From what I can tell, the E815 is replacing the V710. What does the E815 have/do that the V710 doesn't? Thanks!
Your right, word we got from our Vzw reps have the V710 being phased out on a stock turn over basis over the next 2 months. The main difference between the two is the EVDO (Vcast) capability of the E815 as oppossed to 1xrtt capability of the V710. In other words, the 815 can move data faster in broadband markets allowing one to download larger files in a reasonable amout of time. Another big difference, at least for some, is that the V710 is tri-mode as opposed to all digital. One other thing - The 815 has 4x the shared memory capacity, 40mb compared to 10mb. Hope that helps!
The E815 is fixing some of the things that were wrong with the 710 plus added a few things mentioned by eds222
The phone was available in Circuit City here in NYC today for $99 after rebates. One thing they didn't change was unleashing Bluetooth. It is 99% crippled in this phone as is in the 710. -- rg56
The Bluetooth in the V710 was no OBEX capable that allows transferring of files between a PC an the phone. In regards to Verizon, they crippled the Bluetooth further by pretty much only making it capable of working with a Bluetooth headset.
Ah. Thanks. Can I ask another stupid question? What is OBEX? I can only assume it refers to some sort of data exchange?
I wonder if the RF of the E815 is as awesome as the V710, even though it is a digitial-only phone compared to the V710's tri-mode?
Verizon has the e815 now and it looks very good. The only thing is the LG 8100 that is coming out very soon actully looks better.
after reading all the reviews on phonescoop.com and howardforums.com for the new E815. got me all excited. i was getting real sick and tired of my v60s, and it was time for an upgrade. i was at circuit city this afternoon getting ready to buy the new E815 for $269.99, but had a change in heart. the phone is too BIG. its a nice phone with a beautiful screen. but i dont really need all the bluetooth and v-cast crap. i looked into samsung a890, but the only thing missing is speakerphone and thats a MUST for me. i decided to hold on to my $269.99 and wait for something good.
the e815 has a ton that the 710 doesnt, both obex and dun are there they just have to be activated by seem edits and a number code, the 815 is evdo the 710 isnt, the voice recognition is faster and better, the 815 always displays the time on the outside of the flip in a dimmed grey, you can use speakerphone with the flip closed on the 815, the 815 uses skins instead of colorschemes (personal favorite) you can swap these out and give your menu a totally custom feel, anyway with that said I love this phone
It seems like Motorola is streamlining some common features in their phones. The "Skins" option is something I have noticed in the latter 2004 released phones (RAZR, V551, and the like). I've noticed the addition of the time visible in a light gray tone common on the Black RAZR and the V635. I'm glad they added it to the E815. This was one thing I would have liked to have seen on the V710.
Moto is moving toward a common UI interface across all their phones. CDMA has been far behind GSM in the past. There will still be differences as Verizon has specific UI requirements, but you should start to see the new look and feel by the end of the year. Maybe by the time the V325 comes out for Verizon later this year.
So it doesn't support DUN out of the box? That's an improvement over the V710? I'd say that's a step backward. Dimmed time display on the outside is a welcome addition, though.
DUN is a 'hidden' feature, as many on HoFo have discovered in the last week. To activate DUN, key ##DIALUP. The phone will give you a confirmation that DUN is active. Really, from a BT standpoint, the E815 is an upgrade, albeit not an overt one. Multiple HoFo posters have successfully seem-edited their E815s to activate OBEX.
I got the V710 last week and liked it alot (except for the camera quality). After reading some reviews of the E815 I exchanged the V710 for the E815. After just an evening of fiddling with the E815. I would say it really is just a good upgrade of the V710 (camera seems to be better). Choose the E815.
VCAST isn't necessarily a browser, just a service being provided more equivalent to Get It Now. The E815 does browse at EV-DO speeds however, of course given that you're in an EV area. It's quite phenomenal, and that's a lot coming from me who's a stickler for a good browser. Motorola went from being the worst for web usage to the best, even topping Sanyo (my previous pick for #1). There aren't error messages, I have yet to experience lockups and crashes even after heavy usage. Honestly, it doesn't feel like I'm using a Motorola as those negatives are what I've come to equate with that brand. I'm using my E815 more than normal, it's like I'm doing all I can to test it. Going throughout the menu system, doing multiple, quick functions, waiting for those crashes that don't seem to be coming. Browsing normal HTML websites like Engadget.com (which can't completely load, there is a cache limitation but nowhere near as bad as my previous CDM-9900). I don't want any of that T720-like crap to creep up on me after a month when I'm stuck with it. Thus far, however, I'm thoroughly impressed.
815 is digtial only, you will never go into analog mode 815 is digtial only, you will never go into analog mode
815 - not that great so far Battery life is terrible - I am getting about two days standby and less than 30 min talk time. Allegedly this is because the EVDO network is still under test in my area (SF Bay Area, CA) and when the EVDO network is up battery life will come up to specs. (V-Cast is also not functional, not that I would ever use it.) So I will update this review if that happens. I don't know if you will get terrible battery life if you live in an area completely without EVDO coverage. What the heck - the phone was nearly free for me under the "new every two" program. But if the battery life problem doesn't fix itself, I'm going back to my 7-yr-old StarTac.
According to VZW, the E815 has no voice dialing. Is that true? If so, that's one useful feature the V710 had that the E815 does not.
Nope, voice dialing works I have not yet figured out how to get it to dial saved phonebook entries, but according to the manual this should be possible.
