Motorola Woes and the MPX220

Since I could not convince my spouse (or myself) that it makes sense to buy a new Bluetooth-equipped car, I decided to research the Motorola site for a compatible bluetooth hands-free kit. I settled on the 98500 as their site said it was designed for the phone. I bought it from a company on the Internet that gave me a good deal. Motorola thinks this was my first mistake—I should have bought it from them. I found a local (well-respected) shop to install it and they (Magnolia) did a great job on a busy morning. When I fired up the device, it would pair and I could make/receive calls over the remote speaker and microphone. Unfortunately, I could not “train” the device with the phone as stated in the instructions. After repeated attempts I found that the MPX220 would not interface with the device. My daughter Fred’s phone worked fine, but the MPX220 would not. After two long calls to Motorola, they insisted that the two devices would “certainly” work together. No, the person on the phone didn’t say that—they had to ask their “supervisor” each question I asked while I waited 10, 20 or 30 minutes on hold. I guess they figured I would give up. I didn’t. They suggested that I return the phone. After another week of waiting, I got a new phone and tried again. No change. I got back on the phone with Motorola and they still insisted that the phone and the device would work as advertised. I was told by a supervisor that they would research the problem and call me back. She didn’t. I called back a week later and talked to another supervisor who said she would take up the matter personally—she didn’t. I waited two more days and called again and was transferred around until I had spoken to half their staff. After several escallations I was finally connected to someone that said that the phone does not support the Bluetooth car kit after all—despite what their web sit says. While the phone supports voice dialing, it does not do so over Bluetooth. They said that they think that’s why the phone won’t work with the Bluetooth car kit. They also said they’re changing the web site. They haven’t so far. I guess I need to file a suit to get their attention.

Oh, I also asked for help over their Internet site. What a joke. They have an automated response system that scans your message for keywords. It sends you a list of web sites that have information about these items while promising to get back to you with a response in “two business days”. It’s been a month with no response. I guess they don’t care about their customers—like too many high-tech companies.

If I were you, I would think twice before buying another Motorola anything. They don’t know how their own equipment works with their own accessories, their staff is poorly trained and they don’t meet their commitments to service. The MPS220 phone is not that hot either. It’s average—just average. The MPX220’s camera is poor, the sound is poor and the phone itself is rude. When you shut it down (as when you want to avoid making noise in church), it plays an obnoxious tune. If I wasn’t contemplating a SQL CE book, I would have bought a phone that actually works as advertised.