This review is actually late. I bought this exclusively from a private importer. One of the very few people had this phone at that time
Price: 7500INR (12/11/2003)
Color Display: 4096 (112X112)
Polyphonic: NO
Accessories: Data Cable, Image transfer software, Hands free, Pouch
It was an ultimate dream of mine to own a color phone, but the cost always put me off. Nokia’s cheapest model, the 3530, was a decent phone but with a small shortcoming, the thing looked like a bat! Size matters. So you can imagine my surprise when I dropped into my regular phone dealers shop for a phone for my friend. There it was, a new addition to his display, the Fisio 826. Its looks took my breath away and the color (4096) was outstanding. The price shocked me. Very soon I was thinking of ways to get my hands on the phone. I sold my previous phone (Nokia 3610; See my review on that) and put in some extra cash and I was walking home with a brand new Fisio.
First, the attractions: It comes with bundled accessories such as the earphone, data cable and a carry pouch. The same set for a Nokia would have put you back another 3000 Rs. The data transfer software allows you to transfer all sorts of images into the phone (You have 254 Kb of user memory available). The images looked nice on the 112X112 display. You can even change the screen theme, which basically changes the interface colors. You can create a slide show with the available images.
Next is something you wouldn’t expect from a phone at this price. It supports both GPRS(class 10) and Bluetooth. But after the startling revelation, it struck me. What does that do for me? Nothing at all. I don’t even have a single Bluetooth enabled device. And GPRS? My service provider will charge be 100Rs per month.
Another saving grace is the FotoCall feature which allows you to assign a melody and a picture for any group. When someone from that group calls, the picture is displayed with the corresponding ring tone. I would have been better if it had been possible to assign pictures to individual entries.
Now comes a whole list of negatives. One of the glaring flaws about the phone is its bad signal sensitivity. My Nokia used to show all the bars filled near my house. The Fisio only shows 3 and even drops down to two at times.
As a person who had been used to Nokias for all my life, getting used to the slow interface of the Fisio was quite a challenge. If there ever has been a slow method discovered for doing something on a mobile, Philips has implemented it here. The innovation of the carousel wheel interface soon wears off. By the time I send a message in the Fisio, I could have sent three in any Nokia,
The battery life is pathetic. I have to recharge every day even after below average use.
The phone gets warm after a few minutes of casual use. (I am talking about browsing through, not even while making a call).
All the reviews I read about the 826 speak about its hardware and software compatibility. But it let me down even there. My phone crashed on the second day itself. I had to remove and put back the battery to restart it.
Getting to the recent call list involves keeping one of the soft keys depressed. Not as easy as the one touch recall of Nokia.
The phone gets on my nerves with its supposedly helpful messages, which keep popping up along with some fancy animation whenever you change some setting. Unlocking the phone never fails to exasperate me for the same reason.
Only an image transfer program accompanies the date cable. It would have been better if the entire suite were included.
Another issue is the incompatibility with the Nokia ring tones and picture messages. But I have discovered that Motorola is partially compatible with the Fisio.
Another minor flaw which I found irritating was the lack of the send to many feature, group messaging and the inability to save messages in the phone even when 254K is made available for the user.
Philips still follows their clumsy pin design for the accessories. This makes the earphone stiff to use.
Overall the phone falls below its potential. Several features have not been implemented due to sheer oversight and not due to the lack of technology! Its only saving grace is the color display, accessories and its price.
This phone is going back where it came from. Look for a review on my next phone soon.