Q about Motorola Timeport 8767 on Verizon

[sketchmaster]

1. How does the Timeport 8767 on Verizon compare to today's phones in terms of RF reception, sound quality, and battery life?

2. Can you send & receive text message on the 8767 on Verizon?

3. How did the 8767 compare to the Tri-Band Startac which I believe preceeded it?

I ask all this because the feel and heft of the Timeport/Startac still seems better than the modern phones...

[twopiece]

I think the 8767 is one of the best old school phones that you can still use on Verizon. My dad is using my old Timeport and he loves it (even though I'd like to get him a Startac 2004 he refuses).

RF signal is excellent everywhere, I have not seen it below 4 bars yet. Handset volume is one of the best, it's probably the only phone I can use at a ballpark. I believe the phone can send and receive text messages but never used the feature. Never used the Startac that preceded it, I used the one for Sprint so not sure if that's an accurate comparision. Battery life is around a week for standby and 4-5 days with normal usage, one of the best in that category.

I think you'll be satisfied with it.

[WorkFurlough66]

Best Damn phone hands down, everything else has been crap! Durability A++++
Text Messaging is availible on some versions of the software, I know I had both versions. To check if you can send text messaging I think you just push the middle side key and the menu will show "send a message" on one of the lines, if it doesn't get the update from verizon.
The battery life was as good as the al the rest if it didn't sit in analog to long. Sound quality is better and louder than the Audiovox 8900 in speaker phone mode! No phone can beat that. I am almost considering going back.... ...... ..... let me break this 8900 p.o.s. first....

[MOTOhooligan]

Word, the old school StarTACs and Timeports are the . You'll never find a better phone. The StarTAC 2004 looks pretty nice but I don't know if it will be as substantial as the StarTACs or Timeports of old. I would be very disappointed if it were similar to the v66 which is very small, very light and feels cheaply manufactured. I'll keep my Timeport until it dies. I get great RF with it, the volume is loud and I could probably club a baby seal with it and it would still work . That's good construction, baby!

[Tmurphy]

I'm using a Timeport 8767 that I bought 3+ years ago. Great phone! I used it for a year on Sprint then switched it to Verizon(with a little help from these forums) almost 2 years ago. The phone has never let me down. I'm waiting for the V710 or StarTac 2004 to replace it, if they live up to the hype.

[chino_is]

I have Sprint (never had a problem) and my StarTac from 1999 just broke and I dont want to spend money on the new POS that Sprint is selling; I prefer the old Motorolas (they lasted 5 years!). Is it possible to get a cheap Verizon phone and switch it to the Sprint network (or do what you did with you Timeport but backwards)?

[madman3237]

Originally Posted by sketchmaster 1. How does the Timeport 8767 on Verizon compare to today's phones in terms of RF reception, sound quality, and battery life? 2. Can you send & receive text message on the 8767 on Verizon? 3. How did the 8767 compare to the Tri-Band Startac which I believe preceeded it? I ask all this because the feel and heft of the Timeport/Startac still seems better than the modern phones...

1) I've used mine for some 5 years on VZW. Only upgrading to get rid of headset cords, more phonebook storage and Voice Dial. No complaints. Even dropped it in my dogs' pen in the morning to find it buried when I returned at lunch! Still works fine except sometimes a key will stick! Reception and sound quality are great for this area. Battery life is currently only about a day with my heavy usage and sometimes dropping to analog. (Rural area with spotty coverage and being a landline phone service tech I am on backwoods roads a lot. ) But I am using the original battery.
2) Yes, I can send and recieve text.
3) Believe they are basically the same except for the color screen and color of case. I gave my Mom a Startac and when I set it up the menu was the same and she hasn't complained about it at all.

Note: The eagerly awaited V710 is about the same size and seems
to be rugged

[tviper92]

I have been reading this forum for a while, but this is post that made me actually become a member of WirelessAdvisor!

I have had the Timeport for quite some time, in fact I got it in 2001. There is really only one word that can describe this phone: AWESOME! I don’t know why I ever switched to the T720.

The call quality, sound, volume, display and the overall looks of the phone are amazing. And the really cool thing that I enjoyed about it was that the menu didn't lag like my wonderful T720 does. The display was really bright on the phone, mainly green text on a solid black background. Plus the fact that it displayed the time in blue and the roam and no service indicators in red.

There were only three things that I did not like about the phone:

1. The antenna, very cheap design. I felt like it was about to break at any time. However, I only had to replace the antenna once during the 1.5-2 years that I used the phone.

2. The rubber piece on the outside of the phone started to peel up, which was kind of annoying, but didn't affect the performance of the phone in any way.

3. When talking on the phone you can hear a crackling noise any time the phone moved (ie. pressed against your ear or adjusting the placement of the phone on your ear). This is the only thing I was really excited about when I got my T720, the hinge where the top and bottom parts of the phone join was built better than the Timeport.

Regardless of these three problems/annoyances with the Timeport, I would still rather be using it than my lagging, dusty screen, call-dropping, roam happy, crappy service piece of T720!

I would switch back to the Timeport if it weren't such a hassle to transfer the phonebook back to it.

Hopefully the V710 will rival the Timeport in overall quality and will live up to all of the hype. If not, then I'm going back to the trusty Timeport; I'll just have to buy some extra antennas .

Thomas

[grundig]

Glad I found this thread!

I have been a Sprint subscriber for about 4 years and eventually ended up with my favorite phone: the StarTac (black). I broke it in 1/2 after a few years and got the TimePort which I liked but like the black color of the StarTac better (looks more professional) to me plus the StarTac is a shade smaller.

I switched to T-Mobile 1.5 years ago and got a CRAPPY T-720i. Now I'm going to switch back to Sprint and use my old TimePort or buy a StarTac on eBay.

I don't need all the crap that all the new phones have in them. I just need it to store phone #'s and hold onto calls which both my StarTac/Timeport did exceptionally well.

Verizon seems to cost more than Sprint right now which is why I'm going with Sprint (Houston, TX).

[grundig]

When's the StarTac 2004 coming out and what providers will it be for? The only thing I can Google are Korean sites that show mouth-watering pics of the new StarTac 2004 with the box showing 800 MHZ CDMA (Verizon, I guess cause SPCS uses 1900).

[TommyH]

This is my phone. Had it for 3 years. Only verizon phone I've ever had. Never had a Startac before this so I can't compare. Physically the phone's held up well even though I've dropped it many times. Still use original antenna that still pulls out and stays extended. Antenna usually adds an extra bar to my signal strength. Only original part I lost was the motorola badge on the inside earpiece. Adhesive wouldn't stick anymore. I've had none of the paint chipping others complain of. So on the outside my phone looks decent. The silver color is in my opinion very professional. And it's easily identified in movies. I remember JLo whipping it out before she killed her husband in the movie in which she plays some abused wife.

In regards to the features, I had to upgrade the software to be able to send/receive txt msgs. I actually tried txting a couple of weeks ago. And it works. But I'm not a txter so I don't do it on the phone. My screen still works with the 3 different colors shining brightly. It looks best when opened up at night. Little hard to see in direct sunlight though. Original battery after 3 years will die in >24 hours, but I recharge nightly so no biggie. Phone has good phonebook. Other than that there's not much else in features. I gots no games for instance. Basically this phone's good for making calls and txting.

And voice quality is excellent. I get compliments from friends who've used it to make calls. And no one's ever complained to me when on the other end. Earpiece volume is good I guess. I have mine set 1 below max. Some people can hear my conversations at times.

My recent problems with the phone have been dropped calls which seems to happen only in my new apartment. Doesn't happen all the time but frequent enough for me to remember. I get the "signal faded" message even though I have full signal strength and antenna extended. Doesn't happen when I'm near the windows or on the balcony.

Overall I've been satisfied with the phone. It looks bulky compared to current phones but fits comfortably when held and talking. If I had to add one feature, it would be an external display. It's a bit inconvenient to open up the clamshell to see who's calling. However, I don't plan on getting a new phone until the Timeport completely dies and cannot be resuscitated no matter what.

[Tmurphy]

Originally Posted by chino_is I have Sprint (never had a problem) and my StarTac from 1999 just broke and I dont want to spend money on the new POS that Sprint is selling; I prefer the old Motorolas (they lasted 5 years!). Is it possible to get a cheap Verizon phone and switch it to the Sprint network (or do what you did with you Timeport but backwards)?

You should be able to go either way (Sprint or Verizon)with the phone. Here is the original link I found to make the transition.

http://www.wirelessadvisor.com/wafor...&threadid=3112

You may want to check Ebay for a used Sprint Timeport and save yourself the trouble of switching.