Review of Panasonic's Symbian OS X800

Panasonic X800

Panasonic X800

Panasonic X800

The Panasonic X800 is Panasonic's second clamshell Symbian OS smartphone, the first being the X700. Clamshell aficionados will definitely love the slim form factor of the X800 with its glossy white back, and X-Changeable front covers. Those looking out for a smartphone with a svelte size will not be disappointed with the X800, either. The triband GSM (900/1800/1900Mhz) X800 sports a VGA camera, Bluetooth, and GPRS connectivity. It is basically a X700 with an update look and an internal antenna.

Physical Aspects

Measuring 100mm x 48mm x 17.2mm (3.94" x 1.89" x .68"), the X800 is one of the slimmest clamshell mobile phones on the market. It isn't as slim as the anorexic Motorola RAZR V3, but bear in mind that the X800 is a smartphone. It surely beats having to lug around a chunky phone, and definitely won't induce an embarrassing bulge in your jeans pocket. On the front of the X800 you will find its VGA camera, perched at the top portion with an indicator light below it. I don't quite understand the real purpose of this indicator light. It lights up when the camera is in use, but doesn't blink nor light up otherwise. It seems to me that its sole purpose is to inform others that the camera is in use, or the battery is being charged, which seems a waste. It could at least blink red when the phone is running low on battery power.

A LED camera assist light is located to the left of the camera, and the external CSTN screen is located in the middle. The display is capable of showing up to 4096 colours at a resolution of 64 x 96 pixels. You can press a button on the X800's side to view information like signal strength, battery strength, and network name. There was no way for me to include a background on this external display, and when the flip is open, the screen is just blank. Well, it does its job by giving you the necessary information, but Panasonic should have given users some options to personalise the screen a bit. What is the point of having the ability to display up to 4096 colours when the only colours you see are different shades of blue behind an analog clock? They could have used a monochrome display for that.

Below the external screen lies the loudspeaker. You will find 4 screws holding the X-Changeable cover down. Included in the X800's package is a small tool for removing the screws when changing the front cover. I liked the look of the X800 with the screws on, giving it a rugged and sporty look, but removing them was a real hassle just to change the front cover. On the right side of the X800 you will find the aforementioned side button, which apart from switching views of the external display, has no function. You can't even allocate the button to a certain application, or activate the camera when the flip is closed for self-portraits. There are no dedicated volume keys, either, and disappointingly, you will have to rely on the D-Pad to adjust the volume. The miniSD slot is located just above the side button. The external memory card slot means you can hot swap your memory cards, which is very convenient.

 

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