When we got a new RIL (post-paid) connection in Sept. 2003 we had option of two models in B/W screen one of Samsung and other of LG. But my mom liked the sleek white coloured Samsung so we got it. After using it for more than 1.5 years the battery became weak and my mom was just thinking of switching over to a color-screen in Reliance(since RIL has 3 year contract). First my mom liked LG 5130 and had made her mind to purchase it. But just giving some more bucks the new sexy LG RD 6130 (CDMA) was available. Now the only difference between 5130 and 6130 is looks and camera. So finally we settled for LG RD 6130 of which I am going to write a rvu on.
Looks:The fone is not small but its not too big as well. Its Rectangular shaped with dimensions about 102x40x19mm(approx). The weight of the fone can be felt in hand (maybe weighing slightly less than 3315). But the major advantage is there is internal antenna so no probs in keeping the fone in jeans. The fone comes in dual coloured with shining silver overall whereas the middle of the keypad the areas covering the top portion (front and back) are black. Overall the looks leave a good impression.
Keypad: For all those who have used Nokia be4, the keypad mite be clumsy for first few times. Four way navigation key is present and a CLR key is burrowed in middle of it. This key serves as s short-cut key for Flash(torch). The upper navigation key in idle mode serves as shortcut to messages. The left key serves a shortcut to Rworld. The right key serves as shortcut to profiles while the bottom navigation key serves as shortcut to camera menu in the idle mode. Moreover two keys are situated at the extreme ends of the navigation key below the display.
The right hand side key lets access to Menu whereas the left key allows access to Phonebook. The call and End key are present below these keys. End key also is the key to power on/off the cell. The number keys are present below and they are separate and embossed. I think they are made of aluminum. The keypad backlight is blue in color. Overall a good job done by LG. oh yes the Shortcut key for switching the camera on is next to the display at the right hand side(in the middle portion). Pressing it for about 3 sec. directly lets us to shoot pics. Speed Dialing can be assigned for as large as 99 numbers.
Display: The display is a bright STN 65k color display and is visible in sun. Upto 6 txt lines can be displayed and adding one for service line and another one for menu item takes to 8 in total. Display brightness can be adjusted. The display is brilliant and in the power saver mode the display dims a few seconds reducing the intensity. After a few more seconds it becomes dark and nothing is visible. Rworld comes lively with this display. Display backlight can be adjusted. Wallpapers can be set. The photos shot can be set as wallpapers as well.
Battery: The battery is Li-Ion 3.7V battery. Frankly speaking u cant expect much from battery in CDMA fones. Even then leaving apart the camera functions the battery works for 2 days keeping the standby time and usage equal. With Camera the life reduces about 20% so it will need frequent charging. But it requires less charging compared to Samsung SN-191. So overall the battery performance is Satisfactory. The charger pin is now Nokia like and the charging port is the in side at the bottom. When the fone is off and is kept in charging it indicates the charging progress covering the whole screen and states phone is off. Low battery alert comes in twice before the fone is switched off automatically.
Contacts:300 contacts(4 numbers+1 email+1 Memo) can be stored in the fones memory. Well this is more than enough if the price at which the fone comes. U can set secret passwords for particular number, assign memos and assign tones as well. Also photo-caller ids can be assigned. So the contacts can be personalized.
Messages:The phone supports both MMS and SMS. SMS storage capacity is particularly less. It stores only 31 messages. Moreover as it supports Hindi as well and therefore the capacity reduces if the message received is in Hindi. However 15 sent and unsent msgs. can be stored in Outbox. 5 MMS messages can be stored each having a maximum limit of about 100KB. 4 can be saved in Unsent and other 5 can be saved in drafts so the total MMS capacity is about 13. Moreover MMS cannot be sent to GSM networks currently only RIM fones have MMS sharing.
Tones:The fone supports Polyphonic ringtones 34 in-built. 3 can be downloaded from Rworld and 5 more via MMS. The volume is loud enough and can be heard in crowded places. Vibrating alert is present as well which is more than average. Moreover the ring and vibrating alert can be set together so no missed calls. The tones are sometimes screeching and so its better to keep them low.
Profiles:The fone supports 4 profiles which are customizable like Nokia profiles. The silent mode can directly be activated by pressing the * key in the idle mode no need to browse through profiles.
Camera: The fone has an Built-in high-resolution (VGA) camera with integrated Flash (approximate 300K pixels) and 4x zoom. The fone supports B/W clicking. It has three resolutions 160x120, 320x240, 640x480. Mind u the 4x zoom is possible in only low resolution. So overall it comes out to be same shooting in 640x480. Quality of pictures is OK. Same as in u would get in Nokia cells or maybe even T610. But there is no night mode present. It allows multi shot 3 and 6. They are useless.
The good thing about the camera is it has flash so at nites the quality of pictures can be adjusted and the flash can be used as a Torch(things are more visible in than in 1100)-(but don?t buy this one for camera?s sake-Cells don?t take good pics-Its not a digicam). Brightness of surroundings can be adjusted for getting better pics. 25 pics can be stored in the memory. They can be emailed, assigned as caller-ids and wallpapers too. Inbuilt photo-frames can be assigned to the fotos. Some frames are cool. By the way no foto-editor is present.
Other features :
It has a Organizer which includes a Scheduler, a To-do list, Memo, Alarm(3) in which ringtones can be set as Alarm, A stop-watch, Calculator(most basic) and a World Clock as well.
There are 2 Games-Nine Ball and Anaconda. Nine Ball is like pool same as u would have played in a video-game. Its good. Anaconda is useless.
Menu can be set as a List of Horizontal browsing. Animated Menu icons are present that look great on the 65k color screen.
I read in a rvu that Rworld is not supported. Well it is wrong. I have downloaded wallpapers and ringtones from Rworld and have checked bill many times. U can download movie trailers but only 2 can be saved. Three wallpapers can be saved.
The fone also has a Loud-Speaker which can be activated by pressing # key in idle mode.
There is an option called My-Menu in which the most often used Menu items can be set in a list.
Concluding I would like to say it?s a good buy overall. If u are looking for a color display in RIM at a budget cost then chk this one out.