Japanese Quality Shines Again (Panasonic GD87 Vodafone Live)

Member Name: thenumnum

Product:	Panasonic GD87 Vodafone Live
Date:	30/08/03 (438 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Good Size, Great Build, Great Camera

Disadvantages: Bad SMS Software, Bad Phonebook Software, Average Battery life

I am somewhat of a Mobile Phone mangler. I have gone through mobiles for one reason or another at a rate of about 1 per year (Sad But True).

I was previously a proud owner of a SonyEricsson t68i, totally content with its extremely low SAR rating of 0.33 (Thats the bit that fries your brain by the way), and with its ability to take knocks.

What I didn't like was the poor voice quality it offered in my main areas of home/work (I'm with Orange btw), and the constant demands from callers that I should 'SPEAK UP!'

I'm somewhat a quiet speaker, and the voicepiece of the t68i, together with its low powered voice/ear combo (hence low radiation) meant I wasn't heard very well. So off I went on the net to find an alternative, a Clamshell phone that would bring the Microphone closer to my mouth.

Of all the offerings out there, from Samsung, Sharp, NEC etc. the Panasonic gd87 seemed to offer me what I wanted - Great Build, Great screensize, Great Camera, and good software. Plus, all my walkmans had been panasonics (as was my car stereo) so you could say I was a bit of a Brand Freak.

So lets get the opinion going:

Design: Standard clamshell fare, though the aerial has me wondering if it could have been hidden away somewhere. The Battery clip is visible, so there is a potential there for it to become lose, but I doubt it and wouldn't bet on it doing so. The Exterior lcd screen is nicely placed, if a bit too small. The Callers name/number doesn't scroll when it flashes up, but thats a minor point.

Build: Absolutely spot on. The hinge clicks like it will last forever (like a VW car door ;) The buttons seem like they are built to last too, and the screen can take a few good knocks without issue. Beats Nokia hands down imho.

Features:
- Camera - much better pictures than a sony t6810 or any nokia I've seen. The problem is, like all phonecams, it needs great lighting. So if
anything, the camera is still gimicky, but it will take off for sure (check out what 3 are doing!)
- Sound - great polyphonic sound. I went from beeps to this. At first I was flummoxed, but soon found some .midi files that I downloaded. I now have everyone from work ringing to the tune of KnightRider, and Friends from Airwolf. Ah, the 80s..heh.
- Caller ID - as mentioned, the outside LCD doesnt scroll, but thats fine. The best bit is the 'grouping' feature. You can group callers into groups that can have their own Sound/Tune, and Colour (Orange, Green or Blue). When they ring the outside LCD turns bright Orange, Bright Green, or Shocking Blue. Excellent Visbile notifications. I like it.
- Phonebook - very difficult to get numbers into it. Say someone called you, its easy to add them to the phonebook. But say your friend called you from home, and you already have their mobile in the phonebook. You cannot 'insert' their new home number into the existing entry, nor can you 'copy' the number into it. However, you can 'ENTER' their number into the entry as their home number. Bizarre.
- SMS - worst part of this phone. The T9 software is very bad, it doenst capitalise after full stops, nor does it let you edit the dictionary. Also you cannot go back and change a word, you have to delete it all before it lets you toggle between options.
Battery - Poor, it wont last a good 3 days on standby with no calls. Shame really.
SAR - approximately 0.65, which isnt great. I do worry about that level, and for that reason I am keeping an eye out for a lower SAR clamshell phone.

As a phone, I like it, the microphone is great, and noboby complains about my quiet voice.

The speaker is top notch too, its clear as crystal.

The build is solid, it will last.

If you can put up with a bad SMS and Phonebook, this is a very funky, trendy, attractive phone to have.

I would recommend you go to www.ex
pansys.com and get the FoneDataSuite CD, it will let you edit the phone book on your computer, so you can manage it with ease.

Summary: Best Clamshell out there, despite some bad software gripes.

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