Is Cingular Aware Of The MPx220 Volume Problem?

[Kris Kumar]

Many of our <a href="http://www.smartphonethoughts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=6439">readers</a> who rushed out to the Best Buy stores and bought the new Motorola MPx220 have been disappointed with not only the camera, but also the earpiece and speaker-phone volume. When I got my MPx220, I thought I had figured out the problem.<br /><br /> <img src="http://www.smartphonethoughts.com/images/MPx220-EarPiece.jpg" alt="User submitted image" title="User submitted image"/> <br /><br />Motorola has put a number of plastic cling-films all over the phone to protect it from scratches during shipping. And it is not easy to figure out where these cling-films have been applied because they are transparent. One such plastic cling-film was located right over the earpiece and one cannot easily makeout its presence. While I was peeling it off, I felt certain that I had <i>uncovered</i> the reason for the low volume; that the film was covering the earpiece holes. But I am sorry to say, my assumption was wrong and my MPx220 still has low volume compared to the MPx200. :-(<br /><br />And now this mystery has deepened, Timback over at HowardForums has posted the following message:<br /><br /><i>"Went to a cingular corporate store today, talked with the manager for about 15 min. I asked him about the MPX 220 and he told me they have about 20 in the back. He recieved an internal memo from corporate NOT to sell any of these phones and to return all inventory. He said they know about the low volume , which is one of the phones problems, there are a few more, I asked what, he wouldnt tell me. He said, they were not going to sell the phone anyway before Nov. 10, but now, they might not until its 100%, and they fix all problems. He said they do not want another V 600 fiasco."</i> 8O

[Mike Temporale]

Wait a second.... This was delayed month after month with this phone. And now they're admitting it still isn't right? So what have all the past delays been for?

I have to admit, I'm more than a little disappointed with Moto on this phone. They have had all this time, and they're still having problems.

:?

[Kris Kumar]

The Moto MPx220 is great when it comes to being a Smartphone. But that is thanks to the Windows Mobile 2003 SE and the bundled apps.

But when it comes to being a phone-first-device, the part that Moto should have contributed to, they have failed to deliver. The camera we all know the story. But I don't care about it because it is not the core phone functionality. But the volume and also the mic can really irritate the customer into not liking the phone.

:-(

[sclui56]

Kris,

On the second day I bought the 220 on 10/8, once I realized that the outside filem was blocking the speakerphone as well as ringer, I went through and peeled off every piece of film in hope that would "fix" the volume issues, but really didn't as you indicated.

What is worse is that I have a chain of email & voice calls with MOT since 10/10 and in everyone they denied problem with the volume and prompted me to exchange or return, even after I told them the issue is consistent on at least 5 different samples. Now I have finally been able to escalate the case on 10/15 after contacting their investors' relations (don't know where else to go), but sadly, there's no new or meaningful response yet.

I also don't really care about the camera and hope they really fix the volume issues, this phone is probably one of the better units available in NA that's not grey-market.

[Jerry Raia]

I just hope there is some fix for those of us who have it already.

[Jason Dunn]

Crazy! I can't believe that Motorola would allow something like this to come to market. The MPx200 was a solid phone for me, and Motorola seemed to be able to bring that to the market quickly. There's been a very long lull, a full year, between the MPx200 and the MPx220....and they release a phone this buggy? Crazy!

[mbranscum]

Crazy! I can't believe that Motorola would allow something like this to come to market. The MPx200 was a solid phone for me, and Motorola seemed to be able to bring that to the market quickly. There's been a very long lull, a full year, between the MPx200 and the MPx220....and they release a phone this buggy? Crazy!

I'm on my SECOND MPX220. The first one had a Windows Media sound issue. On NEITHER phone is the volume too low. To low compared to what???? This issue simply perplexes me. I'm just not understanding what low volume means I guess. I have carried a V220, 610, 632, V600, Treo 600, Seimens S56, etc. This phone's volume is comparable to ALL of those phones. I went into AT&T today and talked on a working 5600. STILL, can't figure out what all the fuss is about. :?

EDIT: The plastic on the speaker ear receiver DOES NOT cover the slits where the volume comes out, so this point is moot.

[Kris Kumar]

On NEITHER phone is the volume too low. To low compared to what????

I agree the volume is not too low. It's just low (maybe by a notch). In my case compared to its predecessor the MPx200, the MPx220 has low volume. On my MPx200 I had to lower the volume during some calls. In case of my MPx220, I had to keep it maximum always. And at times I have to use the Speakerphone.

EDIT: The plastic on the speaker ear receiver DOES NOT cover the slits where the volume comes out, so this point is moot.

:lol: That was just a joke. I guess I didn't make it clear. (This what happens when I right a post late in the night and am tired.) Sorry.
You are right, I had noticed that film did not cover the ear-piece holes. But I must admit, the first time I saw the film I did get excited because I thought it might somehow solve the problem. :lol:

Also setting the phone to the Outdoor profile does not help.

[Beowulf]

I don't really have a problem with the volume... I suppose if I were at something like a loud train station I might need it louder. The bad camera drives me nuts, but I really like the phone otherwise. WM10 would be nice along with blue tooth voice commands. I got the extended warrenty at Best Buy, and I'll exchange it if they release a fixed version of the phone. I still have faith in a magic firmware update :) Right now there's just a bunch of rumors flying around. My local Cingular store basically says they don't know if they will ever get it in. They know literally nothing about it, other than that Best Buy is selling them.

The corporate word from Moto is "The phone is great, any updates will be provided through Cingular."

Cingular says "The phone isn't offically in our product line yet."

They have the following options.

1. Full Recall. The last resort; the nightmare for manufacturers.

2. "Magic" firmware update.

3. Quiet Recall, Release a "fixed" phone and appease the early birds with warrenty exchanges if they complain.

4. Stand by the crappy phone, and move on to the next model.

I'm not familiar with this big v600 problem when it was released. What happened and how was it resolved?

[Kris Kumar]

My feeling is that to optimize the battery life, they decided on lowering the volume by a notch. Not sure if that is a good assumption from electronics point of view, I mean whether or not it really affects battery life.

Did you guys notice that the external screen has a timeout. It blanks out, which is bad because I like to have the external clock to check the time and to see if there are any new mails etc. (Also the signal strength). Again the cost (on battery life) of having a color screen for external display forced Moto to have a timeout. :-( Has anyone seen a setting to keep it On always?

I am guessing Moto carried out some last minute tweaks to maximize the battery life. Now based on the public out-cry, Moto may release the fix. And who knows if the Best Buy one month exclusive is a part of smart beta testing. :wink: Sorry I don't want to start rumors or anything. Just tossing out the ideas I am getting.

[Jerry Raia]

My feeling is that to optimize the battery life, they decided on lowering the volume by a notch. Not sure if that is a good assumption from electronics point of view, I mean whether or not it really affects battery life.

Did you guys notice that the external screen has a timeout. It blanks out, which is bad because I like to have the external clock to check the time and to see if there are any new mails etc. (Also the signal strength). Again the cost (on battery life) of having a color screen for external display forced Moto to have a timeout. :-( Has anyone seen a setting to keep it On always?

I am guessing Moto carried out some last minute tweaks to maximize the battery life. Now based on the public out-cry, Moto may release the fix. And who knows if the Best Buy one month exclusive is a part of smart beta testing. :wink: Sorry I don't want to start rumors or anything. Just tossing out the ideas I am getting.

A bigger battery option (like every other mot I've ever owned) would have worked just as well and let US decide if we want to burn it up using high volume and displays that arent gone if you blink. I know you are speculating but it seems to fit what we are seeing here.

[aristoBrat]

FWIW, some folks are noting that if you use the "OUTDOOR" profile, then the speaker is much, much louder -- to where they actually had to turn it down a notch or two? &lt;shrug>

[Jerry Raia]

FWIW, some folks are noting that if you use the "OUTDOOR" profile, then the speaker is much, much louder -- to where they actually had to turn it down a notch or two? &lt;shrug>

Seems about the same to me.

[Beowulf]

And who knows if the Best Buy one month exclusive is a part of smart beta testing. :wink: Sorry I don't want to start rumors or anything. Just tossing out the ideas I am getting.

I would rather have the phone earlier, so I'm OK with a hypothetical quasi beta test as long as they eventually can fix my phone at some point :)

Outdoor mode does make the ring and external speaker plenty loud, but seems to have a smaller effect on the call talk volume. But again the max volume for me so far is good in the car, and outside. In a quiet room I usually turn it down.

[Jerry Raia]

I know I had to go and get it when it came out too. What can I say? :)

[Kris Kumar]

Outdoor mode does make the ring and external speaker plenty loud, but seems to have a smaller effect on the call talk volume.

That is what I found when I tried the outdoor mode. :(

[Kris Kumar]

4. Stand by the crappy phone, and move on to the next model.

I like all the other options except the last one. As a geek and a Smartphone enthusiast it is okay for me. I would be getting the SP3i soon. So not worried too much.

But when I think about a regular customer, who shelled out $500 or $250 with a 2 year contract. That is too much to pay for a phone that is not a perfect phone. It has awesome Smartphone features. Its fast. But as a phone it fails to deliver for the majority. It has low volume and poor mic. Also Moto made a poor choice on the battery and camera. (Battery life is better than MPx200, but I feel Moto made some tradeoff, read my earlier post, to increase battery life).

Personally, This my third Smartphone and wanted this one to be perfect.

First one was the Dev Kit (Red-E). Lousy battery life + SP2002.
Second one was MPx200. Great SMARTphone but poor phone - bad RF/signal strength.
Third one MPx220. Disappointed that Motorola spent so much time in releasing this phone. I saw a working prototype in March-April 2004. The body finish and everything was close to what we have. WM2003 SE was released at the same time. So we know that software was done. Only integration needs to be done.

How can Moto put a 1.3 Megapixel camera and a flash. That takes out of focus/snowy pictures. And often pictures that have vertical lines (like a bad TV reception). Sorry went off topic.

And how can they forget that this is a phone first, and that call sound quality is the thing that matters the most. For me I am back where I was with my MPx200. A phone that does not have good call quality. :-(

Not to mention be the laughing stock in my friend circle, who have seen me with phones that do practically everything except be a phone. :evil:

And the best is when you write to Moto, you get a canned response.

[PPCMD]

I returned mine and the only disappointment I had was the volume. I really dont' care about the camera. I also didn't know about the outdoor mode. Either way I will get one when its officially launched and it will either have the fixes we need or they will admit it and fix it later one. Disappointed yes, getting another one yes. Of course once I put in my Moto BT HFK I am all set and the HS810 should do well when I'm not in the car.

[smart addict]

I went to my doctor after buying two MPX220 one for me and the other for my girlfriend. I thought I was going deaf! It turns out to be the phones - bad microphones, speaker phones, and earphones. I returned both phones and canceled my contract. I'm getting the SMT 5600 from ATT wireless - soon to be Cingular anyway.

I know the 5600's camera is weak, but I've already read of 3 megapixel smart phones in Hongkong. So, I will most likely upgrade my smart phones every 12 mos just like my pc, laptop, and girl friend... hehe

[Jerry Raia]

I'm gonna hang on to it. I do more data then I do talk on the phone. It is much faster than my i600 was.

[mar2k]

I'm dying for a Smartphone but I'm waiting 2 or 3 weeks for the following reasons:

The Mpx220 is scheduled for release in Cingular stores. I can't imagine the Mpx220 getting into company stores without at least some fixes for the problems being mentioned so lets see what is going to happen here. If there is a delay or no release after the 30 day Best Buy exclusive is up this will certainly be worrisome.

The AT&T merger is rumored to be official any day now. If the Audiovox SMT5600 is added to the Cingular lineup officially or unofficially this may make things interesting.

If neither of the above work out, the iMate SP3i should begin to show up by Mid-November with support for 850 MHz GSM in North America. I'm impressed with iMate. Unlike Motorola's canned responses, I emailed them and asked them directly if the SP3/SP3i would be getting Windows Media Player 10. I receieved a personal response with the answer that these phones are scheduled to get WMP 10 in December via ROM update. I must say, the promise of regular ROM updates and bugfixes and not being tied to carrier-specific software limitations (Bluetooth profiles etc) is very appealing even though the cost of hardware will be more up front without a carrier subsidy.

[maximus]

He said they do not want another V 600 fiasco."[/i] 8O

What fiasco ?

[cortez]

you know, with the speakerphone engaged the earpiece volume can be adjusted to a desirable level to hear the caller on the other end. (rest assured i'm not advocating this as a workaround). does this imply that the problem is software related? would it be possible to modify the registry to engage the speakerphone each time a call is answered? (forgive my simple, non-technical thinking)... thoughts would be appreciated.

[ben865]

My feeling is that to optimize the battery life, they decided on lowering the volume by a notch. Not sure if that is a good assumption from electronics point of view, I mean whether or not it really affects battery life.

Did you guys notice that the external screen has a timeout. It blanks out, which is bad because I like to have the external clock to check the time and to see if there are any new mails etc. (Also the signal strength). Again the cost (on battery life) of having a color screen for external display forced Moto to have a timeout. :-( Has anyone seen a setting to keep it On always?

I am guessing Moto carried out some last minute tweaks to maximize the battery life. Now based on the public out-cry, Moto may release the fix. And who knows if the Best Buy one month exclusive is a part of smart beta testing. :wink: Sorry I don't want to start rumors or anything. Just tossing out the ideas I am getting.

Just touch one of the side keys - volume keys - and it will come on briefly.

Best of both worlds - info on demand and reduced battery load.

[windmiller]

Motorola has lost my business as well as Cingular. Cingular has always been awful when it comes to data anything. Answering questions, providing decent phones, etc. I am leaving Cingular and going to AT&T and am going to get the SMT smartphoen and will wait until the price drops on the SX 66.

By Cingular, wish I had never met you.......

[Kris Kumar]

Just touch one of the side keys - volume keys - and it will come on briefly.

Best of both worlds - info on demand and reduced battery load.

Thanks, I did figure that out. But the trouble in my case is that I like to leave the phone on the desk at work and move around. And I occasionally while working on the computer would glance at the screen. It is not possible anymore. I have to reach out and touch the phone. :-(

It's not serious but...

[smartphone fan]

Motorola has lost my business as well as Cingular. Cingular has always been awful when it comes to data anything. Answering questions, providing decent phones, etc. I am leaving Cingular and going to AT&amp;T and am going to get the SMT smartphoen and will wait until the price drops on the SX 66.

By Cingular, wish I had never met you.......

How has the move from Cingular to ATT been now that ATT is Cingular...