Qualcomm QCP-860: How Do I Hate Thee? Let Me Count The Ways...
Written: Oct 30 '01 (Updated Sep 09 '03)
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Pros: small, easy to use
Cons: not able to use as hands-free,battery life a lot less than advertised
The Bottom Line: Choose another phone, or you might have to throw this one in the garbage if your state goes hands-free.
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| AliventiAsylum's Full Review: Qualcomm QPC-860 Cell Phone |
When deciding to purchase a wireless phone and service two years ago, there was no question that I would buy two Qualcomm phones - one for me and one for my husband.
At the time, Qualcomm was poised to be the standard for wireless Internet. The stock price had soared (yes, I did own some) and the future was promising for this San Diego based company. Dreaming of checking my email through a wireless phone, I eagerly opted for this product, even though it was not one of the phones offered for free with my service.
What I Like
The phone itself is small and lightweight. Carrying it is no problem as it fits just about anywhere. The phone features a keyguard option. By pressing just two buttons, you can lock all of the keys so that you can't accidentally dial Siberia or something.
I also liked the wide variety of ringer tones available. With just about everyone around these parts carrying mobile phones now, I like having a ring that is not so common so I don't jump every time a phone goes off.
The screen can be set to stay lit up for various lengths of time or even any time the phone is on. This is important for me when we are camping - I usually take the phone in the tent with me and use it to tell the time in the middle of the night. The panel will also show the strength of the signal, indicate if you are digital or analog, if you are incurring roaming charges, let you know how much time you have left on the battery, as well as if you have a message (if you have enabled that feature).
The phone supports many of the features which the wireless companies offer: Caller ID, Call Forwarding, 3-Way Calling, and Call Waiting.
What I Dislike
New York is now a hands-free state. This means you cannot use your mobile phone while driving unless you have a hands-free kit. Okay, hardly anyone seems to obey this law, but it is one I stick with even when it wasn't a law. I actually had a State Trooper stop in Pennsylvania to see if I was all right after I'd pulled over to take a call last year.
So I head back to the store where I purchased the phone and my wireless service to get a hands-free kit for this phone. I found out then that they don't make one.
This is a big deal since I essentially cannot use this phone any more while I am on the road, rendering it almost useless when I am driving by myself or just with the kids.
Another problem we have encountered is that the battery life is nowhere near as long as advertised. My husband quite often has the phone die on him during the day while he is at work. It is not as if we talk 200 minutes a day to each other - we never even get near that a month. But the supposed 150 minutes of battery life while in-use and 96 hours on standby simply does not exist.
I have also found that the battery life diminished rapidly while roaming. On a trip to Florida last year, my phone was dying within about 4 hours. It may have been a combination of the heat and the roaming, but I still think that was way too little time on my battery life.
We have had other problems which we cannot pinpoint on whether it's the service or the phone. I suppose that since I will have to buy a new phone very soon for the hand-free feature that I will find out.
You can be sure it won't be a Qualcomm.
© 2001 Patti Aliventi
Recommended:
No
Amount Paid (US$): 49.00
Recommended for: Adventurous Technophiles - Tough and Durable
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Epinions.com ID:
AliventiAsylum
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Member: Patti Aliventi
Location: Mount Washington Valley, New Hampshire
Reviews written: 2118
Trusted by: 691 members
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Now writing reviews to pay for the "out of network" costs of our health insurance...
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