Jakeblack's Full Review: Motorola Krave™ ZN4 Cell Phone
The previous reviewer did a great job of talking about what this phone is, so I will not repeat that. I’ll just add my opinion of what is the plus and minus of this phone.
First of all, if you are thinking of getting this phone, DO NOT do another thing before you read the reviews of it on the Verizon Wireless web site. You will see there a pattern of universal issues with this phone. I wish I had read the reviews before I selected it.
Things that stand out about this phone:
You will be lured by the cool look and bright touch screen of this phone.
You will think its really cool that you can watch TV on it.
It DOES look like a Star Trek communicator. Virtual keyboard that switches from phone dialing to QWERTY texting pad is nifty.
“Visual Voicemail” gives you a sort of iPhone-like list of calls that you can see and select to play instead of having to check your voicemail through the speaker.
Clear cover for the touch screen looks very slick. The earpiece is embedded right into the clear cover without any visible wires (there are micro-wires embedded in the clear cover, you just can’t really see them).
From a looks standpoint, and feature list, this phone is very desirable.
The Problems:
If you want to watch TV on it, you have to buy an expensive data package and you have to be in one of the geographies where it is offered. And the content you can see is minimal. Its limited.
Visual voice mail costs you $2.99 a month, and it does not work well. For my phone sometimes it exits the application unpredictably, or messages will not download or you only hear the first 5 seconds of it. Bottom line this app does not work right. And, it should not be an extra charge for this.
The touch screen does not work well. Difficult to get an accurate response when pressing keys, sometimes the screen will lock up, sometimes you will try to press a particular number and you will have to press it 4-5 times before it takes. Or, the number next to it will register.
I am not a fat-fingered person who does not know how to use technology. Actually I am the opposite, I am a gadget geek. This touch screen is very hard to use, very frustrating. Yeah it looks nice, but if it’s a chore just to make a call, what good is it?
Also if you want to enter any numbers after a call is started, you have to swipe your finger across the screen to “unlock” the keyboard. Then you have the same dicey process of trying to press numbers and having them take.
Also to scroll down any list (of contacts, or whatever) you have to swipe your finger down the screen, and half the time when you do this it will activate one of the items by mistake. Very frustrating.
Bottom line on the touch screen: its horrible.
Also, this phone has a problem where it will randomly turn off and restart itself. For example, I will be in the middle of a call and the phone will turn off and restart. Or, the phone will ring, I will take it out of my pocket and when I flip open the cover to take the call, the phone will turn off and restart. There are no external buttons or anything that would make this happen. It’s a defect.
Can it really be this bad?
Now, you may be saying “this guy just got a bad phone, surely he just got a lemon”. Again I ask you to take a look at the Verizon site and read the stories. They are all similar.
I have talked to Verizon tech support, they initially told me that the phone’s software “got corrupted” and it just needs a fresh install. I asked them how it got “corrupted”. They said its like when your PC gets junk like viruses on it and it stops working well. So I asked him, does this mean that every 4 months the phone is going to get all corrupted and I will be in here every 4 months for a fresh install of the software? He did not have an answer. His look told me clearly that they know this phone is a loser.
They sent me another ZN4 and it had the same problems. I am told that I have to try one more before they might give me a different model phone (one of their choice).
Verizon well know that this phone has a lot of problems, they should just pull it off their shelves until it can work as it’s supposed to. Avoid this phone, the odds are high that you will have problems - or at the very least be extremely frustrated with the touch screen every time you try to make a call or text.
Recommended:
No
Amount Paid (US$): 100 Recommended for: Stylish Trendsetters - Hip and Trendy
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