Looks techie, not bad.
Written: Jan 14 '02
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Pros: Sleek and handsome looks, nicely rubberized, dual back-lighting
Cons: Some menu features are quirky
The Bottom Line: I like the phone because of it's looks and feel and creature-comforts. Menu system is archaic, but no big deal.
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| mikeczech's Full Review: Panasonic DuraMax EB-TX220 |
Background
I've owned various cell-phones in the past starting with a Nokia analog (I forget the model number), then a Nokia 5188 Digital, A Sanyo SCP5000, and then finally, this Panasonic EB-TX220.
When I was deciding which digital cell-phone to buy, the "perfect phone" I had in mind had to be functional and good-looking. I had other phones in mind, as well: Nokia 3360 and the Nokia 8260. It was a difficult choice.
I've owned two Nokia's in the past and was very pleased with them. Unfortunately, I made a mistake and bought the Sanyo solely for "look factor". I wasn't going to make the same mistake again and looked into features this time as well.
The Nitty-Gritty
"It looks so good you took it to bed?!"
No. Well, yes. I'll leave that one for another review. =) Anyway, I purchased the Panasonic because of it's features and appearance. I'll tell you that I'm a sucker for good looks and one of the main things that drew me to this phone was its ability to switch the backlight between orange and green. Wow. Sweet. I've never seen that option on a phone before. Also, the rubbery exterior and nice font on the buttons is a plus.
"Can it do my laundry, too?!"
The Panasonic EB-TX220 comes with some nifty features: a hands-free mode (activated in-call by holding the # button), SMS text-messaging, built-in vibration and the ability to store a Work Number, Home Number, Cell Number, and an "Other" Number under one name.
"Sounds great. But what's the catch?"
Actually, there are a few:
Your friend's sore eardrum
The Speaker phone is pretty much unusable. I've only tried to use it once, but since you have to hold down the # button for 1 second, you have to warn the person on the other end to move their ear away from the phone before you activate it. Needless to say, I felt like a big jerk the first time I used it; I got an ear-full (literally) from my girlfriend. You can also select the Speaker Phone in-call by pressing menu then selecting SpeakerPhone. Maybe I shoulda done that.
I know where you live...
Although the multi-number-per-name option is nice, it's very rare that I add more than 2 numbers to a given name. I'd need to know someone pretty darn well to have all that info about them and if I know them so well, I probably would have that stuff memorized. There's a maximum of 100 Names with 4 numbers each that can be stored in memory. I'd much rather have 400 Names with 1 number each (not that I would ever KNOW that many people in my life, but it would make me feel better).
Man, I hate algebra
Speaking of the Phonebook features, there is the standard speed-dial that all cell-phones have these days. However, the speed-dial on the Panasonic is kinda wonky. I'm used to the ol' Nokia style of Selecting the keypad number you want as the speed-dial, then selecting the Name that you want associated with that button. I wish it were that easy. On the Panasonic, every new name you enter into the phonebook is saved chronologically within the 100 memory slots. If you wish to have one of them as a speed-dial, the number HAS to reside in slots 1-9. You can't just pick the name and number. It's a pain because if your loved-one's number is in, say, slot 46 and you wanted his/her speed dial as "1", you have to COPY whatever number is in slot 1, assign it a different slot, delete it, then assign your loved-one's number in slot 1. Sound complicated? It is. And it didn't have to be that way. *Sigh*
It's like playing Musical Names
And while we're still on the Phonebook tip, a smaller quirk is to be mentioned. If I'm trying to quickly call my friend "Chris" on a Nokia phone, all I have to do is go to the phonebook, and press numberpad 2 a couple of times until it shows me all the names that start with "C". The Panasonic doesn't do this. It only bounces to the first name of the first letter on the keypad button that you press. So, say you want to phone "Vincent". You could only jump to "Tony", as keypad 8's first letter is "T". You'd have to manually scroll down with the directional pad. Weak.
"Gee. It sounds like you hate the phone."
No. I really dig it. Those few character flaws aside, the phone is rock-solid physically and in terms of operation. Reception in typically bad areas is quite good. The battery has the BEST life of all the phones I've owned and I could go 5-6 days without recharging (if I don't talk too much on it). The SMS text messaging is done well and the T9 Text input makes writing messages fast and easy (why didn't they implement that on the phonebook?). It's very light-weight for its size and it doesn't make you look like you're talking into your palm (which is one of the reasons I didn't pick any of the Nokia's... they're TOO small). It's got a good shape that actually looks like a phone. The screen is smaller than most, but regular text is easy to read and when dialling, the numbers are displayed in a much larger font. I can even call a taxi while totally inebriated-- that reminds me, is there a review section for Beck's beer? Also, the ability to turn vibration on and off independently of the tone setting is cool. Assignment of different ring tones for particular numbers is also a nice touch. So there. I don't hate it. =)
Summary
Pro's
-light-weight
-fits in your hand nicely
-looks good (makes you look like a spy)
-dual backlighting
-fantastic operation (battery and reception)
-robust design and manufacturing
Con's
-unintuitive text menu (although you get used to it)
-phonebook features are hard to get your head around
-Speakerphone "Hotkey" is useless (made my girlfriend "Hot-tempered")
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 104
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Epinions.com ID:
mikeczech
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Location: Vancouver, BC, Canada
Reviews written: 1
Trusted by: 0 members
About Me:
I'm a computer animator working on kid's shows in Vancouver. I dig electronics and gadgets.
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