Motorola V180 Phone (AT&T)

by Motorola

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 3.4 x 1.8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B0003QEAB6
• Item model number: V180
• Average Customer Review: 2.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (69 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #254,081 in Cell Phones & Accessories (See Top 100 in Cell Phones & Accessories)

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

Billed as an entry-level phone, the Motorola v180 is actually a feature rich black beauty with quad-band global coverage capability. Instant messaging, MP3 ringtones, dual displays, USB connectivity and gaming support are all here-- a significant step up from entry level phones of the past. It's the perfect companion to Cingular Wireless service.

Design
The phone features a sleek clamshell design with a large 128 x 128 color display with 65,000 colors. The outside cover of the handset sports a supplementary 96 x 32 monochrome display that can display time, call information, battery and signal strength, and more. A stub antenna is placed on the top right side of the unit. Up and down buttons for volume control are placed on the left side. Most of the phone's features and on-screen menus are controlled by a five-way center button on the handset's control pad. A USB-capable data port is housed on the unit's top edge. There's a standard jack to accept universal hands-free headsets on the bottom of the handset, next to the phone's charging port. Face plates are available so you can create the look you're after on the phone's outer casing.

Calling Features
The V180 supports polyphonic ringtones as well as MP3 ringers, allowing you to use portions of your favorite songs to alert you to incoming calls. You can also assign pictures and ringers to your most common callers. A number of ringtones come preloaded on the phone and more ringtones can be downloaded from Cingular's MEdia service. There's even an included application, MotoMixer, that enables you to mix your own ringtones.

Speed dialing, which allows you to call pre-programmed numbers with one button is built in, as is a vibrating alert. A built-in speakerphone makes it easy to talk without having the phone to your ear. Voice activated dialing makes calling your friends, family and associates as easy as saying their names.

Messaging, Internet and Tools
The V180 has all the bases covered when it comes to messaging and Internet connectivity. The phone features support for ICQ, AOL and Yahoo! instant messaging applications (Cingular messaging charges apply). There's also a built-in web browser for MEdia downloads and mobile web browsing. Cingular's MEdia service lets you receive and send emails, read news headlines, get weather updates, download games and ringtones, and more. Traditional text messaging, as well as picture and sound messaging are also supported by the phone. iTap text entry, which is a technology that makes it easier for people to enter words and text on handsets, is built into the unit-- a plus for mobile email and text messaging users.

A number of handy software tools are bundled with the V180 including a voice memo recorder, a calculator, a notepad, a calendar and an alarm clock.

Imaging and Entertainment
The V180's USB connectivity can be used to transfer pictures, sounds and graphics to the phone's memory from your PC. Screensavers, themes and wallpapers can be set to your tastes. The V180 is Java enabled, meaning it supports games and application downloads written on the Java platform. Games are available via the Cingular MEdia service.

Vital Statistics
The V180 weighs 3.26 ounces and measures 3.43 x 1.75 x .91 inches. Its lithium-ion battery is rated at up to 5.83 hours of digital talk time, and up to 275 hours of digital standby time. It runs on the 850/900/1800/1900 MHz GSM/GPRS frequencies. The phone comes with a one year limited warranty.

What's in the Box
Motorola V180 handset, lithium-ion battery, power supply/charger, user's manual.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Couldn't be more pleased..., November 22, 2004

By 

Scott Pointon "Former Marine, Librarian, Wood... (Crest Hill, IL United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Motorola V180 Phone (AT&T) (Wireless Phone)

My wife and I each bought one of these phones with our new Cingular contract. Though we did not buy through Amazon, I thought a review of the phone would be useful to everyone!

First of all, these phones are very well designed for the user. Because it is a flip phone, it is very compact when "closed" yet when it is "open" it feels more like a real phone than most other cell phones do. The hinge is in no way flimsy and seems like it will hold up well. We love the color screen and various audio/picture options that this phone offers. We were both able to learn how to navigate the phone's menu system with ease.

I am also very pleased with both reception and the battery charge-life. I charge my phone 1-2 times per week and have not had any problems with "low battery" messages during a call. My last phone (a Kyocera) was terrible about losing charge very quickly during calls.

Basically, this phone performs as well as the advertisements say it does, and for a lot less than the high-end phones. We could not be happier with this purchase!

21 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Cheap Phone - Take Away Some Stars!, December 29, 2004

By 

Peter Schmidt (Orlando, Florida United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Motorola V180 Phone (AT&T) (Wireless Phone)

I have now had this phone for half a year. The first few months, it worked ok and I was very pleased. I gave it 5 stars back then. I wish I could take a few of them back.

Now, my v180 is unreliable at best. I can't keep track of how many conversations I've had when all of a sudden they can't hear me. I try to call back and it's just static. I have to wait a few minutes while the phone settles down to call back. What's the point of having a phone if you can only talk on it occasionally, when it feels like letting you stay connected for over 5 minutes?

In case you are thinking of getting this, let's go to the Pros:
1. Ring Tones: This phone has many True Tone as well as Polyphonic rings to choose from.

2. Battery Life: Crazy-long battery life.

3. Buttons: Not tiny, but well-spaced buttons

4. Cheap

5. Small

Here are the downsides:

1. Very few games to choose from: I don't understand why some pretty basic games are not available on this phone. If games are important to you, STAY AWAY from this phone.

2. Small screen.

3. Unreliable

4. Fairly quiet, easy-to-miss ring

5. Other party has hard time hearing me when I use speakerphone.

I'm not sure why anyone would want this. We got my wife's free Nokia 3120 at the same time, and she's had absolutely no problems with it. I think I paid $50 for this piece of junk...and now they are being given away. I'm looking to get a replacement soon.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Noted problems seem to be fixed, July 14, 2005

By 

Civiltongue "Dave" (Redondo Beach CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Motorola V180 Phone (AT&T) (Wireless Phone)

I liked Cingular service (as an AT&T transplant) but once they started squeezing down TDMA I knew I'd have to go GSM. I researched a number of review sites, including Amazon, and settled on a MV180 despite reports of persistent problems: cracking LCD panels, short battery life, and easily scuffed front panels were often reported.

Now, after 6 weeks, I haven't encountered any of those issues. I carry the phone in my pocket along with other items, and (while it's obviously not brand new anymore) it isn't more scratched than it deserves to be. Anyway, that panel is replaceable (with original black or other colors) so I'm not too concerned. I was careful to give the battery three full charge-discharge cycles at the outset (I do this with all lithium ion batteries) and now I get 4-5 days of standby and at least three hours of talk; maybe I'm easy, but I'm satisfied with that -- it compares well with the Nokia I had before. And, I'm embarassed to say, I dropped it twice onto asphalt road surface (I was trying to kluge a phone holder for my car) and no cracked LCDs -- in fact no damage of any kind, not even scratches.

For my address book, I chose to save all entries to SIM card memory rather than to the phone. I know that gave me less flexibility (multiple numbers per name) and less available memory, but neither of those were problems for me. The built-in ringtones weren't very exciting, so I downloaded one ("I'm a Believer") that's geeky enough so no one else is likely to use it, and I'm not going to change it anytime soon. The speakerphone works adequately, in fact the speaker sounds pretty good, as does the earpiece. It will do a bunch of games and other Internet access stuff, but I'm not much interested in that.

So, bottom line, I'm happy with my choice. Thanks to Amazon and all the previous reviewers who helped me.