Switched to Verizon and the Motorola V710 Phone

Don't you get terminals like the Nokia 6230 in the US? Yeah, it looks a bit retro and it has the odd software bug, but it's still a superior terminal. Bluetooth, infrared, FM radio, MP3 player, video streaming, MMC support, MIDP 2.0, VGA camera and more. And they managed to cram everything into a pretty small space. Highly recommended.

The bluetooth limitations aren't that bad. They basically limit your ability to sync addresses over bluetooth and restrict some functionality of the bluetooth systems in cars. You can still:

use bluetooth headset, including the flexible voice dial, and it doesn't need to be Motorola one

Get Internet access, including VPN, with OS X and Palm OS

Use the Palm dialer functionality to dial from your Palm Address book (though I haven't gotten OS X's address book to do it)

Sync (in my case with iSync, the version released this week) addresses and events with a cable (use the Motorola one, other brands have had trouble with iSync)

So you loose bluetooth sync, but the cable sync charges at the same time. It hasn't been as much of a limitation as I feared it would be

Don't you get Series 60 phones like Nokia 6600, Nokia 7610 and Nokia 3660 there?

Jeremy,

My sympathies with you for choosing Verzion :) You *will* find the suckiness of their service and will start getting jealous of your friends' phones that are one generation (at least) ahead. But, alas, the chains of a contract :(

A

I am curious, has anyone broken the crippling on the 710 yet ? Is the crippling a function of verizon or is it Motorola ?

There's always the transflash card port at the top, don't forget that! You can use it for some functions that the crippled bluetooth won't allow.

And if the phone doesn't work, you can always look for twigs and send smoke signals :D I'm sorry but that is pathetic for a carrier. As it is, they have ancient phones and technology. Now, even the slightly better phones are having their features turned off.

Am I glad I passed them over. Cingular's coverage area with ATT Wireless is much bigger and I get to have a nice T616 that works like a charm with my PowerBook.

I'm sorry but have you checked Cingular's coverage area? and then have you looked at verizons? By far verizon has MUCH more coverage then cingular. If you look at there future coverage it's bigger then verizons coverage now.

one more thing, the only thing cingular has over verizon is puerto rico, so if you care about calling there i suggest you get cingular, if not, stick with verizon.

jer

When you talk about Cingular's "future" network that includes, besides their planned expansion, AT&T Wireless' network plus their planned expansion. And that future is now. Since July, the two networks have not only already merged but I can use Verizon's network without penalty? Even though, I've never seen the need to do it because it always picks up the native networks stronger than others.

And, yes, since July, my Verizon using friends keep repeating "Can you hear me now" in areas where I have clear calls. So maybe you should revisit it my dear friend :)

I'm thinking about buying me the Motorola v710. Since you've bought it, can you tell me the pros and cons with it? I know my Motorola T720 phone has the permanent home screen buttons so if I wanted to put a background image, those buttons would cover my image. Is this the same with the v710? I also wanted to know if the v710 allows you to record your voice or someone else's voice as a ring tone?

I bought this phone on the 13th to replace a failing LG model I'd been using for nearly two years. After testing voice quality among all the top models at my Verizon store, the V710 won.

Next up: headset. My Jabra Pro set was failing at the plug, creating intermittent dropouts. I tried Motorola's "best" Bluetooth wireless piece: it was abysmal. I tried one of the Jabra wired sets from the Verizon store. It was almost as bad as the Bluetooth one. I knuckled down, ordered another Jabra Pro and, for comparison, a Chameleon SilverCel. The Jabra Pro is the clear winner.

I'm eagerly awaiting the day when someone builds a Bluetooth wireless earpiece that sounds great. I'd be willing to pay real money for it (around $125 - $150), but all my research on the web doesn't suggest there are good solutions yet available.

On a positive note, the earpiece volume and quality with the Jabra Pro headset is superb. As for non-headset use, I've received several unsolicited comments about how good the phone sounds. And reception at my home - previously on the edge of reception with poor sound quality and frequent drops - is vastly improved.

Based on voice-quality alone, this phone is a wonderful upgrade for me. The fact that some Bluetooth functionality isn't yet available doesn't change that in the slightest.

Mike

Great Choice of Carrier and phone. I have been using Verizon for over 4 years. I fly all over the country and to the Carribean. Verizon works everywhere I fly. Last week hurricane Charlie roared through Florida. All phone lines were down. My in-law's ATT wireless did not work. My brother's cingular did not work. Thank God my wife handed her Verizon phone to our daughter before we took off for a vacation to Gulfport, MS. We watched the storm literally cross over our home and were able to talk to our children with their grandparents the whole time. For almost a week after the storm - Verizon was the only service that worked. I went to Verizon bought myself the V710 and bought a new phone for my wife and daughter. I now use the Mobile Web 2.0 to check real time radar just before getting on the aircraft. We have the weather channel live in our cockpit- but it does not compare to the internet access of the V710. I can preset favorite links using GetitNow service from my desktop to make it quicker to surf the net. I am not familiar with the Bluetooth capabilities - but I love the phone and service.
Airline Pilot

I just bought a motorola V710. I am trying to make calls directs from by address book in my palm Tungsten T3 ussing bluetooth, but apparently it is not supported. Any hints??

Al .. buy a different phone. The v710 currently only has internet gatway services for bluetooth. It will not connect to sync your contact list or allow you to uses your pda or PC to dial number from your contact list. You could uses the gatway connect to dial a number but you'll need to change the number manual every time. So that is a work around that just takes more time that dialing the number by hand... The v710 currently is a toy and NOT a phone for professionals that need to get work done.

Besides the crippled bluetooth, is anyone really disappointed with the camera quality? The v710's camera was claimed to be as good as a digital camera, but I can get the thing to take any pictures that I would keep except outdoors in sunlight. The 'flash' they've included cannot light my face if my nose was touching the phone! I think there is some serious false advertising on Motorola's part.. if you look on their website and goto the v710 page, it claims that it can take GREAT pictures night or day, and also SYNC wirelessly! Unbelievable.. Oh by the way, I called Moto and they will upgrade the software so you can sync by the end of the year.. I'm still in my grace period, so I'm considering returning the phone, any words to change my mind?

am looking into a v710. been very happy with verizons coverage and customer sevice, but i guess that can vary from store to store. i'm also not sure what kind of pics people are expecting with a 1.2 or whatever megapixel camera! i'm not expecting great quality, just somthing for amusement. a lot of places are cracking down on photo-phone use anyway. i hear it has good reception in fringe areas, which is why i switched to the in the first place. i get much better coverage in remote areas than my friends/family that use sprint and cingular. i'll deal with the bluetooth "issues" if i deccide to buy one!

Any comments on the speakerphone or the size/weight?

I recently bought a Motorola V710 (CDMA) from Verizon to operate in parallel to my ATT Sony-Ericsson T68(GSM), which I have had for 2 years. I needed better coverage, and ATT doesn't provide it.
The V710 set up easily with my Jabra 250 bluetooth earpiece, sound and volume are good. However, when I ordered the cable and Mobile Phone Tools from Motorola, I acquired a nightmare. I have spent 10 hours this week on the phone to Motorola, and to the software maker, BVRP, and I cannot get the software, the patches, the phone, any of it to work. No sync-ing. I actually got one of the Motorola Techs in India to get it to work for one test, but when I added to my contacts and tried to re-sync, I got the "Failed" message. Does anyone have any idea where I can get help in making this thing work? I will admit that I have been spoiled by the Sony-E T68. The software works great and syncs with IR, and by "category" so I can set the phone down by the laptop and pick up all changes set for my T68 category. I need that to work on my Motorola. I cannot contact any humans at Motorola in this country. No phone numbers, no email addresses. help.
mikec

Verizon had Puerto Rico Service on there America's Choice for quite some time in fact if you shared a plan with AT&T you could not use the Puerto Rico option at all and plus Verizon carries the landline side and the the cell side for the Island. Cingular just absorbed AT&T's wouderful debt of forty one billion dollars and Cingular has to do some major repair for the now broken AT&T. In the mean time both carriers especially the AT&T side the consumers are porting out like crazy because the GSM network is still shot and not complete while Verizon's network every quater qets a "BILLION DOLLARS" to make the network even better then it is basically it's a non stop gift for the consumers that enjoy the awesome coverage and the low call drop ration and don't have deal with the mess of GSM for several years to come. Verizon allready has there High Speed Broad band Access which is one of the fastest, fully mobile wireless In
Internet data solutions available to date. Verizon also now carries a larger selection of wireless products then any other carrier now with new products every month.

While it is frustrating that the V710 does not have full bluetooth functionality at present, pending a possible firmware update, I am still very pleased with many of its features.

1. The HS 820 bluetooth headset is wonderful.

2. The reception is clear & strong everywhere.

3. The speakerphone is outstanding.

4. It syncs just fine with my Palm Tungsten T3 as a data modem for surfing the web.

5. The voice recognition on the phone is incredibly accurate without any training - better than anything else on the market. People that hear me dial with it are completely blown away.

6. The photos have a rather soft focus which bothered me greatly at first, but I finally discovered that they can be sharpened up nicely in Adobe Photoshop Elements so they usually look quite respectable in a 4 x 6 inch print. The sharpening makes a big difference on the V710's photos - much more so than I expected.

7. Using the transflash card gets around the file transfer issues for photos, videos, and MP3 files; and it is great to be able to have so much memory available.

I was tempted to return the phone until I succeeded in setting it up for bluetooth DUN dial up networking with my Palm and learned that I could easily sharpen up the soft focus on the photos with software. Now I'm keeping it. I am too spoiled by the features that do work well. I am still hoping for a firmware update soon to add at least some of what is missing.

I recently purchased the V710 on 09-05-04. I feel very misled by the claim of having Bluetooth and ability to sync with my computer. I left the poor service of att although i loved my sonyericsson T616. I feel traped now as I need (ok want) a phone with the full function of the bluetooth and the greater reception that unfortunatly comes from Verizon. In addition to this the bluetooth issue my other complain would be the voice recorder. Holding down this tiny button the entire time you want to record is just insane. The Sony product was nice in that it could record a conversation up to 30 minutes or so and I could send them to my computer for backup if needed via bluetooth. Not sure what to do as I am still within my Return time with Verizon. Any thoughts? Thanks Thomas

I just got a V710. I gather from reading everyones comments that I cannot sync Address Book with this phone. True?

Have read the comments on using the V710 with a Lexus or Acura--has anyone tried it with a Mercedes? That would be my main reason for buying one. The phone you can purchase with the car (for four figures) is the V60 with BlueTooth and that's a bit outdated for that price.

check out howardforums.com for some good syncing tips

I've had Verizon service for several years now. In fact, since 360-Degree Communications formed their own company after several employees split from Sprint(!) because they didn't approve of the business ethics/methods. And after that, they were purchased/combined by Alltel. Next came Verizon.

I will say this: I haven't been anywhere in the entire Eastern U.S. (I haven't been West with it) where I didn't have service. I have service when nobody else does. Verizon has - currently, let alone previously - massively superior coverage areas and service. Better than ANY other service provider, hands down.

In addition, I exclusively will use Motorola phones. Side-by-side with any other make (with the same provider), the Motorola products have better reception and transmission. Every time. In fact, it was because of this that my wife and I were able to make an emergency phone call in the middle of Illinois. Not a single person at the accident site had service in that area... except us. Counterpoint: While Nokia phones have one of the highest repair rates, they also tend to have better-than-average reception and transmission abilities too.

Most definately, we will be upgrading to the V710 when money allows. We held out for the best Motorola for our needs and it was well worth the wait. I just hope the Bluetooth technology can be worked around or circumvented. I find it odd that Verizon did that to a phone; they are usually the only provider that doesn't "lock" out features or services on their phones.

I second that one Sam. When you compare voice quality and signal strength, Motorola wins hands down. I've owned other's models with both Sprint and Verizon, LG, Kyocera, Samsung, Sanyo (although the Sanyo phones kept a really good signal). This was the main reason I switched to Verizon, better coverage and Motorola phones since Sprint stopped providing Motorola phones.

I just wish Verizon was not so greedy with the Bluetooth thing. They have a chance to offer an excellent product and the screwed up. The is the one thing the does suck about Verizon, they are the last to get latest generation phones. However I am not about to jump to Cingular for crappy coverage.

I'm very disappointed in the lack of promised functionality. I know that there are ways to get around the lack of bluetooth sync, but I paid a lot of money (full price) *because* of that promised wireless sync. Now I not only don't get the wireless sync with what I bought, but I have to pay for an additional cable in order to sync.

I have been happy with everything about Verizon except their selection of phones. This incident has made me very bitter.

Hello... I just purchased a V710 and have found (disturbingly) very little support for getting my ZIRE 72 (Palm) to use DUN through Bluetooth. Can someone help me understand the steps to get the Bluetooth working so I can get to the internet through my bluetooth phone?

Thanks!!

The things I dont like about Verizon is. They need to stop crippling phones, they would get more customers. Two, they need to have better rates on America choice, and more minutes. The things that I like. I never get a dropped call, the clarity is really good, and the reception is over the top, but you also have to have a good phones. Verizon needs to go all out with their phones and service. They would be the best wireless company around, but they probably won't.

V710- Hey...I bought one also. THought about taking it back when I found out how many features Verizon blocked. Mainy I wanted the MP3 player. Motorola advertises all the features. Verizon gets around it by saying "Oh..we dont advertise that feature". What jerks.

Anyway you can use the removeable card to get many features (as the guest wrote on Aug 16). Check out Nuclear elephant. that dude is real pissed about all this.

Hey...drop me a line. Make sure you put V710 in subject or something.

Chuck

It was previously posted, but not really elaborated upon. It's my understanding that Motorola intentially disables certain functions on the v710 phone per their contract with Verizon.

My curiosity is this: If one were to buy the phone outright (at full (*^*&^$^#%) retail price) from Motorola, and then activate the phone through Verizon, would it still be crippled? I would think that if Motorola disabled it, you would effectively bypass the issues. However, if Verizon disabled (the features) through their "over-the-air" programming then it might be unavoidable.

Can anyone confirm or deny this? Or perhaps offer some more details or counterpoint? Thanks to all.

P.S. Check my earlier post for my thoughts on Verizon, but I will add this: In the back of my mind I'm conscious of them getting too big for the consumer; remember Bell Telephone company? The point where greed surpassed customer service?

i dont have the phone but i want to buy one. can u tell me how much it costs. its a sic phone!!!

I have that phone and I have the blue tooth attachment. So far, I'm loving it.

I paid 80 dollars for the blue tooth wireless ear piece. I went to a conference in Phoenix....and it was wonderful. Inside. Outside.

If you go to
http://www.verizonwireless.com/
Go to the Bluetooth Accessories:

Bluetooth Headset
$79.99
Enjoy hands free convenience with the ability to answer, place and end calls all with the touch of a button.

I am very impressed with the ear piece. The phone, to me, is just a phone. All the bells and whistles mean nothing to me, without crisp and clear sound, which this phone does have.

I have the Moto v710 through verizon and want to transfer sound files from the transflash card to the phone. There is no option to move the file in the menu options. Does anybody know of any ways to do this without having to text message myself the file

bonjoir vous pe me donne moiun aparey de camera svp

Does anyone know how to set up a V710 to work with Mac OSX? The Mac will recognize the phone on the USB bus, but won't communicate with any of my software.
Thanks!

Cingular is horrid in coastal southern CA

Verizon is by far the superior service out here.

Just got my 710

best phone i ever had, but all i ever used before were the FREE phones

FYI, you can get iSync to work with the 710 now over bluetooth and with Tiger. This info is available from macosxhints.com. I haven't tried it yet myself, as I still need to upgrade my phone's firmware and have forgotten how to do it without walking in to a Verizon store.

I got Verizon Motorola V710 connected to Bluetooth in Lexus.
But I was not able to transfer phone book from the phone to the car.
If anybody knows the way to do it or it's part of Verizon Bluetooth restrictions?

I have a v710 and have been trying to us the mp3. I cant find my mp3s. If somebody can help me email me at Smassie57@aol.com
thanks

Just wondering - I want a bluetooth enabled phone. I'm currently an AT&T (Cingular) subcriber, but my contract is up, so I can move (or not)to a new subscriber. I just want a phone though, I don't need and won't use: email, web, video, games, camera, mp3 player, etc, etc. I just want a phone. with bluetooth. so I can use it in my car which is already bluetooth enabled for hands free use. Is there such a thing available?