It's a Gem! (Sagem Myx-2)

Member Name: Blurbubble

Product:	Sagem Myx-2
Date:	04/03/05 (1183 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Easy to use, budget price

Disadvantages: Fiddly to use, maybe not upmarket enough for some!

It’s finally happened. I’ve given in, I’ve succumbed. I have always hated mobile phones and seeing and hearing people use them but now I’ve got one. Sorry to let down any fellow mobile-haters but an emergency situation led to me making the agonising decision to get one.

Why?! Well, a few weeks ago I had my landline phone and broadband internet access cut-off when I was unable to pay an overdue bill. I called Customer Services (the only number I could still ring) to explain my mobility difficulties and my reliance, particularly, on my internet access for communication and virtually everything else. I tried to explain that with no means of contacting anyone then I couldn’t get my bill paid, but if I couldn’t get my bill paid then I had no means of contacting anyone! Customer Services were about as much help as a paper hat in a monsoon so I was eventually forced to find some change and waddle to a phone box to call a friend to help me out. So I was without the use of a phone for about three days and without my broadband for about five days. This might not sound too vital to some people but when you are stuck at home 99% of the time and rely on it, it is very distressing.

As a result of this I gave some thought to what would happen if a similar problem arose again, either through a fault or not paying the bill on time or whatever. Maybe I should just buy a cheapie mobile phone to have in a cupboard in case of emergencies? “Mobile” phone is a bit ironic really when I’m far from mobile myself!! So, after wrestling with my indecision, I did a little research on the internet and in my mail order catalogue as to prices, etc. I knew next to nothing about these gadgets never having even used one before let alone bought or owned one. I was just looking for one I could buy outright, as cheaply as possible, could pay for calls as I needed with no binding contract, had basic functions of phone calls (obviously), texts, and answerphone at least. I was not going to be a “phone snob” about this purchase – I was not concerned with brand names, trendy features and such like – I wanted a budget buy that would do the job when necessary.

Bearing in mind my low financial budget my best course of action was to order one from my mail order catalogue so I could pay gradually with no interest charges and have it delivered. Admittedly this isn’t the cheapest option in most cases but I could not afford to buy one outright either online or in the High Street and I can’t go traipsing round the shops either so to my catalogue (Kays) it was.

There I found the Sagem MY X2 on sale down from £44.99 to £31.99 so I decided to go for that. It was the cheapest available, on a pay-as-you-go network and offered all the necessary functions so I ordered it and waited for its arrival.

A few days later the alien gadget arrived in a little box, complete with charging device, manual, SIM card, battery, phone top-up card and the usual plethora of leaflets. It was wearing an ice blue case with clear (but small!) silver coloured buttons. The first thing that struck me was how small and light it was – it was going to be fiddly to use! Its given weight is 89 grams and it fits comfortably in my small hands. Once I’d inserted the supplied battery and SIM card according to the simple and clear user manual I had to plug it in to charge for about 6 hours before its first use (subsequent charging takes much less time).

This phone comes connected to the T-Mobile pay-as-you-go network and a top-up card is supplied with the phone so you can take it in to any participating shop, pay your money (minimum £10), the card is swiped and the credit goes on to your phone account immediately. However one thing I didn’t know, and which wasn’t clear in the manual, was that you need to ring Customer Services and register your phone and card FIRST before you can put money on it so my first trip to the shop was wasted as I hadn’t done this. Once I’d overcome that little glitch and my phone was fully charged it was ready for me to use for the first time.

I only know a couple of people’s mobile phone numbers so I tried a handful of test texts to get the hang of it and once I was happy (didn’t want to use too much credit!) I stopped and proceeded to test out other functions and fiddle with the settings to suit me. The user manual has clear diagrams and simple instructions to explain all this and I had the time and date set within a minute and had found all the pre-set choices of ringtones, 3D wallpapers and animated screensavers ( about ten choices of each). I opted it for it to give a cat mew ringtone for phone calls and a cow moomoo for text messages :o)

Additional features include the Phonebook facility to store all your contacts, security features if needed, WAP access for connecting to the internet to download additional ringtones, wallpapers, etc., calculator, money converter, alarm function, memory storage display, vibrate option, T-mobiles own interactive zone, picture puzzles, databank, choice of languages and text formats and more – quite a lot really considering I was only after basic functions!

As with most mobile phones the cover/fascia can be changed and other accessories are available to buy separately such as cases, USB cables for data transference, car kits, handsfree kits and the like. I admit I have invested in two new covers (Tigger and Hello Kitty!) and a little leather case for it but I found these on Ebay and the total for all of them together was only about £5.

Right, that about wraps it up I think, and yes, I still HATE people using these in public and so far I have NOT taken mine out with me or used it in the presence of anyone else! I have used it for a bit of fun texting at home but apart from that it will be kept, as intended, in a convenient place for emergency use only or if, by any slim chance, I have to travel somewhere alone in the future. It suits me and it serves its purpose – enough said!

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