TracFone LG 600G review - Part 2

LG 600G Review – Beyond the Basics

This phone has much to offer

This is a follow up to my previous post about this phone. So, if you haven’t yet read my LG 600G Review part 1, you might want to check it out by clicking here. And, if you’re a new visitor to this blog, you may want to subscribe to receive free updates by clicking on the link at the top right corner of this page. Now, on to part 2 of the review.

First, something to clear up on this phone regarding my initial review. I had said that the screen is equal to the w376g. After further review, though, I’ve found that the screen on the LG is not as nice. The reason is that, when viewed from an angle slightly above or below “straight on,” the colors tend to become distorted. This is similar to earlier LCD or rear-projection TVs, where if you stood too far to either side the colors would be skewed. I would estimate that, on this phone, there is a range of 20 degrees either up or down where the colors are perfect, and another 20 degrees in each direction beyond that where the image is still viewable. If you “tilt” this phone any more beyond that, you’ll still be able to read the text but the wallpaper will look pretty distorted. This isn’t a big deal in my opinion, but it’s something I wanted to point out.

Another item that I didn’t point out in my discussion of the external features of the phone – the LG 600 has a single port that provides the connection for the charger, a wired headset, and USB data cable. Only the wall charger is included in the package, and I didn’t buy any of the other attachments to test them separately. However, it is a pet peeve of mine that manufacturers insist on having different connections. It would be much better for the consumer if all phones used the same headset plug, USB cable, and charger connector. However, LG requires that we buy more accessories because whatever we may have had for previous phones won’t work with this model. This probably is a moot point for me, since I’ll never use any of those other accessories that would require a separate purchase (and the bluetooth means fewer wires in general). But, I wanted to point out that I think this business practice is NOT favorable to consumers.

Now on to a topic that is of interest to many readers – Bluetooth. I am very happy to confirm that the LG 600G’s bluetooth is far more functional that the w376g, which is basically good only for pairing with a headset or other audio device. On the LG, I was able to use two different bluetooth headsets that I tested. But, I was also able to connect to my computer’s bluetooth feature and transfer files both to and from the phone. This is important for a couple of reasons – first, you can take pictures with your phone and transfer them to a computer without using any airtime. Second, and perhaps more importantly to some, you can transfer audio files and pictures from your computer and use them as ringtones and wallpapers on your phone.

Click on the image for more info about this phone.

I haven’t done a lot of testing with it yet, but I quickly used a couple of free computer programs to crop and convert an mp3 file to a .amr file, which could then be used on the phone as a ringtone. I then transferred the file using bluetooth, and set it as my ringtone. I think I’ll need to do some more tweaking to my process to get it to sound how I want, but at least I know that the bluetooth file transfer works well. I was also able to VERY easily transfer a .mid file (polyphonic, not mp3) and set it as my ringtone, and I was quite pleased with the results.

In addition to making your own ringtone files, the ability to transfer via bluetooth opens up a variety of choices for acquiring custom ringers. Among them, I believe that you should be able to swap ringtones with other bluetooth phones, although I haven’t yet had the chance to test this. There are also a number of websites that offer downloadable tones, which you can save to your computer and then transmit via bluetooth to the LG 600G.

Another way that you might want to create a ringtone is to use the record feature of the LG 600G to record the audio of your choice. This recording can then be saved and set as the ringtone.

It’s a good thing that these alternate options exist, because TracFone wouldn’t let me buy any mp3 ringtones from them, either using my computer on the web or using the phone’s web browser. I can’t figure out why this would be the case, and I emailed TracFone to ask why. I’ll report back here when/if I hear back from them. But regardless of their response, it looks like the bluetooth transfer will end up being a much cheaper way to get ringtones for this phone, and provide unlimited options as well.

One thing I WAS able to download from TracFone is a wallpaper graphic. After having done it just to test it, though, I highly doubt I’ll ever pay for a wallpaper download since it’s now so easy just to go out to any internet page, save an image to your hard drive, and send the image to your phone via bluetooth.

Now on to another fun feature of this phone – the camera. I have never had a camera phone as my primary phone, so maybe my expectations weren’t all that high, but I was happy with the results produced by this phone. Within the options menu of the camera, you can choose resolution (320X240 or 640×480), pic quality, multi shot mode, self-timer, and white balance. Also, when in camera mode, the arrows control the zoom (only available on the 320X240 setting) and make the image lighter or darker. Another interesting feature on this phone is that the camera can be activated while the phone is closed, by pressing and holding the down arrow key on the side of the phone. In that case, the image will be displayed on the external screen. Here’s a pic that I took with the camera, on the lower of the two resolution settings:

Image taken with LG600G camera

Another extra feature of this phone is the web browser. However, similar to the w376g, the browser function is pretty limited in that it can only access content through TracFone’s mobile web site. This includes some headlines, sports scores, and weather, as well as TracFone’s storefront selling ringtones and wallpaper images. Off-limits, though, are any other mobile websites such as Google, Gmail, ESPN, and any other mainstream site with a mobile website. I tried, but was unable to download the mail clients for Yahoo and Gmail. It’s too bad TracFone insists on limiting access like this, because I think that a little more web browsing freedom might appeal to the same type of people that will be drawn to this phone.

Alright, I think that’s enough for this section of the review. I’ll wrap it up with a final LG 600G review post within a week. On that post, I’ll cover the games and productivity tools featured on this phone, and share my final thoughts as well as spell out a little more advice on choosing between this phone and the w376g.

Again, if you haven’t already done so, you may want to subscribe to receive free updates by clicking on the link at the top right corner of this page. This will ensure that when I publish more info about this phone, the w376g, and other TracFone topics such as great deals and new bonus codes, you’ll find out about it right away.

LG 600G - Bluetooth Also Available For Net10

First Net10 Bluetooth Phone

Yesterday I posted part 1 of my review of the LG 600G for TracFone. What I forgot to mention in that post is that this phone is also available for Net10, also for $79.99. This model is, in fact, the first Bluetooth phone available for Net10, as the w376g is available for TracFone ONLY. So if you’re a Net10 user and looking for a Bluetooth phone, this is it.

You will also benefit from a “free minutes” promotion from Net10 - when you activate this phone, even if you activate it by transferring your current phone number, you will get 300 free minutes added to the new phone. This is in addition to any minutes transferred from your old phone.

Please click here for more info on finding this phone.

TracFone LG 600G review - Part 1

LG 600G Review

Another Bluetooth TracFone

For the second time in as many months, TracFone has released a new bluetooth-equipped phone. I had so much fun completing my review of the w376g that I had to rush out and get the LG 600G as soon as I could in order to review it as well. As I did with the w376g review, I’ll be breaking this review into three parts. [NOTE: As of August 18th, you can access part 2 of the LG 600G review by clicking here.) If you're a new visitor to this blog, you may also want to subscribe to receive free updates by clicking on the link at the top right corner of this page. Now, on to the review.

First, let's go over the features that set this apart from other TracFone models:

• Flip Phone design
• VGA Camera
• Bluetooth Capability
• Handsfree speaker
• Phonebook with up to 1000 entries
• External display
• Double Minutes for the life of this phone upon activation

Click on the image for more info about this phone.

There are a handful of other features that may be important to some, and I’m skimming over them initially. Basically, though, if any previous TracFone had a particular feature, odds are that it’s available on this phone as well. I’ll get to all the extras later on in the review, too.

Much like the Motorola Bluetooth phone, the appearance of this phone is far better than any of the older TracFone models. I really like how this phone looks. I personally prefer it over the w376g, but that definitely is a matter of your personal taste. The LG 600G is slightly wider, and maybe 3/8” shorter, than the w376g. They are about the same thickness, and the Motorola is slightly heavier. The color, shape, and external screen on the 600G are the biggest differences in the appearance. The Motorola is silver and rather narrow looking, while the LG is a glossy black design with smooth, rounded corners and edges.

Another nice feature is the external screen, which allows you do view the status of your phone without flipping it open. This small screen displays a lot of info in a small space, including date, time, signal strength, battery meter, new message indicator, and ringer volume level.

As I said above, I am really impressed with the visual appeal of this phone. In my review of the w376g, I wrote “…this phone looks less like a TracFone handset than any other model offered by the company.“ Well, that distinction for the w376g didn’t last long, as the 600G surpasses that model attractiveness. And, you won’t find the word “TracFone” anywhere on the outside of the phone. (When the 600G is flipped open, however, you’ll see the TracFone trademark below the main screen).

Speaking of the screen, I found that the internal display to be quite nice – equal to the screen on the w376g. Regarding the keypad, I found it to be good, but not great on the 600G. I actually slightly preferred the numeric keypad on the Motorola. Whereas the Motorola has raised ridges separating the number keys, the 600G sports more rounded, glossy keys. However, the arrow pad and the clearly marked “OK” and “clear” keys on the 600G definitely worked better for me than did the comparable keys on the w376g. So I guess that’s a toss up in terms of usability.

But in terms of texting I have to give a slight advantage to the Motorola for a reason that might at first seem like a disadvantage. As I noted earlier, the Motorola is slightly heavier. This actually seems to work better for me when I do one-handed texting and other use of the phone, as the w376g seems to balance in my hand more steadily.

However, the major downfall of the w376g in terms of texting is the use of the iTAP predictive text system, compared to the T9 system used by the LG as well as older Nokia TracFones. If you’ve never used either of these, or have always used iTap, you might not notice a difference. But if you’ve used T9 significantly, you’ll definitely prefer it to iTAP. So in that area, the advantage goes to the LG.

And, before I move on, I’ll get to one more complaint about the keypad. Just like the w376g, the 600G has the single-touch web browser key. This may be a problem for some because, if you accidentally press the browser button, the browser application will open and begin deducting units (on both this phone and the w376g) However, it is not as problematic on the 600G since the button only functions if you are at the home screen when you press the browser key. Further, if you do accidentally start the browser, the option to “cancel” is clearly available on the screen. Both of these last two points are improvements over the w376g.

Now let’s get to what a phone is supposed to be used for – talking. The sound quality on this phone is good, but not great. I compared the 600G with the w376g by calling some people first with the LG, then with the Motorola. In my testing, the Moto produced a crisp, clean sound compared to the LG, both for me and for the person on the other end of the line.

The LG was not bad, but definitely finished in second place behind the Motorola in my opinion. The sound of the 600G seemed to pretty accurately reproduce the voice of both parties at an adequate volume, yet it sounded rather distant – almost as if I were holding a thin layer of cloth between my ear and the phone.

Another area where I had difficulty was that the receiver on the 600G seems very sensitive to wind noise. I experienced this problem outdoors, obviously. But, I also noticed it when having a regular conversation indoors. It seems that the microphone picked up the movement of air from me breathing. Now I’m a pretty healthy, physically fit person and I wasn’t breathing heavily or anything, so this really surprised me. I’ve never had this problem with any other phone, and it was quite annoying when I could hear the “noise” created by my own breath. After a few minutes on the phone I was able to adjust the position of the phone to alleviate the problem, but it was still annoying.

Another point you may want to consider is that the 600G excels in the area of signal reception. Wherever there is even the faintest signal, this LG picks it up and is able to make and receive calls. It may even be a little better than the w376g. Two thumbs up in this area.

Now, after reading the last few paragraphs, you might be completely turned off to this phone. If you plan to use the LG 600G only as a basic phone the vast majority of the time, then I would suggest that the Motorola w376g is probably going to be a better purchase for you – especially at roughly half the price. But if you are interested in other features, stay tuned for future installments of this review. This phone does have some great redeeming qualities beyond sound quality, but they’re not the sort of things that all TracFone customers will make use of. Here is a list of the topics I plan to cover in future segments of this review:

• Bluetooth connectivity
• Ringtones and Wallpapers
• Camera/Voice Recorder
• Web Browser
• Games
• Calendar/Organizer
• Phone Book

I’ll be getting to these and other areas of this phone on a new post within a week. [NOTE: As of August 18th, you can access part 2 of the LG 600G review by clicking here.) Again, if you haven’t already done so, you may want to subscribe to receive free updates by clicking on the link at the top right corner of this page. This will ensure that when I publish more info about this phone, the w376g, and other TracFone topics such as great deals and new bonus codes, you’ll find out about it right away.

w376g Battery Suggestions

w376g users - check out these battery tips

Over the past week or so, it seems that there have been quite a few comments regarding problems with the battery life on the w376g. I have not personally experienced this problem, but the number of comments about it seems to indicate that it is something to consider. So, I racked my brain to come up with a few tips about keeping your w376g batter charged and ready to use. I’ve already posted some of these ideas in the comments section, but not everyone reads the comments so I decided to organize them into one place. Here are my tips:

1. Even though this is rather obvious, and part of the reason that some people have complaints about the battery life, the simplest solution is just to make it part of your routine to charge your phone regularly. I keep my phone in my pocket pretty much all the time, so at the end of the day I simply empty my pockets and place my phone on my dresser. I keep my charger near the dresser, so I charge my phone overnight 2-3 times per week. Another suggestion for people who have a desk job is to keep the charger near your desk, and plug in your phone during your workday.

2. If you have a daily commute, or use your phone most frequently while in your car, a car charger might work for you. There has been some discussion of this in the comments section, and it sounds like chargers for this model of phone are available from various sources. The tricky part, though, is that the car chargers are not specifically labeled as being compatible with the w376g. However, a charger that works with the Motorola RAZR, as well as the lower-tier TracFone models w175 and w260 will also charge this phone. The best tip that I’ve heard on picking up a car charger is to look at a dollar store or other retailer for a RAZR charger. I’ve heard from a few people that they found a charger for $1 at a dollar store. Another option would be eBay, where there are a few options available. But, be careful with small electronics like this – some unscrupulous sellers will try to sell you something at a great price, but then drastically overcharge on the shipping to make a little extra profit. So keep your eye on the total price.

3. Also, as I mentioned above, this phone uses the same charger as the w175 and the w260 TracFone models; it also uses the same battery. So if you pick up a w175 for $10, which is the suggested retail price, you’ll have a spare battery and a spare wall charger – you can then use one at home and one at work, or some other combination. Then keep the spare battery in your car, purse, desk drawer, or whatever, to have it handy. It may seem like a lot to spend on a spare battery, but keep in mind that you can also activate the w175 to receive 20 minutes of talk time and 60 days of service. Then transfer those minutes and days to your w376g for a little extra bonus. Also, if you want to consider buying the w175 from TracFone, click here for my advice on how to get a solid deal on the spare parts phone, plus 360 minutes for $40.

4. If you like the idea in #3 above, but use more minutes, you could also consider getting the 450 minute bundle from TracFone. With your double minutes for life, you can get 920 minutes plus the extra charger and battery, for $80 plus tax. Click here to find this deal.

5. Finally, you can use a USB to Mini-USB cable to charge the phone from your computer. This might be more for people that are a little more technically inclined, as it requires knowledge of which cable to use as well as installation of a special driver onto your computer. The cable you will need has a standard USB connector on one end, and a Mini-USB, which will fit into your phone, on the other end. Then install the driver, using the instructions found here, to make sure your phone will charge from the computer. Lastly, you will need connect the phone to your computer’s USB port using the cable, and wait for your phone to charge.

Well, those are my suggestions for keeping your w376g battery fully charged. Also, keep in mind that bluetooth use, on any phone model, is particularly hard on battery life. If your battery is running low, try to avoid using bluetooth if you can.

I’m sure that there are other possibilities, or clarifications on my instructions, so please do share any input you have using the comments section below. Thanks!

Bonus Codes Updated, SIM Card Reader details

The TracFone bonus code list is up-to-date once again. I didn’t add any new codes this time since I haven’t found any new codes in a whlie. But I updated the “most recently used” column for many of the codes, confirming that they are still working. You can find the most current TracFone Bonus Codes here.

Also, in a previous post I described an inexpensive SIM card reader that I found. Well, I’ve used it a couple of times now and I must say that I am very impressed with the value that I received from this $3.63 purchase. I opened the package, installed the software from the included CD rom, and followed the directions from there. It took just a few minutes and I had copied my entire phone book from my old SIM card to my new one. I’m very happy I didn’t need to copy them all using the phone keypad – it was money well spent. You can also use the device to input new phone book entries using your computer keyboard.

So if you want to copy your phone book from your old SIM to your new SIM, I definitely recommend this device. Here, again, is a link to the item.

EDIT 7/31/08 - In response to Ortizmro’s comment, I tested the reader on both my PC’s - one Vista, one XP machine. It worked fine on both, following the included instructions. Ortizmro, thanks for calling that to my attention and for all your valuable contributions!

New TracFone available-LG600C, price drop on w376g

Alright, after a long weekend away, I’m back again and playing catch-up a little. I don’t have a great deal of info to add at the moment, but I did want to point out a couple of developments on the TracFone front. First, a new TracFone is available in some retail locations. Apparently, this phone was overshadowed by the release of the w376g (TracFone’s first Bluetooth option), but now the LG600G is available, for $79.99, with many of the same features as the w376g, plus a few more.

It is a flip-phone that offers the bluetooth and camera phone options, and includes Double Minutes for Life, but also includes an external display and voice recorder, among other options. And, rumor has it that the web browser on this model is faster and less restricted than the w376g. It is not yet available from TracFone, and apparently is available at only limited brick-and-mortar retail locations, including some KMart, Sears, and Meijer stores, but NOT yet Target or Walmart. I have also not found any online sources offering this phone. When it becomes more widely available, or is available on TracFone.com, I’ll report it here, and shortly thereafter you can look for my LG600C review. For now, you can check out the manual here.

Also, the w376g is now being offered at a discount for the first time since its debut last month. Sears and KMart are both offering the phone for $39.99 this week at retail locations, but again, not on the web. It also appears as though some location may be sold out of this model. So if you plan on going to the store to pick one up, you might want to call first to make sure they have what you’re looking for.

Finally, I haven’t seen any big changes on the bonus code front, but I am overdue for updating the list of valid codes. Look for that by the end of the week.

Jitterbug Phone Review complete

Last month, I made a short post asking for input on the value of phone service through Jitterbug. I didn’t get much input, and my web searches turned up a similar lack of valuable information. So, I decided to do my own research and put together my own analysis of the services offered by Jitterbug.

I visited a couple of stores that sell Jitterbug products, perused Jitterbug’s website, and consulted various news items on the company. I then compared that info to my existing knowledge of other prepaid wireless options, especially TracFone. The result was my in-depth Jitterbug phone review, which you can find here.

Beyond comparing the two companies, I also provided info intended to assist brand new TracFone customers get started with the service. I hope that you will take the time to check it out and let me know what you think. Thanks!

How to get more ringtones for your TracFone w376g or w370

Create your own ringtones for your TracFone

This applies to the w370 and w376g. After my review of the w376g, I’ve had a lot of questions from people wondering if they could create their own ringtones or get them from some place other than TracFone’s site. Well, it’s sort of possible, or at least it should be. To be clear, you can NOT add your own mp3 ringtones. But, you can add midi file ringtones by emailing them to your own phone. I’ve heard mixed results on whether this worked for most people. I have not yet tried it myself, but I will soon. Here’s a site I found that explains it all:

creating TracFone ringtone

If anyone tries this, I’d appreciate hearing about your experience with the whole process, good or bad. Please feel free to use the comments section and hopefully we can get a discussion going.

Motorola w376g TracFone Review - Part 3

Motorola w376g - Part 3 of my in-depth review

This is a follow-up to my w376g review part 1 and part 2. This post picks up where I left off with part 2. If you enjoy this series of reviews, you might also want to sign up to receive email updates when I publish a new post to this blog, alerting you about new deals on TracFone airtime and phones, new bonus codes, and other topics related to TracFone use and saving money. I generally post new content 2 or 3 times per week, so I won’t be filling up your inbox every day. If you are a TracFone user, it is my goal to save you money and make your life easier. You can sign up for free updates here, and it’s easy to unsubscribe at any time if you change your mind.

Another link that might be helpful to you is my “best price on the Motorola w376g” page, if you’re on the lookout for the best price on this phone. When I find a new deal, I’ll create a post about on the blog, and update my “best price” page.

Alright, I’m finally wrapping up this series. When I set out to write this review, I didn’t intend on it being nearly so long. But, I kept coming up with new things that I thought people should know about, and the review kept growing. And since it’s the hot new phone of the moment for TracFone users, I’m sure other issues will come up in the future, and I’ll be here to discuss those as well. Anyway, on to the remainder of the review:

One thing that I forgot to mention previously on the review are the little indicator lights on the outside of the phone. The three indicators will light up to signal a new voice mail, new text message, or low battery. This is a pretty handy feature on the flip phone, and may save you some time opening and closing your phone. And, it looks pretty cool, too.

Another thing that a few people have asked me about is the charger for this phone. The end that connects to the phone is a mini-USB type plug, which is a becoming a fairly standard connector among many devices such as PDAs, digital cameras, GPS units and many newer cell phones. For many of these devices, that port functions as both a charger and a data transfer port. That way, the user can plug the device into a computer’s USB port to both charge the device, drawing power from the computer, and transfer info between the device and the computer. However, on this particular phone, data transfer is not allowed. Not only that, the phone will not even charge when connected to a computer USB port. This is not a big deal for me - I always plug my phone into the wall overnight 2-3 times a week anyway - but it may be a problem for some.

As a result of the limited data transfer, though, the only way you’ll be able to get pictures off the camera and onto your computer is by emailing them from your phone. That, too, has been glitchy for me, though. I really don’t foresee myself using this very much at all, but it would be nice to know it’s functional if I ever need to use it. So far, though, I haven’t been able to send a picture from the phone to either an email address or another phone. I may be doing something wrong, but there has also been some discussion of this on various forums around the web as well as from a couple of readers that have contacted me. So it looks like I’m not the only one having problems. Other users have reported that problem was corrected, either spontaneously or after filing a tech support request with TracFone. I will try to get in contact with TracFone and report the results here. I’m optimistic that it can be resolved. But for now, keep in mind it may be a hassle to get any pictures off your phone.

And, this brings me to my next point. If you happen to own this phone, and want to consult the user guide, it will probably save you some frustration if you don’t even bother. I don’t know if maybe TracFone/Motorola just assumed that by now everyone should know how to use the features on bluetooth-capable, web-enabled camera phones, but the manual is just a step above utterly worthless. If you have question about your w376g, you’ll be much better off searching the web or posting your question here and hoping another user can answer it, rather than spending any time looking through your instruction manual.

Finally, I feel obligated to mention this on all my TracFone reviews. I have been a Nokia 1100 user for 3+ years now, I think, and I keep hanging on to it for one specific reason - it is one of the only TracFone models that allows free incoming text messages. On the w376g, it will cost .3 units to receive an incoming SMS message (and more to receive MMS, although that’s not really my issue here). So if you are thinking of upgrading, but receive a lot of incoming texts every day, you’ll want to consider the costs.

Ok, wow, I just read back through the review and realized that I ended with a lot of criticisms there. I don’t want that to be the overall tone of the review, though, as I really am a big fan of the phone. I think that it is a great phone for making and receiving calls and has some cool features that make it much more fun than any other TracFone. Just know that some of these extras come with limitations, such as the limited data transfer capability.

Here’s a summary of what I do NOT like about the phone:

• poor user guide
• bluetooth might not work with some built-in handsfree systems in cars
• the phone can’t be charged from a computer USB port
• transferring pictures/sounds between the phone and a computer will require MMS messaging
• FM radio requires a wired headset to function at all
• it will cost you .3 units to receive a text (ok, this isn’t that big of a deal since all new TracFones work this way, but it’s my pet peeve so I’m putting it in my review!)
• there is no voice dialing feature
• Web browser button can be pushed accidentally; this may lead to units being deducted for web surfing you didn’t mean to do
• Web broswer can be slow

Now, the positives:

• Looks great
• Sound quality and reception are very good
• Camera is a nice feature to have handy
• Bluetooth is very nice and worked well with my headset
• Phone is solid, comfortable to use and carry, and fits in your pocket easily.
• Even though the browser isn’t fast, at least it’s there if you want to check it out.
• Supports mp3 ringtones
• Includes double minutes for life - this alone is a $49.99 value.

The phone costs only $49.99 - compare this to the original price of the w370 ($79.99), and consider the extras (Web Browser, Bluetooth, Camera, Double Minutes for Life), and you are getting a LOT of value for your $49.99.

In conclusion, I think that this phone is a great buy for the price. While the list of “negatives” on this phone is fairly long, those are mainly, in my opinion, minor annoyances, and I included them here just to make sure that people are aware of them. On the other hand, I felt that this phone scored high marks on the areas that important to me - how it functions as a PHONE in general, and as a TracFone specifically. The sound quality and reception are very good, the phone looks nicer than any other TracFone handset available, and the double minute feature will save you a lot of money. If you are a TracFone user considering this phone for an upgrade, I say “Go for it.” And I’ll do my best on this blog to keep you updated on the best prices available for this phone. You can check out the current deals on the w376g here.

Finally, I’m sure there are parts of my review that some may disagree with me on, or questions that people still have. Please post them in the comments section, and I’ll do my best to respond in a timely manner.

Motorola w376g TracFone Review - Part 2

Motorola w376g - Part 2 of my in-depth review

First, I have to apologize for failing to meet my self-prescribed deadline of Sunday evening for getting this review completed. I hope you’ll forgive me. But, here’s part 2 of my review (w376g review part 1 can be found here). I really wanted to do an extensive review, and it ended up being very long. So, I decided to break it up into three parts to make it easier to read. (NOTE: Motorola w376g review part 3 is now available here).

Also, to stay informed on this phone and other TracFone topics, you may also want to subscribe to receive my future blog posts automatically in your email. To subscribe, click on the link to the right of the title of this post – it’s free, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

In part 1 of my w376g review, I discussed the phone’s appearance and dimensions, keypad function, voice quality, signal reception, and use of ringtones. In this part of the review, I’ll continue to address some of the “extras” included in the phone and offer my final summary of the review.

Probably the most important extra for most people considering this phone is the bluetooth functionality. I’ve done fairly limited testing with this feature, but I found it to work fairly well. I have to admit that I’d never before even attempted to use a bluetooth phone, so I didn’t really know what to expect. But I had a Motorola HS 350 headset that I purchased a while back, and it paired perfectly with the phone when I followed the instructions in the phones user manual. (Note: I just posted about a good deal on the same headset that I use. You can find the details here.)

I then used the headset to place a test call, and I was very happy with the sound quality. In fact, I used the headset while a passenger in a car traveling at highway speeds, and the person on the receiving end of the call reported that I sounded very good. The volume on my earpiece was also very good.

However, there does appear to be a fairly significant stumbling block if you plan to pair this phone with a bluetooth device other than a headset. In the comments of my previous posts regarding this phone, other users have reported difficulty connecting to the built-in bluetooth in their vehicles.

It appears that the w376 can be paired to a vehicle’s bluetooth system with some effort, though. A reader has pointed out that the “access code” of the phone is set at “0000” and cannot be changed. So, you’ll need to change your vehicle’s access code accordingly. The steps to change the access code in your car will vary based on the car model. However, I’m assuming here that most vehicles equipped with this feature are pretty new, so you’ll probably be able to talk to the dealer to get help with connecting, if necessary. Just be advised, though, that it may not be as easy as you would hope.

Another area in which the bluetooth function is limited is in its inability to connect to a bluetooth-equipped computer. You won’t be able to use the bluetooth to transfer graphics or ringtones between your computer and phone. Similarly, the charging port on the w376g is a mini-USB, but you also won’t be able to use that connection to transfer files between the phone and your computer. For my personal use, this isn’t a great concern. But to some, it may be a major limitation of the phone.

Moving on to the camera function – I had briefly owned the first camera phone from TracFone, the Motorola C261, but that was a couple of years ago. From what I recall, this camera is slightly better than that on the C261, but I may be mistaken. The bottom line is that it works well enough to create adequate screen savers and background photos, or capture a must-have shot when standard camera is not available, but that’s about it. You certainly wouldn’t want to use the phone’s camera to make prints.

The phone also is another in the line of TracFones that offer web browsing capability. I tested this briefly, using the browser first to download a ringtone and then to find a couple of sports scores. The browser opens rather slowly, deducting 1 minute as soon as the browser is fully launched in the phone’s memory. After that, it will continue to deduct minutes as you keep the browser open.

I found the connection too slow to be enjoyable from an entertainment perspective. Also, the content you can access with the browser is restricted to TracFone’s own offerings, including ringtones and graphics, which cost extra to download, as well as limited pages on entertainment, sports, weather, news, and “top stories.” You won’t be able to surf the mobile web beyond these options from TracFone. Overall, I guess the browser is a nice feature to have available and use occasionally. But if you plan to make extensive use of the web browsing feature, I think you’ll end up pretty sorely disappointed.

But as far as entertainment, this phone does offer some other options. The FM radio is a nice touch and works pretty well, but only if you have a wired headset plugged in. The headset acts as the antenna for the radio, so you’ll end up listening to static if you don’t have a headset plugged in. If you have the headset, though, you can use the speakerphone to play the radio audio. And the radio is equipped with Radio Data System reception, which basically means that it can display the radio station/song info. The reception is also very solid, in fact it was better in my experience than my pocket radio that I use to listen to the ball games when I can’t watch.

The best entertainment feature in my opinion, though, is the game section. Tetris and Sudoku are both well-respected game options that, as far as I know, have never been included in a TracFone before. The soccer game, which is basically a foosball-type game, has been available on previous handsets but seems to be upgraded on this model.

The “office tools” menu also contains some nice options that available on the most recent line of Motorolas (including the w175g and the w260g). In this menu you will find some of the more standard features such as the calculator, stop watch, alarm clock, and lantern. A more in-depth feature, though, is the calendar. Basically, you can set appointments and tasks within this menu, and set up your phone to remind you when they need to be done. I found this to be pretty handy.

Finally, as I pointed out earlier, I’ll have the final part of this review available later this week. (NOTE: Motorola w376g review part 3 is now available here). However, if parts one and two of the review have you convinced that you want this phone, check out the best deals on the w376g here. I’ll update that page as new deals become available.