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Motorola W490 Reviews
1. An over-rated pice of Junk
13 Sep 2009 by Larry Greenstein
36.7%3.7out of 10
I "upgraded " my phone with a new 2 year commitment back in February 2008, thinking I was getting the best of phones, a Motorola, even though it wasn't quite what was top-of -the-line which was the Motorola Razr. I instead as advised to get the W490, which had somewhat higher battery capacity of 48 hours as opposed to the Razr's 35 or so hours. Expecting to have the so-called "Cadillac" of cell phones, it turned out I had the Yugo of cell phones. With 2 phones for 2 lines, mine was the first to fail. One day, after charging the phone, I went to dial a friend and instead the phones keypad went nuts, putting in random numbers steadily across the screen, which shortly devolved later to include random letters as well. I had the phone replaced and since that time the replacement has performed well, up to today, but based on what I'm hearing, who know how long that will hold up. As for the other line, about 2 months after buying it, it was subject to a power failurew, and the battery would only hold power for 6 hours after which the "battery Low" warning would come on. I managed, after begging, to get a battery (T-mobile assumes that only the phone body itself needs needs replacement even though it was clearly a total phone power problem. They replaced it as it was still under warranty. A while later, problems with bad reception and power drainage occurred even with low usage (6 calls within a 24 hour period0 but didn;t warrant warrant warranty replacement. Finally, after the warranty expired, the phone's display had blackouts, and a crazy vertical striped screen and then no way to access the screen.I called t-mobile who told me they couldn't do anything because of the warranty expiration. I am going to call Motorola and demand a replacement. From what I read, Motorola should replace these phones with a better one, NO QUESTIONS ASKED !!!
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2. motorola w490
30 Aug 2009 by winky
36.7%3.7out of 10
This phone is terrible.. the screen turns white everytime i open it..and i have to restart my phone to use it.. it turns white everytime.....terible phone....dont take this phone ever again......and dont waste money behind this....
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3. Could be a great phone! Phantom dialing has taken over!
14 Aug 2009 by denaligirl2005
56.7%5.7out of 10
I have has this phone for 14 months now. For the first year it was a great phone. I love the design, and arrangment. Things seem to be where they should be and i found it easy to use and learn on. My major issue with this phone is that it keeps doing this phantom dialing of the number 8 key, sometimes the * key. around 10 months it first started doing this and happened few and far between working GREAT! Now after 14 months it will not stop doing this. I turned it on this morning and it will not stop dialing the number 8. I went to T-Mobile who told me that my warranty expired 2 months ago and so i would have to buy a new phone. WTF! The woman at the store mentioned that she sees this issue alot with Motorola phones especially this model. She also said that she sees people who have had these phones for years with no problems, so it is possible that you will get lucky and not buy one of the many lemons out there!
I have had 2 other Motorola phones and loved them, having none of these problems. If you are looking for a new phone that will last you, don't buy this one! I am sad to see this phone go, it has been a favorite.
design
easy to use
large memory for textphantom dialing took over
cant use it after 14 months
t mobile reported this happens frequently with this brand.
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4. Possession of my green motorola
11 Aug 2009 by Deidra
40%4out of 10
Well when my phone started doing whatever it wanted mainly dial the number 8 until i wanted to punt it across the room, I decided to google the problem and low and behold, it's not just me. The phone was always pretty slow on the uptake, it would have a lag time between one application to another. I have had problems with it freezing so I had to take out the battery and put it back in and it would usually be okay...unfortunatley, not this time. I have had the phone 2 years but it appears to be finished now. Luckily, we had an extra phone lying around that I can use but it sucks because i can't retrieve my numbers and I wasn't smart enough to put them on the SIM card, that's the last time I make that mistake. Luckily, my contract is up and because I'm not a huge fan of tmobile anyway, I'm gonna sign a new contract somewhere else and get a brand new phone. Right now I don't want to give up trying to get the numbers out of this phone but every time i flip it open it goes 8 crazy and I can't do anything to stop it but close it again. After this, I wouldn't recommend this phone.
Looks nice, camera works pretty goodShort life expectancy, possession by the" spirit of 8" seems inevitable, delays when changing applications
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5. Not just the phone, it's T-Mobile!
11 Aug 2009 by DianeB
20%2out of 10
I have had the same ongoing problems with T0mobile sending me refurbished phones to replace "new" ones. It has been with several different brands. I don't think it's just the phones, it's T-Mobile! They are taking us to the cleaners! I decided to stay with them instead of paying Verizon $10 a month more for their plan. you get what you pay for! Once my contract is up with T-Mobile, it's bye- bye!
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6. Not a *bad* phone...
8 Aug 2009 by Jennifer
56.7%5.7out of 10
I've had this phone for about a year & a half, and I have to say that for the most part, I've been pretty happy with it. I would probably call it average. My biggest issue from the beginning is the camera, it takes *really* bad pictures, so if you're planning on taking lots of photos with your phone, then this one isn't for you. Pictures are blurry even when the phone is resting on a surface, no matter how still you hold it the pictures are very blurry. And the colors aren't good, either. Also, I've never been able to get the back cover for the phone to fit on quite right, but its not a huge problem.
Otherwise, I've been mostly happy with the phone. However, I have had the "phantom dialing" thing, occasionally... where the phone will go crazy and dial 55555555555 or something, nonstop... but that has mostly been (for me anyway) when the phone has been exposed to water. And yes, this phone (or mine, at least) is VERY water sensitive. I can't use it with wet hands at all. But whenever it has had this problem, it has been easily fixed by taking the battery out/the back cover off, and drying it with the hair dryer.
After a year and a half, though, I think my phone may be on its way out. Recently I have had problems charging the phone, I'll plug it in and it will not charge. But I think that was a problem with the charger, because I tried the charger for my boyfriend's old RAZR, and that works fine. But the phone is getting very laggy and slow lately. I'll get a text, and have to push the key 2 or 3 times before it will open the message, and that sort of thing. Also, the circular toggle key on the phone is wearing out. It works fine, but it is cracking around where the arrows are. So I'm wondering how long that will last. Also, sometimes when I open the phone, the white screen comes up and then it takes a few seconds to show anything on the display.
Otherwise, I've liked this phone. The overall construction is sturdy, I've dropped it many times and nothing has broken. I haven't had to replace it at all, unlike many other reviewers. It is very easy for texting. I like the overall appearance of the phone, and that it is available in many colors (mine is green). Like I said, my biggest complaint from the beginning has been the very poor camera quality. But maybe I just got lucky and got a "good" phone.
looks good, both displays are clear and bright, keypad is good for texting, phone is sturdily constructed, call quality has been finephone cannot tolerate water exposure, slow response time, keypad is wearing out, the camera is VERY disappointing, problems charging
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7. Love it / hate it
5 Aug 2009 by SSSteve
66.7%6.7out of 10
This phone has the best feeling keypad compared to most phones. I like the size, screen, features. But right off the bat some kind of visual artifact appeared on the external LCD screen, looked like a tiny all-spark from Transformers. It's there whether the phone is on or off. Right in the fricken center. It kind of interferes with being able to see the date/time on the front.
Then I dropped the phone in a tidepool in hawaii (not a nice sandy one, but a rough lava one) and a wave came in and bashed the phone around in the tidepool. I reached in and got it, a bit scratched up (the phone), immediately opened it and hosed it off with fresh water, and.... it still worked! But then it started going crazy. The good news was, the screens still looked perfect (no water under the glass or in the LCD, yessss...). So I did what anyone would do, used my special screwdriver from the multiple MOTO's I've had, and took the thing completely apart, dried, sanded, and cleaned everything I could with alcohol and q-tips, blew it out with an air compressor and a blow dryer, and let it sit for a week. When I came back to it, the keypad didn't work at all, nada. I *could* use the phone with my bluetooth earpiece/mic in voice-recognition mode, with the phone closed. So, I let it sit for a couple more weeks. Then I remembered that T-Mobile suggested once to put a different person's sim card in the phone and see if that helps (of course, she put *my* sim card in her phone, and it ERASED MY SIM CARD...), so I found a sim card laying around the house, put it in my phone, and it seemed to work perfectly. Yesssssssssss... no shelling out $$$ for a new phone, no renewing my contract to get a cheap phone, no messing with used iPhones on eBay and figuring out how to unlock it etc... MY W490 WORKS AGAIN. Put my sim card in, and voila, it works!!!!! That is, it worked until I took the mini micro SD card out to do some file management in a card reader, and put the storage card back in the phone. Then, all of a sudden... yep, RANDOM NUMBERS from hell again. 7777777777777777 with the odd 9999999 tossed in. And that's where it's at right now. After all I've been through with this phone, I really hoped that it was working again. Maybe it will again, who knows. But now, I am forced to consider it untrustworthy. I don't really blame Motorola for it (it wasn't their waterproof model after all), but my stepdaughter has the W490 also, and she's been through the same thing that many on this blog have been through, the random numbers, the trading in of refurbished phones, etc. So, I hate to say it, but in spite of the fact that my phone has been through surf and washing machines, it is flawed nonetheless, in its manufacturing, in some way.
It's too bad, because I really do like just about everything about the phone.
If anyone has any suggestions for resurrecting the phone from random number entry, I'm all ears...
Best keypad of all phones (when it works).
SD storage card accessible w/o removing the battery (YES).
Good screens, for their size.
Loud, for its size.Randomly flings itself into ocean tidepools.
Slippery little bugger.
Battery cover not very robust.
Motorola Phone Tools (need I say more? lol......)
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8. ABSOLUTLEY HORRIBLE PHONE
30 Jul 2009 by Christina Silk
33.3%3.3out of 10
NEVER get this phone!!!! It looks good at first, but its not worth it! I have had SO many problems with this phone. It won't charge with ANY charger into an outlet in a wall. I have to use a USB cord plugged into the computer to charge my phone, then it doesn't even hold a charge!!! Also it randomly changes my ringtones...(to prove it, it JUST happened when i got a text) My phone will NOT vibrate anymore it just goes to silent or some random setting. The memory on the phone is not good at all. The space fills up so quickly. Also if you are a texter and sometimes send long messages, if its long it will change to an attachment message and that just makes everyting go slower. Overall this is a horrible sucky phone that you SHOULD NOT get!
Size and thats ITWont hold a charge
Never gets good service
Bad memory/storage space
EVERYTHING ELSE
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9. Really suckt
18 Jul 2009 by Tone
16.7%1.7out of 10
this phone is as bad as it gets, it wore out way too fast, the buttons press themselves, i can be txting or doing anything else and t-zones come out the blue and when im talking the 6 & 5 button keep repeatedly getting pressed, if your thinking about buying this fone, you might as well buy your neigbors' dog poop
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10. Birthday Gift
17 Jul 2009 by phonephab13
56.7%5.7out of 10
I got this phone for my birthday almost two years ago. It isn't well made, the D-Pad came off after a year of use, the speaker phone started to die. My contracts were deleting themselves, and I couldn't text because the rest of the key-pad was wearing away. My phone was never brought to the beach, pool, tub, stink, and I never used it in rain or near water at all [ expect while drinking water. Suddenly the white water do near the battery indicates water damage ? Died after a year of getting it, I've had samsung and nokia phones before and after that phone and they are much better.
Nice Camera, Colors, Good Battery LifeKey Pad wear away, Won't Sync to computer or Hold Mirco Sd Card
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Based on 111 opinions