The Good: This quad-band world flip-phone has two displays, a simple interface and a slim, light and compact design. It supports web browsing and e-mail, and is able to play videos received via MMS. The rubberized keys make dialing easy, and the large address book provides storage room for up to 1000 contacts.
The Bad: The plastic casing of the phone feels cheap and insecure, and the lack of a camera makes the photo Caller-ID function somewhat pointless. The external 0.8” display is hard to read, and the 3MB internal memory is prohibitively small. The talk time of just 5 hours is fairly standard. The games included on the phone are only demos and require additional payment to download full versions.
The Bottom Line: This is a phone that is definitely overpriced, yet with a feature set aimed at those who want something cheap and simple. The Samsung SGH-X507 is a real let down compared to other models in the Samsung range.
The Good: The Apple iPhone has a stunning display, a sleek design, and an innovative multitouch user interface. Its Safari browser makes for a superb Web surfing experience, and it offers easy-to-use apps. As an iPod, it shines.
The Bad: The Apple iPhone has variable call quality and lacks some basic features found in many cell phones, including stereo Bluetooth support and 3G compatibility. Integrated memory is stingy for an iPod, and you have to sync the iPhone to manage music content.
The Bottom Line: Despite some important missing features, a slow data network, and call quality that doesn’t always deliver, the Apple iPhone sets a new benchmark for an integrated cell phone and MP3 player.
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.
The Good: The jewel in Nokia’s crown is a phone for all, both music megalomaniacs and photo fanatics alike. Boasting a 5 mega pixel camera, dual band WiFi and GPS with maps for over 100 countries, there is no shortage of things to get excited about.
The Bad: Although branded as a world phone, the N95 lacks support for US 3G data networks. Battery life even on standby is low, and performance sluggish despite the large internal memory. Finally, the handset finish looks cheap and the dual-sliding mechanism feels somewhat insecure.
The Bottom Line: You get what you pay for with technology, and the crème de la crème of the Nokia range is no exception. This is most certainly a unit which many will envy but few will be able to afford. However, despite it’s impressive specifications, the lack of a TV tuner such as that offered by the N93, the cheap finish and sluggish performance make it hard to justify the almost $800 retail price.
