Well my phone recently broke (the sony erricson vivaz which i was throughly unimpressed with as it was). I was truly lost with my phone- it was my clock, my alarm and my communication (our housephone was on the blink too!). At a loose end I asked my Dad and step mother to get me one for Christmas. Rather nicely they picked me up one as a one off treat. I did ask for a cheap one but they picked this one out for me and I love it.

=In the box=
The phone was in a small cardboard box containing
- The phone
- A charger
- The phone battery
- Instructions.

=Appearance=
I've never owned a blackberry but my best friend used to have one and I have to say the design is VERY similar. Rather than the usual keypad design on phones which im used to this phone has a qwerty keyboard which took a few days of getting used to for me but Im ok now! I dont find the keys particuarly small or difficult to type with.

=Using it & Features=
I'm pretty bad when it comes to reading instructions I must admit! I see them as only necessary when I'm utterly stumped. This is probably why it took me 3 days to work out how my bluetooth is turned off! Saying that this phone is pretty straight forward and easy to use.

It has an mp3 player on it, you can download songs or transfer via a mini usb cable. Mp3s can be played on speaker or via headphones. If you wanted to use it as an mp3 id reccomend getting a memory card. The total memory (50236KB) is ok but can be filled pretty quick!

It also has a radio feature although you'll need headphones plugged in to use this- I believe they act as a sort of antenna!

It has an internet feature although all I've used on it so far is the download page & facebook. The speed of the internet on this phone does vary. For facebook its reasonable but things such as downloading a song arent so great- I downloaded a song (Gangham style- my little boy loves it!) and not only did it take about 8 attempts (I had to pay for it first which is why I was determined to get it!) each time it downloaded the estimated time was 4 mins at lowest, 9 mins at highest.

It also has a camera feature, I wouldnt say its particuarly good but then I have a digital camera so all my snaps are via that! It has a small little photo editing feature which is a little bit of fun but nothing too adavanced- a stuck on moustache here, a little resizing there.

I was quite impressed by its standard ringtones to be honest, they sound like real songs in a way, my toddler certainly enjoyed listening (and dancing) to all of them.
Theres a lack of unannoying alarm tones though which is slightly dissapointing!

The standard messaging is pretty good, the inbox has a large memory, I'm yet to fill my inbox!

Theres a few standard games on there- nothing special. I havent used them a great deal as they seem to zap the battery, I wouldnt see this is a gaming phone.

=Battery life=
It really does depend on how much you use it. I use it for a bit of texting, maybe a quick browse once a day on facebook, an alarm and checking the time. Then the battery will last about 3-4 days. If however I use the internet more, make and recieve phone calls, play games then the battery life goes down to around 1-2 days. It does seem to have more longetivity that other smart phones I've used though.

=Price=
My parents got this at the Virgin store for £50 on a pay as you go tarriff. Obviously this wouldnt be as expensive if you got it on contract. You may also be able to get it cheaper online.

=Summary=
All i wanted was a phone that could text, tell me the time and have an alarm so I would of been pleased with anything. The last three years I've had one phone which was ugly and old looking (to a point I was sorta embarassed to get it out in public) and one which was pretty and modern but was infested with problems and broke within a month or so of recieving it. Now I have a pretty phone which I'm happy to show off, does all I want it to do and more and I've yet to encounter any problems!
I cant give it 5 stars as it could be improved i.e better camera but i think its definitly 4 star worthy!