Customer Reviews

Motorola DEVOUR A555 Android Phone (Verizon Wireless)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

I have only had this phone about 4 hours, but I am having loads of fun with it! I have downloaded apps, used the Google voice search, taken pictures, texted, and so much more. The setup was very easy, MOTOBlur connects all of the social networking sites so when you send an update it goes to all (MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, etc.). I highly recommend the Ringdroid app for making your own ring tones from MP3s right on the phone. The web browser is amazing and I have only been averaging 1-2 bars of service (compared to 4 on my old ENV2 in the same place) but the call quality is flawless and browsing the web is as fast if not faster on the 3G network as when I connect to my home wi-fi. I was going to get the Droid but when I got to the store I liked the keyboard better on this phone. I love that the charger is 2 pieces (like an iPod)...a USB cable and a separate plug so you can charge from either an outlet or a computer (or cigarette lighter if you have a power pod adapter). Leaps and bounds ahead of my old ENV2! Except for the camera...no zoom, no flash and no auto-focus. I have uploaded a few pictures to Facebook and they look like crap...but I didn't buy it to replace my camera, it will work for the odd spur-of-the-moment photo op. I am sure I will continue to find more things to love about it, but my first impression is it's AWESOME!
**update 4/2/10**
I have had this phone a week now and keep finding more bonkers features. When you are using the slide-out keypad to enter letters (in a status update or a text message), if you hold the button down you can access special characters related to that letter (vowels with umlauts and accents and such). I had an issue with the phone randomly rebooting, but I uninstalled the most recent app that I had downloaded before the issue started (I can't remember which one) and it stopped, so be mindful of what you download from the app market. There are 5 home screens and you can put up to 16 app shortcuts on the screen, less if widgets. I group my apps together...one screen has just games, one productivity apps (calendar, to-do list, etc.) and another the Android Market, browser and eBay app. It is very easily customizable, if I change my wallpaper I can move the apps around on the screen to optimize the view of the wallpaper. One thing I did notice also with ring tones is you cannot save them directly to the phone (or I just haven't figured out how to), everything is on the SD card, so if it is not installed, no custom ring tones for contacts. Oh yeah, contacts...awesome feature...you can send certain contacts directly to voice mail!!! Mad at your man? Go to edit his contact and tap on the check box next to "Send straight to voicemail?" I agree with the other reviewer it is mildly annoying that MOTOblur imported all of my Facebook and Twitter contacts even though I directly communicate with less that 10% of them. A lot of things I have been learning about just playing with the phone, I can hardly keep my hands off of it, it is so much fun!

This phone can pretty much do it all, and I love it. The size is just right for a great grip, and the phone's aluminum construction looks and feels like a premium product. The capacative touch screen is very responsive, as is the phone itself. Powered by a 600MHz processor, this phone is on par with many other devices in higher price ranges. For instance, the Droid's CPU is actually 550MHz. MotoBlur is another big plus for this device if you're into social networking. If not, you don't have to use the service. Personally, I chose this phone primarily for the excellent design, the Android OS, and the value. While it's only running Android 1.6 at launch, it will eventually get caught up with the other phones.

All in all, it's a very tough, yet attractive phone. The rubberized grips on the back and sides look great against the brushed aluminum. Definitely give this phone a look if you dig the design.

the setup was a breeze. i was up and running in no time. easy to figure out the user interface. i removed some of the icons and added my own. one minor issue, but i figured my way out of it quickly: the pics are uploaded sideways to fb if you take the pic while holding the phone like you would hold a regular camera, if you hold the phone strait up, the pics are awesome. GREAT PHONE!

Verizon's choices for phones come down to some pretty lame offerings. At first, I was a bit intrigued by the Droid, but I couldn't stand the cheap feeling and terrible keyboard. A few months later, the Devour came out. It sported a slower processor, but a better keyboard and it felt much more solid, so I finally bit on a new phone.

This is probably the biggest mistake I've ever made when buying a phone. First of all, the phone regularly crashes or locks up, requiring the battery to be pulled. One at least three separate occasions, the phone has refused to reboot for days, even while plugged into the charger. On the first of these instances, I took it back to Verizon and they proceeded to lecture me about how a phone won't work if it's not charged. Apparently they missed the description of how it wouldn't work when plugged in. They tested it and said it was a battery issue and ordered me a new battery, saying that should fix the issues. However, this was back in May, and I still have not received the battery. A recent call to Verizon revealed the phone was still on backorder and I was told they have no idea when or if they will come back in stock.

Also, this phone has a lot of issues with proximity sensor. I often find my ear or cheek hanging up phone calls, or launching apps while I'm trying to talk to someone. The issues seem to get even worse if you put a screen protector on them. I have since had my Invisi-shield removed and the issues have slightly improved though they are still a constant annoyance.

This phone also seems to suffer from the "iPhone Death Grip" issue. I have to be careful how I hold it, or it looses signal strength and drops calls. I know this isn't that uncommon an issue with cell phones, but I've never had any issues to this degree before. It regularly drops the same number of calls in a week that my previous Samsung Flipshot dropped in two or three months.

I think the worst part of this phone may be the Droid OS. It is slow, unresponsive and the selection of apps is pathetic to say the least. People often make jokes about the fart simulators and other such apps on the iPhone store, but the Droid store is even worse. 90% of the apps are total garbage. Not to mention it seems the only leg up they have on the iPhone apps is the number of applications relating to adult material.

There are very few redeeming qualities about this phone, other than being able to browse the internet. Unfortunately, it is not Flash capable and that likely won't change. Motorola keeps wavering back and forth on whether or not release the 2.1 Droid update for this phone, and it looks more and more like it will never come.

I think I have never been so unhappy with a phone purchase in my life. I think the worst part is that when I tried to take it back to Verizon, they told me to wait for the Droid 2.1 update that was coming at the end of May and that would fix my issues. Of course, that update never came and by the time I found this out, I was just outside my return policy. Now I'm stuck with this piece of garbage for another 20 months.

When my contract is up and I can finally get rid of this phone, I will be dumping Verizon along with it.

I have been using my new devour since it came out in February. I think this phone is the most advanced piece of hardware out there!
It's solid body, screen resolution and seamless interface with social networking are phenomenal! The keyboard on this phone is hands down better than any I've used in the past.

As far as features go, this phone is excellent. The Android operating system is wonderful--it allows the user tons of flexibility and a huge range of apps. The touchscreen works well, though I have made several accidental calls while the phone is in my pocket. It's not always 100% accurate, but it's about as good as any other touchscreen I've tried, including the iPhone. The flip out keyboard is a nice touch, too. It allows for quick, accurate texting and emailing for those of us who are a little more clumsy on the touchscreen. The camera works well, as does the speaker phone. I've been very happy with the GPS. As far as functionality goes, I have no complaints.

My main problem with this phone is the battery life. After using it for a few months, I find that I now have to plug in my phone at least once per day, even when I don't use it. In order to make sure that I can use my phone when I need to, I have to keep a charger with me pretty much at all times. I charge it at work, I charge it at home, and I charge it in the car. When I don't use the phone at all, a full charge will last from a day to a day and a half. If I use it at all, a full charge lasts fewer than 24 hours--and that's considering that I keep the Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and GPS functions turned off unless I'm using them. For these reasons, I really can't recommend this phone.

I bought this phone for my wife, and I'm surprised she didn't smash it with a hammer. This phone sucks in so many ways; it hangs up on people, it's very heavy, the camera doesn't always work, pictures suck when it does take a picture, the microphone sounds garbled when on speakerphone, it randomly refuses to charge, etc. The only thing good about this phone is the Android OS. Verizon even sent my wife a replacement. That one sucks, too. If you want a frustrated wife, buy her this phone.

I bought this phone from Best Buy and, besides being too heavy, with annoying details, it began working badly four months later. It turned off by itself and it made calls to people on my list sometimes at 2AM. So, I went to Best Buy and they refused to do anything to help me because I did not buy a 10 dollars a month protection plan from them. So, not only you have to pay for the phone you have to pay a rent to assure they will help you when the phone does not work. The sales persons at Best Buy were very rude, did not bother to provide info as to what to do with the phone, referred me to the Verizon store (Verizon salesmen said they could not help because I bought it from Best Buy), a real nightmare. I have spent so much time and energy trying to find a way to get something back to no avail. I really believe that selling a phone and charging for a protection plan in case the phone does not work properly is plain robbery. If we would damage the phone, then the protection plan makes sense. But if the phone is defective, they should respond and honor the warranty. I am still trying to get Motorola to do something about it but they would only give me the same awful Devour phone. DON'T buy it, and Do Not buy a phone at Best Buy.

I have had my motorola droid devour for four months and it has been a total disaster. Actually, this is my 3rd one (the agreement won't let me change phones without a penalty).

Chief reasons why it sucks: 1) the battery is drained by 5pm every day, unless I use the "task killer" apps every 45 minutes or so (why should one need an app to shut down 10 programs, running entirely on their own though not being used, in the background!?). The phone cannot even last an average workday. 2) Despite its claims, it doesn't sync with contacts in gmail consistently. In fact, somehow it actually deletes from time to time (both my mom and dad were deleted, somehow) and other times it combines information in odd ways (example: my sister Rachel's number suddenly became my coworker Rich's. I was wondering why Rich kept texting me about breaking up with his boyfriend...when he has a wife and family of his own). Last weekend I had an emergency and had to call someone about a basement flooding.....but my droid devour erased the contact! I was livid.

I have a lot of contacts, a few thousand, and I guess it can't handle them. I had the original motorola droid, and it has similar problems. This one freezes a lot too. I am about to break this contract to go back to the Blackberry. This may be a fun phone for teens or something, but it is a total disaster and I have sunk needless time and money into this overmarketed gimmicky sham. I'm back to a blackberry or will try the iphone as soon as I can.

Loved the phone, had it for almost 2 years with almost no problems. Only gripe is that there was no upgrade for it. Oh well, works great, great signal, ok battery, tough phone.