TMOBILE MOTOROLA V188 PHONE

I was getting tired of my Cingular-issued Samsung x427 and their overpriced plans and decided to switch over to T-mobile. I have never seen a cell phone worth paying hundreds of dollars for, so after a thorough analysis of all the phones T-mobile was offering for free, I settled on the Motorola v188. It was a toss-up between the v188 and the Nokia 3220, and I probably would have went with the 3220 if it didn't have such a lousy directional pad and didn't look like a toy. Overall, the v188 is a decent phone and I don't regret choosing it, although there are quite a few annoyances that may or may not be specific to this phone, or the Motorola line in general. I will discuss them below.

First, a few good things about this phone. It looks sleek and professional and has a backlit external display that shows the phone's vital signs as well as the time and a select few other options that vary by service provider. Pushing the volume up/down keys while the phone is closed will show you the current ring style, though i wish it would display something useful like the current date or at the very least -changethe current ring style. Reception is excellent (no dropped calls) but this of course also varies by provider and coverage. As a basic phone, it functions rather well, but when it comes to many of the extraneous features (and even some core ones), this phone loses its luster.

Don't get me wrong; I didn't buy the v188 because I wanted a personal entertainment center. But I don't think it's too much to ask to have simple things like a functional calculator in which you don't have to scroll through a list in order to use any given mathematical operation, including decimal placement and the enter key.

Cosmetics:

When I first started using the phone, I was stunned by how bright the keypad lighting was. In a dark room, the phone looks like a weapon from TRON and it is difficult if not downright impossible to read the letters/numbers on the keys. This wouldn't be so much of an issue if Motorola had included an option to disable keypad lighting, but alas, they have not. (The keypad light brightness was an issue I had during the first few months of usage, but I am editing this review to mention that the light source has dulled over time so it isn't quite as bad anymore.)

On that note, there is no brightness setting for the screen itself. There is a contrast setting, but that doesn't help when you're trying to read small black letters printed on a bright white screen.

While by now I am accustomed to the keypad layout, I found it odd that the send button is colored green, but the end button is colored blue like every other key on the keypad. It made it difficult to find at first.

Construction:

Seems sturdy enough for the most part, but the back of the phone feels as if it is hollow; every time I grip the phone, the back of it gives in a little. On the plus side, the phone feels very solid when flipping open or closed.

Functionality:

The processor is a little sluggish. I type text messages using iTap rather quickly and the phone has a hard time keeping up with my typing, which results in words I didn't intend to say being inputted into my messages.

On the topic of messaging, there is no indicator to tell you how many messages your message actually consists of unless you are keeping track of the character count. You are only notified that you're sending more than one message once you hit the send button. If you have unlimited messaging then it's irrelevant, but if you're paying for a fixed number of messages then you may find yourself wasting additional messages containing the last word or two from your original message.

Another thing about messagingthe phone apparently has the ability to automatically clean your inbox and outbox after either x number of messages or x number of days, but this feature does not seem to work at all for me--my mailbox is constantly full even though it should clean itself after 10 messages accumulate. I would be interested to know if others have this problem as well or if my phone is defective.

Voice dialing is a nice feature to have on a phone. Cell phone SIM cards are probably the greatest thing invented since the discovery of fire. Unfortunately the two features do not mesh well; you cannot enable voice dialing for numbers stored on your SIM card.

The phone also allows you the ability to set custom ringtones for individual people in your contacts list, but once again if those contacts are stored on your SIM card you won't be able to use this feature either.

You can store multiple telephone numbers for each entry in your contacts list, but you won't be able to differentiate between those numbers. This means that unless you belong to MENSA and can associate long strings of numbers with names and locations, you won't be able to distinguish between a cell phone number, a work phone number and a home phone number. The phone instead uses some kind of categorization system for differentiating between personal, business and other numbers, but it is so unintuitive it isn't even worth mentioning. I believe this categorization method is also not compatible with SIM cards, but I could be wrong. I will retract this statement if someone who knows what they're doing says otherwise.

There is no one-key solution to toggle vibrate mode. The best you can do is press volume down + 0, but the phone will still make noise in the process. If you want to toggle vibrate mode and be discreet about it, you have to navigate to Settings/Ring Styles/Style/etc. I got around this by establishing the Left arrow key as a shortcut to the Ring Styles menu, but the whole point of this diatribe is that Motorola does not offer one-key vibrate toggling like every other major phone manufacturer, and their two-key solution is not discreet.

Miscellaneous:

The calculator sucks. Seriously. Go to a T-mobile store or kiosk and perform this exercise on the phone to see what you're up against. Pretend you just paid for dinner that cost $42.50 and you want to tip the waiter 15% of that. Try calculating what the gratuity will end up being. Do a few calculations using different numbers and different operations. Whoever designed this calculator is probably the same type of person who puts on leather and latex gear and beats up people for money on the weekends.

The ringtone selection is lousy unless you throw office raves regularly. There are probably around 30-35 different ringtones; of those, most are generic techno/trance songs and a handful of those are actual telephone "rings." Of those only two or three are actually audible in a public setting.

Speaking of audibility in a public setting, the receiver volume is much too low. If you're talking on the phone in church or the library then the highest volume setting can be deafening, but if you're walking down the street or you are in a busy cafe or something then the highest setting may not be enough.

On the same subject of inaudibility, switching to the speakerphone isn't much help. The speakerphone is much louder than the receiver, but whoever you're talking to will probably sound as if they are talking through a tin can. Furthermore if the volume is high enough you won't be able to understand anything the other person is saying because their speech will be so garbled.

When the phone rings, the ringtone plays through the speakerphone on the backside of the phone. That works well enough, but if you put a clamshell case on this phone your speakerphone will be nullified and your rings muffled. If you're planning on using a clamshell case, it would be a good idea to check if it has a hole in the back to accommodate the speakerphone. I don't know about OEM cases, but the generic ones I've seen do not have such a hole.

The game selection is lousy. Included on the phone are a full version of Billiards, a demo of Bejeweled, a demo of Blackjack, and some other thing called FotoFunPack. Like I said I didn't buy this phone to be my personal entertainment center, but I don't think it's too much to ask to put a fully-functional copy of something simple like Nibbles on here so I can kill some time on the subway. It has become evident to me that either the manufacturer or the service provider deliberately puts lousy ringtones and software on these phones so you are forced to purchase such frivolties from the service provider.

Verdict:

The Motorola v188 is a decent phone that probably won't let you down if all you want to do is talk. However if you want to take advantage of all the other features, you may find yourself limited by the firmware and/or the hardware.

If you are considering this phone, I strongly encourage you to head to a T-mobile store or kiosk and use their demo phone to make a phone call (if possible) using both the receiver and speakerphone, type a few text messages, do basic arithmetic using decimals on the calculator, and toggle into vibrate mode and back a few times. If they don't have a demo phone then utilize their 14-day trial period to run through these exercises. This should give you a feel for how well this phone's functions and features will serve you in most of the situations for which you may need it.

So, I bought a cellphone to use as a cellphone not a black berry, not a camera, not an "entertainment unit" (I'd buy a psp if I wanted that), or because I wanted a "cool accessory". I just needed a working phone for a cheap price. I have not been dissapointed thus far. You do have the option of setting the phone to vibrate, then ring, and I have found that this allows me to hear most incoming calls. This phone rides around in the bottom of my backpack all day and is doing fine (which is why I say "most" incoming calls). I don't think its the ringer volume per say, but rather the location.

Its small and light, gets good reception. I didn't find the menu layout confusing as some people did.

It has a calendar function which I found useful. And the battery lasts for 2 to 3 days (I do spend a lot of time on the phone) and charges up again within an hour or 2. The games it comes with aren't that great they're not supposed to be. They're just there to whet your appetite so you buy the full versions from T-mobile.

Also, some people lament the lack of an outside "call answer" button they have to flip it open. I think that's great because that way I'm not accidently answering phone calls. I like the outside display.

So, summary. Good battery life and recharge. No problems with reception. Light, small, can ride around in a backpack.

Buy TMOBILE MOTOROLA V188 PHONE Now

To be honest, this is my first Cell. But when I finaly decided to purchase one, this is exactly what I was looking for; simple. I didn't want a camera, I didn't want a PC (or Mac, if you prefere), I didn't want an MP3 player, I wanted a phone. And this is exactly what it is. Nice crisp grahpics, uses the HiFi Ringtones, has voicemail, and text messaging. It also has enough features like AIM, a web browser, a calander, and Get More Options (dependant on SP?), to be multi-tasked. But it still knows its' purpose, a simple phone for a simple user.

Read Best Reviews of TMOBILE MOTOROLA V188 PHONE Here

I was upgrading from virgin mobile when I purchased this phone. Best decision I've made in awhile. The service and recepetion is wonderful with t-mobile and this phone. One reviewer said they wished there were icons to designate home/cell/work/fax etc...but there are, when you add a contact you can choose what type of number it is, and in your phonebook, a little icon appears next to the number. The text messager is nice, you can easily send a single message to a bunch of people at once. I found that the volume level could be set VERY high, contrary to the other reviewer a few entries before me. I could hear it in my car with the music loud. The vibrator was also stronger than they made it out to be. There are many ringtones to choose from, from simple rings and sounds to more intricate songs. From t-mobile, you can also purchase a HiFi or Megatone ringtone, which are very clear and a bit more fun. It is small, and lightweight as well; Fits in my purse nicely. The backgrounds included with the phone aren't bad at all, I happen to like a few, but once again, you can download others online. I also set voice recognition to a few of my best friends, and special ringers for them as well. It does have a bunch of nice features, and for the price, I highly recommend it to accompany your T-Mobile service.

Want TMOBILE MOTOROLA V188 PHONE Discount?

Motorola went out of their way to make the volume buttons on the outside of the phone (exposed even when closed) make a loud, stupid beeping noise. These buttons are not recessed, so about three times a day this phone makes this stupid beeping noise from my pocket with EVERY step I take until I pull it out and carry it in my hand. (And no, I'm not fat and wearing tight pants.) No, there's no way to turn it off that T-Mobile or I can find, except to turn off the ringer, which kinda defeats the purpose of carrying the phone in my pocket anyway. I guess the point Motorola is trying to make is that this phone should always be carried in your hand and looked at. Who knows if Motorola knows how to turn off this beeping, since they don't offer customer support on this phone.

I have to carry this phone for work, but at least I've saved two friends from making this Motorola Mistake by showing them how obnoxious this phone is to carry around.