vB Easy Archive - Unbiased NEC 525 Review

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Unbiased NEC 525 Review
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Posted by: James Score

Hey All,

I just got my NEC 525 phone and wanted to share my experiences with others.

The 525 replaced my Samsung E105. I'm also in CA, using T-Mobile service.

First the good stuff:

The Screen:
This is probably the best part. It sports a huge 2.2" LCD with 65k colors. The resolution and colors aren't as high as some of the other phones just now on the market, but its more than sufficient.
I also have no difficulty viewing it in direct sunlight, unlike the SE T610, for instance.

Great Overall Design:
I think on a design level, it's one of the nicest cell phones. It's larger than my old Samsung (E105), but still serious enough. Personally, I prefer a little larger size over the smaller Samsung.

Nice, intuitive UI:
The menus are very easily worked with; It seems like it might've been designed by someone from Apple. Very important since this phone has many features to play with.
I've read that it takes many keystrokes to accomplish something, but I absolutely don't have the same experience.

The External LCD:
It's nice of NEC to provide a 2nd color LCD, although it's off much lower resolution and color quantity.

Decent Camera:
The 100k camera is fine for taking quick pictures during daytime, although it's next to useless at night. (no flash), poor night capability.

Now the bad stuff:

Poor Voice Quality:
Having thought that it might be the other party with poor service, I'm now convinced that this phone has an overall poor audio quality.
There's always some static, no matter where I call. Even to simply check my voice-mail, the answering service had varying degrees of static. This is dissappointing compared with my former crystal clear Samsung (with the same network provider).

Hard to hear the caller:
The way the speakerphone and microphone are constructed, you have to hold the phone a little lower than other fliphones. The top of the headset basically goes over the middle part of the ear, instead of the top part. This aligns your ear with the speakerphone, and your mouth with the raised microphone.
If you don't hold it like this, you will notice a lower hearing volume.

Low ringer:
The ringer, when set on full volume, can still be a notch higher. Although it's not as huge problem as most reviews show it.

Poor Camera:
If you're buying this phone because of the camera, forget it. The camera is can be used at a scene of an accident, but that's about it. The 2x zoom makes the picture way too pixelated to be useful.

Overall, I can live with all the negative aspects of the phone, except one: the poor audio. I've never had a phone before that had a noticeable static when calling just about anyone. Of course, it can be my provider, or my service area. However, my previous Samsung was nothing less than crystal clear.

I wanted to keep the phone, but I think I will be selling this model. I may go for the Sharp GX32. Anyone have input on that model?

If you have any questions, please feel free to PM/email me.