Pantech Duo Cell Phone Review - Making/Receiving Calls
|
Mark Brezinski Published on November 15, 2007 Comment on this |
|
|
|
|
Dialing Speed (6.92)
We test dialing speed exactly how you'd think we would: we start a timer, dial a number, and stop the timer when we hit send. We do this in order to showcase how quickly a user could expect to make a call. We do several different trails with different numbers in order to better approximate the user experience. We do a set of trials and average the results.
The Duo was able to sprint through this test with an average lap time of 2.89 seconds. This is fast, and due in part to several factors. First of all, the keypad slid out quickly, and sliding it out put our thumbs right over the keypad. Secondly, we were able to start dialing the instant we had access to the keypad, without any sort of lag. Third, the keypad itself is big enough to ensure accuracy, but not so big that thumb travel time slows you down. The Duo is a great phone for quick calling.
| Cell Phone | Time (sec) | Score |
| Pantech Duo | 2.89 | 6.92 |
| Helio Ocean | 3.1 | 6.45 |
| BlackBerry Curve 8320 | 3.16 | 6.33 |
| Palm Centro | 3.62 | 5.52 |
| HTC Tilt | 5.57 | 3.59 |
| Nokia N95 | 4.62 | 4.33 |
Talk and End Buttons (4.0)
The talk and end buttons are located in the lower left and right corners of the d-pad respectively. The buttons themselves have decent play and provide adequate tactile feedback when pushed. None of the keys on the d-pad array (with the exception of the d-pad itself) have any differentiating quality to them, however, as only the slight dips between them serve to alert you that you're touching a different key. We would've liked a bit more differentiation between the keys. We found the send and end keys were saved a bit by their location, simply because there's nothing below them you could accidentally hit.
Call Management (6.0)
When you're getting a call, a splash screen pops up that gives you a choice to either answer or ignore the call. Once you've decided the caller is worth talking to, the soft keys change to mute and menu. The menu will let you perform conference calls easily and also provides access to pertinent applications such as your contacts and calendar. There were also options for more basic operations like speakerphone, but no option to record the call.
Startup to Call (2.29)
This test is the same as the dialing speed test, only we begin with the phone powered down. Though the Duo scored well on the dialing speed test, it didn't fare as well here. The Duo took an average of 43.67 seconds to boot up and place a call. Smart phones usually take a long time to start up simply because they have more complex software. The Duo definitely falls into this category.
| Cell Phone | Time (sec) | Score |
| Pantech Duo | 43.67 | 2.29 |
| Helio Ocean | 9.5 | 10.53 |
| BlackBerry Curve 8320 | 7.12 | 14.04 |
| Palm Centro | 42.66 | 2.34 |
| HTC Tilt | 64.55 | 1.55 |
| Nokia N95 | 36.4 | 2.75 |
Ring Volume (8.57)
We measure ring volume with a sound pressure meter. We hold the phone a couple inches away from the meter and cycle through ringtones, noting the maximum recorded decibel level. The Duo measured 85.7 decibels at its loudest. This is about average, and should suffice to alert you of an incoming call.
| Cell Phone | Volume (decibels) | Score |
| Pantech Duo | 85.7 | 8.57 |
| Helio Ocean | 85.4 | 8.54 |
| BlackBerry Curve 8320 | 85.6 | 8.56 |
| Palm Centro | 85.5 | 8.55 |
| HTC Tilt | 85.7 | 8.57 |
| Nokia N95 | 105.3 | 10.53 |
Ringtone Customizability (0.0)
You can purchase ringtones off of AT&T's ringtone store. You can't use your own songs as ringtones, which is preposterous; in other similar devices with Windows Mobile 6 Standard this option is available.
Non Audio Alerts (6.0)
The Duo has adequate non audio alerts. We were able to barely feel it vibrating in our pocket, but we would've liked it to be slightly stronger. The splash screen that appears to inform you of an incoming call is certainly noticeable if you're looking at the phone, but otherwise it isn't particularly eye- catching.
| Previous Next | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
