Customer Rating: 
Summary: Not for ALL Motorola Phones
Comment: Purchased Phone Tools for my i920 only to find out that it is not compatible with the i920 or i930. Can't give a review on the software as I was never able to use it.
Customer Rating:
Summary: This program is so annoying!
Comment: As stated in other reviews, Motorola should not be charging for this silly software. I needed a new phone as my blackberry was finally dying on me and opted for the "free" motorola W460 phone that was available for extending my contract. Motorola and RIM use the same miniUSB cables so I had all the equipment that I needed to "sync" everything except this software. I didn't even want to create any ring tones, just download my contacts, which it does - sort of. Mapping the fields was a pain. I wouldn't recommend the software but unfortunately it's a neccessary evil with Motorola.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Weak!
Comment: The product description reads: "for use with ALL Motorola phones."
Not true!
I have a Motorola W490.
First it couldn't detect my device, then when I tried to sync it manually, my phone wasn't even on the list of Motorola phones it provided. My PC was definitely communicating with the phone, and would allow me to backup contacts and calendar.. but that's not why I wanted this product! I wanted to transfer music onto the digital audio player!
Weak!
Customer Rating:
Summary: Helpful but your phone has to allow it!
Comment: I have been very happy with the use of this software, although cell phone software of this type comes with an important caveat (see below). This software, as advertised, allows me to transfer files from the mobile phone to my computer and vice versa. So when I purchased my cell phone (Motorola RAZR), I was able to transfer all my phone contacts into it. This was very important since it avoiding having to retype hundreds of names and phone numbers.
It also allows me to save the contact lists back onto my computer. This is helpful because I add contacts in my phone from time to time. I want to be able to back them up so that I have the numbers in case I lose the phone.
When I take pictures with my cell phone camera, I can transfer them onto the computer. This is nice because it avoids the multimedia use charges of e-mailing the pictures. I can also take pictures from the computer, once appropriately shrunk, and put them onto my cell phone. This is not a big deal, but it's kind of cute sometimes.
Some comments on the implementation of the system, and in comments about synchronizing PCs to cell phones.
The software needs to be installed from the CD. I did purchase the CD from Amazon.com, but later when I got my phone, it had the identical CD with it already. Along with the mini USB cable. (It's handy to be able to use such a common connector cable, instead of the elaborate and specialized ones that other phones sometimes use. Originally I was leery about using one port for the three functions -- data synchronization, battery charging, and microphones/earphone headset. But it has been working okay.)
I cannot get the system to work unless I was logged in as the administrator. Oh well. Sometimes when you try a second function after the first (like image file transfer after you've done the phone synchronization), it crashes and you have to start all over again. The software is reasonably obvious to use, but it does take some fumbling around in the beginning. I also like the feature that allows you to transfer text messages onto your hard drive. I actually use this quite a bit.
Your contacts need to be put into Outlook or Outlook Express. (Some other mail tools work also.) If you have contacts in there already, then those will get dumped onto your phone also. So you should really clean out your resident contact list before you do this. I keep my work and contacts in the normal account upon which I log into my computer, but then I log in as administrator when I use this function. So my mail server only has phone contacts in it anyway.
The file transfer function works okay, I enjoy having access to pictures in both directions.
Overall, the software is easy to use. Nokia has an analogous system for their phones. It works reasonably well also, but I marginally prefer Motorola's.
Cell phone synchronization in general: before you do this, make sure that you can actually synchronize your phone. WARNING! Many cell phone service providers disable PC synchronization functions. Service providers like Verizon, Sprint, and many others make sure that these functions do not work. So even though the phone is built with these capacities, they somehow make them nonfunctional. Most company representatives do not know this or, I suspect, are trained not to discuss it.
I got my Motorola phone from my third-party long-distance provider, CREDO (formerly Working Assets). After spending lots of time unsuccessfully trying to get the software to work with the Motorola phone, I came to find out that the phones that they issue have these functions intentionally broken. I returned the phone and quit service with them.
I learned that the only service providers that actually let you use the phones that have this function are AT&T and T-Mobile. I therefore went out, signed up with AT&T, got another Motorola phone, plugged it into my computer, and it worked fine.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Don't bother if you have Nextel Phones
Comment: Another product with decent design and idea. However, if you own a locked phone regardless of carrier, you cannot get full feature use unless you buy an unlock code so that you can tap into the complete ability of your phone. Regardless of the advertising and packaging, it does not work for "all" phones.
Summary: Not for ALL Motorola Phones
Comment: Purchased Phone Tools for my i920 only to find out that it is not compatible with the i920 or i930. Can't give a review on the software as I was never able to use it.
Customer Rating:
Summary: This program is so annoying!
Comment: As stated in other reviews, Motorola should not be charging for this silly software. I needed a new phone as my blackberry was finally dying on me and opted for the "free" motorola W460 phone that was available for extending my contract. Motorola and RIM use the same miniUSB cables so I had all the equipment that I needed to "sync" everything except this software. I didn't even want to create any ring tones, just download my contacts, which it does - sort of. Mapping the fields was a pain. I wouldn't recommend the software but unfortunately it's a neccessary evil with Motorola.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Weak!
Comment: The product description reads: "for use with ALL Motorola phones."
Not true!
I have a Motorola W490.
First it couldn't detect my device, then when I tried to sync it manually, my phone wasn't even on the list of Motorola phones it provided. My PC was definitely communicating with the phone, and would allow me to backup contacts and calendar.. but that's not why I wanted this product! I wanted to transfer music onto the digital audio player!
Weak!
Customer Rating:
Summary: Helpful but your phone has to allow it!
Comment: I have been very happy with the use of this software, although cell phone software of this type comes with an important caveat (see below). This software, as advertised, allows me to transfer files from the mobile phone to my computer and vice versa. So when I purchased my cell phone (Motorola RAZR), I was able to transfer all my phone contacts into it. This was very important since it avoiding having to retype hundreds of names and phone numbers.
It also allows me to save the contact lists back onto my computer. This is helpful because I add contacts in my phone from time to time. I want to be able to back them up so that I have the numbers in case I lose the phone.
When I take pictures with my cell phone camera, I can transfer them onto the computer. This is nice because it avoids the multimedia use charges of e-mailing the pictures. I can also take pictures from the computer, once appropriately shrunk, and put them onto my cell phone. This is not a big deal, but it's kind of cute sometimes.
Some comments on the implementation of the system, and in comments about synchronizing PCs to cell phones.
The software needs to be installed from the CD. I did purchase the CD from Amazon.com, but later when I got my phone, it had the identical CD with it already. Along with the mini USB cable. (It's handy to be able to use such a common connector cable, instead of the elaborate and specialized ones that other phones sometimes use. Originally I was leery about using one port for the three functions -- data synchronization, battery charging, and microphones/earphone headset. But it has been working okay.)
I cannot get the system to work unless I was logged in as the administrator. Oh well. Sometimes when you try a second function after the first (like image file transfer after you've done the phone synchronization), it crashes and you have to start all over again. The software is reasonably obvious to use, but it does take some fumbling around in the beginning. I also like the feature that allows you to transfer text messages onto your hard drive. I actually use this quite a bit.
Your contacts need to be put into Outlook or Outlook Express. (Some other mail tools work also.) If you have contacts in there already, then those will get dumped onto your phone also. So you should really clean out your resident contact list before you do this. I keep my work and contacts in the normal account upon which I log into my computer, but then I log in as administrator when I use this function. So my mail server only has phone contacts in it anyway.
The file transfer function works okay, I enjoy having access to pictures in both directions.
Overall, the software is easy to use. Nokia has an analogous system for their phones. It works reasonably well also, but I marginally prefer Motorola's.
Cell phone synchronization in general: before you do this, make sure that you can actually synchronize your phone. WARNING! Many cell phone service providers disable PC synchronization functions. Service providers like Verizon, Sprint, and many others make sure that these functions do not work. So even though the phone is built with these capacities, they somehow make them nonfunctional. Most company representatives do not know this or, I suspect, are trained not to discuss it.
I got my Motorola phone from my third-party long-distance provider, CREDO (formerly Working Assets). After spending lots of time unsuccessfully trying to get the software to work with the Motorola phone, I came to find out that the phones that they issue have these functions intentionally broken. I returned the phone and quit service with them.
I learned that the only service providers that actually let you use the phones that have this function are AT&T and T-Mobile. I therefore went out, signed up with AT&T, got another Motorola phone, plugged it into my computer, and it worked fine.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Don't bother if you have Nextel Phones
Comment: Another product with decent design and idea. However, if you own a locked phone regardless of carrier, you cannot get full feature use unless you buy an unlock code so that you can tap into the complete ability of your phone. Regardless of the advertising and packaging, it does not work for "all" phones.
Motorola Mobile Phone Tools 4.0 for all Motorola Phones [Motorola Retail Packaging] Reviews: Page 2 of 50
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