Motorola A1000
Review
Phone
rating: 
The Motorola A1000 is the long-awaited update of
the Motorola A925. Announced by
Motorola in February 2004 and released in the UK in October 2005,
the A1000 is a 3G smartphone, designed for business users needing
to access email, websites, documents and contacts on the move.
The first thing that you notice about the A1000
is how much smaller it is than the A925. It's 25% shorter, 20% thinner,
and slightly narrower. Far more convenient for keeping in a suit
pocket. The weight has also been slashed dramatically - by over
50g! Apart from the size, there are other cosmetic and minor changes
to the external design of the phone.
The screen is the same spec as used on the A925.
It's
a TFT display with 65k colours, and is large at 4cm x 6cm, with
a high resolution of 208 x 320 pixels - the same as the Sony
Ericsson P900. The
A1000 has a touch screen and supports handwriting recognition -
a feature that it shares with the Sony Ericsson P900. The screen
is used for most data input, either by handwriting recognition or
using the "virtual keyboard" on screen with the help of
a stylus. This system works well, and makes text input and menu
navigation simple and quick.
With a Symbian 7 operating system, the range of
software available for the A1000 is extensive. The phone will sync
with Outlook and Lotus Notes, and can be connected to a PC wirelessly
by
Bluetooth™ or using a USB cable. The
A1000 comes with a pre-installed Microsoft document viewer that
supports Word, Excel and PowerPoint, as well as PDF documents.
As
a 3G phone, the A1000 supports all of 3's video mobile services:
video calling, video messaging & downloading video clips. It supports
assisted GPS (Global Positioning Services) for enhanced location-based
services. It also benefits from high-speed data transfer whilst
on the 3G network. The screen format supports widescreen video.
Instead
of a single rotating VGA camera, the A1000 has two integrated cameras.
A VGA camera points inwards and is used for video calling. An additional
1.2 megapixel camera points outwards, and can be used for taking
still shots. The external-facing camera has a 4x digital zoom. This
is an excellent camera, although it performs poorly in low light.
Messaging
is well-supported, as you would expect, with SMS, EMS, MMS and e-mail
fully supported, including support for VPN (Virtual Private Network).
The phonebook is large and can handle many different fields, including
email, fax, home, work and mobile numbers. You can assign different
ringtones to each contact if you like.
The
phone supports multi-tasking, so you can make calls whilst using
other features of the phone.
Another
new feature is the stereo speakers, making the A1000 a high quality
MP3 player in addition to all of its other capabilities.
The
internal memory of the A1000 has been increased to 24 Mbytes, and
this can be expanded by a removable TransFlash™
card (up to 256 Mbytes). This amount of storage should be ample
for all kinds of data storage. Another big
improvement compared with the A925 is the extended battery life
of the A1000. Whilst still poor compared with an average mobile
phone, the A1000 definitely has improved battery performance, and
may only need charging every 2 days!
One point to note however, is that the phone has
a tendency to freeze or even crash, especially when low on memory.
We would strongly recommend a memory upgrade if this starts to happen.
The phone is also not one of the most durable - the screen and joystick
are the components most likely to break, so treat your A1000 with
care!
Features
of the Motorola A1000 include:
- Operating System: Symbian 7.0
- Widescreen TFT display (208 x 320 pixels, 65k
colours)
- Touch screen with stylus & handwriting recognition
- Integrated 1.2 megapixel digital camera with
4X digital zoom, plus VGA camera (640 x 480 pixels) for video
calling
- Video calling, video messaging & video player
(MPEG4)
- Integrated MP3 player with dual speakers for
superb sound quality
- Messaging: SMS, EMS 5.0, MMS,
E-mail (IMAP4, POP3)
- Picsel™ Document Viewer (supporting Microsoft
Word®, Microsoft Excel®, Microsoft PowerPoint®, Adobe®
PDF, Unzip)
- Downloadable Java applications (J2ME™,
MIDP 2.0 + APIs)
- Full HTML Opera Browser with Small Screen Rendering
- Ringtones: MP3 & MIDI polyphonic
- Voice Activated Dialling
- In-built Hands-free Speaker Phone
- PIM Application (Calendar, Contacts, Notes)
- Synchronization: SyncML (OTA), Desktop PC Sync
- Bluetooth™ wireless connectivity, USB cable
connectivity
- Assisted GPS for accurate location based services
- WAP 2.0, GPRS class 10
- Memory: 24 Mbytes user memory plus removable
TransFlash™ card (up to 256 Mbytes)
- Triband plus 3G (WCDMA 2100, GSM 900/1800/1900)
- Size: 116 x 58 x 20mm
- Weight: 160g
- Talktime: up to 3.75 hours
- Video calling: 1 hour
- Battery standby: up to 8 days
Motorola A1000
Consumer Reviews
Love
your mobile? Hate it? Please share your experiences to help other
people choose the phone that's best for them. Please do not review
this phone if you have not used it. This is a review site, not a
forum, so please don't just ask questions. Please do not use swear
words or offensive language, and please, no advertising!
Average
rating from 100 reviews: 
Reviewed by Ian from UK on 29th
Oct 2005
This is the first PDA type phone that I have ever owned, and I have
to say that I do not think I will ever go back to the standard type..
The phone is comfortable to use, is a good weight, and size, easily
fitting into either a shirt pocket, or jeans pocket. The screen
is clear and the quality of the text to read is more than acceptable.
The quality of the sound is also very good,, and the applications
that come with the phone make managing your day to day life, much
easier. In short, I would strongly recommend this phone to anybody
who finds the tools on a standard phone, restrictive, and anybody
who likes to have a bit of fun playing with their phone.. LONG LIVE
THE MOTOROLA A100…..
Rating: 
Reviewed by Andrew Price from Wales
on 29th Oct 2005
Over the years I have used alot of mobile phones. The A1000 is a
great phone and has helped me out alot, as I don't need to carry
a pda with when I'm away from home. The software available for it
is vast, games, books, video players and reminder programs. I have
updated the transflash card recently up to 512mb, and now I can
and have got a feature film on it. The reception is great as all
my other phones have had to be used near a window but this works
fine no matter where I am in the house and when I'm out. Clearly
a well thought out upgrade to the A925,and smaller is better in
my view. Andrew Price.
Rating:
Reviewed by J Spade from UK on
12th Oct 2005
I have had the A1000 for about a month and I am satisfied with it.
Its size and weight is just right and the introduction of the picsel
viewer is a great help, the dual speakers give clear sound when
listening to music and the three services aren't too bad, you can
send e mail. However the A1000 fails in its camera quality it is
supposed to be 1.3 MP but other phones with the same standard such
as the Samsung D500 are twice as better, the quality of the MP4
player it is said to have is terrible and I we were led to belive
that you could edit word docs but you can only veiw them. Overall
it is an excellent phone which sets the bar with most of the top
of the line PDAs on the market. I am interested to see what the
improvements are on the A1010.
Rating:
Reviewed by Mr JY CHAN from ENGLAND
on 11th Oct 2005
I have had this stunning phone for about half a year. The apps and
the features are great, I only give it 4* as it my handset froze
up on me,(maybe the handset or the symbian OS?) this has only happened
twice and to solve the problem was just to reboot it! Other than
that this phone is brilliantscreen.I would recomend it to anyone!
Joe
Rating:
Reviewed by lyndsey from uk on
9th Oct 2005
i think this phone is brilliant, mp3 is outstanding, the way you
can draw/write notes in different colours etc, add any music/picture/video/microsoft
word files from your pc using the software and the usb lead. With
the photos you can edit them by adding funny drawings and frames
you then can transfer the pics onto the memory card and get them
developed. Games are amazing aswell if you get the right ones the
graphics are as good as gba on some games (lock n load, rally).
if on 3, mtv and comedy vids are really good aswell. the only doubt
of it is the size its bigger then all new nokia and motorola models
but its a phone for me so size dont matter.i myself havent had any
tech fault whatsoever,
Rating:
Reviewed by Harry from England on
8th Oct 2005
Fantastic phone with everything you can ask for.
Rating:
Reviewed by peter from england on
5th Oct 2005
its the best phone ive ever had
Rating:
Reviewed by Paul from England on
22nd Sep 2005
A year ago i started a contract with 3 with a Motorola A925, this
i found to be an interesting phone capable of lots interesting features,
it also had a lot of quirks, the battery life was short, but i still
managed to keep it working for 12 months. Just recently i have upgraded
to the A1000, very pleased so far, it has only locked up once so
far. My other half also has an A1000, in the early days she had
many problems of loosing signal,dropping calls and locking up.This
phone has since been reflashed which has stopped the phone dropping
calls, and she was given an updated CD, we removed the old software
installed the new. Now all the problems have disapeared, appart
from the odd lockup when you ask the phone to do alot. My phone
i noticed is the modified version and software, so as yet i have
had no problems. It really is a fantastic piece of kit, "if you
know how to use it" I would never swap back to a button mobile again.
Can't wait for Moto and 3 to get the A1010 on the U K market.
Rating:
Reviewed by Karl from UK on 20th
Sep 2005
Had the phone for 3 months, had problems from day one, with the
3 network. then the centre button snaped off. Which is not repairable.
now the phone no longer charges. Plus the software which was supplied
with the phone does not contect with the phone, And was told to
download a patch for 3. Still doesent work. I will never get a motarola
again, Stay clear anyone, get a phone and a PDA, not both in one!!!
Rating: 
Reviewed by Jakob from Denmark on
19th Sep 2005
To actually enjoy all the features you might need to be a bit of
a geek, but if you are.. Damn, you're going to love this phone.
Programs for the phone are usually written in java, c++ or *cough*
visual basic(if u use AppForge). You can run scummvm on the phone(meaning
u can play monkey island 2, kings quest and etc...) And other emulators
for c64, gboy, MAME etc... With 128 mb or more of extra ram you
can watch a full lenght movie(using smartmovie). Pictures are good...
If theres light and if you remember to set the qual to the max!
(Camera -> Camera settings -> Picture size = Extra Large). Bat.
life suck compared to my good old nokia 3310, but what did you expect?
And GPS works fine with nhgps. Considering getting route 66, as
some say it works for a1000. So... playing Monkey Island 2 on the
bus makes it all worth it.
Rating:
Reviewed by G from Scotland on
18th Sep 2005
This is a cracking phone. I know there are some that think it's
a rubbish phone or had problems. I've not had any problems at all.
I've had the phone for 6 months now and i can't fault it. It's not
just a phone, it's a PDA and does e-mail you can get loads of software
for it and it's great as am MP3 player or for watching movies. Basically
if you want a phone get something else. If you like gagets, get
the Motorola A1000
Rating:
Reviewed by Soondra from England on
17th Sep 2005
The Motorola A1000 phone is fantastic in so many ways. The camera
is pretty good (especially outside), the MP3 player is great, the
PDA functions are great, it looks good and it plays great games.
BUT it is very unreliable. In particular, the screen is very fragile
and I've had one break within weeks. In addition (and as I now realise
from other reviews, is common) the phone crashes when the internal
memory is full (and you can't repair it yourself). All of this is
made worse by 3's abbysmal customer service. Dreadful, unhelful,
slow, call-centre from hell customer service. Don't get an A1000
on 3 UK. In fact don't get any phone on 3 UK.
Rating:
Reviewed by Dreni from Kosova on
15th Sep 2005
I see different reviews here... Some people totally satisfied, and
some totally dissapointed. I have the phone for about 3 weeks now.
I haven't unlocked it yet but I've been satisfied with the features.
I guess the phone is great for those who know and enjoy using it
unless the problems start appearing. I hope I will be making another
nice review for this phone after some time.
Rating:
Reviewed by Andrew Rice from UK on
15th Sep 2005
Screen broke three times in first month, then they replaced the
phone. Screen broke again 7 months later and they say it is out
of warranty. Major design flaw as the phone is useless without the
screen as it's also the keyboard.
Rating:
Reviewed by peter from uk on
3rd Sep 2005
I have been using the phone since August 2005 and my first impressions
i thought its very nice, looks snazzy.I recently installed Route
66 to use it when im on the road, and bought an external BT GPS
receiver. After trial and error, finally managed to get it working
.Only thing is the GPS kept losing connectivity with phone and when
you needed it most ,it doesnt work that was madness. Anyway, i found
it gave peculiar sound as if the battery was frying, when i was
talking to soemone and it turned off. Will wait and see if the new
A1010 is lot stylistic and easier with a better joystick than A1000
Rating:
Reviewed by Gordon from UK on
2nd Sep 2005
I bought this thinking it'd be like my old Sony-Ericsson P800. It's
not a patch on it. It's already broken and has never performed very
well as a phone. To be brutally honest, once the "oh, wow" factor
has worn off it's just an example of a badly made product further
screwed up by three mucking about with it's software. Three have
further annoyed me by taking 10 days to deliver it then refusing
to replace it as I have to report any problems within 7 days of
ordering it. The Three network is fine, I think. Their customer
service stinks. Buy any phone from a highstreet shop, at least then
you can walk in a hand them the phone for repair and get a loan
phone.
Rating:
Reviewed by Marcel Walles from UK on
29th Aug 2005
Hello, I got the A1000 now about 6 months. It was for free with
3 but its not reliable, my call are not dropping may because Im
in London, but the software is sooooo slooowww. And now the phones
is carshed because I flled up the memory. The Joystick is useless
, the camera at night or poor light is absolutly useless the pics
are very bad. The battery is quickly down. If you want a PDA take
not the A1000, if you want a good phone take not the A1000.
Rating: 
Reviewed by Hywel from Wales on
25th Aug 2005
Superb phone, exellent features, e-mail set up and diary set up
is easy. BUT I wish i could change it to another network, "Three"
are usless, ESPECIALLY IN WALES! calls dropped, no signal, etc etc
(PEOPLE IN WALES - DONT BELEIVE THEIR WEB SITE!) Get another phone
for emergencies!
Rating:
Reviewed by andrew from Philippines
on 22nd Aug 2005
this phone is outstanding.great phone ever.and it has large and
touch screen.buy this fone and u will enjoy the features. :)
Rating:
Reviewed by Philip from Singapore on
16th Aug 2005
I've had this phone since Feb 05 and it was OK for the first couple
of months. Then the problems started. First the phone started switching
off by itself. I brought it back to Motorola and they updated the
software. Then the calls started to drop. I travel often is its
really frustrating when the calls drop in the middle of a conversation.
It happen to me in Shanghai, Shenzhen, Hong Kong, Philippines, Malaysia
and Singapore. Time, I guess, for another visit to Motorola.
Rating:
Reviewed by Northerner from UK on
15th Aug 2005
If you want a phone don't buy it, if you want to impress your mates
with all it's features OK go ahead. Totally unreliable, drops calls
all the time, turns itself off and on at will. Battery life useless,
I get about 2 days on standby, camera worse than useless in low
light. Currently my phone is back for repair for the second time
in a couple of months.Restiction of the 3 network makes surfing
pointless. Yes this phone is packed with features but not one of
them is any good except maybe the MP3 player but, hey, with Ipods
about who cares..
Rating:
Reviewed by Charlie Blam from Denmark
on 13th Aug 2005
Hi My Name is Charlie Blam and I Have Story for you recently I Bought
Motorola A1000 Cellular telephone In Denmark and when I was working
on installing it I Discover virus in the CD try to infect my computer
and my Cellular telephone thanks to my very well upgraded antivirus
I stop the prose’s .any way I vent to the store and told them
to contact Motorola and Tell them to send me a CD without the virus
After A week I got a voice mail message from A girl name JANET that
we have hade this problem before with another Product Please Call
me back or Email me (info.dk@ Motorola.com) any Way all this Bring
up questions (Motorola A1000 With the virus CD) 1-Why big company
like Motorola wants to put virus in your computer and your Cellular
telephone I mean if you don’t have (very well upgraded antivirus)
You are target of many hours off Misery infected computer and Cellular
telephone with virus. 2- What is they profit are they working with
antivirus company so after they going To try to sell you an antivirus
Program 3- Are they gating a kick out off infecting your computer
and your Cellular telephone and put you thru many hours off Misery
then they most be bunch off Psycho Running The company. 4-So Motorola
Product = many hours off Misery = computer Terrorist Psychos Regards
Charlie Blam wan37093@hotmail.com
Rating:
Reviewed by Ewan from UK on 9th
Aug 2005
Fantastic phone. After almost a year I still think that it is the
best phone that I have used. Sadly I am on the 3 network so alot
of its features are useless. If only we could get this one on another
network...
Rating:
Reviewed by Giles Cotterill from England
on 6th Aug 2005
I received this phone as an upgrade to my old A835. It was long
awaited and I loved the look of it on screen when browing for my
new phone. It was great when I picked it out of the boxed and found
out it was smaller that I had thought! My friends have big smart
phones this was half the size of theres oh and lighter. The Symbian
system put me off at first as I was expecting PocketPC but after
remembering my old Psion Series5mx I got use to it again, although
it has changed just a little since then. The phone is light slim
and looks very good. The battery life appears to be very good at
the moment the camera is good with 1.2megapixels but not great with
low light (seems to be the same with all Motorolas). Overall I'm
really happy with the phone, it has bluetooth so I can connect to
my laptop or Desktop PC and usb connection if I want a faster transfer.
I've always had Motorola phone and they've always had problems after
about a year so lets hope this one works for longer, I love it!
Rating:
Reviewed by Ibrahim from (Nigeria) now
in UK on 23rd Jul 2005
Well this phone is really amazing...if you understand how it works.
As it combines alot of things, all in one, it is so sophisticated
that one needs to study it to go well with it. The best thing to
do to avoid sudden crash is to expand its memory with atleast 128mb
memory card. You can install as many softwares as you wish. For
me I have dictionaries, ebooks (about 80),and others that are not
in eform. The picture quality is some how average particulary in
dark. It looks great, and works great so far.
Rating:
Reviewed by howard b from england on
7th Jul 2005
I have had this phone a week and I am delighted with it. Its true,
it is not just a simple phone - I don't think it ever tried to be.
The sound quality is way superior to the LG U8110 I had previously,
the battery life is excellent. I have sync'ed with Lotus Notes.
The menus are SO intuitive, you just play about with it and most
of the time your instinct is right - being an Engineer, that's what
I often judge electronic goods by. The screen is very clear, the
sound is more realistic and it is noticeably quicker (and more informative)
when downloading 3 web pages than the U8110. It doesnt 'cling on'
to a 3G signal when it is virtually unuseable like the 8110 did.
The free Bluetooth headset is still to arrive, so I cannot rate
that, but overall its the best phone / PDA I have ever owned well
done Moto!
Rating:
Reviewed by Phill from Australia on
1st Jul 2005
Multimedia device with bright screen? Hello Moto Hello (that's the
devices way of saying yes) Fast processor and ability to run a wide
range of applications? Totally. Is it good for the internet? Pretty
good. Is it a phone? Sort of. In a "stand still and use my stylus"
kind of way. This phone is totally impossible to use on the road,
if your walking down the street or if your doing anything where
you arn't sitting still. And the messaging is horrible. You have
to type on a tiny bitty qwerty keyboard - I have no idea why they
didn't add a keypad and predictive text capability. I have already
called multiple people by mistake, accidently sent a personal message
to 3 people instead of 1 - very easy to do considering if you slip
with your stylus it selects multiple people at once. Does it have
big, bold advertising screens linking you to sites where you can
download latest ringtones, games and the latest news? Sure does.
On it's home screen? You bet. Can you hit these accidently? All
the time. Can you turn these intrusive messages off? Not without
running a crack - and they are disabled at best. Unacceptable in
my book. The AGPS takes about 10 minutes to get a lock, the camera
is hopeless indoors (but great outside), the calender is nowhere
near as good as my iPaq, the audio quality shrill (via the headphones)
and the phone drops out all the time is multiple places. Looks like
we still need two devices afterall.... atleast on the 3 front.
Rating:
Reviewed by tony from uk from UK on
29th Jun 2005
Actually- 0 STARS!!! hATE MOTO, HATE 3, HATE EVERYTHING NOW whats
reminding my phone. - 3 times been replaced cos they couldnt repair
(strain on dry memory) - this time it burned cos it was on a belt
with my Radio!!! im PC, I have to use Radio... never ever heard
that this could happen to a phone. - They had a good idea there,
but... too quick, too cheap... - Software for pc looks dull and
doesnt work properly, they had better one on the A835 about 2 Years
ago! Gosh, im tired and sick of it , Gizmo from Hell -----------------------------
if ur lucky one and having a good one- well its better than most
of new phones, better could be only Imate on orange, i think.
Rating:
Reviewed by Dino from ENGLAND on
22nd Jun 2005
Ok, this phone is very misunderstood, the instruction manual really
needs an update as many of its tricks have been left out. Yes it
has its drawbacks but has many positive things going for it. I've
read all the complaints of it falling apart, locking up, slow to
respond, wiping the memory etc.... well the bottom line is this.
I repair/unlock phones for a living, I've seen and worked on almost
all modern phones right back to the early motorola bricks....The
A1000 is a great phone, the three network does limit its 3G capability,
so come on three open up the walled garden to the www... The bluetooth
on the A1000 is great and works well with other phones and devices,
the camera is average and nowhere near the quality of the Nokia
6630 or the Sharp GX30. The PDA is comparable to the Sony p900.
Build quality is good, I suspect a few users are a little heavy
handed. The screen is identical to the Sony P900. Locking up problems
are due to memory overload, my advice is to buy a 256 memory card
and store all the music/vids/pics on that, leaving the phone memory
fairly clear, this will speed up the phone and stop the crashes,
two mp3's take up around 14mb... always back up your contacts no
matter what phone you use. All in all the A1000 is a capable phone
comparable to the Sony P900 and at a much better price, very visual
lighting adds to its appeal. Don't get many of these in for repair
but loads for unlocks. Other phones reviewed, Sony P900, Nokia 6630,
NEC 616V, LG U8120 U8138.
Rating:
Reviewed by jeff Coleman from Australia
on 22nd Jun 2005
I worked for 3 for 2 years, and this is the best BUSINESS DPA phone
I've ever used. I'm now on Optus (2nd largest carrier here) with
my new company and the service on 3 in every way (apart from the
helpdesk) was better - calls, voicemail, directory enquiries etc
- all better on 3. I've been made to use a Windows Smart fone for
the past 2 months - what a dog by comparison. All these people here
whinging about the A1000 not being as good as their old handset
need a check-up from the neck-up - this is not the same as 'just
a phone'. If all you want is a phone to make calls and send SMSs,
don't buy an A1000. However, if you want to have your emails from
your PC, your calendar from your PC all sync'd up all day, PLUS
your personal email account alongside them, PLUS able to browse
the internet and buy/sell on ebay and get google all on your phone
PLUS have maps and GPS working, then get a life - get an A1000.
The Bluetooth is superb, the voice activate dialling is a license
saver, the menus are SO intuitive and easy by comparison to a Windows
CE device. After 8 months of use, I've never had my A1000 lock-up,
reset (unless I dropped it - twice) and I've never had it display
a message "SORRY - THE CALL COULDN'T BE ANSWERED, THERE WAS AN ERROR"
when I tried to get an incoming call - my windows fone did it all
the time - there really is no comparison. If you want email, web
and applications, get one of these. If you want to make calls and
sms from a keypad - don't. It's that simple, if you confuse your
use, then it's YOUR FAULT - not the phones. And my final point about
such a great phone - if you don't like your A1000, sell it to me!
They're great and I'll have as many as I can get! jeff_coleman@optusnet.com.au
Rating:
Reviewed by Liam from Scotland on
21st Jun 2005
how can I explain this phone, looks good yes, feels good yes, multimedia
functions, hell yes, the thing is a multimedia dream, download movie
clips, streaming video if you want to pay the price, but why wouldn't
you - it's worth the watching, organisers and capabilities to make
a PC look shy!!!! YOU TRY MAKING A PHONE CALL OUT OF THE THING.
Aren't phones meant to be just that. Added extras are great but
when you have a so called phone that switches off at will and won't
make phone calls after that then what's the point I ask you?????
Rating:
Reviewed by Yasir Kirmani from Pakistan
on 15th Jun 2005
I bought this mobile just 2 weeks back and found it superb. Its
a high tech mobile and perfect for my use. Its look is also dashing.
I will recommend to those who are looking for 3G mobiles to explore
Motorola A1000 and you will love it.
Rating:
Reviewed by Kate Gallagher from England
on 13th Jun 2005
Good phone while it works Very easy to crash! Phone slows down when
integral memory is full to the point where the phone will not restart
The phone needs to be 'repaired' by 3 or motorola! This phone is
not user repairable, have been trying to fix for 12 hours or more
with internet suggestions - nothing works. WHATEVER you do, DO NOT
over-fill your memory! Or, you may have a phone that will never
be the same again. For 3 network, no access to general internet
- only 3 network. Otherwise, reception not bad where I am. The joystick
button has broken and keeps falling off - happened within first
week of owning. Good luck with a poor purchase if you had the misfortune
to buy one.
Rating:
Reviewed by leanne from UK on
2nd Jun 2005
I've had the A1000 since December last year and used to think it
was wonderful. That is until it started crashing and loosing all
of the photo's etc I had stored on it. Normally when it crashed
it would restart and everything would still be there but twice it's
lost everything. Since then it's been back to 3 three times and
I'm using a loan phone just now until I get a brand new A1000 as
the old one is totally goosed. I had to angle the charger and the
phone over a pen with weights on each end to charge it and then
it stopped taking a charge completely (and that's been fixed twice)
then the charger took out the bottom of the phone with it when i
removed it. Unfortunately my insurance means I only get the same
phone - lets hope the software's been updated and this one works
better!
Rating:
Reviewed by Symon from UK on
1st Jun 2005
It's a good usable phone. The facing camera is better than the rear.
I recently flashed it to the Generic Firmware and unlocked it and
on O2 the whole internet is available :) unlike '3' which has no
access to the outside world. The only thing I hate about this phone
is the speed that it does things. I wish it had a faster processor
but it's got a 168MHz CPU which does well for standard stuff. The
AGPS is very poor compared to dedicated recievers. If I had a choice
I'd still get a XDA IIi anyday.
Rating:
Reviewed by Dale Hilton from uk on
25th May 2005
Well you may read some of these other reviews and think its pants....but
this has to be the best phone I have ever had and I am in the industry!
I think Motorola have only failed on three issues putting it on
the three network, aiming it at the business market and a lack of
a flash\light...I would not use this phone for business but as a
toy its fantastic earning the nickname of super phone among my friends!
The games are jaw dropping (PS1 quality) the camera is great the
screen is amazing and the ability to manually edit photos is brilliant
honestly if you want a phone with a whole lot more to give then
buy this one.
Rating:
Reviewed by Jez Kaysi from UK on
17th May 2005
Well i cant compare with previous phones ive had because they have
never been this advanced, but i got to say that i was a dissapointed.
A bit of advice for anyone who is going to buy these type of phones,
check everything before you buy. The dealer i bought it from ONESTOPPHONESHOP
who's name i do not want to mention offered me a special deal on
the three network. They will give me back moneY every three months
to cover the cost of the amount they showed as line rental, because
threee would charge me more, and there is so much paperwork involved
they are proably hoping that no-one will bother. They also gave
me a free bluetooth headset which i think was made from paper. I
only bought the phone because of how good it sounded but if you
are buying a phone from the back of a newspaper ad be careful. And
on top of that the phone was dissapointin, the button fall of twice
in one week and i had to empty and search my hoover to find it.The
phone always crashes, and the camera quality is no good and without
a memory card not much photos can be stored. If you can make full
use of the fone its excellent, provided it works and only if you
realy need all those extras then its agood phone, only on another
network!!! And last of all i accidentally cracked the screen!so
if anyone wants to buy all the spares then contact me on jas_binda@hotmail.com
Rating:
Reviewed by warren from uk on
16th May 2005
i've changed my view of this phone , so much that i've sent it back
to the supplier . i wrote a review when i first got it (you may
find it down the page a bit) that said how pleased i was . well,
i was pleased to start with but digging deeper into the everyday
use of this phone shows up some real short commings. not sure if
it was just my phone but i never got alerts about voice mail . i
missed several messages and called voice mail and found loads of
messages for me that i'd missed but this rinky dink phone that can
do everything it seems , neglects to tell you that you have voice
mail. i also found that the to-do list reminder alert was so low
in volume and couldn't find a way to get it any loader. the choices
for ring tones are great with so many tunes to choose from but the
options for audible/vibrate/silent are terrible as you can only
choose between them (ie you can't get audible and vibrate).not only
that but , like most of these 3 phones , it's really easy to dial
up to a video/ring tone/game that you didn't want and these are
VERY EXPENSIVE . i know somebody that had a £135 bill for
the month becuase she accidently downloaded stuff she didn't want
. IT'S LOTS OF THESE LITTLE THINGS THAT , AS YOU GET TO KNOW THE
PHONE , YOU GET REALLY DISAPOINTED WITH. i came from orange and
a nokia (house brick(ok smaller than the 3 phone)) 3330 and even
that has a better menu system and a more workable system than this
thing. if you want lots of gismo's and no substance then this is
the phone for you but if you're like me and just want a phone that
works then i suggest you give this one a WIDE BIRTH!
Rating:
Reviewed by James from uk on
15th May 2005
Im rating the phone 5star cuz its absolutely amazing but its actually
only worth a couple of stars cuz of the crappy 3 network.. its totally
awful u cant even use the internet html browser properly coz of
their 'walled garden', but yeah on another network this phone is
great
Rating:
Reviewed by faz from uk on 14th
May 2005
very good phone, outstanding pda fuction, although i am very happy
with the phone but there is a slight down side to it and that is
the camera; its not very good for a phone like this but is just
fine.
Rating:
Reviewed by Athos from UK on
14th May 2005
Generally a good phone. Many functions wide range of menu. Reception
wise very poor. Sometimes it freezes when you are in a hurry to
access a function. Text messaging a bit slow in comparison to Nokia
phones. If you are on the move text messaging is impossible. Nevertheless,
its menu and functions are exciting to exploit.
Rating:
Reviewed by Rob Harris from U.K. on
13th May 2005
Alot of the problems are the 3 network, (Its rubbish). Signal strength
of useless at best, I really don't like having to go upstairs in
my house just so I can answer my phone. For about 65% of the places
I go, call's are near on impossible. The e-mail is useful, but 3
do charge you for using this separatly (bless them...). Any problems
you may as well take it to McDonalds, as you just get transfered
arround a switchboard merry-go-round in India where the operators
have even less idea than I do of how to solve the problems. The
Button did fall off the front, but luckily I found it and glued
it back on. The finnish and build isn't very strudy and I have the
impression it won't last the 12 months it's on contract. It has
done the boot up thing a couple of times, but in it's defence it
has sorted itself out and does seem to work ok. Software for linking
to the PC is useless, and a pain to use, and now seem's to make
windows think the a1000 is a new modem and messes up my settings
when I use it. Makes a half decent MP3 player and with the 256MB
expansion card holds plenty of tracks, shame again that you have
to buy this separate. I really wish I'd stuck with my old Nokia
and Orange, at least they worked all the time and I could rely on
it. Do yourself a favour.... don't bother.
Rating:
Reviewed by Gary from England on
13th May 2005
No problem with the phone which is pretty good. Shame about the
3 network which is rubbish
Rating:
Reviewed by Georgie from UK on
12th May 2005
I love the phone as a phone - it does all the things I want plus
a few I'm not that bothered about. But it is suffering more and
more from errors (I've had it since December 2004). It crashes often,
losing the homepage GUI which means I have to do the Windows thing
of switching it off and on again. It very often fails to connect
to outgoing calls or take incoming calls, even though the signal
strength (according to the handset) is fine. Or it fails to pick
up signal in places where I know I usually get 5 bars (e.g. central
London - and no, not in the dead bits, but in places like Trafalgar
Square). Or it tells me that video calling is not available, when
I'm only trying to make a voice call. Again, I have to keep doing
the Windows-style reboot. Plus - and this is minor but irritating
- the silver coating is rubbing off the handset lock slide switch,
showing bare red plastic underneath. As yet, it hasn't lost all
my contacts, but if it does, I will cry.
Rating:
Reviewed by warren from uk on
11th May 2005
just bought the motorola A1000 and i'm really impressed . i signed
up previously to the nokia 6630 but found it very disapointing.
not so with this. i have had a nokia 3310 before this and found
that i was stuck in a nokia rutt . ok , nokia software is very good
and everyone is used to it . but this motorola A1000 is a lot better
, it just takes some getting used to. the sound is amazing , the
texting is easy with the touch screen (handwriting recognition is
very impressive) and just generally evrything about the menu system
seems to be well thought out. i have only one question to anyone:
i've assigned voice tags to some of my phone numbers but don't know
how to dial them . any answers on this???????? apart from this small
detail , i would say it's a Great phone. don't be put off by the
wacky look . take a closer look and see what this thing can do before
you decide. i think it's a Winner!
Rating:
Reviewed by Chris W from England on
11th May 2005
Phone is probably great!,just is not for me, Ive had problems with
the Joystick falling off, lost the stylus stick, which is causing
me major problems! it keeps turning its self on and off and has
recently rebooted it's self. The camera isn't up to much!, my girlfriend
has just got the V3 and the picture quality is 10 times better.
A very nice large screen!! but very vunerable! Not sure if its me
or the phone!! but i wouldn't buy again!
Rating:
Reviewed by Ben Stiller (Yes Iam the guy from
Meet My Parents) from USA on 4th May 2005
Looks 8/10 Video quality 8/10 Camera quality 8/10 Overall 9/10 BUY
IT!
Rating:
Reviewed by BARRY REDDIN from SCOTLAND
on 2nd May 2005
I'VE ONLY HAD THE PHONE 3 MONTHS & ALREADY THE MAIN CURSER KEY HAS
FALLEN OFF & THE STYLUS HAS BROKEN!!! AVOID THIS SHOCKING PHONE/PDA
AT ALL COSTS!!!
Rating:
Reviewed by Brick from United States
on 29th Apr 2005
It is Perfect. Buy one and you will see the difference.
Rating:
Reviewed by Mike from Australia on
24th Apr 2005
As u can c this isnt a fone its a PDA (PDA's and fones just dont
mix). The only thing it has going for it is a big screen and thats
it. Now hear r some of the bad points, need to hav a degree in technology
just to use the menu, the battery life isnt that great and y a tutch
screen on a fone, jeez motorola pick up ur game. I bought this fone
had it for a week then sold it and got a Motorola E1000 a much better
fone (but still lacks battery life).
Rating:
Reviewed by Peter Norman from Australia
on 24th Apr 2005
This phone is fantastic. I've had many phones in the past like the
Nokia, NEC and LG but this is the best by far and is what i've been
looking for. It very user friendly and all the functions are easy
to operate. Once I got the Appication CD working I got all my contacts
on fine and with the Transflash card in I've gotten my music and
pics on very easily. The keyboard is the best. Sms and emails are
so easy and quick. I'm with 3 in Australia and I get the content
with no problems. So if you looking for a phone to upgrade to, this
is the one and it'll last you a long time as I think it's hard to
beat. Well done motorola.
Rating:
Reviewed by renick cameron from England
on 22nd Apr 2005
the best so far
Rating:
Reviewed by Faye from manhattan on
22nd Apr 2005
I got this phone last month and am very pleased with it. I suggest
reading the manual to get the most out of this phone as it offers
such a great deal. The only downside for me is the size. It would
be perfect if it was half the size! I guess you have to sacrifice
something for such a remarkable phone!
Rating:
Reviewed by seth from california on
22nd Apr 2005
Very cool phone!! Much more than just a phone! I love all the features,
especially as they are so easy to use. Great layout of functions.
Camera a little fuzzy in the dark though. Would recommend to anyone.
Rating:
Reviewed by sophie from london on
22nd Apr 2005
Got this phone a couple of months ago, and I've found it to be outstanding.
A little daunting at first because of all the functions, but one
soon becomes acquainted due to it's user friendly nature. Highly
recommended!!
Rating:
Reviewed by Joshua from Australia on
21st Apr 2005
this phone is great. it has many featured of a pda. the only downside
is the camera can be a bit snowy in dark situations. i love how
all the accessories ocme in the box INCLUDING!!! a bluetooth headset!!!
the only other thing i bought was a car charger. great phone for
anyone that can afford it. you wont be let down.
Rating:
Reviewed by Hisam from Philadelphia
on 20th Apr 2005
its and excellent phone it has all the features you need i bought
it and i really like it. The phone is also small and it looks good
from the outside aswell as the outstanding inside features! It is
definately a must buy!!! Go out there and get one!!! Hisam
Rating:
Reviewed by Marie Hill from England
on 13th Apr 2005
Hi Only had my phone for a couple of weeks so don't know if I really
qualify to review it really!!! I have found the phones feature great
although I would love to be able to use it to view my hotmail!!
Really like the contacts though as on my previous motorola every
single number was seperate not like this where you can add all sorts
of details. Must admitt that after reading the latest review though
I may well be backing these up. Well was wondering if any of you
lovelly people could help me with a couple of my phones feature
PLEASE!! I think I may sound a little stupid here but how do you
put MP3's on the phone?? Have dragged and dropped them using the
file viewer but when I go on my phone I cant see the file in the
MP3 player HELP. Also can't get my three email setup properly -
can send them from my phone but not recieving them. I keep getting
an error message! If any kind sole can help me in these delimmas
I would be eternally grateful as it is driving me crazy. Email:
sacha_dune@hotmail.com or sacha_dune@3mail.com Thanks everyone
Rating:
Reviewed by Jon Parker from England
on 12th Apr 2005
This phone has really let me down! I expected a lot and for the
first week it delivered, then little things just started getting
worse and worse To start with it was just the phone's slowness that
annoyed me, but things soon changed. My phone hardly works at all
now, it reboots itself constantly, sometimes never fully swithing
one and leaving the reboot loop. About a week ago the phone crashed
wiping all my memory. I could have lived with this but it also wiped
my sim card of all contacts and that is just not on. Backup your
address book I hear you cry........... I WISH. The software that
comes with the phone is TERRIBLE, as already said, its so clunky
and I can never get it to work with the USB cable. I also hate Three's
walled garden approach but have learned to live with it; some of
the free content they provide (news and sport) is actually quite
comprehensive and for the price, I can't really fault the network
The phone however, is terrible. Don't waste your time and money.
Stick with the Nokia, seems like they know how to do things properly!!!
Rating:
Reviewed by Richard Gatarski from Sweden
on 11th Apr 2005
Generally I agree with most reviewers here. The A1000 is an excellent
device (can't write "phone" because it is much more than that).
The pros include size, battery life (compared to earlier/other 3G
pda/phones), versatility and price/performance. The cons are mainly
the lousy camera, slow and cumbersome cable sync (for transferring
audio and video content), and lack of built in fast dialling (e.g.
no speed dial buttons). For more about my day-to-day experiences,
see my blog mobile.typepad.com/a1000blog
Rating:
Reviewed by DONKEY from FINLAND on
6th Apr 2005
BRILLIANT PHONE.
Rating:
Reviewed by sexy han xxx from UK on
2nd Apr 2005
THIS FONE IS MINT!!! IT IS SO SEXY ND FAB EVERY 1 SHUD HAV I EVEN
THO I NEVA OWNED 1. I DONT NO WT AM CHATTIN BOUT BUT I FINK ITR
LUKS GD SO U SHUD GO ND GET 1 NOW !!!!!!!!!! XXXXX
Rating:
Reviewed by Cocktail from England on
1st Apr 2005
This Phone is the best on the market for 3, the phone is lacking
the ability to view sites other than its 3's fenced off network.
I have to say I havn't lost any sleep over this. I've loaded my
a1000 with top tunes, vids and doc's using my computer, very easy.
This phone has great visuals and sound quailty. The phone is easy
to use. i've having great fun using it, and do recommend it.
Rating:
Reviewed by pat gold from uk on
31st Mar 2005
phone gr8, camera suprisingly bad but v good for video calling,
for the first time (i've got 4 3 phones! SAD?) I can see the future
is video + voice if want it.texting is the best although characters
are small for uncorrected middle aged eye sight like mine. MP3 player
is the best ive heard on a phone, ear phones drop out of ears tho.
Calendar is brilliant, my life is on my phone for the first time
ever. I even like 3, tried all the networks cept t mobile & its
better or the same as the rest. Voda doesnt work at all well where
i live! Assisted GPS is a joke I used it once hear Ipswich & it
finally "found" me 12 miles off the coast in the N sea. All in all
I love it and so does everyone I've shown it to.
Rating:
Reviewed by karl mersh from england
on 29th Mar 2005
phone does so many good things but also has a few problems 1 camera
is rubbish in the dark 2 phone occasionally crashes 3 try texting
when your walking or in a moving vehicle... its hard. good sides
r 1 the Zoom in the picsel viewer is amazing. 2 the screen is great
for watching full screen pictures 3 it has so many amazing gizmos
shame ill never use them
Rating:
Reviewed by John Darwall from UK on
16th Mar 2005
You will either love this phone or hate it. Personally, I think
it's the best phone out there. Really, this is a phone, a PDA, an
MP3 player, a GPS and a games console all in one sleek little package.
I think it does each of these things better than any other all-in-one
system. Sure, you'll get better if you carry a phone, a Palm, an
Ipod, a Canon, a Garmin and a PSP - but considering how much THAT
would weigh, it's amazing that they've crammed so much into such
a tiny space. This phone IS quirky, so will appeal to the kind of
person who likes tinkering. Are you the kind of person who thinks
that user manuals are for propping up chair legs? This phone will
probably appeal to you. Best points: - Picking up all my mail on
the go. - An excellent calendar, contacts and to-do system that
syncs perfectly with outlook. Finally, a phone organiser that doesn't
suck. - Looking at others playing 'Snake' while I load up the full
version of 'Doom'. - Having an inbuilt GPS that (for 20p) will give
me a map of where I am and tell me how to get to the nearest hotel
(or cinema or petrol station, etc) - Watching Divx's of south-park
on the train. - Value for money! The Sony P910i is a nice phone,
but try getting that phone for free on a £25 (500anytime)
contract! - Huge touchscreen combined with (I think) a really good
operating system makes everything very easy. - Quickoffice lets
me not only view, but edit all my office documents. - etc! Worst
points: - If you're using it on 3's UK network - you won't be able
to use it's inbuilt xHTML browser for anything but 3's own site
(come on, 3, get with it!!) - The camera, though over 1 megapixel,
is quite low quality in dark conditions. (it's great in bright sunlight
though). - You'll have to shell out extra for a case (which you
definitely need to protect the great big screen and the 2 cameras).
Comments about other reviews: Ash Haeger- the gaming buttons are
at the top of the phone because the phone is used SIDEWAYS for gaming
(and watching movies). This gives you a widescreen display and your
hand doesn't cover the screen at all. Others- I've been through
O2's customer service, and compared to the short opening hours and
waiting almost an hour on hold just to be told that they're busy
and will call me back sometime tomorrow... I think that 3's 24hour
service with (so far) no waiting at all is just great. Simo H -
To install software you (1) download it, (2) double click on it
(3) press 'yes' a few times (4) uh, that's it. (and you don't need
to put J2ME on it - it's already got it) Conclusion: This phone
is still on the bleeding edge, and so the ride is sometimes rocky.
Personally though- that's fine by me. I love my A1000!
Rating:
Reviewed by Rob Young from England on
16th Mar 2005
I've had this phone for about a month and its gr8. I luv the way
the writing is set out as on the Sony ericsson p900 u would write
a letter n it wouldn't give the write 1! Having it on 3 is def a
disadvantage put only cause of the signal as I found them very friendly
teaching me the phones. The 1.2 mp is great but still shud b better
as it's a top phone. The battery time is standard as I end up charging
it every night. But overall I do like the phone the camera quality
is gr8, the lock on the side of the phone is gr8 as it isn't like
a normal phone lock, the sylus positon is a postive as it doesn't
get in the way, the speakerphone is gud as use that all the time,
I cud go on but I wont. The only thing I need help is getting mp3
songs on 2 the fone! If u know how email me, icantgetoffmymobile@hotmail.com
Rating:
Reviewed by jake furey from england
on 11th Mar 2005
I would have given this phone 4 or 5 stars, but the screen has shorted
a couple of times, then to cap it all the phone reset itself and
deleted all my telephone numbers, txt messages, emails, videos and
photos. I spent a considerable amount of time speaking with Three
in Glasgow and Motorola. None of them seem to be able to recover
the lost data and no-one wishes to take responsibility for the problem.
Motorola refered me to a company CMRP who also weren't able to help,
so it seems that the data is lost forever. I had some personal photos
of my mum's wedding and some other important personal stuff, but
now it seems as if it's all lost. It's a shame because this phone
was almost everything I needed in a phone. If any of you who read
this can help with suggestions on how to recover this information
then please email me on jfurey9@aol.com. Thanks
Rating:
Reviewed by vbk from uk on 2nd
Mar 2005
had the phone for a week but still didnt find out how to make it
ring and vibrate at the same time!also reception is a bit poor with
this phone.I have it on 3,had a nokia and always had a reception
in my office,now with the same simcard,same number same provider
but with a1000 i got no reception at all....
Rating:
Reviewed by adam from scotland on
27th Feb 2005
hello - adam fairley again (look down) would also like to point
out that for people like me who never hear their phone ringing ie
nokia 7600, moto t720i etc etc - you can acctaully hear this one
- its so loud that it even vibrates of its own accord from the volume
of the speakers alone! - ITS GREAT!!!!!
Rating:
Reviewed by claire from uk on
24th Feb 2005
I've have this phone for about 4days. The touch screen is great
and i like the way the texting is set out the only thing hold in
it back is trying to get onto sending e-mail's, one second i have
a voice&picture serice area(2.5/gprs) connention and then next
it's gone, i can't work it out because i haven't moved and i have
a strong signal strenght.But 3 did say that some part of the country
are better coved then over's...!!!!!I'm still waiting to see 3g
network but i'm not going to hold my breath if only i could get
this phone on another network to see if it was just 3 or the phone...!!
Rating:
Reviewed by adam fairley from scotland
on 23rd Feb 2005
well well, having had the nokia 7600 on three for a year i was impressed
with both handset, service and the network (am i the first??) -
i've had this fone a week now and all i can say is wow - being a
emo-punk kid however i refuse to use the stylus and manage to successfully
use my finger lol so i dont look like a geek (am 16 lol) also got
the handset for FREE with 500 mins and 1000 texts for £35
a month XD
Rating:
Reviewed by Matt from UK on 19th
Feb 2005
The A1000 is a worthy successor to the A925 and, in my mind, betters
the Sony Ericson P900. The internet speaker and battery life are
both significantly improved as is the camera. My only gripes with
this unit relate to Three's dreadful service. For voice calls they
seem fine, given they share coverage with o2 for voice roaming,
but denying customers internet access is just plain stupid. It was
disappointing that Motorola didn't take the opportunity to add USB2
connectivity... uploading MP3s can take an age.
Rating:
Reviewed by Dan from UK on 18th
Feb 2005
This is an upgrade I have got from 3. I had the A825 which was rubbish.
I had to send it back 3 time for repair and then 3 gave me the A925
which had similar problems as the A825 with it rebooting and losing
signal on 3's network. The only way to get signal back is a reboot.
I had hoped I had seen the last of these issues with the A1000 but
after just a week the phone has started to reboot itself and several
times it has lost signal (well it says it has signal but you cant
receive calls or make calls). Dont even bother speaking to 3 about
it as their service sucks just like there stupidly restricted network.
Im gonna send mine back not just because of the bugs in the phone
but as 3 destroyes any hope this phone has with its rubbish network.
Oh and as a side note the PC software is also naff as its quite
cluncky and very slow.
Rating:
Reviewed by Jerry Obukohwo from UK on
15th Feb 2005
Very well thought out design. The functionality is excellent, almost
intuitive. With the right download from the Motorola website I am
able to use it with my Win 98 run, PC. The MP3 if fine, does the
job but not better than that of the E398. The speaker is very loud
for its size. I cannot wait for the 3G walled garden to come down
so that I can enjoy the www on it as I am about a lot and will like
to have this phone as my main mobile entertaiment center. My next
mission is to set up an Avantgo acount for it as I presently have
on my Jornada 565. All in all the Motorola A1000 is a brilliant
effort. Hurray MOTOROLA
Rating:
Reviewed by Todd Odd from Somewhere
on 4th Feb 2005
This is a nice phone. It is very dissapointing. It is on 3 so it
has a walled garden so you can not use the HTMLx browser. It's a
shame. The camera is good because it is a MegaPixel camera which
is better than a VGA by miles. Motorola have done really big and
bulky phones but this is small and it is not big or bulky. The touch
screen is good too because buttons on most mobiles are too small
for me so the touch screen is good. And the screen is a big screen
aswell which is also a good thing. Im giving this phone a 4 star
rating because NOTHING is perfect i repeat this phone IS NOT PERFECT.
Nothing is. It's a good phone though with a screen that is a nice
and clear screen. Its very very very good but NOT perfect.
Rating:
Reviewed by Jay from UK on 28th
Jan 2005
Having previously owned a Motorola A920, I am pleased to see the
same clear layout of the menu's. The annoying limitations of the
A920 are still apparant such as the ability to transfer music from
unit to unit via bluetooth. I must warn windows 98 users that the
accompanying software does not work on that OS. The battery is much
improved, as is the weight that has been removed (which is surprising
considering the size of the battery) The speaker quality is amazing
for it's size, and the twin camera's are the best I have seen on
a mobile phone. The fact you can run Microsoft documents (including
PDF if you have enough memory) is very handy. The built-in memory
is 28MB which is far too small for a phone with as many features
as this. The 256MB upgrade is a must if you intend to use this phone
as an MP3 player. You can store a couple of CDs with no problem.
I run my A1000 on the 3G network and only run into coverage problems
when in the sticks. Even then I have not fou nd one place in England
(Except a pub on the Norfolk Broads) where you cannot send emails
or text when outside. The A1000 does need to be charged a lot more
when compared with a standard mobile, but after owning a Motorola
A920, anything longer than a day is a bonus. I get around four days
with little use. Video runs it down very quickly and any video use
over and hour will drain it completly. MP3's last around 5 hours
if used with the headset. Using the external speakers the battery
lasts about 40 minutes. If used just for making and receiving calls,
you can generally get a couple of days worth, which is a big improvement.
The stylus feels very flimsy and should really provide a spare.
The IR unit has been removed altogether, I assume to cut down on
size, which is the main difference between this and the A920. It's
a lot more managable, though the cursor button takes a bit of getting
used to. The plus points far outweigh those little details and the
motorola A1000 is by far the best phone I have owned to date. Highly
Recommended.
Rating:
Reviewed by abdul from Saudi Arabia
on 24th Jan 2005
the mobile is excellent in every thing except The wifi connection
The removable TransFlash card (up to 256 Mbytes) it's small
Rating:
Reviewed by Colin Martin from UK on
18th Jan 2005
I have had this phone for a week now after moving from a Palm and
normal phone. The one thing thats annoying is the lack of support
for Macs. If it had this I would give it 4 stars. There are plenty
of workarounds about but it will take time and effort to get it
going. I have had no problems with coverage staying in a major UK
city so far and I do like the way it handles text messages and emails.
The OS and diary are not up to Palm standards. I find the OS very
clumsy and some of the buttons are very small taking a good aim
of the stylus to hit them. Windows users probably would not have
this criticism, I have just been spoilt by OSX. Overall though an
amazing and elegant device, just want to get a decent leather case
now to keep it looking beautiful.
Rating:
Reviewed by Anders Iversen from Denmark
on 16th Jan 2005
Hi! I just bought the A1000 two days ago, and I'm really impressed.
The calender function is excellent - I've never bothered to use
a phone-calender before, because they all were badly designed, and
it was much easier to write in scedules etc. in a paper-calender
- but with this one its just as easy. You can play old '3d' games
on it like doom (not included) and there comes a racing game with
the phone (on the cd). You can race against others via bluetooth!
You can use IM (not included). Videotalk is excellent, sound is
excellent, screen is excellent. The Picsel viewer to view office
documents is excellent - really neat feature :) It supports J2ME,
so you can program your own stuff for your phone. The note feature
let you draw sketches to your notes. I could go on forever :) In
Denmark, 3 let you surf the internet, and the opera browser does
a good job converting the pages to a small screen format. There
are a few drawbacks: When connecting to your pc LOTS of LOTS of
people - including me - have this problem: first time you connect
it works fine, but disconnect the phone from the cable and connect
it again: nothing happens. The PC cannot see your phone, and the
phone cannot connect to your PC. Workaround nr. 1: turn the phone
off, and turn it on again. Nr. 2: Buy a bluetooth thingy for your
PC - it works without any problems. Also when placing data on your
phone, it have to go into a folder. Fx: placing audiofiles in the
/document/audio/britney.mp3 doesn't work you have to place it in
a subfolder you make yourself or in the "unfiled" folder there's
there allready: /document/audio/unfiled/britney.mp3 Well that's
all from me. If you asked me what phone to buy, the Motorola A1000
would be my answer :)
Rating:
Reviewed by frnnis from uk on
12th Jan 2005
What a shame, this could have been a great phone... (apart from
a few basic design flaws) it really could have been something special,
what really lets it down is there no decent software or support
& the fact that motorola doesnt seem to want to know this or any
other of its 3g phones doesnt help, they dont support it in any
way and THREE as we all know only want to sell you what they want
you to have ... what a waste of a developers time and money, if
i was the guy who put all this effort into developing something
this capable then having to see it in this virtually paralized state
i would be incensed ...shame on you three .. and Motorola for letting
them do it, what a waste
Rating:
Reviewed by Igor from Brazil on
8th Jan 2005
This phone is incredible. Excellent choice!
Rating:
Reviewed by BalooDK from Denmark on
2nd Jan 2005
Oliver: But there is a shortcut key.... just hold down the browser
button for 3-5 seconds !!! I converted from an updated a920 to this
baby and i must say..... I LOVE IT !!!!
Rating:
Reviewed by steve from UK on
21st Dec 2004
A big mistake from Motorola designing is not having the reset button
on this phone. If you are going to install software on this phone,
BEWARE!!! ( cos many software are not compatible with A1000). When
the operating system crashed the only thing you can do is to send
it back and get a replacement. Not like a normal PDA can be reset
to original situation by pushing the reset button. It happens quite
a lot (you can find in most A1000 forums). Many people just crash
OS after 2-3 days even few hours (mine is 2days). Without this mistake,
I will give 5 stars for this phone.
Rating:
Reviewed by Pupung80 from Indonesia
on 10th Dec 2004
Motorola A1000, Wonderful..., The One I Like The Most. So Try it
or You never Believe it.
Rating:
Reviewed by Ash Haeger from UK on
8th Dec 2004
I have had the A1000 for nearly three weeks now, and have had a
few problems with it. I thought at first that the headphone socket
was broken, but in fact you have to apply some force, more than
you would ordinarily apply to an electronic device, to get the plug
to stay in the socket. Bad news for the (at least) five percent
of you reading this on a Mac, as motorola offer no MacOS support.
I find this very puzzling, since the phone is aimed at 'professionals',
and a glance around the offices at works reveals quite a few Macs.
Neither can I get the phone to sync with WinXP, albeit emulated
on my Powerbook. The camera seems rather low quality for a megapixel,
especially in low light conditions, where there seems to be many
artifacts in the picture, even in low-light mode. Incidentally,
the e1000 offers a better camera, which seems strange, as I was
to understand the A1000 was the superior phone, and the e1000 the
'consumer' model. The video function is limited to clips of 60 seconds,
which is an odd choice - why not just let me record until the memory
runs out? The positioning of the memory card under the battery is
a poor design choice, but the bluetooth function seems foolproof,
so long as you have that function available on your computer. The
whole phone screams sloppy design, from the stiff and uncomfortable
joystick on the front, to the twin buttons positioned high on the
unit, for 'gaming' apparently, except that your hands cover the
screen while pressing them. The software is similarly poorly thought
out, the icons are too small to press with your fingers, forcing
you to use the flimsy stylus. Files may only be accessed indirectly
through layers of menus, and are easy to lose, only to turn up in
unexpected places. I have not tested the mp3 player function, but
since the world has moved on to AAC, neither will most people. As
has been mentioned in previous review, battery life is limited by
the large screen, and a standby life of 8 days may only be true
if you do literally nothing with the phone. I am charging every
two to three days, more if I make a few actual phone calls. God
only knows how the battery copes with video calling. In the phones
defense, the ability to display MSOffice files is handy, the screen
is impressively large and clear, errrm, I'm struggling to think
of nice things to say... I think it's unfair to criticize the phone
over 3's content and performance, suffice to say I'm very annoyed
by 3's mad policy of blocking proper internet browsing, which is
not something I even thought to ask about when I bought it, but
the phone is allegedly capable of rendering web pages. I'm left
with the overall impression of a poorly tested, poorly designed
phone that could have been so much better with a little thought.
Rating:
Reviewed by Rajesh from UK on
8th Dec 2004
Amazing phone.. This is the best i have ever had. It is a lot better
than all 3G phones. The video call quality is amazing in out doors.
Rating:
Reviewed by Steve from England on
7th Dec 2004
Apart from the lack of a case with such a large screen I am very
pleased. Reception is better on 3 than my Panasonic with Orange.
Synch with Outlook works well once it was set-up (took an hour,
but that was my fault as you have to get the phone to link before
the desktop manager). The PDA works well enough for me to now sell
mt Palm T3. Texting can't be done while you are driving which I
guess is safer, headphones that came with phone work well and bluetooth
on its way. Content on 3 is junk but I bought it to combine the
PDA and phone and that really well. But if a real gadget freak I
could see the phone being slow. But I intend keeping mine
Rating:
Reviewed by Lou from England on
1st Dec 2004
I have to agree with the last message, this phone is poor..poor..poor
and the 3 Network really does suck & I only brought the phone on
Saturday and have sent it back today 4 days later. The phone may
be Sybian but it reguarly crashes with the popular P800/P900 apps
that I use. The battery life is worse than useless, charged it overnight
and made One...I repeat One 30 minute voice call and the phone battery
was flat by the next morning. I have found that the O/S or the phone
is so ropey that it will reboot on its own! and this has happened
3 times in the 4 days I've had it. BTW, the 3 network is the worse
I have come accross since the early days of mobiles back in the
late 80's, their content services were down for most of Sat when
I brought the phone and then the mail services were unavailable
for most of Monday as well, this in addition to a customer service
team based in a far off land begining with 'I' where the people
dealing with me hadn't heard of the term customer service. BTW 3
does NOT offer internet browsing, they give you access to THEIR
OWN site and NOTHING ELSE, that would be bad enough but almost ALL
the content is chargeable!!! They don't tell you this in the shop
when you purchase. Anyway I'm taking delivery of my P910i today
on Vodafone (as I currently use a P900) and I'm really pleased to
go back to a decent manufacturer and network. PPS. If you synch
between your PC with Outlook then you will be amazed at how poor
a job some of the smartphones do it and I never realised what an
EXCELLENT JOB Sony does until I tried the poor A1000 and the even
poorer Sendo X. I hope this review proves useful to some of you
making a decision on what phone to go for, the A1000 & 3 network
combination is not worth going for even though I got the phone for
free!!!
Rating:
Reviewed by Mike from Australia on
1st Dec 2004
Just a quick note to clarify something... In Australia you can access
any web page you want, UK is only one of a few countries where 3
has decided to lock down content for soem sutpid reason.
Rating:
Reviewed by Simo H from England on
30th Nov 2004
I purchased a1000 to put on my own j2me on it. Even though i recard
myself as fairly computer savey... through poor documentation i
cant work out how to get my own applications installed through the
desktop suite...
Rating:
Reviewed by Rob Greenwood from UK on
30th Nov 2004
I went from a P800 to the A1000. The symbian OS hasn't changed so
much that it you have to relearn things, but there's a fair bit
of familiarisation to be done with this bad boy. Transflash under
the battery is a bad thing. I have a 128MB card, and prefer to take
it out of the phone to use in a card reader than to wait for transfers
to go through on the sync station. I believe that SanDisk are bringing
out 256MB & 512MB cards by December. According to this review this
fone is only compatible with 256MB. Why? That's dumb. Handling wise,
I think this phone could be better. Because of the low position
of the buttons and the smoothness of the case, I am worried about
dropping this phone when using it one handed. They should have stuck
a jog dial on as well. Sony's 5-way is better than the joypad this
has on the front. The hold switch makes sense though. Audio sound
quality is very good. The headset is decent quality, and MP3s sound
very good. Better than P800. Speaker phone and video is impressive.
Some dropped calls on 3, but you live with it for the cheapness
of the deal. Some annoying shortcomings are the handwriting/text
input is worse than P800/P900, Can't customise more shortcuts and
menus. No case!
Rating:
Reviewed by john from england on
28th Nov 2004
THIS PHONE IS JUST RIDICULUSE ITS TERRIBLE I ADVISED YOU DONT GET
THIS PHONE ITS WORSE THAN WORSE. JUST THINK IT MYTE HAVE A LARGE
SCREEN BUT IT WAYS ABOUT 500 POUNDS I AM JUST GONNA GO BACK TO THE
NOKIA 3410. P.S SORRY 3 BUT YOUR NETWORK SUX
Rating:
Reviewed by oliver from uk on
27th Nov 2004
Just upgraded from a920, the a1000 is much better smaller by far
and battery life is great, software is the same almost can even
change the shortcut key in the control panel except it doesn't have
one (the a920/a925 did) oops. It behaves strangely with bluetooth
headset hs810 though a great way to transfer contacts, notes, mp3's
and pictures from old phone. The camera's not very good in low light.
Using a transflash card located behind the battery means you have
to switch of to swap cards which could be a pain as like the a920
it takes a long time to reboot. It didn't come with a case nor does
anyone have one in stock but a sony/ericson p900 case fits well.Is
this phone a good buy to right it is plays mp3's which you can use
as a ringtone, touch sceen with handwriting reconition,address book,
camera, diary, reads various doc's, you can even use it as a phone
!!!
Rating:
Reviewed by Euro Djuro from UK on
23rd Nov 2004
I've just converted to the A1000 on 3 as well, as Orange were not
playing ball. Deep breath...and lets see how good the indian call
centre is at handling my number port as I had to read my number
out about 5 times before they got it right. The phone itself is
cracking and I think I have made the right choice. The only downside
is that you are in a walled garden of three content only and you
have to pay a small fortune for it. But who cares, it's the PDA
functions I like and that is what attracted me to it
Rating:
Reviewed by Karl Correia from U.K. on
22nd Nov 2004
I've had the phone over the weekend and cannot really find fault
with it. Reception is good for both voice and video calls and menus
are simple to use (although sometimes slow but not significant enough
to gripe about). Still find it hard to beleive that Moto have squeezed
so much into such a small phone - the reaility is its roughly half
an inch bigger top and side than a Sony Erriccson T610 (my previous
phone) and if you really need a phone that can do all bar make your
dinner - you've found it.
Rating:
Reviewed by Aleksandar from MACEDONIA
on 21st Nov 2004
i'v got no words.This phone is amazing 5 stars
Rating:
Reviewed by Philip from Hong Kong on
19th Nov 2004
Got the phone a couple of days ago subscribing to 3HK. Cost HKD3880
with locked 12-mth plan of HKD200/mth. So far so good; It is the
best PDA/phone I have used so far (I have used many). Setting up
gprs and email was easy without a hitch. Battery life seems to be
good. Fully charged, it could last for about two days of normal
use. Voice quality using the phone is good both ways. Surfing speed
is surprisingly good using gprs; and with 3G it is not far from
home broadband. Menu response is a bit slow but tolerable. Price/Performance
wise, it beats XDAIIs, and a brunch of other PDA-phones. Symbian
O/S was a good choice for the phone. If I have to complain it would
be the camera, it should come with a higher quality one (e.g. over
2M pixels at least)
Rating:
Reviewed by F. Montelatici from Italy
on 17th Nov 2004
It is quite an excellent cellular telephone, a good still camera,
a decent video camera and a very good PDA. It handles email quickly
and accounts are easily set up. I have had numerous PDAs and recently
the T-Mobile Pocket PC cellular telephone, the Sony Ericsson P-800
and this Motorola is by far the superior device even ignoring its
3G capability. At 99 euro with a 9 euro per month subscription to
3 in Italy it is also quite a bargain. It is such a good device
that I bought it even after having bought an NEC 616 for 19 euro
with the same plan. Anyone want to buy an NEC 616? LOL
Rating:
Reviewed by Garry Chung from U.K. on
17th Nov 2004
I have had the phone Since Friday, apart from 3 taking four days
to connect me which was annoying. It was like having a new toy but
I caouldn't play with it. Motorola have done a very impresive job
shrinking the A925, and the A1000 is much more practical to carry
than it's predecessor. One problem I have encountered so far is
I appear to have faulty headphones. This could be a design fault
as well because it is tricky trying to get the headphones into the
sock with the rubber protector in the way. The three video clips
work fine and does what it says on the tin, connection can be a
bit tempermental. The Quick find AGPS facility doesn't work well.
Transfering files from PC to A1000 is very slow but it could be
to do with teh fact I have only USB 1.1 on my PC Battery life is
great for a PDA phone as is the build quiality. You have to also
remember that you cannot surf the internet on this unit only limited
to 3's services.
Rating:
Reviewed by Rakesh Ramnani from United
Kingdom on 15th Nov 2004
Excellent phone smaller version of Motorola A920/925, outstanding
battery life and the Picsel Software makes it more than a pda, it
makes it a Tablet Pc as you can not only open Word Files but hoardes
of other files right from Excell, Powerpoint, PDF and Zip. Its better
than XDA 2 or any other PDA phone in the market.
Rating:
|
