This phone is much cooler than I anticipated for the price....
Written: Mar 08 '01
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Pros: A multitude of features, interchangeable colorful face plate options, Dual Band & Great Price
Cons: Flimsy antenna
The Bottom Line: I would recommend this phone. It's jam packed with features and the price is very reasonable.
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| frognmarl's Full Review: Kyocera QCP 2035a Cell Phone |
I went into SprintPCS to get a new cell phone as I had lost my old one. I had my heart sent on getting one of the flip phones because my purpose was to have a phone with me in the event of emergencies while on the road somewhere that had a protective cover over the dialpad.
To my surprise, the phone I wanted they were out of. I took a look at this Kyocera and thought well, it has a lot of features and it's reasonably cheap at the price; the bargain I was looking for.
The phone is fairly small, not bulky at all measuring 5.1" x 1.8" x 0.8" and weighing only 4.4 oz.
The phone cost - $99.99. It comes in electric blue or grey (more of a charcoal color) BUT, you can purchase interchangeable faceplates in a multitude of different colors (Lymon, Tangerine & Infusion)to personalize the appearance of the phone with your personality for $9.99 each.
It has a Lithium Ion battery that lasts 3.5 hours in digital mode or 120 hours on standby. I charged my battery two days ago and it has yet to lose any charge because I use it only for emergency purposes or when I'm expecting an important phone call and will not be at home to receive it. This pleases me. The other nice thing about re-charging the battery unlike some of the older phones is, no bulky chargers that require you removing the battery and setting it into a base to re-charge. This has a single charger slot that you plug an A/C adapter into right on the side of the phone. The A/C adapter comes with the phone.
It also has a slot for a "hands free" car kit ($59.99) right on the side of the phone as well. Just plug the adapter into the side of the phone and you can keep your hands on the wheel instead of attempting to talk (holding a phone) and drive at the same time. I didn't opt to buy that accessory because I have a headpiece (microphone/earpiece) that came with my speakerphone I use at home so I plugged the adapter into my telephone and WALLA, it worked beautifully. It's a standard plug in slot.
You can opt to purchase a travel charger ($19.99) as opposed to using the A/C adapter but why would you? It takes twice the time to charge the phone using the travel charger than it would if you used the adapter that takes up less space when traveling.
You can also opt to purchase the cigarette lighter adapter ($19.99). In the future this might be an item I will purchase but for now, I didn't need one because I use my phone so little that the battery stays charged for 120 hours as the phone is in standby. For an extended road trip/vacation I would definitely purchase the cigarette lighter adapter.
There is also the standard desk top adapter that can be purchased for $29.99 but like I said, why? The A/C adapter works perfectly fine and takes up no space on the counter while recharging. Why add one more item to counter space that might be in short supply?
Of course, you can purchase a leather case for $14.99. I guess if I was wearing the phone on my pants while at work I might opt to buy the leather case but because I don't clip it to my clothing I did not purchase this accessory. If you use your phone on a regular basis then I'd advise you spend the extra $15 and get the leather case.
Another accessory is the Wireless Web Connection Kit ($59.99). This includes all the hardware and software to use your phone as a wireless modem. Again, an option I don't have use for but many others might.
Phone Features:
This is where I was extremely impressed. For such a small phone, it is packed with very useful features.
At the main menu you can scroll through the following menus:
Wireless Web
Contacts
Recent Calls
Settings
Tools
Messages
Phone Info
Each menu comes with an icon for information. If you are having trouble understanding what a specific feature does, you can scroll to the information icon and read a little description and instructions on how to program/utilize that feature.
Wireless Web: This allows you to access the internet by dialing directly through your phone using it as a modem (with the optional Wireless web kit I mentioned above). Not a feature I forsee using however, it also will connect you directly to SprintPCS's website if you are looking for information to help you setup features on your phone.
Contacts
This phone works as an address book NOT just as a phone directory. I set up an account for each person I keep information on in my bulky planner/address book that I carry around in my purse. WOW, I can now get rid of one more item in my pocketbook. What a TREAT! I lose 4 pounds of weight in my purse and replace it with 4.4 oz. of telephone! Once you setup the initial telephone number for the contact you can then opt to add additional information about that person including - email address, home address, mobile phone #, pager # and even NOTES, complete with their own identifying icon next to each entry!
Here's another neat feature. You can set each contact up as either a personal contact or a business contact. You can choose which telephone number you want as the "primary" number to reach each contact. What that means is when you choose a contact to call, whichever number you indicated as the primary number will be the first number your phone will dial when attempting to call that contact. Neat HUH? I thought so but then again, I'm easily impressed by these electronic gadgets!
Worried about running out of space for contacts? Don't worry, the phone can store over 200 contacts! The purpose for specifying whether a contact is a personal contact or a business contact is because you can set the ringer up to sound a distinct ring for personal calls and another sound for business calls. That way if you receive a personal call while you're busy at work you can ignore the call and let it go into your voicemail.
Recent Calls Menu:
This is self explanatory but incase you aren't familiar with what this means, your phone logs all of your recent calls incase you missed a call or want to go back and find a number to return a call you can scroll through your most recent calls. The phone also asks you whenever you get an incoming call that is not programmed in your contact list if you'd like to save that number as a contact! Very cool feature!
Settings Menu:
You guessed it, this is the heart of your telephone. This is where you set up all kinds of options. The different menus inside the settings menu include:
Silence All:
Here you have 3 options, No (normal) meaning don't silence the ringer, Yes, (vibe only) meaning silence the ringer and vibrate the phone and Yes, (lights only) meaning silence the ringer and only light up the phone panel when a call comes in.
Keyguard:
This feature sets your phone to go into keyguard mode meaning that your phone will lock and you will have to enter a sequence of numbers to unlock the phone for use. I like this feature for this phone because you must use the sequence of 1,2,3 to unlock the keyguard. This is great for me to know that when my 2 year old wants to play with my phone (she's intrigued by the neon light panel) that she can't easily unlock the keyguard and make a call to China. With her father's phone you just have to hold down the "end" key and it will unlock your keyguard, something our daughter has been smart enough to figure out! With this phone, she's not old enough yet to know that pushing 123 in sequence will unlock the keyguard! Nice feature for parents with small children. The settings for keyguard include having it engage after 15 seconds, 30 seconds or 1 minute after the phone is sitting idle. You can also opt to turn the keyguard off completely from this menu.
Roaming:
Because this is a dual band phone meaning it will first look for digital service and when that is not present it will then look for an analog service, this is where roaming comes into play. Roaming (analog services) start eating up the minutes on your phone and running up the bill! The options in roaming include:
Set Mode:
SprintPCS - only connect when you're in a digital service area
Automatic - look for digital service first, if no digital service then look for analog service
Analog - only connect using analog service
Sounds:
Sounds are fun. This is where you setup your ringer for personal or business contacts and a multitude of other useful sounds. You can setup a distinct ring for personal calls and business calls so you'll know the difference when you hear the phone ring before answering the call. A neat feature when it's after hours and you don't want to take a call from a business contact!
There are 10 different standard ringing sounds, 2 songs, 1 whistle, 1 sport and 1 charge! sound to choose from.
Here you can also set the ringer volume. You can also setup the ring type (vibrate & ring, vibrate or ring only).
You can also select the volume of the beep and the length of the beep in this menu. The beep is how loud the sound will be when you are dialing or using any of the keypad buttons.
You can also set the earpiece volume if you are using a headset or hands free kit that can be optionally purchased.
Missed Call alert is the sound you choose to alert you in the event you missed a call.
Smart Sound - I LIKE this feature. When smart sound is enabled the phone will automatically detect the volume setting based on the background noise around you. I find this to be a very cool feature! No more screaming into the telephone when you're out in the bar because you can't hear the other person!
Minute Alert - Alerts you with a short beep 10 seconds before each minute passes during a call.
Display Options:
Backlighting - determine the length of time you want the backlight to stay lit on your phone. There are 5 options to choose from.
My Banner - Change the banner on your phone from SprintPCS to your name or whatever else you want your phone to display when not in use.
Auto Hyphenation - As you enter phone numbers, hyphens will be inserted automatically when enabled.
Language - English or Espanol
Time/Date Format - 4 options of how you want the time/date to be displayed
Main Menu View - Display the main menu in small icons, large icons or text list
Security:
Lock Phone Use - Never, On Power Up or Now. This feature allows you to set a lock number up on the telephone and whatever one of the 3 options chosen above, your phone will lock anyone out from using the phone unless they have the lock code sequence. This is a great feature in the event your phone gets stolen, the thief cannot use it unless they know the lock code if you have it set to "Now". If it's set "On power up", once the phone is turned off, when it's turned back on a lock code will have to be entered before calls out can be made on the phone.
Extras:
1-touch dialing - Works just like speed dialing on any house phone. Program in particular numbers for one touch dialing, assign the contact a number and press only that number to make the call.
Web Guard - Requires confirmation prompt to start/exit the internet browser. 4 prompts to choose from - at start, at exit, both, none
Data/Fax Calls - Required to accept incoming data or fax calls on some systems. Voice calls cannot be accepted if this mode is enabled.
Tools Menu:
Alarm Clock - self explanatory, works just like an alarm clock when set
Tip Calculator - Enter the amount of the bill, the % of tip you want to leave and let the calculator do the math. If you're splitting the bill with friends, enter the amount of people and let it divide to calculate the amount each person pays
Calculator - Self Explanatory
Countdown - Self Explanatory
Stopwatch - Self Explanatory
Brick Attack Game - Use the paddle to deflect the ball up into the bricks until they are all smashed.
Limit Calls Out - Limits calls to emergency contacts and saved contacts only (great for your teenager if you don't want them running up the bill). It will still allow incoming telephone calls to be answered even when the limit outgoing calls feature is enabled.
Change Lock Code - Self explanatory
Erase All Contacts - Self explanatory
Erase Recent Calls - Self explanatory
Phone Reset - Resets all phone settings to factory defaults
Because I just recently got this phone, I know there are a few more features I'm not completely familiar with but what I can say is this. For the price ($99.99) of this phone, even without all the optional accessories you can purchase, this phone is packed with useful features. I don't think you'll be disappointed!
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 99.99
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Epinions.com ID:
frognmarl
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Location: Phoenix, AZ
Reviews written: 24
Trusted by: 8 members
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