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Motorola MPx200 Smartphone - Next Generation (AT&T)

Motorola MPx200 Smartphone - Next Generation (AT&T)

List Price: $299.99
Your Price:
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Really, don't bother...
Review: I owned this phone for a week and then returned it. The software is clumsy, the service (1900 mhz) is very spotty, and the phone is *very* plastic. In other words, this is a very poorly made waste of time for consumers looking for a real smartphone. I paid top dollar looking for a multi-function high end phone that would last me a long time, instead I got an unimpressive junker that I subsequently returned almost immediately. Please consider your purchase carefully as this may not be the phone for you at all.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: This is the Mac Daddy of all the cell phones...
Review: Purchased the phone from amazon 2 weeks ago. Not a pro at using it yet but life is just much simpler with this phone. True that ATT will not flash it with Win2003 but who needs that. There are some bugs but never really bother me. I have around 300 contacts and it works great. If you are a business user with over 1000 contacts, I can see some problem. Waiting for MPX220 might not be very smart either. If you are willing to pay around $500 for a new phone, kudos2u, but I am not. I want my phone free. When MPX220 has been around for a while I will upgrade (and mind you it will be free again). For now this is cutting edge. And close to free this phone rocks. Down the line I am pretty sure some good fella will post the Win2003 flash on the net (just like firmware and everything else that is available).

Pros:
1.T9 Keyboard (Its the life saver esp. if you use SMS)
2.MP3 player rocks (i take it everywhere, even workout)
3.The integerated PDA is very helpful though has its limitations.
4.Games, Ringtones and the familiar Windows format.
5.All that and you can still make phone calls.
6.Did I forget to mention that it charges via USB cable while connected to the PC (big big plus)... no need to carry your charger everywhere.

Cons:
1.Definitely ATT Service (They suck)
2.And so does their service (atleast here in Tampa.. too many bald spots)
3.No pouch included (like v300)

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: OK phone, horrible ATT service
Review: I bought this phone in December and since then it is nothing but a pain. Not so much the phone as the service from ATT. Since you will probably read all about the bells and whistles I will summarize just the negative.
The phone:
- outdated OS2002, no plans for upgrade. The new models - MPx, MPx300 - will come with 2003. Probably they will come out in Q3 or Q4. Be sure to check the Microsoft web site for the difference between 2002 and 2003 - some are quite significant. For me there is no point buying upgradeable equipment, without the option to upgrade.
- Too much Microsoft. You have to use MS Outlook, MS ActiveSync, MS Word, MS Excel, MS etc. to be able to fully sync. If, for example, your mail client is Eudora - tough luck. Pretty closed platform with very limited software available (if you are not up to games or ring tones).
- This phone is NOT a tri-band phone. It has only 1900/1800 MHz GSM. The ATT branded OS does not even show the 900 MHz. If you re-flash the OS you will see the option available. Whether it is working or not is still debatable - for more details please check the forums at www.mpx200.org. Note that those are user community forums - no official word from either ATT or Motorola (speaking of support and openness?)
The service (I bought it from ATT):
- The coverage in 1900 MHz is pretty spotty. There is a rumor that ATT will completely phase it out and move their GSM entirely to the 850 MHz. If that happens you will end up with a very nice looking brick on your desk. Again, no official statement approving or denying from ATT.
- Tons of dropped calls when the phone indicates sufficient coverage. ATT gives you credit for those, but that might cause you some embarrassment.
- Customer Service at its worst: you will be on hold for at least 15-20 minutes, even at 1:00 AM. They always have "unusually high call volume" (if something is constantly unusual doesn't that mean it becomes usual:-))
- I am still waiting (more than 2 months now) for them to fix the mess they created with the plan I requested. Meanwhile they are overcharging me.

The bottom line: Even though the service is horrible the phone is OK - it is a real PDA, the size is also very good. Some people may want to have a keyboard, but that will definitely increase the size - check the Treo 600 (which also has worse resolution than MPx200). I have read some stories about the battery life - yes, it is true you will have to recharge it every other day, but that is not a big deal for me. There is no camera, which I see as a benefit.
If it was just the phone or the service I would be OK. Together the package looks pretty ugly. Definitely call the ATT customer service and see how long you will be on hold, check the user forums before you decide to buy.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Currently the best phone on the planet for the price!!
Review: Reasons why this is a great phone:
1. Use outlook to populate the phone with phone numbers
2. Huge bright screen
3. Small easy to carry package
4. Speaker phone and .WAV formatted ring tones (free download or make your own)
5. Sync with outlook and it knows when I am in a meeting and will set ringing to vibrate
6. Free software and games
7. Accepts SD cards for all that downloading
8. Functions as MP3 player
Only 2 issues; short battery life so don't be far from a charger and typing on the phone is slow so I avoid it...

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Great phone: runs MS apps & syncs w/ Outlook flawlessly
Review: Got this phone a few months ago and can't do without it now! The AT&T service is good but quite expensive. Phone is not quite pocketable, guys-you'll want a holster or pouch for it. The phones battery is sufficient for making 2 or 3 calls 15-20 mins. each per day. I just sync the phone (the USB cable also charges!) each day at work for an hour or so. I only got a low battery warning once after forgetting to charge it for a few days; however I am fairly aware of the capacity and watch the level. The sync function is absolutely the best part. It works much beter than my old PDA (a Treo 90). I don't use the games but hear they are quite spectacular for a phone. It can play/display most of what MS media player can. You can add any .jpeg as a home screen and you can download hordes of programs to add functionality as one sees fit. The possibilities are virtually endless. There are lots of web sites which have great support for the beginner to expert for mods and programs. Forget about it working in Europe, sorry no Tri-band from AT&T, althought the phone itself is capable. My biggest gripe would have to be the side jog-dial; it works fine for raising and lowering volumes but it's iffy at best on pressing it in to activate the voice memo/dial funtion. I feel like I am going to break it by pushing it in to activate that feature; when it actually works. I would however highly suggest this phone for those looking to keep track of appointments and contacts by syncronizing with Outlook. You can surf the web and all too, but that's what I've got a wireless lap top for and with AT&T's data-rate charges, Ouch!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: You WILL NOT Get your rebates--AT&T is Awful!!!
Review: ...
That said, the phone is FANTASTIC!!! I don't need a PDA or schedule book anymore to keep appointments straight. There is so much software available over the net that I consider my phone more of a mini-computer than a phone. My ring "tones" make other cell phone users wilt. My games destroy the competition. The MPx200 has tons of "practical" uses too. This is truly the "one phone to rule them all" at least until someone comes out with a better Smartphone. Make sure you load up on the memory card because you will want to pack this phone with all of the goodies you can get your hands on. Amazon.com took the liberty to remove all of my warnings about poor customer service through AT&T thus changing the tone of my review completely<...

I would also like to add that all of my negative comments about AT&T customer service were purged by Amazon.com changing the tone of the review completely.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Great Bang for the Buck !!!
Review: Mossberg of the WSJ says the TREO 600 is top of the heap (cheapest cost $399), I say the MPX 200 for $69 (after rebates) is a fantastic (and maybe a better) value. Pluses: 1. GSM voice quality is good and continues to improve 2. Inexpensive 3. Outlook contacts synced into its memory 4. Lots of features that you can take or leave.
Miunuses 1. Rebates lock you into a two year contract 2. GSM network is more variable than old TDMA network.
Upshot: If you want to get an inexpensive smart phone and don't intend to input information through the keypad (this won't replace a Blackberry or a Treo) this is worth looking at.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Garbage Battery Life
Review: What good are the "Next Generation" features if the phone is always dead. Battery life is so poor this phone is not worth having even with the rebates. Motorola, shame on you.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: MPx200: Still Several Steps From the Promised Land
Review: Face it, who wouldn't want a compact, lightweight cellphone that promised to end the need for a person carry both a phone and PDA. If it were possible to synch that phone seamlessly with popular desktop programs like Outlook and Word, most people would feel as though they had died and gone to heaven. But wait, imagine if this phone was also able to download web pages, send email and played music and film files?

If a phone like this arrived you'd think you had reached the Promised Land!

Motorola and Microsoft haven't reached the Promised Land yet. The MPx200 fails to deliver on its promise to replace they need for people to carry multiple devices to serve their personal voice and data communication needs. To start off, the MPx200's power supply in the phone I tested failed on several occasions. I found that web pages were slow to load and that the phone's operating system often froze and crashed when I switched between programs. Video downloads were lethargic and distorted. To add to my woes I found the only way to move data between my Palm and the phone was by transfering individual files by infrared.

Motorola Should Remember, Little Things Make a Difference.

1. The plastic port cover for the USB/power cord port is tiny and does not attach to the phone like the cover for the SD card slot. Count on losing the USB port cover the first or second time you charge or synch your phone.

2. You also had better plan to "wipe down" your MPx200 a couple of times each week. The phone's shiny black case looks cool--until you smudge it up with fingerprints.

3. The big screen is nice but it may also be the cause of the phone's battery draining so quickly.

My advice: if you have a 'decent' phone now, and can wait a month or two to see if Microsoft's next version of its smartphone operating system isn't as prone to freeze-ups as the 2002 version that powers the MPx200, do so. If you need a phone now--this one will do what others can't--just don't count on it to do those things reliably.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Great phone with extreamly bad service from AT&T
Review: First of all I don't normally write review after purchase, but I thought I have to share my experience with other people.
The phone is absolutely the best I've ever had. AT&T is the worst service I've ever had. I deeply regreted that I switched to this company because I wanted this phone. It took more than a month to transfer my old number from Sprint. Waiting for more than 30min for customer service is not so bad for AT&T. Again it is ashame the phone is excellent.


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