Budget priced digital phone for those that don't need the extras
Written: Jan 08 '03 (Updated Sep 27 '03)
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Pros: cheap, durable, reliable phone with two-way SMS messaging and voice mail
Cons: doesn't have all the bells and whistles of fancier phones, no games or web browsing
The Bottom Line: If you're looking for a cheap digital cell phone that has two-way SMS text messaging and voice mail capability, this is it but don't expect lots of features
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| maceyr's Full Review: Motorola V2397 Cell Phone |
It's been years since I've owned and used a phone. The last one was those old analog phones in the old days of analog cell phone lines. Since I tend to travel around periodically to Vancouver to visit friends and relatives, I wanted to be able to keep in touch when in Vancouver. I started by browsing around the different cell phone providers that were available: Fido, Telusmobility and Bell Mobility. Since I don't use the cell phone too much, I needed to find a plan that suits my limited calling preference but still provides me with the security of having a cell phone for emergencies. Most cell phone providers have a pre-paid plan where I purchase a cell phone and then purchase a pre-paid card which allows me a certain amount of airtime or credit which I must use within a specified time frame. But the main problem was that I had to shell out around C$170 or more for the phone package, which includes the phone, some airtime and maybe some accessories (if I'm lucky). Being someone who wasn't going to use the phone all that much, it seemed pricey to pay over $170 so that I have the security of a cell phone. So, I continued to look for an alternative and then stopped at a Radioshack which sold the services of Rogers AT&T Wireless. As luck would have it, they had a sale of the Rogers AT&T Wireless Pay As You Go package which included the Motorola V2397 digital cell phone, the NiMh AAA batteries, 2 cell phone "wraps", a belt clip, a travel charger, and a hands free headphone which is handy when driving. The regular price was C$199.99 or something like that and they were then on sale for $49.99, a $150.00 discount! Along with the accessories, it came with an automatic $20 credit upon activation of the cell phone and a mail in credit rebate for an additional $25 credit. So, that meant that I was really only paying $5 for the whole package! What a deal! So, after a bit of thinking, I got it, it being the last one that they had in stock.
Let's not kid ourselves about this phone. Although its regular price is almost $200, it isn't a bells and whistles phone that most of my friends or relatives have. It is a digital phone that serves its purpose well and has a bit of features that other cheap digital phones might not have. So, if you're looking for the latest and greatest cell phone, this definitely is not it. But, if you're looking for a cheap but dependable cell phone, you might be interested in this.
The Motorola v2397 is a TDMA dual band (operates on 800/1900 Mhz frequency bands), dual-mode (supports both digital TDMA 800/1900Mhz and analog 800Mhz networks) digital PCS phone, which means that it can seamlessly operate on both analog and digital networks while you're travelling.
Here's a list of the features of this phone:
-Two-way text messaging SMS capable which allows you to send and receive text messages to and from your SMS capable cell phone
-Other SMS capable wireless device or computer via the internet can send email to your cell phone. Your cell phone's email address could be something like: 1234567890@pcs.cellularnetwork.com
-use ICQ to send and receive instant messages to other ICQ users via their computers or SMS capable wireless device
-email phone book which allows you to add email address to the phone book to allow for quick access to send out text messages
-phone book which allows up to 99 entries of name and phone number
-Quick notes scratchpad which stores text that you can create, edit, add, delete or send
-pager mode which (if available by your provider) can allow you to suppress voice mail and phone calls to receive pages just a regular pager
-voice mail (if available by your provider) can store up to 10 3 minute messages and can be set up to answer calls when the phone is off, unanswered or if you're currently on another call
-caller id (if available by your provider) can allow you to view who's calling before you answer the call
-up to 30 caller id received calls (if caller id available) can be retrieved from memory
-up to 20 last number dialed can be retrieved from memory
-multiple call timers with alerts which can be helpful in alerting you if the call is getting close to a minute, for those on the "billed by minute plans" or at other personally set times
-9 different ring tones, which can be set for specific callers or numbers, to allow you to distinguish between who is calling
-pause dialing for answering machines or phone card dialing
-keypad lock to prevent accidental dialing
-quiet keypad can be set if you don't wish phone to sound when pressing the keys
-illuminated keypad and backlight for a few seconds when pressing the keypad to allow for better night use or in dark areas
-large message button for one touch access to voice or text message
-time and date can automatically be updated by the cellular provider
-multiple language support - English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Hebrew, Russian
-hands free headset with clip on microphone allows for safe cell phone use while driving or otherwise occupied (of course, it's better to end the call quickly when driving)
-up to 100 minutes of continuous talk time in digital mode and up to 60 minutes of talk-time in analog mode
-up to 110 hours of standby time in digital mode and 24 hours of standby time on analog mode
-low battery warning
The best feature of this phone is the Two-way SMS (text messaging) feature, which allows you to send out text message of up to 125 characters to any SMS capable wireless device, an email address or an ICQ user. And, since it's two way, it means, you can also receive text messages back on your cell phone from any internet mailing program, from the cell phone provider's text messaging web site, or from a web based email web site. I find this handy when I can't get a hold of someone on their cell phone and I send them a text message to let them know where to meet me or call me. Depending on whether your cellular provider "blocks" your phone number from being displayed, if it's blocked, most times, the recipient of the call won't know who called. Having the SMS capability helps in such situations. I usually compose and create a few messages that I store in my phone that I use when I need to so that I won't have to spend the time to individually key in a message character by character when I need to. That's where the phone's Quicknotes or scratchpad comes in handy. I just recall the message I want to send and away it's sent. One other thing about having the two-way SMS capability is that I can now subscribe to free wireless SMS news updates and alerts from news providers such as www.cbc.ca, www.msn.com, my.yahoo.com and others. So, even though I don't have web access, I can still keep updated on news periodically according to specific times I've set at their web sites. That makes me feel a bit better because I always want to be updated on the latest news. Now I can, even without a web access phone. Since the Rogers AT&T Pay As You Go plan allows me to receive text messages for free, it won't cost me a thing.
The disadvantages of this phone would be:
-it doesn't vibrate like many other cell phones do (although once when I borrowed someone else's vibrating phone, I was uncomfortable with the vibration that I got a bit of a shock from it the first time)
-it is not web enabled so I can't access the web to check for real time scores, weather, etc
-it doesn't have much ringtones to choose from. 9 really isn't enough to choose from and I can't download additional ringtones that other fancier phones can
-the phone book is quite a simple one. You can only input the name and the phone number. There is no expanded folders to sort the entries or allow notes for each entry
-it doesn't have a calendar
-it doesn't have an alarm
-it can't play games (although I really don't want to play games on my cell phone anyways)
-it isn't GSM capable so I can't travel around the world with it nor can I utilize the GSM networks available in North America
-it doesn't have a voice activation dialing
-it doesn't have a speakerphone
-without the "wrap" on, the phone is a bit slippery and can easily be dropped
-the wrap colors are ugly and don't serve much purpose except to make the phone easier to handle and sort of protect it
As a budget priced phone, it provides pretty much what I wanted. The entire package includes the cell phone, hands free microphone clip on headset, belt clip, two phone "wraps" (blue & orange), battery charger. Considering that I was paying C$49.99 for a package that also included C$45 worth of airtime, I'm only paying $5 for the entire package. Of course, this was a special deal that I was lucky enough to take advantage of.
The phone seemed durable, although without the wrap, can be quite slippery and could very easily be dropped onto the floor. The belt clip could be easily attached to the phone and seemed sturdy enough to hold the phone but due to my previous encounter with belt clips on my Motorola T5200 talkabout FRS radio dropping on me, I didn't want to take a chance. I was fortunate enough to get a free leather case with belt clip from a friend which fit the phone quite nicely. And so, now, the phone fits snugly in its leather case and I can feel comfortable knowing that it won't fall.
The hands free headset is great and with it attached to the phone, I can feel much more at ease when driving or just outdoors without having to hold the phone. I might look a bit stupid talking to a microphone but I can hear the other end much better, even in very noisy environments. Even without the headset, the other party could always be heard clearly. I never had to adjust anything to improve the reception.
The message button is a nice feature since many other phones don't have a "message" button but rather have you go through the menu button and scroll through the maze of options to get there. If I get a message or if I want to send a message, I just click on that message button and then select whether I want voice mail or text message and away I go.
The phone is very lightweight, but then almost all phones are nowadays. I would have preferred more ring tones to choose from since many phones nowadays have those fancy tunes rather than a phone "ringer" tone. But then, this isn't a bells and whistles phone. The other thing I didn't like about the phone was that the Send and End buttons are reversed. Usually on most other phones, the Send is on the left and the End is on the right. It's been several weeks since I got the phone and I still keep getting confused.
This being a TDMA phone, has both an advantage and a disadvantage. As Rogers AT&T is the only TDMA network provider in Canada, you're stuck with Rogers. Also, since Rogers AT&T is now more concentrating their efforts in expanding their GSM (850/1900mhz) network across Canada, TDMA is essentially stuck where it is and its network won't be expanded. Since GSM is the big hype and the "cool" thing nowadays, there is less emphasis on TDMA phones and network. But, let's not forget that you can roam on analog networks in areas where there is no digital TDMA coverage. That might be very useful for those who live and frequent rural areas where GSM is not available. With GSM, if there is no coverage, you're stuck. And, also with the flood of TDMA phone users going over to GSM, that also means that there is less traffic on the TDMA network and you are much less likely to experience busy signals and probably better reception which can occur with a congested GSM network.
Personally, I obviously own both a TDMA phone (Motorola V2397)on Pay As You Go plan and a GSM phone (Nokia 3590) on monthly billing. So, when I'm travelling, I take both phones so that I can still have access to the phone network if I happen to travel to where there is no digital GSM coverage. So, I have the best of both worlds, in Canada, anyway, since neither of my phones are world phones. But then, if I travel overseas, I could very easily go rent a phone and not deal with the hassles of configuring the phone, getting SIM cards and prepaid airtime, etc.
And with it being a Rogers AT&T phone, provided that you buy the phone from an official Rogers AT&T wireless store or a Rogers Video store, there is a 30 day return policy. Provided that you don't use more than 30 minutes of airtime and 150kbytes of wireless data (GPRS for GSM phones) and return the phone within 30 days, you can cancel out of the contract without any penalties. Just pay for whatever airtime, long distance and data usage during the time you owned it and you can walk away from the contract. Otherwise, you have to pay $20 for each month remaining in your contract to a maximum of $200. So, if you find out that you're not happy with the phone, the network coverage and reception, you can always get out. But remember that this is a Rogers AT&T wireless policy. If you purchase the phone from Radioshack, Futureshop, Staples, etc, they may have a different return policy in place. You may be subject to a re-stocking fee or other fees or maybe even not be able to return it. Please take the time to ask the dealer what their returns policy is before you buy the phone and sign the contract because you might be stuck with a 2 year contract and a phone you don't want.
There's also a cell phone forum called Howards Forums which has a vast selection of handset reviews by Howard Chiu and also has forums devoted to cell phones and cell phone providers, including Rogers AT&T. Check it out at: http://www.howardforums.com
The V2397 has a pair of buttons on the left side of the phone which toggles between menu selections as well as a "smart" button located on the right side, which is essentially a "select" button. That kind of makes it a bit different from other cell phones since they usually have all the buttons on the face. I would have really loved to have the web enable feature for this phone so that I could access real time info and maybe even use the phone as a modem for my laptop like many other fancier digitial phones, but then, this is almost a no-frills phone so I really can't complain. Maybe next phone I get, I'll go for one with the speakerphone, web access, downloadable ring tones, etc....Sigh. The phone comes with a one year warranty.
Thanks as always for taking the time to read and rate my review.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 31.50
Recommended for: Adventurous Technophiles - Tough and Durable
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Epinions.com ID:
maceyr
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Location: Canada
Reviews written: 129
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I hardly have time for Epinions anymore but do try to read and rate.
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