Customer Reviews

Motorola Tundra Phone, Black (AT&T)

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(14)

 

 

I've had the phone only a short time but I have already fallen in love with it. This is a phone for grown ups. It feels every bit as sturdy as advertised. Not as slim as my old RAZR but still not what I would classify as bulky. It is not that easy to open one-handed, but it feels great while talking. The screen is super sharp and seems bigger than it is due to the excellent clarity. The keypad is well proportioned and my only complaint is that the navigation button could be more pronounced. It feels inset. I also could live without the "Go Online" key or the "Open CV" key. One other minor complaint is the dedicated PTT button, which so far I have no found a way to re-program. It can be disabled if you are not using the PTT function, but I wish i could use it for something else.

3G network through AT&T seems extremely fast. Crystal clear reception and the best speakerphone option I've ever used. Battery life seems good so far. I'm three days in with about two hours of talk time and there are still full bars on the battery status indicator. Yesterday, in a house that usually acts like a bunker, blocking most call attempts, I had five bars and not trouble making calls. The back cover seals tightly as an environmental protection measure, but it makes it very difficult to access the battery, sim card, and flash card.

Overall I give this phone a high recommendation for someone looking for a rugged, cool looking, manly phone that is going to perform when you need it.

This phone is great. I know that today small is in but almost every phone out there is too small and the buttons are too small and trying to hold them you hit a button by accident and something happens. This phone is a great size and has many great options. Speaker is very clear. This is a great phone if you have large hands or if you just want a phone larger than your credit card.

I was really looking forward to using this phone and on delivery the look and feel did not disappoint. However, I cannot get past the fact that the call volume is too low - not the speaker volume, which is very adequate, but the volume in your ear. I had the volume up to maximum 7 on the volume control and I looked through all the settings to see if there was a master volume, but alas! I have a hearing aid but it's not an issue with my current phone, a Nokia 6085, and I got my 14 year old son to check the volume too - he also found it inadequate, saying, "Is that the maximum?"
One other thing, the display of phone number detail in the contacts/address book is too small and in an odd hard-to-read purple color.
Finally, I went to my local AT&T store to compare the Tundra with a Samsung Rugby. Aesthetically, I still go for the Tundra, but for functionality (call volume especially) the Rugby seems a better choice.
I am disappointed that I had to send the Tundra back.

Trust this review and don't believe the hype on this phone. Most of the people that are writing reviews of this phone haven't had it for very long.

Okay, let's go over the obvious: It's durable. That along with the good reception (not to be confused with good call quality) were the selling points for me, as they are more than likely for everyone else, too. People buy this phone because it's durable. But through the course of my experience with this phone, I started to ask myself, "Why I am using something with such a durable exterior that protects such poor internal components?". Motorola is making a ton of money off this phone, and it's just not right. This phone is EXPENSIVE and it should not have the problems it has for a price tag upwards of $200.

First off, the ear piece sounds TERRIBLE. The call quality is astoundingly bad. The earpiece has a sweet spot (and it's small). If you do not have the phone positioned perfectly over your ear, voices sound thin and metallic as if they're coming out of a tin can or a "To-Go Swan" made of aluminum foil. And even when you do hit the sweet spot, the quality doesn't come close to most phones on the market today. In addition to this, the volume on the phone only goes up to 7 which sounds more like a 5 on my older phone. I do not believe anyone could use this phone in a loud environment and hear the other caller. Motorola clearly skimped on the ear piece. The reception is amazing and I often received 4 bars in areas my old phone only receive 1. But that positive aspect is lost on the fact that callers sound so terrible on the earpiece, it wouldn't matter if you're getting 30,000 bars. Everything still sounds bad. I really don't understand how Tech Editors are touting this phone's call quality. I'm baffled.

Possibly the most FRUSTRATING problem with the phone has to do with its software which Motorola has no intention of changing. When receiving a text message, missed call, or voicemail the Tundra will KEEP CHIMING unless you view them. The ONLY way to turn the alert off is to switch the phone completely to silent or turn it off. The software developers for this phone are borderline stupid. If someone sends me a text message while I'm asleep, the phone will sit there and chime for hours on end until the battery is run down or I get up to view the message. To go to sleep I have to turn the phone completely off. I sat on the line with text support for a couple hours and talked to a top tier supervisor who informed me neither a software update or a firmware update is in the works for this annoying feature. I really can't believe such a high end phone has such TERRIBLE software. The Contacts List is filled up with preset AT&T service numbers YOU CANNOT DELETE. And since the screen is so small, and since the word AT&T starts with the letter "A", every time you pull up your contacts the entire screen is filled with AT&T service numbers. Unless all your friends are named Alan or Angela, they will all be placed below the AT&T numbers, which is STUPID. When I press the "Contacts" button, I want to see MY contacts, not a full list of AT&T crap.

The battery gives you about 4 hours of talk time, realistically. That's about the battery life of the iPhone which has true GPS, a faster processor, and a screen 3 times the size of the Tundra's. Why is the Tundra's battery life so abysmal? Is it because of it's powerful processor? Definitely not, because the Tundra's processor is SLOOOOWW. The screen redraw is awful and the menu pages can sometimes be achingly slow to access.

It is my opinion that MOTOROLA CRAMMED A SUBPAR PHONE INTO A WELL DESIGNED CASE AND THEN CHARGED A PREMIUM. Don't believe the hype. Why have such an amazing, protective case on such a poor phone? It doesn't add up. If you want durability, you're really better off getting a $50 dollar phone with insurance, than this marketing scam. Just my two cents.

Simply put, I need my phone to do one thing, and that's make calls. Everything else is gravy to me, txt, video, mp3, web surfing, all extras. This phone gets better reception than any phone I've had before. The sound quality is excellent, and I have no complaints about the battery life.

I wanted a flip phone with great call quality and reception. I do not care about the toughness of the phone and if it's waterproof or not. It does feel very sturdy and the back cover snaps into place and makes me think that it would be very water resistant.

Once ordered via Amazon Wireless, I got the phone within two days of shipment. This phone has great call quality and the noise cancelling feature works very well. I can drive with my windows open doing 65mph on the interstate and my caller can't tell I have my windows down at all.

The earpiece volume is low enough that if I drive with my windows down I have a little trouble hearing the caller.

I am not a big texter, but the raised buttons do make it easy to text. My old phone's (LG Shine, which I hated) buttons were so close together, that I would press two or three buttons at the same time by accident.

Antenna reception on the phone is great. In the past I would normally drop calls in certain areas, but now I have no issues and keep full 3G reception in those spots.

I purchased phone about a month ago. I could not ask for a better phone. Great reception, loud ringer, listening volume is great. Sturdy and not too small, you know it is in your pocket. Motorola out did themselves.

I've been looking for the right cell phone for some time, now. This might not be so hard if I wanted a phone to text, browse the internet, buy novelty rings from my phone, and otherwise muck about giving AT&T excuses to charge me money. There seem to be multitudes of options that would let me do that in as many ways as I could think of. The problem is, I just want to be able to talk to people I know when I want to and be available for them to do the same. I'll text if I have to. Unfortunately, most cell phone manufacturers seem to have forgotten about that "feature". Each newer phone that I've had (usually when it breaks or just stops getting reception) has actually had worse reception than the last.

The Tundra, however, seems to actually be made for making phone calls. It gets the best reception that I've ever had. In the past, I have been limited to talking in one corner of the house. The engineering marvel of adding an external antenna might have something to do with this. As far as its durability, which seems to be a pretty big selling point, it seems pretty sturdy. I'm not afraid to lean on a wall with it in my pocket anyway. If nothing else, the rubberized exterior gives a good grip, and along with the bulkiness, makes it very comfortable to use. I can even hold it on my shoulder if I have to. The built-in AT&T contacts are a bit disappointing. It is a bit annoying not to be able to remove them. On the other hand, I was too lazy to remove them from my last phone, so I really can't complain much there.

As far as its other features, I really can't comment. I've heard the camera is garbage. From what I've seen, cell phone cameras generally are. It can do just about anything ordinary phones can now, taking advantage of 3G and all. It even has some dedicated buttons for these things, including one for PTT right on the side. In the end though, it gets five stars for great reception, its apparent durability, call quality, and its comfort of use. If the size bothers you, your pants are probably too tight.

(FYI - I received two of these prior to its release in the United States. I still use one, but in a limited manner.)

The Tundra is as advertised so far as its design and durability. There are issues that many have noted and that you should consider - SERIOUSLY - prior to purchasing. You will find the sound quality (or lack thereof) takes getting used too. If you have small hands, forget this phone. If you like pictures...well; below is a short list of what I personally have found to be issues with Tundra.

Lets run 'em down: 1. Sound - This is not a device for listening to music. It is a PHONE ONLY. The sound quality for incoming calls takes a period of trial and error to find and maintain that "sweet spot". It can be frustrating! I suppose a "work around" to this PROBLEM would be to use a Bluetooth device. (I use this phone only in my Jeep Grand Cherokee. The sound system in the Jeep can be synchronized/linked to ANY phone with Bluetooth capability) 2. It has a camera, don't buy it for this feature though. Also; don't expect this feature to be of ANY USE. 3. Tundra arrives STUFFED & BLOATED! You can delete some of the trial ware, but not much. There are seven (7) preloaded and fixed (unable to be deleted) AT&T phone numbers in your contacts list. Since they begin with 'A', they are positioned first. I simply use an alpha-numeric system to place my contacts ahead of these pre-installed AT&T "pay your bill now" numbers. For example: 01A Brother Doug. This entry, since it begins with numerals, is placed forward in the list. Just load your contacts in similar fashion (you could just use numerals IE: 00, 01, 02 etc..) and they will be first. 4. DO NOT THROW YOUR PHONE AT A BRICK WALL! I don't care if it Tundra still worked for the guy on YouTube after he tossed it down the street. Do it to yours and it WILL BREAK! 5. THIS IS A PHONE - not a basketball, nor a sound file player, it is not a weapon (well...), it is not a camera....THIS IS A PHONE.

If you like the slim and slick little plastic toy phones, do not purchase this! This PHONE is extremely BEEFY! Though you can not knock down bowling pins with it; it is more durable, will withstand drops, short punts and other "above normal" cell phone abuse applied to most any other you might own or have owned. One exception, the Samsung Rugby. (That will be another review as I am in the process of testing it now)

The price at 99.00 is decent, but if you pay the full and normal asking price; you will have paid a couple of hundred dollars too much. This is a PHONE. They should not have bothered with the camera, music player, web connect etc.. It should have been designed and promoted in kind as the "Jitterbug" phone that the seniors and disabled find easy to use. Why? BECAUSE IT IS ONLY A PHONE! The add-ons DO NOT work well enough to even mention. This PHONE has one thing going for it - it is more difficult to smash apart than most any other phone.

Wait until it is on sale before you buy. (This 99.00 sounds decent enough to me, I am getting another) Full retail on this is just CRAZY. It is nowhere near being worth any amount over 100.00 USD. Have fun, enjoy life and do not text while you drive; seriously, please don't, please I beg you! See ya round the bend!

Regards,
Gunner

I reiceved this phone thru Amazon and I was impressed to get in 2 days with everything in the box.
I have had several phones and was concerned about the stubby antenna. Living in a rural area and needing a rugged phone the signal was my most important feature. I had both my phones side by side while driving around and moving around in my home and in all cases the Tundra had 1 bar more singnal even when my other phone had no bars allowing the tundra to make a clean call.
I also like the new blue tooth stereo feature which hooks up twice as fast as my older ATT phone. The stereo feature is great for using ear buds while riding the motorcycle or in the car.
Another feature I use is hooking up this phone the the pC to download photos and music to and from the phone. This is done with a simple USB cord. To many good things to mention but I will say you will love this phone if you want a rugged phone that is waterproof and gets a great signal. You will have to decide if you are going to use the features but they are there if you want them
I reiceved this phone thru Amazon and I was impressed to get in 2 days with everything in the box.
I have had several phones and was concerned about the stubby antenna. Living in a rural area and needing a rugged phone the signal was my most important feature. I had both my phones side by side while driving around and moving around in my home and in all cases the Tundra had 1 bar more singnal even when my other phone had no bars allowing the tundra to make a clean call.
I also like the new blue tooth stereo feature which hooks up twice as fast as my older ATT phone. The stereo feature is great for using ear buds while riding the motorcycle or in the car.
Another feature I use is hooking up this phone the the pC to download photos and music to and from the phone. This is done with a simple USB cord. To many good things to mention but I will say you will love this phone if you want a rugged phone that is waterproof and gets a great signal. You will have to decide if you are going to use the features but they are there if you want them I reiceved this phone thru Amazon and I was impressed to get in 2 days with everything in the box.
I have had several phones and was concerned about the stubby antenna. Living in a rural area and needing a rugged phone the signal was my most important feature. I had both my phones side by side while driving around and moving around in my home and in all cases the Tundra had 1 bar more singnal even when my other phone had no bars allowing the tundra to make a clean call.
I also like the new blue tooth stereo feature which hooks up twice as fast as my older ATT phone. The stereo feature is great for using ear buds while riding the motorcycle or in the car.
Another feature I use is hooking up this phone the the pC to download photos and music to and from the phone. This is done with a simple USB cord. To many good things to mention but I will say you will love this phone if you want a rugged phone that is waterproof and gets a great signal. You will have to decide if you are going to use the features but they are there if you want them