Motorola Brute i680 / i686 Specs, Features & Reviews

PRO:
Sounds good
OS is Linux based and faster
Screen is OK
Camera is barely use able (vs not at all), a first for a Nextel phone.

CONS:
- Browser stinks
- Reception is terrible
- Drops calls
- Worst Nextel I've owned yet
- Hinge broke, this is not 810F, this is a fragile piece of junk
- Before the hing broke, the metal thing that makes the phone "flip" and stay open went limp.

Bay Area, Nextel, San Francisco, San Jose

This is the worst of the bunch. DO NOT UPGRADE your phone! These new versions , RAA.00.01 and RAA.00.02 made reception WORSE.

At this point Sprint and Motorola are in a criminal racket and they should be regarded as enemies to the consumers. Gone are the days where things work consistently.

Just purchased 5 of these for work. One for myself and I replaced 2 i580's and was going to use the other 2 as spares. But before the end of the week both i680 were brought back to me. They wanted their i580's back due to dropped signals and poor reception. The phones were used in 3 different tower areas and experienced the same problem. Suspect it's due to the unit having an internal antenna. Sound familiar, maybe I should find some duct tape. Anyway, the phone is a lot better than the i580 in many ways, highest being Texting, far better then the i580, this in itself is why I'm staying with the i680. Think it's interface / menu is also a great improvement as is it's screen. It does drop calls and miss speech while talking though, but I'll live with it. All in all it's still worth the upgrade.

I work in construction; yes this is the style, ruggedness, and sturdiness of phone I wanted. That said, I have owned this phone for less than three days and already have made several "Pocket calls".
I have put this phone in my pocket, in my belt pouch, and on the dash of my truck and repeatedly hit the top button for speaker.
I recalls the last call and I re-call the last number. I have told my wife that I am going to change carriers as well as return his phone.
My local Sprint store personnel are not very knowledgeable. They cannot find any info that is not set in front of them on their computer screen. They installed my card upside down and told me it was normal to not have the phone activated for 72 hours..... I researched and corrected this prob.
Today, I called sprint and found out there is nothing that can be done for pocket dialing outside of locking the phone every time I use it. uggggg, that is very cumbersome. Sooooo, my recommendation is to skip this phone if you don’t like pocket dialing REPEATED times.

I am on my third I680 since August 2010. The first one had problems sending/receiving text msgs within first 6 weeks, second phone the screen went blank after 2 months, now the third one has a broken hinge and will not stay closed or open. Talked to Motorola, they suggested I send it in so they can evaluate the broken hinge problem and will let me know if I will be charged for repair (even though it is still under warranty). And it may take up to seven days once they receive it. Not an option. I have found several of the same problems on forums relating to this phone, Motorola has a new upgraded model (I686) to replace it but they won't tell me why this model has been recently released. Definitely not as reliable as my old I580 or the older 380, both of which lasted several years. So much for the Brute i680 military spec rugged phone!!

What a piece!! After spending alot of money you would think this was going to be well worth the investment, think again. I am on my second phone now after owning the first for 2 months, the hinge broke the screw so the flip was wiggling all over, the HUD display was confused and rarely worked, the factory plastic abs holder is pointless unless you want to lose the phone somewhere. The reception goes in and out never a steady signal. The phone appears to be rugged and all but really it is cheaply constructed and has many flaws. the i580 was a better built phone with 5 years of HEAVY use I never had an issue, with 2 months of LIGHT use on the brute I has multiple issues. It was said they were going to recall the phone because of the flip hinge design flaw, but that was all talk, now they want a minimum of 50 bucks to fix it. Pretty lame Motorola we expected alot more from you.

I own an i680. Had an i580, and wanted to upgrade. This was no upgrade. Besides being pretty expensive, unless signing a 2 year agreement with a carrier, the holster made by Motorola allows the phone to fall out repeatedly, which caused the phone to break. The right hinge broke from falling out of the holster, and dropping the less than 3 feet to the floor.
I have been investigating this issue, and I am finding out that it is a VERY common issue! With a retail price of around $400.00, and being touted as meeting military specs for being rugged, this is the most disappointing phone I have ever owned. Motorola refuses to honor the warranty, which is good until March of 2011, because they call this "physical damage". They want to charge me $105.93 to repair the phone. I will pay this, because the phone cost me $200.00 on Ebay, but I will give it to my wife when it comes back. It might be a good phone for a woman, but rugged it is not.
Also, the reception is terrible. Probably due to the internal antenna.
I would not recommend this phone to anyone.

I upgraded to this phone from the Sanyo Pro700. I liked everything about the phone except for the weight and weak signal strength. My Pro700 always had a good signal when indoors, but the i680 was VERY disappointing. I returned it and switched back to my Pro700 which is, in my opinion, the best PTT phone on the market.

This being my first "Nextel" phone I was a little iffy. I have sold Sprint but hardly touched a Nextel phone and I know how the coverage was, but needed one for the PTT. Picking the i680 was a bar-none choice for me. I have used the phone for just over a week and to to put it bluntly, great little phone (but hardly little.

Pros
*Great rugged phone, I even talked on it while I was in the shower and no issues, (I did it just to say I could.) Even tossed it into a field while driving down the road, went out and found it no problems.

* 2.0 mp camera, took OK pictures, but I have a Hero if I really need to use my camera.

* Mp3 player & SD card slot. Great sound quality plus I can set mp3's as ringtones ^_^

* Great display and easy to use buttons.

* Battery life is GREAT! And signal, call quality is perfect to me.

Cons

* Menu is a little strange, not every screen has a back button, little hard to navigate around.

Overall great phone for Nextel. But just know where Nextel is, and where it isn't and research which is best for you Sprint or Nextel. Though one company two completely different networks. ^_^

I have been a Nextel user since 1994 Before it went National. I have had some tough phones from Nextel up to and including the i580 which I still believe is one of the toughest phones on the market. However, when I found out about this phone I didn't honestly believe that it could be as tough or tougher then the i580, I was wrong. I live in Florida and I am on the water alot, and yes I do get wet. With the i580 I know it would survive a rainstorm or a strong ocean spray. This phone can take on full submersion and then some. I decided to test out how water proof this phone is. I ended up freezing it in a bowl of water, and yes it still worked and rung in the block of ice. Not only that but this phone can take one hell of a beating, I work in a stock room, I am constantly bumping into corners, walls and product. This phone takes it with the greatest of ease. And yes it works on Boost Mobile as well (I work for a Boost Mobile retailer). I have had my kids throw it and stomp on it and besides some mild scuffing, it looks and works like New. Motorola out did them selves with this phone. It's the M1A2 of Cellphones

This is the Motorola Police Walkie Talkie of Cell phones.
Speaker great, strong signal. Feels unbelievable. Updated OS is nice.
It has the best keypad I have ever seen. Its perfectly layed out. Extremely well lit. Great feel.
The Moto Walkie Group has outdone themselves. Anybody who knocks this phone for being heavy or bulky has no understanding of engineering.
IT HAS A METAL HINGE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I could go on and on. Its priced right for once!!! Usually in the past this would have started at $300.
If you press me for something negative, all I can say is I miss the Diamond Plate Theme.