Pantech Matrix C740 Cell Phone

Over the years with the invention of the iPhone, I've become pretty jealous of people's cell phones.  Of course, the iPhone has set a standard for cell phones in terms of technology.  Seriously, the only thing it seems that the iPhone can't do, is do your laundry or cook breakfast.  But for a phone that is not only a cell phone, an iPod, personal organizer, camera and mini-computer, it's done an awful lot for one device.  Even at it's relatively steep price tag of the initial $600 (it's gone down considerably), the iPhone does an awful lot for just one device.  I've always wanted one, but financially, it's just not a viable option and the thought of the accommodating costs like data and text messaging charges has scared me away. 

As far as cell phones are concerned, I've had my fair share.  I'm talking right on down to the days when you literally had to carry your cell phone in a freaking bag with all the needed accessories, and plug it into your car's cigarette lighter.  Of course, technology has changed over the years and nowadays, cell phones are in the form of devices like the iPhone.  The phones that came after the cigarette lighter phone, have served as an example of burgeoning cell phone technology.  Not just based on design in which they've gone from clunky paperweights but to sleeker and thinner communication devices, but for the fact that they've been able to do so much.  Seriously, think back ten years ago when Cingular was all the rage.  They had a digital screen that looks nowhere like the cell phones of today, and they certainly didn't allow you to go online and some of them may not have even had the basic features like a calendar or calculator.  The evolution of the cell phone has progressed from simply being a portable phone into an all-in-one device that allows people to communicate by voice and internet, to playing games or listening music.  Cell phones have come a hell of a long way.

Skipping the Cingular period of cell phones that I've owned, I later found myself fascinated by the likes of cameras on cell phones.  Granted, the picture looks muddy, the audio is terrible and the design-wise, the phone still looks weak, this was still a big deal to me.  I would take pictures obsessively.  Then came the Motorola Razor phone, which was a fantastic device.  I particularly enjoyed the texting feature in which it could spell out words for you as you typed your messages.  But as the Razor phone has faded in popularity, new models have been all the rage...at least for friends and family.  Having a technology-loving brother is like having your own personal techno service, as I get to experience these devices firsthand without wasting my time at a store.  My brother is usually the first guy to get everything: the first Playstation, the first iPod and of course, the first iPhone.  I wanted the iPhone, until I found out a slew of concerns that arose for me financially, that put the brakes on it.  Working in a non-profit does have it's minuses, folks and as such, a proverbial wonder like the iPhone will have to sit on the back burner.

As I was at my local dealer, I came across another device, known as the Pantech Matrix C740 Cell Phone.  Now for the record, I've NEVER heard of Pantech and when I haven't heard of an established electronics manufacturer, I get skittish.  I tend to think of such unfamiliar names as a red flag in terms of quality.  But then again, I bought a Magnavox DVD player a few years back, thinking it was a good use of my Best Buy gift card, before the piece of crap, crapped out on me in less than a year (and yours truly, was too cheap to get the service plan).  To this day, I will never buy a Magnavox product after that.  Pantech doesn't sport names like Sony or Panasonic, but if they're at the AT&T store, I figure that things can't be all that bad for the brand to be here.  Sometimes, I've been very fortunate to get products with unfamiliar names, and found them to be pretty extraordinary.

What I will say about the Pantech device, other than that it's a cell phone, is that it's certainly a step up from the Razor phone that I had.  Not that I'm knocking Razor and at the risk of sounding like a snob, I've outgrown the device.  I've become more acquainted with going online with my phone, and find this to be a particularly great thing in between moments of occasional boredom.  Aiding that fact, is that text messaging has become a lot more popular for me and the Razor, while great, isn't the appropriate phone to own when it comes to texting constantly.  I like the QWERTY keyboard interface, which makes things drastically easier in terms of getting text messages out quicker.  Overall, I'll discuss the highlights and the cons of this device.

But I want to clarify first and foremost, that I've had this device for less than six months.  That doesn't make me an expert on the subject, and I'm too cheap to cough up the dough for any additional features.  So I let the 30 day GPS trial run out quickly (and I own a GPS anyway) among a few other features that weren't key to the fact that I just need a cell phone.  But here are the highlights as well as the cons:

THE INTERFACE

Similar to the Razor phone, or more like a dead on version, the menu layout of the Pantech is pretty simple.  You can set it up like a list, which I don't; or you can set it up as icons.  Perhaps I'm too lazy to read the list but I prefer the animated icons.  There are nine icons to choose from: messaging, internet, shopping, music, yellow pages, gps, addresses, my stuff and settings.  Now excluding music, yellow pages and gps (which are all paid features), I rely more on addresses and messaging and what have you.

Naturally every phone has an adjustment period, and for me, it was getting used to the darn thing.  For instance, getting to the menu isn't as easy as I'd like it to be, and perhaps I might find something within the phone that would make it a little easier, or maybe I'm lazy.  But the menu feature exists on the bottom right hand corner of the screen, and it took a little figuring out, to know that the main entry button wouldn't give me the menu but would connect me to the internet.  That's all well and good if I wanted to check my email, but I just want to check on a phone number in my address book.  As I said, I'm no expert with this phone, and use it for the basics.  I'm assuming there is a feature in which I can get access to changing the buttons.

Perhaps my pet peeve with the phone is with the keyboard feature, the keyboard shares both letters, numbers and symbols, and it's a nuisance trying to alternate between any of them when you want to type up a text message with ease.

Physically, I like the interface both as a regular cell phone and a QWERTY keyboard.  It's a slider cell phone that enables me to use it both as a cell phone and a little keyboard.  The screen itself is pretty clear too, but it's not something that I'm going to be watching any movies on, anytime soon.  The slider feature is easy to maneuver.  But if you were to purchase this phone, I would STRONGLY recommend purchasing the protective casing.  I can't imagine what it would be like if I didn't have the casing when it was in keyboard mode and I dropped it on the ground.  Given the dynamics of it's weight, I can't imagine it being terribly promising.

But the interface isn't particularly intimidating, and I've come to enjoy the menu.

CLARITY OF SIGNAL AND AUDIO

I'm finding that the phone signal isn't as strong as I would prefer it to be, but that might also be because of the phone's designs.  Seriously, this thing could qualify as a freaking paperweight.  I'll just say that the bars decrease more than I would like them to.  Additionally, I've had a slight problem with talking to people on the phone with hearing them, and that might be because of the phone's slider design that makes it a little difficult for me to use.  The overall design of the phone is rather clunky to figure out, and I find that the signal isn't as strong as I would like it to be.

BATTERY LIFE

This has actually been the bigger thorn in my side and that's charging it.  With past cell phones, it's just a plug and charge deal.  You'd think the same would be for the Pantech...which it is.  But the drawback is that if you were to leave it charging overnight, doesn't mean it's guaranteed to be fully charged when you wake up in the morning, and this could be 8 hours from when you plugged it in!  Complicating things is that the more features on this device, the more power it sucks up, and it's been about a two day average when I notice a power bar is missing and it's time for charging.  Additionally, I'm finding that the power charger is prone to falling out much easier than any other cell phone I've had, because there's no confirmation of hearing that lock mechanism click when you plug it in for recharging.

THE FEATURES

For the most part, I'm digging the text messaging, which has been a considerable improvement over my last few cell phones.  There are the assorted templates for quickie text messages.  Although the phone, and perhaps it's because my memory card isn't as big, is that there's a cutoff limit for text messages in your inbox and your sent box, which means it will prevent you from texting until you clear out your boxes. 

In all fairness, I didn't use the GPS, music or yellow pages features, because I didn't want to spend the dough.  I just need the basics, and seeing as to how I don't really shop with my cell phone, I haven't really connected to the internet, save for checking my Facebook account or checking the news.  Also, a warning to Gmail users: upon setup of my Gmail for mobile, the feature has stopped working properly and either reloads or says "Bad Gateway Error".  So be warned.  The camera feature is pretty neat, allowing users the opportunity to alter the white balancing on their cameras for a better picture, and there's even a framing feature where you can make your subjects look like a playing card king or the Screaming Face painting.  But for those features, picture resolution suffers and the ability to connect with your photos isn't as easy as it would seem.  In order to access your photos, the camera is independent of the menu so you can only access all of them through the camera feature and not through the menu.

Additionally, there's a volume adjuster on the left side of your phone, and you can adjust it to vibrate when it's closed if you choose.

OVERALL...

Overall, I do enjoy the Pantech.  It's certainly no iPhone and some of the features are lacking and the design could use some improvements.  But it's a decent phone overall.