Amazon.com Product Description
If you need a simple, no-frills phone that keeps you in touch, the Motorola C139 deserves a serious look. Sacrificing neither function nor style to meet your everyday communication needs, the compact, easy-to-use design is pocket friendly. The C139 also features up to 8 hours of talk time, text messaging, 20 preloaded ringtones, and a vivid color TFT display for easy viewing. It's the perfect complement to Tracfone prepaid wireless service.
The candybar Motorola C139 feels great in the hand with easily accessible keys. See an overview of the phone's functions. |
Tracfone Service
Tracfone provides nationwide prepaid wireless service using the nation's leading cellular providers to create a national footprint covering 99 percent of the U.S. population. This gives you service everywhere cellular service is available.
You can buy bundles of minutes (which must be used within a set time limit of 90 to 365 days) from the Tracfone web site on your home PC or directly from your phone's web browser. This phone ships with a number of handy Tracfone services, including free voice mail, free caller ID, and free call waiting. And perhaps most importantly, the integrated TracFone Airtime Balance Display shows you how much airtime you've used and how much is left, so you can control your costs.
Phone Features
The basic black Motorola C139 has a cool, aerodynamic candybar design with rounded corners at the top and bottom and rubberized sidings for a good grip. Its small shape fits comfortably in your hand and the backlit keypad is designed for easy dialing. The 1.25-inch screen has a 96 x 65-pixel resolution and support for 65K colors.
The C139 supports storage of up to 100 phone numbers and contacts within the phone's memory as well as 250 contacts stored on the SIM card. Equipped with multiple organizational features, the Motorola C139 is a one-stop shop for on-the-go time management. Offering daily and weekly calendars, calculator, currency converter and stop watch, this mobile keeps you on top of your game in both your business and social circles.
If you need basic messaging capabilities, the C155 has you covered as support is built-in for sending and receiving SMS text messages. iTap text entry, a technology that makes it easier for people to enter words and text on handsets, is built-into the unit-- a plus for text messaging users.
Other features include:
- 20 preloaded ringtones
- 3 preloaded games
- Analog clock screensaver, calculator, currency converter and stop watch
- Lantern for illumination when you need it
- Auto keypad lock
Vital Statistics
The Motorola C139 weighs 2.8 ounces and measures 4 x 1.8 x 0.9 inches. Its lithium-ion battery is rated at up to 8 hours of talk time, and up to 16 days of digital standby time. It runs on the 850/1900 GSM/GPRS frequencies.
Customer Reviews:
Back to Basic Calling.......2007-12-31
I needed to buy my mother a new cell phone so I could cancel my account with my existing provider and still keep the same number. I was a Tracfone user a few years ago while I was in college, and I found their services to be good. I went to the store and saw this phone priced very low; not so long ago you had to pay $70 for a Tracfone, and now they have them for less than $20. I decided that since she wasn't going to use the cell phone very much, this would be a good way to go until I could find something else.
I bought this phone because it was cheap, and I could get it activated right away. This phone is very basic; most of the features that are now common place are missing on this model. The screen is microscopic; it can only display a few lines at a time. There are no polyphonic ringtones, and it can only hold 100 entries in the phonebook. They keys are so firm that they are hard to press down, and the menus are tedious and somewhat counter-intuitive. It is very sturdy, but also a little heavier than should be for a phone its size. There is no web browsing like there is on other phones. The text messaging feature is really tricky to use. I think Tracfone has good service, but in many ways, this phone feels like a step back from where Tracfone was going to.
I have noticed that Tracfone has moved away from using the CDMA network and towards using the GSM network. I don't think that is bad, it just means slightly less coverage overall. Tracfone's service is not bad. I think this phone is a decent choice for someone who is wanting a very basic phone to talk on. It is less than $20, so I can't complain too much. However, if there is any way that you can afford it, I suggest if you are going to use Tracfone's service, go with a pricier phone with more features.
Phone is OK, but cutomer service is frustrating. .......2007-12-09
I too had one of the older model phones, and after letting the battery drain to zero I lost everything, including phone number and service minutes. Tracfone did acknowledge problems with the firmware of the older phone, and they sent me a new one with a postage paid mailer to send back the bad one. They also gave me 60 bonus minutes of airtime to replace what I lost when the phone lost its mind.
Although they did everything right, the customer service is very, very frustrating. The people read from scripts word for word like robots, which will get you to the ultimate goal of your call but it personally makes me crazy.
Technically (and coverage wise) the phone works well, and the price is certainly right. After several months of buying air time cards, I signed up for a $9.99 a month plan that gives me 50 minutes each month automatically. That is plenty enough time for a very casual cell phone user such as myself, and is way cheaper than any subscription plan I could find.
Beware! Still not working after 1 year........2007-11-20
Beware Tracfone. I regret that Amazon won't let me give them 0 stars. We got this phone for my wife's aunt last December. After 1 year of trying to get this working, she still cannot receive calls. She can call out, but no one can call her. Tracfone support is useless (and generally only marginally speaks English). You also cannot manage the phone or minutes on line. You have to call in and give them about 60 digits that the phone shows you to do almost anything. We're letting this one die with over 400 units left on it because it is basically useless. Coverage isn't good either, but who cares if you can't receive calls anyway? There has got to be a better option, because I doubt there are many worse ones.
Big step up!.......2007-11-14
I've been a Tracfone customer for about 8 years. I have two very old phones plus the Nokia I just used for 6 years or so. It still works well, too!
The phone I had before this C-139 was a small Nokia. It worked well but kept turning on and dialing numbers, while hanging freely in a pouch inside my purses. This one does not.
I like Tracfone because I can buy time for a year and a double minute card and I'm good to go! My account & tel # stays the same for a year. And I don't have a monthly bill or a phone growing out of my ear! Yes, I do not appreciate those (idiots) who yack on the phone while they try to pay attention to their driving, discipline kids,...all the while; turning corners and drinking take-out coffee. The possibility of them hitting my car while they're arguing with someone or reviewing last night's date scares the hell out of me!
This Motorola has been out for a while but I just got it. It's great! The color background is much nicer and clearer than the Nokia (mono color and limited light.)
They are about the same size. The Nokia is a little slimmer, but heavier than the Motorola. The Motorola has grips on the sides and has a gr8 feel in my hands. It is Bluetooth compatible and the options are more sophisticated and plentiful than the Nokia. I feel like I went from Bedrock to the 1990's.
I know there are better phones out there (without a service plan)...maybe next year we'll get camera phones with newer features that aren't even out yet! But for now, they do the trick...calling AAA when one of the cars break down.
DO NOT BUY IT!!!.......2007-09-07
The phone may work fine but the company managing it is awful!! Get ready to waste all your minutes on 611 calls. (Unlike other companies 611 customer service calls are not charged as actual phone units.)
Took forever to get to customer service, which is not properly trained and cannot understand plain English (some do some don't).
Charged me for calls not connected etc...
Really disappointed.. I lost close to 60 not so cheap units in a customer service call and they did not take care of the issue. I could not make international calls like advertised in their website. Really sad. With Tracfone you really get what you pay for...that is their motto and that is the reality.... Google tracfone and below the links to the company you will see a webpage with tons of bad reviews and problems with the company.
Customer Reviews:
Great Basic Phone.......2007-01-11
This is a great basic cell phone. I bought one and received another as a gift. Unfortunately, I opened both so now I have (2). If anyone needs one for twenty-five plus shipping that has not been registered with Net10 (still has bonus 300 minutes and no number), is new, and has all original accessories (open package); or for ten extra you can get an OEM car charger, leather case, and earphone (all unused), please email movieshop(at)hotmail(dot)com .
Nice little phone with for only $15.......2007-01-03
I've had TracFone service for 2 days now and glad I switched. The C139 is small compact and fits in my shirt pocket. It lacks in ring tones and the address book could be better but for a simple phone, it's all I need. I don't need the internet access and all the other features I end paying for and not using. TracFone was quick to transfer my phone number which happened in 1 day and they said it would take 7 days. I'm impressed with their service so far. I won't go back to overpriced Sprint who had me locked in on a service agreement for 2 years. I have good service and will be saving $300+ a year now. If you want a nice small light and simple phone that all you want to do is make and receive phone calls, this is the one.
Tracfone Customer Service is terrible.......2006-12-19
I've owned a Tracfone for 3 years. My old Tracfone quit working, so I purchased a new one. I've been trying for 4 weeks to transfer my old phone number to my new Tracfone. It's been a nightmare-after 4 weeks, 3 new sim cards, and countless calls to TracFone customer service reps, I've accomplished nothing. My phone is still not activated, I still don't have my old number transfered, and I've wasted 7 hours speaking to customer reps. I don't recommend TracFone.
Basic Phone.......2006-10-30
For the $50 bucks you pay here, you get the phone plus 300 minutes of airtime. That's not a bad deal considering if you bought the phone itself elsewhere, it would be $20 bucks, and buying the airtime separately would also total approximately $20 some odd bucks or so. Plus tax. So cost works about to be about the same. Frankly, I see no savings to buying this phone on this site versus elsewhere.
Regarding the sim card, I noticed nothing unusual or problematic about insertion. A sim card is a delicate silicon apparatus that is highly susceptible to ESD -electro static discharge- just like computer RAM is. ESD is probably the primary reason why so many reviewers phones here have failed. I'd bet every single one of them reside in geographical locations where the weather is cold and snows. Before you handle the sim card, you should "ground" yourself by touching something metal. Otherwise you run the risk of destroying the sim card with ESD.
The phone itself is OK. It's BASIC. Emphasis on the basic. I just transferred my mobile # from a Motorola V120c and notwithstanding the annoying 20 polyphonic ringtones on the c139, about the only edge the c139 has over the V120c is the color display. Please also note that c139 does not have any kind of interface as to a pc so that means you are stuck with the bundled ringtones and the wallpaper. IMO, Motorola could have added a port to accomodate a USB interface to this model. It was short-sighted and just dumb not to considering the V120c -also in the same price range- has such a port.
Voicemail is extremely problematic to set up at this time. I only just had the phone activated on this past Saturday (10/28/06) and it took over 5 hours for my number to be transferred over to the new phone. Also, it is an entirely new network. In Southern California, the network this model TracFone uses is Cingular.
Suffice it to say, I followed all the instructions on the website explicitly, however Cingular just keeps regurgitating its canned message that it doesn't recognize my number and to input my voicemail number. And around and around it goes. I anticipate nothing but problems with "technical support" when I contact them. They are very polite as customer service reps, however they can barely speak or understand English. I am envisioning hours of BS with the call I have to make because past experience has indicated to me that these reps are not technical whatSOever. Note to Tracfone: Customer service reps from Mexico who can barely communicate with your American consumers are most assuredly NOT TECH SUPPORT.
Also, I wasn't overly impressed with the keypad where it concerns text messaging. The V120c is actually more intuitive. It's much easier to use. But the c139 does have one advantage in this regard - text messages cost only 0.3 units versus on the V120c, TracFone was deducting 0.5 units for each incoming and outgoing text message. I'm not sure why that is considering the deduction of units has zip to do with the model of the phone. It should be one uniform deduction across the board. Consumers should contact TracFone customer service and inquire about this phenomenon.
Bottom line is that I would recommend this phone to anyone who is upgrading from a monochromatic LED phone and wants an *inexpensive* phone with a much easier on the eyes color display. Inexpensive as in you bought it from a retailer for $20 bucks. But if you want pretty new ringtones and wallpaper, and a little more flexibility, then get yourself a Nokia 2126. For the same money you spend here, the Nokia is a better phone. It has a USB port, a speakerphone, plus other extras. And you probably won't have any trouble setting up the voicemail either.
No service lots of places.......2006-10-28
Activating this phone was no problem but I got a long distance exchange number so I can call anyone around here- but anyone else has to call me long distance even when I dialed the phone from my landline right here in the house. The message reads "no service" in the office where I work, not to mention the grocery, the mall,...well, you get the picture. I try calling anyway but it reads "call failed". When I get to the door of the building I get service back and outdoors is very good. I bought this phone to give my brother because he tends to lock his keys in the house or have car trouble and has to reach me at work to go over and let him in or pick him up. When I do get service, the reception is very good. I opted not to give it to my brother.He would have to go outside to call and it does get cold here.I use it in the car to save the minutes on my Nokia 2126 which gets a signal everywhere. I guess I'll pick up a Nokia for my brother too.
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