If like me you are old enough to remember the huge items that kept up your muscles and as a sideline pumped out large amounts of electrical interference then what the current range of tiny phones can do is something rather special.
Buy Now...
Firstly of course they are small, and multifunctional, a phone that is just a phone would be totally unacceptable unless of course you breakdown miles from anywhere. A camera is a requirement and some means of collecting and sending emails as well as browsing the www.
I suppose the dimensions of 11x4.5x2cm are not that mind blowing by today's minute standards. For someone like me with failing eyesight and large - dare I say podgy - fingers then the buttons are quite small enough.
Currently this camera phone with internet connectivity is only available on T-Mobile but for some reason does not appear on their website. I found it on the Carphone Warehouse site where according to the contract it will cost you somewhere between nothing and £79.95 the latter for pay as you go.
I noted that I had four or five bars most of the time and that I have yet to find anywhere in the London and home counties where I have not got a signal. I know a place between Clapham Junction and Earlsfield where most mobile signals seem to drop but not it appears the T-Mobile in my tests.
In use the keypad slides down to reveal the 3.5x2.8cm (160x120 in 65k colour) screen which is clear and sharp. I could write a dissertation on the menus and sub menus and their menus but a 100 page plus manual should enable you to find what you want without to much trouble.
The unit comes with a CD-ROM and cable that contains the means to upload and download messages, ringtones and wallpapers as well or course as your photographs. It can take images in four sizes up to 640x480 and these were quite acceptable. You can also use infra red to transfer information.
I never managed to get my head round the 'T9' predicted text but this is easily turned off to allow the normal 1-3 click character entry.
It has a built in 14.4 modem and GSM 900/1800 is supported as well as GPRS.
Standby time is stated as 180 hours while talktime is 2.3 hours between charges.
In all I found it quite easy to use, if I could not immediately figure something out a quick review of the appropriate pages in the manual soon solved the problem. If you are looking for a new phone then this could well merit a place on your shortlist. As always the contract fees and call costs are vital parts of the equation.
Link : http://www.lge.co.uk/mod_perl/go.pl/site/products/mobile/default.htm?product_uid=2730&category_uid=662
!!
