Review of the Slim Panasonic VS7

Panasonic VS7

Panasonic VS7

Introduction

Panasonic is not well known for its mobile phones outside Japan, but instead for its home appliance products. For years, they have been releasing mediocre handsets that never made it big in the market. The turning point was in 2002, when they released the GD88. It was the first GSM device equipped with a 132x176 pixel 65k color LCD display, a camera, 16 voice polyphonic ringtones, and all in a reasonably sized Japanese-influenced flip phone design. From then on, Panasonic seemed to have sunk a little, with the X series only popular at CeBIT, but not in the actual market. Their first Symbian flip phone, the X700, lost completely to the Nokia 6260, and the X800 was a flop due to a number of software and multimedia inadequacies. Earlier this year at 3GSM, Panasonic ambitiously announced a whooping nine new models, covering all the way from the bottom end to the top segment. Panasonic is determined to regain market share in the midst of the multimedia chase.

The phone we are looking at today, the VS7, is their flagship for this year.

According to Panasonic, VS stands for "Visual Slim," so obviously slimness is one of the major selling points of this device. The weight is a reasonable 113g (3.98oz). Measuring 102mm x 51mm x 18.8mm (4.01" x 2" x 0.74"), the VS7 is neither the smallest nor the thinnest handset around, but to include a 2 megapixel camera, a 2.5? QVGA screen, and a sub display, Panasonic has done a great job in making it very pocketable.

The main body is composed of brushed metallic colored plastic that is quite scratch resistant. The front of the handset is where you can install the customizable faceplate, and depending on the plate you are using, the scratchability of this surface varies.

The screws at the four corners of the handset allow you to change the faceplate whenever you wish ? this feature was so popular in Japan that it helped Panasonic challenge NEC?s top market position. The two plates that came in the box were black and silver; both of them look quite attractive. Also situated on the front is the 2 megapixel camera lens, the reminder LED, and the sub display.