Tags:
Journalism of Courage
Mobile phones are buzzing these days, with thousands of models released, developed, trashed, stolen every year. While most of these have evolved into multifaceted, omnipresent devices without which one can8217;t seem to survive, their functionality hasn8217;t improved much. So high costs, idiosyncratic functions and flimsy bodies ensure that most people continue to use their bulky, obsolete dinosaurs, ignoring the new flash in the market. But hope endures: new phones that are wallet-friendly, overloaded with functions and designed for the non-nerd user are creeping into the market. We decided to test three such models8212;Motorola W180 and the LG twins, KG 288 and KG 2858212;to see which gives more bang for the buck.
All three are the standard candy-bar models with tight 1.5-inch screens that display 65,000 colours. Bare to the bone, the phones are rooted in functionality, with the menu options limited to contact list, messaging, call history and a few bundled games and tools. Even the keypads are strictly utilitarian, with two keys for picking up and cancelling calls, two for selecting options from menus and a four -directional key for running through games and other options. Not surprisingly, the phones have also gone in for an entire Hindi set-up, which gives the option of texting Hindi SMSes and furthering the cause of Hinglish.
The SMS and phone book capacity also create a deep divide between the phones: while the W180 can easily store 500 contacts and 750 SMSes, the LG twins can only hold 300 contacts and far fewer messages. Even the Hindi texting is inconvenient in the LG phones, with the hard keys and complicated method of inserting Hindi matras making every message a finger-hurting and time-consuming endeavour. The W180 emerges a clear winner in this regard.
That8217;s not to say the KG 285 and KG 288 don8217;t have their advantages. Not only are they lighter than the W180, but both are also equipped with anti-theft trackers, in which you can load two mobile phone numbers. If the phone is stolen and a new SIM card is inserted, it automatically sends an SMS to the given numbers, revealing the location of the thief. These SMSes can then be used to alert the police and recover the phone. Apart from this, the LG twins have nothing more to offer.
The W180, on the other hand, offers USB connectivity, which helps when you want to load new screen-savers and ring tones from your computer. When used in a noisy environment, it uses 8216;crystal talk8217;, which automatically augments the volume and microphone levels, cutting down on shouting and helping you talk.
Even for the basics, the W1808217;s advantages come for a price. While it costs Rs 1,999 MRP 2,150, the LG twins are available for a little less, the KG 285 for Rs 1,949 and the KG 288 for Rs 1,649. Either way, getting so much for so little has never been legal before.
