Customer Reviews

Motorola V557 Phone (AT&T)

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

 

 

Pros:

1. Clearest, most consistent reception of any Cingular phone I have used (metro Chicago).

2. Intuitive, flexible navigation typical of Motorola.

3. Loud ring and earphone volume.

4. Reasonably large and high-res screen.

5. Easy to access and get detail on recent calls and messages.

6. Battery life is fantastic.

Cons:

1. As other reviewers have noted, the news "Ticker" takes up lots of screen and doesn't tell you all that much.

2. Web navigation is s-l-o-w and clumsy.

3. Vibrate mode is weak.

4. Screen colors and themes limited.

If you want a phone to make phone calls, the V557 is a winner.

Topeka, KS, Cingular service. Just got the phone yesterday, but I've played with it enough now to be pretty pleased with how it is working. The other reviewer has an axe to grind (he put the same low rating on ALL motorola phones!)

Back to this phone... very nice fit and feel, love the non skid surface it has, and also like that it has some weight to it. Camera is adequate, but not great, but as others say, buy a digital camera to take nice pictures and get over it. I do not have a problem with the volume button on the side, but I am able to put it on 'soft' which does not alow you to adjust it from the outside. Vibrate and other options probably will help, I don't know what someone would do if they need it on loud.. my SO has one also, and we will see how he gets along with his today.

Keys are big and easy to use, the center 'mouse' is very easy to use, personalizing the keys is easy.

Reception is crystal clear, and signal strength is equal to or better than the nokia 6340i that I had (TDMA/GSM quad band phone)

I'll know better when I do my 3.5 hour run to Nebraska in a few weeks, and will try ou the speaker phone then as well.

Both inside and outside screens are nice and clear and easy to read. I've turned the brightness down to the lowest setting, and it is plenty bright. The menu is different, but pretty intuitive, I am able to find and personalize most things without the manual. I'm not taken by the ticker...on the fence on that one, but I get my news fix from the Net on a computer. Seems to have quite a few ads on the ticker so far.. bleah.

Acessing the net for the channels on the ticker is very easy. There is a pause between accessing, but not as bad as my s l o w phone connection at home.

Not much for ringtones, but I'll get it figured out how to add some, hopefully without a ton of money spent.

I'm going to try the blue tooth headset.. haven't yet.

Checking out the battery life, but there are quiet a few options, screen saving, turning off the ticker, etc that would probably extend it.. like having the options to do that.

I love this phone! I originally made the mistake of buying the sony ericsson z520a and hated it. I have always been a motorola fan and always will be. This phone looks great, has killer reception, and is very well made (it is really solid). I am very picky with my phones and this is by far one of the best phones I have had. My husband is very jealous for he has the new nokia flip phone and is not too happy with it. I would recommend this phone to anyone who wants a quality product that truly shows. This phone has made me a motorola fan for life!

So, a RAZR is sexy, yes, but let's face it. Everyone and thier grandma wants a RAZR, and most people will buy it now that it's cheaper. I really never saw universal acceptance as terribly cool. Now then, I owned the V300 from Motorola via T Mobile. I broke it. The phone was sturdy; I was just a bit of a jerk. T Mobile on the other hand, was fuzzy, vague, and too costly. The V556 is an improvement over my past phone, and I love the design. It also has features similar to a 1st gen RAZR, but hey, you're on Amazon, you can figure that out yourself.

Cons:
*Accidentally pushing a button and accessing Cingular's internet is too easy to do. That internet, as best as the manual tells me, often incurs charges for data transactions, not just online services.
* So many nice features, so little onboard memory.
* Motorola is very afraid of a flash with thier camera.
* Cingular is stingy with the ringtones and backgrounds. Seriously, T Mobile included at least 4 times more for free. It shows a very business decision, which is a not so nice reality check when I'm switching providers on the basis of consumer benefits.
* Online features, like headlines, weather, and sports, are overrated. They take up a large portion of the screen whenever you are at the main menu, and you pay for anything more than a summary. They cannot be hidden without deactivating the service. It's a bit glaring when you have the instant $$ internet button but no way of hiding this feature that is so lauded and convenient.
* The fact that I can't hide the online features I do like when not using them puts me off. So much so, that I won't even look at the pay options. Why pay to be annoyed?
* It was so nice of my phone to warn me of the fact that elaborating on the online features (such as a headline) incurs a charge. Found that out on day two. Said feature has been off since.

Pros:
* Rubbery grip equals less slip. Rhyming, unfortunately, does occur.
* Bluetooth.
* Big buttons
* Battery life is phenomenal.
* Never had a clearer sounding phone.

It feels like an empty victory. Much better phone, better features, but trying to do anything other than placing a call feels like walking through a bazaar with a belt made of dollar bills. T Mobile was cheap on the features, but they didn't make it so easy to waste your money. This phone is like an attractive date who's only interested in your money. I'd dump it, but we have this commitment... and it's sad that I won't find a hotter phone.

Love the phone, but the unabashed way they want my extra money does little to "raise the bar" on phone service.

If you've ever switched brands, you know it can be a challenge. Adapting to the Motorola V220 flip-phone from a Nokia "candy bar" style phone was OK, but after losing my V220 (no longer available) I tried an LG 1500 and found it unusably alien, its display inferior. I returned the LG and got this V557. It's quite a bit more expensive if you buy the phone straight out (I paid $269), but just about worth the extra money. The display looks like a miniature TV!

It loads games noticeably faster than the V220 did although it occasionally hangs for a second or two during play. The video and camera work fine and have more memory. IT RUNS FAR LONGER ON A CHARGE than any other phone I've had! Wow! Inexpensive car chargers are available at Wal Mart and Target. Overseas (notably SE Asia), you can just buy another SIM card at a 7-11 store and then you have a local phone number --just call from that to pick up your voice mail at home; it's cheap. (The 7-11's also have scratch-off cards to "fill up" on usage minutes as you go --no contracts.)

One thing about the Motorolas: if you turn off caller ID so that the person you are calling cannot see your phone number, it's for the "next call only" and then it goes back to sending your number. It takes fifteen (15) clicks to do this(!) on the V557, so if you want it off all the time, this might not be the phone for you. The only problem I've had: twice in four months it said "unable to charge" while on the wall charger. I unplugged the charger, removed & re-inserted the battery, and that fixed it.

The recently-dialed list holds sixty numbers, many more than the V220 held. On Cingular you get free news headlines (can be turned off); you don't pay unless you press "More" to download the entire article. There are built-in messages such as "Will arrive in 15 minutes," plus you can store your own. The speakerphone on back doesn't work as well as a real speakerphone, but it'll do if you just want to play your guitar into the phone for a minute. :-)

I lost my RAZR while running errands, and had to get another phone. A blessing in disguise. I hadn't loved the RAZR- cool-looking but not terribly useful. The V557 has Medianet (data interchange costs extra), Bluetooth capability, a decent camera, multi-media messaging, networking including e-mail down and upload, handles data and fax transmissions, has very easy input with the keyboard, a datebook and notepad, and has a FREE ticker display running news and sports headlines. (You pay extra to download the entire story.) This is almost a smartphone without the high price. It just doesn't look as cool as the RAZR, but neither do I.

I am a big fan of this phone. I previously owned the *ancient* Sony Ericsson z500a, which I was very unhappy with--EXTREMELY bad battery life, picture quality was less-than-mediocre, but the call quality was good. So, before I bought my next phone, I was looking for a phone with a good camera (one that takes acceptable pictures; you can't expect much from a camera phone) and exceptional battery life, as I talk on the phone for around 2-3 hours a day. The Sony Ericsson battery lasted for about 12 hours and then I'd have to charge it.

This phone fit the bill perfectly. Talking 2-3 hours a day plus using the alarm, datebook, and text messaging regularly and the battery lasts for about 3 days (which is more than exceptional for my standards). The camera takes decent pictures--you can actually make out what the object in the picture is!--and I'm quite satisfied with it.

It also comes with Bluetooth, which I haven't been able to take advantage of but hopefully will in the future. The datebook is very handy and the alarm system is quite nice; you can set separate settings for several alarms. The ticker, although marketed with much hype, is not all that great and I disabled it within having the phone for 2 hours.

As far as games are concerned, my phone came with a Bejeweled Demo and NFL Football 2005 Demo. It irks me that they're both demos, but with phones these days they rarely have complimentary ones available without having to pay.

The text messaging is refreshing compared to my old phone and is very fast, no lag. Ringtone selection is slim, but viable. In the preferences, you can customize the order of the icons on the menu and what the home screen shows, your background, wallpaper, theme, sounds, etc.

The reception is also quite good.

Summary:

PROs

* Battery life

* Reception

* Camera

CONs

* Address book; I'd like to have one name and several numbers listed under it instead of having copies of one name with one different number for each

* Live ticker

* Can't change the format of the pictures (sepia, black & white, etc)

Overall, good camera for the price (I got it free from Cingular!)

I picked up my 557 a couple of weeks ago to upgrade/replace my Motorola V220 (good phone, but inherent display problems). I had an opportunity to choose a new RAZR but, upon inspection, found it to be a very fragile, flimsy device: NOT recommended (in spite of website-shill comments to the contrary).

This is a tough, stable phone. I actually like the Ticker, although I agree that it takes up too much display space to leave on all the time. The overall display is superior to the V220, as are the camera(s), data transfer capabilities, clarity and reception.

I've had NO dropped calls. Zero. That's new. Messages are easily sent ('tho slow in the process). Storage is quick and painless. All in all, this is the best cell phone I've had (and I've had dozens!).

Thus far, anyway.

I was issued this phone as a replacement for the v551, after sending 3 back under warranty. So far, the only issue I'm facing on a daily basis is the faulty quick-charge port (one of many issues I had with the v551 phones). The connection is loose and the phone will report a full charge, even though the "battery status" selection in the menu says it has only 1 bar. I'm pretty picky about handling my phones, so I don't just jam the charger tip into the charge port. Having to position the phone "just right", and then tape the cord down so that it doesn't move even slightly, is a waste of time and very frustrating to hear the "do-do-do" ... "de-do-do" sound when it starts, and then immediately ends charging. It also wears out the life of the phone battery.

My advice, if you have to have this phone, do yourself and your battery a favor, buy a cradle charger. :)

This phone replaced my Nokia 1100, which, believe it or not, survived a full cycle in a washing machine. It is way too easy to accidentally access a feature on this phone that will get you charged per use, including a button which brings you to the Cingular Mall. You can customize the functions of other buttons -- but not for that one. I've customized it as much as possible to ease this problem. I've disabled the ticker and reordered menu options. The screen is bigger and image display clearer than phones a year or two older. The camera made its annoying click sound even, I think, on silent until I discovered the not so user friendly was to disable it. None of the games work, but I don't care enough about them to do anything about it. I don't think anyone else has complained that this phone is noticeably larger than similar phones. I thought I was so smart to choose the best reviewed free phone from the Cingular website. I stupidly didn't compare the dimensions. It is even bigger than at least one of the earlier Motorola V series models. My Nokia 1100 was a solid but basic phone. This is my first feature heavy model and I'm having a lot of fun with it, but I don't think it would last a minute with my laundry.