VK Mobile VK2020 review

Inside the VK Mobile VK2020 is a decent feature package. There's no camera, but as with the Motorola Slvr L2, we're always glad to see a Bluetooth device without one. But first, the basics. There's a generous 1,000-contact phone book, with room in each entry for six phone numbers, e-mail and Web addresses, a street address, a job title, and notes; the SIM card holds an additional 250 names. You can organize callers into groups or pair them with one of 30 polyphonic ring tones. The VK2020 also supports photo caller ID, but considering there's no camera on the phone, your image selection will be limited. We also found the phone book a bit confusing to use. You can access it only from the standby mode, and entering new contacts takes too many clicks.

Other features include a vibrate mode, text and multimedia messaging, an alarm clock, a memo pad, a calculator, a unit converter, a world clock, and a stopwatch. You get Bluetooth, and you can use the VK Mobile VK2020's mini-USB port to connect a PC. With the included software, you can use the phone as a USB storage device or sync your contacts and your calendar. You can use Bluetooth to transfer files, but we weren't always successful in the process. What's more, syncing over Bluetooth is not supported. Also, we're miffed about the fact that the VK2020 does not include a speakerphone.

Although it's nice to have the integrated MP3 player, it is something of a joke. The interface shows the track name and the artist, but the equalizer graphic reminds us of an Atari game. In fact, the overall effect is even more basic than that of the already rudimentary Samsung music player found on phones such as the SGH-T509. Features are limited to an equalizer, as well as repeat and shuffle modes. Loading files on the phone was mostly easy, but your storage space is limited to 128MB.

You can personalize the VK Mobile VK2020 with a variety of wallpaper, clock styles, and sounds. You can download more options and more ring tones if you wish, but keep in mind that you'll have to get the correct data settings from your carrier to use the WAP 2.0 wireless Web browser. The phone also comes with two Java (J2ME) games: AI and Bulbman.

We tested the quad-band (GSM 850/900/1800/1900) world phone in San Francisco using T-Mobile's network. Call quality was disappointing overall. Voices had an echoed effect, and there was audible static. The volume was also quite low, so users with hearing impairments should test the VK Mobile VK2020 before buying. Callers said we sounded better, and they had trouble hearing us in noisy environments. What's more, audio did not fare any better over the included wired headset or when we made calls using the Plantronics Explorer 320 Bluetooth headset. Music quality was iffy as well. Audio quality was metallic, with little bass and not enough volume.

The VK Mobile VK2020 has a rated talk time of 3 hours, but we surpassed that time by an extra hour in our tests. It has a promised standby time of 6.25 days. According to FCC radiation tests, the VK2020 has a digital SAR rating of 0.91 watt per kilogram.