Motorola W370 Prepaid Phone (Tracfone)

I found out that you cannot change the time from daylight savings to regular for the season. You can change the time from analog to digital but that's it. I called wherever the heck Tracfone's customer service people reside--I believe he said Malaysia--he talked so fast I still don't have a clue what he said, but he was reading from a bunch of papers given him to appease the Tracfone cell phone caller. I was pleased that I had called on another phone because it took so long I would have used up all of my minutes waiting for the horrible experience to get over!!! I was not happy with Tracfon's customer service event and did not get an answer to my question--representative apparently couldn't find it either! This morning I got an E-Mail from Tracfone telling me they were happy my question had been answered adequately and thanking me for my inquiry. Love the phone, am happy with everything but their customer service. I have now realized that for 6 months I will have the incorrect time on my cell phone, but won't have to change when daylight savings time rolls around!!! I'm thinking now about calling Motorola to see if they might have an answer to my question.

This is a good phone for people who want a good phone. It has a Web access button that I don't use. It can text message which I don't do. You can download wallpapers and ring tones, which I have never done. I set the ring tone with one of the ones supplied with the phone and turned off the wallpaper, as it eats into the battery life, and does not enhance the the operation of the phone in any way.

What I have done is use it for a phone for the past year. As a phone it is first rate. The clarity is good on both ends, the speaker phone is easy to use and is clear. The signal reception is better than the V170 it replaced. The speed dialing is handy. The color screen is clear and bright, and the menus and buttons can be changed to suit your fancy.

The size is a bit small for someone with ham hands like me, but most phones are that way.

So why not 5 stars? Because of the way TracFone cripples their phones. Since the phone is tied to the TF network, I feel it is legit to factor that into my review.

First, they disable the mini USB so that it only works with the charger to recharge the phone, not connect to a computer. (Handy for backing up your phone book, etc.)

This phone has a SIM card, which can hold your phone book, ring tones, messages, etc. That way when you change phones, you simply swap the SIM cards and you don't have to re-key your 200 name phone book. At least that is the way it is supposed to work. Not with TracFone. With TF the phone s/n and SIM s/n are matched and neither will work without the other. Why? "Because that's the way The System works."

So you upgrade to a newer phone, and transfer your number and minutes to it. Then you re-key all 200 of your contacts. Your old phone, as expected has been deactivated. Say you want to pass this phone on to your wife or one of your kids. So you try to reactivate the old phone. That's when you find out you have to get a new SIM from TF before you can. Not hard, but a PITA. Why do they deactivate the SIM? "Because that's the way The System works."

Overall, tho, TracFone offers the best value for someone who uses their phone primarily for a phone and doesn't use enough minutes a month for a monthly plan to be worth it. For $100, with TracFone you get a full year of service and at least 400 minutes of air time...usually more with bonus minutes or double minutes. Remaining minutes carry over when you add time/minutes to your phone.

This Motorola W370 is a good phone to get for that TF account.

This W370 replaced a 2 1/2 year old Net 10 Motorola flip phone and the menus and graphics are identical so my learning curve has been pretty much flat. It is a handsome, (apparently) well built unit and the shape fits well to the side of the head and makes thumb-dialing possible. I find that the smaller and thinner these phones get the more difficult they are for large hands to hold on to. Oh well. The number pad requires more pressure than I expected but I suppose I'll get used to it. Sound quality is excellent. All in all, a good basic cell phone without bells or whistles.

I long resisted getting a cell phone simply because I don't like making myself available to the entire world at all times. I like being a bit inaccessible. But too many incidents where having a cell phone arose and so I decided to get a Tracfone package with the Motorola W370. I've had absolutely no problems like catalogued in some of the other reviews. I do live in Chicago, which like most major cities is heavily blanketed with relays for cell phones. Not once have I not been able to get service (except, of course, when the EL goes underground).

I've had no troubles of any kind with my phone as well. I have less than no interest in some of the features that some reviewers regret not having, like a camera.

All in all, my experience has been very positive. Obviously, one's experience with the phone may depend on where one lives. I will add that my father has a Tracfone in Little Rock, Arkansas and has had no problems and a good friend in Ithaca, New York loves his Tracfone. So while I know some have had problems, no one that I know has. I will add that I love how inexpensive the service is relative to other providers. So far it looks like I will be spending about $20 a month for my cell phone. At home I use Vonage, which comes after taxes to around $25 a month. $45 total for both a landline and cell phone seems really reasonable to me.

I had had a pre-paid Freedom phone for years. When it needed expensive repairs I looked for a comparable one and, after reading the excellent reviews in Amazon, and extensive research, chose the W370. What a buy!! If you bought it with one of the Tracfone plans ($20 for 3mths), and signed up to use an Amazon Visa card, the cost was $9.00!! It was very easy to activate,works like a dream,and is by far the best cell phone in the field today. We now have two of them and are very well pleased!! It works almost anywhere in the entire US with no fading.