Motorola A630 Phone (T-Mobile)

Rating:
Summary: great concept, barely acceptable execution
Review: Amazon shipped me a defective phone, which T-Mobile will
replace (free of charge). I'm not too happy with that,
first of all because T-Mobile will not guarantee that the
replacement is brand-new (it could be refurbished),
secondly, why did I get a defective phone to begin with --
where's the quality control?

Playing around with the phone (it is partially functional),
there's a bit of a "production prototype" feel to it, for
example the external keyboard moves around the case, like
a millimiter or so in any direction you push it; the internal
keyboard is rather loud and creaky, it does not have anywhere
near the "quality feel" as my old Blackberry.

HOWEVER, I still have to give this phone 4 stars, because
you cannot find anything like it in the market, for the
features, weight, price, and size combination. It truly
has no competition right now, so Motorola can get away with
stuff they would not be able to if Nokia had a similar phone
out on the market.









Rating:
Summary: Moderate Phone, Poor T-mobile Service
Review: I bought this phone expecting to purchase a parallel alternative to the oversized Sidekick II, but buying the A630 has been nothing more than a pain. Simply talking, the only good thing the phone has to offer is the cool and compact design.

Pros:
* Cool design
* Speakerphone
* User friendly menu navigation

Cons:
* Phonebook (I feel like I am using the phonebook installed on Zack Morris's cell phone-ancient! The organization of the phonebook makes is difficult to enter and understand how to insert multiple numbers for one contact.)
* Battery Life (If your phone is constantly searching for a T-Mobile signal, the battery juice drains fast.)
* Charger (The connection between the charger and headset is flimsy, I feel like it could snap or damage easily.)
* SIM Card (I my case the SIM card would not sit in correctly, and without a SIM card being read, the phone did not work.)

If you can deal with the annoying cons, then it's a cool looking phone that catches the attention of people around you. However, I returned this item because T-Mobile's signal coverage is limited or in my case completely absent.

Rating:
Summary: Coolest Phone
Review: I had two choices with phone category I was looking for - Motorola A630 and Sidekick II. I bought this phone over Sidekick II primarily because this one is compact (Sidekick is a brick compared to this).

Pros:
* Cool design, compact phone
* Good Speakerphone (Clear & Loud Sound)
* Qwerty Keyboard
* Voice Memo Recorder/AIM/Camera

Cons:
* The organization of the phonebook is difficult to understand initially. It needs a little time to get used to it. It could have been designed better.
* The external display shows only names in the category you were editing/looking at the last time.
* The camera is Ok (I guess similar to V300,V600 series)
* 5mb limit

As far as the other posts that complain about battery life, I have not had any problems. Only thing I can say is the signal sometimes drops all of a sudden(I can't hear the other person) and after a couple of seconds comes back to normal.

Overall a very good phone...sleek, cool compact and a ton of features.

Rating:
Summary: it's not all that !
Review: I just received this phone a week ago, and I hate it. The battery life sucks, the keys are too slow, menus are confusing. It does look cool though. Oh yeah, the speakerphone doesn't work unless an optional equiptment is purchased.

Rating:
Summary: Great phone, problems with AIM
Review: I received this phone as a replacement for my ancient Nokia 3390. I had refused to switch to color phones before because the 3390 simply had the best AIM program around. I was able to easily IM, add or remove buddies and type at least 45 words per minute (without symbols) via T9. It also had Snake II, a very entertaining game. However, as the maximum amount of buddies that T-Mobile allowed on the phone declined from 30 to 10 to 6, I decided it was time to invest in a new one.
The Motorola A630 has a bunch of really cool features. A decent camera, e-mail, 5MB of memory. Battery life is great, and I have no problems hearing other people, though I find that I need to talk a bit louder than I did with the Nokia 3390..but I do talk quietly normally, so it's probably more me than the phone. The AIM program is really good as well. However, I do have some problems with it.
On the Nokia 3390, I was able to add or remove buddies, and I could also IM people that weren't on the list. The A630 doesn't allow me to do this, and I have to add or remove buddies on the computer. Also, the 3390 allowed me to update the buddy list whenever, as well as having a 60-minute auto update. I'm sure that the A630 has an auto-update, however, the lack of an option to immediately update the list is annoying, as I have to sign off and back on to update it.
Also, I find that I can only type around 17 words per minute with the QWERTY keyboard, and with T9, I could type about 45. However, it did take me about a month to get proficient with T9, and I have only had this phone for a couple days. Also, symbols are much easier to type in with the keyboard. Hopefully, I will be able to match or surpass the typing speed that I got with T9.
Overall, this is a great phone, but the AIM program could have been better.

Rating:
Summary: Great phone but poor volume control
Review: I recently bought 3 A630s. This phone is a lot smaller than I thought when I first looked at the pictures. I was able to turn some heads at school while using this phone since the model is so new and unique. The battery went out after 1.5 days of heavy use. I didn't make many calls but I took some pictures and was constantly using it because it was hard to get a feel for this phone. I'm constantly messing with it since it has way more features than I'm use to handling.

Cons:
1. The volume when the phone is closed is very very poor! I was very disappointed because I was in a somewhat a noisy environment and I had a hard time listening to the other person on the other line. Compare to other phones I've used, this phone stays at the bottom for volume. It is so hard to hear.

2. The phonebook was hard to get use to and very confusing at first. I had to mess with it for 30 mins. before I knew what I was doing. But after a bit of training, things got a little easier.

3. The voice recorder was bad. Like I said before, the volume on this handset is very poor! I cannot listen to my voice recordings unless I put it up next to my ear while the phone is flipped open! What was motorola thinking? It seems like a toy to me having it flipped out like that while trying to listen to a voice record.

4. I was using the headset today that came along with it and it seems to have a lot of static. Cheap headset?

5. I wish they had a little more games. 2-3 don't cut it. ; )

Pros:

1. The only thing that is good about the volume on this phone is its speakerphone. The speakerphone on this phone is great! I can leave this thing 2-3 ft away and people could still hear me. I could also hear them loud and clearly as well. I've use other speakerphones before and this is so far one of the best I've yet to encounter.

2. Size, design, color, lights! This is one unqiue little fellah that can attract a lot of attention.

3. I'm beginning to like the Voice Dial on this phone, although, you'll have to speak fairly close to it for it to work.

4. I love the qwerty keyboard. Its a lot better than t9.

5. There are plenty of options on this phone. I'm thinking of getting a bluetooth headset later. This phone has a ring tone composer but it was hard to understand how to use it. I still do not know how to use it yet. = (

6. The reception is fairly good. I have not have any dropped calls yet. I live downstairs and I get 2-3 bars. With my samsung n400 with sprint, I constantly lost connection. So basically, I'm very happy with it.

7. I can access my phonebook from the external lcd. It lights up blue and looks great. "The screen is blue and the keys are white."

8. I love the way the alarm clock is set. I can set up multiple alarms at different hours and days.

The only major drawback of this phone was its volume and microphone. I just wish it had sound a little louder. = ( It is annoying when I hear people and I say "huh? what did you say?"
Overall, I thought this phone was great. Its something I can mess with while I'm bored. I gave this 4 stars because this is one of the most unqiue phones I've yet to see that is affordable.

Rating:
Summary: A630 Rocks
Review: I use the A630 for text messaging, and there isn't a cell phone on the market that is easier to use. You open the phone up and type the message just like you would on a keyboard. I have a friend that types on her A630 using her fore-fingers, and I use my thumbs. I can crank out notes left and right. The Bluetooth on it is cool too, I have a headset that makes talking quite easy, particularly when running between classes. Finally, this device is a social MAGNET. You carry it and everyone wants to check it out!

Rating:
Summary: Fun Phone
Review: I'm getting paid to get the phone so being free, this is a great phone. The phone is smaller than I expected, about the size of a small flip-phone. The text/AIM feature is the the reason this phone is fun. If your looking for a smart-phone, this is not for you as surfing can be a bit slow, get a blackberry. This cell is alot like the Motorola Two-Way's pager with a phone. The reception is OK, nothing special as is the battery. I haven't tried the bluetooth yet but have read from others that it doesn't do well with MAC's. All in all, i can't complain it's a great phone!

Rating:
Summary: Disturbing
Review: Instead of ringing, this phone just sits silently on my desk and judges me.

I don't need that.

Rating:
Summary: Absolutely no software provided
Review: Overall the phone is decent, with good speakerphone quality and is quite well summarized in all the other reviews. One thing however that surprises me and that no one has mentioned before is the fact that the phone does not have *any* accompanying software either on a CD or for download.

So, if I have to move my 100+ contacts from my old Nokia 3650 to my new A630, I have to either punch it in manually or fork out atleast $30 for purchasing the software. I feel that it is total BS to have to fork another $30 for a phone that retails at $350 for getting functionality that is pretty standard on most other phones. (My 3650 had the software bundled for free.)

I feel that this is appalling! Hence my relatively low rating! Guess, I have no other option but to fork over another $30 and get the stupid software.