Customer Reviews

Motorola Motofone F3 Dual Band

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

thin, light weight, resistent. I only use cellphones to make and receive calls. I used to have a V3 but then the keypad stop working without any logical reasons. If you just need a cellphone that is the smartest option.

My Razr V3 got washed. The iPhone requires a data plan that I don't want, so for $5 more than the monthly data fee, I went for function. It was the electronic paper display that brought it to my attention and heavily influenced my decision to buy. It provides significant contrast and readability in sunlight. On the "not so up"-side the character set is primitive and large. Texting and even scrolling thru the phonebook is like state-of-the-art 1985 calculator.
*I'd taken to putting my phone in the watch pocket of my jeans or the cargo pocket of my shorts- small size is important in that respect. F3 is 1/2" taller than a folded razr, thinner and not as wide. In all but the shallowest watch pocket it fits great, is easy to retrieve and isn't bulky. It will share a front pocket nicely with my wallet in khakis. It has nice heft without being a lump in the pocket.
*I dropped my sim card and battery in, powered up, denied the voice walk-thru and the time and date set themselves (AT&T)
*Phonebook on sim went to just one number per contact
*Sound and reception just as good as the razr but the mic lacks the passive noise cancelling feature (probably to keep the phone sealed from dust and moisture) so background noises are transmitted a little too well.
*No calendar or calculator, two features that I had become accustomed too.

The Motofone is an incredibly simple little phone, and that simplicity is perhaps one of its greatest features. In this age of "smart" phones that will browse the web, do your taxes, serve as a navigational computer for the space shuttle, and build you a new house, its nice to have a sturdy, well-built phone without all of that extra fluff.

This phone has few real "features", mostly just the ability to make phone calls, speaker phone, basic text messaging, and extremely good battery life. Oh, and its ridiculously low cost as well. So if you're looking for a multimedia phone, this isn't for you. However, if you want a phone, and nothing more, I don't think there's a better choice...

Despite this phone's low cost, its incredibly well built. Indeed, the best word to describe the build quality of this phone would be "solid". And that description doesn't just fit the exterior of the phone, the sound quality of the phone is fantastic and amazingly, the speaker phone is better then what I've got on my desk phone. It also has very good reception, picking up signals where other phones often can't, in my experience. The ringer is also quite loud and can easily be heard at its loudest setting, or, you can turn off the ringer and use a vibration signal, or just turn off all of the incoming call alerts. Oh, and the user adjustable alarm is also very loud.

As for the user interface, it takes a little bit of getting used to, but once you do, its very efficient. And, interestingly enough, it gives you the option to use voice prompts for the menu. Not something I'd have expected to see in a phone as cheap as this.

The only real problem comes in the text messaging ability of the phone. Due to the unique E-Ink display, messages display in a mixture of upper and lower case letters, and any message sent from this phone will show up on other phones as all lower case. Still, considering how the E-Ink display allows the Motofone to have such a long battery life, its a worthwhile sacrifice if you don't do too much text messaging.

Overall, this is a great phone. I've had it for months now, and I'm still very pleased with it.

Bought this phone as a backup to an old phone that was dying. Problem is, this one wasn't too much better. For example:

1. 4 days on standby is all I got before the battery was down to half power. My Nokia at least got 6 to 7 days before hitting that mark. Inexcusable for a phone with alleged limited power consumption.
2. Few phone stores sell extra chargers for this unit. It's an off size overseas charger type system. Better pick up a spare at Ebay or you're screwed.
3. Text messages had better be short. It insists every letter must be at least an inch high and about as wide. Reading H-E-L-L-O on the screen takes about 5 seconds to scroll through the letters and piece them together in your head to form a word.
4. It doesn't set the time from your cellular service. You have to set and reset it.
5. Removing the battery or allowing it to go too low will wipe out all your settings.
6. Ads tout its toughness, but I had the battery door pop off at least once and it feels fragile (although it may not be).
7. It requires that you set a date (again, manually) yet never displays the date nor does the call log tell you the date of any call you may have missed.
8. You like menus with a bunch of settings? Too bad, get another phone. This one is strictly about a 4 function phone.

On the plus side:

1. You can read this puppy in the brightest light.
2. Decent sound quality
3. The quickest phone I've ever had to turn on and shut down. About 2 to 5 seconds either way. Of course, that's because the screen tells you nothing but the time.
4. No openings to get dust and dirt in to (other than the power connector), but it's a fingerprint and smudge magnet.
5. One of the lightest phone I've ever used. So light you may forget about it.

This phone is intended for a very specific customer - namely one who hates all of the extra junk that is crammed on phones these days. This phone has excellent battery life (I get 5-6 days on a charge), excellent reception, the earpiece and speakerphone are loud and clear, it's Razr thin, and fits very nicely in my pocket.

Negatives are that texting (actually, anything to do with reading text, such as names in address book) is rather difficult to do. 6 letters can be displayed on the screen at a time, so you have to scroll quite a bit to read a text. Next, although this phone is supposed to be virtually indestructible, the battery cover comes out just as easily as on most other phones. So don't test this thing by throwing it around.

And if you get it, try pulling the battery out while it is on. The screen does some nifty stuff.

I've had mine for several months now, using AT&T in Michigan, and am VERY happy with it. The reception in weak signal areas is better than any other phone I have owned, voices are clear and easily understood, the battery life is great- I charge mine about once a week, and the screen is EXCELLENT!!!! I use my phone as a watch, and this is the only phone I have owned since my old monochromatic green screen one that I can read in any light. I would rate the screen a 9/10 and every other phone, even the cool new hi-res color ones, don't get a better rating because I can't see them at a glance in bright light. That said, the screen is limited in resolution so reading any message can become a bit of a chore. Fortunately I essentially never send messages, and receive about as many as I send.
The only serious drawback has been the lack of automatic clock setting. I always trusted my cell phone to be accurate, as it was constantly updated by the network- this one is not, and is not as accurate as I would like.

Still a good phone, and a great one for $35!

I am a cellphone novice. My only other cellphone was a Nokia go-phone. All to say, I just need a phone to make a call - no other bells or whistles. This phone has good reception and speaker. I have no trouble with the sound quality and have heard no complaints from people that I am talking to. I think that this phone would be frustrating for people that are used to a lot of extras, or who do a lot of texting, but if you just want a good, reliable phone to make a good old-fashioned call, then this one is hard to beat.

It is exactly what it claims to be, a no frills cell phone. If you are looking for a cell phone that is just a cell phone, the Moto Phone F3 is an excellent choice. It also looks cool.

THIS PHONE WAS NOT UNLOCKED AS DESCRIBED IN THE AD. I TOOK IT OVERSEAS AND ACTIVATED IT. I BOUGHT A CHIP AND THE PHONE COMPANY TOLD ME THAT THE PHONE WAS NOT UNLOCKED AND THEY DID NOT HAVE THE MANUFACTURER'S CODE TO UNLOCK IT. IT COST ME MONEY TO BUY ANOTHER PHONE. WOULD NOT RECOMMEND THIS PR0DUCT TO ANYONE.

The Motofone F3 is about the most featureless phone that I have ever seen from Motorola. It is garbage! Personally, I have owned two of these "bottom-end" cellular devices (which I would not even recommend for use by a kindergardener) which I had to return for malfunctioning for no reason at all. There are not only no features which would redeem this piece of junk, there are no accessories (earpieces, cases, NOTHING). I can now see why Motorola is selling it's handheld end off as the best it has had the ability to do for years is update it's aging RAZR Phone.