Messaging Phones Compared
(Page 1 of 4 )
If you do a lot of messaging on your cell phone, then you may have already heard of messaging cell phones as the new special category. If not, keep reading; in this roundup of four exemplars of the field, you may find just the one with the right mix of features to suit your speedy thumbs.
As the cell phone revolution gathers momentum, it becomes increasingly clear that speaking is so 1999. The miniature QWERTY keyboard used to be confined to smartphones and PDAs - gadgets aimed at the true technophile rather than the average thumb jockey - but times have changed. Communication by text is officially taking over, and cell phone manufacturers have been quick to embrace the trend with a whole new sub-category of cell phone.
Less capable than the fully-fledged smartphone, messaging phones are primarily designed to simplify text input, with QWERTY keyboards and large screens topping a feature list that may also include multimedia capabilities and 3G in higher end models. In this article we compare four of the new breed of messaging phones.
Verizon Wireless Blitz
Major cell phone, TV and broadband provider Verizon is not the first service corporation to lend its name to a piece of hardware. With its vivid 2.2 inch wide screen in landscape orientation, the Blitz - apparently made by UTStarcom - looks for all the world like a sliding Blackberry. However, any resemblance to the smartphone pioneer ends right about there.
Where Blackberry products tend to be sleek, stylish and futuristic-looking, the Blitz is curvy, cute, and almost cartoon-like. It's almost cool in its own unique way, but with little in the way of advanced features, it is very much a device for the dedicated messenger. In fairness, it doesn't pretend to be anything else. What you see is what you get - and what you see, other than that screen, is a well laid out QWERTY keyboard that balances nicely in one hand for thumb typing and is equipped with a selection of special keys to enhance the messaging experience. These include a dedicated key for instant access to the messaging menu, Symbol and Caps Lock keys, and a number pad that can be used for direct dialing.
Beyond the keyboard, the Blitz is moderately-well equipped with standard features. Applications include notepad, alarm clock, stopwatch, calendar and calculator. There is also a wireless web browser. Email is supported, but only through the browser by default, as no email client is bundled, although one is available for an additional subscription.
The camera is by today's standards a modest 1.3 megapixel affair, but it has a reasonable selection of presets and decent imaging quality. The device also has a speakerphone which can be used to listen to music with the built-in MP3 player, but the quality is as average as you would expect in a sub-$100 unit. Fortunately a standard headset jack is included. To round things off, expansion is by Micro-SD card.
Verdict: A decent device in a distinctive package.
Next: Nokia E71 >>
More Mobile Devices Articles
More By Bruce Coker
