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Review GSM phone Panasonic VS3Outside the country of the raising sun, Panasonic phones are not so popular as on the home market, however, they can boast with rather a wide audience of worshipers. And probably that great popularity of Japanese phones was the main reason why the makers of GSM Panasonic models decided to apply those designer tricks that were mainly used in Japanese models. That will concern a new line of 2005. And Panasonic VS3 is one of such models. 
Like the majority of Panasonic's models, this device is designed as a clamshell, and in a closed mode with no projecting camera parts has a thickness of 17.6 mm. The dimensions form 96x46 mm. With a 830 mAh Li-Ion battery the device weighs about 102 grams. Other capacity of the battery is not offered. From its Japanese fellows the VS3 got features of its flat body with rounded bottom corners - in some way it even resembles an elegant cigarette case. This model is similar in looks to P900i produced for a Japanese operator NTT DoCoMo. Interchangeable front panels that fixed with screws and allow changing the appearance of the phone, and automatic opening function which is activated by pressing a corresponding button were inherited from the Japanese model. 
At pressure this button sets free a spring of an automatic opening mechanism, which unfolds the top of the device with a typical click. This allows answering calls and using the phone with one hand. Closing the device is always manual, with it you lead up this very mechanism. In the first minutes of using the phone you should get used to it in order not to let it out of your hands accidentally. Certainly, the handset may be open in a usual manner not using this function - a special projection rounds the whole top part. In general the body construction is qualitative - neither wheezes, nor a backlash are observed both in a closed and open modes, and the same may be said about the battery cover. When open the top of the cover is fixed and has a big open angle. The very body is designed as smooth plastic in imitation of silver. And at the same time partly the bottom is a la black silver and partly resembles white. This combination of the tints allows visually reduce the thickness of the phone (that is why the name of VS series appeared, it stands for Visual Slim, which is true). 
A universal interface connector which allows connecting a charger, a headset or a data cable covered with a rubber shutter is placed on the left side surface besides automatic open button. This is a new type of the slot which was present only in the X800 smartphone before, and that is why interface accessories only of this model will suit the VS3. Besides, a stereo headset will be available for a new phone line (including the VS3). Since the connector is universal, a special adapter will be sold for charging, data transmission and listening to the radio at the same time. Only two symmetrical gaps are seen on the bottom of the side surface, the one keeps a charge indicator and the other holds a microphone. The top of the side holds nothing interesting - just a strap hole, a couple of rests and a groove for fastening the phone in a car holder. The right side surface I very rich in control elements - here is a volume button and the one for scrolling the phone menu. The top of this side holds a universal button, which implements various functions depending on the work mode - activating a photo camera, dictaphone recording at a conversation, sound off at incoming call. An IrDA gap is between these buttons, it can work not only transmitting data via a modem but receive and translate files directly. Only files of directly supported formats are transmittable, excluding Java programs (only WAP-browser will help in uploading them). This approach is right if your user is not informed about existing formats and their differences. This prevents from questions like: "Why was this melody accepted, but the phone doesn't play it?". However, this cannot satisfy more advanced users as then using the handset as a universal data carrier gets impossible. Moreover, after receiving the files, their accuracy is checked, for instance, if you take a ZIP archive and rename it as JPG, the phone won't save it in its memory referring a wrong format. The front of the phone holds a 1.3 MP CMOS camera objective on its top. The edge of the objective is of anodized plastic and serves as a switch from macromode. Below you can find a portrait mirror which is very suitable for a clamshell with no external screen. A little lower you will find an insertion of white plastic which hides a lighting indicator. Placed in a special way, it makes an interesting illumination at various events by dispersing its colourful light along the body and a transparent upper removable panel. Depending on the type of the event, intensity, smoothness and colour of the backlighting can vary. We were very pleased to find out that if you have missed calls or messages, the indicator will blink approximately every 4 seconds till you open the phone. 
Almost any event may be accompanied by illumination, and the most effective capabilities concern SMS: Depending on the smiles received in a message, the backlighting will shine in various colours and frequency. That is rather an interesting fashion solution especially at the absence of external screen. Besides all the listed, you can see an interchangeable front panel fixed to the body with screws. Shipped phones will have all the necessary tools for changing the panels included into their kits: 2 extra panels and a screwdriver. That allows changing the appearance of the phone depending on your mood and preferences. Using screws for fastening saves the body from extra creaks and a user from breaking nails or having them obligatory. The Panasonic VS3's kit for the Commonwealth of Independent States will include a USB-cable for transmitting data, a CD with software and a "handsfree" headset (mono). A strap hole for wearing the phone on your wrist or your neck and a gap for a polyphonic loudspeaker are placed on the back side of VS3, slightly above and to the right of the loudspeaker a rubber shutter for a gap of an external antenna is situated. Here also is a couple or rubber insertions, which serve as a rest preventing from closing the loudspeaker, when the phone lies on hard surface. And the rest of the back is taken with a cover closing the battery. The very battery has projections, which allow it fix on the body firmly with no backlash. A SIM-card hole is to the left, just above the battery compartment. 
At active use of the phone (an hour of games, about 40 minutes of talks, the same time spent on the Internet and about an hour of other functions), it worked till the end of the day. At a more sparing mode, when the screen backlighting was used less, as well as the key backlighting, the phone will last about two days causing no problems, even without turning of for a night. Those who'd like to have a longer-lasting model should have a look at MX6 and SA6 with batteries capacious of 1660 mAh, which also have no differences from the VS3 except for the battery, changed design and the body thickness. Opening the phone, you see its main advantage, which is a 240x320 pixels screen with a diagonal of 2.2". According to the manufacturer it is capable of showing about 16 million colours at watching video and JPG files. 
The screen by TMDT (Toshiba Matsushita Display Technology Co., Ltd.) integrated into the VS3 has the luminescence brightness forming about 300 calnles/m2. Its perfect image doesn't fade even in the sun, all the information remains readable. Though, little vertical view angle should be stressed, deviating the device you make the colours fade and invert. When deviating it in a horizontal line, you will observe no such disadvantages for the angle here reaches 180 degrees! Almost the whole side of the phone where the screen is placed is covered with a transparent plastic cover with a cut gap for the internal loudspeaker. It allows using the turned off screen as a mirror. As an example we show how the same picture looks on Panasonic VS3's and Sony Ericsson S700i's screens: 
At once the difference in the picture brightness is striking. Due to high resolution and the physical size of the screen, it holds enough room for big fonts and other useful information shown in the standby mode. Besides standard pictograms signifying time, date, signal level, battery charge and so on, the screen shows icons of the current active profile and the nearest calendar event, which allows orientating fast in the future tasks. Phone settings allow specifying the place for an operator's name, which would be very handy, if in its standard position the title spoils the composition of the picture set as a headband. Now in Panasonics broadcasting is shown under the operator's name, but not as earlier when a note blinked on a blank display. I considered this constant screen blinking from the standby mode to reading a message irritating, and thus I turned broadcasting off. Further investigating of the phone revealed other improvements in usability as compared with the previous models, which can't but gladden the company worshipers. And now about it all in order. Keyboard
Like everything rest in the VS3, the keypad is a real compromise between comfort, ergonomics and general design of the phone, that is a golden mean for the phone and a user. Number keys integrated into an even 3x4 matrix have small size, however, they are well distanced and accidental pressures can be avoided. Due to a horizontally oblong shape of the keys, the developers could place not only number notes with Latin characters, but the whole Russian alphabet. A soft plastic insertion is below the number keys, by touch it is similar to the one used in transparent cases. Here it is used as a shock-absorber for the upper part of the phone at closing. Just under the insertion two gaps containing a charger indicator and a microphone are placed. The room above the number row is taken by two soft-keys, call answer and cancel buttons, and a navi button centered between them. When pressing the button of the VS3, you hear a low click, which serves for better tactile feeling, very useful when entering data blindly. On the phone sides special incisions are made against call answer and cancel buttons for calling with the backlighting off in the dark. The backlighting is green, rather even and backlights all the buttons. You can set backlighting time for the keypad and the screen as 10, 30 or 60 seconds. Or to save the battery charge you can turn it of completely. For the same saving the screen fades in some time, and activating it is possible by pressing any button, and by the way, this pressure switches only backlighting, even it you press the cancel button. On the one hand, the solution is good, however, it turns arguable if the automatic flip function is off, then to end the call, you'll need to press the cancel button twice. To number keys from "2" to "9" you can assign any number from either the phone memory, or SIM-card memory, or by typing the number in manually. The number can be extracted fast not only at a call, but at sending a message as well. The "1" key has the voice mail number bound by default. In the standby modу firmly fixed to softkeys functions are calling the message menu (assigned to the left) and browser menu (to the right). This case is somehow softened with the ability to assign almost any function to the navi buttons. Traditionally pressing "#" you switched your Panasonic to the silent mode, and in the VS3 you have a "Silent" profile turned on. Sometimes reading user manuals happens very useful bringing many interesting discoveries. For instance, the "*" button when held allows fats change of the input modes, which is very useful when searching for contacts in Cyrillic in the phonebook. Pressing the central button you get into… Phone menuAnd to be precise, to the main phone menu represented with 3x3 icon rows. Accessing the elements of the main menu is possible with the help of the navi button or using number navigation. 
When selected the item is framed and the title grows in size. The second layer of the phone menu is a list with corresponding icons, however, smaller than in the main one. Accessing them is also possible with the help of number sequences. All the deeper menu levels are lists as well, however, icons are absent there and number values for fast call specified. The phone settings allow selecting themes, which are at whole two items. You are not allowed to upload new themes. 
But then the VS3 supports changing the style of the icons for the main menu, and that concerns the whole background and each item in particular. The process consists in selecting a corresponding file in any graphical format supported by the phone, including the pictures taken by the integrated camera. That is a plain and elegant at the same time solution for users desiring not only changing the background image, and having no idea about phone reprogramming or creating special files for changing the menu. This peculiarity of changing the menu appearance is present only in phones by Japanese makers (for instance, NEC's phones). 
When you enter the main menu, Messages item is highlighted. That is very logical, for users more frequently work with messages and not cameras or keypad locking. The CS3 works only with SMS and MMS, direct support for EMS is not provided, if not considering concatenated messages with length of SMS reaching 1530 characters in Latin and 670 in Cyrillic. At any work with text (including SMS), an internal text editor of the VS3 is launched, it allows showing and selecting the input mode (number, Latin and T9), selecting the input language (in Ukrainian you can enter text only in T9 mode), performing copy/cut/past operations, inserting text from the preset templates of unlimited number. Besides, you can insert a number from the phonebook, count the number of the messages for sending. One more advantage of the editor is ruled lines and a capability to add new words to the T9 dictionary. 
When dealing with messages, mind you can send it to several addressees, and the whole process is shown then - from a name with a photo (if the addressee has a photo assigned to his/her contact) to the number of the messages being sent at that moment, if the message was concatenated. Totally about 500 SMS can be stored in the phone memory, in the lists they are shown together with the ones placed on a SIM and are distinguished with an icon. 
The lists are sorted by time, and the beginning of the entered message is shown. This approach seems to be right, just imagine a case when you correspond with a person, and need to find the very message where you are asked to buy products in the list. And at the same time, the name and the number of the addressee are displayed in the top status bar, and above you can know the total number of SMS in the list including unread. The settings allow specifying font-size for message view mode (big, normal, and small), where you switch between the messages using the navi button. In the very those settings you can set to view new messages at the phone opening, independently whether the active flip function is on or off. I think creating and viewing MMS will hardly bring any troubles to users of the VS3. 
Everything is very plain and clear. When the current MMS file contains pictures and/or melodies, and a user tries to insert video files (or vice versa), the phone notifies that the already inserted picture and melody will be deleted from the slide. The handset allows sending MMS not bigger than 100 KB. If the melody or video files being inserted are above the limit, the phone gives a special message, and in case that is a picture, the device will try to reduce the size to the necessary one to make it fit the slide. Just like for SMS, you can set font-size for MMS. However, I'd like to mention, the VS3 forbids changing the background colour and font colours, either ignores them at reception. This fact seems to concern the fact that various models use various colour combinations for fonts and background. And to save a user from useless jitters or unflattering statements or the recipients, the makers decided on this very way. The "Tools" menu hides access to such items as "Alarm clock", "Sound recording", "Calculator", and if the SIM card has expansions, then access to its menu. 
A user is allowed to choose five alarm clocks, and each can be set once, daily or acting on certain days of the week. Separately for each one you can set own melody, its volume, backlighting type and even assign a picture. The alarm clock works with the phone off; PIN-code set for the SIM, and will play every 5 minutes not more than five times, till you finally turn it off. 
Selecting "Sound recording" you get a plain dictaphone recording sound files up to 3 minutes in duration in AMR format. 
Recording sounds is possible during a conversation as well. Then to start recording, you need to press the right multifunctional key. If you record a conversation, the phone will signify the interlocutor by sending a special signal every 15 seconds. The files gained that way are named after the name of the contact you spoke to and can be used as a call alert, but not transmitted to other device. The calculator represents nothing but appearance and comfort. Only primary arithmetic operations are allowed: 
The "Calendar" is a special item, which can be viewed monthly and weekly. 
In the monthly view under the very calendar you see the first notes of the event list for the day. You can view the whole list for the day. Each type of an event (they count 24) is specified with its icon which will be displayed on the screen during standby (if the event is the closest). As for the calendar settings, you can set only the starting day of the week and week-end. The number of the events to create really disappointed - not more than 100 pieces are allowed, however, that is not so crucial for middle level phones, unlike, for instance, the room for SMS. 
For an event you can set event type, enter the location, select a melody, its volume and backlighting besides time and date of start and end, and a comment. Events may be set recurrent daily, weekly, monthly, and annually, or you can limit the number of repetitions. In the "Settings" menu a user can set phone parameters to his liking, they include time, language settings, network settings, screen, sound, and keypad settings, as well as adjust profiles. In each profile (totally 5 are available) special call melody and message alert can be set, keypad tones and volume levels for each. Also in sound profiles alert signals and vibrating call can be tuned. 
The WAP-browser preinstalled in the VS3 supports WAP 2.0, and what is the main it can show WEB-sites not losing original formatting. Rare exceptions are the sites based on FLASH or some script language like java pr vb. 
And of course, there is a fly in the ointment - when showing WEB-pages the browser refuses understanding Cyrillic characters, and most probable, will have no support for it in future. However, worshipers of Russian WAP-sites can be calm as they are shown correctly. Internet surfing is possible through any GPRS access point or using CSD, by the way, you can do without wap-proxy servers. For this purpose a user can take 15 slots for setting wap profiles, and the same number for connections. The settings can be either entered manually or received automatically: the ones for Motorola suit this model. Item called "Media" is in fact a plain file manager. And the files are distributed in the folders - each in their own. Graphical files are in "Pictures", sound files hide in the "Sounds" and so on. You can't move files between the folders, however, creating folders is possible. That also saves from searching for a necessary file. 
You can create a new picture, video clip and audiorecord even without leaving the main menu, for a special icon is provided in these folders. Internal memory status (according to the instruction 30 MB are available to a user, including 2 MB for MMS) is shown in a graphic and a diagram representing percent ratio of the place taken by various folders. A folder called "Text templates" contains 10 already preset templates for writing SMS and MMS. Own templates can be added, and the total number is limited by free memory. Pictures are shown as thumbnails placed in 3x3 or a list. 
The first case gives more representative view, and the second represents more information. Both cases show a file type - a special icon with the name of the extension of the file is placed before the file name. This saves from excessive pressures to investigate the file details, especially when the name is long and its extension is not seen. Thumbnails are viewed with no slow down, almost at once a picture is viewed fast mode. Only when shown in its actual size, the preparation takes about 4 seconds approximately. And preparing an SVG (vector graphics) file will take certain time. In the VS3 SVG files allow control, that is they are scalable, rotary, you can move along the picture and links if present. In short, I found no files that correspond with the SVG 1.1 specification and can't be processed on the VS3. Test examples were files from W3C Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) Test Suite. Bitmap graphical files allow only primary operations like cutting, lighting and adding a frame selected of 5. Sound files in a "Media" folder are shown as a list, and an icon of a corresponding resolution goes before the name like with graphical files. Supported formats are MP3, AAC (m4a), SMAF (mmf), WAV (PCM, 8kHz), MIDI, and AMR. 
The VS3 is equipped with a Yamaha audioprocessor supporting 40-tones polyphony. The volume of playback is average; however it is not low and at the maximum volume shows no sound distortions. As such an integrated player is absent; however, you can playback one audio file or the whole list (random or cyclic). Separately a stereo headset will be available on the counters, but I think this relatively little memory will make a customer think about the expediency of such a purchase. Video formats supported are 3GP and MP4. Not hard to guess files of these formats are kept in a "Videorecords" folder. Clips recorded by the integrated camera are also there. To play MP4 files on the VS3 here is one condition - the files must have the extension of 3GP. Just like from the main menu, you can access JAVA games from the "Media" folder. The handset supports MIDP 2.0 and 3D JAVA. Primordially two games are installed as an example, they are "SONIC THE HEDGEHOG" and 3D soccer. Both games are very interesting, however, the "SONIC" is more colourful, and old gamers will probably remember this game on a SEGA console. Here Panasonic chose the same way it used in models for Japan: they installed a former console HIT into the phone, for instance, the P900i has "Final Fantasy" onboard. In general the name of the game is conformable with the trademark and the colour of the protagonist matches. You can download JAVA games only using WAP-browser. Also a limit on the downloaded JAR file forms 300 KB. To tell the truth, all the downloaded via the browser files are restricted to 300 KB. 
At incoming calls the JAVA program stops and can be continued at any time. We used JBenchmark program tests to measure productivity: JBenchmark 3D
JBenchmark2: 130
The results are really good especially considering the resolution of the screen during the tests. Several words for people who are planning to use ICQ on the phone, for the model supports RAW-sockets in no way such programs like jimm will run, but not response will be received since no connection to servers is established. However, you can use alternative IM+ or colibry, which normally allow using chat functions of ICQ and others. In the "Contacts" menu, a user can access the phonebook and its settings. Here you can copy all the phone numbers from the phone to your SIM and back, set the sorting rule - by surname or name. Also you can synchronize contacts with a server using SynchML (we tested, and it works). Own numbers can be stored both on SIM and in the internal memory. Both profiles allow transmitting numbers via IrDA, which will speed up exchange of numbers, for instance, when meeting a business partner. All the phonebook contacts can be grouped, for this purpose a room for 20 groups is provided. The groups can only be renamed and serve only for plainer view of contact list, at that you can add contacts to groups only from the contact editing menu. The whole number list is represented as a general contact list from the SIM and phone memory. Fats search by the first letter is available from the viewing mode, and by a context menu you can enter a line of the first letters. In both cases the device processes Cyrillic characters well. When moving along this list, a phone number and the name of the current contact with a picture assigned are shown above the list. If an entry is on the SIM, then a picture signifying this fact is placed near the contact name. 
Pressing the central button of the joystick, you can view details on the current contact, and pressing the call button, you dial his number. If the contact has more than one number assigned, then pressing the call button you get a list of all the numbers. When keeping about 500 numbers in the phonebook, you can enter Name, Surname, 3 phone numbers and 3 e-mail addresses, birthdate, post address, and add a note. 
For a contact you can set the colour of the external indicator, a group, assign a call melody and a message alert from sound files of any supported formats. Also you can assign a picture, which will be shown the whole screen width (max 240x180 pixels) at incoming and outgoing calls, and when sending SMS to this contact. During the conversation the decreased picture will be displayed in the bottom right corner. This is really good when speaking to several users at the same time. 
Standard images are shown on the screen, if no picture was assigned to a contact. Accessing a list of incoming, outgoing and missed calls is possible from the "Contact" menu or pressing the call button in standby mode. Switching between these lists is easier than in the previous models, just use cursor keys to the left and right. Numbers are grouped in lists, that is only last call time is specifies. Each list can contain about 50 numbers, which is quite enough for a user. For better view, today numbers are not followed by a date, only time is specified. I'd like to add that at detailed view of the number a picture assigned is shown, and an icon with "?" for contacts not listed in the phonebook. 
One more pleasant fact is numbers in the missed calls list are marked with a corresponding icon if you accepted calls from them later of phoned them back. 
An icon with a red arrow marks calls still left unanswered. CameraAs we have already told in the beginning of the review, the camera matrix resolution is 1.3 MP and switching to macromode is supported. The maximum picture resolution is 1280x1024 pixels, also available 640x480, 320x240, 160x120 and for the screen size 240x320 pixels. Photo quality can be adjusted from the camera settings menu (usual, sharp and extra sharp), as well as shutter sound selected of five preset variants (an interesting sound is provided, when you shot the phone cries "Hey!"). Turning off the sound is impossible. The effects applicable are "sepia", "negative" and "white and black". Also shooting by a timer is possible - 5 or 10 seconds. All the functions listed above can be called pressing number keys, that is some kind of fast access. Cursor keys are responsible for brightness and digital zoom. Taking a frame in the maximum resolution takes less than a second, then you can save the image received, delete it or send via MMS at once. Despite the CMOS module, the pictures shot show good quality, even ones taken in the dark. Also I'd like to note the software provided copes with noise retouching well. Some people may need consequent shooting mode providing a series of 15 pictures with the resolution of 320x240, which takes about 3 seconds. 
After that a user can select the necessary frames and save them. When used as a video camera the phone allows 3GP clips limited to 1 minute in duration and in size to fit one MMS.
ImpressionsThe example of the CS3 shows how gradually high-quality screens earlier available only for TOP-class models transfer to middle-class level. Even when not all the maker switched their high-end lines to QVGA resolution, Panasonic tries raising the level and launches rather a cheap line with such displays. Certainly, the success of the models will depend on their price. I'm afraid to even suppose that for the beginning of the sales in the Commonwealth of Independent States the price for the VS3 will form about 350 USD, which is about 100 USD higher than abroad. Besides the display, the VS3's advantages include support for web-pages by the integrated browser, fast and well-drawn menu, convenient interface, 1.3 MP camera, automatic phone opening, interesting design, and good package. The minuses are low volume of the internal loudspeaker in noisy places, for instance, in a car with open windows (then you have to turn speakerphone on). We can hardly call the absence of the external screen and Bluetooth a disadvantage, however, some customers will take it in account. As for me, I got really disappointed at seeing that only three numbers can be assigned to a contact in the phonebook. However, the general impression of the device is very positive, and I don't care the minuses revealed. Sergey Novikov ([email protected])
Published — 10 October 2005 Have something to add?! Write us... [email protected]
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