Looking for a few comments about the mpx-220

[John Cody]

Hey all,

Well, verizon just pushed me too far...

I just "upgraded" my i600 to the newer 2003 OS (I know, I waited a long time, and now I have a serious problem (to me at least). I am always recording voice notes <plug> using my app "Vnotes" </plug>, and the mic volume is way too low to be useful. I mean, I have to practically scream into the mic, then have the playback volume set to max, then hold my ear to the speaker to make out what I said!

The mic volume was fine when I had the 2002 OS, so I didn't think it was the hardware at fault. But, verizon still had to send me 2 exchange phones, and they both had the same problem. I eventually called samsung and they confirmed it to be a problem, and they also confirmed they will not be fixing it

Since I need this feature to be working, I have to ditch the i600, and I am seriously thinking about switching to the mpx-220. My friend has the 5600, and it is a great phone, it's just that my preference is flip vs. candy bar. Another friend has the mpx-220, so I have played with it, and the only thing what I didn't like, but could live with, was the kinda-saturated display as if the contrast was set too low, but the screen was very bright.

So, I have tried to follow all the threads in this forum, but I am kind of confused about some issues and was hoping someone could shed some light on them:

1) Have all the issues (especially volume and camera) been fixed with the latest ROM version?

1a) What is the latest ROM version that I should make sure I get?

1b) Besides turning the phone on, I think I heard that there was a way to figure out the rom version via a colored sticker on the box...what color should I look for?

2) Where do you recommend I buy one from?

3) Am I forgetting any other issue?

Any help will be greatly appreciated!

-John Cody
Verizon -> Cingular switcher!

[John Cody]

Hey all,

Well, verizon just pushed me too far...

I just "upgraded" my i600 to the newer 2003 OS (I know, I waited a long time, and now I have a serious problem (to me at least). I am always recording voice notes <plug> using my app "Vnotes" </plug>, and the mic volume is way too low to be useful. I mean, I have to practically scream into the mic, then have the playback volume set to max, then hold my ear to the speaker to make out what I said!

The mic volume was fine when I had the 2002 OS, so I didn't think it was the hardware at fault. But, verizon still had to send me 2 exchange phones, and they both had the same problem. I eventually called samsung and they confirmed it to be a problem, and they also confirmed they will not be fixing it

Since I need this feature to be working, I have to ditch the i600, and I am seriously thinking about switching to the mpx-220. My friend has the 5600, and it is a great phone, it's just that my preference is flip vs. candy bar. Another friend has the mpx-220, so I have played with it, and the only thing what I didn't like, but could live with, was the kinda-saturated display as if the contrast was set too low, but the screen was very bright.

So, I have tried to follow all the threads in this forum, but I am kind of confused about some issues and was hoping someone could shed some light on them:

1) Have all the issues (especially volume and camera) been fixed with the latest ROM version?

1a) What is the latest ROM version that I should make sure I get?

1b) Besides turning the phone on, I think I heard that there was a way to figure out the rom version via a colored sticker on the box...what color should I look for?

2) Where do you recommend I buy one from?

3) Am I forgetting any other issue?

Any help will be greatly appreciated!

-John Cody
Verizon -> Cingular switcher!

[Mike Temporale]

Hey John,

I don't know what to recommend to you. I've read a lot of posts as of late regarding people jumping ship from the MPx220 to the Audiovox. In fact, I don't even think that Cingular is offering the MPx220 at the moment. (I could be wrong about this, but it appears to have been pulled from most - if not all - online retailers.) There have been a number of people commenting on how they called Cingular for repairs or replacements of their MPx220 only to be told that Cingular will replace it with the Audiovox SMT5600. :?

The coloured sticker was done back in the early days of the MPx220 when there was more than one ROM version in the production channels. I don't know if they are still stickering the box or not.

I know that this doesn't offer much insight to your questions, but I hope it has helped in some way.

[HalM]

As the contrarian on the forum, let me say that the MPx220 is great. I have had all 4 ROMS and not a serious problem. Power cycle the phone daily and I bet you won't either.

Read my entire evaluation here:
http://www.smartphonethoughts.com/fo...pic.php?t=8566

[Mike Temporale]

Ya, I guess I'm always beating up Motorola. Maybe things would be different if I had one around here to play with. I'm just not will ing to drop the coin on something that might turn out to be a dud. :?

[John Cody]

Hey Mike and HalM,

Well, I just picked one up (an mpx-220) - My local Cingular dealer had like 3 in stock.

I like it, except for these issues:

1) The speakerphone speaker crackels when the volume is set to a usuable (max) level.
2) The screen is kinda over-saturated, with not a lot of contrast. You have to tilt it slightly to the right (so you are viewing from a slight left angle) to get the higher contrast, but this is not a natural/preferred thing to do.
3) It seems to force running apps to quit prematurely, even when there is plenty of avail ram. FIXED: I just figured out the cause of this issue and a fix for it here: http://www.smartphonethoughts.com/fo...?p=55498#55498

The current version is 1.30, but I will update it to 1.43 when the motorola update tool gets back on line tomorrow.

Overall, it gives me the following benifits over my i600:
1) Smaller and lighter.
2) Bluetooth for hands-Free kits and GPS.
3) Camera (albiet not so great, but better then nothing)

Now, hopefully I won run into the mic-off problem too much

Thanks for responding guys.

[HalM]

John, I found a very nice utility on this forum a few months ago: Tweaks2k2. It will allow you to make several nice changes to the phone including True Type with out hacking the registry.
http://www.tweaks2k2.com/portal/stat...50317130430805

[John Cody]

Originally Posted by HalM

John, I found a very nice utility on this forum a few months ago: Tweaks2k2. It will allow you to make several nice changes to the phone including True Type with out hacking the registry.
http://www.tweaks2k2.com/portal/stat...50317130430805

I have that app too, and a friend of mine also wrote a free reg-hack version here:

http://www.airfagev.com/forum_view.a...s.asp?code=all

But neither had this adjustment, so I am very thankful to the guys over at howard forums for finding this

[Sven]

Originally Posted by John Cody

The current version is 1.30, but I will update it to 1.43 when the motorola update tool gets back on line tomorrow.

Where'd you here this? I just looked at Moto's site and it still says 1.30 and the tool is down. I'm kind of hesitant to go using the ones you can find floating around.

[John Cody]

Originally Posted by sven

Where'd you here this? I just looked at Moto's site and it still says 1.30 and the tool is down. I'm kind of hesitant to go using the ones you can find floating around.

On this page:

http://direct.motorola.com/ENS/softwareupdate.asp

It says in the top left corner "...If you have 1.430, you are at the latest software version..."

A rep told me yesterday that they are working on the issue, and it would be up today somtime, but since this is a weekend, I doubt it.

[Sven]

Thanks for that link. If you go to Motorola and search for MPX220, about the second hit sends you to
http://www.motorola.com/mdirect/hell...ftupdate.shtml
which still says 1.30 is current. Neither let you get to the update tool, but I actually have that already loaded. Running it results in it telling me my 1.30 is current. Guess I'll be patient.