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Comprehensive Motorola a768i Review!

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Posted by: Tempest811

This is my first review ever written so Im sorry if I do it a little differently than you guys are used to. I am writing this review as more of my personal response to the phone rather than explaining intricate details like how you would go about dialing out and what steps you take to change something.

I have had it for a little under a week.
The lowest non-ebay price I found for it was here:
http://www.howardforums.com.com/A768i.html
In fact, the price dropped $10 since I bought it.

My mobile phone history consists simply of a SE t610. I have also used a T-mobile pocket PC for a few days so I know both sides (pda and phone) for which to compare.

Here are the factory specs!

Communications and Connection

Speech Recognition
Smart Handwriting
Free-Hand
Support for MMS
Call List for checkinng latest incoming,
outgoing, rejected call numbers
Support for Bluetooth/IR Data
Exchange
Data Sychronization
Web access through WAP2.0,WML,HTML
Support for GPRS


Multimedia

Play audio/video clips of up to one hour
Integrated digital zoom camera
Download MP3 files and personalise
your ringtones
39 built in ringtones
Beautiful integrated wallpapers
Graphics Editor for your favourite
pictures
Voice recorder


Application

Linux and J2ME
VPN:Access intranet for e-mail


Personalization Management

Personal Info Management:
File Management, agenda Notepad,
Task Management,e-mail, Phonebook
3 built in themes, customized
wallpaper, font, warning, ringtones
and power on/off picture options
Picture CLID
Personalized Directory Management



Other Specifications

Band:GSM 900/1800/1900
Volume:100cc
Weight:120g
Size:100x53x21mm
Colorark Blue
Antenna:External
Battary:780mAh
Talk Time:180-360 mins
Standby Time:100-180 hrs
200Mhz CPU,96MB system memory,
58MB user memory
(The actual memory is dependent on
network conditions and mobile
applicatons)

So lets get it on!













Design
The phone is a flip. Colored a deep charcoal color. It will automatically flip all the way open after u open it about 50 degrees. The groove around the side where u can get ur finger under to flip it open is a little small so sometimes it's a little challenging to open with one hand..but getting used to it has made it much easier for me now.
The antenna does not pull out..it's just a stub. The camera on the back is almost flush but there is a raised groove around it and the speaker that makes things a bit better in terms of protection on laying it down.
The hinge could be a potential problem. If you drop your phone a lot, then this hinge will probably break eventually. It doesn't look very solid on the corners - that is my main concern.
The minimalistic use of buttons on the front pretty much forces you to use the touchscreen. I really don't use any of the buttons. On the side is the volume rocker switch which has to be pressed about 10 times to go from full volume to low...so it's not very sensitive in terms of the volume level steps.



Screen
For me, the screen is one of the absolute best parts of this phone. It is gorgeous. The colors (though 65k) look amazing and the contrast is great too.


You can only adjust the amount of backlight on the screen...which kinda sucks because I would like to be able to play with the contrast and saturation.
If you look down on the screen from an angle above it, it gets this solarized look and if you look at it from an angle below perpendicular, it loses contrast.
One thing I think is kinda cool is that if you touch the screen on its default state (with the 4 menu items at the top), they will go away and you will only have your background. kinda like a still screensaver.


With the flip closed, pressing the right side-button, the clock will appear in the window aong with the battery, reception, date, etc.. but what I don't like is that it only stays lit for like 2 seconds. You have to keep it held if you really wanna see what time and date it is.....meh

Function
This phone is fast. For example, it takes about 1.5 seconds to load up a 2.5 minute video, and any size mp3 is practically instantaneous.
The phone comes with all your typical mumbo jumbo (calculator, calendar, etc..). The tasks are useful and work well but you are limited (im not sure by what word count exactly) in your notes for the tasks.


The picsel browser the phone comes with is freaking aweosme. being able to read various documents straight from my computer it such a great business tool. This really helps give the phone a bigtime PDA boost. It's even just fun to throw a document around with the way it uses the momentum from your stylus to scroll. lol


I did manage to download some other little java apps such as a "puncher" for logging my hours worked and keeping track with dates.
Having only 4 main menus at the top makes the phone look nicer but it makes you do a lot more navigating. I mean if you just wanna use something on the phone, it averages around 2 to 3 presses of the screen...which is nothing. But what I noticed is that the 'setup' menu only holds the very broad options of the phone. For any other specific modifications, you need to dive right in and find the function and practically start using it before you can get to the options for it (generally accessed in the bottom right).
The phone also has a right-click function which can be counterintuitive because sometimes the options you are looking for are in the bottom right pop-up menu and sometimes its in the right-click menu. To right-click on something is a MAJOR PAIN IN THE NECK. You have to hold your finger/nail/stylus on it for like 2 seconds and as soon as the menu comes up, if you still have your finger depressed, it will select whatever on the pop-up menu was right under your finger (AGHHHH IT DRIVES ME NUTS). You just have to either move your finger while it's coming up or release at exactly the right time.

Phone-ness
Dialing is a sinch. Tap the phone and start dialing or tap the contacts, tap the person, tap which phone, and bang it takes no time at all. The buttons are big enough for dialing...so no worries about that.


The regular phone speaker is about average for a cell phone...not quite loud enough for my insensitive ears but not quiet. The speakerphone is aweosme though. No distortion and its just the right volume. Also a bonus is that the people I speak to while im on speakerphone can't tell ive switched to speakerphone at all.
Call quality is great and people say i sound clearer than on my se t610. The reception is great too.

Multimedia
Though this phone is not branded as a true multimedia phone (as the e680 is), it still rocks. The mono speaker in the back will belch your mp3's quite loud. The stereo headphone jack turns this phone into a 52MB capacity mp3 player basically...which is awesome. The movie playback is limited to the .3gp format which is a downside but if you want your movies on your phone, open up quicktime pro, convert, transfer, and bingo...I was actually surprised how good my videos look even with the degredation in resolution and codec.


The camera is a joke! The pictures are so bad it's not even funny. Ironically they actually look better on the phone than they did after I transferred them via bluetooth to my computer - I don't know why. The video camera also is a joke. I mean they work and such but don't expect anything out of this.



View a movie made with the phone (about 8MB)

Pictures taken with the phone:


full zoom:


...bad

This phone does hi-res pictures justice. whether it's with the picsel browser to view huge pictures or the phone's native size background with a really nice picture, it all looks good. The slideshow is cool because it automatically views wider pictures landscape-wise (sideways).


One thing about the speaker is that it gets quite muffled if you put your finger over it and plug the hole. So if you phone is real tight against your leg (which is uncommon), it can dramatically reduce the volume of the ring.
The phone will not disappoint with media..i can promise you that.

Connectivity
The straw that broke my camel's back was that I could not for the life of me sync the a768i with my computer via USB and with ANYTHING via infared (pocket PC, t610). Some guy at this forum says he did get it to sync via both but he won't respond to my PM's on how.
So basically I was forced to get a USB bluetooth transmitter and fortunately that worked just fine. The bluetooth works great on this phone, for all you bluetooth freaks out there. I don't know if this really matters but my average transfer rate to my computer was around 10-15 kb/s.. so big videos are kind of a pain.

Message action



If you like to text while on the run, this phone will take some getting used to. The qwerty keyboard is small so u either have to use ur fingernail or the stylus. I can use my nail fine when im standing still but its so hard when im moving...there's just so little friction on the smooth screen.
The stylus makes writing text messages quick if you wanna use the qwerty keyboard. That's what I prefer. I don't use the handwriting very much because I just dont have much stylus experience with the shorthand stuff so I get the letters wrong a lot but just using my normal handwriting. The handwriting is quick though and I can totally see it being awesome for someone whose experienced...but i'm quicker with the keyboard.
The text message text is great and the little flashing "!" button at the top when you get a message is cool.


Basically messaging in general on this phone is sweet. It almost makes it fun.

Battery Life
The battery life on this phone, considering how much it must use up, is great. I dont have any long-term numbers of hours of use but I can say that using the a768i strictly as a phone with a couple calls and around 15 outgoing text messages day , it will last about 2.5 days.
I have had a few days where I have the bluetooth on practically all day, listening to mp3's, making calls, tons of text messages, watching movies, messing around with the picsel browser and the phone will last probably 24 hours.
It really depends on how long u leave it charging after it SHOWS it being full.

Contacts
I wanted to give this its own section because it's so great. The contacts list is the best I have seen in a phone. You can file people under any number of folders and give each folder a different ringtone if you like. You can text straight fomr the contact's number. If all you have put in is their cell # for example, under it it will have that same number but with a little mail icon and you just hit that and it takes u right to either an SMS or MMS message.
You can jump to the first letter of their name but that's it. Normally that wouldn't be cool but you can see 9 names at a time and jump in sets of 9 using the up-n'-down d-pad at the bottom front...so they made it real nice to get around in there.


And the icing on the cake, here's all the info you can put under EACH contact:

Name:
Picture: (click on icon..not a field)
Category:
Mobile:
Mobile2:
Home:
Home2:
Work:
Work2:
Fax:
Pager:
E-mail:
E-mail2:
IM ID:
IM ID2:
Ringtone:
Company:
Job Title:
Webpage:
Birthday: (calendar tool)
Address1:
Street:
City:
State:
Country:
Zip Code:
Address2:
Street:
City:
State:
Country:
Zip Code:
Note:

That's definite PDA action. I am really happy with that.

Conclusion

What kind of person this phone is for:
Someone who is tired of using regular phones with standard features. People who like a good balance in a phone...nice PDA functions, expandability, perfectly good phone, lots of space, and an ability to view/play many forms of media. I can even see people who are used to just PDA's liking this phone.



It really is a great phone. I am so happy with my purchase.

Pros: Contacts, battery life, messaging, good bluetooth, mp3 quiality of playback, good speakerphone, picsel browser, speed, screen, record phone convos with a push of a button, and size.

Cons: USB/IR Sync issues, Camera, non-expandable memory, hard to find certain options, .3gp video only, text-on-the-run is tricky, vibrate THEN ring = sux, right-clicking is not fun.

So this concludes my first real review. If you have any quetions or comments, please direct them to this thread. Hope this was useful.


Posted by: tiger33

well done

great review


Posted by: atejano

Great review...thanks for the insight - still sweating this one out!
?s:
- what do you mean by "vibrate then ring = sux" What does the phone do/not do?
- how does it feel in your hand...vs. your 8200, overall? Its pretty thin for a flip right? Is all the bulk on the bottom? is it too wide? pocketable? great comparision photos though!
- Have you been able to cfg to take advantage of TMobile data services? are you able to browse html...i've heard html of tmobile requires an advanced data plan and $4.99 tzones doesn't work?

thanks again for the insight and willingness to to the plunge!

- A


Posted by: lmb

Heh, a true geek's phone. It runs Linux.


Posted by: Tempest811

Quote:
Originally posted by atejano
- what do you mean by "vibrate then ring = sux" What does the phone do/not do?
- how does it feel in your hand...vs. your 8200, overall? Its pretty thin for a flip right? Is all the bulk on the bottom? is it too wide? pocketable? great comparision photos though!
- Have you been able to cfg to take advantage of TMobile data services? are you able to browse html...i've heard html of tmobile requires an advanced data plan and $4.99 tzones doesn't work?


1: The phone will either ring, vibrate, vibrate 4 times THEN ring, or absolute silence (no ring or vibration). It does not vibrate and ring at the same time.

2:It feels fine in terms of depth. It is a little wide though..but i wouldnt say TOO wide. It feels kinda awkward at first but you quickly grow used to it - its just not a shape im used to having in my hands personally. It is very pocketable

3: I have not...like I said in the review I tried contacting the guy but he won't get back to me on how he did it.


Posted by: got hacks?

great review. nice t630 BTW


Posted by: Tempest811

Quote:
Originally posted by got hacks?
great review. nice t630 BTW


thanks.

and thats a t610 with aftermarket faceplate and buttons
its no longer needed


Posted by: ciaeyes

Excellent review by the way. I have the 768i as well and am really enjoying it.

One item that really bothers me about this phone though is that when I retrieve my VM messages, I am unable to access the keypad to press 7 to delete this message or 11 to repeat the message etc. Therefore I am stuck with the messages on voicemail until I access it with another phone to delete them. What has your experience been with this Tempest811?

By the way, I've been able to sync my Outlook 2003 via USB cable as well as IR without any difficulty. I did spend a lot of time installing all the applications on the a768i CD to my laptop. Initially I had a lot of USB conflicts but seemed to clear them up by rebooting my laptop. Bluetooth has been awesome as well in my experience with this phone.


Posted by: Tempest811

Quote:
Originally posted by ciaeyes
One item that really bothers me about this phone though is that when I retrieve my VM messages, I am unable to access the keypad to press 7 to delete this message or 11 to repeat the message etc.


After u dial, on the left side of the screen there will be a green/yellow button that appears to the left of their picture/smiley face. it has a gridlike picture on it..almost like braille. press that and it gives u access to the keypad. from the keypad, the phone button (same size) on the right will take u back to your call options.

Yeah I tried like 3 times installing and re-installing the synch software doing something different each time but i failed to get it to work. And regardless, I can't sync to anything via infared so its obviously not a software problem for me.


Posted by: ciaeyes

thanks for the tip. It worked flawlessly for VM functionality. I just bought a 2nd a768i that I'm giving as a christmas gift to my son-in-law and noticed a few differences with it than the first.
a) the manual is in chinese/my first came with English Manual
b) came with a carrying case from Motorola/first had no carrying case
c) different games thant my first
d) box on the second looks older and is a much different design on the cover
e) different versions of the connectivity software than my first

I'm wondering if your software is the older version for usb connectivity/sync. I had read somewhere in one of the reviews that they had a similar experience that you had. I haven't tried this second driver cd, but will try it over christmas with my son in law and let you know if he had any difficulties syncing.

As an FYI the first one I bought from AA Wireless.com and the box has a 45 defree angle picture of the phone on it. the box is silver. The second one came from howardforums.com.com as AA Wireless was out of stock and the box was an aqua blue with a full frontal face view of the phone. The box also looked like it had been in the sun for a while and showed signs of fading in the colors.

Once again thank you for your help.


Posted by: mani_us

Can someone please help me in setting up the Voice mail alert on this phone. someone leaves me a VM , i don't get any alert. if reboot my phone I get bunch of junk text messages.
called cingular , they did something but no luck.

are you guys getting the alert when someone leaves you VM ?
Which service provider you are with ?

Thanks in Advance


Posted by: ciaeyes

I'm still in the same boat as you mani_us. As far as I know, no one has been able to get this to work to date.

I'm using Cingular and for some reason haven't been able to get to get my SMS to work either. I just haven't spent the time to research it out yet as to where to configure it.

I am able to sync my email without ant problem. I do get a flashing icon (exclamation mark) in the center of my tool bar up top when I miss a call, but nothing when I recieve a VM.

Any suggestions as to how to set up SMS?

Thanks.


Posted by: mani_us

hi ciaeyes
I had to do nothing for my SMS, I recieve SMS fine but when I send sms I get msg on my phone tht ur message has been sent, but the other side never gets my message, I don't know whats going on. don't know if it is cingular on my side or its on the other side.
i stopped playing with this phone anymore, wasted enough time.
might sell it and get some SE one.
I was looking at SE K700i.

I think its not a good idea to buy phone which is not made for US market.


Posted by: Tempest811

Quote:
Originally posted by ciaeyes
thanks for the tip. It worked flawlessly for VM functionality. I just bought a 2nd a768i that I'm giving as a christmas gift to my son-in-law and noticed a few differences with it than the first.
a) the manual is in chinese/my first came with English Manual
b) came with a carrying case from Motorola/first had no carrying case
c) different games thant my first
d) box on the second looks older and is a much different design on the cover
e) different versions of the connectivity software than my first

I'm wondering if your software is the older version for usb connectivity/sync. I had read somewhere in one of the reviews that they had a similar experience that you had. I haven't tried this second driver cd, but will try it over christmas with my son in law and let you know if he had any difficulties syncing.

As an FYI the first one I bought from AA Wireless.com and the box has a 45 defree angle picture of the phone on it. the box is silver. The second one came from howardforums.com.com as AA Wireless was out of stock and the box was an aqua blue with a full frontal face view of the phone. The box also looked like it had been in the sun for a while and showed signs of fading in the colors.

Once again thank you for your help.



thanks man yeah i think i got the older, bad version. mine came from howardforums.com in the aqua blue box with the frontal pic. hopefully i can get a hold of the newer version.


Posted by: ciaeyes

PM me if you need help finding the newer drivers


Posted by: lkchong168

Hi Tempest811,

Can I post your review in my website (mobile88.com) .. we are a mobile phone website in Malaysia (between Singapore and Thailand) which serve malaysia readers.

Would be much appreciate if you allow me to do that ...

Thanks
LK


Posted by: Tempest811

Quote:
Originally posted by lkchong168
Hi Tempest811,

Can I post your review in my website (mobile88.com) .. we are a mobile phone website in Malaysia (between Singapore and Thailand) which serve malaysia readers.

Would be much appreciate if you allow me to do that ...

Thanks
LK


yes you may. i would love to see my review get around as much as possible.


Posted by: Tempest811

IMPORTANT UPDATE

I got the PC sync to work!!
so please negate that form the cons and from the comments in the review. It was just my stupidity in doing the process pretty much every way but the exact correct way.

If anyone wants a step-by-step of how i did it with Windows XP, let me know.


Posted by: DoNuts

Great job Tempest! i can probably say for all of us, LET US KNOW! it would be great to have it sync up right with everything else. aside from that, is it USBNet or not? it would make it much easier to send files back and forth. great review btw


Posted by: lkchong168

thanks Tempest811 for your permission


Posted by: mikech

Quote:
Originally posted by Tempest811
IMPORTANT UPDATE

I got the PC sync to work!!
so please negate that form the cons and from the comments in the review. It was just my stupidity in doing the process pretty much every way but the exact correct way.

If anyone wants a step-by-step of how i did it with Windows XP, let me know.


hi tempest
is there anyway to reject an incoming call?
i do not want to answer every incoming call


Posted by: Daddeez

Thanks for the great review Tempest. I was bent on getting the e680 but after reading your review decided to get rid of my SE P800 and go with the a768i ! Now I just have to figure out a story to tell my wife !


Posted by: alvin6320

Hey, great review Tempest. The comparison photos were very useful too. I have a couple of questions for everyone. First, can you use a combination of the outside function keys to access your Address Book without having to use your stylus? (It would be great to be able to quickly access your contacts and place a phone call)

Second, has anyone else experienced the same SMS and VM alert problems with service providers other than Cingular?


Posted by: Tempest811

Quote:
Originally posted by mikech
hi tempest
is there anyway to reject an incoming call?
i do not want to answer every incoming call


u hit the ignore button on the screen. if u have the "flip answer" set to ON, turn it off.

Quote:
Originally posted by Daddeez
Thanks for the great review Tempest. I was bent on getting the e680 but after reading your review decided to get rid of my SE P800 and go with the a768i ! Now I just have to figure out a story to tell my wife !


youre welcome man - great to hear!! i need more a768i fans to talk to!! this phone is so young to this community.
and btw, just tell the wifey that Tempest811 told u its ok. lol

Quote:
Originally posted by alvin6320
First, can you use a combination of the outside function keys to access your Address Book without having to use your stylus? (It would be great to be able to quickly access your contacts and place a phone call)

Second, has anyone else experienced the same SMS and VM alert problems with service providers other than Cingular?


first, the only way u can do it without touching the screen is with the voice commands. side buttons dont work. also, u dont have to use ur stylus. use your finger. it averages to the center of your touch so as long as your finger covers an object no matter how small evenly, it will select it. i really have no trouble even with my thumb!

as for your second question, i don't know understand what you mean! sorry.


Posted by: mikech

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Tempest811
[B]u hit the ignore button on the screen. if u have the "flip answer" set to ON, turn it off.



thanks man... cheers


Posted by: DoNuts

i agree with tempest with using your finger also. you will get the smudges but who cares unless you are picky about that stuff. ive been actually practicing using both thumbs to type in text messages faster in the english board mode! its hard and takes time getting use to but if you are use to qwerty phones, you shouldnt have too much of a problem aside from the space being on the right instead of the middle. otherwise, i think its a great phone! people think im "pimp" lol


Posted by: alvin6320

Thanks for the replies!

Sorry, for the second question I was referring to the comments made by mani_us and ciaeyes on the first page:

Quote:
Originally posted by mani_us
someone leaves me a VM , i don't get any alert. if reboot my phone I get bunch of junk text messages.
called cingular , they did something but no luck.


Quote:
Originally posted by ciaeyes
I do get a flashing icon (exclamation mark) in the center of my tool bar up top when I miss a call, but nothing when I recieve a VM.



In addition, both of them mention having SMS problems:

Quote:
Originally posted by ciaeyes
I'm using Cingular and for some reason haven't been able to get to get my SMS to work either.


Quote:
Originally posted by mani_us
I recieve SMS fine but when I send sms I get msg on my phone tht ur message has been sent, but the other side never gets my message, I don't know whats going on. don't know if it is cingular on my side or its on the other side.



Both mani_us and ciaeyes are with Cingular. I was wondering if anyone else has experienced the same problems with this phone on another service provider. The problems seem to be specific to Cingular, but I wanted to double-check before I purchased this phone. Both VM and SMS are important features of a phone to me.

Thanks in advance,
Alvin


Posted by: Tempest811

Alvin, I don't think DoNuts is having a problem and he has Cingular. It seems to be specific to those two guys because I have no problem with SMS and VM. they work fine.

DoNuts, i agree man. I'm actually faster at typing with my index finger now than i ever was with t9. In fact, I can type one-handed quite well now too.

A LITTLE TRICK WITH THE QWERTY BOARD:
If you are texting one-handed or are just straight up bad at hitting the keys, you can HOLD you finger on the board and it will light up which letter you are on but it won't type the letter you are on until you release. This means you can just drag your nail/finger on the board until you get it over the letter and just let go. Much easier that way...especially when ur on the run!


Posted by: alvin6320

Sounds good, thanks for the tip too!

-Alvin


Posted by: ciaeyes

I figured out my SMS, it was me and not the phone. The voicemail still does not give me a notification though in the form of an icon or otherwise. I do get the flashing icon with the exclamation point when I miss a call, but no notification for the VM. If I have a VM that I haven't listened to, and I reboot my phone, I do get the "@_text" message to notifiy that there is something there. I suppose this would involve a seem edit for which I am not quite equipped to do yet (confidence/Knowledge is out of balance). Does your VM notification work Tempest811 and what kind of notification do you get? Just curious.


Posted by: mikech

i hope more apps will be done for linux phones... otherwise it will become stillborn

come on u software developers... make it attractive for linux users

btw does anyone know where i can download a bible for this phone?

ps i post the above in another thread of this forum just to attract more response


Posted by: Tempest811

Quote:
Originally posted by ciaeyes
Does your VM notification work Tempest811 and what kind of notification do you get? Just curious.


yeah it does work. it just says new message : 123 (123 is the voicemail # for T-mobile.) it comes up just like any other text message...it flashes in the window and when i read it, it tells me how many new voicemails i have.

Quote:
Originally posted by mikech
i hope more apps will be done for linux phones... otherwise it will become stillborn

come on u software developers... make it attractive for linux users

btw does anyone know where i can download a bible for this phone?

ps i post the above in another thread of this forum just to attract more response


regardless of whether its a phone stuffed full of linux apps or not, its still a great phone.
if you consider a pdf of the user manual a "bible", then here u go: http://malaysia.motorola.com/pcs/A7...NM_rev0810b.pdf


Posted by: mikech

regardless of whether its a phone stuffed full of linux apps or not, its still a great phone.
if you consider a pdf of the user manual a "bible", then here u go: http://malaysia.motorola.com/pcs/A7...NM_rev0810b.pdf [/B][/QUOTE]

yes agree with you that it is a great phone as it is

user manual a bible... yes i suppose it is

but i am interested in installing the christian scriptures into the phone... can anyone help?


Posted by: DoNuts

Quote:
[i] I do get the flashing icon with the exclamation point when I miss a call, but no notification for the VM. If I have a VM that I haven't listened to, and I reboot my phone, I do get the "@_text" message to notifiy that there is something there. [/B]


same thing happens to me when i get VM on my phone... dont know how to fix it but i might just change my greeting to include "my vm sucks on this phone so either dont bother leaving one or call me again."


Posted by: mani_us

can someone please give me the newer version of CD.
I am still not getting any Voicemail Alert.
It looks like this phone will not work with Cingular


Posted by: thetruthga

I had the same VM issue and Im with T-Mobile but I sent that phone back last week and should get my new one today, ill tell yall how that one goes.


Posted by: mani_us

I have A768i for sale in brand new condition, bought brand new, used for few weeks.
I have everything which came with this phone in brand new condition.
Let me know if anyone interested.
$370 + Shipping (approx $20)
I am verified Paypal member.


Posted by: DoNuts

there seems to be a limitation when putting in an animated gif for the a768i phone... can anyone else confirm this ? seems to be limited to a size less than 500k


Posted by: SurfsUP

I just got this phone but can't get it to sync with the usb cable. Would you please give a step by step instruction on getting it to work?

Thank you.


Posted by: DoNuts

i believe you have to have the phone hooked up to usb cable, to the computer, ezxsync running at the same time on both phone and computer to be able to sync it up. i dont exactly remember since i never needed to sync it up but thats how i remember i did it when i first tried.... what i want to know is how do i get usbnet working


Posted by: Tempest811

Quote:
Originally posted by DoNuts
there seems to be a limitation when putting in an animated gif for the a768i phone... can anyone else confirm this ? seems to be limited to a size less than 500k


i have a 90kb animated gif and it works fine. but it plays way too quickly. like its on fast worward. when viewed with the picsel browser, it runs at the proper speed.


Posted by: DoNuts

the smaller the faster but i have animated gifs just below the 500k mark and it runs horribly slow unless you view it through the file manager. oh well... it would have been nice if it can play the bigger animated gifs i have at normal speed elsewhere


Posted by: Tempest811

no matter what size, if u open them with the picsel browser, it will play them fine.


Posted by: DoNuts

oh yeah sorry let me refrain my question... i meant to say the limitation applied for setting the animated gif to be the power up and power down screens of the phone. i have a 1.25mb animated gif working just fine through file manager (it runs horribly slow through picsel)


Posted by: mobile_c

I just got the A768i and I was checking it out. There were a few things I noticed that was missing or I needed to install. On another note I was unable to get the Wap Browser to surf

First my A768i does not have the media player preloaded. Do i need to load it?
Has anyone seen this?

Second I got my SMS and EMAIL (imap) to work sending and receiving. Again I can not get the browser to work. I have T-mobile service and "copied" most of the wap configuration. Could I be missing something. Has anyone had luck surfing using the wap browser?


Thanks in advance!
BTW Great Review Tempest


Posted by: DoNuts

Quote:
Originally posted by mobile_c
First my A768i does not have the media player preloaded. Do i need to load it?
Has anyone seen this?


whoa no media player ? that is very odd since it should come with it by default. i doubt it would be on the cd that came with your phone. if i knew how to extract it from my phone i would send it to you but i dont.

as for the settings though, im not sure. i heard that others with t-mobile and a similar phone, namely the e680, havent gotten it working quite as perfectly as with cingular, but then im not too sure.... i read it a while back and my memory isnt great


Posted by: mobile_c

Donuts,

Thanks for the reply. I finally got it working by copying some of the settings from my t68i. I also got the media player. It was weird. I started the picsle (sp?) browser and when I closed that application I saw the media player. Maybe it was there I just didn't notice it. Thanks for the input. So far the A768i has been functioning great! Sound quality and usability are great! Still figuring stuff out. I guess I have to do a little more of the RTFM
I will post back if I find anything nifty.

Thanks!


Posted by: jgve

Hi guys! I just got my A768i last week and I love it! It's so much faster than the Nokia 6600 that's why I decided to replace it. I do have some problems with it. I have the $2.99 t-zones and I got Gmail set up on my old phone but can't seem to set it up on the A768i. Another problem is downloading ringtones. I go to www.polyphonicringtonez.com to get free midi tones and it worked fine with my old phone. But when I tried it with the A768i, whenever I save it I get a filename xxxx.php and it won't play the file because its an unrecognizable file. Has anyone experienced this?


Posted by: mobile_c

I used my t68i to figure out the settings. My settings were pushed onto my t68i over OTA. My A768i is working properly with the settings from my t68i. I too have that 2.99 product.

Go to your network icon and tap it.

Create a new network profile.
Name it something. Let's call it T_mo
Here is where your APN setting goes.
APN = wap.voicestream.com
rest of it leave it blank or defaulted.
Hit done. Now you got your network profile.

Next is your browser profile.
Tap on the browser icon.
Tap on the menu and select browser profile setting.
Here you creat a new profile in the list.
Call it what you want. I called mine t-zon.
Next type in the ip address
ip = 216.155.165.50
everything else leave default except for the
homepage and network link.
My setting for homepage on my old phone was t-zones.
Next is the network link. This should point to T_mo.
This is all in the browser profile.
Finally click done.

Don't forget to make your new profiles the that are located in the network and the browser profile list the default profiles to be used when you go on the browser.

I hope this helps you a bit.
Enjoy your wap surfing!


Posted by: reddevi1

http://www.howardforums.com/showthr...012#post4400012


Posted by: jgve

Thanks for the step by step procedure but my wap setting is working fine. It's just the email portion that's not working and the downloading of midi tones when surfing. I tried setting up Gmail and used several settings I found in this forum but nothing worked. I tried port 25/110 and 465/995 (can't remember exact number) but neither worked. I always get password error. Someone adviced me to turn on SSL on receiving mail but there's no option for SSL. I was hoping someone here with an A768i with the $2.99 t-zones has their email setting working fine and can guide me to set up my phone.


Posted by: mobile_c

I haven't tried messing around with a pop3 setup on the phone. I use my personal mail server and in-fact use imap.

Have you messed around with the authentication setting. I have set mine off but again I am using an imap and not pop3.

I guess it's try try again. Sorry I couldn't help. I am going to see if it can get it to work if I have some free time. If you get it to work post up your steps.

Good luck!


Posted by: jgve

My outgoing mail works but I can not receive any email from Gmail. For outgoing mail I use:

server: myemail.t-mobile.com
port: 25
email: myemail@gmail.com
nickname: mygmail user ID
authentication: off

The settings I use for incoming mail (which doesn't work):

server: myemail.t-mobile.com
port: 110
username: mygmail ID
password: xxxx

So sending mail works fine but receiving mail...I always get password error. With the other port (465/995), the operation always times out.


Posted by: jgve

I got it working now! Here are the settings I used in the email section:

Send setup:
server: myemail.t-mobile.com
port: 25
email: myemail@gmail.com
nickname: 10digitmobileno:1 (1,2,3 depending how many mailbox you got setup in your t-zones)
authentication: off

Receive setup:
server: myemail.t-mobile.com
port: 110
user name: 10digitmobileno:1 (same as what you have above)
password: xxxx
reenter pw: xxxx

Hope someone else will find this useful!


Posted by: mobile_c

Why is you server name t-mobile?
Especially if you are getting it from GMAIL?
Is it because you are forwarding to your t-mobile email account?

Thanks!


Posted by: jgve

Yes, I'm forwarding it to t-mobile. I've never tried getting the mail directly from Gmail's server. I don't think it would work with the $2.99 t-zones.


Posted by: thetruthga

Much thanks to jgve and Mobile_C! But b/c of you two I signed up for the 5.99 T-zones..


Posted by: lvidalez

Man, I've been going crazy looking for compatibility info on the A768I w/ T-Mobile here in the states. Relieved to say the least as someone gave me a scare after I bought the phone online on a knee jerk reaction.


Posted by: Levent

Hi Tempest, nice phone you got there. If you want to play with seem files or check your phone's software use the links on my sig.(i dunno what firmware you have for your phone but motorola firmwares can be upgraded you know)


Posted by: miyake

Anyone know how to chat on this phone? How do you get AIM, MSN, ICQ or Yahoo apps? What kind of service would I need. I'm on T-Mobile in the Los Angeles. Thanks


Posted by: Chaoss

Cany someone please tell me the settings to convert a video so that I can view it on an a768i?

I already have the software, I just need the settings, I read through all these pages but couldn't find anything..

Thank in advance


Posted by: tybo

Thanks for the good review. I love my phone. This forum has been really helpful to me so I thought I would help out with a few questions that were asked.

POP3 does not work with Gmail because they use SSL (secure) which is not supported by this phone. I forward my gmail to bluebottle.com which has free email, POP3 and SMTP.

USBNEt must be enabled on the phone by going to setup. Ezsynch (which is not very easy) must also be running when on your PC when the cable is plugged in.

I hope this helps.

Also, My VM notifications also are not working. I am with Cingular. T-mobile used to send a text message from "123" but they recently changed and no longer to that.


Posted by: steph280

I noticed a couple of you guys are using this phone on cingular. I thought Cingular is on 850mhz? Is there a 850 version, or is this phone quadband?

Thanks.


Posted by: MD2000

I would also like to know if you can use this with cingular..looks like a great phone..hows the bluetooth?

Also..does it support MP3 ringtones?


Posted by: ciaeyes

Yes, the phone does work with Cingular. I've used it successfully in numerous cities, Houston, Seattle, Salt Lake, Detroit etc. It also allows you to use MP3's as ringtones. If you hold your stylus on the MP3 you can select it as a ringtone.

Had no problem pairing the phone with an HS 820 and an HS 850 Bluetooth headset. Worked flawlessly with no lag time.


Posted by: replicant

Do you guys/gals recommend any websites for software for this linux based phone?


Posted by: MD2000

Thanks for the info ciaeyes, is AIM pre-installed and if not is it readily available for Linux based phones?


Posted by: ciaeyes

Aim was not preinstalled, however, I think there are a number of add on programs available. I don't use AIM so never pursued it, if I run across something I'll let you know.


Posted by: nutting

I wanted to know if anyone with tmobile has gotten the picsel browser to browse web sites and how do I go about config. the network properly. t mobile techs cannot give me any help
Please email me back at
leighnutting07801@yahoo.com


Posted by: MD2000

Quote:
Originally posted by ciaeyes
Aim was not preinstalled, however, I think there are a number of add on programs available. I don't use AIM so never pursued it, if I run across something I'll let you know.

Thanks! Definitly let me know.


Posted by: mixersoft

I just picked up the a768i, and after reading the manual and following the instructions carefully, I have almost everything working.

EXCEPT cannot copy files from XP directly to/from the phone. It sounds like I want to install USBNET on my desktop but the drivers for XP were not included on my CD. (HK version) Someone said that there is a 2nd version of the installation CD marked Windows XP/2000 that has the proper drivers. Does any have a copy of this CD and can they send me a .zip file?

Thanks.

m.


Posted by: LAMR

how do i set up mms on this phone? i really need to get the mms working
thank you


Posted by: LAMR

how do i set up mms on this phone? i really need to get the mms working
thank you


Posted by: mathewebby

Hi Tempest,

Great job with the review.

Appreciate if you cud send me the step by step for the USB under XP

Wud also like to know whether I cn connect to my linux box for file transfer etc. Am running RH8

Thanks in advance


Posted by: Amith

Hi
I just came across the comprehensive review on the A768i. Its just great in my opinion. Does any one have any idea about the expandable memory the A768i supports?Does it support at all?The memory seems a little low.Anyway to increase the memory?


Posted by: Derek 4

Picsel Broswer Not operational
Does anyone know how to fix my picsel browser settings....i have t-mobile and i called t-mobile they don't don't know chack squat and i called motorola and they told me to go to T-mobile who doesn't know anything....everytime i go on the picsel to try to view a web page it keeps saying document unable to read or document to faulty why it does it say that and what must i do...do anyone know. do i need to insert a proxy setting in my internet preference in the picsel settings heeeeeeeelp.
My email addy is THEARSENAL2005@AOL.COM


Posted by: indiainvestor

Quote:
Originally Posted by Tempest811
IMPORTANT UPDATE

I got the PC sync to work!!
so please negate that form the cons and from the comments in the review. It was just my stupidity in doing the process pretty much every way but the exact correct way.

If anyone wants a step-by-step of how i did it with Windows XP, let me know.


Pls send it to my e-mail directly indiainvestor@hotmail.com


Posted by: indiainvestor

Quote:
Originally Posted by indiainvestor
Pls send it to my e-mail directly indiainvestor@hotmail.com


Also, let me know:

1) data driver/installation .exe file that need to be installed on the comp. Please send zip file/exe file.

2) What model data cable is required? It will be helpful if you can give details of data cable required to connect.

Please e-mail me: indiainvestor@hotmail.com




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