Reviews for Motorola Mobile PhoneTools 3.0 w/ Mini USB Cable

it works, but but not seamlessly

Strengths: Syncing works very well as long as you can organize our contacts to fit the way the software works.

Weakness: There are a number of annoying problems with the software.

When I first installed PhoneTools it couldn't detect my phone (a V180). Detecting the phone worked better after updating PhoneTools to a later version.



The Live Update process to update PhoneTools gives confusing feedback: the progress bar goes about halfway across and stops, waiting for the user to press next. It looked like it was hung, but it just waiting for me.



The CD came with version 3.18. After many upgrade steps and several reboots, it was finally updated to 4.04.



I couldn't immediately figure out how to get the software to notice newly created Outlook contacts folders. I closed and restarted the application, but then it couldn't connect to phone again. I again closed and tried to restart PhoneTools, but it didn't start -- its logo came up for a few seconds and then went away. This happened twice. I believe I rebooted to get it working again.



One other day I sync'd to the phone then left the software running and connected to the phone for an hour or so. I was fiddling around with my Outlook address book for a while. When I went to do a sync it told me the phone isn't connected or isn't on. But I know that it was connected and on because I had recently done a sync.



I had some trouble syncing some calendar entries. I don't know why. It said there was some feature the phone didn't support, but it didn't give me enough information to figure out what calendar entry or feature wasn't working.



My biggest complaint is that PhoneTools can't sync multiple contact folders at once. PhoneTools syncs both ways, so if I sync several folders one at a time it messes up my folders! (Entries from the 1st contacts folder sync down to the phone and then get sucked up into the 2nd folder and so on.) So, since I have organized my contacts into multiple folders, I have to use a more manual approach than just clicking sync. Instead, I have to use the phonebook view, work with one contacts folder at a time, and select contacts to be sent to the phone. This also means I can't use a nice feature of the sync which is the ability to only sync entries that match some condition (such as a specific category).
But, I can accomplish the same goal manually: I can search and sort on the Outlook category field in PhoneTools. (You just have to right click on the header to add the category column.) (Unfortunately, this only works on the left (outlook) side of the UI; this doesn't work on the right (phone) side of the UI.)



Another annoying thing about PhoneTools is the Outlook contact's full name that is sent to the phone doesn't include the suffix, such as Jr and Sr. To the phone, Fred Smith Jr and Fred Smith Sr. look the same, so the phone can only store one of those two contacts.



If you only have one contacts folder, the software (after it's updated to 4.04 or later) should work well for you. If you have multiple contacts folders, PhoneTools is still worth $20 or less, but be prepared to do the syncing somewhat manually. In either case, if you don't want all your contacts stored on your phone, be prepared to spend some time reorganizing your Outlook contacts folders and/or setting categories on contacts you want to push down to your phone.

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Motorola Mobile PhoneTools 3.0 w/ Mini USB Cable

Strengths: everything worked like a dream, live updates were effortless!

Weakness: none

Great product, have created ringtones, wall paper and also backed up my phones phonebook. Great product and well worth the money. Would definately buy again!

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Motorola Mobile PhoneTools 3.0 w/ Mini USB Cable

Strengths: Easy to learn and use. Inexpensive. Works with multiple users (my wife has the same phone, I can sync each and it remembers the config)

Weakness: A little squirrelly when unplugging phone from USB and connecting another device.

I am glad I purchased this device. I have uploaded MP3's. wallpapers and ringers to my phone at no additional download costs. This item works well with our pair of Motorola Razrs. I am satisfied with this purchase.

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Phone tool

Strengths: Ease of use, the set up of the software was easy and quick. The instructions were a little lacking but fairly easy to fiqure ot without the instructions.

Weakness: instructions

The software was intuitive enough to get a grasp of its use. Once used a few times it was easy. I would recommend it to anyone that has abig address book since it coordinates with Windows Outlook.

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Motorola Mobile PhoneTools 3.0 w/ Mini USB Cable

Strengths: Calendar syncing, Backing up phone data, Uploading pictures and sounds on to your phone

Weakness: Stability, Very difficult to get working the way you want

This product would be awesome if it worked right. Getting it set up properly was like wrestling a bear. I had a lot of trouble getting it to sync with Outlook correctly. It had a lot of problems dealing with daylight savings time. I had to start over approximately three times before it began to work right. I've also had a lot of problems with it crashing, and often requires a restart before it will behave again. On a positive note however, I was finally able to get it to work the way I wanted and use it to sync my phone's datebook and Outlook calendar. It also allowed me to make my own ringtones and upload pictures on my phone. (this saved me several bucks I could have spent buying expensive wallpapers and ringtones from my service provider) Another neat feature that isn't that useful to me, but I played around with anyways was using my phone as a modem. I was successfully able to connect to the internet using my cellphone although speeds were extremely slow. Overall, I could only recommend this product to someone who is willing to put a lot of work into getting it set up properly.

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Motorola Mobile PhoneTools 3.0 w/ Mini USB Cable

Strengths: None

Weakness: Won't sync. Terrible support.

I cannot synce my Razr phone to Outlook. It will only default to Outlook Express.

Their support people tell me I have a Windows problem, but my Tungsten T5 syncs and my iPaq syncs with no problems.

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You get what you want.

Strengths: Great product. You can make ringtones, wallpapers, screensavers, and download music to your phone. There are many other things you can do.

Weakness: None

I don't get why people say that this product is hard to get working. It is the easiest product to get to work and if you don't know what to do it gives you a step by step guide. These other people made me feel like a genius because I didn't even sweat getting it to work. I would recommend it. The product also got here really fast. I ordered Thursday night and received my product Monday morning.

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Mobile PhoneTools 3.0 w/ Mini USB Cable

Strengths: Easy to install, good interface

Weakness: None discovered

Software and cable are as described. Fits PC and V265 with no problem. Software was easy to install and configure - had an automatic update feature to get the latest version. Menus are easy to use - very intuitive - haven't needed to use help yet - that's a good thing. Unloaded pics from phone - worked fine. Synchronized address book with Outlook - worked fine. Will need to do some cleanup of my address book now....

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Motorola Mobile PhoneTools 3.0 w/ Mini USB Cable

Strengths: I like that I can charge my phone using the USB cable and that I can make phonebook adjustments on the computer.

Weakness: Phone Tools not "Deluxe" version, which is compatible with Outlook. Phone must have some charge to recharge through USB.

I had a hard time initially synchronizing the phone and computer resulting in multiple copies of phone numbers. And, I thought this version of "Phone tools" would connect with Outlook or other software to backup and sync my address book. However, it seems that it is the Deluxe Edition that will do that. Had I known I'd never have actually bought the standard version at nearly the same price! I don't know if the other versions out there for sale are standard or Deluxe, but buyer beware!

Also, if the phone has completely discharged, USB charging won't work and it seems you must use the standard charger.

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Great software to own

Strengths: Easy to use. Powerful synchronization. I can even use it to customize my own ring tone.

Weakness: Synchronization can be tricky, especially when you have "conflicting" contact names between your email program and cell phone. It took me a while to get to what I really want.

I did not have problems with installation while many others do. I guess I was lucky. I did spend hours on the synchronization adn I guess that was because I did not have consistent way to input a contact on the cell phone vs my email program (Outlook). It was a painful process but it is working now (at least to a minimum acceptable level). Have not played with it for a while until next time when I have more changes on my cell phone!

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MPT v3

Strengths: Reliable connection via oem software and standard cable.

Good price. Delivered quickly in original packaging.
Works as advertised, simpler and more reliable than on-OEM software.
If you are looking to mod you phone, you'll still need more software.

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Mobile Phone Tools 3.0 review

Strengths: Outlook calendar; contacts

Weakness: creation of Music extracts from .mp3

Calendar and contacts work fine. Transfering to/from phone & pc is working fine. Only thing that I'm having a hard time is related with music. I followed the instructions to create a section of the .mp3 file; when i try to save it it didnt let me save and when i try to transfer this to phone; i keep getting .codec not compatible or available

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Motorola Mobile PhoneTools 3.0 w/ Mini USB Cable

Strengths: very easy to set up to transfer photos from the cell phone to the computer and save

Weakness: none

see above in strength. have not tried using other features included on the cd rom disk. probably will not use any more than the above use.

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Product does what it says for my Razr V3

Strengths: Syncing contacts/calendar with Outlook, adding MP3 clips to be used as ringtones, setting the phone up for use as a dialup Internet connection

Weakness: Original CD I received shipped with a corrupt English version

This product will allow you to manage the phone -- in my case, the Motorola V3 Razr -- the way it was meant to be managed: adding MP3s as ringtones, syncing contacts and calendar with Outlook, and setting up the phone to be used as a dialup Internet connection. The included USB cable is also a must if you plan to do any modding, including flex upgrades. I had a problem with the CD that shipped -- Motorola produced a bad batch -- but the vendor responded within hours with a secure FTP location.

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