I wanted to go for a Reliance RD 2230 .But since I heard that it was a refurbished unit, I preferred this one .I bought this handset for Rs. 1799/- It was a fairly good handset to begin with. It was good looking too . The reception of waves was excellent - nowhere had I experienced weak signals other than in remote areas .Above all it works on CDMA technology. So, the voice clarity was excellent .This handset has horizontal menus , unlike in Nokia which has vertical menus .Also , the buttons were cute . I had plans of upgrading to an LG handset
whenever I needed a broadband internet connexion in the future ( broadband internet @ 144 kbps for Rs 7 / hour).
But there were a few drawbacks . The battery time was very less - I had to charge it everyday (whereas in a Nokia 1100 charge lasts for days) . Also, the set used to get heated up very much during talktimes .I have also heard that Samsung handsets emit the maximum radiation of EM rays.Still one could say it’s a very good piece with the basic features.
But the service provided by Reliance is not upto the mark .I tried to sms to an outstation GSM cell in Chennai - it did not work out- so I called their Customer care Executive and was sad to hear that for the next 1 month, no smses could be sent anywhere. He also said casually that this incompatibility is due to their ’’network upgradation’’ - how long will they upgrade their network ? Ambanis want to make the entire India have only Reliance India Mobile ........their plan does not seem to work .
But also please note that it was the introduction of Reliance’s cell handsets that incoming call charges were removed by competitors and call charges became damn less . Also they give a broadband internet @ 144 kbps for just Rs.7/hr........in wirelesss! In a remote village that I know , Reliance is the only Service Provider to have built a tower.My family friend had visited a remote village in Ramnad district of Tamilnadu - to his surprise he could surf the net at broadband speeds using his RIM phone - yes, you can take a laptop and browse at broadband speeds anywhere in India since the Ambanis have erected towers in almost all villages of India - a broadband revolution ( but Samsung 356 does not support R-World ) !!
If you are shifting to a new town in India , you can take ur handset there and upgrade to a new # . Also, if your phone is lost, you can file an FIR , take it to a nearby Reliance Web World and block the cellphone’s operation - after that the handset is a dummy . Despite these many technical advantages , due to ineffficient handling of services , the Ambanis lost their reputation . You know, I got a mail which says 3G CDMA means ’’ 3 Gujarati Chor Dhirubhai Mukesh Anil’’ .
Sad to see such a good powerful network having lost its reputation . The reason : Incompatibility with GSM Network and hi call charges and above all poor customer service.
Ultimately , is RIM good or bad ?
My word : A good handset , by a cellular service provider with bad reputation . 3 stars to Reliance + Samsung 356 . Guys, you can go for a Reliance , but know why . Then you would have made the right choice. Good or bad, I can no longer use my Sam slim- bcos I lost it !!! Sad that I lost a piece made by world’s semiconductor giant.But not much bcos it is a ’’3G CDMA’’.............I hope you got it !