The Good: The Nokia N76 is a 3rd-generation Symbian clamshell and one of the thinnest phones by the Finnish manufacturer. An external display allows most common tasks to be performed without opening the phone, and the ultra-bright 2.4” internal display makes watching videos and surfing the web a pleasure. One of the loudest phones on the market, and one of the only ones to have integrated bass boost for audio files.
The Bad: Poor settings management make configuration a chore. The inconsistent design makes it look a little tacky, and the flip cannot be fully opened with headphones plugged in. The external screen is difficult to read in bright sunlight, this is compounded by the cramped interface. For a phone of this calibre, the battery capacity is disappointingly short with a miserly average 1.5 day runtime.
The Bottom Line: What it lacks in looks, the N76 makes up for in functionality. The sleek profile and some ingenious features appeal to the wider market; the inclusion of direct printing is a nice touch. A worthy and well-rounded development.
The Good: Samsung has certainly succeeded in creating a stylish cell phone. The overall design looks good and is compact enough to provide quite a bit of convenience. In addition to that, customers have raved about the improved call quality of the phone. For those that love Bluetooth, there is integrated Bluetooth technology included within this phone.
The Bad: Samsung tried to go big with a VGA camera on its M300, but the camera produces poor quality with its pictures. One of the biggest problems associated with this phone is the low speaker phone volume. In addition to that, the relatively small amount of internal memory (8MB) is too low for most folks.
The Bottom Line: The Samsung M300 is a little basic, but it gets the job done. For those just looking to make cell phone calls with a good looking phone, this is a good choice. For those people who demand a little bit more out of their phone, there might be a better option elsewhere. Overall, it is a good choice for people who don’t need a great camera phone.
The Good: The Nokia N80 is a quad-band phone aimed at those who have entertainment close to heart. The 3 megapixel camera and included front-side lens make video calling a breeze, and the accompanying 3.5mm adapter allows you to use your favorite headphones for a rich and ambient musical experience. Web surfing is made easier with Nokia’s patented ‘Mini-Map’ technology, and with every connection method imaginable, getting data on and off the unit is a snap.
The Bad: With all these high-powered features, battery drain is a definite issue and the handset will require charging at the end of every day. While video shooting when standing still gives clear and distinct footage, move around and you’ll experience considerable digital noise and blurring.
The Bottom Line: Nokia has once again managed to pack all the features of the modern era into a slim, light and compact unit. The inclusion of wireless connectivity opens the door to VoIP calling and media streaming around the phone.
The Good: This is a high-specification handset with a full-featured camera and walkman and a host of useful calling features. The camera is particularly impressive, with a number of shooting modes and the ability to add frames and colour enhancements after photos or videos have been taken. The walkman gives clear and crisp sound, menus are easy to navigate and the phone can be customized in a variety of ways.
The Bad: Call quality is a little patchy with random fade-outs and static, particularly when using the in-built speakerphone. The music transfer has a few glitches, and the phone tends to freeze for some time when connecting and disconnecting from a PC or other device. Talk time is lower than stated.
The Bottom Line: Sony’s third contribution walkman phone lives up to expectations with a product that is well worth the price. With a raft of complimentary features and accessories, it’s guaranteed to keep anyone entertained no matter what the occasion. Iron out the few minor problems and it would be almost perfect.
