
Motorola W315 - Simple/Basic Phone
Review created: 10/05/07(updated 08/03/08)
12 of 12 people found this review helpful.
I have bought 3 of these W315's (for my mom, and 2 sisters), so I must like the phone ok :)
It's a simple/basic phone, without all the fancy features (such as cameras) that raise the price, and add to the likelihood that something will go wrong.
It's a folding phone, therefore the buttons don't get pushed accidentally (my sister likes this, because her old phone dialed 911 twice while in her purse).
Also, it uses a mini-usb power connector, which is less problematic than the older-style power connectors on older Motorola phones.
Also, the phone supports both digital & analog towers - analog drains your battery faster, but the analog signal travels farther, so you're more likely to get a signal when you're stranded in the middle of nowhere.
Now the bad news: The FCC will stop requiring wireless companies to support Analog in Feb 18, 2008, and Alltel (along with most other carriers) will probably stop supporting Analog signals after that time (see http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/analogcellphone.pdf for more details). After they stop supporting analog, then this phone really has no advantage over a simpler/smaller all-digital phone.
Also bad - my mom's phone just "stopped working". It was still under the 1-year Alltel/Motorola warranty, so they replaced it (but it took over a month).
Also, Walmart sells the W315 for $40, for their "Simple Freedom" prepaid plan.
But rumor has it you have to get the "Subsidy Code" or re-flash these phones,
or something, to be able to get them activated under another service.
To avoid problems, make sure to ask the ebay seller if the phone they're
selling was one of these $40 prepaid, or not (could be problematic getting
it switched over! - buyer beware)
I hope you find this info useful! :)
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August 2008 - these phones are still working well for my mom & two sisters.
Review ID: 10000000004516764

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