Mixed emotions
Written: Aug 05 '02
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Pros: Ease of use, unbelievably lightweight, voice commands that work, superb reception.
Cons: Looks cheapy,difficult to hear on loud environments
The Bottom Line: Great recepcion, super long battery, voice commands that work, and you can change the scren color!
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| lirubis's Full Review: Panasonic Allure EB-TX310 (Silver) |
"You got a...WHAT??!" This expression pretty much sums the vast majority of comments I got when people found out I traded my excellent Nokia for the new Panasonic TX310. I just took the chance to upgrade to a new phone for free, while upscaling my current plan with TELCEL. One thing tipped me off: virtually all sales reps. were carrying THIS model for personal use, so I figured it HAS to be a good phone. So here is what I have found so far as a HEAVY and serious user of cell phone services.
LOOKS
Unconvincing. Not tecchie enough for today´s standards. It is as slim as my former Nokia, maybe less than 1.5 inches taller (because of the protruding antenna), the keys are backlit as well as the "cursor pad" located just below the screen. You can choose between 6 (that is right: SIX)different colors for the screen backlight, in MY case being a huge advantage because I benefit a LOT from reddish backgrounds when reading black text. Very slim and thin. Buttons are easy to read.
WEIGHT
Like a feather. Perhaps 20% - 30% lighter than most phones in their category. This is a big plus if you are used to conceal your cell phone in your pockets. Sometimes you even forget you have it on.
BEST FEATURES
- Speaker. Yes, you can have a hands free unit without a single extra (Not recommended while driving, though).Sound quality is poor, but good enough to understand the other party if they speak at normal volume.
- Menu system: Nokia users will feel just right at home. Simple, intuitive usage makes this Panasonic a phone that is so easy to live with...I was able to do whatever I wanted for customizing my unit in no time.
- Voice commands. What seemed like the ultimate friendly tool in this advanced tech phone, in practice turned out to be a major annoyance. How it works? Lets say you want to put the phone in vibrating mode. Just press a button, say the word and voila!. No, seriously..that is how it works... Problem is: you must say the word EXACTLY as you recorded it, meaning same voice tone, pitch, timing, volume...get my drift? I only use 5 monosyllabic words for very common tasks (QUIET, HOME, BABE...etc) so it works great.
- Custom Ringer and Songs. It has to be one of the best features of this phone. Ring tones are just soft and civilized, and best of all: it is a dream for the ultimate in customization, as you can compose your own melodies/ringers right on the phone keypad! And when I say you can program anything, I mean ANYTHING! You can even download a variety of ringers and songs from Panasonic website.
- Written messages. Easy to write and read them. This phone has a writing aid, called T9 text composer, and sometimes it can really save you time writing your messages and all data input as well. Its remarkable that even spanish text is correctly applied.
- RECEPTION. It has to be the best feature of them all. Elevators, basements, buildings are almost never a problem. I drive a lot, and I must have to say without question this phone has a superior range in coverage.
-Contact organization: every entry in your phonebook has room for name, last name, 3 phone numbers, email and even birthday. SUper cool. You may recall any number via voice command, just program your voice for that number and off you go. Very handy.
- Alarms: What do you say to a phone that wakes you up with your own voice saying "wake up, you lazy bum!"??. Thie Panasonic lets you set one daily alarm and one eventual alarm as you need them. Music, tones or your own recorded voice as reminders.
- Battery Life: 300 hours stdby. yes, thats right. and over 2 hour talk time. May not be so impressive, but when you see the battery and weight of the battery (and did I say it also VIBRATES??) this is no everyday foo-foo.
I have been using it for less than a month, but so far the performance has been excellent. Dont miss anything about my Nokia 8260 except maybe the sleek design. This is a great phone without the bells and whistles I dont use because those services (WAP, etc...) are not yet available in Mexico.
This is a good buy.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
lirubis
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Location: Following the sun
Reviews written: 245
Trusted by: 59 members
About Me:
Some of us are born with a stronger sense of curiosity.
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