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| Home >> Handheld & PDA Reviews: Verizon PN-820 Smartphone (Verizon Wireless, Phone Only, No Service) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Under the hood, the PN-820 features the Windows Mobile for Smartphones version 5.0 operating system--a powerful OS for a seemingly low-profile clamshell device. Flip open the phone, and you'll find a large 240 x 320 color display and support for a whopping 65,000 colors. A generous, full-color 1.07-inch full-color supplementary screen on the outside of the handset can display incoming call information, battery life, signal strength, graphics, photos, and more. The built-in 1.3-megapixel camera lens is housed just above the outside display. Most of the phone's features and on-screen menus are controlled by a five-way center button on the handset's backlit control pad, while volume keys can be found on the left and camera/voice keys on the right. The PN-820 also features a MiniSD slot for expandable memory. Bluetooth support for handsfree devices is also included, while the built-in stub antenna ensures crystal clear calling. Lastly, USB data connectivity is built right into the phone. Calling and Smartphone Features Staying productive on the road is made possible by the Microsoft Office Mobile suite, which includes Word Mobile, Excel Mobile, and PowerPoint Mobile. The included File Explorer application makes it easy to browse the files on your PN-820. Messaging and Internet One of the most important tools bundled with the PN-820 is Microsoft ActiveSync, which allows you to quickly synchronize your device's tasks, calendars, email, and contacts with your desktop. You also get Exchange ActiveSync, an application that lets you synchronize data with an Exchange server. Syncing can be done wirelessly via Bluetooth. A generous toolset ships with the PN-820's Windows software. Pocket Outlook includes to-do lists while pocket versions of Word and Excel are included so you can review documents on the go. A calculator, an alarm clock, and a voice memo recorder round out the tools package. Lastly, if needed, the PN-820 can be used as a modem for laptops and PDAs, giving you Internet access whenever, and wherever Imaging and Entertainment The PN-820's built-in camera has an integrated flash and the ability to take 1.3-megapixel stills. While the camera is great for taking stills, it can also function as a camcorder, allowing you to capture video to the unit's memory. An integrated media application organizes your captured photos and videos. And last, but certainly not least, the PN-820 keeps the fun going when you've got some downtime with great gaming ability. Suggested Service Options EV-DO Wireless Broadband Coverage Vital Statistics User Submitted Verizon PN-820 Smartphone (Verizon Wireless, Phone Only, No Service) ReviewsDate: 2008-05-02 Very poor choice for a smartphone. This is my third smartphone from Verizon Wireless, and the first one I have been really unhappy with. Here are just some of this phone's significant problems: - This is a fairly obscure model of Korean-manufactured phone (Pantech), so it is extremely difficult to locate batteries and accessories for it. - The phone comes with virtually nothing. No belt clip or carrying case, no extra battery, no desktop charger, no travel charger, no data card (all of which came with my previous Samsung smartphone from Verizon). Just a USB charger/data cable and wall AC charger cable. - The recharge slot is located in the phone itself, and there is not a desktop charger made for this model, so you cannot keep a spare battery charging while you use the phone (unless you own two of them). - The recharge slot is a proprietary custom one, not USB. So if you do not have your custom charge cable, there is no way to charge the phone. - Unless you're a ten-year-old girl, the default ring tones that come with the phone are absolutely ridiculous, so you'll have to download and install real ones. - The circular navigation pad and middle "OK" button are all perfectly flush, so you have to physically look at the phone and push very carefully to use them. Even then, I am constantly hitting the wrong selection. - The volume up-down buttons on the left side of the phone are too small and much too low on the phone, making it very difficult to use while talking. Instead, they should be located where the Mini-SD card slot is. - The screen brightness is very poor, and there is no option to adjust it. It's almost impossible to read in normal sunlight, so you have to hold your hand over the phone to use it outside. - The built-in camera is extremely low quality. And don't forget, you can't use it outside in the daytime anyway because of the screen's poor brightness. - The back of the phone is not flush: the bottom two-thirds is thinner than the rest of the phone, making it uncomfortable to hold and difficult to open with one hand. - The speaker has a very narrow range of use, so if your ear is not perfectly placed over it, the call is very difficult to hear. And don't even bother with the speaker phone: the sound is so garbled as to be almost unintelligible. I have been using this phone for over three months, and I'm about to throw it in the garbage and go back to my old Samsung i600, which thankfully I kept. Do yourself a huge favor and avoid this one. Date: 2007-12-19 Not my old Treo but a good phone Although I miss my old Treo Smartphone, this one works with what I need. All i really wanted was a phone that had an easily accessible and syncable calendar feature. This one works well, fits in my purse, and does what I want although there is no touch screen and the full keyboard is missing. Syncs to Windows programs I needed with a sleek color background. The camera even has a flash. Date: 2007-09-20 Phone is ok, but A2DP is unusable This phone is ok for the most part; it's the smallest smartphone available, and the software is very stable. All of the included applications work well. The case is a little cheap and scratches easily though, and the stub antenna is constantly getting pulled out in my pocket and bent. The main problems with the phone though is that A2DP, a feature Verizon advertises as working, is completely unusable. Because of a bug in Microsoft's Bluetooth stack, the sound quality on A2DP is awful - literally headache-inducing. Microsoft has fixed the problem in one of their AKU's (and in WM6 for that matter), but Verizon in typical form has no plans to update. If you're considering this phone and want to use A2DP stay far away. Date: 2007-05-26 SMARTphone? Really? I've had this phone now for three months and am really disappointed. My previous Verizon phone was a Motorola E815, and I have an N75 with Cingular that's also a Smartphone. I got it as it's the only clamshell smartphone Verizon offers, and the only clamshell they offer that can stream video. Pros: Small, lightweight, especially compared to other WM5 phones. Streams video well provided a MS stream is available. Only WM5 clamshell currently available from a US carrier. Cons: Bluetooth headset support is HORRIBLE! The phone supports voice dialing/command, but you have to speak in to the phone. MS has some lame excuse about why voice command isn't supported from a BT headset- although every other phone I've had/have it works fine. Basically, forget hands-free from BT. Audio quality is really bad. Crackles and pops constantly. I'm using it the same place I used the E815, and audio was fine. Build quality - the phone "feels" a little on the cheap side. The phone doesn't come with any "normal" ringtones - not even a "beep beep". It has 5 or 6 cheezy techo-y ringtones, but nothing really "business-like" When you answer a call via BT, the ringtone continues to play over the first 2 or 3 seconds of your phone conversation. The speakerphone quality is so bad it's almost unusable. The phone's UA Profile and browser headers are wrong. The phone reports a bad URL for it's wap profile and also reports that it's screen is 176x220 (it's acutally 240x320). Even Verizon's own wap site displays wrong on the phone. Verizon says if you use the phone to stream video, you're violating the TOS and they will cancel your account. This isn't on the TOS you sign when you get the phone, it's on their website and in the info the send you later. HOWEVER, Verizon's own PN-820 homepage has streaming video on it- so accessing content on their own homepage for their phone will put you in violation of their TOS. Date: 2007-05-10 Not bad I have just had the phone for a week so far. I bought it for the Outlook calendar sync capability and it performs this function well (after some complications linking it with my computer at work - but had great support from a Verizon rep who walked me throught set-up). I like having the reminders for things I need to do. I love being able to transfer pics from my computer to the phone. The camera is not bad for a camera phone. But I agree with a previous reviewer about the lag time between the click and capturing the image. It is easy to blur the pics. The size and weight are perfect -- for a smart phone - much better than the "brick" style phones. It seems to have an endless variety of settings, but as a consequence you have multiple screens to do simple things - switching to vibrate mode or to change the ring volume takes at least 3 steps - why not let you switch these by using the earpiece volume control on the side of the phone. I don't like having my cell phone play cutsy songs when it rings, I was surprised to find that this phone does not even give rings or beeps as an option - the only choices are the songs! I would recommend it, although if there were other choices for clamshell style smartphones I would want to compare to see if another manufacturer could overcome some of the shortcomings, but since it is the only show in town, it is not bad. Add - I have now had the phone for several months. I still like the clamshell design and love having access to my Outlook calendar, however, this is not the best phone overall. It is complicated to perform any functions, the picture ID gives only a tiny, barely visible pic in the corner (unless you buy additional software to correct this). If I were to do it again, I wonder if I might grin and bear it with the brick style phones which seem to perform all the functions better???
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