Motorola Tundra Phone, Black (AT&T)

A review of the phone, not the price. February 28, 2009

Reviewer:  S. Bayha "UrsusPiscator"  (Milwaukie, OR United States) -

I've had the phone only a short time but I have already fallen in love with it. This is a phone for grown ups. It feels every bit as sturdy as advertised. Not as slim as my old RAZR but still not what I would classify as bulky. It is not that easy to open one-handed, but it feels great while talking. The screen is super sharp and seems bigger than it is due to the excellent clarity. The keypad is well proportioned and my only complaint is that the navigation button could be more pronounced. It feels inset. I also could live without the "Go Online" key or the "Open CV" key. One other minor complaint is the dedicated PTT button, which so far I have no found a way to re-program. It can be disabled if you are not using the PTT function, but I wish i could use it for something else.

3G network through AT&T seems extremely fast. Crystal clear reception and the best speakerphone option I've ever used. Battery life seems good so far. I'm three days in with about two hours of talk time and there are still full bars on the battery status indicator. Yesterday, in a house that usually acts like a bunker, blocking most call attempts, I had five bars and not trouble making calls. The back cover seals tightly as an environmental protection measure, but it makes it very difficult to access the battery, sim card, and flash card.

Overall I give this phone a high recommendation for someone looking for a rugged, cool looking, manly phone that is going to perform when you need it.

Call volume too low June 28, 2009

Reviewer:  A. K. Slocum "Teacher, surfer"  (Peekskill, NY) -

I was really looking forward to using this phone and on delivery the look and feel did not disappoint. However, I cannot get past the fact that the call volume is too low - not the speaker volume, which is very adequate, but the volume in your ear. I had the volume up to maximum 7 on the volume control and I looked through all the settings to see if there was a master volume, but alas! I have a hearing aid but it's not an issue with my current phone, a Nokia 6085, and I got my 14 year old son to check the volume too - he also found it inadequate, saying, "Is that the maximum?"
One other thing, the display of phone number detail in the contacts/address book is too small and in an odd hard-to-read purple color.
Finally, I went to my local AT&T store to compare the Tundra with a Samsung Rugby. Aesthetically, I still go for the Tundra, but for functionality (call volume especially) the Rugby seems a better choice.
I am disappointed that I had to send the Tundra back.

Great Phone April 1, 2009

Reviewer:  Scott E. Ebol "Scott"  (VA USA) -

This phone is great. I know that today small is in but almost every phone out there is too small and the buttons are too small and trying to hold them you hit a button by accident and something happens. This phone is a great size and has many great options. Speaker is very clear. This is a great phone if you have large hands or if you just want a phone larger than your credit card.

MOTOROLA CRAMMED A SUBPAR PHONE INTO A WELL DESIGNED EXTERIOR AND THEN CHARGED A PREMIUM. October 24, 2009

Reviewer:  Derek C. Doublin "Another Ridiculous American Artist"  (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma United States) -

Trust this review and don't believe the hype on this phone. Most of the people that are writing reviews of this phone haven't had it for very long.

Okay, let's go over the obvious: It's durable. That along with the good reception (not to be confused with good call quality) were the selling points for me, as they are more than likely for everyone else, too. People buy this phone because it's durable. But through the course of my experience with this phone, I started to ask myself, "Why I am using something with such a durable exterior that protects such poor internal components?". Motorola is making a ton of money off this phone, and it's just not right. This phone is EXPENSIVE and it should not have the problems it has for a price tag upwards of $200.

First off, the ear piece sounds TERRIBLE. The call quality is astoundingly bad. The earpiece has a sweet spot (and it's small). If you do not have the phone positioned perfectly over your ear, voices sound thin and metallic as if they're coming out of a tin can or a "To-Go Swan" made of aluminum foil. And even when you do hit the sweet spot, the quality doesn't come close to most phones on the market today. In addition to this, the volume on the phone only goes up to 7 which sounds more like a 5 on my older phone. I do not believe anyone could use this phone in a loud environment and hear the other caller. Motorola clearly skimped on the ear piece. The reception is amazing and I often received 4 bars in areas my old phone only receive 1. But that positive aspect is lost on the fact that callers sound so terrible on the earpiece, it wouldn't matter if you're getting 30,000 bars. Everything still sounds bad. I really don't understand how Tech Editors are touting this phone's call quality. I'm baffled.

Possibly the most FRUSTRATING problem with the phone has to do with its software which Motorola has no intention of changing. When receiving a text message, missed call, or voicemail the Tundra will KEEP CHIMING unless you view them. The ONLY way to turn the alert off is to switch the phone completely to silent or turn it off. The software developers for this phone are borderline stupid. If someone sends me a text message while I'm asleep, the phone will sit there and chime for hours on end until the battery is run down or I get up to view the message. To go to sleep I have to turn the phone completely off. I sat on the line with text support for a couple hours and talked to a top tier supervisor who informed me neither a software update or a firmware update is in the works for this annoying feature. I really can't believe such a high end phone has such TERRIBLE software. The Contacts List is filled up with preset AT&T service numbers YOU CANNOT DELETE. And since the screen is so small, and since the word AT&T starts with the letter "A", every time you pull up your contacts the entire screen is filled with AT&T service numbers. Unless all your friends are named Alan or Angela, they will all be placed below the AT&T numbers, which is STUPID. When I press the "Contacts" button, I want to see MY contacts, not a full list of AT&T crap.

The battery gives you about 4 hours of talk time, realistically. That's about the battery life of the iPhone which has true GPS, a faster processor, and a screen 3 times the size of the Tundra's. Why is the Tundra's battery life so abysmal? Is it because of it's powerful processor? Definitely not, because the Tundra's processor is SLOOOOWW. The screen redraw is awful and the menu pages can sometimes be achingly slow to access.

It is my opinion that MOTOROLA CRAMMED A SUBPAR PHONE INTO A WELL DESIGNED CASE AND THEN CHARGED A PREMIUM. Don't believe the hype. Why have such an amazing, protective case on such a poor phone? It doesn't add up. If you want durability, you're really better off getting a $50 dollar phone with insurance, than this marketing scam. Just my two cents.

If you like a phone to make calls... May 24, 2009

Reviewer:  Nicholas J. Owens 

Simply put, I need my phone to do one thing, and that's make calls. Everything else is gravy to me, txt, video, mp3, web surfing, all extras. This phone gets better reception than any phone I've had before. The sound quality is excellent, and I have no complaints about the battery life.

SWEET PHONE! July 23, 2009

Reviewer:  William M. Zirngibl "ouslander"  (chicago, il. u.s.a) -

I purchased phone about a month ago. I could not ask for a better phone. Great reception, loud ringer, listening volume is great. Sturdy and not too small, you know it is in your pocket. Motorola out did themselves.

Love this phone September 14, 2009

Reviewer:  S. Ware 

I wanted a flip phone with great call quality and reception. I do not care about the toughness of the phone and if it's waterproof or not. It does feel very sturdy and the back cover snaps into place and makes me think that it would be very water resistant.

Once ordered via Amazon Wireless, I got the phone within two days of shipment. This phone has great call quality and the noise cancelling feature works very well. I can drive with my windows open doing 65mph on the interstate and my caller can't tell I have my windows down at all.

The earpiece volume is low enough that if I drive with my windows down I have a little trouble hearing the caller.

I am not a big texter, but the raised buttons do make it easy to text. My old phone's (LG Shine, which I hated) buttons were so close together, that I would press two or three buttons at the same time by accident.

Antenna reception on the phone is great. In the past I would normally drop calls in certain areas, but now I have no issues and keep full 3G reception in those spots.

Motorola Tundra Review February 6, 2009

Reviewer:  Harley  (Michigan) -

I reiceved this phone thru Amazon and I was impressed to get in 2 days with everything in the box.
I have had several phones and was concerned about the stubby antenna. Living in a rural area and needing a rugged phone the signal was my most important feature. I had both my phones side by side while driving around and moving around in my home and in all cases the Tundra had 1 bar more singnal even when my other phone had no bars allowing the tundra to make a clean call.
I also like the new blue tooth stereo feature which hooks up twice as fast as my older ATT phone. The stereo feature is great for using ear buds while riding the motorcycle or in the car.
Another feature I use is hooking up this phone the the pC to download photos and music to and from the phone. This is done with a simple USB cord. To many good things to mention but I will say you will love this phone if you want a rugged phone that is waterproof and gets a great signal. You will have to decide if you are going to use the features but they are there if you want them
I reiceved this phone thru Amazon and I was impressed to get in 2 days with everything in the box.
I have had several phones and was concerned about the stubby antenna. Living in a rural area and needing a rugged phone the signal was my most important feature. I had both my phones side by side while driving around and moving around in my home and in all cases the Tundra had 1 bar more singnal even when my other phone had no bars allowing the tundra to make a clean call.
I also like the new blue tooth stereo feature which hooks up twice as fast as my older ATT phone. The stereo feature is great for using ear buds while riding the motorcycle or in the car.
Another feature I use is hooking up this phone the the pC to download photos and music to and from the phone. This is done with a simple USB cord. To many good things to mention but I will say you will love this phone if you want a rugged phone that is waterproof and gets a great signal. You will have to decide if you are going to use the features but they are there if you want them I reiceved this phone thru Amazon and I was impressed to get in 2 days with everything in the box.
I have had several phones and was concerned about the stubby antenna. Living in a rural area and needing a rugged phone the signal was my most important feature. I had both my phones side by side while driving around and moving around in my home and in all cases the Tundra had 1 bar more singnal even when my other phone had no bars allowing the tundra to make a clean call.
I also like the new blue tooth stereo feature which hooks up twice as fast as my older ATT phone. The stereo feature is great for using ear buds while riding the motorcycle or in the car.
Another feature I use is hooking up this phone the the pC to download photos and music to and from the phone. This is done with a simple USB cord. To many good things to mention but I will say you will love this phone if you want a rugged phone that is waterproof and gets a great signal. You will have to decide if you are going to use the features but they are there if you want them

Fair at best May 6, 2009

Reviewer:  STG "Customer Experience"  (Atlanta, Ga) -

This phone is fair at best and a pass based on the current pricing. I rated this poorly because the sound quality is so poor. Though the speaker phone works well, the volume through the handset is terrible. It sounds muffled all the time--even when the volume is set at the highest level. I had several folks use the phone and they noticed it as well.

One layout problem. The back button is right below the nav button. Unless your thumb is at a slight angle its easy to hit the back button when navigating through the menu option which can be annoying.

The tundra has a better screen size than what you get with the Samsung Rugby. Functionality it is on par with similar phones. The texting is ok. The menu visibility is better on the Rugby.

The tundra and the rugby have limited setting options for controlling the data display window when the phone is closed.

Sorry to get this phone... August 11, 2009

Reviewer:  P. Marani 

I purchased this phone because of its durability and heft. It is perfect for working outdoors. Reception is good (better than my previous phone). Also, I use the unltd data with Navigator. My problem with it is as follows: I bought the thing thru an ATT store. Big mistake. The thing does not turn off without removing the battery. I went to a store to see if there was a problem with it or a recall. The attendants in the store refused to discuss the problem as I entered the store on the 31st day after purchase. I was given a phone number to call. It was actually the 30th day, but ATT calculates days differently from the rest of the world. When I finally got someone on the phone number provided, I was told that the phone would be replaced, but with a refurbished phone. I received the refurbished phone and it has the same problem, it will not turn off without popping out the battery. It is easier with this unit, probably because it is a previously returned unit.

The Navigation system works well, if you are on familiar roads. It will give bad directions, and if you know where you are, you can avoid a problem. I visited family in California. The Navigation system had me get on and off the same freeway multiple times. Not sure why. On another trip of three hours, the battery died towards the end. What bothers me is that I had it plugged into an outlet in the car the whole time. I was also concerned because the unit was really hot to the touch when it died. Given the issues with the navigation system, and the battery I should have just purchased a regular phone and a navigation system from a company that actually is in that business full-time.

In summation, do not buy anything through an ATT store. Use Amazon, and you can return it when it does not work. The battery life is horrible. The thing does not turn off, you must check it and pop the batttery, otherwise you will have a dead battery when you actually need to use it.