- 3,603
What it is: Flip-open style cellular phone.
What it costs: My m500 cost me $70 CDN plus tax, with a Bell Mobility contract.
How long you've owned/used it: Just under a month, since March 11, 2007.
Pros:
-Compact size (Approx 2.5", folded) and light weight of 2.8oz.
-1.3 MP built-in camera with four preset resolutions.
-Clear and bright primary and secondary displays.
-Brightly backlit, easy-to-read keypad.
-Logical and generally well laid-out menu and interface.
-Built-in media player and Bluetooth capability.
-Headphone jack and included earbuds.
-Standard 32mb MicroSD card (upgradeable) and 32mb built-in memory.
-Quick charge time and respectable battery life. I generally charge it every night, but I've gone for up to four days (so far) with battery life to spare.
Cons:
-Slick exterior can be troublesome to open if you've only got one hand available.
-Ringer volume could be louder, though is sufficient most of the time.
-Vibrate function is too understated - I miss quite a few calls when I'm on vibrate-only mode even when the phone is in my pocket.
-No speakerphone function.
Overall Rating:
8.5/10. A few improvements could be made, but overall I'm happy with my first cell phone.
Conclusion:
I have found no major faults with this phone. It's functionality is more important then the bells and whistles that go with most phones, which is why I got this one. The MicroSD card allows for expansion should I want to make better use of the MP3 capability. But best of all, it's fairly cheap to buy (Again, $70 with a contract). I'll update this down the road to see how it wears, but it looks promising so far. I generally take good care of my gadgets, but nothing is immune from wear and tear.