Motorola V557 (Unlocked)

I like the size of the phone it fits perfectly in your hand. Good camera and video on it. Also very good batter life, I would recommened this phone to anyone.

When I first got Cingular I purchased their Ericson flip phone that was blue tooth capable. After having it for just a few short days (6), I hated it. Every time I held it in my hand or put it in my purse it took multiple pics. Turned out that the pic button on the side of the phone was so sensitive that it took pics by barely touching it. So I went to Cingular and traded it for a V3 RAZR. The RAZR was a good phone with lots of capabilities but I did not like the flatness of it when I was trying to use it. So, I decided to get on Cingular's site and search for another phone. I saw the v557 and loved it. There was all the capabilities a phone I wanted, it was blue tooth capable, and it was the style I liked. The only thing was, it was too late for me to trade it in at the store. So instead of buying it outright from Cingular for $287.00 I started looking on eBay. I bid on several that were new in the box but in the long run I got a used one. It had a awful deep scratch on the front across the metal and was very rough looking but I got it for a little more than the third of the price of a new one from Cingular. Once i received it in the mail I saw that it looked a lot rougher than in the pic on the listing and the home charger was in very bad shape, so I found an eBay store that carried parts for Motorola phones. And found that I can use my blue tooth charger for the phone. I bought a new housing and a #6 tourqe screwwdriver. In about 3 weeks I had all I needed and changed the housing myself in about an hour. Now my phone looks brand new and I still paid less than $100.00 for everything.

This phone is great. It can do everything the RAZR's can and then some. The SCREEN3 technology is kind of cool as well. The phone is built very durable. I've dropped it twice already and no problems. The rubber battery back and sides keep it in your hands. The screen is great as well. I charged the battery for a full 24 hours when I first got it and it last me about 3 to 4 days with medium usage. That is much better than the RAZR that I had to return. I couldn't get the RAZR to last past a day. The designated buttons for the camera and media net are great as well. Comes preloaded with AIM, Yahoo, and ICQ that work very well. The ringtones and voice are great. Doesn't come with all too many ringtones though but I added my own. The signal is excellent. I use it on Cingular's Network. Out where I live, there are maybe 3 towers within a 10 mile radius and with my older phones, RAZR V3 & Samsung SGH-C207, I could only get 1, rarely 2. Those were both with internal antennas. Now that I have the V557, I always have at minimum 2 and am always able to place a call. Most of the time 3 or all. I believe this is because of the external antenna. If you're somewhere where that isn't great signal, this would probably help it some. I bought one for my son as well and he can actually get service in his school now which is an all brick building where his other phone could not. You should definitely buy this phone if you're looking for something much more durable than the RAZR and not looking to put out quite a bit of money. Remember, it can do everything the RAZR can do and then some except its not as flat when closed. This phone is not bulky, so if you're not looking for something as tiny as the RAZR but a cell phone that can do everything the RAZR can, this phone is for you. It also has the looks if you're worried about it being "in-style." Buy it now. You can probably find great deals here on eBay instead of renewing your contract for another 2 years.

I like that you can Instant Messaging with AOL, Yahoo, and ICQ. The Bluetooth wireless technology is nice too. and last but not least the service is grate with GSM Bands 850/900/1800/1900 MHz Networks!!!

This is one of the best cell phones I have ever had, I have a motorola razr V3xx now with a V557 for a spare. The V557 is a better phone then this razr.. I give it a 9.5 on a 10 scale..

Steve

First of all, this phone actually hit the market September 05. So pretty much no one had it before then. This was Motorola's improvement for the V551, which didn't have as many upgrades as the V557. I have dropped it several times on concrete and it's like a Timex watch (for those who are over 30 you'll still remember the jingle). My wife was not so careful with hers. She spilled water all over hers and I took it apart, (battery, sim and housing) and let it sit on the window sill in the sun. (The sun dries out the inside by evaporation). It worked for about 6 more weeks then nothing. So I found a used one on Ebay and it's great. She's a lot more careful now. When you buy a ringtone do it from the website, not the phone. The phone puts you in a "Sub Club" that charges you 4.99 a month regardless of tones or anything. It took me a few bills to realize this. The camera is awesome. I recommend cleaning the lens with a dry Q-tip swirled in a circular fashion, without too much pressure. I haven't been cut off yet, unless I go in an area w/no coverage or little coverage. Bluetooth is good, but the earpieces need to have a greater volume, unless you drive a luxury car with absolutely no road noise. Overall I don't want any other phone. I just wish they had the ring tone for the Chips theme song. Then it'd be perfect.

For the money, V557 provides a great value. With bluetooth built-in, it adds value to a moderately priced phone. Video is standard on V557's so the phone can be used as a camcorder. For an average of $79.99 there is no other phone that has speaker, video and bluetooth that I could find.

I wanted a V557, because I have had Motorola phones, in the past, and it is advertised, with most every seller, as having Push to Talk, over cellular, with Cingular wireless.I've yet to see a V557 that really has Push to Talk over Cellular. Motorola must have made them with Push to Talk, over Cellular,for another wireless carrier, other than Cingular, or intended for them to have the Push to Talk feature, and it never happened. The Motorola web site says the V557 has Push to Talk, but I haven't found one that actually has that feature on it.

It is a very good phone and the price was good also. It has a several features that lets you do alot of things. I would purchase one like it again.

I liked the color and just the phone in general. I had motorola v551 and liked it also. I don't use the ticker but if a person is interested in needing to know what's going on all the time it would be great. I also liked the price I got it for $106 total shipoping included. Call me crazy but to me it seems to be a better phone than the v551. I don't seem to lose my call as often. Probably just because it's a new phone.

Thanks, Paul

After having the Motorola v180, V551 and V3 Razor cell phones, I have to say the V557 has the most durability and features of all of these phones. The battery lasts longer than the Razor by far, the features are easy to use and it will endure several drops to the floor and keep working (at least mine has). The new model with the news ticker has been very durable so far. I disabled the news ticker since I don't really need it and it was very simple to do so. The camera is nice for those times when you want to take a picture but your digital camera is not handy. AT&T coverage seems to be as good or better than other cell companies in the Michigan, Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, Floriday areas where we have traveled. We have a couple of these phones that have several years on them and they are still going strong. We have had a couple of the V551s with volume issues, but in fairness they have been mistreated somewhat by dropping etc. All in all, I would recommend the V557 if you can get one on Ebay. Good Luck! and Happy Ebaying!

When AT&T changes their lineup of phones every year and we found the Motorola V557 (1st two purchased from AT&T) did everything we wanted it to do (plus the SIM card plugs right in), it's a LOT cheaper to buy a used/refurbashed phone than to upgrade into something new. My two sons and I are on the family plan and the 2-year contracts have expired. We have the 3 phones we use daily, plus a 'mint' spare and extra batteries and chargers.
Other phones text message easier, but both my sons go over 1200 messages/month. I usually text about 50. Until we get a better deal, I'll stay with this brand and model.

This has a bogus connection from the connector to the bottom of the phone. The bottom of the phone is curved but the connector needs to be attached flush which does not work. I would say this phone has a life of 2 months before the corrosion begins and the phone doesn't charge.

In most ways very good. I have had one for a long time. Got one area for improvement. The connector on the bottom of the phone for recharge and data. It gets corroded very easily. Especially in a hnmid climatre, nover mind going out in the rain.

I bought this phone as a replacement to the new phone I had purchased that never did work right. While this phone does work very well, it is a little bulky compared to what I was used to. Also, it is very difficult to change out the faceplate and the battery does tend to drain quickly. But compared to what I was dealing with it is a great phone!

what I like most about this phone is all the features it has. secondly i wear hearing aids and this phone has more compatibility then any phone I've had thus far. I haven't found anything i don't like as yet, also I bought it for the very reasonable price, buying one from my carrier with there price was not very smart so I looked on ebay. thanks for reading this

the V557 has been a great phone. Great display, takes quality pictures and videos. The handfree speaker is also very easy to use, as I don't like to use earphones. Overall a great phone for the money.

I guess for someone used to a friendly UI of Nokia phones, this phone was horrible in that sense. You need a manual to figure out how to do simple tasks. That's a big no no. Oh and if you want to hear it ring, either purchase a ringtone or forget about it. If it's in a case, just pretend that it's on silent!....

Ok, that's all.

Had a great experience. The phone was better than I had expected. The phone was a gift for my wife. I have been an long time Ebay shopper and seller. I plan to continue foe a long time to come. Would definately buy on Ebay again.

I can't tell you a lick about the phone because I haven't received it in 30+ days. Seller is no longer a registered user...eBay and PayPal have offered no solutions.

Yeah for me.

Very good phone!! Great reception when others have none!!! Very durable and sturdy. Love the rubber grip! Nice camera, takes good pictures.

In general, the phone is easy to figure out and use. Some of its functions, such as the text function and calendar function, are not as easy to use as with other phones (for example, I can not type in an ending time to the half hour or less for a function that I program on a particular date on my calendar and I have accidentally sent some really funny text messages because I accidentally pressed a key that enacted the Send function (there are several keys that do this apparently). Moreover, the wall outlet charger never wants to stay plugged into the phone's port and, whenever it is plugged in, the ring tone automatically changes to "Loud", which is annoying since I am always plugging it in at night before I go to sleep and I want to keep the ring tone at "Vibrate". Nevertheless, the phone works very well, and it was easy to transfer the data from my SIM card to the phone. The camera is amazing (with zoom) and the video works very well.

Very easy and smooth transaction. Quick shipping and fixing of a problem we had. I would buy again from this buyer.