|  | | | Customer Reviews: | | | Average Customer Review:
Write an online review and share your thoughts with other customers.
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
 Motorola Tundra - a great phone with one single major flaw Aug 06, 2010
I bought the Motorola Tundra several days ago . In making this purchasing decision, I found all the other reviews to be extremely helpful. I was specifically looking for a reliable, well built phone that is focused on making calls, rather than e-mailing, social networking, and internet browsing.
If you don't want to read a long review, here is the key message: This is a great phone, but the earpiece volume is too low. When you hold the phone against your ear in even a slightly noisy environment, you will have a hard time hearing the conversation. I found two ways to alleviate this problem: I switch over to the built-in speaker. That speaker is excellent. It is load, clear and my callers told me that I sound great through the speaker at their end. The other approach is to use a BlueTooth earpiece. I gave the Tundra 4 stars because I really like the product overall (see below), but the low volume of the built-in earpiece is a major flaw.
More detailed points:
What I like:
1. The phone has great reception. I can now make calls in dead spots where I could never make calls before.
2. I like the software. This is obviously a personal statement, but I found it easy to navigate. I had no problem with the many AT&T contacts. A lot of people complained about the AT&T contacts that fill up the entire first screen. They are built-in to the SIMS card, but I was able to delete them from the phone memory. Now they don't show up anymore in my address book display.
3. The phone is bigger and heavier than average. It gives the feel of being "solidly built". It fits nicely into my hand, the buttons are very comfortable to use and the screen is sharp and bright.
4. Coming from an older Motorola phone, the "upgrade" to the newer Tundra felt good.
What I don't like:
Other than the low earpiece volume, there are only a few minor issues that may be more related to my personal preferences than to the phone. For instance, I don't like that the center icon on the home screen is taken up by the link to the AT&T store where you can buy stuff you don't really need. I would have liked the main icon to bring me to the "Settings menu". It takes me three clicks before I get to the settings menu. There may be an easy way to switch BlueTooth "On" or "Off". I have not found it yet. Currently, it takes about 20 clicks through the menu to switch BlueTooth "On" or "Off". Since I now make most of my calls using the external speaker, I go through the battery rather quickly. On a busy "phone day" (about 4 hours of talking), the battery power runs out towards the end of the day.
UPDATE:
It pays to read the manual. After exploring the phone for the last 2 weeks in more detail, I now found ways to deal with all the software issues I initially didn't like. It is possible to rearrange the home screen to get to "Settings" in one click, there is a shortcut to go to BlueTooth in 2 clicks, and by using the external speaker less, I now make it through my 4 hour phone day without running out of battery power. I am left with only one key flaw: The earpiece volume is too low.
 Can't Beat the Reception Aug 03, 2010
I keep a cell phone for phone calls, and have no desire to use it for texting, email, web browsing, or listening to music. That being said, I find the Tundra to be unsurpassed in its ability to maintain a signal and complete calls with little, if any, breakup in areas where trying to use other phones is impossible. I have a cabin in the remote woods from which it has been very difficult to complete a phone call. Until I got the Tundra, my best shot at connecting was to hike about 150 yards up a hill and hope for a couple of bars. With the Tundra, I can either make calls from the cabin, or at worst, step out on to the covered porch. Last year I helped relatives navigate a boat up the Atlantic coast from Florida to Maryland. I was placing and receiving calls in places where others had no reception at all. Recently, I was in the inner depth of the local hospital's ER, and had five bars. I was able to contact health care providers for important information with excellent call quality, while others had to go out to a windowed lobby to get a signal. Yes, the AT&T stuff is a pain, and the phone isn't by any means a fashion statement, but I'll take the tradeoff for the ability to maintain connections with clarity when it counts.
1 of 2 found the following review helpful:
 No Stars for For the Motorola Tundra Jul 06, 2010
I couldn't submit a review with No Stars but that's my rating since it is less than mediocre. Used to be you couldn't find a fire truck or a police car on the streets without a Motorola two-way radio in it, it was that good a brand name, it carried the imprimatur of top-quality. I originally purchased the Motorola Tundra as it was advertised as rugged, built to mil specs etc.
Unfortunately the device didn't live up to what used to be a good name. It gets mediocre reception at best, bottom of the line Nokia from four years ago worked far better in terms of in-going and outgoing calls. My wife's phone which cost much less gets far better reception. About 9 months into the FIRST phone the device crashed regularly (sometimes two or more x per day) necessitating battery-removal reboot. In the ninth month the phone crashed completely necessitating replacement. The second phone lasted three months and then the upper part of the clamshell-style phone went red-hot and the interior large display screen went black. I have no downloads, no apps, no computer ring tones, just wanted a durable phone. No physical damage to it. ATT Customer assistance (offshore and a poor connection) offers replacement with a "remanufactured" phone and doesn't offer any warranty on the new phone past what was in place on the original Motorola. So I get yet another USED Motorola phone with an even shorter warranty. (Don't tell me about their strict factory specs etc, that should have been true for the second phone.) . Don't waste your money on the Tundra, it is all looks, I would entirely recommend getting another brand of phone and I can't say much for ATT. I would love to hear from Motorola on this one, they should should be ashamed of selling products like this.
2 of 2 found the following review helpful:
A Cell Phone That's Actually A Good Phone Jun 26, 2010
I've been looking for the right cell phone for some time, now. This might not be so hard if I wanted a phone to text, browse the internet, buy novelty rings from my phone, and otherwise muck about giving AT&T excuses to charge me money. There seem to be multitudes of options that would let me do that in as many ways as I could think of. The problem is, I just want to be able to talk to people I know when I want to and be available for them to do the same. I'll text if I have to. Unfortunately, most cell phone manufacturers seem to have forgotten about that "feature". Each newer phone that I've had (usually when it breaks or just stops getting reception) has actually had worse reception than the last.
The Tundra, however, seems to actually be made for making phone calls. It gets the best reception that I've ever had. In the past, I have been limited to talking in one corner of the house. The engineering marvel of adding an external antenna might have something to do with this. As far as its durability, which seems to be a pretty big selling point, it seems pretty sturdy. I'm not afraid to lean on a wall with it in my pocket anyway. If nothing else, the rubberized exterior gives a good grip, and along with the bulkiness, makes it very comfortable to use. I can even hold it on my shoulder if I have to. The built-in AT&T contacts are a bit disappointing. It is a bit annoying not to be able to remove them. On the other hand, I was too lazy to remove them from my last phone, so I really can't complain much there.
As far as its other features, I really can't comment. I've heard the camera is garbage. From what I've seen, cell phone cameras generally are. It can do just about anything ordinary phones can now, taking advantage of 3G and all. It even has some dedicated buttons for these things, including one for PTT right on the side. In the end though, it gets five stars for great reception, its apparent durability, call quality, and its comfort of use. If the size bothers you, your pants are probably too tight.
4 of 4 found the following review helpful:
It could have been great. Jun 09, 2010
This is really the tale of two phones. I broke my Motorola v365 and needed a replacement. This phone appeared to be the spiritual successor so it seemed the obvious choice.
Looking at the hardware, the phone is awesome. Tough and rugged; good reception; above-average battery life. The screen is pretty clear and call quality is decent. I usually have a good signal and don't lose many calls. If the review was for the hardware only, I would've given it 4.5 stars. The hardware designers made a good phone only to be undone by the software guys.
But the software is where this thing tanks. It's as if the designers laid out as many possibly ways to get you to accidentally spend data and implemented them all. Dedicated buttons for worthless features, poorly laid out menus, non-programmable soft or hard keys, and the worst contact list I have ever seen. There are 8 or 10 pre-programmed numbers that come loaded into the phone for various features such as checking your data usage, your bill, or getting directory assistance, and they all start with "AT&T" so they insist on being at the top of the contact list. They cannot be removed, renamed, or moved into a contact group. AT&T and Motorola both told me they are hard programmed into the firmware and cannot be removed. Serious? The software team ruined what could have been a great phone.
Anyway, I was so turned off by the operating system of this phone that I will never again buy a Motorola or work with AT&T. As soon as my contract is up I'm leaving for Verizon.
|
| | |
![Plantronics Voyager 510 Bluetooth Headset [Retail Packaging]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41XB1238FJL._SL75_.jpg "Plantronics Voyager 510 Bluetooth Headset [Retail Packaging]")
