No, I can't hear you now...

September 1, 2007 3:01 PM

I need a cell phone I can actually hear!

So right now I have a Motorola razr, which I like except for the fact I have a really hard time hearing people on it. They can hear me, I just have a very hard time hearing them. I don't think its the reception on the phone so much as the quality of the speaker on it. My hearing isn't great, but this phone seems particularly bad. I'm still under contract with Verizon, but I would love some recommendations for a phone that can be used with Verizon that has high sound quality. Thanks!

posted by whoaali to Technology (22 answers total)

I'm not just saying this because I'm a crazy Apple guy, but the iPhone is the only phone I've been able to hear. Partly because I often have headphones in, and partly because it seems like the volume can be cranked pretty high.

Doesn't working with Verizon, of course. But I thought I'd throw that out there.
posted by jragon at 3:09 PM on September 1, 2007

I don't know any particularly good phones to recommend, but if you have a V3 and a data cable, you may be able to edit the settings to increase the volume further.
http://www.howardforums.com/archive/topic/771183-1.html

I should say, I haven't done this myself so I can't vouch for how much of a good idea it is to mess with the internal files.
posted by lucidium at 3:14 PM on September 1, 2007 [1 favorite]

Have you tried a Bluetooth headset? That might solve your problem without replacing the phone.
posted by brianogilvie at 3:16 PM on September 1, 2007

Oddly, I just recommended a Razr to someone in another AskMe who wanted a phone with good sound quality. Are you sure you are holding it in the right place? When I first used it, and when I have loaned it to people, it's natural to hold it with the screen against your ear. The speaker is actually at the very top of the screen panel where the Motorola logo is. The "natural" position puts the speaker behind and above your ear canal instead of right over it.

I actually have the volume on medium low, because otherwise it's too loud.

Give it a shot.
posted by The Deej at 3:23 PM on September 1, 2007 [1 favorite]

I have owned phones from five different makers. Of those phones, only my Nokia and my Blackberry were sufficiently loud.*

Consumer Reports suggests that iPhone voice quality is unexceptional.

*My experience in and of itself is not statistically meaningful.
posted by Kwantsar at 3:25 PM on September 1, 2007

I love my iPhone more than anything and wouldn't be without it, but to call it's voice quality merely "unexceptional" is to give it far more credit that it deserves. Its voice quality sucks ass, even for a Cingular/AT&T phone -- and that is saying something. I carry a separate phone just so I can have something to talk on while I play with all the non-phone my nifty, super-awesome slab of iPhone sexiness.

P.S. It's also a terrible email client, but it's the best iPod ever and a pretty sweet browser . . . as long as you can get a WIFI connection.
posted by The Bellman at 5:14 PM on September 1, 2007

Many of the phone geeks at Howardforums swear by the Motorola E815/V710 on Verizon. I've got one too (a very similar E816 from the defunct Ampd Mobile). It's large, ugly, unfashionable, has an antenna that pokes you, has a flaky charger, and has been discontinued for over a year, but might be worth a try to seek one out and try it for a day.
posted by meowzilla at 5:15 PM on September 1, 2007

I've tried many, many phones: LG, Nokia, Motorola (including said Razr), Siemens, Sony Ericsson. The only ones that manage to please me in terms of volume, connection, menu load times (the interface Motorola uses for Razr and similar is ugly AND slow), and design have been in this order: Nokia, LG, Sony Ericsson. Try those out.
posted by Xere at 6:03 PM on September 1, 2007

*My experience in and of itself is not statistically meaningful.
posted by Kwantsar

I have a friend who is half-deaf and she will only use a Nokia because she has found them to be consistently loudest and clearest. Seems as though Xere agrees too.
posted by cholly at 6:14 PM on September 1, 2007

I second the question of how you're holding the motorola. I found that the speaker on that seemed to project sound up parallel to the phone, more than out perpendicular to the screen. Instead of holding it like a standard land-line phone, I held it with the tip of the flippy-top at my cheekbone. That phone had the best volume of any I've tried.

That said, I'm pretty happy, but not as happy, with the Nokia I got when my place of work started cracking down on photographic devices of any sort. If anything, it's too loud, not as easily and quickly adjusted, and not adjustable in fine enough increments. Which may be exactly what you're looking for.
posted by ctmf at 7:07 PM on September 1, 2007

Possibly your phone is deffective? I had an earlier Motorola (not a razr) that became increasingly muted as it got older. Sometimes, by pressing upon or bending the case its audio would improve temporarily. Suggest listening to someone elses similar model.
posted by Kevin S at 7:33 PM on September 1, 2007

I agree with the "adjust your stance" suggestions. Now if we could only make the vibrate on the damn thing stronger...
posted by Rock Steady at 7:43 PM on September 1, 2007

A lot of people complain the iPhone is to quiet, both through the earpiece and the speakerphone. In my experience, in most environments, the speakerphone is barely acceptable for monitoring the line while waiting on hold and the earpiece at it's loudest setting is just about right.

On the other hand, I generally had the earpiece on my old cheap-ass Verizon Samsung a650 turned down a few notches. It also made for a nice small basic phone. You might want to check out one of its successors (or a used one).
posted by Good Brain at 7:49 PM on September 1, 2007

Motorolas are fairly notorious for bad sound. Per my experience selling them and reading lots of online reviews. Hit some various Verizon stores and see what phones the salespeople are carrying and ask them to make a call. And take advantage of the return policy too if you get one that doesn't work for you.
posted by CwgrlUp at 7:53 PM on September 1, 2007

I had an earlier Motorola (not a razr) that became increasingly muted as it got older

Almost all phones that have speakers that are not hardwired to the circuit boards get muted as they age. The pressure contacts rub the circuit traces until they disappear. If you are the sort to take things apart, you can sometimes bend the speaker leads so that they contact the trace in an area that still has metal.
posted by BrotherCaine at 1:47 AM on September 2, 2007

Another vote for fiddling with the way you hold it. In this category, it's also worth noticing that the ear speakers are at the corners of the screen portion; that damn M logo is in the middle (at least on mine, a v3c). Mostly this is a non-issue, but for especially faint calls, I have to specifically place the corner of the phone in my ear.
posted by rkent at 5:20 AM on September 2, 2007

Some around January Consumer Reports did a breakdown of phones, they noted the sound quality on the RAZR was poor. One of the phones they liked for sound quality was the LG VX8300, which is what I picked up. I would try to pick up that issue of the magazine, or see if they've done another review.
posted by These Premises Are Alarmed at 7:11 AM on September 2, 2007

You didn't say whether or not you wear a hearing aid. If so, Hatis is the best thing since sliced bread. Worth every penny. If not, here's a mobile phone amplifier intended for those with hearing loss.

If your hearing loss is certified by a doctor, in some states you can get a certificate towards the purchase of assistive aids like the above.
posted by desjardins at 8:50 AM on September 2, 2007

Response by poster: I'm not actually hearing impaired or anything, just a lot of ear infections as a kid took their toll. Thanks, for everyone's suggestions, I think I'll probably just go for the bluetooth for now and start looking into getting a nokia sometime in the future.
posted by whoaali at 1:38 PM on September 2, 2007

Seconding the sound quality & volume on the Motorola V710 on Verizon. That was my last phone. My new Chocolate is snazzier and has a great form factor, but I'm beginning to miss the volume of the V710, which I could use as a speakerphone without actually turning on the speakerphone. V710s are available on eBay.
posted by Tubes at 2:51 PM on September 2, 2007

I'm a tad deef, and I love my Blackberry pearl. First phone I've ever needed to turn the volume down on. Really great speaker phone too, another first for me.
posted by Scoo at 9:44 PM on September 2, 2007

My Nokia 3595 is too damn loud. Even at the lowest volume setting. I occasionally find myself unconsciously trying to lower the volume while talking to someone only to discover that it's already at the minimum.
posted by exhilaration at 11:44 PM on September 2, 2007