Brilliant Phone, Hampered by Network
Written: Feb 16 '02 (Updated Feb 16 '02)
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Pros: Huge Screen!
Easy Outlook Sync
Customizable Interface
Most PDA Functions
Voice command of phone functions
Cons: Single Band - No Cellular Fallback
1st Generation Web Browser
The Bottom Line: If you are in an area with good Sprint PCS coverage, and don't expect to travel with it, it's a very smart phone. Otherwise, steer clear.
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| pa28pilot's Full Review: Sprint NP1000 Cell Phone |
The Neopoint NP1000 really had my hopes up for a while. This was one of the earliest phones to incorporate a web browser (more on that later) and held the real promise of allowing me to carry one less device. The manufacturers were even working on a GPS pod for the phone, in an attempt to jumpstart "the future."
The reality fell short, on both counts. I enjoy this phone a great deal, but practical limitations on both phone service and the PDA have caused me to set it aside.
Let's start with the basics:
The phone has a HUGE screen, and is quite legible, especially when the backlight is on. In a darkened room, you might need to flip the cover open to activate the light, but I have not found a display before or since that was as delightful to view as the Neopoint's.
It's a single band phone, solely for Sprint PCS' digital service. This is its Achilles' Heel. I'm in the Washington, D.C. area, arguably a major metropolis, and the coverage is just too spotty for dependable use. This is not the phone's fault, but given the number of phones with fallback to the cellular and other PCS networks when coverage fades, it's a "showstopper".
The audio quality is not bad, but is definitely not on a par with Nokias and Qualcomm phones I've used. The loudest setting of the Neopoint was far softer than that of any Nokia I've used, except perhaps my 9000i Communicator.
The Calendar/Contacts Manager/PIM of the Neopoint is exceptional for a phone. These synchronize easily with Microsoft Outlook and other desktop suites, and the phone will provide alarms for calendar events that you have established. The phone will also store and synchronize "To Do" or task items from your desktop.
The phone is easily used for data connections via a serial cable. The phone comes with a CD-ROM containing "Dialer" and sync software. Data connections were straightforward, and I was regularly getting at least a 14.4kbps connection when I was in areas with Sprint PCS coverage.
The wireless web browser in the phone only understands the Handheld Device Markup Language (HDML) and not the newer WML syntax. This is understandable, as the standards for WML were in flux at the time the phone was designed and marketed. You have to give the designers some credit for being one of the first out of the gate with a minibrowser.
There are many HDML web sites to this day, and many of the features of HDML and WML are common to both languages. There is, however, an increasing number of sites using features unique to WML, so it would be reasonable to expect this phone's web compatibility to decrease with time.
Additionally, there are features designed in the newest phones that are used by many of the wireless game designers. Most of the newer games on the Sprint PCS wireless web menus will not work with this phone.
The phone is fairly easy to use, and with a little customization, can be any way you want it. There is a 4-direction soft key in the center of the phone, and the user can specify what function is activated by each of the 4 positions from the main screen.
The phone supports voice dialing, and voice execution of essentially any function on the phone. If you want to create a voice command that opens the calendar, you can do it by highlighting "Schedule" in the menu and holding down the "#" key. For someone with vision problems, this might be a useful tool.
All in all, this is a highly capable phone, crippled by a spotty digital network.
Recommended:
No
Amount Paid (US$): 350
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Epinions.com ID:
pa28pilot
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Location: Northern Virginia, USA
Reviews written: 4
Trusted by: 0 members
About Me:
I will try the first version of anything, but I won't depend on it.
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