Looking for a basic QWERTY slider? Well, there are about a million and a half candidates, but Verizon now has the latest: the Motorola Rival A455. We got a sneak peak at this guy a while ago in a spy shot, and it doesn’t seem anything has changed.
It has just about everything expected on today’s txt’n phones including that QWERTY keyboard, stereo Bluetooth, some form of an MP3 player, MicroSD slot, a 2MP camera, and a dedicated emoticon button (buttom row, right of the space bar). Where is the dial pad you ask? Well, when the slider is closed, it shows up on the touchscreen. Nifty, eh?
Interested? Really? Well, it’s available today in both silver and purple for $99 after a $50 mail-in rebate with a new two year contract.
Photo Gallery by Picturesurf
I am yet to see another company like Verizon, so consistently offering unexciting products. Their unveiling of products feels like a pathetic birthday party where one person shows up with a hat and lights a sigle candle on a cake that’s a little off. Their product are gray. They look gray, they feel gray. Even if you get the phone in purple or fire engine red, it’s still darn gray.
Having Verizon locking the phones for ringtones and music not purchased from their “awesome collection” or selecting which content from the internet will users be allowed to watch after paying premium for it leads me to believe that they are serious control freaks, quite detached from what the internet, social media, portable applications and 2009 users are all about. They still operate in a 10 year old super-greedy business model, thinking that they can act with internet content as if it’s their gift to the world, a-la-AOL 1.0.
But I must hand it to them that in spite of their love story with CDMA (control freaks, did I mention that?) they do have the best network in this country. No one would tolerate their gray boring devices and locked premium-only music/ringtones or “selected” internet and video streams otherwise.
I completly agree with what you said. I am only with Verizon because for some reason being only 10 miles outside of one of the biggest cities in America I get horrible reception from the other carriers. I have tried all of them and for the 2 years I have been with Verizon I have not even had one dropped call. But not allowing outside downloads, ringtones, etc. is a terrible problem. Their phones are extremly boring, i want an Iphone too.
Are you kidding? You must not have seen the T-Mobile line up! Don’t want or need an iphone or Blackberry, all I need is a nice compact Rival. Being a T-Mobile customer (They do have the best plans and customer service but the worst phones) I cannot have a Rival. T Mobile suggested a Gravity- oh my, big cheap piece of ugly plastic. If anyone knows how I can get the Rival to work with T-Mobile, pleeeeease let me know.
T-Mobile as well as AT&T use SIM cards Verizon (being the control freaks they are) unfortunately do not use SIM cards. The Motorola Rival is exclusive to Verizon customers. As far as I’m concerned this phone will never be available for T-Mobile.
I got this phone couple days ago. I love it! The keyboard is very good, in a metal plate. The phone feels very solid.
Vet happy with audio quality, MP3 playback and the camera.
Not so happy that you have to remove the battery in order to access the flash card.
You don’t have to remove the battery, just the cover.
this is a good thing. ive lost a few micro sd cards from them popping out of the side and me not noticing. just got this phone its pretty great so far.
I just bought the MotoA455 Rival recently, and I am actually very pleased. As someone who has tried many of the “hot” phones on the Verizon playlist (Razr, EnV 1-3, Chocolate, Venus, etc.), I think the Rival has a lot to offer.
-Negative-
.With the purple face and display themes named “Urban” and “Ice Cream”, the Rival may seem rather gaudy–nearly juvenile–for an older audience.
.The touch screen only functions in 2 settings–as left and right softkeys and for a front face keypad. I tend to instictively poke the menu, to no avail.
+Positive+
.Smooth keyboard open and 90 degree screen rotate.
.Choice of organization of txt messages via conversations with different contacts, and standard chronological order.
.The touch screen vibrates with every press, which, if nothing else, is a satisfying detail for problematic touch screen “grazers”.
.Menus are somewhat customizable, with a choice of focus on messaging or personalization.
.I really can’t help but love the purple/black color scheme! It is a sleek and solid phone.
The criticisms of Verizon’s insistent VCast and Get It Now ripoffs still hold true, but fail to completely deter me from the appeal of phones like the Rival. Though surely it is part of the same cookie cutter as all message-oriented, semi-smartphones, the Rival stands out as a new, attractive response to the growing demands from a txt-generation.
i love this phone i ope i get it for my birthday
sorry i HOPE i get this phone for my birthday
After growing tired of paying the unnecessary $30 per month data plan for my Blackberry, I decided to try this phone. So far, I am pretty satisfied with the Rival. My only complaint is that the call and end keys are kind of hard to push. But other than that, I love it.
ah, you unsatisfied verizon customers just need to be more inventive. i have no problem with the music and ringtone collection of verizon simply because i dont use it. i have found more than one website that can send good quality ringtones of both popular and still-stuck-in-the-garage bands, as well as wallpapers and other stuff straight to your phone for free. and personally i think the design of some of their phones is pretty eyecatching. and all of this is piled on top of the fact that verizon has the best service in the nation hands down. i dunno about everybody else, but im pretty pleased.
omg i want it! i just dont have enough money :p. im so sad!!
i really want to buy this phone, with no contract and unlocked.
but i cant seem to find anyplace with that,(for a decent price); decent meaning not 299, or 199.
under 100 would be WONDERFULLL:)
if anyone can help me what-so-ever, please do i really need a new phone,& this one looks amazinggg:D
Its 49.99 on verizonwireless.com right now
At some places its only 29.99
Okay so im getting this phone tomorrow.
(I already bought it and tomorrow is the shipping date)
but wait, did i say i payed for it?
my bad.
it was free
since so many people like it there is a sale till thursday and the price is free.
$8 at Wal-Mart if you start a plan.
This phone sounds perfect. The only thing I notice people complaining about is SEND and END buttons. I think this is one of my favorite phones……if only it was wi-fi capable-instead of verizon Internet…:-/-;
I’m suspicious of any review in which the author doesn’t even know the difference between “peak” and “peek.”
Having said that, I do wish you had given more specific reasons. Your snarkiness is not helpful and I’d really like to know the pros and cons of the Rival in a way that will help me decide.
Dear Nathan,
I’m 12, and I FINALLY am able to get a phone! My parents said that I’m old enough now, and so I’m getting phone now. But the question is: which one do I pick? I looked at a bunch of phones-some that I liked, and some that I hated. Some of the ones that I liked had crappy features and comments to them, and so I kept looking, and I found this neat phone called the Motorola Rival. So, I looked at the phone and the comments, and they were all good. Some of them listed the pros, which were small enough to fit in pocket but not so small you can’t use it, it’s easy to txt with, it looks nice, it has nice features, and those are just a few of the pros. The cons are depending on where you are, it can get bad reception, if you use it non-stop for a long time, the battery will die, but let’s hope that you aren’t texting from like 2:00 in the morning, until 5:00 in the morning. Well, there you have it, the pros and cons of the Motorola Rival. I would HIGHLY recommend it to anyone in the world!!!
I just got my phone a couple of days ago and I absolutely love it! I love the slide out keyboard which makes it easier for me to text not to mention the purple/black colors are the team colors of my beloved RAVENS!!!! I do like the solid feel of the phone also. I am in my 40’s and my kids (18 & 15) promptly told me that I was too old for it; nevertheless, I will never give it up! The touch screen is extra sensitive when I try to dial a number, but I am learning to be more careful when I dial.
Many ways to get your ringtones on your verizon phone. Put them on your SD card and text them to yourself is the easiest way.
Can you give a little more detail as to how to put ringtones on verizon phone via SD Card?
Thank you
I tried the SD and then texting myself but it will not work on my phone.
Those are all really helpful coments but i would like to know the bad things about the phone (if there are any) because i want to make sure that this phone wont die on me or anything!
there are a couple of bad things about the phone. 1 of them is that the send and end keys r kinda hard 2 push. Another 1 is that its kinda thick. but other that that it is a very good phone. FYI it has a very good battery life.
My husband got me this phone for my birthday. I absolulty love it. Its small and the Qwerty keypad isn’t too big but not too small. I’m a major text’r. I was worried bout having a touch screen because I was afraid it would go on while in my pocket but the touch screen locks after a few seconds which is great and you gotta hit the button to unlock it. The only thing is I like to set different tones for txt messages for my contacts but this phone doesn’t allow me to do that. Other than that this is a great phone.
phonezoo.com
how do you unlock this phone?
umm, there is an unlock button on the sidee.
prettyy eassy i’d saayyy.
does anyone else have a problem with the phone continuing to turn itself off over and over again? i need to know if i have a faulty phone? i just got the phone two weeks ago and i have had problems since the first day!
I have only had mine a couple weeks and it is going to a black or white screen Ican hear a phone call coming in but I can do nothing else with it..did you find out what was wrong with yours?
Verizon only gives a 30 day warranty.Take it back and get another one while you can.
by law get one year manufacture warranty and all you do is take it to verizon and they take care of it
Dont worry. My phone will do that too. I notice it to do it when i get three of 4 messages at the same time.
I had my for about 3 months and so far its ok, but now my screen is blank. I can accept calls but cant dial due to a blank screen. Also like other people say its touch screen is sensitive. I’m glad I got the insurance plan. Calling tomorrow see if there is another phone I can choose from. Cant have a phone die on me in less then 3 months.
mine and a friends both had that issue. my friend actually tried to return hers, but verizon said that the damage was caused by her, which i know is not true, because i am an extremely careful person, and i hadn’t even so much as bumped in to anything with it in my pocket. all i know is, my phone got over it after a few days, but it still occasionally gives me an issue. The biggest issue with it for me however, is that it takes forever to send messages, and then it sends several to the same person.
I am about to get the Rival, as a replacement for my Voyager, which, has continuously broken. I have been reading about it just to make sure it will be a good phone for me. I have heard it has both good battery life, and bad battery life. Any opinions? I am a constant texter, so I know the QWERTY keyboard will be PERFECT for me(: Also, Brandy Sam’s, I had that problem with my Voyager, and I believe my brother had that problem with his Env2. It would happen to me if I was on the phone, or, if it lagged a bit. Any information on battery life would be GREAT!
battery is fine, but my screen just went blank :{
i took mine back and have not had any problems with the new phone. the battery life seems to b great, as long as u let it go completly dead then charge it up fully. i really like this phone! i love the fact that is touch screen and slider phone!
I finally got it a few days ago, activating it was a pain. But I like it a lot. Although, it takes foreverrrrr to charge.
Really?
All i had to do was turn it on and then that deactivated my old phone.
Maybe because my old one was Alltel and Verizon bought Alltel but im not sure.
CAn you text on the front screen
no u cant txt on the front screen:(
My dad is using his upgrade to get this for me since he likes his phone and I don’t like mine. He told me to do more homework on this, and so far, and I am very anxious to get this phone. I think all the complaints I see, I can handle. It sounds ten times better than the phone I currently have.
No you cant text on the front sn. But on my old touch phone texting on the front sucked anyways.
Er.. screen.
My son just recently got this phone and now its junk. The phone just started turning off and on and now after the half screen of jumbled wallpapers, its now just white.
Update, it doesnt even turn on now. Junk.
yup. my went blank today :{
I’m About To Get This Phone In About A Week Or So…. But I Have A Few Questions Like For Those Of You Who Already Have The Rival, Does It Take Good Pictures?, Do Games Come With The Phone?, Is This Over All A Good Phone Or Should I Keep Looking For A Better Phone?
I got this phone a week ago and have had crummy battery life.12 hours on a good day,8 on an ok day,and 4 if I actually make a call or text a few lines.I have a new battery on the way,I hope.I rate it a 9 on a 1-10 scale.It’s really built for tweens,teens,and younger heavy texters.I got it because my wife text me when she is at work.There’s to many prying ears to talk openly at her job.I paid $3.89,yes $3.89 for this phone.I got a Verizon discount because of my employer and I got the mail in rebate.First time I’ve ever gotten a deal with a wireless company.
This phone is amazing! U can leave it on all night and not worry about it turning off.
Its a really good phone. the picture quality is average, not perfect. it comes w/ pac man and some other thing called 5th grader 2009
Yep.The camera sux.No flash and it always produces grainy images.Wishing Verizon was still selling the LG VX8300.Best phone I ever had.
I just got mine 2 days ago, and plugged it in this morning to charge for the first time. It was acting fine, and now I can’t seem to turn it on. Ummm… am I missing something obvious? Whenever I press the red key, I get the Verizon logo and then nothing happens.
Perhaps it is the charger itself? No light came on anywhere to show that it was/is actually charging.
Anyone know if I’m missing something really easy? Or, if there’s something awry with my phone?
Thanks.
Update…. It must have just been the plug I had it in. I moved it to a different socket, and all seems to be working fine now.
Though, it is still kinda strange b/c I just had something else plugged into the first socket and it worked fine.
Thanks!
Verizon informed me that there is only a 30 day warranty on this phone unless you buy the insurance/protection plan.It’s called different names in different areas.I would have thought it would have been at least 90 days.
My fone has been replaced under warranty and all is right with the new one.
i really really want this phone but i have to get it pre-paid- like just paying for more minutes once you run out. not the inpulse card junk..i currently have this with my env2..does anyone know if you can even do this with the rival and if so do you have to pay anymore for it or can you get it for the same price? if anyone could plleeease help me that would be awesome. thanks!
I don’t know who your carrier is,but you can get a prepaid through Verizon and get a discount on the Rival.Better be quick because the rival is on sale and will be coming off sale soon.The other option is to buy a Rival that is unlocked from Ebay and set up for your service providers system.CDMA is what Verizon operates on.
well i talked to a verizon person on the internet today and she said i couldnt get it as a prepaid until it phased out of the market and that wouldnt be for like 2 years..i do have verizon though but im not on any plan i just have a prepaid env2.
That’s crumby.I didn’t know that the rival was new enough to kick it out of the prepaid line up.
The thing that I do NOT like about the phone is that when I need to talk without using my hands [[and for some reason my old headset does not work with this phone -- i thought those were universal (?)]] and the phone is pressed against my cheek, the people on the other end cannot hear me at all & say I sound like a robot.
Just don’t let the phone touch your cheek, and you’ll be fine. (Though, that is a bit annoying to me.)
you can get the rival on prepaid because i just got my rival prepaid today. I LOVE THAT PHONE <3
can the rival view youtube & hulu? dose the rival have mircosoft word or any microsoft apps?
No microsoft apps.Youtube and hulu are both iffy at best.I can’t get either to work for me,but it maybe my area.We are way behind the times here.
I own this phone. I got it about two weeks ago, and it’s a great phone. I actually got a lemon and had to have it replaced. It constantly froze and shut off on its own at least thirty times per day. But since i got my replacement, I haven’t had any problems at all. It lets me download ringtones from texts which i noticed some phones didn’t do. I personally use myxer.com to do that, it’s free. The MP3 on the phone sounds clear and perfect. The buttons on the QWERTY are perfect for my fingers and the designated Mobile IM button is more convenient than I would’ve thought. I highly recommend the phone to heavy texters. I frequently make 5+ hour phone calls on it, but the speaker setting is much easier than holding it to my ear because it’s hard to hear.
i want this one
but all i have is $100
does anyone know whose selling this phone in purple
or anyone know a website where i can get it cheap??
please write back asap
ty
write me at kristinealvarado@hotmail.com
Ebay is the only place I have seen the Rival for less than $100.
yeahh i went there but i had to compete wit a guy so basically he won
People, we are in the 21st century. I am amazed that customers still support BIG BROTHER philosophies from companies that YOU pay to get the services YOU want, but only get what they want to give you. Its like paying $5 for a slice of pizza with everything and being told that it is in your best interest to only eat it with cheese and fat free at that; but still be charged $5 when a cheese pizza is only worth $2.
Hey, you work for your money and whether its spent productively or not thats your decision. With that said and not having read past the 4th post in this “blog” i’ll say this. People, buy only unlocked phones. However, if you purchase a phone at full price, even if its from the cell company, demand that it be unlocked before you pay for it. And then verify that it was unlocked.
I personally have an AT&T Tilt (HTC Kaiser) that was purchased unlocked. I simply place my sim card in it and “presto” it works. Its been used with AT&T, Verizon, Claro, SunCom, and currently with T-Mobile. Every phone is unlockable. I have not seen a phone that can not be. By the way they all work just the same after being unlocked. For AT&T and T-Mobile customers you can call your cell company and tell them you are going out of the country and need to unlock it for use on international grounds. You’ll be surprised how easy the process is. That is unless you run into someone in a bad mood. But definitely insist you’ll get your way. For all iphone addicts i got 2 words for you “JAIL BREAK”. Look up this program. Hope you all enjoy.
Your AT&T (GSM) phone won’t work with Verizon (CDMA). So how did you do that again?
ahhh, duh… like obviously i was talking about a GSM. I mentioned a sim card did i not.
But just for being a wise duck i’ll let you in on a little secret; shhh but don’t tell anyone. There were once phones that had both cdma and gsm technology. WOW 2 IN ONE!!!!! I believe the samsung w599, sch-i830, a790 and a795 models are among them. I could be wrong though. The idea was to switch between frequencies, technologies and networks or as they were known “multiple-mode” phones. Though only a few were good and truly did that.
But for the sake of argument you must not be too familiar with older technology. Before there was such a thing as GSM, phones were being unlocked/fixed/flashed. This was possible amongst other things via 1. Mobile Identity Number transfers and 2. wireless companies accepting ESN ranges outside of their own.
Thinking sarcastically and out loud: I still remember there being a BIG problem with cell phone thefts back in the 80’s and 90’s.
Yeah, you may have been in elementary back then.
As a matter of fact i did just that (swap) about 4-5 years ago between AT&T (when they still were CDMA) and Claro (also CDMA back then) . I remember it was with a nokia.
So, yeah, for those still using CDMA its possible if you want to go thru the trouble. Sprint i hear is still flexible with this issue. I guess you’d have to check if you really want to know.
FINE PRINT: Again, I never said you can use a TRUE CDMA phone in a GSM network or vice versa. For that you will need a multiple-mode type phone. If they still exist that is.
I am getting the rival here soon, well lets justt say that i orddered it last nighht. hahaa,
i seem too really like this phonee. but some people are saying that they are havingg troublee withh the buttons, like the send and end buttonss??
i have a couple questionss, can you save ringtoness?
andd like how lonngg doess the battertyy laast? because i lovee too texxxtttt :D
and i have the alias 2, but i am getting sick of ittt, so i am getting the rival, and i know that thiss phoneee getts onmy neves sometimes becausee it is slowww. is the rival likke thiss???
and the i will take a full textting dayy and at the end of theee day i will onlyy have likee one baar lefft, or if i like desidee too take somee picttures, it will dieee :(
pleasse let me knoww!! :) thaankks :)
Yep the rival is slow and will lock up.I am on my 2nd battery and 2nd phone.I got the 1st phone 6 weeks ago.If I don’t use my phone I can get a solid 48 hours out of a full charge.A few calls and a couple text,I may get 8 hours.The camera is crap unless it’s a bright day out or lots of light inside.The Alias 2 is a far superior phone.I have had no button issues,but the touch screen and buttons are really sensitive.I’ve also had issues with my head phone jack not working.People that call sound like they are talking with their hand between the phone and their mouth.Wish I hadn’t renewed my contract or I would try another phone.I have never been let down by LG products.
so, basically this phone suckss?
haha. people seem too really like therees?
i dont knowww.. hmm, because i have alreadyy ordered it friday..
yikes.
this phone sounds like a bunch of junk.
i was messing around with my this girl of my old volleyball teaam, and it seemed too be not sloww.
i’m not sure what too doo..
I went to a Verizon store and asked about the Alias because that is the phone that my roommates have. The sales guy told me “We don’t carry phones that break after 3 weeks at this store”. I thought that was funny. Roommates have had two Alias’ each, and they’re both junk. I just got the Rival, and they’re both jealous of me…
Yeah jealous of you until you get the “White screen of death”. its a common problem and it will probably happen to you, i suggest switching phones.
this phone sucks,
i’ve only had it for 3 weeks
but anyways…
the light on it stopped working completely
it was working fine when i checked on it when i woke up, but a couple of minutes later it just totally failed
anyone know how to fix it? if not i’m takin it back
Take it back.Don’t wait.I am on my second one and this one keeps shutting down on me,especially when it sets idle over night.I’ve missed important calls because of this.
Does the Motorola Rival have an alarm clock option?
Yes.It has three.
i gett it like tomarroww :)
imm excittedddd.
:]]
can you return phones to verizon within 30 days prior to the purchase of an account and phone?
if yes can someone please tell me?
Yes.
Pros: Good size, easy to use KB, Li-Ion battery so no memory problems, seems to hold a charge for quite a while, but if you aren’t using a bluetooth device make sure and turn that option off or it will add to the battery drain.
Cons: Games are only trial versions, everything on the phone seems to incur a charge if you use it. Typical Verizon mentality.
Purchased at Costco and they extend the mfr warranty and return policy if you don’t like the phone (we switched from AT&T) and haven’t had a dropped call yet….. If they’d spend less money on their TV commercials maybe they could offer more features on the phone without charging an arm and a leg for them each month.
Too bad phones aren’t like cars where you can take them out for a test drive and see if it fits your requirements first before you are stuck buying it…
I have had my Rival about 3 months and recently it has started shutting off. Trying to get an idea of what is causing it. Thought it was just when I shut the slider after texting but it has also shut off while I have been on the phone. It goes black and then the Verizon Logo appears for a few seconds and then it turns back on. Drives me crazy.
Quite a few people have had this problem and have had to take them back.My friends daughter has taken two back for that reason.
If I were you I would take it back and get a new cause this is happening to me and more like i turn on my buletooth to send a picture to my brother and when I turn it on it add radom numbers to my phone it my me so mad
im gettin mine today. thnnx for gettin me down and worried!!
You’re welcome.Happy I could help. =^)
I got the rival about three months ago and it was working fine until yesterday when my screen just went blank. Everything else works well i can still call people and yes I’m only 14 so i get a lot of text message and it made me pretty mad cause i have two differnet ringtones one for when i get a text message and one for when they call me and the reason i got mad was because when my screen went black i just keep getting text messages. The only thing i have to say is that if you get this phone for you to take very good care of it. Also, that the phone is really great but when the screen goes black or the phone just frezzes which has happen to me many times before. But if take good care of your phones this phone is for you.
For all your wireless needs look into HTC phones. Yes, an unpaid for advertisement.
They do everything you can imagine and are customizable. Ex: change, add or upgrade o/s, themes, software, games, functions etc. Yes, there are others out there that offer the same but HTC has been consistant and reliable in there phones and in this sense.
can you tell me how much the motorola rival cost with contract and how does it works:such as good bad or ok pleeeze i need your help because im planning on getting it for my 16th birthday pleeeze help me
You need to ask this question at your local Verizon store.Different areas have different prices.There are discounts for certain people.You may be able to get a steep discount because of the place your parents work for.I got my Rival for $3.89 and a 20% discount on my bill because my wife’s work uses Verizon for all their job related phones.
Kay. So im in canada, with telus, with this phone, So basically, i got the reset problem, all you have to do, is reset the phone, then its fine, its just motorola failing with firmware again. The white screen problem is easy to solve. Hold the unlock button until the lights show up, then press it again, wait till it goes black, then shazam, if not turn it off, remove the battery for about 10 minutes, then put it back in, turn it on, then your all good.
I was very pleased when I initially got this phone. Despite complaints of a boring design, I found it to be a cute phone with many desirable features (mainly the QWERTY keyboard). I am the kind of person who takes very good care of my phone, so I was very surprised when my phone suddenly decided it no longer wanted to send text messages. It would come up with the general error that the memory was full. The memory was NOT full. Or, sometimes, it would just restart instead of sending the message. To fix this issue, I had to restore the phone to its factory settings, and though this is a quick fix, this is an irritating and sadly quite common defect for a messaging phone. Even more troubling was a few weeks later when the backlight stopped working. Only very dimly can you see even the faintest thing, but everything all works. As far as I know, there’s no solution to this problem other than to take it in to your service provider. So, in summary, my like for my phone has gone down only due to these problems that keep popping up. These were very disappointing, and I am now contemplating on just getting a new phone altogether.