Background
I have played around a lot with a Nokia 3315, Nokia 8250 and a Motorolla C350... so I tend to compare my new LG RD2030 with these phones. I have broken up this review into ’’The Good’’, ’’The Bad’’ and ’’The Ugly’’... My criticism may be brutal at times but then again, any praise won, would be well deserved :) ... Read on.
The Good
Value for Money
The RD2030 is fantastic as an entry level phone. It has a good performance as a cell phone and does include some nice frills like polyphonic ring tones and a clear display that can display shades of grey apart from the usual black.
Also, the RD2030 comes with a Hands Free Kit included and a thoughtful charging cradle... read on.
Sound Quality
Sound quality is good during calls, even when the network strength is weak. This may be more due to the fact that CDMA technology is totally digital (GSM is analog), but apart from this, the tonal quality of the speaker is good too, making speech easy to understand. Durning normal use, the volume needs to be set to the lowest ! This leaves plenty of amplification available for use in noisy environments or if your ears have been through too many years of heavy metal music !
The same speaker doubles up as the ringer speaker and performs quite well in this respect too. The polyphonic tones come out sounding a bit metallic, but then again, it is a phone, not a Hi Fi music system !
The microphone is good too, sensitive enough to pick up even whispers ! The combination of a sensitive mic and a powerful speaker is intelligently controlled by a feature that LG calls ’’Clear Voice’’. Clear Voice is actually an ’’Auto Gain Control’’ or ’’AGC’’ in short. The AGC listens in to the noise level from the microphone and automatically increases the volume of the phone’s speaker as the noise level increases. This frees the user from the chore of continuously fiddling with the volume level as the background noise level changes... very useful in traffic or in a train !
The included hands free kit could have been better... I’ll get to that in ’’The Bad’’.
Screen
The dot-matrix LCD screen is clear and sharp even with the back light off. The blue back light is very good too and it enhances an already clear display. The screen is capable of displaying many shades of grey, although it is not really ’’movie’’ quality. Even though the phone can play video clips, if u want to watch TV, go watch a TV !
Menus
The menus are quite logically layed out and all features of the phone are accessable without needing to rack your brains to think ’’Hmmm... I know that thing was here... oh no, it must be under... erm’’ ... everything is where you would expect it to be. I can tell you that I have experienced a Nokia 3315, Nokia 8250 and a Motorolla C350, but the menu system of the RD2030 is the easiest to understand and use.
Keyboard
The keyboard is well layed out and easy to use in single handed operation. Tactile feel is good and one can get comfortable with it quite quickly. The keyboard lighting is not that good... more about it in ’’The Bad’’.
Charger
The LG RD2030 comes with a AC adaptor (100-240V @ 50/60Hz) that outputs 12V 0.5A DC. The adaptor plugs into a cradle fitted with a single dual colour LED. When the phone is placed in the cradle, the LED glows red to indicate ’’charging’’ or green to indicate ’’fully charged’’. Charging time is 3.5 hrs from a fully discharged state to a fully charged state. A battery can be charged on the cradle even without the phone ! ... great if u have a backup battery.
The fact that the AC adaptor plugs into the cradle instead of being permanently attached to it means that you could carry the cradle around and plug in any decent AC adaptor with outputs 12V DC, or even plug into your car’s electrical system ! (Make sure u know what you are doing... u need an AC adaptor with a low ripple factor and good voltage regulation... if u are an electronics enthusiast, you could bring your cheapo adaptor upto grade for less than Rs. 50)
The Bad
Heating Problem
I’ve heard of early LG RD2030s getting really hot during operation, but the problem seems to be fixed. My RD2030 does heat up, but just to a lukewarm temperature. I was told by the Reliance ppl that ’’this is normal for CDMA technology’’... I doubt that, I think it is more due to the fact that the RD2030’s battery is part of the back plate of the phone itself, unlike the Nokia 3315, 8250 or Motorolla C350, all which have the battery inside the shell. All batteries heat up during normal use, but the LG2030’s heats up a bit more and is more noticeable because there is no outer cover to shield the battery.
Keyboard
The buttons and outer shell of the RD2030 cannot be easily changed, unlike most Nokia and Motorolla phones. This means that u have to be more careful and when the buttons do get worn out, changing them may cost a bomb, if it is at all possible. Also, the keyboard backlight is not very bright... it just about gets the job done in a dark room, but it really is too dim to be visible in normal lighting. The Nokias and Motorolla win hands down on this front.
Sound (Hands Free Kit)
While using the hands free kit in quiet environments and speaking intermittently / at low volumes, a peculiar beeping / buzzing noise can be heard at the destination phone when the user of the RD2030 is silent... I think it may be a case of over amplification by the AGC circuit, but even disabling ’’Clear Voice’’ does not solve the problem. The noise can be quite irritating to the destination party, but it goes away when the RD2030 user speaks or some noise is present in the background.
Composing Ringtones
The phone has good polyphonic tone support so it is a shame that LG did’nt include a ’’compose’’ feature. With no way to compose your own tones, you are at the mercy of the service provider for your polyphonic ringtones... they’re free right now, but who knows what will happen later. Also you can download and save into only 3 slots ! The polyphonic ringtones of the Motorolla C350 are not compatible with the RD2030.
The Ugly
Data Kit Cost
The RD2030 has an RS232 compatible serial interface (the same thing your PC’s COM ports are)... if u can get the plug matching the data port on the phone, the pin diagram of the plug and have a soldering iron, u could make the data cable in less than Rs. 100... but the kits are being sold for Rs. 1600 !!!
Conclusion
The RD2030 is great value for money. It gets the job done without too much fanfare and is a wonderful cell phone as a cell phone and it does have a few nice frills too. It has sleek looks and accessories are the cheapest among the Reliance offerings. It does have a few shortcommings, but these are trivial enough to be ignored.