The "Retro Game Reviews" forum, which includes Retro Game Reviews, has been archived and is now read-only. You cannot post here or create a new thread or review on this forum.
I have been shopping around for a new phone for a while, not because my current phone has anything wrong with it really, but because i have found my current phone (nokia 7200) a bit big when out without a jacket or a bag.
When going to a club or a bar i don't tend to take a jacket or a bag and so i am left with my pockets. Keys, money and my wallet take up a fair bit of space, add to that a flip phone like the Nokia 7200 and you have full pockets. (unless your have very big pockets)
I decided that i needed a slimmer phone, i have never been one to go in for all the features on phones as i tend to have devices that do the same things only better. A Digital camera, mp3 player and a PSP are my sources of entertainment on my travels and so i don't need a phone with any flashy features, i wanted a phone that can text and call people, like the days of old.
On one of my random visits to Play.com i had a look at their unlocked phones. I tend to only get unlocked ones due to not wanting to change my pay as you go sim. I then came across probably on of the sleekest, minimalistic and simple phones i have ever seen in my life.
Here is a photo of the phone, this is about 95% full size i held my phone up to it to check and it's very close.
Motorola F3
This phone has next to no features at all, the menu if it can be called that consists of
Write Message
Read Message
View Recent Call List
Change Ringtone
Set Alarm
Adjust Date and Time
And there is also the Phonebook Button which allows you to obviously scroll through your contacts and select someone to call.
There are only 7 Ringtones and there is no input plug for adding anything else or updating anything on the phone.
The phone itself also does not store anything, all data is stored on your Sim card, so you are limited to what ever the Sim card can handle. This does mean that i can only have around 10 texts saved at once and as soon as another text comes in the oldest one will be deleted automatically.
Although i wanted a simple phone, there are aspects of this phone that are maybe too simple to make it a popular choice. When texting you do not have any of the normal symbols. You are only able to do - , ? @ there are no full stops or even a pound sign and there is no way of sending a text with capital letters.
That last bit seems even more confusing when texts are all written in capital letters apart from a few certain ones that could be mixed up with numbers like B, D and O. This is due to the type of screen the F3 uses, it has a digital display much like a calculator and so a capital B would look like an 8. This does make your texts look a mess when writing them as you will have different sized letters in some words, but i have been told it all just comes out as non capitals.
The one major issue that i imagine most people will have is that the phone's screen can only display 6 characters at once. That means if your word is more than 6 characters some of the letters will be on another screen, this can make checking your text pretty annoying and when reading one from someone else you constantly hit the right direction on it's pad to get a steady stream of words.
The battery life is one thing that people have said is very good, this is mostly due to the type of screen and that there are very few features to the phone that would use any battery. The backlight is very dim but the way the screen is made makes it very clear in the dark.
The manual (if it can be called that, one piece of paper with three other languages included on it) is very simple and clear. It gives decent instructions although with the phone having so little on it, it almost seems like a waste of that one piece of paper as anyone who has used a phone before should be able to navigate this one.
I love this phone, i love it's look and i love it's simplicity, but it does have it's flaws like the lack of some symbols when texting and the restrictive screen display. This is not a phone that i would say everyone would get on with, but is a good choice if you need a thin, no feature device for traveling or when out and about.
The one thing that will probably sell this phone to most people is the price. The screen and lack of features, meant that i was able to get it at play.com for £27.99 and if you are on Orange or happy going to them, then you can get one with a Pay As You Go Sim for £9.99 i think.
To me this is almost a disposable phone, it's one i won't be too bothered about if it got stolen as i would only loose what ever is on the sim, which is all backed up anyway.
When going to a club or a bar i don't tend to take a jacket or a bag and so i am left with my pockets. Keys, money and my wallet take up a fair bit of space, add to that a flip phone like the Nokia 7200 and you have full pockets. (unless your have very big pockets)
I decided that i needed a slimmer phone, i have never been one to go in for all the features on phones as i tend to have devices that do the same things only better. A Digital camera, mp3 player and a PSP are my sources of entertainment on my travels and so i don't need a phone with any flashy features, i wanted a phone that can text and call people, like the days of old.
On one of my random visits to Play.com i had a look at their unlocked phones. I tend to only get unlocked ones due to not wanting to change my pay as you go sim. I then came across probably on of the sleekest, minimalistic and simple phones i have ever seen in my life.
Here is a photo of the phone, this is about 95% full size i held my phone up to it to check and it's very close.
Motorola F3
This phone has next to no features at all, the menu if it can be called that consists of
Write Message
Read Message
View Recent Call List
Change Ringtone
Set Alarm
Adjust Date and Time
And there is also the Phonebook Button which allows you to obviously scroll through your contacts and select someone to call.
There are only 7 Ringtones and there is no input plug for adding anything else or updating anything on the phone.
The phone itself also does not store anything, all data is stored on your Sim card, so you are limited to what ever the Sim card can handle. This does mean that i can only have around 10 texts saved at once and as soon as another text comes in the oldest one will be deleted automatically.
Although i wanted a simple phone, there are aspects of this phone that are maybe too simple to make it a popular choice. When texting you do not have any of the normal symbols. You are only able to do - , ? @ there are no full stops or even a pound sign and there is no way of sending a text with capital letters.
That last bit seems even more confusing when texts are all written in capital letters apart from a few certain ones that could be mixed up with numbers like B, D and O. This is due to the type of screen the F3 uses, it has a digital display much like a calculator and so a capital B would look like an 8. This does make your texts look a mess when writing them as you will have different sized letters in some words, but i have been told it all just comes out as non capitals.
The one major issue that i imagine most people will have is that the phone's screen can only display 6 characters at once. That means if your word is more than 6 characters some of the letters will be on another screen, this can make checking your text pretty annoying and when reading one from someone else you constantly hit the right direction on it's pad to get a steady stream of words.
The battery life is one thing that people have said is very good, this is mostly due to the type of screen and that there are very few features to the phone that would use any battery. The backlight is very dim but the way the screen is made makes it very clear in the dark.
The manual (if it can be called that, one piece of paper with three other languages included on it) is very simple and clear. It gives decent instructions although with the phone having so little on it, it almost seems like a waste of that one piece of paper as anyone who has used a phone before should be able to navigate this one.
I love this phone, i love it's look and i love it's simplicity, but it does have it's flaws like the lack of some symbols when texting and the restrictive screen display. This is not a phone that i would say everyone would get on with, but is a good choice if you need a thin, no feature device for traveling or when out and about.
The one thing that will probably sell this phone to most people is the price. The screen and lack of features, meant that i was able to get it at play.com for £27.99 and if you are on Orange or happy going to them, then you can get one with a Pay As You Go Sim for £9.99 i think.
To me this is almost a disposable phone, it's one i won't be too bothered about if it got stolen as i would only loose what ever is on the sim, which is all backed up anyway.
I'd rather use a payphone...
I have been shopping around for a new phone for a while, not because my current phone has anything wrong with it really, but because i have found my current phone (nokia 7200) a bit big when out without a jacket or a bag.
When going to a club or a bar i don't tend to take a jacket or a bag and so i am left with my pockets. Keys, money and my wallet take up a fair bit of space, add to that a flip phone like the Nokia 7200 and you have full pockets. (unless your have very big pockets)
I decided that i needed a slimmer phone, i have never been one to go in for all the features on phones as i tend to have devices that do the same things only better. A Digital camera, mp3 player and a PSP are my sources of entertainment on my travels and so i don't need a phone with any flashy features, i wanted a phone that can text and call people, like the days of old.
On one of my random visits to Play.com i had a look at their unlocked phones. I tend to only get unlocked ones due to not wanting to change my pay as you go sim. I then came across probably on of the sleekest, minimalistic and simple phones i have ever seen in my life.
Here is a photo of the phone, this is about 95% full size i held my phone up to it to check and it's very close.
Motorola F3
This phone has next to no features at all, the menu if it can be called that consists of
Write Message
Read Message
View Recent Call List
Change Ringtone
Set Alarm
Adjust Date and Time
And there is also the Phonebook Button which allows you to obviously scroll through your contacts and select someone to call.
There are only 7 Ringtones and there is no input plug for adding anything else or updating anything on the phone.
The phone itself also does not store anything, all data is stored on your Sim card, so you are limited to what ever the Sim card can handle. This does mean that i can only have around 10 texts saved at once and as soon as another text comes in the oldest one will be deleted automatically.
Although i wanted a simple phone, there are aspects of this phone that are maybe too simple to make it a popular choice. When texting you do not have any of the normal symbols. You are only able to do - , ? @ there are no full stops or even a pound sign and there is no way of sending a text with capital letters.
That last bit seems even more confusing when texts are all written in capital letters apart from a few certain ones that could be mixed up with numbers like B, D and O. This is due to the type of screen the F3 uses, it has a digital display much like a calculator and so a capital B would look like an 8. This does make your texts look a mess when writing them as you will have different sized letters in some words, but i have been told it all just comes out as non capitals.
The one major issue that i imagine most people will have is that the phone's screen can only display 6 characters at once. That means if your word is more than 6 characters some of the letters will be on another screen, this can make checking your text pretty annoying and when reading one from someone else you constantly hit the right direction on it's pad to get a steady stream of words.
The battery life is one thing that people have said is very good, this is mostly due to the type of screen and that there are very few features to the phone that would use any battery. The backlight is very dim but the way the screen is made makes it very clear in the dark.
The manual (if it can be called that, one piece of paper with three other languages included on it) is very simple and clear. It gives decent instructions although with the phone having so little on it, it almost seems like a waste of that one piece of paper as anyone who has used a phone before should be able to navigate this one.
I love this phone, i love it's look and i love it's simplicity, but it does have it's flaws like the lack of some symbols when texting and the restrictive screen display. This is not a phone that i would say everyone would get on with, but is a good choice if you need a thin, no feature device for traveling or when out and about.
The one thing that will probably sell this phone to most people is the price. The screen and lack of features, meant that i was able to get it at play.com for £27.99 and if you are on Orange or happy going to them, then you can get one with a Pay As You Go Sim for £9.99 i think.
To me this is almost a disposable phone, it's one i won't be too bothered about if it got stolen as i would only loose what ever is on the sim, which is all backed up anyway.
When going to a club or a bar i don't tend to take a jacket or a bag and so i am left with my pockets. Keys, money and my wallet take up a fair bit of space, add to that a flip phone like the Nokia 7200 and you have full pockets. (unless your have very big pockets)
I decided that i needed a slimmer phone, i have never been one to go in for all the features on phones as i tend to have devices that do the same things only better. A Digital camera, mp3 player and a PSP are my sources of entertainment on my travels and so i don't need a phone with any flashy features, i wanted a phone that can text and call people, like the days of old.
On one of my random visits to Play.com i had a look at their unlocked phones. I tend to only get unlocked ones due to not wanting to change my pay as you go sim. I then came across probably on of the sleekest, minimalistic and simple phones i have ever seen in my life.
Here is a photo of the phone, this is about 95% full size i held my phone up to it to check and it's very close.
Motorola F3
This phone has next to no features at all, the menu if it can be called that consists of
Write Message
Read Message
View Recent Call List
Change Ringtone
Set Alarm
Adjust Date and Time
And there is also the Phonebook Button which allows you to obviously scroll through your contacts and select someone to call.
There are only 7 Ringtones and there is no input plug for adding anything else or updating anything on the phone.
The phone itself also does not store anything, all data is stored on your Sim card, so you are limited to what ever the Sim card can handle. This does mean that i can only have around 10 texts saved at once and as soon as another text comes in the oldest one will be deleted automatically.
Although i wanted a simple phone, there are aspects of this phone that are maybe too simple to make it a popular choice. When texting you do not have any of the normal symbols. You are only able to do - , ? @ there are no full stops or even a pound sign and there is no way of sending a text with capital letters.
That last bit seems even more confusing when texts are all written in capital letters apart from a few certain ones that could be mixed up with numbers like B, D and O. This is due to the type of screen the F3 uses, it has a digital display much like a calculator and so a capital B would look like an 8. This does make your texts look a mess when writing them as you will have different sized letters in some words, but i have been told it all just comes out as non capitals.
The one major issue that i imagine most people will have is that the phone's screen can only display 6 characters at once. That means if your word is more than 6 characters some of the letters will be on another screen, this can make checking your text pretty annoying and when reading one from someone else you constantly hit the right direction on it's pad to get a steady stream of words.
The battery life is one thing that people have said is very good, this is mostly due to the type of screen and that there are very few features to the phone that would use any battery. The backlight is very dim but the way the screen is made makes it very clear in the dark.
The manual (if it can be called that, one piece of paper with three other languages included on it) is very simple and clear. It gives decent instructions although with the phone having so little on it, it almost seems like a waste of that one piece of paper as anyone who has used a phone before should be able to navigate this one.
I love this phone, i love it's look and i love it's simplicity, but it does have it's flaws like the lack of some symbols when texting and the restrictive screen display. This is not a phone that i would say everyone would get on with, but is a good choice if you need a thin, no feature device for traveling or when out and about.
The one thing that will probably sell this phone to most people is the price. The screen and lack of features, meant that i was able to get it at play.com for £27.99 and if you are on Orange or happy going to them, then you can get one with a Pay As You Go Sim for £9.99 i think.
To me this is almost a disposable phone, it's one i won't be too bothered about if it got stolen as i would only loose what ever is on the sim, which is all backed up anyway.