Customer Reviews

Motorola V325i Phone (Verizon Wireless)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(13)

 

 

The instruction book is easy to understand by non-techies, but the on screen menus make this phone easy to use even without pouring over pages of print. The phone can "learn" your speech patterns and respond to voice commands, as well as typed choices from easy to manage menus. It takes up little space in pockets or has a variety of holders. Didn't like the 2pc holder that came with it--I couldn't manage the stiff belt holder at all and didn't like the way it sticks out from waistband, but found a lovely reinforced fabric holder at Walmart with magnetic over-flap--easy for arthritic fingers and the belt or waistband holder is extremely secure though much easier than the Verizon model to install or remove from clothing. The phone beeps when unplugged or plugged into chargers-and beeps when punching buttons to make calls, something that I don't like--want a silent version--but I've been told this can be changed if I take the time to find the right menu selections. Service is great--no trouble with reception and we live in the mountains and travel thru some sparsely populated areas of Southeast USA. It offers many extra services, has built in phone with rather good quality photo-taking ability should one wish to use that. Text messaging available and Verizon has offered excellent customer support, politely answering dumb questions and helping with activation. The different Verizon programs for service fit just about anyone's needs and the sales people are very patient in explanation of these. The phone itself is great--offers speakerphone that has worked clearly for hearing and speaking from distances we've tried of up to 20 ft from phone and volume controls that make the phone comfortable for different people. It is easy to set on vibrate and has a half-dozen built in ring tones with additional ones available for slight fee. The flip lid on the phone makes it safe from accidentally calling the wrong person at the wrong time, as well as lets one feel as though one is using a "real" phone (land line traditional handset) and not talking to a plastic domino-sized thing pretending to be a telephone--great for a 1st time user . Flipping the phone shut stops all operations. The buttons are quite easy to learn to use, though I always wish (as with car dashboards) that they had words instead of icons.

This is my first time with Verizon after years with Nextel. As far as the service there's no comparison. Nextel was the worst I have even dealt with. This phone has a signal everywhere I have been and that's a big plus. I have not experienced any of the freeze up problems others have had and I don't find the navigation very cumberson; again because I'm used to Nextel. The one compaint that I do have, and it's a big one for me, is that the phone does not ring thru a standard headset. I ride a motorcycle most times and my intercom system on the bike has phone hook-up capability. I just plug it in to the standard 2.5mm headset jack and I can talk thru the headset in my helmet. The problem with this phone is that the "ring" does not go thru the headset. The only way I know if someone has called is I hear them saying "hello, hello" on the other end when the phone auto-answers. Every other phone I have had rings thru the headset. Neith Verizon or Motorola will take responsibility for this although both say the function should work.

originally needed a good no-nonsense phone without a camera, for Fed Govt work. Bought a Moto W315. Verizon turned off half the functions listed for the 315 on the Moto site, so I took it back. Decided to live with having a camera phone, and selected the 325 upgrade [at no cost] to match the 80 bucks worth of batteries and chargers I bought for the 315, and now I'm very happy with the V325i.
I like to personalize a phone, so I needed Moto Phone tools to work. I found that Verizon turned off file transfer capabilities in the codeplug, among other things It upsets me that I have to hack my phones to get them to do what they are built to do, but, there it is. One SEEM edit later and I have everything I need, phonebook backup and custom tones, pics, and calendar.
The phone has outstanding coverage compared to the LG I had last, and it's solid, tough, and businesslike. I don't like that they lowered the RAM from 64M in the 325 to 32M in the 325i, but, I think it'll do me.
The only complaints I have are 1) the menu structure is clunky and difficult, and 2) the side button are easily accidentally pressed in the phone holster, risking turning off the ringer and missing calls. also, the speaker volume is not loud enough, I have trouble next to server racks full of cooling fans.
Overall, a good phone, after the unlock, but still looking for the perfect cell.

Pros: Simple basic phone, good design and size, retractable antenna, good battery life (so far)

Cons: bad UI, using calendar is tricky


This is a good phone for basic users who are not looking for all kinds of fancy features. With this phone I finally get a strong signal from verizon that I didn't get from my older LG VX6000 phone. The speakerphone is quite loud. So far it has had good battery life.

Verizon selfishly installs its BREW interface over all their phones that suppresses the phone's capacity. The UI of this phone is very bad, but I think that is verizon's fault and not Motorola's. Furthermore, their Get It Now applications are totally useless and I couldn't find even one with a serious purpose.

this phone has a terrible battery I'm on my third one and still doesn't keep a charge well. its extremely slow and takes forever to do anything with it. Camera isn't even worth opening up... the worst is when I'm in a class/at meeting the volume changes on me by pressing outer keys it can change from silent to ringing or vice-versa. I would advise strongly against this phone.

Note: This is for the model V325, which might be different from the V325i. See the Comments, too.

I used this phone for a few months, then put it away for six months, then used it again for a day. I will replace it. No bluetooth = no handsfree. The ringer is just too soft, even with the loudest ring tone. I miss calls as a result. It has a ringer or vibrate, but not both. That's just dumb. The external antenna makes it stick in my pocket. There is a weak camera and no SD microchip. Even though it has a mini USB port, there is no way to get the photos out of the phone except to email them to yourself. I never used the GPS because Verizon charges for the service and for the minutes, and then you have to squint at your cellphone screen and drive. No thanks. But .. it has a real nice exterior and clean lines inside and out, a nice tactile feel. Nice voice notepad. Feels sturdy, but it's not heavy. All in all, this phone is not worth keeping even as a spare. It is not even good as a kid's first phone because they won't hear you call them.

I have always needed a phone with an external antenna as I live out in an area not served well by cell towers. I replaced an E815, which I found to be a bit better overall due to its flash and Bluetooth capability, but the shell was slippery. I have the V325 that does not have Bluetooth, but all of the other features are the same. The rubber trim is great for protecting the phone when dropped, the camera is okay (no flash), sound is pretty decent and my battery life after 6 months is days of standby and hours of talk time. If using a car charger without setting the timer, you can affect the phone's ability to charge properly and that may be what causes some of the battery problems listed. I have read about the slowness issue, and having a lot of text messages saved in the phone causes this. Deleting both the sent and received messages will return the phone to a speed that is the same of any other phone. Overall, it is a rugged phone that looks decent, will take much more abuse than the Razor phones (my friend has had three in two years, I have run over my phone with the car and it is fine), and the 325i with Bluetooth is a good, solid phone for many cell phone users.

I have now had my Motorola V325i for 6 months now, ever since I got the phone I have been VERY pleased with its reception. The phone has froze on me a couple times when im in the menu part, but i close the phone and its usually okay. The thing i am VERY disappointed in is its battery life. For the first 5 months, it was great...for the last month..its been pretty bad. It could be on the charger all night and still not be fully charged (this has happened a couple times), but more recently...I cant talk on the phone for more than 1/2 hour without the battery going down to one bar. I used to be able to go two days without a battery recharge, now im doing it twice a day. I am forced to buy a new battery because batteries arent covered by verizon. If you dont mind buying a battery (about $20 via ebay or $35 on motorola's site), then i suggest this phone...otherwise, i dont.

At first I could deal with the poor quality camera and the Neutered Verizon interface, but now the battery dies after only a few hours. It lasts less than 3o minutes, if I actually try to use the phone.

My wife has the same phone with the same problem.

This is my first phone. It's a good phone, but some things are pretty bad. Everytime I change the background on my phone, it freezes and I have to turn it off and back on again. It takes forever to load. It takes about a minute and a half for it to turn on. It also scratches VERY easily. The antenna is very easy to break and you can unscrew it very easily. But, the picture quality is very good compared to some of my friend's phones. It's a nice phone, but it's not really that great.