reaching for a signal.
Color screen is gorgeous inside, very nice outside.
Bluetooth headsets are a godsend! I can dial, talk, and hang up merely by touching my right ear.
General: Even with Verizon trying to wrestle the last quarter out of your pocket, it's a great phone. If you get one with the earlier software, you can get around Verizon by using the translash card and a card reader to transfer images and MP3's to and from your computer. I've heard that the later software removes some of that functionality. Which is why I am not flashing my phone.
5 Do your homework before buying this phone
I am extremely disappointed in this phone. Only because of Verizon and how they have disabled the many features that this phone has to offer. My boyfriend and I brought this phone roughly 30 days apart only to find that the software on his allowed him to download ringtones, pictures, etc. utilizing a transfash. Well, I went out and purchased a transflash as well but quickly found out that I couldn't transfer the files to the new software that is now installed on my phone. Bottom line is if you have the older software you can enjoy this V710 but if you have the newer software FORGET it. I wish that as a consumer there is something that we can do about this misleading options on this phone. I only wish I could return the phone. I truly don't think that what Verizon has done is legal. If anyone has figured out a way to get around their many disabled features, please let me know.
6 If you think this phone has a lot of features, think again..
I did some research before buying this phone and I found out that to use a lot of the phone's features, you will end up shelling out way too much money to Verizon. They disable the Motorola-built features and replace them with customized features that they charge you for every time they are used.
(...)
The phone itself is an unbelievable piece of technology, but has been crippled by Verizon.
7 Shame on Verizon!
I bought this phone based on published features just to find out Verizon disabled some of these. I cannot understand a company who has so much going for them (coverage, clarity) would risk upsetting their customer base.
Verizon could gain so much more by giving us access to the technology and making their services very affordable so MORE people would sign up for them instead of disabling features and choosing to nickel and diming us to death instead. Verizon, are you listening!!! Shame on you. You should fire the guy who made that decision. I like your service, but I hope you loose to Motorola. That was underhanded! I want my bluetooth multimedia/data transfer back.
8 relatively bulky with a mediocre camera and battery, but ...
... if you need the best reception possible the V710 is a great choice. I bought this phone because my LG VX6000 (also Verizon) couldn't hold a call for more than 30 seconds in my office. I liked my LG and it worked great most everywhere else but I was hoping to get a phone that I could at least hold brief conversations with in my office without constant dropped calls. Well, I have used the V710 for several hours now in my office without a single dropped call. If it had better battery life I would easily give it 5 stars. Great phone!
9 Get Your Game On!
This phone is awesome! I lovet he fact that it has an SD slot so you can put some more memory in it. You can download some music and even little movies! The only thing that i think is bad about this cell is that it is a little too long.
10 Best Cell phone
This phone is incredibly user friendly. Picture of person calling appears next to their name if you store them next to phone no. speaker phone is also a nice feature.
11 Misleading reviews - Clarified
I am writing this review because, I noticed that lots of people here have given negative and bad reviews on this product. I have been owning the V710 since February this year and so far I havent seen anything wrong with it. I also use a bluetooth headset (Logitech) and its been a perfect gadget.
From what others say, I guess there could have been few phones that had problems and was not recalled by Motorola. Otherwise, I have had no problems and before I bought, I did a qucik survey of people owning this and they all gave me great feedback.
12 Is it possible to hate an inanimate object?
I've had this for about a month and find it to be incredibly frustrating, annoying, and difficult to use; so much so, that I was compelled to write this review. The software is the main problem. From not being able to select individual phonebook info from received/dialed calls to the default "LOUD" setting when plugged in, this phone has me pining for my old, non-camera LG. It even alerts me that I have a missed call *after* I've checked voicemail for that missed call (thanks!) - that is if I can feel the feeble vibration when set to "vibrate". And after a month, the phone feels like it's about to fall apart. I should have taken the hint from the keyboard on the display model which was completely destroyed. I bought this b/c of the tri-mode capabilities and it was the only one available at the time. If I've missed something in the directions and any of this needs to be corrected, I will gladly recind or edit this review. Until then, I'm stuck with my first and last Motorola.
13 Decent but not perfect
I've owned this cell for about 9 months so far. In that time I've exchanged it 4 times. The first 3 had to be exchanged for software issues. The 4th time something wacky happened when I used it with my iBook and I did not disconnect it properly. I went back and Verizon gave me a refurbished model (like the other 3 times). This cell will not do any file transfering by BT so that is a huge downfall. Its almost useless.
Since this was the only Verizon BT cell I bought it. But in the end i wish I did not. The cell got a huge hype and it was all for nothing. Camera is useless as it takes sub-par pics. I've seen Samsung's do better than this. The screen however is nice and crisp.
I also noticed that the cell scuffs really bad at the high points (where it opens/closes) but there is nothing you can do about that since you gotta open and close it. I think Motorola missed the mark on this model.
overall its a decent cell but don't expect it to do much. for the money its not worth it. i wished i had waited - oh well at least its decent.
14 Horrible experience with V710 and Verizon
Through my employer, I get a 22% discount on Verizon plans and equipment, so I really wanted this to work out. I wanted a phone that could sync my contacts, calendar, and ToDo list, so that I can ditch my PDA. A camera would be nice, and I would like to listen to FM radio for the morning commute and MP3s for the evening commute. I can get an FM radio headset that works with the V710, so I thought that I had found my solution.
The Motorola V710 is available only through Verizon, I believe. Unfortunately, as you may have read, Verizon has disabled many of this phones features, except when you "Get It Now" through one of Verizon's many additional charge services. I received an email from them acknowledging Bluetooth capability is a specialized function of this handset, not a feature of Verizon wireless phone service. They promised that they are reviewing the possibility of providing a software update for the V710 that will re-enable the file transfer capability. They claim to be working to provide a suitable solution, however, they further acknowledge that their version of the Motorola V710 software removes the ability to transfer audio files such as MP3 files from the T-flash memory card to your wireless phone. While you will still be able to listen to MP3 files, you will not be able to transfer them directly to your handset. In other words you can listen to MP3 files, but we have removed any method of getting them into the phone except buying them from Verizon $$.
I was born at night, but not last night. I have read that there is a class action suit against Verizon for disabling phone features so that they can gouge customers with extra charges. Maybe the pending litigation has something to do with their new promises to re-enable the features. I am not holding my breath. I am "GETTING OUT NOW" and exercising my right to cancel within the allotted 15 days. I am returning the phone and Trans Flash card to Amazon.
Do yourself a favor and steer clear of Verizon. The phone itself is not bad. Yes, it's big, but not too big. The battery life was okay for the few days I used it. Verizon's menu is not intuitive.
I am back with Cincinnati Bell with no contract. My new phone is a Nokia 6230 with FM radio, MP3 or AAC music via MMC or SD, (available everywhere at reasonable prices), bluetooth, VCA camera, and all the phone's features are enabled. I will review it in a week.
15 Bogus reviews cannot hide this phone's poor quality
Folks, I have discovered a fly in the ointment, so to speak. If you click on all the names of the glowing reviewers here, you'll find that practically each and every one of them has only written one review. That one review is on the V710. Each bogus review has a nickname attached. Perhaps this person is a Motorola employee trying to boost sales or a person who cannot deal with the real life negative reviews of this product. But be warned and alerted. The not so glowing reviews are probably the ones you should take as legitimate.
Now, onward to the phone review. I have owned about five or six cell phones over the past three years and the V710 is the worst. I was drawn to the rebates and low price, which basically got me in trouble from the get-go. The phone has terrible battery life, it is difficult to operate, it is clunky and large, the sound quality is poor, there are hardly any ringtones on it, and the button keys are flat and hard to press.
In short, a piece of techno-junk.
16 This phone is awesome
This phone is Awesome those of you that don't like this phone for one reason or another. I would have to say that you don't have a clue what this phone can do. This phone does it all. With a 128 or a 256 mb trans flash card you can store tonz of photos even photo that you take with your normal digital camera and the the phones camera, you can store them on there. You can put mp3's on there and listen to them through the external speaker or get some headphones, the best part is with the right software you can put full length movies on there, and yes the quality is good, granted it's not HD quality but it's a phone. Most people ask when am I ever going to watch a 2 hour movie on my phone and your right you probably won't but you can put all of the cool/funny little clips that are all over the internet on there and those make for a good laugh when your bored or something. Those who have this phone and don't like it all you have to do is search a little bit and you will love this phone. This phone is the best phone I've ever had. The voice reginition is awesome the speakerphone is awesome. The whole phone is awesome.
17 Best phone I've had so far.
Considering my first cell phone was a Nokia "brick" 2 years ago, when I heard about the V710 and it's features, I started drooling. I looked around this forum and heard the pro's and cons. I also loked at Amazon.com and found a great deal on the phone. $200 U.S. bucks versus 250 @ Verizon. Throw in the $200 rebate, it becomes a deal. The pro's,neutral, cons are as follows:
Pros:
1. Clear reception throughout. Let's face it, Verizon has the best and clear reception anywhere. I carry a company phone which has a plan by Cingular. I was located at a construction site in a "bowl that has hills all around the site. I xouldn't get thru with Cingular. But I can with Verizon.
2. Speaker phone capability. Being able to talk hands off even w/o bluetooth is a plus.
3. MP3 capability: Heh, like having a walkman. The sound was clear on the speakers remarkably and you can
4. mp3 ringtone capability: You can match a definite ringtone and photo to a certain person. Like having the face of your boss to the ringtone of Starwars Imperial March ("Vader's Theme").
5. The capability to use it with conjuction with my laptop as a wireless modem. It's perfect for my job when I'm mobile and I have to send and receive files.
6. Addtional storage thru the purchase of a transflash card.
Neutral:
1. You're gonna need an extended life battery if you use the mp3 capability.
2. The camera is no great shake. But the pictures look better when you download them from the phone.
3. The menu takes a while to master, but it becomes intuititve after a while. The documentation definitely need improvement because some of the nifty things you can do was not mentioned in either the CD or in the manual. I only found out about it in this forum.
Con:
1. Verizon essentially diabled the bluetooth features so that only a headset is bluetooth enabled. Verizon's reasons is that this being a gray area between carriers, phone makers and the entertainment industry, they're going to play it safe.
2. Worse, they also disabled the multi-media functions of Motorola Phone Tools so you can't do a file transfer. So you can forget that route.
If you want your own ringtones ( and don't want to pay Verizon a buck a pop to dl ringtones),you can do an end run, using the transflash card.
I'd also recommend following accesories:
1. A body glove for the phone to protect it (and the camera lens) from scratches.
2. An adapter for the mini-ear plug so you can plug a regular stereo earjack.
3. The motorola phone tools and data cable (if you want a wireless modem for your laptop, otherwise don't)
3. A sandisk transflash card...along with a card writer/reader.
4. A stand charger.
All in all, the V710 is a good phone that has the capability of becoming a great phone if Verizon enables the Bluetooth features.
18 great PHONE
Generally I don't do reviews but I thought this phone was getting an unjust bad reputation. My last phone was an Samsung N400 on sprint and it was bad.. battery died in a day and lots of dropped calls. So my my criteria were good battery life, great reception and speakerphone. Basically i wanted a good phone that would always be available to use. It has excelled in all areas. 0 dropped calls, have yet to have 0 bars, battery can go several days without a charge and the speaker phone is the best i've ever seen.
Pros
Signal strength
Great sound quality
Superior speaker phone
Good battery
Nice LCDs and over all good looks
Cons
keypad leaves much to be desired, but i'm getting used to it
camera is so-so at best
bluetooth - no intention of using it so i wish i could have saved some cash and got one without it
19 My Big Fat Moto v710!!!
I had Tmobile earlier and swtiched to verizon just bcos i was fascinated with the features this phone was offering...but once i got this phone today...i m totally displeased..The phone is BULKY..its fat and long with a longer antenna. I had v300 earlier and I thought it was thick but this thing turned out to be thicker. Silver/Black combo ..doesnt suit my taste atleast ...more or less looks similar to v600. Features are pretty decent,1.2 MP camera,mp3 player..which i havent tested yet. As others say Bluetooth is just an exageration,thanks to Verizon.
The best part is its screen,its biiiiiiiiiig, but the sad part is you(at least I) cannot press the * and # keys easily as its tooo far for your thumb. The outer screen shuts off in 5 secs ruffly..you cant even see the time as in v300 or v600.Infacct you have to press one of the buttons to see that.
Verizon doesnt ship it with ANY GAMES AT ALL...I spent an hour searching for games which werent there at all.
I even tried the Motorola Mobile phone tools with the USB, sadly,even that was not able to transfer pics and ringtones in and out of phone, as was poss in v300. I seriously dont understand the problem with verizon,why it crippled it to an absolute NOTHING!.
The flip opens and closes with force...ie it doesnt open up easily and smoothly.it just pushes on you( might not be a big deal but you do it for 10 mins and you minght end up injuring your thumb).
I seriously doubt if it will fit in my jeans pocket..its so damn long, I only wish people dont misunderstand such a bulky thing in my pocket for something else...:-?
Its a average peice,nothing awesome about it,but if you are a newbie to camera phones, this might be just for you.
Think once before you buy!
MOST IMP THING!!!
Make sure your contract ends on your old service before porting number to the new service,or else you might end up paying a termination fee. I was about to pay $200 for porting 4 days before expiry of my contract,but long hours of calls to customer care on Tmobile & Verizon saved me from that. T Mobile cust care dint tell me , when last time I asked them about the details of porting.
20 piece of garbage
poor build quality, battery life and there are no games included. warning do not buy.and battery life is even worse when you use the bluetooth.I even bought the extended battery still very miner improvement if you want a quality phone buy the samsung a670.
21 Overwhelming Complexity
I owned the Motorola v710 for four days. I'm a fairly technical savvy sort of guy, but this phone completely overwhelmed me. There's alot of features on this phone. If you're in to features (mostly well implemented), then you'll likely enjoy this phone. If you just want a phone for making phone calls, ala minimalism, this is not the phone for you. Unfortunately I fall into the latter category.
I bought this phone with the Bluetooth wireless headset. It took me awhile to figure out how to install, configure, and then activate the headset. Once I did it worked great. Sound quality on both ends was really really good. On the downside, the wireless headset has a separate battery, and must be recharged separately. I tried leaving the wireless headset on my head so I could answer incoming calls but the battery would die before anyone would call me.
The camera in this phone is great. The pictures are high quality, although at night and when moving the photos are marginable. Viewing the photos on the camera's screen is deceiving: the photos actually look better if you can get them off the phone. It wasn't hard to figure out how to email the pictures I took on the phone directly to my blog, and once I did that I could see how well they turned out. On the downside, Verizon doesn't currently have a plan that allows you to avoid sending pictures off your phone without paying them. The deluxe picture sending package was $15/month, and only allows you to send 40 pictures off your phone per month. This makes it seriously prohibitive for using it as a serious camera. I've heard other people find ways of circumventing this using a USB cable, but I didn't try that.
I really liked the ability to snap a picture of someone in my contacts, and then when they'd call me their picture would show up on the external screen. There's something pleasingly evocative about seeing your mother-in-law's face on your phone when she calls you.
The screen is bright, large, and easy to read. I couldn't figure out a way to configure the external screen so that it wouldn't constantly say Verizon on it. I'm not sure if that's possible without 3rd party modification.
The battery life on this phone seems poor. It was quickly running out of battery if I was actively using the phone and fussing with contacts. I also didn't like that the external screen seemed to go to sleep often and quickly. You have to touch a button if you want to see what time it is.
In summary, if you're big into features this phone is great and flashy. If you're into simplicity, battery life, and ease of use look elsewhere. I traded mine in for a Nokia 6015i, and I'm much happier.
22 verizon dumbed it down; pros: camcorder, speakerphone
i was mildly excited to get this new phone after losing my lg vx6000, which i really liked. i liked the lg vx6000 because of its convenient camera, its ability to have mp3 ringtones (via some easyhacks), its ability to sync via bitpim (a great tool, look it up on the web!), and its decently small size. when i upgraded to the v710, my first hesitation was its ginormous (enormous) size. it's bigger than motorola's old star tac line, which for the better half of a decade set the golden standard. compared to the lg vx6000, this motorola v710 is a big, big, clunker, the land yacht of modern cell phones.
one _might_ think that my concern about the size is all image-based; but no, the size creates serious problems. for one thing, the phone is heavy and easily falls off whatever its clipped to (belt, bag, etc.) because of its weight and its clumsy holster. secondly, the giant size makes the phone get in the way of daily activities. this phone ought to be as slim as motorola's razr v3 phone.
originally, i was pretty excited to get a 1.2 mp camera and a camcorder. of course, i think this imaging chip is a cmos not a ccd, which is a negative, but one i'm willing to accept for the sake of size and price. however, when you first take the phone out of the box, you will have the ultimate problem of figuring out how to transfer the photos and videos off your phone to your computer. it seems that verizon tries to trap you into using their extremely overpriced pixplace service. at 25 cents an upload, you can easily rack up a bill as enormous as this phone's body. what's the use in owning a digital camera, if you need to pay in order to retrieve your pictures? that's like owning a film camera! it appears that originally, we were supposed to transfer our pictures via this phone's nice bluetooth functionality. however, what i'm hearing is that verizon purposely dumbed down this phone's bluetooth functionality in order to armbar us into using their expensive (and inconvenient) data transfer services. after all, we should've been able to transfer mp3s to our motorola v710 phones via bluetooth in order to use them as ringtones or with the built-in mp3 player.
the only way to get around this data transfer dilemma is to buy the moderately priced transflash ram card. sandisk makes a nice 256mb transflash ram card, which has greatly improved my relationship with this phone. it's feels more like a quick fix than an ideal solution, which would be a wireless or even wired connection direct to my computer. (in fact, earlier, i had purchased a motorola data cable for this phone; but without the expensive software and without the time to implement the hack software, it was of little use to me.)
my disappointment over the bluetooth functionality doesn't stop there. i am indeed upset that i can't transfer files to my computer via the bluetooth connection but am further unhappy that i cannot interface the phone via bluetooth with my palmone tungsten t5. one would expect that i could use the pda's phonebook from my phone via the wireless connection. from what i'm hearing, one of the few things this bluetooth i/o is good for is one of those expensive wireless handsfree kits. luckily, the phone has a built-in speakerphone that provides a good handsfree solution, one of this phone's only positives.
i do enjoy the camera with somewhat satisfactory flash and the camcorder. the still images come out nice at 1.2 mp, admittedly better than the pictures from my old lg vx6000. i also enjoy the self-portrait mode, where you close the lid and use the _outside_ screen as the viewfinder. (this could function as a makeshift mirror if needed.) the biggest negative about the camcorder is that the video is stored in this awkward .3g2 (3gpp) format, which is incompatible with windows media player and seems only to work with apple quicktime.
it seems that verizon is pushing its customers to upgrade from lg vx6000 phones to these motorola v710 phones. it _is_ a natural evolution from small still pics to video clips. however, verizon's definitely taken this opportunity to attempt to foil the gadget guru crowd, which previously enjoyed hacks for free wireless web and the like. considering that customers will find they need to buy more of verizon's services in order to use this phone verizon ought to be paying the customers to switch to this phone. perhaps, the closest we'll get to that situation is a free-after-rebate deal.
23 How to buy
Does anyone know if you can buy this phone at the discounted price if you already have Verizon's service and you just want to upgrade your phone? I can't seem to find this option when I try to buy this..
Thanks
24 V710 A BARGAIN
Contrary to other user opinions I have found the V710 to be the best cell phone I have owned. The camera is on par with every other cell phone camera that I've seen. Meaning that this is a cell phone not a digital camera. While Verizon has crippled some of the bluetooth advantages they cannot diminish the quality of this phone. The reception and voice quality far exceeds anything else Verizon offers. Even crippled the bluetooth works flawlessly and is all that the average high use business person or casual user really needs. The display is both large and high definition, with black lettering framed in white.My eye sight isn't the best but with the V710 display I can read everything with a quick glance. The trans-flash expansion card is very small but works as advertised. I would suggest the desktop charger because it does away with the cheap charger plug in on Motorola phones and it has a data port to connect the phone to your computer. If you buy the desktop charger, the data cable, and phone tools 3.0 you can transfer your photos and data easily by just dropping your phone into the charger. Bluetooth is very convenient and one day will do away with wired connections but for now cabled connections are still the most reliable. I could go on and on about the advantages the V710 has over the other Verizon phones but let me sum it up this way: (1) best reception (2) best sound quality (3) top of the line speaker phone (4) excellent display (5) trans-flash expandable memory (6) mediocre camera, but it does take short movie clips (7) very customizable options (8) good size and weight for most people (9) bluetooth connectivity works great for most users (10) plastic, but very solid build quality. Those are the highlights that I've found, try this phone and I think you'll agree and probably find other features you like even more. For $200 at Amazon.com plus a $50 rebate and another $150 rebate down the road, I dare even the biggest critic of the V710 to find a better phone available from Verizon. Let's be honest here, Verizon is the best cellular carrier in the U.S. so we are forced to deal with the phones they offer or settle for dropped calls and static, or no service at all. All the gimics aside we all want clear calls and good reception the V710 and Verizon offer this better than anyone else right now.
25 Read the manual!
I don't normally do these types of things but you people are completely wrong. You can have multiple numbers for one contact and only have the name listed once in the phone book. For those of you who can't read the manual here's how...
Hit "contacts", then hit the "menu" button, scroll down to "setup" click that, then hit "view", select "primary contacts", then hit "done". What do you know, people with more than one number are only listed once. This is what the little book that comes with the phone is for, read it!
As a phone, the V710 is amazing. We all knew about the crippled bluetooth when we bought it, thank Verizon for that. If you don't like it $175ETF and you are free to do what you want. You are not "stuck" with anything.
My battery will last 3-4 days with my normal useage, if your battery is that bad take it back to the store and get a new one.
The camera takes decent pictures for a PHONE! If you are using the picture on your phone change the resultion of the camera to 320x240. If you are going to put the photo on the computer use 1280x960, it will look good once you get it on the computer.
Stop giving wrong information and read the phones manual! Remember it's a cell phone first and everything else second.
26 Not performing to specifications & Poor software design
1) Not performing to specifications: battery life is very bad and charging the phone takes time - this phone doesn't really last more than 1.5 days. Poor Design for battery swapping: swapping battery is not an easy job. The cover needs to be removed and often gets stuck (I don't know why) I had to remove the antenna to remove the cover. I had to pry the battery to get it out. Replacing the battery is also an issue. I need to line it up perfectly. I found out the first time I installed the battery. The cover snapped back OK and the phone worked but it wouldn't charge. So swapping batteries is not a solution for the battery life issue.
2) Not performing to specifications: camera takes poor pictures based on specifications and comparing to other cell phones that are less epensive.
3) Poor user interface design for the Phone Book due to the display of multiple entries for cell, home, office, Fax, etc. with the same contact name.
27 find a better phone...
i usually dont write product reviews, but this phone is so bad that i couldn't help to write one myself. despite the warnings, i went ahead and still purchased the phone. many may wonder why the complaints, well here goes:
1) battery life is low and charging the phone takes time - my other phone had enough juice to go 3 days without charging and charging time was less than one hour. this phone doesn't really last more than 1.5 days and the charge time is a lot longer.
2) camera is bad and does not take good pics - the camera takes very bad pics and is not worth the function.
3) forget about contacts management - my old nokia phone had one entry per person. this phone has multiple entries for cell, home, office, etc - meaning that there could be 5 jane smith in the address book since each entry is separate.
ok... enough complaining... will have to manage until my contract is up and i can get a new phone.
28 love the phone
this is the best phone from Verizon. if you're stuck with Verizon Wireless, this is the best deal. use it as mp3 player in the gym. ability to use mp3 ringtones is a great fun. great voice dial. very dependable as a phone - excellent reception, no dropped calls, good sound, exceptional speakerphone.
I'd give it 4.8 instead of 5 because of crappy camera (don't care much about that).
29 I'm happy with it.
I'm sad that people aren't happy with this phone. I've had excellent reception, battery life is awesome, it comes with cool rings, and its not so small that I lose it in my purse! I think this is a great phone.
30 stay away from this piece of junk
oh man this is the worst phone i've ever owned. i had it for just a few days and immediately sent it back. why? well for starters the digital camera is the worst i've ever seen on any phone. the pictures look like some piece of junk from the '70s. secondly, the phone is FAT. it's just way too big and bulky. the antenna sticks out too far even when it's not pulled out. finally, the screen resolution isn't very crisp, and sometimes the phone lags..yes i mean actually lags like a slow computer. i've had another motorola phone that did this as well. if you want a fancy phone, and are shopping for service providers, let me suggest the audiovox cdm-8940 from verizon. i just got it and it's 10 times better. no i don't work for verizon.
31 Great phone
Bluetooth is awsome, lots of cool features, great reception and navigation through the menus is very easy. The speaker phone is very good, sounds good and loud. Some things that bug me are:
-You can't change the outside screen to blink or light up when it rings.
-Camera, they call it the 1st mega pixel in a phone, I've had much better camera phones before, but still it's ok.
-There are no games unless you purchase them, and most are monthly subscription games.
All in all the best phone i've ever had. And the service (verizon) is great, and i've tried them all, and in this area (eastern long island) nothing comes close to verizons coverage.
32 Well, at least it has great reception..
One great thing about the cell phone industry in this country is that your contract expires in one year. This means that every year you can get a new phone, often at a great subisidized price if you choose to select a "new" contract. You might need to give up your old numbers (unless you are switching betwewen the carriers) but for those who don't care it's a great way to try out lots of new phones at very little cost. Keep this tip in mind when you are buying this phone.
To get the good news out first, one thing great about Verizon phones is that they all have great reception. This more likely is due to Verizon installing more cell phone antennas everywhere than the phones themselves, but to the end user it's all the same. As a travelling consultant, reception is the single most important aspect to look for in a phone. When I am out in rural areas and a client wishes to speak to me, it's imperative that I am able to talk to the client without interruptions or static. This is the part which this phone and Verizon excels at.
Sadly, the V710 does not excel in anything else compared to its peers. As other posters have complained, the bluetooth functionality is limited because Verizon decided to disable file transfer capabilities. That way Verizon can force the users to download ringtones and other goodies instead of people copying files from their computers via bluetooth. The way to get around this is to get the 128MB transflash card, which I did buy. This worked out great as I was able to transfer songs and music from my computer to the phone with no problems.
Some other useful (if not standard) features in this phone include a standard 1 Megapixel camera (4x zoom), a video capture (which allows you to capture 15 sec clips with full sound, whoopie), speaker phone (a very nice feature which is missing from Samsung phones), and voice dialing (good feature if you drive and talk a lot, something which I find to be extremely annoying when others do it).
Now onto the ugly part. Motorolla continues to implement the annoying loud beep when the phone is low on batteries. I don't know how to turn this off and embarassed myself over at a client's site because of this. This is also one of the very few phones which does not come with a headset (Samsung, Nokia, even the Sidekick II packages give you this for free). Even if you do get the headset, it comes with only 1 earbud so you cannot get stereo quality sounds which the mp3 should be able to give off.
In summary, if you are a casual user and reception is very important to you then get this phone or at the very least go for Verizon phones. If you are looking for features (which are actually implemented well) to show off to friends then you should probably go for the Motorola Razor from Sprint, or maybe a Samsung or SonyEricson. If you are looking for phone to do text messaging (especially AIM) and web browsing then be sure to get the SidekickII. If you want a business phone for Outlook sync and messaging then go for one of the Blackberry phones.
Update: I just found that there are in fact stereo headsets for this phone, it's just that Amazon does not carry them! From Howardforums (the hardcore phone mod community) people are also complaining about the V710's new firmware which disables audio transfers from the TransFlash card onto the phone. Yes, Verizon wants to make that extra buck from ringtones THAT badly. The upside to the new firmware is that the camera quality is better and the bluetooth is finally working with some cars.
33 phone 4, features 2
I bought this phone the day it was released, which coincided with my Verizon contract expiration and "free phone" period, after allowing myself to be seduced by the pre-release hype. As about everybody knows by now, the device is seriosly crippled by Verizon. As a telephone, it's pretty good, though there are undoubtedly others that perform as well and can be got for a quarter the price. The absence of fully functional Bluetooth, however, overrides the features that made it desirable in the first place. And Verizon's attitude towards its early adopters have me seriously considering another carrier the next time I'm due to re-up.
34 Full of features, not to mention FREE
It might be because I have no intention of using bluetooth to transfer data (i bought a transflash 128 mb card with SD adapter for $31 on ebay), but I received this phone today and it has done very well. Calls are clear, even from my basement which normally has very bad reception. The camera is very good in bright light and how the pics turn out depends on how steady your hand is. The video capture is also cool, as long as you don't move the camera too quickly while shooting. The screen is also worth pointing out. It is very very clear and bright, and huge too. Looks-wise, the V710 is much cooler than almost all other cellies out there (the razr might be cooler looking but the V710 has more features). Since I've only had the phone for one day, I still haven't figured out most of the features, but maybe it's because i haven't read the book-sized manual yet. I would recommend this phone to anyone who is looking for a new celly, especially since IT'S FREE! I looked at it at Best Buy and it was $220 with a $40+/month plan. on Amazon, it is cheaper to begin with, and then they threw in an extra 150 dollar rebate. You can also choose the cheapest plan they offer and still qualify for the rebate (I don't plan on using more than 300 daytime minutes per month, so I went for the 30 dollar plan). I hope I've made it clear that, if you don't plan on using bluetooth for other things than wireless accessories, this phone is perfect for you.
35 Awsome Phone!!!
Just got it 2 days ago. It took me a long to finalize this phone. As everyone had mostly negative reviews. Here in amazon on cnet etc. Well, the camera isnt that bad. Its as good as what you should expect from a cell. Then the voice quality is superb, and its so loud and clear. You'll love it. The reception is great everywhere.
I guess this is the only bluetooth (only voice) choice from verizon, and it has all other features of speaker phone and so on.
I guess its a nice choice.
Kaushal
36 Verizon Screwed this one up
I bought this for the bluetooth connectivity to my Totota Prius navigation system. I connected well BUT when I wanted to move my phone book from the phone to the Prius system it would not work. I took it to the local Verizon Wirelees Tech Support guy and he said that Verizon had disabled the ability of the phone to transfer the phone book. The Prius system (and most Nav Systems) only let you enter new phone #'s etc. from the phone- not the screen. I returned the phone. This is Verizon's problem-- not Motorola's!
37 Decent Phone
I've had the phone for 4 months now. This phone has great reception. My friend has a Kyosera Slider and I always get extra bar. Camera only works in daylight. You need Trans Flash card to load MIDI/MP3 ringtones - but the sound is great.
I did invest into the USB cable and Motorola sync software - now I'm able to sych my Outlook contacts with the phone. Calendar sync is the possibility as well, but I don't use it.
The holster is cheap and cracked pretty soon - had to go and get a BodyGlove case, which is quite good.
Battery life is OK, I get 2-3 days out of it with light use.
38 Not really worth the price
This is supposed to be the only non-pda bluetooth phone by verizon. I had to get this phone as I was limited to verizon service- other carriers weren't working well in my area.
Pros:
Saves last 60 calls dialed and received
Gr8 screen, signal
bluetooth
Cons:
Bulky- the antenna gets stuck everytime in my trouser pocket
Bluetooth probably works, i haven't tried yet, but what sucks is verizon's effort to make money everyway and not let bluetooth be used as the user wants
The outside display gets blackened out and u have to press the button to see the time.
Not too many ring tones, games etc.
39 Great Phone
I have only had this phone for a day. Most of the complaints I have heard from people are over exaggerated. For example it is possible to only show a persons primary line, although it isn't the default for the phone, it is possible to personalize the phonebook. I also liked the custimization that can be done to this phone. Don't like pressing the upper right hand key to go to your phonebook you can change it so a different key will do it.
I haven't really tried out the bluetooth, and the camera isn't all that great but for me there isn't really any need for either of these features. Otherwise everything has been great!
40 SO close...
I agree that the lack of full Bluetooth support is rather lame. Beyond that though...the phone is wonderful!
Great reception
Great screen
MP3 ringtones
Camera works just fine...as long as there is enough light. Natural light works best. It's a phone, NOT a camera....keep that in mind.
41 The worst cell phone I've owned since 1999
This phone has a mediocre user interface, (virtually) featureless bluetooth, and HORRIBLE phonebook/contact management.
First, the user interface: It's ok. It is nice that it allows the ability to customize which options are displayed (and in what order they appear) on the"home page" of the phone. Unfortunately that, along with the 1.2 megapixel camera, are the only good things I have found with this phone.
Second, the bluetooth: This phone does not allow copying items to/from the phone using a bluetooth compatible computer (and does not allow emailing of photos, so there is no way to get the photos to your computer!), AND there is no way to perform contact/address book sync with a computer or handheld device (pda). Also, no calendar sync.
Third, there is no way to have a single phonebook entry (person) containing multiple phone numbers! Each phone number occupies a line in the phone book, so needless to say, the phonebook list is WAY longer than it needs to be (very few people that I contact frequently have only 1 phone number... I think my grandma is the only person I know that has only 1 phone number)
It isn't a bad phone otherwise.. maybe I've just come to expect more from a cell phone (for example, my less expensive Sony Ericsson T610 had full bluetooth addressbook/calendar sync, a more neatly organized phonebook.. although took slightly lower quality pictures). But it remiscent, aside from the nicer screen/graphics and camera) of an old, circa 1999 Nokia I had... although waaaaayy more expensive.
42 Beautiful display, great sound quality and sturdy frame...
I am one of those that gets a new cell phone every year so I have to have the latest and greatest. I also require the phone to do a little bit more than just simply allow me to make calls, although that is the most important thing.
Let me start off by saying that this phone is the best phone I have ever owned, hands down. Yeah some people on here are crying about how the Bluetooth is "crippled" or that the battery life isn't all that great but I haven't had a problem with either. As far as BT is concerned I only use the headset function so the rest doesn't matter to me. I bought a transflash card for $25 with the phone and use that to transfer songs and pictures, real easy. The battery life is great. I can go four days in between charges even when playing music, taking pictures and talking on it all the time. No other phone I owned had a battery that lasted that long. Learn how to "condition" your battery people, it will make it last so much longer.
As everyone has said the picture quality leaves a lot to be desired but hey, it's a camera-PHONE what did you expect? It's great for snapping shots when you just don't have your digital camera around (like if you get into a fender bender or something). The internal display, on the other hand, is amazing! This is my third color phone and it is by far the best display ever, so vivid and crisp. I actually uploaded high quality pics from my computer via the transflash card and use that for my Picture Caller ID and the display is wonderful!
The media player is great with the 128mb memory card. I am able to store more than 30 songs on it and the sound quality of the external speaker is excellent. Yes, it does not allow you to assign mp3's on the memory card as ringtones but I just use a free utility called MPTrim to make 20-30 second clips of all my favorite songs and then transfer them to the phone's memory. Then you can simply assign those as ringtones and since the files are only about 20 seconds long (which is longer than the time for the phone to ring before forwarding to voicemail) it only uses up about 250kb at CD-quality sound so you can still fit dozens of them on the phone's 10mb internal memory.
The speakerphone isn't as lound as my last phone (Nextel i730) but is still loud enough to use in a room with a reasonable amount of noise. It's definitely loud enough to use in a car with the windows up or in an office environment.
The phone's menus and buttons are so easy to use and well thought out that it will only take a matter of minutes to get used to. I also like the fact that you can customize the soft keys and the shortcut buttons to your liking. Makes it even easier to navigate through.
There are a few very very minor issues that I have found and I will tell you about those so that you know I'm not some sort of Motorola rep trying to increase sales. One thing I don't like is that you can't adjust the ringer volume with the phone closed. I think that's an important feature when you forget to shut the ringer off when you're in a meeting and you get a call which begins playing that new mp3 ringtone you downloaded. You also cannot disable the "Low Battery" warning beep (which doesn't happen often but when it does can get annoying). To me it seems like it defeats the purpose to have a loud beep every two minutes when your battery is low since that in and of itself uses up energy. I also haven't been able to figure out how to ignore a call without opening the phone, which if set to do so could actually cause you to answer the call (forgive me if I missed the section in the manual that shows you how to do this).
As far as the service goes I cannot be happier with Verizon. I work in a large office building and I park four levels underground. No carrier, other than Sprint, get's coverage down there and with Verizon I can make calls sitting in my car. There were also two dead spots that I would always run into with Nextel on my commute home and with Verizon I have at least 3 bars in both areas. I also called their customer service three times since receiving my phone just to ask simple questions about my plan or about features and never had to wait longer than 3 minutes. With Nextel and ATT/Cingular (wife's phone) I had to sit on hold for over 20 minutes each just to cancel service, goes to show how much they care. And every time I've called in their reps were polite and got my questions answered quickly.
After going from LA Cellular to AT&T Wireless to Airtouch to Verizon back to AT&T Wireless to Nextel and then back to Verizon I really think I have found the provider I am going to stick with (at least until someone else comes out with a better phone and better coverage :p ).
43 Not Perfect, Not Bad
OK, I'm sick of all the people that buy this phone and expect it to slice their bread and wash their laundry, then rip on it for not doing that.
Maybe I'm just cynical, but I have been very pleased with this phone. Yes, it has a camera; yes, it plays mp3s; yes, it has bluetooth. But it's not a digital Elph, it's not an iPod, and it's not a PDA. It's a phone. No, it's not perfect, but it works well.
Some weaknesses:
-The "1.3 megapixel" camera takes 1280x960 pictures, but it is not a digital camera replacement. Pictures in bright light turn out well. The camera is effectively useless in low lighting, the LED light doesn't help.
-Some people would say it is oversized. I like its size and weight.
The external "color" screen is not very high resolution, and does not have very bright colors. Picture ID's are very small. (unlike many screens though, it is visible in sunlight)
-Battery life is uninspiring. It comes with having such a huge screen and so many features.
-mp3s work well, but to use them as a ringtone, you must put them on the phone's embedded memory (10 megs) instead of being able to play from the transflash card (I have a 128 meg card).
-Bluetooth is pretty much only useful for a wireless headset. Know this before you buy it: No bluetooth data transfer. Get a transflash card and reader to transfer pictures, movies and music.
Some strengths:
-Excellent reception, the best of any phone I've ever used.
-Huge, high definition screen.
-Strong phone speaker, mp3s sound good.
-Takes good pictures with plenty of light.
-Very customizable interface and software: You can choose the commands for both soft keys and all four directional keys. Some people are confused by the menus, I personally like customization. This might not be the best phone if you are not somewhat tech savvy.
-Speakerphone is loud and works well.
-Superb digital voice recognition, even with quite a bit of ambient noise. I have a lot of names in my phone book, making calls is so easy when you just have to push one side button, then say the rest.
-Other little bonus features are great. A battery-saving one that I like is that the phone senses how bright surrounding light is, then will light the keypad only if necessary.
-Durable, attractive construction. It doesn't look or feel like many of the flimsy, lightweight plastic phones out there.
My experience with this phone has been great. Verizon seems behind the technology curve when compared to some of the other providers, but this phone has helped level the playing field a bit.
44 DO NOT BUY THIS IF YOU WANT FULL BLUETOOTH CAPABILITIES
This phone is great, I love it. BUT Verizon crippled it - they disabled object transfer over bluetooth, so you won't be able to get pictures off your phone, put mp3's onto your phone, or download your contact list withouth buying a Transflash Card and Reader.
This is something Verizon did because profit is their middle name - they want you to pay $.25/picture to send them to yourself. They want you to buy THEIR ringtones through Get It Now.
Other than this problem, the phone is great. Pictures are a bit grainy and dark, but they are as good as can be expected from a phone. The form factor is a bit bigger than expected, but the screen is absolutely huge!
For more info about this phone, there is a user community at:
www.howardforums.com - it's under the Verizon heading.
45 Great phone!
Have had this phone for a couple of weeks. Traded up from a T720i, a great improvement, much more usable, the screen resolution is just awesome. Menus and "get it now" features are much faster. I have been using a sandisk 128mb transflash and USB reader to transfer images and ringtones/mp3's with no problems.You can fit a ton of pictures/mp3's on that card. you do have to copy any audio files from the card over to the phone memory to use as a ringotne. There is a ton of free audio editing software out there to create & edit your own ringtones. This is a good way to get around Verizon's pay-for-pictures/ringtones junk. Buttons have a nice solid feel. Speaker phone is loud and voice dialing works very well. I had some trouble with the unit turning off unexpectedly, but has not happened since I fully charged the battery. I have not used bluetooth yet, and don't plan to. Camera is decent for a phone, video is pretty choppy. All of the applications I have downloaded look great on the display.
46 CRIPPLED LIKE CRAZY!!!
DO NOT BUY THIS PHONE. This phone is GREAT in terms of RF and use BUT thats about it, everything you would expect from motorola such as camera and bluetooth have been CRIPPLED SEVERLY!!! You can even use BT to transfer pics or mp3s. You have to FLASH the phone for it to work which is a pain. VERIZON has crippled this phone by disabling other features like MULTIMEDIA function from their program Mobile Phone tools so the ONLY way is to use their EXPENSIVE Get it NOW Program.
STAY AWAY!!! DONT GET THIS PHONE TIL THEY FIX IT IN THE FUTURE!!!
47 DO NOT BUY
I purchased the phone because of the Bluetooth technology. This technology has been mostly disabled by Verizon. Do not buy if you plan to use this phone with Bluetooth. VERY DISAPPOINTED. WILL SELL SHARES OF MOTOROLA AND VERIZON AS ONLY RECOURSE. BURNED ONCE NEVER AGAIN!
48 Verizon has taken a decent phone and turned it into garbage.
This is the buggiest phone I have ever used. It has all sorts of problems with bluetooth integration to the Acura Handsfee Link system. Also, Verizon has crippled the phone so that you cannot transfer files using Bluetooth to force you to use their Get It Now service which is much much slower in addition to the fact that you have to pay for it. Finally, the camera is aweful. I've seen better pictures from cheap 640x480 cameras and don't even try to take a picture indoors. I am very disappointed that this is the best Verizon can come out with in a Bluetooth handset. Why pay hundreds of dollars for this when you can get a better Bluetooth phone for use on the Cingular network for $50.
49 Don't buy it for Bluetooth
As others have mentioned, in an attempt to force customers to use their "Get It Now" service, Verizon has crippled the Bluetooth so its only function is to let you use a cordless headset. In other words, Verizon is targeting this, their first Bluetooth phone, to teenagers who spend all their time talking on the phone and all their parents' money downloading silly ringtones and graphics. Working adults who want a phone they can use to store information and transfer it between devices should choose another carrier and another phone.
You can find a good overview of the phone's pros and cons--as well as a breathtaking sample of Verizon's arrogance and uncaring attitude towards its customers--at http://www.nuclearelephant.com/papers/v710.html.
50 I wish i had a choice between this phone and another...
But verizon only had this for the bluetooth. I got it when it came out and, i was extremely pissed off. For a month i could take the lousiest pictures that i have ever seen. It was like you pause your vcr on a horribly recorded tape. I had another phone before this with AT&T for over a year, and that was not a megapixel but 640x400, well it was less resolution but each picture came out 1000 times better in light and otherwise. Even outside the fotos come out very bad. Put it this way i never use the camera anymore even when i say i wish a had a camera to take a funny foto of someone. Its a bluetooth enabled phone which works so so with the 820 motorola headset. I dont think you should buy this if you need a camera phone, only if you need a bluetooth phone with verizon if there are none others around. Very dissapointed with the motorolla phone, it was my first and ia had heard many good things about it, which this phone made me forget them and just think of the horrible quality of this phone. ...... OH, and i heard that there is, or was a recall on the first wave of these phones on the camera lens. I returned it and i got another replaced for free, at least i made motorolla pay for its crappy phone they put out there. And its quite big for phones out there which are getting smaller every day. The v600 is much better and a bit smaller. If they had it for verizon i wouldve gotten it in a heartbeat.
51 NEW MOTO E815 PHONE TO REPLACE V710 in Q1 2005
This V710 phone has had terrible reviews because of its many bad features and numerous problems. Verizon will be releasing Motorola's new EVDO E815 phone to replace this phone very soon. I urge people not to buy this V710 phone anymore and wait for the new replacement. The E815 looks very similar but has an improved keypad, better bluetooth capability, better quality camera and a new version of the speech recognition software. The E815 has been previewed at this month's CES electronics expo in Las Vegas with great reviews. Here is something you can read: http://www.mobileburn.com/news.jsp?Id=1038.
Verizon is expected to release the E815 by May 2005.
52 great as long as you don't need bluetooth
[...]
Additionally the v710 takes HORRIFICALLY POOR photos indoors, and outdoors unless there is incredibly BRIGHT light. I have a Canon G6 digital camera so I wasn't expecting spectacular pix, but for a $500 you'd think motorola would have done better.
53 Stop Complaining! Great Phone!
I was a bit iffy at first after reading all of the reviews here. But being that this was the only bluetooth phone verizon offered, I gave it a try. ITs an AWESOME phone! Speakerphone works great, the volume can go painstakingly high, as well as low. Voice dialing is awesome because it recognizes your command without any programming, and if you have an accent or whatever can adjust and adapt, can also dial by speaking digits aloud. I admit the camera by itself does a rather poor job for the 1.2 megapixel rating, so minus a star for that. The video shooting mode is pretty cool, records sound too. For the individual above who could not see more than three names in the contacts list, he must have not read the manual, as you can put it into list mode and see much more. The display is excellent and razor sharp. The sound clarity is great, and paired with the motorola hs810 bluetooth headset, is a killer combo. With voice dial, you have no need to ever touch the phone which is always in my bag. A great phone! If you want a digital camera go buy one, if you want a good phone here it is. As a side note I did not purchase the phone from Amazon, I bought through verizon as part of an upgrade, but bought for same price.
54 be selective about accessories and expectations
The v710 alone provides better speaker phone quality (especially to the other end) than in conjunction with the HF600. Get a simpler charging adapter for the car, and something to attach the phone to the dash.
Transflash memory add-on works OK.
Motorola Mobile Phone Tools 3.0 is problematic. (It would be nice to know about alternatives to sync Outlook - how another reviewer moved stuff via the flash memory option.)
It works better as a speaker phone than as a non-speaker phone. It seems to be a little quiet when held to the ear, compared to other phones (but there must be something that can really pump up the volume, since the speaker phone is so good).
The obvious stuff is good if you look at the phone in the store yourself - display quality, call quality, analog backup to digital service, ...
Haven't done much with the camera, but I'm starting to think that with the way most people treat their phones, how is the lens supposed to stay clean and not blur or otherwise hinder images? It may really only be good to have for impromptu photos.
Think about:
Are separate PDA and phone better, even if it means 2 devices instead of 1? The PDA vendors have more of a track record with hooking up to the PC.
Are separate camera and phone better for most pictures? The camera vendors that made film in addition to digital cameras have a history, and prices are plumetting, and megapixels and features rising.
55 lost 1 star for lack of stylus or thumb keyboard; VIDEO-clip
this reviewer calls your attention to the following particular
feature or aspect of the Mot V710, namely that it has a modular
memory-card slot (termed 'TransFlash Memory Expansion Slot'). A
video clip can thus be saved/stored/transferred to the MEMORY.
I regret to say that I know not the specific storage type/name.
This is a layman's attempt to explain an UNusual cellphone fea-
ture which might serve you when you need to document incidents.
V710 Phone for Verizon Wireless
Detailed Features
Specifications
Form Factor: Clamshell
Bands/Modes: CDMA 1X with aGPS Trimode (800/1900/Analog)
Size: 3.71 x 1.95 x 0.92 inches - size of phone with standard battery
Weight: 4.4 oz - weight of phone with standard battery
Display: 2.2" 176 x 220 upto 262K color TFT main display
4 Line 1.3" 96X64 upto 4K CSTN color sub display
Antenna: Retractable
Talk Time: up to 180 minutes, with standard battery
Standby Time: up to 165 hours, with standard battery
Highlighted Features
MSM 6100 (ARM9) chipset
WAP 2.0 Browser
Bluetooth¨ Headset/Carkit & DUN Profiles
BREW 2.1
Qualcomm CMX 4.0 Sound Engine
CE Bus connector for existing accessories support
1.2 M-pixel Camera
Multi-Media Messaging (MMS), SMS, EMS
Video clip capture & playback
Self Portrait Viewfinder External Display
64 Polyphonic, 18mm Office Quality Speaker Phone, Stereo Headset Support
Integrated MP3 Player, MP3 and MIDI Ringers
Picture Caller ID on External & Internal Display
Digital Camera Features: Photo Album, Slide Show Viewer, 4X Digital Zoom, Auto timer, Shutter Tones, Adjustable Resolution, Day & Night Lighting Modes, 4 Image Styles. Picture phone book.
Digital Camcorder Features: **Adjustable video length for upto 3 minutes, Recording sound on/off option, Adjustable video quality, Day & Night Lighting Modes
TransFlash Memory Expansion Slot
Speaker Independent Digit and Name Dialing Speech Recognition, enabled via phone's microphone speaker, headset and bluetooth accessory
Text to Speech enabled phonebook & keypad
5-way Navigation, Simultaneous button press for BREW Gaming
PIM functionality, PC Sync with optional Mobile Phone Tools Software, Predictive Text (iTAP), 500 Multi-fielded Phonebook Entries, Voice Memo, Currency Converter, Calculator
56 This Phone Is Great!
(12/19/2004) I just got this phone yesterday. I love the reception and the sound quality is excellent. My only grip is that you can't have multiple number per contact. I had my numbers transferred from the LG6000. I HAD 100 contacts, home & cell for each. Now, I have 200 people in my phonebook. Oh well... I bought this phone as a direct result of all the headset/hand free laws that passed in each state while driving. I'll use this for a while with the speakerphone; my next purchase is going to be the Bluetooth headset.
57 Choose another phone!
As this is currently Verizon's only Bluetooth offering, I know it looks tempting to people who want this type of connectivity. However, as other reviewers have noted, Verizon has modified the Bluetooth ability on this phone such that it doesn't conform to OBEX standards. What does that mean? No Bluetooth syncing of contact or datebook information, no transfer of photos or ringtones via Bluetooth and limited connectivity when used as a Bluetooth modem.
When I purchased the phone, I was told that a firmware fix to enable these features was on the way in November. As I write this in mid-December, no such fix has been offered by Verizon. Search the online cell phone users' bulletin boards for this phone and you'll see that everyone has complaints... this phone is not about technological advancement and features, it's about how updated technology does NOT fit into Verizon's business model.
Sadly, this review is just going to hurt me when I cancel my contract and try to sell the stupid thing on eBay.
58 One of the worst phones ever!
[...]
PROs
large bright screen
good signal.
decent speaker phone
CONS
Bad battery life (I even got the extra bulky extend battery and it still dies before the end of the day).
Shows only 3 contacts at a time even though it has a huge screen. Enough of the fancy graphics guys, I am not a 2 year old, give me something I can use. I used to have a VX6000 with a much smaller screen: guess what it showed 6 contacts at a time
Bluetooth is Verizon specific, can't use it with standard bluetooth equipment. Thats because Verizon modified the BT on this phone to make you have to buy Verizon's peripherals. It seems like to me Verizon, is more concerned with profits at the expense of customers needs.
Voice Dialing has weak voice-recognition. It gets the number wrong and proves to be an impendment rather than at asset. After saying the number for the 5th time I get frustrated and want to throw the phone into a lake. Instead I end up finally taking my eyes of the road and dialing the number with my fingers.... a serious safety liability.
Mega-pixel Camera - WHATEVER! The phone proves that just because you are saving larger files does not mean they are quality images. The picture quality is not good at all. In fact I have seen camera phones with lower resolution that take better pictures. I guess the take home here is that Mega-pixel is just a marketing buzz word. More does not mean better image quality. I would love to see someone put a Canon Lens in a phone with a Canon CCD. Now that would deliver great photographs that are visual superior at any resolution.
User Interface - the LG VX6000 spoiled me with its in believable intuitive interface. The V710 interface feels clumsy. It lack intuitive design and solid information architecture.
[...]
59 Run from this Phone and Verizon's poor Customer Support!
I bought this phone in July from Radio Shack (RS). The main reason was to pair with my Acura TL. Poor reception, dropped calls, static, poor Bluetooth abilities, does not work on incoming calls in my TL.
Communicated with RS, Moto and VZ. all three told me it was Acura. Acura refers me to Handsfree Link, Verizon never gave them the phone for testing before moving this to production. (This is done with all other wireless companies). RS exchanged the phone in Sept. Oct. I find that it is not the car but the phone. VZ bluntly told me it is my problem, discuss it with RS. RS said discuss it with Moto. Moto states that they know there is a problem with the Bluetooth but do not know how to distribute the fix. No one will refund me the price of the phone that I bought outright and paid in excess of $400, because it is now over 30 days old. I travel nationwide and have the same reception problems in all parts of the country. My Qualcom from 1997 and My Nokia from 2001 perform better then this phone.
Poor picture abilities, can't transfer files form phone to my laptop using Bluetooth as VZ disabled this.
I will write off the phone and have my company switch me to Cingular.
60 Better than the most of the other phones i have had
I have been through all the cell companies (T-Mobile, Cingular, AT&T, Sprint, and now Verizon.) and am happy with this phone. All of the GSM phones would drop calls when I was in buildings and on the road. This phone has yet to drop a call. My last phone was the all in one IPAQ phone. That had the best feature set of any phone, but what good was that if the calls dropped? So I got this one and am happy. The bluetooth works great with my headset and as a modem for my laptop. I wish it did data transfer, but that is not a deal breaker for me (loss of important calls was). I got the transflash off Amazon for a great deal and love that ability to shuttle data between my laptop, pda and phone with it. All in all, I am please with this phone.
61 Decent Phone
I traded my VX6000 for this phone. This phone has been getting fairly bad reviews across the board stemming from the lack of bluetooth support from Verizons end. People think that you cannot get information to and from the phone other than emailing back and forth, but they are wrong. I bought a 128MB transflash card and a SD reader for 40 bucks total. I dont have anything that can send Bluetooth signals anyway, so the fact that I had to buy a separate reader wasnt an issue. I can send pictures and ringtones to and from the phone without Verizon charging me. The only problem with MP3 ringtones is that you have to save them to the phones internal memory, so you have to chop them down and lower the quality to keep more than a few. The transflash card itself is worth the extra cost of this phone. I can grab pictures off the computer to use as wallpaper or as a contact ID, again for free. The camera is more worthless than my VX6000 indoors, but outside it takes fairly decent pictures. Overall it isnt as bad as people want you believe, but I only paid 150 bucks for it after rebates and incentives.
62 Not Great, but OK phone
As a phone, it is OK. The volume (even at it's highest setting) is too low. It's got lots features like voice dial, speaker phone, ... most you probably won't use.
As a camera - even though it is advertised as 1.2 Megapixels, the pictures and video are pretty worthless.
Bluetooth - 99% worthless. I didn't know much about bluetooth before I bought the phone, so I assumed I could use bluetooth from my PC to wirelessly send pictures, ringtones, MP3s, phonebooks, ... and syncronize my phone up to my PC - NOT TRUE. Bluetooth has a bunch of different profiles, and this phone only supports a very small number of them. Mostly for using the phone as a modem or with a wireless headset.
Overall - save your money and buy a less expensive phone. I bought 2 of these, and I like my old startacs better.
