Mediocre camera, cr*p organiser, OK phone. (Sharp GX-10)

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Product:	Sharp GX-10
Date:	01/01/03 (6767 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Screen, , ringtones, , poser value

Disadvantages: Organiser functions,, non-existent connectivity, inactive flip

My GX10 was such a disappointment that I returned it after only 10 days. A real lemon of a design. But more of that later.

As mobile phones get sexier and more versatile, one thing stands out: nobody comments much on how good they are as telephones – almost all the focus is on the non-telephone features, such as being a miniature games console or an electronic Filofax. This review is no different.

AS A PHONE:

So, first things first: The GX10 works fine as a phone. You can talk into it, you can dial numbers on it, receive calls, and it copes well enough with low signal areas. Also I found it nice to hold and to use, though some will find the keypad fiddly.

On the downside, the battery life is truly poor (and remember, the published battery life is MUCH more than you get in real life when you are using it, playing games, experimenting with the ring tones and so on); and the vibrate is weak, so I often missed calls (not a problem with any of the three other phones I have owned, so this really is an issue). I usually keep my phone in a holder on a belt clip, and the holder Vodafone sold me was awful – it would not stay in place. And finally the flip is NOT an active flip. No, despite Vodafone’s advertisements to the contrary, when it rings it does NOT answer the call automatically when you open it up (Vodafone has since corrected its advertising).

There are three features missing from the phone functionality which would make it complete for me: it does not have a speakerphone (unlike the almost identical Panasonic GD87, which does); it won’t work in the USA (the GD87 will); and it does not offer voice dialling.

Finally, as a phone, it is quite a lot heavier than most modern mobiles, and it is definitely a lot thicker. Whether that matters to you is personal.

AS A CAMERA:

Most of the published reviews (and there have been a lot of them, as Vodafone is really pluggi
ng this model for some reason) go on about how poor the picture quality is. I didn’t think it was so bad, actually. Of course, it does not take pictures that you’ll want to enlarge, but if you accept its limitations it is neat and easy to use. Well, it would be easy to use given that there are almost no settings to choose. Just remember it is intended for simple snapshots of well-lit friends standing oh-about-so-far from you and you won’t go far wrong. Forget about zooming, close-ups, decent landscapes and so on. Of course the biggest advantage is that the camera is built in; this makes it immeasurably better than an external accessory camera (I got an external one for the replacement phone, and I never have it with me!)

AS AN ORGANISER:

This was a huge let down. Its useless. To be fair, the advertising does not emphasise organiser functions – but it does mention them. You know, calendar, alarms and so on… I was really looking forward to using these. Don’t.

Here are just four reasons why these functions are cr*p:

1. You can set up alarms to ring at a particular time. However, you cannot store text with an alarm – so you are left to remember why you set the alarm. “No problem,” you think, “use the calendar function instead”. Well…

2. When you set up calendar entries, you can key in text with them (obviously) but you can’t get them to ring an alarm. In fact, you cannot set a start or end time for them either. So what is the point?

3. You can only enter a maximum of three calendar entries per day. If you want to remember more than three appointments per day, tough luck, a GX10 won’t help you. Just go ahead and … remember them yourself.

4. This is the “killer:” while you are making a telephone call there is no way to use the calendar. Imagine that. Someone calls you to arrange a
meeting; if you rely on your GX10 as a calendar you’ll have to say “erm, I’ll have hang up to check, then I’ll call you back…”

It’s worth pointing out that these major software design blunders are not universal. With Nokia phones for example, none of these problems apply. And the Panasonic GD87 suffers from only some of these problems.

Finally, you cannot use the organiser without switching on the phone. This means you cannot use the organiser in flight, in hospitals, or anywhere else that prohibits mobiles. The same problem applies to the Panasonic GD87 and Nokias. If you need to use an organiser without switching on the mobile, look at a Jornada 928, O2 or (I think) SonyEricsson P800.

There is just one bright point on the organiser front: the calculator. This is nicely designed, much better than Nokia’s, with an on-screen display of what each key does. Top marks.

AS A PC MODEM:

The GX10 comes complete with an infrared port for PC or PDA connectivity. This port is important if you want to use it with a PC or PDA, as the phone does not offer Bluetooth.

Unfortunately, the infrared port just does not work as a modem (despite Vodafone’s initial advertising that it would – does this sound familiar?) I checked with four shops, and the reaction was unanimous – “Oh, you want to use the infrared port, sir? I’m afraid it doesn’t work, you’d better bring it in for a refund.” Very good service, but it should never have happened.

One enterprising store offered to sell me a PC-to-GX10 cable connection kit instead. OK, I said reluctantly, let’s see it. Well, forget it! The cable kit is larger than the phone itself – thick, unbendy cable with a serial plug on one end (yes, serial not USB!) and a black box in the middle which is nearly as big as the phone. What WERE they smoking when they “des
igned” this?

AS A TOY:

The colour screen is as good as it is made out to be.

I’m not into games; but the supplied games seemed really weak. Of course you can pay to download more games, which may be an attraction to some.

The menu system is excellent, easy to use, as is the unusual control. I’ll call these functions “toy” functions because if you notice them they are not doing their job.

Top marks (well, nearly) for “poser” value. I suppose I should have predicted this, but I didn’t. Friends who saw my GX10 during the few days I owned it were absolutely fascinated by it.

I thought the GPRS connection was slow, but I can’t be sure without testing it properly.

I loved the many built in ring tones, as did everyone else who played with it (I did warn you, battery usage gets heavy). Some of them are complex and very impressive (a multi-instrument arrangement of, I think, Mozart’s 40th symphony was superb). I settled on the realistic-sounding cuckoo clock (and got a few amazed glances on the train when it went off!); and I loved the “sneeze” sound, but it was too quiet. If you have nothing better to do, and a few spare months, you can “compose” your own tones – you can even create new synthesiser wave-forms for the sounds, which must be amazing. And if you want to be discreet, there are several banal tones built in too.

AND THE USER MANUAL…

Sharp should hire someone who knows how to write manuals. The manual is long and detailed. I expect it is even accurate, and it may be complete. But it doesn’t actually tell you what you want to know (“how do I get to do this function starting from there?”) All it does is to show what each keystroke does if you start from the main menu. Again, other manufacturers do better (with the possible exception of Motorola).

SUMMARY


Why on earth did I buy this phone? Sharp does not exactly have a reputation for mobile phones. Well, I wanted the nice colour screen, organiser functions, PC connectivity, active flip (I hate having to “unlock” the keys of a non-flip phone). Basically, it does not excel on any score except poser value. I am sorely disappointed, and got rid of the thing as soon as I reasonably could.

If you want to use this as a phone, it is fine but relatively bulky and heavy, doesn’t work in the USA, and has a poor battery life. If you want to use it as a camera, it is fine as long as you accept massive limitations. If you want to use it as an organiser of any sort, forget it. If you want it for PC connectivity, forget it. Something like a Nokia 7210 does more or less everything if you can put up with an external camera, weighs less and has decent battery life. Guess what I got as a replacement!

Summary: