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Review GSM phone Sagem myX-4

Sagem myX-4. Live pictures

Package:

Handset
Charger
Manual

The competition in a middle segment gets sharper. The majority of the manufacturers try to offer their products often basing them on previous models. Concerning myX-4 we can say the device got all the software from X6 and is only different in design and time of release. The company positions the device in a middle class segment. And targeting on different users they offer various color solutions. The number of the available colors may differ depending on the market. There are 6 of them (pale blue, blue, brown, silvery, asphalt, red). The dimensions are 104x46x18 and the phone weights 95 grams. The device is felt in hands and may not be call weightless. Some people may like the heaviness of the body and others won't even feel it.

The construction is designed considering changeable panels that are easy to replace by you. The phone doesn't creak in hands and is quite reliable. Evaluating the design we may say it is intended for both youth and middle-aged people.

The keypad adds some stylishness to the device especially its functional keys. The joystick is sunk deeply into the body and that makes problems sometimes. The number keypad is average in comfort and the ergonomics was sacrificed to its being garish. The red backlighting adds to the whole appearance of the device it is saturated and interesting. But characters are seen well not always on the keys.

The TFT 65K screen has the resolution of 128x160 pixels (28x36 mm) and shows up to 7 text and 2 service lines. The first impression of the screen is not the best; the colors are pale, look unattractive. But you need only to change the contrast settings and everything gets right. The screen is interesting in its class and provides the best quality. It is readable in the sun though the colors are not as bright.

There is an interface connector on the bottom end. So, let's have a look at the backside of the device. There is a catch fixing the back panel on the bottom. Having moved the catch you need to pull it placing some effort otherwise it's impossible to take off.

There is a 780 mAh Li-Ion battery in the phone. According to the manufacturer it is capable of working for 4.5 hours in the talk mode and up to 14 days in a standby mode. In Moscow the device worked for 4 days in case of 30 minutes of talks and minimum use of other functions a day. Full recharging takes about 1.5 hours.

Getting into the menu is possible by moving the joystick in some direction. Depending on the direction you'll get into this or that item of the menu. In some kind that makes the navigation faster when you are accustomed to the disposition of the items. There is a fast navigation using number series in the main menu and it also works in submenus.

I have completely forgotten to mention the main menu is represented by three rows of icons, three in each row. And this organization is used in the majority of today phones. When moving the cursor the icons are not highlighted but distinguished with a red edging. Moving from the left to the right allows shifting along the whole menu and scrolling is made row by row.

Submenus are lists and each item takes the whole screen. That is due to the fact the name is shown and a picture illustrating it is placed to the right. The pictures are static, not animated. In the majority of cases the pictures are pleasant and vary the device. On the other hand you can't see the whole list and that makes troubles, you have to scroll the whole menu to find a necessary item.

The main functions may traditionally be assigned to soft keys. Thus we get some kind of tags. That искупает the menu icons and thus you may call the most frequently used functions.

By the way you may use a currency converter quickly, that's enough to type the number in and move the navi button up or down. The direction indicates from and into which currency the number will be converted. You need only to set the exchange rates at the beginning. The converter will be convenient n the countries with a stable rate but if the exchange rate often changes you'll have to use it as usual typing the current rate every time.

Phone book. The general list represents both names from the internal memory and a SIM one. There is a search by the first letter. A corresponding icon in a header indicates where the number is saved. All the actions may be taken having highlighted the necessary entry or having chosen the phone book item in the menu (it is the first item in the menu). There are 6 preset users' groups in the phone and a possibility to create personal ones (not more than 15 in general). An icon and alert type are chosen from the menu for each group (vibra call working mode). The settings are clear and plain.

Much information may be assigned to a name. There are standard fields like Name, Surname and such seldom present items as notes. Also there are three fields for phone numbers (one for a stationary), a field for Company name, e-mail address, and a possibility to assign a photo to a name and select a group.

That's important to set the fields right in the phone. Thus having set the number as a stationary you won't be able to send an SMS to it, it just won't appear in a list against the name. The first number is shown when looking through the contacts, it is set by default and a menu with number scrolling is called by the Call button. There you may select a necessary one. The organization of the phone book is not usual but possible to get used to and then you'll felt comfortably using it.

Messages. You may create personal templates in the main memory and a necessary number of them. The device supports MMS besides usual SMS and EMS standard. The function was tested in several networks and showed its working capability. A possibility to create MMS containing several pages (slides) is a real advantage; similar organization is in the Sony Ericsson devices. Predictive text input T9 may be used.

Up to 100 SMS may be saved in the main memory; the size of a dynamic memory is 3.7 MB.

Multimedia. The menu contains folders with all your photos, pictures, sounds. Unfortunately, navigation is not as easy, there is no any preview in small pictures only file names. So, it's necessary to scroll the pictures one after another and the same when choosing a photo for a name in the phone book. That's not comfortable.

WAP. A wap-browser version 1.2.1 is installed in the phone, nothing special in general.

Games. You'll find two Java games in the menu (new ones may be uploaded, MIDP 2.0). The first game is Return of the King - a plain but interesting to play arcade. The second game (Gulo ' s Tale) is also an arcade but you have to collect various items here, you play as a bear.

Organizer. Various events, a reminder for them may be entered and also you may set date and time. Calendar view - monthly, weekly and daily.

There is a separate to-o list and here you may divide all your tasks for all the preset categories that may be convenient.

The calculator is usual and a currency converter is also standard. Both attract attention with a graphical design.

The alarm clock is once and set for a concrete time, there are no repetitions.

Countdown timer may be set for several minutes and that may be useful sometimes.

Settings. There are lots of the phone settings in this menu and the screen ones; ring tones and alert types are also here. The phone allows setting not just a mixed signal type (vibra and a melody at the same time) but also put the order of vibra working first and then after a melody is played. Any melody of the standard set may be chosen for organizer events. A part of user's settings is kept in an item Personal Touch in the main menu that may be done to replace the absent camera.

Impressions

The device rouses no any cavils as for the connection quality. The power of the vibrating alert is average and that is explained with a massive body. The polyphonic melodies sound pleasantly and no any changes as compared to X6 are seen. Functionally the device is interesting in the presence of a good screen, a balanced set of functions. The absence of IrDA may be considered a minus but it is seldom for the devices of this class. The model costs 140 USD for the moment. The device is a typical representative of its class without any serious advantages or disadvantages except for the qualitative screen. The platform of the phone is worked though and has no any serious drawbacks. Such models as Siemens C65, Motorola C650 may be considered rivals and both devices are equipped with a camera. Plainer models are inferior in functionality and thus X4 may be considered an intermediate solution. The device is pleasant in general and if you like the design and functionality you should have a closer look at it.