new phone, one week on

[waider]

I got a Motorola E770v last week as a cheapy upgrade from my Sagem MyV55. Both phones are Vodafone-specific variants of mainstream phones, of which more below. My main requirements for the upgrade included bluetooth, better than GSM connectivity (i.e. 2.5 or 3G), and no Nokias unless absolutely necessary. Here's what I like about the Motorola:

• not just a digital camera, not just a video camera, but a camera with two lenses - one facing the phone user and one facing in the opposite direction. You can't use both to get picture-in-picture, mind.
• Java engine has full access to phone's features - this is something my old phone lacked, and it SUCKS.
• The power/data connector is a standard miniUSB. Plug it into a laptop and it starts charging. It's got a software switch to swap between CDC ACM modem and a USB drive.
• Music player which plays MP3 files and can be loaded via the aforementioned USB drive
• Curiously useful multitasking: you can use the 3G connection at the same time as you're on a voice call.

And, for balance, things I don't like:

• The USB connection is flaky. Sometimes it doesn't work, and the only way to make it work is to power-cycle the phone.
• There's no automatic keypad lock. There's an automatic phone lock but it requires you to enter a passcode to unlock.
• The music player can't be backgrounded in any way, to the extent that you can't lock the keypad while the music player is running.
• It's a custom build for Vodafone, like the MyV55, meaning that I'm pretty much guaranteed unable to get any firmware upgrades for it, like, ever.

The most amusing thing about it to date is that Windows couldn't talk to the modem on it on account of not having drivers (I found some a few days after getting the phone). Linux, on the other hand, shrugged and said, "oh, CDC ACM modem, fine, put it over there in /dev."

Comments

[ronebofh.livejournal.com]

See, i want nothing but Nokias. What do you hate about Nokias?

[waider.livejournal.com]

Personal vendetta. It's a completely baseless hatred of the damn things.

[wisn.livejournal.com]

My experience has been limited to two phones. Nokia: great reception. Sony-Ericsson: crap reception. The camera is nice, as is the bright color screen and message functions. If I can't hold a conversation on it, though, it's not a phone. And I wanted a phone.

If I went back in time and told my two-year-ago self which phone to get, I'd probably still get this one, though. Motorola's were inconsistently crap, Samsung's reception quality was rock-bottom, and Nokia was trying to grab the youth market by making phones with number keys in a circle, or number keys on rocker switches, or other ridiculous designs that even stupid youths would have nothing to do with.

The two year cycle is up in a couple months and I'll be looking for new phones soon. Will probably go back to Nokia, unless there's proof that somebody else's GSM phones have better signal. Since whatever I get has to fit a jeans pocket, external antennas (even the beefy stubbies that some of the Motos have) are not acceptable.

[ronebofh.livejournal.com]

For me, it's

         Reception  Annoyance level  Unit robustness
Nokia      Good        Negligible        Solid
Motorola   Crap          High            Flimsy
LG         Crap          High            Flimsy
Samsung    Crap          n/a             Flimsy

As you can tell, it's as clean a sweep as can be.

[waider.livejournal.com]

There is a story, perhaps apocryphal, that Motorola's first antenna-less phone should have been the original MicroTAC. When the proptype was presented to all and sundry, marketting insisted they couldn't sell a phone without an antenna. Thus, the MicroTAC was given an entirely non-functional plastic antenna.

Motorola used have a good UI, then sucked for a few years, and now seem to have figured out how to build a UI again. Nokia took a lot of drugs over the last few years such that the keys went all bendy and the menus went weird, and I'm not sure that they're over that period yet. The Siemens S45 I used a few years ago is, hands down, the best recent UI I've had to use - everything is completely intuitive on it, particularly multi-button-press operations; generally speaking, pressing the right-hand softkey does what you'd logically expect the next step to be.

[candice.livejournal.com]

Good to hear about the UI on the Motorolas now, I'm being sorely tempted by the black razr for my next phone. I've had several Samsungs, all of which have had great interfaces, (and as for durability, my current phone survived being dropped into water, along with the usual wear.)

[waider.livejournal.com]

Obviously all my phones have to survive the Guinness test, which is a combination of being splashed with beer and later being dropped from a height due to drunken fumbling. The Motorola has yet to encounter phase two of this test, but it passed phase one with only a briefly inoperative keyboard, a phenomenon previously observed with the Siemens.

E770V Windows Drivers

[(Anonymous)]

If you have any tips on where to find/obtain windows drivers for the E770V, that would be great. Looking forward to reading anything further about the E770V.

Re: E770V Windows Drivers

[waider.livejournal.com]

Dear Anonymous User Connecting From New Zealand,

I hear there's this great search engine called "GOOGLE" that helps you find stuff on the net.

Re: E770V Windows Drivers

[(Anonymous)]

I found this file did the trick. It is used by BVRP to fix a problem, but actually allowed me to install the drivers - neat...

tj

http://www.bvrp.com/Customers/Motorola/DriverTool.zip

keypad lock

[(Anonymous)]

there is an keypad lock to lock the phone without entering a code you just hold the * button down

Re: keypad lock

[waider.livejournal.com]

Dear Anonymous User Connecting From Tiscali Internet,

please go back and read what I said. for your benefit I've highlighted the bit you obviously missed:

There's no automatic keypad lock.

Yeesh. Anonymous posters.

Re: keypad lock

[(Anonymous)]

That's so bizarre because I am also looking for drivers for this phone and I have used "GOOGLE" only to end up here. Ironic I thought!

Re: keypad lock

[(Anonymous)]

you are my angel whoever u are now ican lock my keypads, and not worry about making unnecessary calls whenever my phone is in my pocket or in the case.

Re: Drivers

[(Anonymous)]

Well, I also used "GOOGLE" only to end up here while looking for drivers for this useless phone. Very ironic, and makes me wonder why people think other people don't know what "GOOGLE" is... nuff said, I wonder how the hell do I delete the built-in pictures, mp3s, mids, and whatever other build in media is on it. I went to the vodafone store in NZ, and they said its not possible. Pretty stupid how copyright content files won't let you delete them. I mean one fair use of copyright is the ability to discard the material if you dont want it.