Motorola i730 / i733 / i710 / i720 / i740 Specs, Features & Reviews

There is almost nothing redeeming about this phone's design. While it's durable, it is cheap plastic with a metal back, it's far too large and heavy. The navigational buttons are small and awkward. The screen is pretty much the bottom of the barrel when it comes to color LCD screens.

The volume buttons on the side are useful but badly planned; if the phone is set to vibrate, should you accidentally press the "Up" button while it is in your pocket or elsewhere, your phone will be SILENCED. Signal quality is noticeably below par (I am in the Louisville market).

The features are useful, but in the grand scheme of things, they're well beneath standards also. Firstly, the phone's software is horrendous. Not only is the basic software flawed (when you receive a text message, you can't even tell who sent it to you--there's no way to discern that!), but it also is frequently unpredictable. My phone, as well as a co-worker's, has on multiple occasions entered "Airplane Mode" automatically, without even so much as a button press! And this is in an area where the TDMA signal is abundant. Once in Airplane mode, you have to search quite vigorously to find a way back out. And there is no way to disable this automatic, and often unpredictable, "feature." And the custom ringtones... sure... in WAV format.

But the worst of all offenses is the signal reception technology in this "phone." I drop calls sometimes a dozen times a day in locations that are perfectly saturated by the carrier's signal. I'm no Nextel fan, but this is hardly the fault of their network; the phone just seems to have terrible problems with switching cells in particular. You'll lose your call unexpectedly and receive an unintelligible, seemingly arbitrary error message as an excuse.

Don't believe the people here who clearly are just obsessed with everything Nextel produces. In all honesty, this phone is just a ridiculously overpriced piece of technological garbage. I'd say more but I out of room.

The I730 is garbage, this phone is totally over rated. WhatÂ’s so bad is that the company whoÂ’s selling these phones to the consumer knows its JUNK! I have been with the famous push-to-talk for years. In the last five years IÂ’ve dropped approx 70 calls while traveling throughout New York State. I have the I700, I50x, and I90 these models have performed @ 4-to 5 bar signal strength. While this JUNK (I730) drops calls approx 15x a day, on the same network and the same driving route, with signal strength of 2 to 4 if you are lucky. I decided to get the telenav service because I constantly travel from Buffalo, NY to New York, NY. Guess what? The JUNK (I730) needs a software patch in order for it to work, thatÂ’s takes about one hour for the retail store to download! So it will be up to you consumers to take time out of your busy schedule to baby sit the cell phone. I know the cellular phone provider has a strong steady signal, but this phone doesnÂ’t cut it. It is a poor representation of that network, and if I was a new customer I would say itÂ’s the provider. I do place onus on the cellular provider, whom we all know all so well, for their two way radio feature, for not being honest. That is the most disappointing thing about them. Just because they are gaining market share they are now beginning to flex. I am happy to say the technical department team agrees with me and is aware of the phones problem. At least the have the courage to speak! Trust me; the phone doesnÂ’t come close to what a true mobile phone represent. You have to pick a spot and stand there if you want to talk.

Signed,

VERY DISATIFIED CUSTOMER

I guess I really can't complain since I got the phone free plus a fifty dollar rebate. However the battery is not all that great or maybe it is just that I am use to the batteries on cingular phones. My signal strength is like a yoyo. I constantly goes from full service to no service.

If anyone else has the issue with the signal that I do please let me know so I will know that it is not just my phone.

Thanks!!!

The phone is somewhat big compared to others in the market...the reception is no good, its either the phone or craptel

Pros
-Plays addicting ringtones when you press ringer volume button
-Has GPS (dont think average people need that)
-loud speaker/ringers

Cons
-No Camera
-Small screen, low resolution
-Dont think it has MMS
-no calculator
-no bluetooth
-crappy feeling keypad
-Reception no good
-Asks for credit card number for an over-priced ringtone

if this is the "best" phone nextel has, I'm assuming the others are garbage.

i say i730 with nextel is a durable but still has a lot of features

-pros a good durable phone for work or play loaded with cool features loud speaker phone and ring tones like all nextel phones

kinda big tho but not to big tho and is high priced still signal is kinda poor to

This phone has so many good features it is one of my favorite phones I have ever owned. When I got it I was worried about the ruggedness of it, or lack there of, due to the fact I work in construction and landscaping. I wanted to get the i530 because of the rubber aspect of the phone, so I could drop it and not worry. But I liked the color screen and the options that were in the 730 when i got it. Every time I drop my i730, I close my eyes and let it hit the ground and wait to see what damage is done. When I do pick it up the phone it still works like it was new. I just can't wait until the i560 hits stores. With the rubber outside, and the "delicate" inside, it's the perfect phone for work and play!

Im a Nextel dealer in Indianapolis and have been waiting for the release of the I730 since last Christmas and now i wonder why I cared at all. I received the phone the first day I was released the 20th and immediately began to frown. The screen while nice and vibrant in color was half the size of my I95 screen. But I could live with that Motorola moved the headset jack from the top of the phone to the side of the phone which I absolutely hate. The software platform is completely different also so I will have to start from scratch learning the functions of the phone. I also noticed that the home & car charger are completely different, make me feel glad I just ordered 1250 of the old style did like the fact that the phone was slimmer than the I95 and the phone lights up when it rings, something Ill use when im driving and the radio is up to loud. My advise get take advantage of the great deals on the I95. Nextel has always had the most boring selection of phones and with the look at what the competitors are getting ready to come out with I see Nextel will remain boring.

I guess I'll start off by saying that it is a great looking phone...a real eye catcher.

One thing I really think is nice about this phone is the "Disco Light" around the front speaker that lights up alternating colors when a musical ringer is on. I personally think it should light up for all the ringers and not just the musical ones because the phone only comes with 3 musical ringers. The speakerphone and walkie talkie is loud and clear. The volume on the earpiece could be a tad bit higher. The screen is bright, although small. I don't understand why the i95 screen was so big and they opted to make this one so small.(It's the same size as the i90) Another thing I really like is that when talking the conversation is clear, no static, distortion or anything of that nature.

It's features are about the same as any other Nextel phone, except that this one is GPS enabled. So basically it has the same Nextel/Motorola features all wrapped up in a new, slightly smaller, great looking folder style phone.

So besides the volume on the earpiece and the size of the screen I think the i730 is a great phone to have

The only reason i switched from cingular to nextel was the free incoming minutes. It's a great plan.

My problem is with this moronic phone and service.

#1. The battery life is pathetic. Seriously consider the double size or a backup or you will not be making many phone calls.

#2. The Text messaging took them over a week to activeate. Ok, whatever. But the WAY it works... it has to "Send"... and then "Receive" every time you want to view your messages! Nokia just had it there... click and BOOM!.. there are your messages. This phone literally takes like an extra minute to WAIT for each message you want to read or review to pop up... and if you are out of service range... forget it.

#3. Speaking of service range... I sure wishi it HAD the service range my old cingular did, i have to borrow my girlfriends phones sometimes cuz mine wont work!

#4. The alarm clock. Can you believe we have put a man on the moon, and robots on Mars... but they could not include a "Snooze" alarm with this clock. Huh?
- Oh, sure, you could BUY a download clock with a snooze... but read the fine print on that... it ONLY works when the phone is in Java mode.. meaning, if you want an alarm to go off, you wont be able to easily grab incoming calls... you need to switch mode. That is just plain dumb.

#5. Also dumb... when i want my phone to vibrate, i sure wish it would vibrate AND ring... like my old Nokia did. This phone will vibrate twice, then ring twice... so, if you don't feel the vibrate, you only have 2 rings to pick it up before you miss the call.... so much for those free incoming minutes because you wind up having to call back!
- Why can't it ring AND vibrate 4 times? Why don't they give us the option to set that?

#5. The Delete button(s)... talk about a learning curve! It seems like every function on this phone uses a different button for "back" or "delete"... it's never the same... dumb.

#6. The GPS service, it was a joke. I got a signal once.

I've been with Nextel for about 2 months, before that I had used Cingular and Verizon about 1 year each. My new i730 gets a better signal than any phone I had with either of them.

PROS:
* Excellent screen quality
* LOUD ringtones
* LOUD Speakerphone
* Java Applications
* Downloadable Ringtones and Wallpapers
* Ability to make, recieve, and end calls without even opening the flip.

CONS:
* Only one I can think of.....the battery does not last as long as most other carriers phones.....I can get two days out of mine with regualar use, but then again I have no problem with charging my phone at night so it's really a null issue.

OVERALL:
Excellent phone. I would certainly recommend it to any Nextel customer and in my case I like the i730 and the Nextel service better than Verizon and Cingular.