Hail Ericsson
Written: Jun 23 '00 (Updated Oct 07 '01)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Nice form factor for a voice/data device
Cons: Poor Ergonomics, No Vibrate, Battery Life, Bulky, Durability, High Radiation
The Bottom Line: Bulky compared to many of the newer models. WAP is nice to have, but comes at the price of a bigger phone that is not that user friendly.
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| virk's Full Review: Sony Ericsson R280LX Cell Phone |
This phones is one of two that works with AT&T's PocketNet Service. They are now including this service with most of their voice packages. As there was no additional cost involved (for unlimited wireless internet usage) I opted for a CDPD compatible phone but still wanted a phone whose primary purpose was voice communication - so I chose the R280. The other phone that works on AT&T PocketNet is the Mitsubishi MobileAccess T250. The T250 is optimized for those who use the data services more often than the voice. The R280 is suitable for the opposite – those who are looking for a phone first and wireless internet as a second priority.
From a distance the R280 looks similar to the Nokia 6160 which has been around for a while - but even though it looks like Ericsson took some cues from Nokia, they have not mimicked Nokia's excellent user interface closely enough. The interface is much improved from Ericsson’s older models but is still not as user friendly as Nokia’s almost GUI like interface. The R280 has a huge address book that can hold 400 entries – and nice feature to have. If only it could sync with a PDA then it would be even more useful.
The myriad of ring tones is nice, but what I like even better is the ability to set different ring tones for different groups (friends, family, etc.) so that you can know who is calling without even looking at the phone. There are some nice discreet ring tones to go along with a long list of obnoxious ones – and if none of them suit you, you can even make your own tune.
The most important factor to consider in a phone purchase should be the coverage and quality of the network that is compatible with the phone. This phone is a TDMA triple band phone (800 Mhz analog, 800 Mhz digital, and 1900 Mhz digital) so it works pretty much everywhere in the US on AT&T. The data (CDPD) part of the phone operates on another band so the coverage area for data service is different than for voice. This is different from Sprint where voice and data are on the same band. The biggest drawback to this approach is the fact that you cannot receive calls while using the wireless internet. Of course the voicemail takes calls, but it takes away from the primary function of the device which is to be a phone first. I suppose it conveniently limits the amount that people use the wireless internet.
Please do read the reviews of AT&T’s terrible New York City network if you are going to be using the phone frequently in that area.
The voice quality of this phone is great – only on occasion have I had conversations breakup on me, and that can be attributed to the network rather than the phone itself.
The fact that AT&T uses Ericsson switches for it’s wireless network may be part of the reason why this phones works so well on the AT&T network.
This phone switches into Analog mode more easily than the Nokia's and combined with the very beefy antenna this makes for a good combo if you need to use the phone in a non-urban area.
It has a port to add a handsfree set and I have ordered one that should arrive shortly. This is a highly recommended accessory for this phone since the antenna is so close to the earpiece.(Unlike a flip phone such as the StarTac)
In the SAR Radiation Tests, this phone scored quite badly,
that is to say it has a very high radiation relative
to other phones.
The main display screen is great - it shows you almost everything you need to see on one screen. But I do not know why AT&T cannot send the time over the network as this would be a useful feature. Therefore you must set the clock manually. Many GSM Phones have this feature and the time changes as you travel through time zones.
The internet mode on this phone has a UP.link browser by Phone.com. The browser itself is great for text and also displays graphics (although they are not very frequent on WAP sites). The screen is obviously very small for browsing or email, but it is fine for occasional use. AT&T has a few PocketNet packages that they offer - the basic one is included for no charge while the premium plans (to do email and faxing through the phone) incur monthly charges. With the basic plan you can only access the sites that AT&T designates, you can’t visit any website you want. The premium plans take away this limitation.
One excellent feature that the phone offers is T9 Text entry – which lets you enter text much faster than you could by using the traditional keypad ABC text entry.
Here are the essential specs on this phone so that you can compare – it is almost the same shape size and weight as the Nokia 6160:
Weight: 6.1 oz with standard battery
Dimensions: 6.3" height 2.0" width 0.9" thick
Standard Battery Life in Voice mode: Enjoy up to four hours talk time and 160 hours standby (digital).
Standard Battery Life in Data mode: Up to 10 hours active and up to 290 hours standby.
(These numbers are highly exaggerated to make it look like this phone has a battery life comparable to the Nokia 5100/6100 Series. Unfortunately this is not the case, you will have to charge this phone every 2-3 days depending on how much you talk. If this is a big problem for you then I would recommend getting the Extended Life battery. I always make sure I drain it before charging it to avoid any memory effect - so far the battery has retained it's life. I use it fairly frequently and have been charging it twice a week)
Overall I am happy with my phone purchase – I am not sure how durable the phone is because I have dropped it once and it is already feeling a little bit less solid than it did before. But before the drop it really felt like a rock, much more solid than a 6160. Let’s see how it holds out…
One slightly alarming problem that has occurred is that I have experienced a software crash. Twice, in data mode the phone has stopped responding which required me to remove the battery to reset the device. I use the phone a great deal and this has only happened twice, but I would expect the software to be flawless before being released in a phone.
Update(Dec 00): Having owned this phone for 6 months I have dropped it a few more times and it is still holding up pretty well. You can see the wear and tear on the phone, some of the shiny grey coating is chipping off and the coating on some of the numbers is wearing thin. The battery is now a little loose - resulting in the phone turning off every once in a while by itself.
Update(March 01): The microphone on the phone stopped working. Replaced under warranty. AT&T Customer Service
reports this is a common problem with these phones.
Update (June 01): Couldn't stand it anymore. Got rid of the phone in favor of a Nokia 8260 which has a much better user interface and a better set of voice features and better battery life. But the reception is not as good as the R280.
I can send 2 way text messages, which you can on the RX289 -the replacement for this old R280 model.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
virk
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Location: Brunswick, Maine
Reviews written: 14
Trusted by: 18 members
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