Verizon Wireless G'zOne Boulder Reviews

21. Casio Boulder -- READ BEFORE YOU BUY

5 Sep 2008 by Kevin777

60%6out of 10

Our company bought three of these phones on July 30th. They looked like the greatest thing on the market and we needed durable phones. They are in fact great looking and very durable phones, but they are not very useful phones. The batteries die almost every day (our previous phones would last three days minimum). Even after the software update, the batteries still die to quickly. And the speaker is horrible. I have to constantly ask people to repeat themselves. Everything comes through distorted.  You have to push the receiver very hard against your ear to make any sense out of what people are saying. If you try to turn the volume up it simply gets more distorted. I tried playing some MP3s and it sound like crap. Some government agency should actually force Casio into making a recall on this phone. It doesn't really matter how durable the phone is if you cannot understand what people are saying. Of the three phones our company purchased, two have been returned and the remaining one is continuing to get complaints. Buyer Beware ! ! !

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5 out of 5 people found this review helpful.

22. Update works-try it before you return it

22 Aug 2008 by Lew Black

70%7out of 10

I am on my second Boulder and was about to send it back when I read about the software update. I great tech at my Verizon store knew about it. After about 10 minutes he had me on the road with a much improved phone. Hopefully it will help with battery life also.

In general I am pleased with the solid design of the phone. It is about the same size and heft of my old E815 Motorola, which I like. If it is as rugged as it feels it should last a long time. My first one was orange (more like copper colored). The second one was black and silver, which disappointed me until I found that the black surface is a tacky form of rubber that feels much better than the plastic surface of the orange phone. It will be easier to hang onto and maybe more durable.

If you like the overall design of the phone give the update a try before you return it. you may be glad that you did. Lew

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7 out of 9 people found this review helpful.

23. What a Joke.

22 Aug 2008 by Doug

14%1.4out of 10

You suck verizon for selling such a piece of crap phone. I hope you lose customers because of this. This is one customer thats looking elsewhere. Pull this crap off the shelf. Durable yes. Can you understand or hear what people are saying, umm hell no. What a joke of a phone. Casio should stick to watches and leave phones to people who know what the hell there doing. Pissed off in Hawaii.

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24. G'zone Boulder

21 Aug 2008 by Doug

34%3.4out of 10

Ok I don't know about everyone else but being that this phone just came out I have already exchanged it once and maybe a second time. The earpiece is very bad. The distortion when people talk is bad. If you need to increase the volume to hear someone on the other end it gets even worse. I hope they do a recall for this problem. Dont buy this piece of crap. If you want a durable phone that you hate to use because you cant hear your friends and family buy it. Can someone let me know if there is a recall out there. Thanks...

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25. It's a great phone, no ifs ands or buts...

20 Aug 2008 by sevenboarder

96%9.6out of 10

I've read almost every review out there for this phone and really thought it was going to suck, but I still had to buy it because I've always wanted a waterproof tough practical phone. So far I've been pretty damn impressed.

I know everyone's greatest complaint is the audio quality. Right when I got the phone in the mail, I would try calling out and it automatically brought me to a default Verizon recording that said I had to activate my phone. The recording sounded horrible like everyone else has mentioned. After activation of my phone, there was an automatic software (firmware) update that I believe has fixed this problem (I can't be for certain though). But anyway, right now the audio is great on this phone, I've listened to old voicemails that I could barely understand before and they are now clear as day. If you are operating on max volume it can sound a little weird though, but you shouldn't have to use if you have the phone properly placed on your ear. If your having audio problems, just move the phone around on your ear a bit, its weird how much the audio quality can change.

The second most complained about issue is battery life. The first thing I did when I got this phone was turn PTT off, I'm pretty sure its a power hog to keep a connection to the network at all times. So far though, I really can't complain about battery life. Right now I am halfway though my second day without charging and I still have 2/4 bars left. This is with about 20 minutes of phone calls and 100 texts a day. I really can't ask for much more and haven't gotten any better out of other phones. I am still considering the extended battery that lasts twice as long, but don't know if I really need it and the extra bulk that it comes along with.

Speaking of bulk, this phone isn't really that big at all. I was expecting a pocket monster, but it fits fine in the pocket or wherever you want to fit it. My old phone was very thin, which I liked, but could never tell if I had it with me or had lost it somewhere. With this guy you can tell its in your pocket without it being a pain. So overall good sizing!

Another biggie is reception. With my old phone, a Samsung that has always won reception wars,(I don't actually have wars, friends just use my phone a lot when they don't have a signal), I often did find dead spots. I travel a lot and often won't be able to communicate because of the whole no bars no service screen. So far I have went right though the old dead spots and haven't had a problem. This phone still works fine with no bars and I have never lost service with it so far. I'm sure it will use a little more power keeping the good service though.

The thing I do like the most about this phone is the functionality. Its great looking, sharp (I don't believe in calling pieces of plastic sexy) and extremely practical. The external display is always on to check the time, date, battery life, signal strength, who's calling or missed calls and texts. One feature I really like is that when you do get a call or text, the external LED light flashes different colors. It really catches the eye if you are working in an office or library where you need to be quite but would still like to keep in touch.

Some things I don't like so far are all software issues, so hopefully they can be updated. 1) No backup assistant for contacts. 2) I have turned on text, call, and voice mail reminders so the phone will alert me every two minutes when I miss one. My gripe with this is that it plain and simply doesn't do this. 3)There is a lag when you go to your text message in box or outbox if you have messages in them. This one is just annoying, and I noticed you can speed it up if you press down as to start scrolling through your messages. That's all I can think of for negatives right now. I will try to post any fixes I find for these.

Some wishes I have would be if the external display would stay lighted when charging, this would be a nice clock at night while in the cradle. Something else that would be cool is a cradle car charger, that would just kick ass. Also if the external LED could keep flashing until you answer a text or check a missed call that would be very cool.

This phone has tons of awesome features that I could just keep talking and talking about, but one that I haven't seen anybody mention yet is a shower radio. I threw my 2GB microSD card in here that was full of good tunes and rocked out in the shower. The audio is no Bose, but it does that damn thing!

Overall, I do highly recommend this phone for anyone who is looking for something that they can put in there pocket and just not worry about. It's really not to awesome to be controlled by the weakness of your phone. You don't have to worry if your phones in your pocket and you decide to jump in the water. You don't have to worry if you leave your phone sit in the sun all day (ruined a couple this way). You don't have to worry if you throw your phone in the nail pouch on your tool belt. This phone is going to just keep kicken along with you no matter how bad you treat it. So far I just love the peace of mind that this phone has given me.

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15 out of 17 people found this review helpful.

26. Pete

20 Aug 2008 by M. Datko

46%4.6out of 10

I've had the phone for a cople of weeks. The sound quality is muffled and the battery needs to be on the charger almost as much as in use. I'm not a long talker and use no special features. I need to charge it almost every day. The only attractive feature is the ruggedized construction. I'm not impressed.

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27. Love the Phone

19 Aug 2008 by Aida

76%7.6out of 10

I have had the phone for about two weeks and I love it. With my job in IT, I needed a phone that could stand up to being "tossed" around a bit. The sound quality may not be the best, but it is equivalent to the other phones that I have had. I have not had any problems with it.

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28.

19 Aug 2008 by Jim

62%6.2out of 10

I was quite happy with my last phone - a VX8000 - until it got wet on a water ride. it stopped working and never came fully back to life. I have a waterproof digital camera that I love, and I was determined to get a waterproof phone.

Enter the GZone.

My first problem was obtaining it. I ordered it from VW and was told it was in stock. After waiting and not getting it, I called again and was told that it was no longer in stock and I would have to wait. VW was supposed to call to let me know when I would be getting my phone. I'm still waiting for that call.

Meanwhile, I saw some VW TV ads for the phone. So I called VW again. Again I was told it was in stock, and again I ordered it. This time, it DID arrive, but Verizon wanted to charge me an extra $79. It took a bit of escallation to get VW to honor my original order.

FINALLY, after 6 weeks of haggling, it arrived. They said they would ship a blue one, but what came was black and silver, which is fine by me.

It has pretty much the same features as my old VX8000. All I really care is that it works when wet. It is a little smaller and lighter, with is fine. Its a bit harder to open, which I assume I'll get used to. I like not having the post antenna. I'm concerned that the plugs covering various ports may not be watertight after some usage, but for now they are fine.

The sound quality of the earpiece is horrible. Its better when turned down a bit. I've also tried using the speaker as an alternative. It is something I guess I'll have to put up with, but there are many times when I cannot even make out what is being said. A bluetooth earpiece might be the best solution.

It is also very apparent that the battery life is rather short. It'll last a day, but not much more. I'm sure I'll be getting an extended battery when the price comes down a bit.

My immediate solution was to get a USB travel charger, USB car charger, and charging USB data cable. I ordered the cable from VW to be sure it was the correct one. The cable VW shipped said it was compatible with VX8500, VX8600, VX9400, and VX9900. On the box, Verizon slapped a "Boulder" sticker. The box also contained a CD that had nothing on it but a URL to Verizon's download site.

After hours and hours on the phone with VW tech support, we have come to the conclusion that the data cable does not work on any computer with any O/S in the known universe. Furthermore, the VW charging data cable requires a separate, addional charger rather than taking power from the USB port. (VW's way of hitting the comsumer up for more money.) Doesn't matter - I dont need to pay $20 for a charger extension cable, and that's all its good for. I returned it.

I figure I'll get a compatible cable off eBay for a buck or two and wait for someone to write *working* drivers for BitPim

I tried the camera, and it took some decent picutres from what I can tell. The camera controls are easier to use than my old VX8000. There's lots of memory for an extensive addres book, so that's another plus.

I have some concerns, but the bottom line for me is that if it still works at the beach, I'm happy.

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29.

17 Aug 2008 by chucjk

44%4.4out of 10

I sent mine back,, they sent me another,,same piece of junk! I guess i will go with the adventure now.

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30. Boulder Is Piece Of JUNK

15 Aug 2008 by Ray Price

36%3.6out of 10

I was targeted by a VZW text for special early upgrade. I had a GZOne and am generally happy with it. Got my Boulder yesterday and am packing it up to send back today.
The speaker sound is weak, tinny, muffled, and otherwise distorted. I was getting headaches trying to understand a friend I talked to.
The Keypad back light is so weak as to be TOTALLY USELESS.
I cannot believe that Casio and VZW put this garbage out there for sale. For some reason, VZW seems unable to field their PTT and Quality in the same handset. I had a Gen I V60P and it was junk. Then go the Gen II LG (silver with big black top mount speaker) and it, too, was junk.
The Boulder is JUNK!!! Never got to try the PTT as it showed that it was "disabled" or similar wording even though I paid to have it set up. Also, battery life was not impressive and VZW was out of the extended batteries, which is no surprise as they seem to always have issues with any accessories you need anymore. I don't know why they are always out of spare batteries for whatever phone I might need one for. Can't get them for my GZOne, either, which is bad as I am going back to it.
Common sense should dictate that a phone used as a radio will likely be used in noisy environments and the speaker feature should be loud (really loud, not half-@$$ loud) and CLEAR. This phone is not even close on either of these features.
Verizon should be ashamed.

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3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.