The main reason I ordered this phone is that it was one of the ’free’ phones given by Cingular at that time. Free after Rebate that is. Rebate came on time without any hassles. Though it looks simple, it has all the necessary features for normal daily use.
I charge it daily. But once in a while, when travelling, if I forget to take the charger it has survived without charging for 3 days with minimal use.
Signal reception is pretty good. I always feel it mainly depends on the area and the service provider. But there have been situations where I compared the signal level (’how many bars’) with my friends and have found it to pick up signals inside closed rooms inside intricate buildings.
I have tried the web feature a couple of times to find out the weather. The display is good. I haven’t tried downloading any ring tones.
One of the disadvantages is there is no external screen. So you have to open the phone to find out who’s calling. I never mind to attend all the calls I get on my phone. But for people who filter, there is a setting to disable - answer on open. Then you have to press any key to answer the call after opening.
I must also mention the day when I dropped the cellphone from a height of 6 feet. Since the antenna touched the ground first, it broke away from the phone. But unbelievably the phone worked without any problems after I managed to glue back the antenna myself. Dont try it though. I did it by accident. :)
Regarding the user friendliness, the main navigation buttons also serve as short cuts to important functions like one touch SMS, or one touch sound control etc. It is fully customizable, means, you can make it take you to any function that you most commonly use. And then there are other standard features now common in other phones too, one touch vibration mode, easy volume control while talking - there is a button on the side which can also be used for navigation.
Display is good enough. It anyway doesn’t have a camera, so I can’t comment on how photographs/videos get displayed. And I dont have MMS service. I have downloaded some wallpapers from the net. They are really good.
Give it a shot if you dont mind the looks and want a basic color flip phone.
--Gopal