Motorola VU204 Phone, Black (Verizon Wireless)

Great Basic Phone October 25, 2008

Reviewer:  Blue  (NM USA) -

I purchased this phone a week ago for a pre-paid account. It keeps a good signal. Has yet to drop a call. Clear sound when talking. Loud speaker phone. Good and fun basic ring tones. The only thing I don't like is that when the security lock is on, and you receive a incoming call the user has to unlock the phone to answer. My old Kyceria of 8 years allowed me to answer calls even if locked. Holds a charge for almost a week with regular use. I don't need an mp3 player. I don't need the latest and greatest to out-do my friends. I want a good phone for calls and texting. Looks sophisticated. Very happy!

Very poor Battery life December 29, 2008

Reviewer:  J. Schmidt  (Sacramento) -

Very poor battery life. Becareful on this one. Very disappointed. I've had 6 cell phones over the last 15 years and this has to be one that should be recalled due the substantial battery draw. Will not last 24 hours on a full charge with no more than 20 minutes a day of calling. My Samsung would go 7 to 10 days.

Thank God It Was Free March 4, 2009

Reviewer:  S. Ford "music junkie"  (Chicago, IL) -

I received the VU204 for free when my father bought a new Voyager. It's my first phone, and I didn't want to spend a lot of money on a phone with too many bells and whistles outright. The first few months owning the phone were great. It is relatively new, so none of my friends had it and it looks really cool. The buttons are all easy to use and the display is very clear. The sound quality leaves you wanting more, but what can you ask for in a free phone? The camera is also very limited, but it's good enough for taking snap shots of my friends.

However, after the fourth month it has started to fall apart (it is now early March of 2009 and I got it mid October of 2008). The pivot-joint was initially smooth and reliable, but now it's snappy, sticky and it doesn't stay open all the time. I HAVE NOT DROPPED IT! This phone has essentially fallen apart on it's own. Whether this is an issue with all flip phones or just the VU204, I don't know, but I do know that this is unacceptable.

Those are just the physical faults. This phone has obvious programming flaws as well. There have been many times (probably 1/5 times) when taking a picture that my phone will lock-up and claim it's "searching for a network." I know for a fact that I have service on these occasions. This may be more of an issue with Verizon than the phone, but it's still an issue that must be brought to the attention of the consumer. It's very irritating to have your phone lock up while taking a snapshot to find that you've lost that picture.

I went to the store that sold me the phone to ask about the "searching for network" problem. I was politely told to check back in a few months when the phone isn't "so new." I guess they'll have better software by now, but I haven't been bothered to return. I will be buying a new phone very soon, and it will NOT be a Motorola. Thank God I didn't spend any money on this phone!

It's a great cell phone January 26, 2009

Reviewer:  Northern Neck 

First off I always see people saying that cell phones don't have this that and the other. I want a cell phone that can make and receive calls and send text messages. This phone is great for that. I haven't had a dropped call yet and all calls have been crystal clear, I live in the country where reception is not always the best but I haven't dropped a call yet! The phone has a nice feel to it and is not to heavy or flimsy feeling. The only con I have is that the phone has locked up on me once or twice but I popped the battery out put it back in and kept on getting up. It does exactly what it should, make and receive calls when I need it to. I just wish Motorola made a phone like the samsung alias though i love having a flip but would also like a qwerty keypad.

2 Things Keep This from Being a Great Phone December 2, 2008

Reviewer:  Robert A. Mckinney "ooginal"  (Oregon Coast) -

I love this cell phone BUT the hard to remove back cover
and short battery life detract from what otherwise would be the perfect cell phone for me!

Great phone without the frills! December 2, 2008

Reviewer:  Vincent Lee "vincent17616"  (Cerritos, CA USA) -

Just want to put my 2 cents in for someone who might be interested in this phone. I have mine for about 1 week and here are what I found:

LIKES
1) Soft rubber(?) case, very comfortable to hold and is not fingerprint magnet!!
2) Call quality is great, loud and clear - isn't that why we have a phone in the first place?! Reception is very good, no drop call. Speakerphone works fine, very loud and easily enable via pressing the side button.
3) The keypad is very nice, keys are responsive and have a good feel. The unit is well design, look and feel more expensive, very attractive and with its rubber case, I feel it can take drop or two without breaking.
4) Very light-weight and easy on the pocket (both carry and price!)
5) The internal display is very clear and bright, fonts are readable and color is sharp.
6) The menu system is fine and works. I like the option to enable the dailing number large on screen so it is even more readable.

DISLIKES
1) None really. Someone mentioned the rubber jack location for charging is poor, I don't think it is terrible, plus now I have a phone with decent battery life (read below), I should not have to charge it as often. Others also said the front display is too small, well I don't spend too much time looking it anyway, do you? This phone is a basic model and doesn't do video or music, all you can do is limited for glancing at time and battery level and such, so I don't believe a bigger display would be that much more useful (plus wouldn't it use more battery?).

For those folks who has issue with the battery life. My first unit has similar problem. Fully charged phone, battery bar would drop to half the next day without much use. I was bummed and ready to get another model. Fortunately I gave it another go since I like the phone a lot and got another one and guess what this one so far holds a charge much, much better. So I figure my first unit must be defective. I didn't give this 5 stars since I have not use it for extended period of time but boy do I really like this phone. It is perfect without all the bells and whistles. I did have a smartphone and other advance phones before. Now I just want a cellphone that works with decent battery life and nothing more.

As a free phone, this is the best I've had August 3, 2009

Reviewer:  Katherine A. Kennedy  (CONWAY, AR United States) -

On the cheaper end of the phone selections as well as (with Verizon) the free phone currently (08/09) with the 2 year contract update, this is the best I've used. I have to say straight up that I am already pretty attached to the Motorola Brand of phones, though, as I'm most familiar with their interface.

Pros:
Programmable "hot keys"
Number locations make it easier to text message
Sound quality is great
Camera is really good - for a cell phone camera
In-depth contacts including emails
"group" feature so that, for example, you can send a text to all the "girls" for a girls night.
Battery saver options, many tools, easy to download more tools for the phone

Cons:
Flip feature makes for easier breaking (mine hasn't broken, obviously, but this is true of any flip phone)
There seems to be a bit of a delay between the call made and the ring, but I'm not certain if this impacts anything and I haven't tested out other phones
Battery charger is covered by a rubbery cover which isn't really necessary and seems as though it might not be very durable (though mine hasn't fallen off or anything).

A Good BASIC Phone March 3, 2009

Reviewer:  Aristillus 

This is a good, basic phone for people who just want a phone that acts like a phone. The camera is only 640x480 and doesn't record video, but there are two levels of zoom and some adjusting is possible. There's no music player and no card slot. It doesn't sing, it doesn't dance and it won't make your coffee in the morning. That said, what it does it does well. It feels solid in the hand with buttons which are easy to push even for large fingers. The matte finish has a slightly rubbery feel and doesn't show fingerprints. The layout seems well thought out and I especially like the customizable shortcuts. For instance, I have mine set so that I can turn bluetooth on or off with the press of one button. Voice commands work well and are adaptable to your own voice and accent. The battery life seems good. The speaker is decent but mp3 ringtones sound tinny, so if you're looking for a phone to play obnoxious pop music instead of ringing this might not be the phone for you. "mid" files sound great though. It is VZ Navigator capable but I've not used the service. I am quite satisfied with this phone.

Phone Design Annoying, Limited Date Capabilites December 6, 2008

Reviewer:  Old Dragon  (Sacramento, CA United States) -

I received this phone as a company phone. It works the way a cell phone should, so that is why it gets a couple of stars.

The cons are enough that I would never buy this product and would not use it if not forced on me.

The buttons are poorly placed. The voice button is on the upper right side of the phone. The button is senstive. I am already sick and tired of hearing, "Please say a command". Even wearing it in a case clipped to my belt, while driving it will accidentally trigger. I would lock the phone, but that is not feasible because of the fact you must enter a four digit code to unlock it.

The covers for the USB socket and the headset are flimsy rubberized plastic. I expect this will be gone with a little use.

The cases matched to this phone add to the aggravation. They have a plastic slip over the top and bottom of the phone. This is very clingy plastic. I was going to court yesterday and went to remove the case so I could carry the phone in a suit coat pocket. The only way I could remove the case was to tear the clear plastic off it destroying the case. Another minus to the case is that the openings near the charger/USB socket make it difficult to charge when the case is on.

The phone has limited data transferability. It is blue tooth capable and my headset works fine with it. My personal cell phone is a Palm Centro, which I highly recommended for its cost and benefits. The Moto VU 204 does not take calendar entries. Instead of being able to push my calendar onto the VU204, I must keep two phones with me when I am working so I have my calendar handy and my company cell phone.

Unreliable and Inconsistent. February 11, 2010

Reviewer:  Jessica Strathkoetter 

THE GOOD:
- Despite claims of this phone falling apart, I actually think this phone is VERY sturdy. It's certainly not a pretty or high tech phone, but it has held up MUCH better than even some of my more expensive phones. And I've dropped this at least twice and had no problems.

-It incredibly easy to use. It's great if you just need a phone for texting and making calls, nothing more.


THE BAD:
-This phone is INCREDIBLY glitchy. For the first 3 or 4 months it worked perfectly. After that, the phone gets constant error messages when trying to receive an incoming call or text. Even if I have good reception, the phone will freeze briefly, then a screen will come up saying, "Searching for Network." As a result, it makes it very difficult for people to contact me. A very bad problem because what's the point of having a cell phone, if you can't count on it.

I got this phone for free so luckily replacing this phone will be no problem. I would NEVER recommend this phone to anyone. It's easy to use.....but it just does NOT work. It's completely unreliable, what is the point.