Low-end clamshells with color screens. The comparison of all the models on the market

Which clamshell with the price lower than $200 to choose? This question is frequently asked in letters and in the forum. We tried to find an answer on it, describing models of 150-200 USD price segment. The comaprison analyses of 14 devices showed that only few models are worth buying. For some people the criteria of their choice will be different and thus the results may be different also, in any case we advice you to read the comparison below.

For the current moment clamshells by Korean manufacturers are widely represented on the Russian market, because devices of such class were absent in the product lines of European manufacturers. The exception from this rule was Motorola with its clamshells of different price segments. In the price segment of 150-200 USD (retail price) the choice of clamshells is not so great and there are only several models:

• Siemens CF62
• Motorola v180
• Samsung X450
• Samsung S500
• Hyundai GX209C
• VK CG/VG107
• VK VG207
• Bird v09
• Sony Ericsson Z200
• Pantech Q80
• Sendo M550
• LG G7020 (the model is getting out of date)
• Maxon MX7941
• Philips 630

Such models as LG G7020, Sendo M550, Maxon MX7941 may be crossed out from the list because they are getting out of date and are represented in the residual quantities. The same may be said about the devices by VK, the listed models are being forced out by the new devices of the same company. Also Bird V09 (its analog is Zetta A50) is taken away from the list because the device doesn't provide an acceptable quality of connection. Thus only the following models are in the final list for comparison:

• Hyundai GX209C
• Motorola v180
• Pantech Q80
• Philips 630
• Samsung S500
• Samsung X450
• Siemens CF62
• Sony Ericsson Z200

None of the listed devices has an integrated camera but all of them do have color screens. Let's consider their functions in order.

• Design
• Form-factor
• Outer screen
• Inner screen
• Battery type
• Data transmission
• Synchronization with PC, loading pictures and melodies
• Audio, vibrating alert, loud speaker
• Java
• Phone book
• Messages
• Organizer
• Summary

Design. The appearance of the device and its design are a matter of taste and as we all know tastes differ. We won't evaluate this parameter here because it is too personal question. We just will note what type of clothes and situation this or that device matches best.

Pantech Q80, Samsung X450, S500 are typical Asian clamshells, they suit almost everybody and any type of clothes.

Hyundai GX209C, Philips 630 pretend to belong to fashion models but at the same time match formal suit enough especially handsets of dark colors.

Motorola v180 is universal, it is like a chameleon, it looks worthy in the hands of young people and in the pocket of an office suit.

Siemens CF62, Sony Ericsson Z200 are youth phones and every feature of their design tells about it. And at the same time Sony Ericsson Z200 is liked by middle-aged women and not only the youth.

The division described is relative, we only tried to show which device and in what conditions will be suitable. But to decide if the device matches your life style, clothes is still up to you.

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Form-factor. No doubt, we speak about clamshells but let us consider such things as the weight and dimensions of the phone. Also here we will mention the type of the antenna - it is important for many users when they choose the device.

As for the dimensions Sony Ericsson Z200 stands out of all the models but one should remember that the length of the outer antenna is not counted - the size gets bigger with it. That is why we'll consider the dimensions of all the devices approximetely the same. The first division is by the weight and here such models as Motorola v180, Sony Ericsson Z200 differ from an average value. So we get the following distribution:

1. Hyundai GX209 C , Pantech Q80, Philips 630, Samsung S500, Samsung X450, Siemens CF62
2. Motorola v180, Sony Ericsson Z200

Only two of the represented devices have a built-in antenna and it is their strong point. Only for Sony Ericsson Z200 it is possible to change the covers and thus the appearance on the phone. We won't assign the mentioned functions to separate lists but later they will be taken into account when calculating the scores.

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Outer screen. The presence of outer screen in a clamshell means much, because only then you can see the number of the caller without opening the phone. Only Samsung X450 doesn't have an outer screen because the company represents it as a low-end solution. The main specifications of the outer screens of all the models are given in the table:

There is no any real difference in the outer screens functionality because all of them show caller's number that is why the division will be the following:

1. Hyundai GX209C, Motorola v180, Pantech Q80, Philips 630, Samsung S500, Sony Ericsson Z200, Siemens CF62
2. Samsung X450

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Inner screen. The larger the screen is, the better the information on it is perceived. It is impossible to say that some of the listed models behave better in the sun. The picture fades in the sun in all the cases and it is necessary to find an appropriate angle to see it clearly. It is natural that TFT screens do behave better in the sunny day than STN ones.

In this category the undoubted champions are the products by Samsung (both the resolution and the quality of the picture) and Hyundai GX209C is quite close to them. The model by Pantech is somewhere in the middle between several categories and is comparable with Siemens CF62. Motorola v180 loses to it a bit, then all the rest devices follow.

1. Samsung S500
2. Samsung X450, Hyundai GX209C
3. Pantech Q80, Siemens CF62
4. Motorola v180
5. Philips 630, Sony Ericsson Z200

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Battery type. The battery life differs much in different models, it depends both on the type of the battery or its capacity and on the quality of the software. We reduce real working time to a common denominator. The data represented is for the case of 25 minutes of talk time and 20 minutes of using other functions for the whole working period. All the devices worked in the same Moscow network.

It is clear that the models with the better screens have more intensive energy consumption and vice versa. Pantech Q80 stands out of all the models - the package includes two batteries at once. But the total battery life is rather short even with two batteries and we won't distinguish this events as an advantage. The division into groups looks the following way:

1. Philips 630
2. Hyundai GX209C, Motorola v180, Siemens CF62
3. Samsung X450, S500, Sony Ericsson Z200
4. Pantech Q80

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Data transmission. The functionality of the device depends on the presence of IrDA, its support for sending and receiving vCard files.

For the current moment MMS suport became an ordinary function and thus its absence may be considered as a minus. But in our case we did not consider it as a disadvantage of the device because this function is secondary. The main criterion is a possibility to use the phone as a GPRS modem and for connection with PC. It is natural that the models with IrDA have great possibilities (plus there is a cable), IrDA in Samsung S500 works as a modem only with special software. It is impossible to transmit pictures and melodies via IrDA.

Division into groups looks the following way:

1. Samsung S500, Sony Ericsson Z200
2. Motorola v180, Siemens CF62
3. Hyundai GX209C, Pantech Q80, Philips 630, Samsung X450

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Synchronization with PC, loading pictures and melodies

There is nothing special to compare here, a possibility to synchronize data is present in almost all the phones but getting the software for some models is sometimes impossible. Synchronization of Motorola v180, Siemens CF62 is the easiest. For Samsung S500 it is possible to transmit pictures, melodies to PCs and phones.

1. Motorola v180, Siemens CF62, Samsung S500
2. Hyundai GX209C, Pantech Q80, Philips 630, Samsung X450, Sony Ericsson Z200

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Audio, vibrating alert, loud speaker

The loud speaker is realized in Motorola v180, Siemens CF62. The quality is comparable.

The tunefulness of the signal fully depends on the number of the instruments the phone may play simultaneously and the division into groups is the following:

1. Samsung S500, X450, Hyundai GX209C, Sony Ericsson Z200, Pantech Q80 – 40-tones polyphony
2. Philips 630 - 32- tones polyphony
3. Motorola v180 – 24-tones polyphony
4. Siemens CF62 – 16-tones polyphony

As for the volume level the phones may be divided in the following way:

1. Samsung S500, X450, Hyundai GX209C, Pantech Q80
2. Sony Ericsson Z200, Philips 630, Motorola v180
3. Siemens CF62

The quality of vibrating alert is the last thing to mention, it works the best way in Philips 630 and all the rest phones are comparable by this feature.

By the combined factors the phones are divided in the following way:

1. Samsung S500, X450, Hyundai GX209C, Pantech Q80
2. Sony Ericsson Z200, Philips 630, Motorola v180
3. Siemens CF62

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Java

Strictly speaking the phones are divided into two groups, they are one that supports Java and one that doesn't. Java support is an undoubted advantage and a necessary feature for a modern phone.

The phones are divided this way in this category:

1. Motorola v180
2. Samsung X450, Siemens CF62

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Phone book

We won't describe the realization of the phone book in each phone, it is possible to read this in corresponding reviews. We'll point out the most remarkable geatures of the devices. Thus Siemens CF62 offers the biggest number of fields for a name and a possibility to assign an image to a user. The phone book here is one of the most powerful.

The worst phone book is in Sony Ericsson Z200, the phone is rather weak by this parameter.

The phones are divided into groups in the following way:

1. Siemens CF62
2. Motorola v180
3. Hyundai GX209C, Samsung S500, X450
4. Philips 630, Pantech Q80
5. Sony Ericsson Z200

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Messages

Here we need to evaluate the quality of the realization of input, the presence of EMS and Russian dictionary T9.

The most unbalanced model is Hyundai GX209C that has an integrated mail client but doesn't support EMS.

The phones are divided into groups in the following way:

1. Siemens CF62, Motorola v180, Philips 630, Sony Ericsson Z200
2. Samsung X450, S500
3. Pantech Q80, Hyundai GX209C

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Organizer

It is not the most important function for users of this segment but it is taken into consideration while choosing a device. The presence of an alarm clock and extra functions should be pointed out here.

As for the combined features Siemens CF62 is the first, then follow Hyundai GX209C and Motorola v180 and also other phones by Samsung. Other devices look weaker.

1. Siemens CF62
2. Hyundai GX209C, Motorola v180, Samsung X450, S500
3. Pantech Q80, Philips 630, Sony Ericsson Z200

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Summary

Other functions may be also taken into consideration but one should understand that they will be secondary. I will repeat that it is enough to choose the most interesting points and just calculate how often this or that device gets the leading positions. In the table below we represent a summary where all the strong points of every device are summed up. A device gets 5 for the first place in every segment, 4 for the second and so on. As a result, all the scores are summed up.

• Hyundai GX209C 48
• Motorola v180 54
• Pantech Q80 43
• Philips 630 45
• Samsung S500 51
• Samsung X450 51
• Siemens CF62 57
• Sony Ericsson Z200 45

The evident outsider is Pantech Q80, at the same time Siemens CF62 is a champion.

But comparison without mentioning the current or the future prices of the devices doesn't seem right because it is possible to pay less for a greater functionality and vice versa. Let us see present average retail prices for the listed models and calculate values for the devices that have not still appeared on the market (Motorola v180).

For the convenience of the representation we calculate the index of the price to the quality as a ratio of the scores to the price multiplied by 100. The last operation is made namely for more convenient representing of the gained results.

Motorola v180 will appear in the market in July that is why it is marked with an asterisk in the list for the moment. The most attractive choice is to buy such models as Motorola v180, Siemens CF62. Both devices are rivals and have minimum differences. The disadvantage of Motorola v180 if to compare with Siemens CF62 is its worse screen (shows 65000 colors but STN matrix of a worse quality), the presence of outer stump-like antenna. In all the rest Motorola v180 offers more functions: Java MIDP 2.0 support, 2.5 MB of memory, 24-tones polyphony and a possibility to play mp3 files as a call melody. As for me, all the pros and cons do balance these two models and they are much alike.

According to the comparison, the phones by Samsung are quite close to Sony Ericsson z200. And if in Samsung's phones the gained scores are explained by the qualitative screens and a standard list of functions, then in the model from Sony Ericsson a balanced list of possibilities, long battery life (on the contrast to the phones by Samsung) play greater role.

Hyundai GX209C looks worthy enough against the background of the rivals but the quality of data transmission fails much and noises are heard during the conversation.

Philips 630 is overestimated much but if to take into consideration the presence of integrated FM-tuner (the only device in the list) then everything seems quite reasonable. There is no alternative to the device and one who is looking for a radio should draw attention to it.

Conclusion

You may take into consideration this article when choosing the device, also you may calculate by yourself the features of the devices you liked, taking our thoughts as a base. I remind that we didn't consider the design of the devices but it plays a great role, proceed from the appearance and then compare the specifications.

In my opinion the real rivals are only Motorola v180 and Siemens CF62. Some functions are better in one handset and some are in the other one. They should be considered as an alternative for buying. All the other solutions are compromise and not of such great interest.

It is worthy to look at the reviews because all the nuances of each phone are not represented here. For instance, the function of dynamic lighting will be interesting to the youth. And if to speak about Motorola v180 then playing mp3 melodies will also attract their attention.

A number of the models that will be released soon is not included into this review, it is for example, Philips 650. It is explained by the fact that they are referred to the top of the chosen price segment and closer to $200. This price segment needs a separate detailed consideration and maybe we'll make it in future.

P.S. If you notice any mistakes in the tables, calculations, then, please, write us and we'll correct them. This article was prepared for quite a long time and we could miss something, write us about that. Thank you in advance.

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Links on the topic:

• Review Pantech Q80
• Review Philips 630
• Review Samsung S500
• Review Samsung X450
• Review Siemens CF62
• Review VK CG/VG107
• Review VK VG207
• Review LG G7020

Eldar Murtazin ([email protected])
Translated by Maria Mitina ([email protected])

Published — 09 September 2004

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