gman1971

Still trying to get my salesman to get me pricing, as MSRP was listed by one vendor as $1716.00 (that better have a SUC Single Unit Charger included), but good to know on CPS 2.0 instead of MOL cloud.
Although, I did just inundate him with a huge XPR7550e/XPR5550e/APX4000/APX6000XE order as well, he has been busy this week. (It's easier for me to spend corporate money than my own too....lol). Thank you for the additional info on the R7.

Received the legit Motorola brochure and documents sent to my work email account, but still no pricing. I foresee buying as many XPR7550e radios as possible to keep consistent radios in use a while longer, until APX transition takes place. With the current supply chain issues with receiving product from Motorola, unless these are very cheap and available (made in USA or possibly Mexico if they can get them over the border fast enough), these won't hit the streets for a while. Not holding my breathe.

Yep, I still have one of the original 75-820 CB talkies in perfect working condition, got it in '97 IIRC, and a pair of the original Midland G-11 GMRS radios, with an SMA!! ...got them like ~20 years ago. They used to make much better equipment, tho... nowadays is just not better than CCRs. sadly.
G.

Midland has also been making radios for 30+ years. My first GMRS radio was a 4 channel crystal radio from Midland. You ordered it with the channel you got licensed on. The other advantage is Midland makes a GMRS radio only. Its not a modified ham radio or other CCR based chip radio. While its not top of the line its built for GMRS and GMRS only. I think that goes along way in the simplicity and use of the radio. For many users that's what hey want. They don't want programming and other complicated items. They want to install it turn it on and use it. Midland has sold many GMRS radios since they started selling them and will continue to sell regardless what you or I want added. 

Courtesy of the FCC. More info on the Motorola R7 radio.
https://fccid.io/AZ489FT7143 https://fccid.io/AZ489FT7143/External-Photos/External-Photos-5510180 https://fccid.io/AZ489FT7143/Internal-Photos/Internal-Photos-5510186 https://fccid.io/AZ489FT7143/Users-Manual/Manual-5510184  

I was without "my" truck yesterday, so I had the 7550e sitting in the cup holder, and could hear just as well over the hill on the XPR as I do on my mobile rig. My office is just on the other side of the ridge, but it's 200+' in elevation difference (1050ish to 1270ish). I normally don't pay attention because there usually isn't a conversation going on when I get out, but I could hear it all the way up the hill.

That needs to be hammered in to everybody's head! If you can't hear the other station nothing else matters.
People get so hung up on how much power does the radio have, 5 watts, 15 watts, 50 watts plus. Seems sort of silly to get other people to run high power because you radio's receiver sucks.
Some of the crappy CCR's are fairly deaf and or very prone to receiving signals that are not on the actual frequency being used. I have one that I can pickup a UHF fire dispatch transmission clear as a bell on several FRS/GMRS channels. And that transmitter has to be a good 15 to 20 miles away!! Nice looking radio, receiver selectivity sucks. It's good for a beater radio but that's about all. I haven't used it in many months. Fortunately I didn't spend that much on it.

I was really hoping for a better radio than the XPR7550e, but after reading the FCC application and watching the pictures, there is zero reason for me to upgrade my XPR7550e to the R7 radio. Maybe that is what they wanted... maybe not... but if me, who operates only a small fleet of XPR radios thinks this radio was the wrong thing to put out... I am certain people with a lot deeper pockets than me will think alike. 
Seems like the new R7 receiver has improved selectivity, that is if the rumors are to be trusted; but that isn't saying much when the 7550e was already pretty much the top of the hill... Its like saying a race car that laps the field at 10 seconds a lap now will lap everyone at 11 seconds a lap... The rumors also claim better audio, with a better noise suppressor, but again, those are minor incremental updates. IMO not worth trashing every XPR accessory produced since 2006 which has worked for the last 3 generations of XPR radios. I always claim the most important thing on a radio is the receiver... but that is based on the assumption that you can actually program the frequencies on it... the best receiver is useless if I can't program the radio because I don't have Internet.
The jump from 6550 to 7550 was a substantial improvement, and the 6550 was relatively new when it happened, but the 7550 had a better color screen, vastly improved receiver, and while batteries were changed, the accessory connector remained the same, and used the same CPS, with the same programming cable and process. Then Motorola did the right thing, they took the 7550 and improved it to make it the 7550e, better receiver, and much improved battery life.
But now, the jump from the 7550e to R7 isn't the same because there are almost 2 decades worth of accessories and microphones for the XPR radios. And the CPS is not the same anymore, and will likely require internet connection and who knows what else just to get it working. 
Disappointment, is probably how it feels to me, b/c even though I claimed the XPR7550e would be the last radios I'll ever purchase, I really wanted to be wrong! :D, I wanted this R7 to be the XPR7550e killer so I could get me one with a super-duper fancy screen and become the ultimate snob, calling these ancient XPR7550e obsolete pieces of crap... hahaha (which ironically that is how Motorola called the XPR7550e in their "promotional" video, hahaha)... but I guess some things, sometimes, are not meant to be.
 
As for the Motorola decline, indeed... they went from having radios on the Voyager I & II space probes, radio comms for Apollo missions to "nickeling and diming" customers for entitlements and "radio as a service BS..."
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History in a way is repeating itself. I recall being sold a demo model of the Harris Multiband XG-100P Unity radio, VHF, UHF1/2, 7/800 MHz and GPS, several years before the Motorola APX series came out with the option of picking up to three Rf modules. Then working for the military and moving into the private sector (emergency response for the oil industry), the idea was this radio would replace the dual band IS rated Vertex Duo/FTH-2070. Well, that did not work well at all, the Harris radio was way too expensive, and the software was not developed enough for many of the features to be useful. Only federal agents, with taxpayer money behind them could purchase them.
The one radio I bought required my computer MAC address, and hard drive to affiliate with Harris servers, and Radio Program Manager could only be placed onto this one computer. Then the hard drive crashed, and it was a verification of paperwork with Harris, essentially doing the same process as setting up a new computer with software, registering it with Harris, then connecting to the Internet to verify all over again. Nothing like Motorola CPS where I can download it and load it to every programming computer I have. 
Fast forward a dozen years and the Harris Unity is discontinued, along with the Thales Liberty, a similar attempt. The APX7000 is ending its production life....and the APX8000 is taking over. Then they bring out the APX Next and Trbo Ion.....which is too expensive, going down the path of subscription as a service (wish I had a copy of that email where my Motorola rep said "since we are all enjoying software as a service".....said nobody in my org ever), and ending product lines earlier than they stated only months prior.
I did notice that the APX NEXT and Trbo Ion has not been pitched too hard, I think they realize these models are chip intensive, and they can't even get APX4000's delivered on time, stressing the APX line over Trbo for higher profit margins (I have many XPR7550e's on order since March of 2021 that have yet to deliver). This will be an interesting few years, but the decline of Motorola has been in effect for a while now. Think tech support and production in Mexico, Malaysia, Israel and Chicago, in descending order. Schaumburg is not what it used to be. This may not end well. Although, I may now have to scramble for more XPR7550e radios to tide some sites over until the APX transition.

Well, I really think Motorola made a tactical mistake with this radio... but only time (and $$$) will tell.
They should've just improved on the already successful XPR 7550e: add a  larger screen, tweak the receiver to make it more selective, change a few bits here and there, heck, maybe even change the outer case a hair, and just call it the XPR7550e2... Keep the 7550e as it is now, maybe do a small refresh of the casing to reflect the new decade, whatever, but add the new one as e2... but keep everything the same. That saves costs and everything... and people will have the option to chose between the e and e2, and a lot of people could slowly phase the 7550e into e2, without having to invest on a whole new set of batteries and accessories, the ION and the NEXT are such impractical radios, they are big and bulky and they don't work well with gloves... hate to say this but those two radios are a probably the two finest Motorolian bean-counter driven epic blunders. IMO. Also, given how the world economic landscape is right now... savings would've made a lot of sense... but whatever... 
They should allow it to use CPS 2, which is much better than the RM cloud deal and the whole "radio" as a frigging service BS". Soon radios will have PTT quotas... and once you've exceed it you'll have to get online to purchase more PTT presses, or a new plan just to press the dang PTT for an unlimited number of times. I can already see it, R8e "Extra plan" ... "Unlimited PTT presses, with 100 free Text Messages, the first 100 contacts are free, and free 1000 minutes of runtime per month... (*extra minutes rate $0.01 min/per month."
For as much as I respect the engineers at Motorola who make wonderful tech, I am developing a strong distaste for the people who are making the decisions... 
Things can only be improved asymptotically once a certain threshold is reached, and afterwards each iteration is not going to be a 2x times better as the old one, it eventually gets to a state of saturation, like where we are now, where useless features just don't add much to the overall value. Radios are pretty much there, engineers can keep tacking things onto the radio, but at what point does it stop being a 2-way radio and becomes a smartphone? We are almost there with the two pieces of managerial excrement called the ION and the NEXT... This is likely how cell phones evolved from 2-way radios... but now it seems that 2-way radios are determined to go extinct ...
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This is the XPR7550e successor. Its not the ION. Codename is Rajang, but who knows what the final production name will be.

It looks like it uses the same bolt antenna, so that is out of the question. The two remaining questions are the battery compatibility, and the side connector, which sort of looks like it will be compatible, but who knows. They've been using the same microphone connector for APX/XPR radios for the past decade and change, I think replacing it would be a mistake, but that is just me, a nobody.
As for XPR7550e being dumped, I am not so sure. It all depends on how Motorola plays the CPS card. If the radio is like the ION that you require a MOL account along with a network connection to program it from the 'cough' 'cough' "the cloud"... I think it will put off a lot of people. As far as I know there are no plans to discontinue the XPR7550e that I am aware off. I honestly think the XPR7550e is arguable the best blend of usability and performance. 
The ION is a gimmick IMO, its a huge radio, useless with gloves, and the screen can, and will shatter when you might need it the most. Don't get me wrong, its a badass idea, I love the dang thing and I considered getting my hands on mine and ditch the phone... but I just can't get past the fact it can't be programmed from CPS and that it won't take the good old fw2.09 that all my other radios run on. That is not taking into account the cost... of course.
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I will say, I think the "behind the keypad" speaker and microphone is a negative as well.

@wayoverthere
Totally agree. I am certain each certification costs money. And some people when they see a Part95a radio they will just run for the hills...
G.

For one training evolution in the military, we used keyboards, and had to tell the trigger puller which letter or key to hit. I want to do this with Kenwood P25 radios every chance I get. After dealing with APX4000/XPR7550e radios for years, I now have to support APX7000/8000/8500's alongside Kenwood NX5300's. 
However, I have seen my share of XPR7550e radios where disgruntled employees have drilled the LCD display, scratched "BROKE" on the display, when another else was wrong, and used the radio as a hammer on something else to vent their frustration.

There used to be a machine gun range that let people bring in computers as targets. 

I'd rather have 10 watts at 80' than 50 watts at 20' as far as coverage goes.

Certainly, I should probably go to Linux, but I never did get around that. I have way too many things installed running on windows that at this point its just easier for me to stay on Win7 than move to anything else. I upgraded machine a year back, just to get the most powerful machine that still runs Win7 which should last me to the end of the decade...
I stopped purchasing new software because none of the new stuff has/does anything I really need... Word? Excel? Powerpoint? I still run my legal Office 2007 copy. Works perfect, doesn't dial home, allows me to type what I want, just like every other software I own, no dialing home, no BS. And since I only visit a few internet sites, so long a browser still works on Win7, I am good.
G.

Certainly, I should probably go to Linux, but I never did get around that. I have way too many things installed running on windows that at this point its just easier for me to stay on Win7 than move to anything else. I upgraded machine a year back, just to get the most powerful machine that still runs Win7 which should last me to the end of the decade...
I stopped purchasing new software because none of the new stuff has/does anything I really need... Word? Excel? Powerpoint? I still run my legal Office 2007 copy. Works perfect, doesn't dial home, allows me to type what I want, just like every other software I own, no dialing home, no BS. And since I only visit a few internet sites, so long a browser still works on Win7, I am good.
G.

I signed up for the announcement that comes out in 10 days. Thanks @gman1971

Haven't said much in here for a bit, so here's an update.
Finally getting the remote operator position going for the house so I can connect to and operate all the radios and repeaters at the site from home. 
While this don't sound like a big thing, it's 23 radios and repeaters as of now and will only increase.  These range from GMRS and ham repeater and multichannel radios (control stations) to HF rigs that have assigned antenna's that are band specific and filters for those bands so they can co-exist and operate at the same time. 
I can also monitor things like the tower lights, generator and door alarms from the house.  Which is handy.
 
 

Yea, my VHF radio at home doesn't like my 1W APRS beacon that is 28' away from the base station antenna (144.39MHz to 147.27MHz). Though, looking at the sites for some local P25 P2 systems, they have frequencies as close as 0.275MHz, however, appropriate TX combiners and filters/cavities it wouldn't be an issue at all. 
I read somewhere that P25P2 was supposed to be FDMA (true 6.25 individual channels), but ended up TDMA, which is still ok since it is a 6.25 equivalent. I believe NXDN is the only true FDMA 6.25 mode available, and works well for the railroads, but it's not common on the public safety side (my school district uses it on VHF for the busses). 
As far as TETRA having 4 paths on one frequency, it does, but it is also TDMA in a 25k frequency, so basically 2 DMR stacked next to each other in 1 frequency.
Long and short of it, I don't think DMR as we know it is going away. If they stopped acknowledging it as a 6.25 equivalent, then they would have to shut down P25 as well, and that won't happen.

Appreciate the hood info, will be looking at those. I honestly just bought mine for the purposes of reviewing it, was never planning on keeping it, I’m more than happy enough with my KG-1000G to want or need to buy anything else. 

Yeah, I'm also VERY skeptical running adjacent channels at 6.25KHz bandwidth. Even the wider 12.5KHz I wouldn't believe either. Even Ham HT's with two pair of stations close to each other at a 25KHz channel separation doesn't work out too well either.   

I had to prove to some people about a few years ago that a Trbo based radio in digital mode was selective enough to not desense when a similar Trbo radio was transmitting in analog mode right next to it and their antennas being colocated (within maybe a foot apart). This test was with 25 watt radios, but was later repeated with 40 watt UHF versions (XPR4550's), both with SW102 Surecom wattmeters installed in line to see that they were putting out the wattage they were spec'ed for. Some people were amazed at the selectivity of each. Now Trbo XPR4550's are the bare minimum for mobiles, with XPR5550e's being the more expensive option. Bang for the buck, the best money you can spend on a mobile.

Nice. I really liked the CDM750s when I was testing them, I even used the Tuner program to make the SQL open at pretty much noise floor level. The Professional series radios (CDM, HT1250, etc) are, IMO, probably the greatest FM VHF/UHF radios you can buy for the price. They will outperform anything CCR made... and you can repair them too, rather than throw them in the trash...
The selectivity on the 5550e is quite impressive. I can key a 5W XPR7550e portable on an adjacent channel, ~25khz apart, from just few feet away and the RX light won't even blink on the 5550e.
Not the case on any other radio I own, including the EVX radios... where the RX LED will blink when you try that... meaning is desensing and thus RX range will be crap.
G.