Barnes and Noble introduces the NOOK
- Average user rating: 2.5 stars out of 117 reviews Back to product review
- My rating: 0 stars
Full user review
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19 out of 23 people found this review helpful
4.5 stars
"A Superb Phone and Organizer"
Pros: EXCELLENT call quality, tons of cool features, nice form factor/feel, crisp slider, clear screen, WM6
Cons: Sometimes a little slow/laggy, Camera not so great
Summary: Let me begin with how I acquired this great phone. Last week, my old Motorola V330's screen stopped working so I went to the T-mobile store to see about getting a new phone. I had owned the phone for quite some time and was delighted to hear that my contract was up, meaning I could get another phone at the cheaper 2-year contract price. As a medical student, I wanted to find a phone with a good organizer and Internet/e-mail capabilities.
I looked at the Blackberry 8800 and T-mobile Dash but wasn't really impressed with either of them. The store still had a MDA on display, but I didn't pay it much attention because upon first glance I thought it was too big/bulky. The sales rep suggested the Dash (he owned one) but I really didn't like the wide (although slim) form factor. The Blackberry 8800 started looking really good, but I was disappointed with the very crowded keypad. The ball wheel was very cool, though.
The rep then said that a new version of the MDA was coming out next week (5/22). He explained it had a touchscreen, slide out keypad, WM 6, 2 MP camera, etc. As a gadget lover, I knew this would definitely be worth the wait.
Skip to today...I called and they had 10 in stock. I went to the store and got my first glimpse at this little beauty. The body has a similar texture/color as my Moto V330 with a deep blue color and a nice rubbery yet hard finish. I started playing with it and pretty much fell in love with all the features. This is the first phone that I have bought without testing the call quality while in the store (probably because I was so excited at how cool the phone is!) but I'm delighted to report that the call quality is SUPERB! You really have to give it a try for yourself, but it is like talking on a land-line. Crystal clear quality (unlike my girlfriend's Moto Razor which has all types of faint buzzes and whistles in the background when making a call) and voices sound extremely natural both receiving and transmitting.
The phone comes with a pretty nice leather sideways saddle case and a clear film to protect the screen. I would like to see something that the phone would fit in with a flip top cover so it could be kept inside the case at all times. A stylus (+ one extra) tucks neatly in the body. The software is fantastic but sometimes is a little bit slow on loading. It takes about a second for the screen to transition to widescreen once the keypad is slid out. One thing I was worried about is that I would always have to put the phone in ?lock mode? with its touch screen, but with a tap of the power button, the screen turns off and all the buttons become inoperable (but the phone is still on and able to receive calls). Pressing the power key again immediately turns the phone back on?a great feature.
The phone has a ?virtual? keypad, so dialing without looking at the phone is pretty challenging. But it still retains all normal features, like speed dial, voice dial, etc.
Software includes Microsoft word, excel, and powerpoint. You can both type notes or write them freehand and it will save the notes in your handwriting/doodling. I can load on TV shows that I recorded on my MCE computer and watch them on the phone with no problems. The ?Transcriber? is particularly impressive as it converts what you write anywhere on the screen to text where the cursor is located. I find myself just using this feature instead of sliding out the keypad?but I?m sure with some practice typing with the keypad will probably prove faster than this transcribing method. The Wi-Fi is also great and allows for fast web browsing. The organizer is excellent and is very intuitive.
The camera leaves something to be desired?it has a slight delay after pressing the shutter button, which makes it easy to blur the picture. When the images do take, they are pretty clear and crisp.
This review is extremely nearsighted as I?ve only had the phone for one day?I can?t really comment on the long term durability and I?m sure more problems/nuisances will arise. But so far, it seems like a keeper. Perhaps some of you seasoned ?smartphoners? may not be as impressed as I am, but with this as my first Smartphone, I am totally blown away!!
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