Something Slower Than The United State Postal Service - Motorola LS350 Numeric Pager
Written: Jun 13 '01 (Updated Feb 02 '06)
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Pros: Basic model, good first pager.
Cons: Lost pages, no back light, annoying rattle inside unit.
The Bottom Line: If you have no friends, don't expect any important pages or just want to look cool then this is the pager for you.
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| Freak369's Full Review: Motorola LS350 Numeric Pager (Black) |
Once again I found myself detached from communications – my trusty pager decided that it no longer needed me or my constant supply of batteries and thumb massages and moved on to greener pastures. [translation: I lost yet another pager]. Having spent obscene amounts of my ex-husbands money on useless pagers I decided to spare him, and his overused credit card, the hassle of another high-ticket gizmo. Instead I went to a "one-stop" pager outlet. You know the kind – they have those ads that scream at you "Free Voice Mail, Unlimited Paging, Free Activation"; phrases that make me break out in a cold sweat.
I stopped by a small, yet well stocked, pager outlet [name withheld to protect the morons that work there] and was informed as I entered the door that they were out of the $50.00 specials that were advertised in the weekly City Paper … but before I could turn tail and run I was shown a teal clear pager that they could substitute. You know the saying love at first sight? If this wasn’t an impulse buy then I don’t know what is.
The Basics
The Motorola LS350 pager is a numeric one-way pager that has the option for voice mail [included in my plan for one year]. The display screen is basic and shows the time and date as well as the signal and tone alert you’ve selected. I was told that this had a back light feature so you can read messages in the dark – however mine has a mind of it’s own and either refuses to work or is broken. There are three buttons on the front of the pager to read messages, change the functions and delete old data. The bottoms aren't completely flat but I haven't has any trouble with them getting pushed accidentally when in my knapsack or gym bag.
It's small and has a clip on the back, however the clip is not removable so it can be carried in a pocket without looking like you are smuggling missiles. I am told that the solid colored units do have the removable belt clip, why the colored ones don't is beyond me. The unit is clear and teal in color however other hues are available. On the bottom there is a small inferred window – no one seems to know what this is – so if you have this key piece of knowledge that will certainly make my life complete please feel free to share this with me and end my torment.
The Good
The size and weight are average for a standard numeric display pager. For the price you can't beat it but in retrospect I should have spent the extra $22.00 and got a two-way or alphanumeric display pager. You do get several annoying "ring tones" to choose from however no matter what I choose when someone pages me all I get is a single pathetic beep.
You are given several folders that you can move important numbers to - however getting them to the folder and saving them there is an ordeal all in its own - write it down on a piece of paper if its that important. You can also set a daily or weekly page alert however, and once again, setting it up is more hassle then its ultimately worth.
The Bad
The screen is way too small and in most cases you have to hold it on an angle to read the numbers. Setting the time and date on this took me, no lie, 20 minutes. You have to go through a sequence of prompts than press the correct button to change the time. Press one wrong button and you go back to the main display. Even with the instruction booklet I became frustrated and wanted to hurl the thing against the wall.
As I said earlier you do have several ring tones to choose from but mine seems to default to a single beep. When you receive a page the number is displayed for about three seconds then goes back to the time and date display – every pager I ever had displayed new message or new page on the screen until it was checked. This presents problems when I leave it in the car or in the bedroom. I have to scroll down and see if there are any new messages. I am not sure if this is the pager services department or just the pager itself but I can't call and retrieve my numeric messages [in the same manner as my voice mail] and even though I paid a little extra for voice mail retention [48 hours] my messages are only held for 12 hours [sometimes only 8].
I have had over half of my pages get lost or reach the pager well over 20 minutes after they were sent. I am supposed to have coverage from Los Angeles to about 3 miles into Mexico and since I am well within that range I can only assume that my ongoing electronic appliance curse is still in effect. Maybe I can call Cleo from the Psychic Friends Network and she can help me out with this mystery.
As far as the instruction booklet is concerned, it's 27 pages of mumbo-jumbo. Press this, hold that, click here… I had an easier time hooking up my DVD player on the fly with no instruction than I did setting the time and date on this. Please, don't make the mistake of hitting the 24-hour time display over the 12-hour mode, you will never be able to change it back.
If you are an "eco person" then this is definitely not the pager for you. I go through about 2 AA batteries every two weeks and in my opinion – that is a ton of batteries. I tried both the rechargeable and standard "out of the pack" long life batteries and still had to replace them about every 14 days.
The Bottom Line
As you can see, the bad outweighs the good 5 to 1. I can't recommend this pager to anyone – even those who receive a limited number of pages with be disappointed. Go with a better model or ask if you can try out a pager for a week and see if it suits your needs. If an establishment really cares about its customers then they will exchange your pager and eliminate any set up fees with changing your service to a new unit. I really expected a better product from a company as widely recognized as Motorola. Once again, I set forth on my quest for the ultimate pager - one that will never get lost, play cute little tones and give me dependable service.
A girl can dream can't she…
As always, thanks for the read!
~^V^~ Freak ~^V^~
© 2006 Freak369
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Recommended:
No
Amount Paid (US$): $59.99 tax
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