The Good: This is a slim, sexy candybar-style world phone with a VGA camera, Bluetooth and a host of user-customizable options. The phone supports SMS and multimedia messaging, as well as many of the popular instant messaging clients. It has an above average talk time and a standby time of eight days.
The Bad: Despite being a mid-tier phone, the VGA camera disappoints with blurry images and video clips are restricted in length by the tinny 10MBs of internal memory. There is no flash-card support as in other handsets in the series, nor any iTunes support or a dedicated audio player. The low quality screen makes colors seem washed out and videos choppy. Web browsing speeds are quite slow. Note that some carriers have disabled features of the phone such as the well-touted Push-to-Talk technology.
The Bottom Line: This is a fairly average mid-range handset which most users will be happy with, but phone enthusiasts will be disappointed by the low quality screen, camera and the lack of a dedicated audio player and memory expandability.
The Good: This quad-band world phone was built with the media enthusiast in mind. Apart from the usual array of features, the phone carries support for many of the most popular instant messaging clients, access to pre-paid satellite radio as well as networks such as MySpace and Cartoon Network. Web surfing and downloads are fast via the phone’s 3G connectivity, and dedicated Push-to-Talk and conference calling allow conversations with up to 30 people simultaneously.
The Bad: Despite the phone’s impressive feature set, the VGA camera is disappointing, with pictures and videos appearing grainy and blurred. There is also no dedicated audio player and no expansion memory card slot. Sound also sounds distorted at higher volumes, particularly so when using the in-built speakerphone.
The Bottom Line: While by no means a cheap phone, its slim profile, 3G connectivity and multimedia content access give the LG CU400 credible appeal. However the low quality camera and lack of expandability are disappointing. All in all a worthy predecessor to the LG CU500.
The Good: The Nokia 6126 is a well featured flip-style world phone with a 1.3 megapixel camera. Notable features include full Bluetooth support, a multilingual translator, a wide variety of utilities and applications and both internal and external displays. Both displays display content in clear detail with vibrant colour and can be easily viewed even in direct sunlight. The camera provides above-average image quality, although videos are a little grainy with the sound tinny at times.
The Bad: There’s not much to say about this phone in the negative, but it would have been nice to see an FM radio as in other handsets in the Nokia range. The hinge can be a little stiff at times and some of the side controls a little slippery to the touch.
The Bottom Line: All in all this is a well-rounded mid-tier handset for all sectors of the market. The silver and black colour scheme looks particularly attractive and the interface is intuitive and easy to use. A device well worth the price.
The Good: The cheapest and most basic of Sony’s Walkman phone range sports delights such as quad-band world operation, FM radio, Bluetooth, EDGE and a 1.3 mega pixel camera. A lengthy battery life ensures plenty of time for talking, surfing the web and listening to music.
The Bad: Contrary to Sony’s high standard when it comes to music and audio, the camera on the W300i is disappointing, giving blurred and hazy images with little color distinction. The power and control buttons on the side of the handset are small and difficult to press. We encountered repeated problems pairing the included Bluetooth remote control with the handset.
The Bottom Line: The W300i will make music enthusiasts proud; however the mediocre camera and several usability issues give pause for thought. However, the W300i is a great all-round device and well worth its low price tag.
