Customer Reviews

Motorola W375 Prepaid Phone (Net10) with 300 Minutes Included

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

I usually don't write reviews but after buying one of these phones a few months back from reading the amazon.com product description I feel its important to point out some major inaccuracies with the description. This phone is not as advertised.

Lets get the positives out of the way first:

* It looks great, far better than any of the other net10 phones
* Sound quality is excellent. I bought this phone because the sound quality on the Nokia 1600 was very poor and I was getting complaints about it.
* It has a camera. If you want to send pictures only to other phones or set a background it works fine for that. More on that later.
* Service, this isn't really specific to this phone but I've had zero problems with Net10 in the year that I've been using the service.

Unfortunately, most of the features on this phone are crippled:

* It is SLOW. Frustratingly slow, every operation on this phone. This makes text messaging extremely difficult. The delay between pressing a button and having the letter show up is the longest I've seen on any phone. I've had this phone around 3 months and still cannot properly type out a message without having to go back and correct it because I was going too fast and it didn't detect a button press or a pause. If you intend to text at all, I would recommend you steer clear of this phone or you will be pulling your hair out every time you try to make a simple text. Also know that there is no word recognition feature to be found.

* "USB connectivity (including mass storage mode)" "You can even transfer media files such as pictures and polyphonic ringtones from your PC through the phone's supported USB cable option."

This is flat out false. What they don't mention anywhere on amazon or the net10 site is that mass storage mode is disabled in these phones.

* MP3 ringtones? Because usb connectivity is disabled you won't be able to make your own mp3 ringtones as advertised. The "included motomixer" application is nowhere to be found. If you want new ringtones you can drain your minutes away on the incredibly slow web browser and buy them off there. I'd almost recommend it since the default ones are terrible.

* Uploading photos. Again, thanks to the disabled USB you cannot get photos from your phone to your computer. No problem right? Since you can use the "built in email client." Sorry, there is no such thing on this phone. You cannot send anything to email addresses at all. The only possible way to get pictures off of this phone is to send them to someone with a phone and have them do it.

* Receiving photos. Why can't I zoom? There is a zoom function to closely examine photos you've taken but when you receive an image in a text there is no way to zoom. Oh, and make sure you don't hit reply unless you actually have an image to attach. If you send a text only reply it will still charge you 2.5 minutes for an MMS

* "Support built in for sending and receiving...sound and video via messages" There is no program to record sounds or video on this phone.

* Storage space. This phone comes with 1MB of space on it and all but around 450KB is filled up with preloaded garbage you cannot delete. This is unbelievably small for this day and age. The phone won't take removable storage either or this might have been forgivable. 450k is just ridiculously small in this day and age. Even if you could connect to your computer to load mp3s you couldn't fit more than a few seconds and that would take up so much space it would be a struggle trying to cram in photos.

* 5 cents a text? They won't tell you the whole truth to that. On my previous net10 phone I could send a message with the maximum of 300some characters long and it would only be 5 cents. On this phone you get a maximum of 765 characters but when you go over somewhere around 70 characters you get charged for a 'second page.' So if you want to send something more than a sentence or so you'll be charged double or triple. This can really add up along with..

* Charges for failed messages. Net10 network screwing up? Text didn't get through? Well it charges before it sends, so you get charged a second time if you try to resend.

* External alert icons frequently don't light up to alert you of a text. You really can't rely on them at all so you need to flip open your phone any time you want to check for messages.

Final word: I really regret purchasing this since all of the major features are crippled. If you are looking for a sleek phone for voice only calls, this phone is fine. If you intend to text message at all, its probably not worth the frustration trying to type on this thing. If you are looking for a camera phone with mp3 ringtones and other cool features: look elsewhere, outside of net10, or you will be very sorely disappointed.

The Motorola W375 is an attractive and reliable phone if basic is all you want. I've been very happy with the sound quality, the battery life and ease of usage. The Net10 price is hard to beat, especially if a full-blown monthly plan is more than you need. But I have to question if the savings is worth the trouble of dropped calls, poor coverage area, deplorable customer service and unethical practices.

Most of all I am completely disgusted that Net10 disabled the "connect to PC" feature on my Motorola W375 before they sent it to me, disabling the ability to download photos to my PC or upload my own ringtones. What good is a camera phone without the ability to download the photos? Is this even legal? Certainly it is not ethical. I carefully read everything before purchasing this phone with Net10 and nowhere did it state this would be the case. It is obviously a ploy to force you to use your minutes to purchase their ringtones and wallpapers, and believe me, you will quickly burn through minutes getting these things. Accessing the web browser uses minutes and then more minutes are eaten up navigating through their slow-loading, poorly indexed options and menus. When you finally find something you want, it is of course additional minutes to make the purchase. It is not uncommon to spend 50-60 minutes on one wallpaper or ringtone.

Just as disappointing is the customer service. Every time I called (3-4 times), after muddling through way too many phone tree prompts, I ended up with a rep that I could barely understand because their English was so poor. Not to mention, they knew less about the phone and my problem than I did. They offered little in the way of actual assistance, just kept repeating things I was saying and asking stupid questions (is your phone on? did you plug it into the charger?). It was obvious they were reading from a script and really had no ability to troubleshoot an issue beyond that. In no case did my calls to customer service yield a solution, rather I muddled through them on my own and found solutions via Google. Would NOT recommend -- in this case, "you get what you pay for" is not a good thing!

This phone is one of the better phones out there for the money.It does have some small quirks. My main one is.... For a company that says its not evil, NET10 should not have disabled parts of the phone, the USB storage capability. One of the reasons I went pre-paid is because I was tired of companies disabling parts of their phone to get you to go through them for everything.

Secondly, once in a while the light on the front cover will not notify you of all messages. But I don't mind flipping the phone open from time to time.

All the same the reception is good and the net10 service has been acceptable for the price. I dont regret my purchase. But I am seriously put off by the idea of disabling my ability, to get my own ringers on the phone...
Net10 mostly not evil.

Net10 has disabled the web browser except for their site. Additionally Net10 has disabled the USB mass storage class compatibility. So when you plug it in, it beeps...and then does nothing. You are supposed to immediately get a prompt asking you if you want to enter storage mode or something but it never shows up. You won't be able to transfer your pictures or anything else to computer or back. Additionally it has a small memory and cannot use flash cards. I feel very ripped off. The USB compatibility was the most important aspect. Heck, you even need drivers just to charge it thru the computer.

Net10 really went down hill on this one! You cannot download the pictures off the phone, MotoMixer is not on the phone either. The phone's earpiece is so low that it is hard to hear anyone, you will have to turn on speakerphone just to hear them. I have two LG200C Net10 phones that beat this phone hands down. The battery life of this phone is terrible, I have to charge it everday without use of the phone at all. If you are into texting then don't even look at this phone! This was one of the worst purchase's I have ever made.

I purchased tis phone from a local store and after a month it started to die within about 8 hours. I called customer service and they promptly sent out a new battery only tohave the same problem return. I called them that same day and they sent me a new phone which I received in 2 days . The new one works fine and I would recommend Net10 to anyone that wants a great phone coupled to great customer service. They definately stand behind their product.

Okay first off...i would like to state all of my buddies have contract phones (both boy and girl) so the fact i didnt really pissed me off..and could only get a prepaid,but looking what was on the market,alls i found was a big pile of crap..until i found this thing...it has a camera cheap minutes,it has a built in Fm Radio wich is very nice if your on the road,i can buy and download music tones from either the phone or the internet and it doesnt look like a prepaid Phone at all!there are a couple minor complaints...but its nothing to serious


Pros
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1.)the camera is my personal favorite.
2.)with only 10 cents a min and 5 cent text messaging its very affordable
3.)The Games are GREAT!they are better then most of my friends phones games (and yes they are contract phones)
4.)excellent service (both bars and customer!)
5.)U Can Hear great from either line on a call.
6.)There are many more...but those are the main

Cons
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1.)No Screen in front...not a big deal just a little irritating if u want to see the time or whos calling.
2.)No Bluetooth,wasnt expecting it but would have been a very nice feature.
3.)u need to have headphones pluged in (2.5mm) to listen to the radio even if u want it on speaker they need to be plugged in.


Overall for my first phone it was the best choice i could have made.i Reccomend it to anyone!

After waiting and waiting Net10 finally releases this awesome looking phone. Let me first say that I now own a prepaid phone I am proud to carry around without embarrassment. As most of you already know, most prepaid phones are pretty crappy with no features. Not this one though. It has a camera, FM radio, allows you surf the net wherever you want (unlike Tracfone), and looks like one of those expensive contract phones. I can finally download any ringtone I want without limitations. What a relief.

I got my phone on May 02 2008 and yet have I been able to add any
minutes or air time (today 05/06/08)because of a "error" in their system.
I have called three times and was given three bogus ticket numbers that will not allow me to track the TECH services on line, which I am told they will do. Each time I call I also give them the last TECH number given to me, and they do not have it in their system..??
Every time I call they always put me on hold several times durring the call for two or four minutes to talk to their Supervisor. When I asked to talk to their supervisor; guess what?... the supervisor is not available. I can't help from wondering "Is There Really A Supervisor Your Talking To".

I have had this phone for about 2 months. Works well! Seems that frequently I discover features that I am unaware of. Just discovered that it has an FM tuner.

As for the web applications, they can be pretty pricey. Took 40 cents to just check the weather. May have been location, but I know its there should I need to check it.

If you are a constant phone user, this may not be the phone for you. I use the phone on a limited basis. To check in at home and for emergency use. A very good phone for the casual user.