Why the Motorola H700 sucks.
We bought our first Motorola bluetooth earpiece around five years ago, and after it died, we bought an H700. Selection for bluetooth earpieces wasn’t great, and everyone who used bluetooth earpieces stood behind Motorola’s quality, so we assumed that our first device dying after only a year or so of use was a fluke.
Admittedly, the H700 we bought lasted quite awhile. In fact, it’s been a few years since we bought it, and its performance has been solid. One of the reasons we settled on the H700 was its foldable boom mic, which kept the H700 compact when not in use, and also conserved its battery (since the device is off when the boom mic is closed). Sadly, not too long ago, we started having microphone issues, where we would call someone, and though we could hear them just fine, they could not hear us. This issue was sporadic at first, but started getting worse over time, to the point where the microphone would never work at all.
A web search suggested that the microphone could just be dirty, and though skeptical, we decided to open our H700 up. When we dismantled the boom mic and looked inside, however, we found that it wasn’t dirt that disabled the H700’s microphone, but a broken wire. The picture to the right shows a snapped red wire, the result of wear and tear from the wire bending whenever the boom mic is opened and closed. In addition, one can see a very significant impression on the red wire where the exposed metallic clip places pressure on the wire when the boom mic is folded.
One has to wonder why the wire placement in the H700 wasn’t better thought out, so as to at least avoid the metal clip. Either way, our H700’s broken wire could likely have been avoided if the gauge of wire chosen was different, so as to offer a bit more durability.
While many may conclude that a device of this nature lasting a few years is a sign of good design, we’re not convinced. Electronics shouldn’t need to be disposed of every couple years, especially relatively simple products like bluetooth earpieces, as the technology has been around for awhile now. While our H700 was a great device while it worked, the fact that we’ve now lost two devices to malfunctions has dissuaded us from sticking with a Motorola successor.
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The MOTOROLA RAZR IS THE WORST PHONE EVER. Mine died after 21 days, and they will do nothing for me. A complete waste of money. I paid $150, made 6 phone calls and it dies. This phone was defective and their return policy was written by Hitler. Their website will not accept a return from me - and their CSR’s cannot speak english & dont care anyway.