Customer Reviews

Motorola SLVR L2 Phone (AT&T)

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

This phone was an upgrade from my Nokia 6010 (a very reliable phone, but that time had passed by).

I wanted a speakerphone to avoid carrying the wired earpiece the 6010 required. I wanted Bluetooth to take advantage of my Palm TX PDA with a huge contact list.

The build is mainly plastic. It's so light, I can barely feel it in my pocket. So thin, I don't think it could withstand much of a fall (though I haven't tried yet).

The keypad is small, and if you're not comfortable with alot of fingernail dialing, I would look elsewhere.

The screen is very nice, large relative the size of the phone, easily readable in daylight.

The Bluetooth works well, I can dial using my Palm TX PDA. Transferring records from the PDA or PC does take time, as each individual record has to be "accepted" one at a time by the L2. You can transfer video, pictures, music via Bluetooth fairly easily from a PC.

The speaker is acceptably loud, and audible over traffic if you are in a car. The volume dialing is only "up," so you have to cycle through 7 volume settings to get to the lowest setting again.

Call quality is equal to my Nokia 6010, reception slightly worse, but not significantly. Battery life is 24-36 hours with standby/frequent calls/heavy Bluetooth/speaker use.

The address book does have an irritating feature of making each phone/fax/email entry a separate listing, which results in one name being listed several times.

A good phone for cellphone "bottom-feeders" such as myself looking for a simple phone with speaker and Bluetooth and not much else.

I've been waiting for a phone like this - a phone without any frills but gets the job done perfectly.

Pros:
1. Stylish, sleek, ergonomic
2. Great reception and crisp call quality
3. Excellent battery life (it goes 4-5 days on a charge!)
4. Quad-band world-phone supporting GSM 850/900/1800/1900
5. No frills (no camera, no iTunes, just the phone please). When was the last time you seriously used a camera-picture anyway? And sometimes a phone with a camera actually gets in the way because you are not allowed to take such a phone to some sensitive locations/buildings.

The only reason I gave 4 stars (instead of 5) is that some features are not designed well:
1. The phone book: you can not store multiple numbers for the same person (cell, work, home, etc). Either they all show up as separate entries on the phonebook, or show up as same name for different numbers.
2. Some people complain about the display and the speakerphone quality; I find it passable but not great.

I've been waiting for this kind of phone. I don't need any camera (most of them produce poor picture anyway) or mp3 player (you can never replace iPod with any cell phone built in mp3 player). Just give me a phone that works best for phone calls. Business user will appreciate all the extra solid and basic functions. A speaker phone, quad band (for international travel), bluetooth and very sleek looking metal casing. Using the latest Motorola Phone Tool with bluetooth, I can connect to the internet with 115 bkps, it uses GRPS though, not the prefered EDGE technology. I was impressed by the ease of signing in my Yahoo email (it also has AOL and MSN preinstalled) and messenger (AOL and ICQ are available too). I also tried to access my Gmail account, works great.

I have this phone for about a week now and I like it well enough. Took some getting used to after so many years with my Nokia 3120.

I wanted small and slim and this one fits the bill. I think it's pretty "hand happy", meaning it feels good in my hand. It took me a lot of playing to figure out all the menus and settings (not as easy as on the Nokia), and the manual is virtually useless--and set up in a rather illogical order. I mean, really, who puts info on how to text message before the setup options and menu map?

Anyway, I like that the navigation buttons are completely customizable. You can program the middle up/down/right/left keys to be shortcuts that YOU want, not what Moto thinks you want. You can program the left and right softkeys under the screen to lead where you want, as well. You cannot reprogram the two side buttons or the center menu button. At first I thought that the two side buttons (ringer options and voice dial) would be in the way and constantly be activated, but I haven't found that to be the case. They are nicely out of the way, yet convenient when you want them. I do find the dial keys slightly small, but I can work with it.

A design flaw that another reviewer noted is that the microphone is on the side of the phone rather than bottom center. If you are "right eared" this can be a problem as your cheek might muffle your voice, especially if you tend to press against the phone. If you are "left eared" it's easy to put your finger over it.

Another reviewer noted that the phonebook uses a separate entry for each person's separate phone number. This was a major disappointment to me, because my Nokia had all numbers stored under each directory entry and all I had to do was hit "view" to see them. I later found that you can do this with the Motorola, but it's not easily to find out how by reading the manual. Here's how to do it:

Access the phonebook and scroll to the "new entry" space. Hit the menu again and scroll down to "setup". Hit "select" and then the second entry is "view". Hit "change" and then choose "primary contacts" and select. Exit to the main screen and you will see that your address book list just got shorter. If you have an entry with multiple numbers, you will have to choose which is the primary number or Moto will assume it's the first one--not that it matters, since each number has it's own speed dial location and you will still be able to view all the numbers under a directory name by hitting the left or right arrow on the navigation wheel. It will cycle through each of the entry's numbers. (You won't actully be able to see the numbers without hitting view, but if you selected a "type", you will see the icon for which number it is)

As phones go, this one does what I want it to do and doesn't have features that I don't want. However, for the retail cost of this phone (which no one really pays anyway), they should include the phone tools CD with it instead of making you pay for it.

I purchased this phone as a backup to my Cingular 8125 (as I hate taking that thing outside of work--love that phone, but it is freaking bulky!).

My basic requirements were: quad band, bluetooth, small form factor, and cheap. This phone fits the bill perfectly. It's based on the SLVR/L2/L6/L7 platform and works as well as the more expensive phones for MUCH LESS $$$.

Form:
Good small-sized phone, if you compare it to the folded RAZR (as I did with my wife's), it is approximately less than a centimeter longer than the RAZR, approximately the same width, and slightly thinner. I can slip it into a pocket and I barely notice it. I like this keyboard more than the L6/L7 keyboard--the elevation/texture of the keys makes it *slightly* easier to touchtype than the flat, etched keyboard of the L6/L7. The microphone is next to the 9 key--I'm a "left ear" so the microphone doesn't affect me as much (see prior reviewer), but since the mic is on the lower right part of the phone it can be obstructed by your cheek if you're a "right ear" person. The stylized Motorola "M" logo on the back is textured for friction (intended for your index finger to help hold the phone to your ear).

Function:
The basic software/menu system originates from the V600 series, so if you've used a Motorola phone since '04 or so, you know the system. The menu system is customizable (icons versus text list, order, etc.) as well as the keyboard shortcuts. The D-pad works well, but sometimes, I have a little difficulty actuating the middle "select" key and I don't have particularly thick fingers. There is a "key guard" command, "menu-*" (borrowed from the Nokias, I guess)--a must have for a "bar" style phone.

Sound quality is good, but you have to be particularly careful lining up your ear to the earpiece--slight misalignment will significantly diminish the volume. On the lines of volume, I miss the old volume up/down buttons on the side like on the (my old) V600 or the RAZR. The L2 has a single button that cycles from silent>vibe>volume 1-7, a bit of a PITA. I've had no complaints about vocal quality (the phone's mic seems to pick up my voice reasonably well without distortions or too much background noise). Speakerphone works adequately.

Bluetooth works well with my headseat, haven't tried it for contacts synch, but since the phone comes with mini-USB, I find bluetooth sync redundant anyway.

Address book/contacts is typical Motorola. You actually CAN record multiple numbers per contact (I think someone has already described how below). However, the search contacts function still sucks big time (same old system originally in the V600). You can only press keystrokes for the first letter of the alphabet ("S" for Smith) and you can't refine further (like "S", "m" for Smith). It only will get you to the starting letter and then you scroll through to find the contact name.

Reception/signal strength is typical Motorola, not the best (like Nokia), but more than adequate in most situations.

Battery life is excellent. I can go at least 4 days with moderate usage (no bluetooth, though) before recharging. Bluetooth seems to increase battery consumption only sightly.

The phone, while it doesn't have ITunes (like the L7) or an expandable memory card (like the L6/L7), will play small mp3 clips or a song or two (5 Mb onboard). So you can download a mp3 clip as a ring tone or something like that. Sound fidelity is pretty good, suprisingly. No camera, so no pictures or video, but has video playback capability (for downloaded/synced videos). Screen quality is excellent, not large, not small, but adequatly sized for the phone (would have liked maybe another 0.5 cm more screen, but whatever).

Overall, a great value. It does what every phone should without the frills (camera, mp3/ITunes, etc.) Quad band for global usage (although the Motos are notorously difficult to unlock--may be worth the extra to buy one that's factory unlocked), bluetooth function, mini-usb for computer syncing/modem usage. 4/5 stars (detracted 1 for volume button, D-pad, and search function)

(holy cow that was long--sorry!)

I wanted 4 major things in a phone: quad-band GSM (for international travel, and for flexibility with my soon-to-end contract), Bluetooth, a slim design for my pocket, and no camera. This is the only phone I could find that met all four criteria.

I purchased a new, unlocked model from another reputable online retailer. The size and style are quite good. It's not an expensive phone, but I still get comments about it. The standby battery life is quite good; I only charge the phone every three to five days.

The bad:
- The battery indicator is, at best, inaccurate. In one fifteen-minute conversation, the battery life indicator will go from nearly full to "charge me now!"
- My reception is noticeably worse than with my previous two-year-old Samsung. I can rarely even have an entire call without calling the person back at least once when at home. My signal strength indicator is *at least* one bar lower than on the previous phone in locations I frequent, such as home and work.
- The flaky firmware/software results in the phone rebooting or shutting down at random intervals. At first I thought I had a bad unit, but several other SLVR/RAZR owners I know have similar issues with their phones as well.

I wanted a non-camera phone because I use my phone to make and receive calls. (How novel.) At this, I'm sorry to say, the phone only occasionally does the job. I don't recommend it.

Bought this phone for my gf. It's a pretty good deal, especially with the rebates that Amazon offers. However, the following two items caused some concern and earned the phone a 3-star rating:

Minor: 1) The phone is rather long, and of course is very thin. This makes it a little awkward to hold at first. She seems to have gotten used to it after awhile though.

Major: 2) She was being told by the people she called that her voice seemed to fade in/out, going from loud and clear to soft, noisy and muffled. It got to the point where I was getting annoyed at her for "mumbling", when in fact she was just talking normally. I could find nothing on the internet which explained what caused this, though I did find others who reported the same problem.

2) cont: We ended up contacting Amazon, who promptly sent us a replacement phone. However, the same day the replacement was sent out, I found out what the problem was. On the face of the phone, there's a little mic hole located right in the location where your cheek/chin would contact. After pointing this out to her and doing a few test calls, we found that THIS was what causes the voice issue. IMO, it's a pretty poor design flaw. They could have put this hole anywhere but there.

We're keeping the phone since it would be a big hassle to return the phone to Amazon, get a refund, then cancel our Cingular subscription...only to do it all over again with a new phone. Plus, she is able to hold the phone in a way which prevents her from covering up this hole. Still, why on earth would they design a phone like this?

I had my phone for a while, until unfortunatly put it in the washing machine with my clothing. i am not saying its a bad phone for not living through a washing machine, i didnt expect it too
i loved the size, weight, feel of my L2, it is a really cool phone.

BUT, what always happened to me, since the phone is "internet capable", a feature i dont care to use, the phone buttons would accidentaly be pushed at times and its little internet screen would load up,by the time you have a chance to react and hang up, data has already been sent and recieved, you get charged by the amount of data that the phone recieves if you dont have a plan for it, which a lot of you will not get (a guess). so my cell phone bills would be 48 and 54 dollers when they are supposed to be 39.99. and for sending and recieving 0 text messages, thats a pretty high mark up.

i would recomend the phone, its very cool, but buyers, be ready to have unneccisary fees tacked onto your monthy bill

Hello, before I dive into this review let me 1st state that i'm into high tech, imported Nokia phones. I havent owned a motorola phone since 1994 and way back then it was one of the 1st flip phones that took up all your pocket space, battery lasted an hr and lcd displays hadn't been invented. My carrier was comcast metrophone which, i'm sure anyone under 30 dosent remember. An unfortunate thing happened a few months ago. My super high tech Nokia N70 (not avail in the usa and cost me $450 on ebay) fell into the washing machine for 5 seconds. 5 seconds is life and death when it comes to water and you cell phone, and it drowned. Of couse Cingular didnt even know I had the phone and since it was imported from Europe no one in the world would fix it. I promptly ordered the awsome Nokia N73 but it would take 3 weeks to arrive. When I called Cingular I found out that as an AT&T transplant I was actually due a new phone. The Motorola L2 was free and I needed something to get me thru 3 weeks so I ordered it . I wasnt dissappointed and I'll keep this phone as a backup.

First I'll anayazye the many steps down but it dosent mean its a bad phone. Ok there is no calander. Second, it can only hold a total of abt 100 combined text messages . When you have 50 in your outbox and 50 in your inbox thats it . Because at my workplace I cant talk on the phone , I send a lot of txt mssgs, about 400 per month thats a problem. Also there is no camera. Not even a little one. I used to take print quality 5x7's at 2.0 MP with my Nokia N70 so I missed this feature. Out the box there is no backup software for contacts. I'm not a big cellphone gamer but there are no games included. This could be listed as a pro and con but its a phone. Pure and simple and because of its simple minded approach to life let me addess the pros.

Pros: Its a phone. And it does the job of being a simple phone quite well. Its quad band (850/900/1800/1900) As my super Nokia was only tri band (900/1800/1900) Anyone who knows what those numbers mean will thank me . Cingular broadcasts at 850/1900 in my area and while my nokia N70 had a lot of features it seems like Cingular broadcasts at 850 in most areas of my city meaning that I was in a dead zone for 50% of the places I hang out in, in Philadelphia, PA. My Motorola was perfect everywhere when it came to signal strength and reception for just about everywhere in DE,PA,NY and NJ. Calls were always crystal clear! Look at the difference . $450 bucks to have a cool Nokia N70 that didnt work 1/2 the time or a free Motorola L2 that worked great 100% of the time. The battery life was also great as I could get 5 days use outta the L2 with normal usage as opposed to my Nokia N70 at about 1.5 days .

Another perk often overlooked? The charger for the Motorola L2. Its an ac to usb charger. For abt 10 bucks you can by a usb to mini usb cable and this will charge you L2 via usb cable. I come accross a lot more open usb ports then I do power strips or wall plugs. I can charge the long lasting battery while I sit at my pc at work or when I use my laptop.

The screen is many steps down from my nokia N70, but if i'm not playing games or taking photo or video, I found that it didnt matter.

I've since replaced this phone with a Nokia N73. I was gonna sell the L2 on ebay, but you know what? Even for a techy, it makes a great backup phone. I'm gonna keep it in case my Nokia N73 goes swimming. Anyone looking for a basic cell phone cant go wrong with this one .

I have had this phone replaced twice - once for sound quality and later for it losing the capability of sending and receiving calls. I am now giving up on the Motorola L2 and getting a different phone.

Sound quality is really bad. With each replacement phone, my friends and family continue to complain that my voice is garbled and sounds digitized.

On warm days, the screen fades in color and functionality greatly diminishes.

People seem impressed by the sleek look of this phone, but it is not worth the hassle. Bulky flip phone here I come.

Motorola should stop making the L2.