Pantech Duo Cell Phone Review - Multimedia
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Mark Brezinski Published on November 15, 2007 Comment on this |
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Accessing Music Software (5.9)
This timing test begins with the phone closed and unlocked, and ends as soon as we are able to get a song playing. We were able to get the Duo to start singing 3.39 seconds after we'd started the timer. This is a good score, especially for a phone that isn't music oriented. The music player is located in the AT&T Music folder in the start menu, right near the top, so it doesn't require much of a menu crawl to get it open. There was a bit of lag involved, but less than what we usually see when loading music.
| Cell Phone | Time (sec) | Score |
| Pantech Duo | 3.39 | 5.9 |
| Helio Ocean | 5.2 | 3.85 |
| BlackBerry Curve 8320 | 7.62 | 2.62 |
| Palm Centro | 3.22 | 6.21 |
| HTC Tilt | 5.47 | 3.66 |
| Nokia N95 | 11.82 | 1.69 |
Dedicated Music Controls (0.0)
Dedicated music controls refer to a key that only performs a media control function, or one that's remapped to perform a media control function once music is playing. In the latter case, we will only count the key as dedicated if it performs media functions outside of the media player application, such as on the home screen.
As such, the Duo doesn't have any dedicated music controls. Even the volume keys, which are usually a given in this category, only affect the phone volume; music volume is handled by the media player software.
Music Software Functionality and Organization (6.8)
There is also no equalizer or visualization, though these are uncommon features even amongst music-oriented handsets. One interesting feature is the ability to map or remap shortcut keys for many different functions. You can play music in the background, however this isn't the default. You'll need to go into the player's settings and uncheck the "pause playback while using another program" box. While a nice option to include, we really disagree with the choice to make it the default. We can see many beginner-level users not finding this setting right away.
Online Song Downloading (0.0)
The Duo does not support online song downloading, although you can download ring tones via AT&T's store.
Streaming (2.0)
The Duo supports streaming WMA files. This is the only type of streaming file the phone supports.
Podcast Support (0.0)
The Duo doesn't have any podcast software.
Music Sync with PC (7.0)
Synchronizing music with the PC can be done two different ways. The ubiquitous method is connecting the phone and using Windows Media Player to sync. You can also use the included software, but we believe you're better off just sticking with WMP.
Music Formats and DRM (3.0)
The Duo can play both protected and unprotected WMA files. The phone also supports Mp3 files. It won't support AAC or Real files, though these can be converted to WMA with Windows Media Player on your PC.
Music Interruption (10.0)
The Duo behaves well with music interruption. When a call comes in while you're listening to music, it will automatically pause. When the call is over, the music will resume. We would've liked to see the music fade back in a bit, but presently only a few phones like the iPhone does this.
Video
Video Software Access (3.45)
Like the music timing test, this score is based on how fast the phone can get a video playing. The Duo was able to do this in 5.8 seconds. This is quicker than most phones we review, although it's slower than we would've expected, given the music access score. After all, we're accessing the same application for both. The video took a relatively significant long time to load and play, however. Again, compared to other phones, the Duo still performed well.
| Cell Phone | Time (sec) | Score |
| Pantech Duo | 5.8 | 3.45 |
| Helio Ocean | 5.5 | 3.64 |
| BlackBerry Curve 8320 | 8.08 | 2.48 |
| Palm Centro | 3.16 | 6.33 |
| HTC Tilt | 10.18 | 1.96 |
| Nokia N95 | 10.22 | 1.96 |
Video Controls (5.0)
Since the Duo uses Windows Media Player for both music and video playback, the video and audio controls are the same. You can skip around with left and right on the d-pad, up/down is volume, center is play/pause, the left soft key will bring up the "Now Playing" list, and the right soft key will open the menu. The menu key will let you access the library and a short options list.
Video Software & Organization (4.0)
Video Sync with PC (7.0)
Video syncs up the same way as music: via Windows Media Player.
Video Formats (3.0)
Windows Media Player supports 3GPP, MP4, and Windows Media files. You won't be able to play any other files, however, such as Flash or Real.
Video DRM (5.0)
The only DRM the Duo supports is Windows Media DRM. Any other DRM, such as iTunes files, won't be recognized.
Video Playback Smoothness (10.0)
We had no problems with playback smoothness. We were able to play all our test files -- up to 768 kbps -- without any skipping or freezing.
Online Video Downloading (0.0)
The Duo doesn't support any online video downloading service.
Video Streaming unscored
We don't score video streaming because there's no set standard yet to score them against. The Duo does support some streaming video, but only streaming video offered from windowsmedia.com, which means video in the Windows Media format. It doesn't support streaming 3GP video from services like Youtube Mobile.
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