Great phone.
Written: Nov 29 '01
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Pros: see http://www.epinions.com/content_48058371716
Cons: see:
http://www.epinions.com/content_48058371716
The Bottom Line: see http://www.epinions.com/content_48058371716
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| yoda2u's Full Review: Panasonic Allure EB-TX310 (Silver) |
see http://www.epinions.com/content_48058371716
Well, I cannot submit this page without being more verbose here. Lets see....
What I like about the phone:
1. Voice-dialing works well. (User can store up to 40 voice commands.
These commands can be either linked to a phone number to be dialed or
to menu options.)
2. The memo function works well, but only 1 in-call memo can be
recorded at a time. Definite limitation.
3. Some have complained about how fragile the phone seems. Actually,
it seems solid to me but I understand why this perception exists—it
is so light (2.7 ounces) and so thin that its strength is deceptive.
Allure shortcomings
How to poorly design a cellphone:
1. Have a dial button perform double duty as a function key. That way, if you need to use the function during a call, your listener will hear a blaring tone in their ear. For example, the instructions for turning on the speaker-phone indicate that you should press and hold the "pound" (#) key during a call to both turn on or off the speaker-phone. Well guess what, that is very painful to the listener.
2. Put the speaker for the speaker-phone on the opposite side and end as the microphone. That way, if you have the phone on its back while using the speaker-phone, the person you are talking to sounds muffled but they'll hear you. On the other hand, if you put the phone face down, you can hear them just fine, but they won't hear you. (You can set the phone on its side, but when you are driving and trying to use this feature in a car, have fun trying to keep the phone on its side. "Well, officer, I was trying to balance my phone when traffic came to a sudden stop.")
3. Design the leather case so that it nearly obstructs the speaker-phone, thus making the case (and speaker-phone) useless. (My solution: I take the phone out of the case during speaker-phone conversations or use the hands-free device.)
4. Don't include call-duration in the call log history. That way, owners of the phone won't be able to tell how long the call lasted in case they need to track this. (The log only shows the number called and the call-initiation date & time.)
5. Design the keys so that they are so small, so close together and nearly flush with the casing, making it very difficult to dial without looking at the buttons. (My solution: Have most of my frequently dialed numbers in voice-dial. Obviously, for business travelers who are frequently calling hotels, restaurants and the like in other cities, this is not an option.)
6. Put the hands-free jack on the side of phone so that if it is bumped it can easily sheer off. This will not only ruin the hands-free unit but may also damage the phone. (The most intelligent place to put this jack is on the top of the phone. I have yet to see any manufacturer do this.)
7. The normal ear-piece (on the front) sounds tinny. (Calls actually sound better through the hands-free headset or through the speakerphone.)
Another oddity, not good or bad, is Panasonic's attempt to invent an industry-standard term in the menu options. Specifically, the term "Ring Alert," while accurate, is too generalized for a phone. If this unit included a PDA that could link to the various ringer tunes, it might be understandable. But as a phone, "Ringer Tunes" is a more
intuitive label.
see user group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PanAllure
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 150
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Epinions.com ID:
yoda2u
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Reviews written: 3
Trusted by: 0 members
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