Motorola: My New Phone!
Written: May 22 '02
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Pros: Clear reception; no unexpected disconnects; features
Cons: Difficult menu system to figure out initially
The Bottom Line: This phone is not likely to disappoint you.
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| beckish's Full Review: Motorola V120c |
I have been shopping around for a new cellular service as I needed to add a couple of more phones to my plan and my current plan wasn't being terribly cooperative on letting me do that without me having to spend an exorbitant amount of money. I was watching television one night and happened to catch a Radio Shack commercial in which they were talking about the Verizon Family Share Plan.
It sounded interesting, so the next day when I was running errands I pulled into the Radio Shack parking lot and went inside. I talked to the sales rep and after a few long moments of deliberation decided to go ahead with the program. It was reasonably priced at $35 a month for the first line and $20 a month for each additional line. I wanted three phones so that my significant other and I could keep in contact with my newly-licensed sixteen-year-old daughter, and this was the best plan I was able to find. That is another review, however, so I will move on to the Motorola Digital Wireless Telephone Model V.120c.
I actually had a choice of several different phones, but I was drawn to the Motorola. Every experience I have ever had with a Motorola product has been a good one. We use Motorola Talk-About Radios to keep in touch on caravan car trips as well as on multiple boat fishing expeditions with friends and I have yet to have a negative experience. That fact in mind, the Motorola V.120c was the phone I selected.
These weren't the "free" or 1 penny phones, but I figured that paying $29.95 a piece was not a bad deal considering the brand. Radio Shack did not have a "regular" price listed for these phones, so I am not sure if $29.95 is the standard going rate or not.
Things I Like
The Motorola V.120c has a nice variety of features to play with. These features are reached through the "menu" system, which does make sense after you play with it for a little while. Some of the features include text messages, changing the ring from silent to vibrate to sound, activating a micro-browser session, phonebook where you can input your favorite numbers, voice-activated calling (you program the person's name into the phone by saying it and then after that you can simply say the name and the phone will dial for you)
and checking voicemail. My favorite feature? At this point it is being able to access my own phone number. Even after a little while I am still having trouble remembering my own phone number (does that mean I'm getting old?) and I can zip through the menu and find it in a couple of seconds if I need to give it to someone and can't remember it at the time.
Display
The display area of this phone is easy to read, which matters a great deal to me. My first phone was hard to figure out regarding the display, and I was never quite sure what I was looking at. Once I spent some time figuring out the Motorola, however, I was quite pleased. It is logically oriented with the amount of battery charge available and the signal strength visible and easy to see. The date is displayed in the center of the phone, another handy feature.
Reception
Having graduated from my Voicestream plan to this one, I am very pleased with the reception my Motorola phone gets. There is occasionally initial difficulty in getting the phone properly positioned in the ear, but on the whole the reception of this telephone is excellent. I have only experience a couple of situations where the phone faded in and out. This is very important to me, as I find few things more frustrating than talking on the phone and getting bad reception. I also have not found any areas thus far where I lost my service with this phone. Now, I have heard people say that the problem is the service and not the actual phone, but I know that when I upgraded my previous plan from my first phone to a higher quality one my service area improved.
Manual
The manual that came with my Motorola phone is very user-friendly. By this I mean that it is logically organized and easy to understand. It is small enough to fit in your purse if you want to keep it handy for those occasional times when you need to look something up yet packed with information at the same time.
Negatives
Even though I like this phone, there are some negative aspects. Primarily, I seriously dislike the charging system. Rather than a standard plug (like one would generally find on a small battery-operated appliance) it has the one with the small prongs. With my first phone I found that the small prongs bent easily, seriously impacting the charging ability of the phone. I am hoping that the Motorola is higher quality in this area, but I would rather have a standard charger plug. You also have to remember to push a button to release the charger from the phone, and I am guessing that one too many times of simply pulling it free without pushing the button could cause some serious damage to the charging unit. Not a good scenario.
Charge for Accessories
Now granted I was at Radio Shack, and their prices are often higher than other people's. Still, it amazed me that pretty much every accessory that could be purchased for this phone had the same standard price; $29.95. Considering that this is the same price the phone goes for, I was a bit irritated. Shouldn't the accessories be less expensive than the phone?
Final Assessment
I am quite pleased with the Motorola phone, and envision us using them for a long time to come. All things considered, I think I made a good financial decision by deciding to go with these phones; they are efficient and a lot of fun all at the same time. Check this phone out if you are considering changing your cellular plan; you might find you fall in love with it at first sight.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 29.95
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