A great phone, but not quite perfect
Written: Apr 01 '03 (Updated Apr 05 '03)
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Pros: Small size, many features, airplane mode, calendar
Cons: Slow startup, small screen, no photo capabilities
The Bottom Line: A cool little phone as long as you don't need the camera. I've uppded my rating now that SnapSync is available.
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| tcervo's Full Review: LG LX5350 |
This is my first PCS-Vision enabled phone, replacing my outdated 3 year old Qualcomm. In this review, I'll run down the top features and give my opinion on each:
Size & Weight ( )
Dimensions: 3.54" x 1.81" x 1.06"
Weight: 3.88 oz
Overall, I like the small size of this phone. It's a bit thicker than I'd prefer, but it's workable. I like that it feels solid in your hand.
Battery Life ( )
The Lithium Ion battery is listed as having approximately 3 hours of talk time or 8 hours of stand-by time in digital mode. So far, these numbers seem pretty accurate.
Color Screen Display ( )
The 65 thousand color display is crisp and bright, although a bit smaller than some other phones I've seen (notably Motorola.) So far, the size hasn't been an issue, as I've been able to see the information I need, and scrolling is easy with the scroll keys on the side of the phone.
Enhanced Ringer Sounds (-)
The 40-chord polyphonic ring tones sound pretty good, but I've been somewhat disapointed with the dowloadable ringers. For one thing, it annoys me that they advertise downloadable ringers, but fail to mention they cost money. $1-$3 per ringer is a bit much, especially since most of them are so-so midi translations. To my knowledge, there's no way to upload your own custom sound clips, either. If that capability exists, I sure can't find it! I've seen phones that have been around for several years that can upload custom ringers and alerts. Why limit this phone to the pay-only downloads?
(Added 4/5/03) I've since found some sites that offer free ringers for download to your phone, but they're still not that great. And I still haven't found a way to upload my own custom sound clips. www.3gscreensaver.com has an option where you can upload custom ringers and pictures, but you must subscribe for $5/month.
Voice-Activated Dialing ( /-)
This feature might cause a bit of confusion with the Voice Command feature that Sprint offers. Voice-activated dialing is built into the phone, and can be added to any entry in your phone book. Simply record the voice command, then confirm. To use, press a button on the side of the phone. You will be prompted to speak the name after the tone. The big difference between this feature and the Voice Command is that you must record the voice commands manually for each name you wish to use. It's a nice feature, but if you have a large phone book, it may take a while to set up.
Voice Command ( /-)
Voice Command is offered by Sprint for $5/month, with the first 2 months free. This feature allows you to add contacts via the website (I exported my entire Outlook contact list), then simply speak the name to dial once the service is activated. You can access any number in your online address book, including multiple numbers for each contact. For example, you could speak "call John Smith at work", or "call John Smith on the mobile phone", etc. The rub here is that your online contact list is NOT downloaded into your phone. So, none of the contacts show up in your phones address book. This is a problem for a couple reasons: let's say you're in an area where you can't get service (digital OR analog), but you'd like to get the number of someone so you can use a payphone. Unless you've also entered every contact into your phone's phonebook (thus duplicating your efforts), there's no way to retrieve the number. Also, all calls using this feature show up in your Call History as "Voice Command", without any indication of who you actually called. This feature is nice because you don't have to individually teach each and every voice command, but it's annoying because you can't actually "see" your contacts. It would have been better if they integrated the feature with your built-in phonebook.
Airplane Mode ( )
Airplane mode allows you to turn off the phone portion, while allowing full access to the rest of your phone (games, address book, calendar, etc.) This is nice when you want to use some of the features but can't get a signal (on an airplane, in my concrete-bunker like office, etc.). This prevents the phone from continually searching for a signal and running down the battery.
Internal Phone Book ( )
The internal phone book is nice. It allows multiple phone numbers per entry, address, email address, etc. I love having up to 5 numbers per entry, as it reduces clutter.
Calendar ( /-)
The Calendar feature is handy, as it lets you create appointments and set alarms. The downside is it doesn't sync with Outlook. (Perhaps this is a future enhancement?)
Messaging
I don't use messaging, but it's nice to know it's there if I want to.
Caller ID Support ( )
Shows the number (and name if it exists in your phone book) of the person calling, and is viewable from the window on the outside of the flip-top. This is nice because you don't have to open the phone to see who's calling.
Web Browser ( )
The built-in Openwave browser is, in my opinion, superior to the older WML based browsers that most phones have. Openwave uses XML/XHTML technology to attempt to view any website. Most sites work great, but if the site is loaded with javascript, Flash, etc., it probably won't work too well. The reason I feel this is better than WML is that with a WML based browser, you're limited to sites that have specifically created WML content.
PCS Vision Capabilities ( /-)
I'm on the fence on this one. PCS Vision gives you the Web (a plus), messaging (which I don't use), ringers (which you have to pay for), games (ditto), and screen savers (also a pay-feature.) So, other than the web, I don't see much value. Also, if you're looking for the photo capabilities they're pushing in the commercials, you can forget it with this phone. Aside from not having a built-in camera, there's also no way to plug in an external camera.
Other Thoughts:
My biggest complaint with this phone is the very slow startup. With the phone turned off, it takes a full 30 seconds to power up and get a signal. The book says to hold the END button for two seconds to turn on the phone. Actually, you must hold the button for a full 5 seconds before it will start to boot up. You then see the Sprint logo for another 15 seconds before your background image loads. It's another 10 seconds before everything loads and it's ready to use. Not a huge issue if you leave your phone on all the time, otherwise it's a pain.
I had originally reported that the 5350 was not supported by FutureDial's SnapSync synchronization software. As of 3/28/03, they've added support! This is great news, since it allows you to synchronize your Outlook contact list. (Note: you *may* need to upgrade your phone's firmware. Take it to a Sprint PCS store if necessary.)
Summary:
Overall this is a nice little phone. The built-in features are nice, but the lack of external phonebook syncing and very slow startup time keeps it from being the perfect phone.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): $149
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Epinions.com ID:
tcervo
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Member: Tony Cervo
Location: Sacramento, CA
Reviews written: 41
Trusted by: 6 members
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