A solid product that fits neatly in your pocket.
Written: Nov 19 '01
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Pros: Well designed external LCD, very convenient form factor, good sound quality and reception.
Cons: No alphabetical sorting of phone list, digital only.
The Bottom Line: Its light, its small, and its convenient to use. If you don't require a dual band phone, consider the TP 1100.
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| albrtlee's Full Review: LG SP510/TP1100 Cell Phone |
I am not a power cell phone user. I average around 180 minutes of cell phone use per month, a portion of which goes towards long-distance calls since my service plan with Sprint PCS provides “free” long distance. I own a cell phone primarily for the convenience it provides and in case of emergencies. So for me, the most important requirement on my cell phone is that it fits comfortably in my shirt or pant pocket. I simply have no patience for having to tote unwieldy and extraneous gadgets with me wherever I go.
With this in mind, the TouchPoint 1100 fits my needs really well. Before I bought the TouchPoint, I had a Sanyo SCP-4000. Outside of the fact that it was one of the five worst phones in terms of excess cell phone radiation, I was very pleased with it. Unfortunately, I dropped it one too many times and since I didn’t have phone insurance, I ended up having to get a new phone.
One of the reasons I originally bought the SCP-4000 was because I didn’t like clam phones. Though the clam design is really effective in compressing the overall form factor, I really disliked having to flip open the phone to see the display. It was bothersome to have to open the phone to see the caller ID information. But I also rely on my phone to tell time. The lack of an external display made checking the time more inconvenient than I preferred it to be.
Before I dive into my thoughts on the TP1100, let me first list some of the key features:
Dimensions: 3.4”x1.9”x1.0”
Weight: 4.2 oz
Battery Life: 2.5 hrs talk/135 hrs standby
Wireless Internet Ready
Standard Headset Jack
When I saw the TP1100’s external LCD, I was immediately intrigued. The external LCD displays all the necessary information – signal strength, battery level, network status, time and date. When receiving a call, the caller ID information replaces the time and date. You can answer the call simply by flipping open the phone. Closing the phone ends the call and flashes the call duration on the external LCD, an extremely simple but well executed and useful feature.
I have been extremely pleased with the build quality of the phone. Though I have heard others complain of the workmanship, I have not found any outstanding flaws. At 4.2 ounces, the phone has a very solid feel. I have even dropped the phone a couple of times (I don’t know why I keep doing that) but there are no visible dents or scratches. The only quibble that I have is that the outer shell of the earpiece has a glossy coat while the rest of the phone is matte silver. I think it is rather odd, but you really have to look carefully to notice the difference.
I have also been very pleased with the overall reception and sound quality of the earpiece and the microphone. The earpiece is clear and provides a full sound as opposed to the muffled voice that you get from some phones. I’ve also asked the people I call about the sound quality and they have voiced no complaints. As for the reception, with the SCP-4000, I used to get a lot of dropped calls from signal fades. With the TP1100, I have distinctly noticed that dropped calls are far more infrequent. I may lose voice for a brief second occasionally, but the call very rarely drops. I don’t know if this is due to network upgrades or due to the performance of the components inside the phone. Either way, I’m happy with having less dropped calls.
One thing to note is that this is a digital only phone. There is no analog support. This is not a big deal for me, since Sprint’s network covers all the areas where I generally use my phone. But some people prefer to have dual band phones for the added security that it provides. In my own experience, I have always set my phones to be digital only to avoid draining the battery and incurring unwanted additional costs.
But not everything is rosy with the TP1100. My biggest complaint is with the phone list. As with many other phones, the TP1100’s phone list allows you to enter multiple telephone numbers per entry, with up to 99 entries – or 98 if you leave the default setting of voicemail on the first entry. The big problem is that the TP1100 does not sort the phone list alphabetically. Rather it operates more like a traditional speed dial and sorts by entry number. With large phone lists, finding the person who you want can become a real nuisance. Unless you manually resort it, the phone list is essentially useless for those people who keep a large amount of numbers stored on their cell phone.
Overall, however, with all of the TP1100’s other good qualities, I am willing to overlook this particular shortcoming. It’s an extremely solid performing product with a very convenient form factor. The addition of the external LCD has really raised the bar for all clam phones. And at a list price of $129.99, you won’t have to break the bank to get all these features.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 129.99
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Epinions.com ID:
albrtlee
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Member: Albert Lee
Location: California
Reviews written: 36
Trusted by: 40 members
About Me:
"If the facts don't fit the theory, change the facts." --Albert Einstein
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