I have bought numerous cellular phones over the years, as I am sure everyone has, and while none have been especially brilliant, some have definitely been rubbish. The only problem I have ever had with my mobile phones has been with the battery. The cell phone battery has either broke or it just would not last long enough and I would need to purchase and carry a replacement battery.

I generally use my mobile phone often, both for my career and for private use, so having another battery is often worthwhile but having to replace a faulty or damaged battery is such a pain. My current phone is working fine but I would like a replacement battery for when I am not in the office.

Cellular Phone Battery

These are the details of my current phone (yes, I know it is a bit obsolete, I really should purchase a new mobile phone):

Kyocera Oystr

Positives:
The Kyocera Oystr is a basic phone that comes with text messaging, a speakerphone, and a wireless Web browser. It’s a well-designed phone with easy-to-press buttons.
Negatives:
The Kyocera Oystr has a small lackluster display and no external screen.
Facts:
The basic Kyocera Oystr doesn’t have a lot of features or an external display, but it does what a phone should do.

Kyocera has partnered with Virgin for quite a number of phones, including the Kyocera Switch Back and the Kyocera Slider Sonic. Now Kyocera has yet another phone with Virgin Mobile, the Kyocera Oystr. So named because of its pearly-white exterior, there’s not much else to the Oystr aside from basic features, but that should be enough for those who want a phone without all the bells and whistles. The Oystr is currently available for $29.99.

The Kyocera Oystr has a pearly-white exterior.

As we mentioned, the Oystr has a pearly-white exterior that’s reminiscent of its namesake. It also has some black accents and smooth, rounded corners. Measuring at 4.3 by 2 by 1 inches, the Oystr is a compact handset that fits easily in a pants pocket. It feels great in the hand and cradles comfortably when held against the ear. It has a headset jack and a stubby antenna on top, while a volume rocker rests on its left spine. We’re a little disappointed, however, that the Oystr doesn’t have an external screen to facilitate caller ID. As a result, you must open the phone to see who your callers are.

Speaking of displays, the small and lackluster internal display was a letdown. It measures 1.75 inches diagonally, and though it supports 65,000 colors, it simply doesn’t compare to other cell phone displays with similar specifications. We did find the user interface easy to understand, and we liked that you could change the menu style to icon or list view. You can change the contrast and backlight timer, but you can’t change the font size or the brightness of the display.

Underneath the display are the navigational controls, which consist of two soft keys and a five-way toggle that doubles as shortcuts to your Virgin account, text messaging, recent calls, and Virgin XL, Virgin’s Web portal. Below those keys are the Talk key, a dedicated speakerphone button, a Back button, and the End/Power button, followed by the number keypad. All the keys were tactile, rounded, raised above the surface, and really easy to press and dial by feel.

The Kyocera Oystr comes with an address book, and each contact can store up to six numbers, two e-mail addresses, two Web addresses, two street addresses, and a note and can be assigned a photo or one of four included polyphonic ring tones. Since you can’t take photos with the phone, you’ll have to use one of the included graphics as a replacement. You can also organize the contacts by caller groups and assign photos and ring tones to the groups. Other Oystr features include a speakerphone that can be turned on only after a call is made, text messaging, a vibrate mode, automatic redial, voice dialing, the wireless Web, voice recording, a scheduler, an alarm clock, a calculator, a tip calculator, a timer, and a stop watch.

The Oystr provides easy single-button access to your Virgin account to see how much money is available on your prepaid account. There’s also Virgin XL, which is Virgin’s entertainment and information Web portal that lets you personalize your cell phone. You can access exclusive content in terms of wallpaper, screensavers, ring tones, and voicemail greetings courtesy of media outlets such as MTV and Comedy Central. Included games are Brick Attack and Race 21, though you can also purchase more via Virgin XL.

We tested the Kyocera Oystr (CDMA 800/1900, AMPS 800) in the San Francisco area using the Virgin Mobile network. Calls sounded pretty good, though we did experience some interference occasionally. Callers heard us loud and clear for the most part as well. The speakerphone was surprisingly good although we had to speak loudly for the callers to hear us.

The Kyocera Oystr has a rated talk time of 3.6 hours and a standby time of 8 days. According to FCC radiation tests, the Kyocera Oystr has a digital SAR rating of 0.94 watts per kilogram.

So for now the true question is do I spend the money buying a new Kyocera Oystr cell phone battery or do I just purchase a new phone with a better battery? Replacement batteries are fairly inexpensive but a new phone would be fun. Decisions, decisions…

I have had numerous cell phones over the last few years, as I am sure everyone has, and while none have been particularly great, some have definitely been rubbish. The only problem I have ever had with my mobile phones has been with the batteries. The battery has either died or it just would not last long enough and I would need to buy and carry a replacement battery.

I always use my cellular phone a lot, both for my career and for personal use, so having a backup battery is often a good idea but having to replace a faulty or damaged battery is annoying. My newest phone is working fine but I would like a replacement battery for those times when I am travelling.

Cell Phone Battery

These are the details of my current phone (yeah, I know it is a bit past it, I really should find a new cellular phone):

NEC N908

Positives:
The NEC N908 is a credit card-size phone that’s stylish and elegant. It has a beautiful 2.2-inch touch screen interface, and its features include a 1.3-megapixel camera, a camcorder, and an MP3 player. It has great audio quality and call performance as well.
Negatives:
The NEC N908’s touch screen interface can take acclimation. You have to remove the battery to access the microSD card slot.
Facts:
The NEC N908 is a beautiful design-centric phone with a luscious touch screen interface. Dialing and texting were a bit difficult due to the lack of a keypad, so it’s not a phone for everyone. But those who love compact and uniquely beautiful handsets will not be disappointed.

At first glance it’s easy to mistake the NEC N908 for a slim digital camera or maybe even an MP3 player. It lacks one of the major features on a cell phone–that being a keypad–so you’re left wondering just how it makes calls. Yet look a bit closer and you’ll discover the device really is a phone, albeit one with a unique touch screen interface. The lack of a keypad means that the N908 is able to pack a large 2.2-inch display into a body the size of a credit card but it also means that like the new Apple iPhone, the N908 may not be for everybody. While the sheer elegance of the device combined with an intuitive menu system makes it a great choice for techies who want a cell phone that is not like any other, dialing and texting may an issue for more novice cell phones users. Fortunately, it’s not only a pretty face either, as the feature set was admirable and the performance was satisfactory. The N908 is not available with a carrier in the U.S. but you can get it an unlocked version from Dynamism.com for $329.

Design

One of the most outstanding design elements of the NEC N908 is its slim and compact design. At 3.28×2.09×0.5 inches, the N908 is smaller than most credit cards and slimmer than most wallets, which is around the same size as the Samsung SGH-P300. It fits so comfortably in a pants pocket, you might not even realize it’s there, which can be tricky as it’s difficult to feel the phone when it vibrates. At 2.96 ounces, it’s actually a bit heavy for its size but this is good since it gives it a nice heft in the hand. Outfitted in a cool gun metal, the overall body of the phone has tiny unnoticeable grooves so you can grip it more securely. Holding it next to the ear is fairly comfortable but you probably won’t want to hold it there too long since you can’t cradle the phone between the ear and the shoulder.

The NEC N908 is a compact phone.

As we mentioned, the 2.2-inch QVGA display is simply stunning. Decked out in 262,000 colors, images look great on the screen and the text is easy to read. You can adjust the screen’s backlight time, color theme, and brightness. You can’t adjust the font size but we found the default font size large enough. There are five shortcut icons on the bottom row of the main display that lead to the main menu, the contacts list, text messaging, the Web browser, and My Menu, which is a list of often-used applications. The menu interface is really intuitive and easy to navigate, thanks to the bright animated icons and the arrangement of the menu options. On the left spine are the dedicated camera button, the volume rocker, and a power button, while the charger jack and the keylock button are on the right. The N908 comes with an earphone adapter that fits neatly into the charger jack so you can use your favorite earbuds instead of the ones provided. The camera lens is on the back and there’s a stylus sleeve on the top-right corner of the phone. There is a microSD card slot, but unfortunately you have to remove the battery to insert it.

The NEC N908 has a 1.3-megapixel camera.

As noted earlier, the 2.2-inch display is entirely touch screen, so you have to dial numbers and type out text messages via the touch screen interface. You simply tap the main display once, and a number keypad will show up on the screen. Enter in the number, and tap the Call button to make the call. During the call, you also can place the call on hold, transfer the call to your headset, or drop the call entirely, all from the touch screen. There is no handwriting system in the N908, so you’re forced to use the virtual QWERTY keyboard. While you can get away with dialing numbers with your finger instead of the stylus, you should use the stylus when typing out text messages simply because the keys are so small. The screen attracts finger smudges, so that’s even more incentive to use the stylus instead. Obviously, you can’t dial by feel, and texting may take a bit longer than usual.

Features

The NEC N908 has an impressive feature set despite its diminutive size. It comes with a 500-entry address book, and each entry can accommodate up to four numbers, an e-mail address, a company name, a department name, a title, a street address, a birthday, and a memo. Each contact also can be assigned a group and a photo for caller ID. Though you can’t assign one of 16 polyphonic ringtones to an individual person, you can assign one to a caller group. You also have the option of sideloading your own MP3 tracks to be used as ringtones. Other basic features include a vibrate mode, text and multimedia messaging, e-mail, a wireless Web browser, a voice recorder, a scheduler, an alarm clock, a notepad, a calculator, a dictionary, a currency converter, a world clock, a stopwatch, a countdown clock, and a unit converter. The NEC N908 is a tri-band world phone, and you can tether it to a laptop via Bluetooth or USB to be used as a modem. However, since NEC N908 is only a GPRS phone without support for EDGE or 3G networks, you would get a really slow connection.

The NEC N908 took pretty good photos.

The N908 has pretty good multimedia offerings. The 1.3-megapixel camera is fairly good, with camera settings that include six resolutions (64×64, 176×144, 240×320, 320×240, 640×480, and1280×1024), three image quality settings, five brightness settings, up to 6x zoom, five frames, three shutter sounds, a self-timer mode, a single and burst mode, lighting adjustments for daylight and night environments, and three photo effects (Normal, Sepia, and Monochrome). The phone only has about 31MB of memory, but the N908 does come with an included 128MB microSD card for more space. We were disappointed that the N908 did not come with either a flash or a self-portrait mirror. There’s also a built-in camcorder feature. The photos we took from the camera looked impressive. They were a bit blurry, but still good when compared with VGA camera phones. Video quality was fairly bad — grainy and low resolution — but that’s to be expected with a camera phone.

The NEC N908’s MP3 and video players are fairly basic. You can load your favorite music and video files from your PC to the microSD card, and it can support MP3, AAC, AAC+, 3GP, and MPEG-4 file formats. The interfaces for both the music player and the video player are very similar, but music features are limited to a repeat setting. The audio quality of the music was fairly good when heard through headphones, and although the stereo speakers sounded a bit tinny, it was pretty decent overall.

Personalization options are good with the NEC N908. You can choose from a variety of wallpapers and ringtones, but you also can load your own images and MP3s via the microSD card. The N908 comes with two Java games, Boxman and Balloon.

Performance

We tested the triband (GSM 900/1800/1900; GPRS) NEC N908 world phone in San Francisco using T-Mobile’s service. Call quality was excellent, with callers reporting us coming through loud and clear and vice versa. They could even hear us when we were walking along the busy city sidewalk. There was a slight amount of static but nothing too obnoxious. Reception was fairly even throughout the city, though it faded out a bit when we headed toward the outskirts of town. We paired the phone successfully with the Plantronics Discovery 665 Bluetooth headset Plantronics Discovery 665 Bluetooth headset

The NEC N908 has a rated talk time of three hours and the rated standby time is four days.

So for now the real question is do I spend the money buying a new NEC N908 cell phone battery or do I just get a new phone with a better performing battery? Replacement batteries are reasonably inexpensive but a new phone would be good too. Decisions, decisions…

I have had many cell phones over the last few years, as I am sure most people have, and while none have been particularly extraordinary, some have definitely been crap. The only problem I have ever had with my cell phones has been with the battery. The cellular phone battery has either stopped working or it just would not last long enough and I would need to buy and carry a replacement battery.

I generally use my cell phone often, both for my job and for private use, so having a second battery is often a good idea but having to replace a faulty or damaged battery is annoying. My latest phone is working ok but I would like a replacement battery for when I am on the road.

Cell Phone Batteries

These are the details of my latest phone (yep, I know it is a bit obsolete, I really should get a new mobile phone):

Motorola Krzr K1 (T-Mobile)

Positives:
The Motorola Krzr K1 for T-Mobile offers good call quality and comes with a stylish design and a decent array of features.
Negatives:
The Motorola Krzr K1 for T-Mobile has low internal memory, and the exterior face attracts smudges and fingerprints.
Facts:
The Motorola Krzr K1 for T-Mobile is an ideal choice for the midrange cell phone user who wants a stylish handset.

Note: This product is part of the Motorola Krzr K1 series. .

Motorola’s Krzr cell phone began making the carrier rounds last year. After landing at almost every major wireless provider (including Alltel and US Cellular) in one form or another, the GSM version of the phone–the Krzr K1–completes its journey by arriving at T-Mobile. Though vastly similar to Cingular’s Krzr K1, the T-Mobile handset features a silver color scheme that’s somewhat less desirable than the cool blue hue on the Cingular phone. The T-Mobile Krzr is $149 with service. To find ringtones and accessories for this phone, plus advice and tips on how to use it, check out our Cell phones ringtones, accessories, and help page.

Performance
The T-Mobile Krzr sports the same svelte design as the Cingular Krzr and the CDMA Krzr K1m. As an evolution of the popular Razr line, the Krzr resembles its predecessor in some ways, but we think it’s much more attractive. At 4.05 inches long by 1.73 inches wide by 0.67 inch thick, its narrower shape makes it much more stylish, and though it’s the tinniest bit thicker in profile it still captures the thin phone trend that shows no signs of dissipating. It’s also more comfortable to hold in the hand, and its slightly heavier weight (3.6 ounces) gives it a more solid feel.

The K1’s memory card holder is located behind the battery.

T-Mobile’s Krzr also features the sheet of hardened glass and the chrome plating on the bottom end, but the silver color scheme was disappointing. Sure, it can double as a mirror, but it reflects too much light and it attracts fingerprints by the ton. We constantly had to clean it and even when we did so, we had to rub it a few times to get out the streaks. It’s also disappointing that the K1 lacks the external music controls of the CDMA K1m. Yes, we realize T-Mobile doesn’t have a music service, but the phone does have a rudimentary music player. And in any case, it would just be nice to have these controls for possible future use.

The 65,536-color (96×80 pixels) external display, the exterior controls, and the somewhat poor location of the MicroSD slot behind the battery cover all are unchanged from the other Krzr K1. Yet due to the reflection from the silver face, the external display was a tad harder to see than on the Cingular K1. The placement of the camera lens is the same as well, and here again it lacks a flash.

The internal display supports 262,000 colors and measures 1.9 inches (176×220 pixels). The menu interface is standard Moto; it still looks dated and rather dull. The navigation controls and keypad buttons are also unchanged from the Cingular Krzr K1 except that they reflect the silver color on the phone’s exterior. There’s a four-way toggle with an OK button in the center, two soft keys, a dedicated Web browser button, a Clear key, and Talk and End/power buttons. The controls are flat against the surface of the phone but tactile ridges give them some definition. Also, we like that the toggle and OK button are set apart with slightly different colors. The keypad buttons are also separated by tactile ridges, and though the numbers on the keys are a tad small, they’re lit by bright backlighting.

Features
The K1’s phone book holds 1,000 contacts, with room in each entry for five phone numbers, three e-mail addresses, a Web address, three street addresses, and a birthday (the SIM card holds an additional 250 names). You can organize contacts into groups or pair them with a photo or one of 30 (24-chord) polyphonic ringtones for caller ID. Other basic offerings include a vibrate mode, a voice recorder, text and multimedia messaging, an alarm clock, a calendar, a calculator, and instant messaging. On the higher end, there’s a speakerphone, voice dialing and commands, USB connectivity, e-mail, full Bluetooth, and PC syncing. The T-Mobile Krzr comes with only 12MB of internal memory but the Micro SD card slot gives you more room. A 128MB card should come in the box.

The K1 has a 2-megapixel camera, which is an improvement over the 1.3-megapixel shooter on the CDMA K1m. You can take pictures in just four sizes (2-megapixel, 1.3-megapixel, 640×80, and 320×240) and you get a selection of three quality settings. The camcorder shoots clips in two resolutions (176×144 and 128×96) with sound; editing options are similar to the still camera. Photo quality was decent but not quite what we expected from a megapixel camera. Images were bit blurry, and colors weren’t always sharp.

The Krzr had average photo quality.

Unlike the Sprint and Verizon phones, T-Mobile’s Krzr K1 doesn’t support 3G networks, but that’s hardly an issue since T-Mobile doesn’t offer a 3G network anyway. As previously mentioned, the K1 offers a generic Motorola music player. It’s not exactly optimized for music–the interface is minimalist and the features are limited–but it plays MP3, AAC, and AAC+ just the same. You must load music on the phone via Bluetooth or a USB cable or use the MicroSD card.

You can personalize the T-Mobile Krzr K1 with a variety of wallpapers, screensavers, menu styles, and color skins. If you want more options or more ringtones you can always download them via the WAP 2.0 wireless Web browser. Gamers get two Java (J2ME) titles: World Poker and Gameloft Hits.

Performance
We tested the (GSM 850/900/1800/1900; GPRS; EV-DO) Motorola Krzr K1 world phone in San Francisco using T-Mobile’s service. Sound quality was comparable with Cingular’s Krzr K1 but there was a slight increase in static at times. On their end, callers said we sounded fine but they had they had about the same amount of trouble hearing us as they did on the Cingular phone. Speakerphone calls sounded a bit hollow but had enough volume, and Bluetooth headset calls were satisfactory.

The Motorola Krzr K1 has a promised battery life of three hours talk time and eight days standby time. Curiously, both rated times are lower than the Cingular Krzr K1. According to FCC radiation tests the Krzr K1 has a digital SAR rating of 1.07 watts per kilogram.

So I suppose the real question is do I spend the money getting a new Motorola Krzr K1 (T-Mobile) cell phone battery or do I just buy a new phone with a better battery? Replacement batteries are very low cost but a new phone would be fun. I must make a decision…

I have bought numerous cell phones over the last few years, as I am sure most people have, and while none have been that amazing, some have definitely been rubbish. The main problem I have ever had with my cellular phones has been with the cell battery. The cell phone battery has either stopped working or it just would not last long enough and I would need to buy and carry a replacement battery.

I do use my mobile phone a lot, both for my career and for personal use, so having another battery is often worth it but having to replace a faulty or damaged battery is a pain. My current phone is working fine but I would like a replacement battery for when I am not in the office.

Cellular Phone Battery

These are the details of my current phone (yeah, I know it is a bit outdated, I really should buy a new mobile phone):

Samsung SGH-D307

Positives:
The Samsung SGH-D307 features a bright, large internal display; an innovative design with a QWERTY keyboard; Bluetooth; a speakerphone; and voice-recognition features.
Negatives:
Sadly, the Samsung SGH-D307 has a monochrome external screen and a confusing navigation layout, plus it lacks a camera.
Facts:
Rocking an innovative flip design and a mini keyboard, the Samsung SGH-D307 will please messaging fanatics once they master the unintuitive navigation controls.

As text messaging continues to gain popularity, cell phone manufacturers are starting to design phones with built-in keyboards to cater to the texting fanatics. First, there was the Motorola A630, and most recently, LG released its VX9800. Now, Samsung is getting into the game. The Samsung SGH-D307 for Cingular Wireless ($199.99 with the mail-in rebate) stands out from the pack with a slimmer form factor and an innovative flip design that opens up to reveal a mini QWERTY keyboard and a gorgeous 262,000-color internal display. It also boasts Bluetooth, EDGE support, and voice-recognition technology. Yet, all is not rosy with the SGH-D307. While we appreciate the phone’s trim profile, the navigation controls, which hamper usability, can be frustrating. That said, once you master the controls, you can’t deny the ease of sending messages. Oh, and it’s not a bad phone either.

From the outside, the Samsung SGH-D307 isn’t much of a looker. Its blocklike design and standard silver dress won’t impress anyone, and the flip phone is slightly bulky at 3.7 by 1.9 by 0.8 inches and 4.3 ounces. Compared with the LG VX9800, however, it’s downright small. The phone fits snugly in a jeans pocket, but the trade-off is that it feels solid in your hands and comfortable when held to the ear. Also, there’s no stubby antenna to snag on clothing or pockets, which we appreciated.

The SGH-D307 is big overall, yet it still has a skinny profile.

There’s a postage stamp-size screen on the front cover of the Samsung SGH-D307 that shows the date, the time, signal and battery strength, and caller ID (where available), but we were disappointed by the fact that it’s monochrome. For a phone of this class, we would have expected at least a 4,096-color display. That said, the text–the date, the time, signal strength, battery life, and caller ID–is clear, and it’s always readable even if the phone isn’t in use. There isn’t too much else to the exterior of the phone: On the left spine, there’s a headset jack, as well as a volume rocker, which you can use to manipulate the easy-to-use menu, while a lone voice-recorder/speakerphone launch button sits on the right.

The SGH-D307’s display flips up in two directions.

So everything about the Samsung SGH-D307’s design has been standard so far, right? Well, it’s time to move on to the twist. The mobile features an innovative dual-flip hinge so that you can open it like a traditional flip phone or to the side to view the display in landscape mode. And once you do open the phone, you’re presented with more treats: a gorgeous 2-inch-diagonal, 262,000-color screen and a mini QWERTY keyboard. The display is bright and sharp, as well as great for playing games and viewing Web pages. It’s too bad the SGH-D307 doesn’t have a camera, since the display would be ideal for viewing photos.

While we love the screen, we were less enthused with the navigation controls of the Samsung SGH-D307. To make way for the QWERTY keyboard, Samsung did away with the traditional soft keys and navigation toggle. Instead, the Up, Down, Left, and Right arrows are paired with the A, D, X, and W buttons, respectively; they also serve as shortcuts to Messaging, Address Book, My Media, and IM. In the center of it all is the S key, marked in orange, which acts the part of the Select key. The Talk and End/power keys (V and R) flank the Clear button (F), while the two soft keys are marked by three tiny dots above the Z and Q buttons. We certainly appreciate the keyboard and sleekness of the device compared with that of similar phones such as the LG VX9800 or the Motorola A6340, but this layout is confusing and takes some getting used to. What’s more, when in landscape mode, the setup is even more perplexing because it’s not clear which keys perform which functions indicated on the display. There are also no dedicated number keys when in landscape mode, and you can access only certain menu items and others not at all. We recommend that you sit down with the user guide to get acquainted before using the phone and firing off messages.

With all that said, the Samsung SGH-D307’s QWERTY keyboard is spacious, and the buttons are tactile. We had no problem typing messages with our thumbs; if anything, we wish the backlighting were just a bit brighter.

Messaging is the Samsung SGH-D307’s forte, but it’s not too shabby in the phone department either. To start off, the mobile features a healthy 1,000-name phone book, with room in each entry for three phone numbers and an e-mail address; the SIM card holds an additional 250 contacts. For caller-ID purposes, you can assign a contact to one of 11 polyphonic ring tones, a caller group, or a photo. Just remember that since the SGH-D307 doesn’t have a camera, you’ll have to get images on to your phone another way. The mobile also supports custom ring tones, including MP3, AAC, and MIDI formats. Business users will appreciate the Bluetooth, EDGE support, the speakerphone, PC syncing, and 30-second voice memos. However, there’s love for all with inclusion of a calendar, an alarm clock, a calculator, a to-do list, a currency converter, and a WAP 2.0 Web browser.

Crazy keys: While we like the SGH-D307’s keypad, the overlap of the navigation controls is confusing.

The Samsung SGH-D307’s innovative design and communication features give you something to write home about, and with its full QWERTY keyboard and multiple messaging options, you can do it right from your phone. The handset supports POP3 and IMAP4 e-mail accounts, instant messages (AOL, Yahoo, and ICQ), and text and multimedia messages. We were able to log on to our AOL and Yahoo IM clients with ease and chat away with our buddies. Strangely, you can’t get to the Web in landscape mode, thus ruling out access to your e-mail accounts and the benefit of having a keyboard. Nevertheless, it was useful for firing off quick text messages and notes. And if you want to give your fingers a rest, the SGH-D307 also has VoiceMode so that you can speak, rather than type, your messages–a feature introduced in the Samsung SGH-P207. After a 3-minute exercise of reading select words into the phone, we started dictating messages using VoiceMode, and accuracy was around 75 percent. We had better luck with easy phrases such as "Call me later," but with more complicated messages, the accuracy rate dropped dramatically.

There’s not much else to the Samsung SGH-D307. There’s no camera or advanced multimedia features, and you can choose from a small selection of wallpaper, text colors, and menu styles to customize your handset; you can always download more options from Cingular’s Web site. The SGH-D307 also includes four Java (J2ME) games–Bobby Carrot, Airship Racing, Arch Angel, and Freekick–but more titles are available for purchase.

We tested the triband Samsung SGH-D307 (GSM850/1800/1900; EDGE) in the San Francisco area using Cingular’s network. Call quality was a mixed bag. On our end, callers sounded clear, and volume was more than adequate, but our callers said there was a slight echo, and they could tell we were using a cell phone. Speakerphone quality was excellent. Although we had to turn up the volume a bit, conversations on both ends sounded clear. We also had no problems pairing the Logitech Mobile Traveller, but conversations became slightly muffled through the headset.

The Samsung SGH-D307 is rated for 5 hours of talk time and eight days of standby time. In our real-world tests, we got 4.5 hours of talk time. According to FCC radiation tests, the SGH-D307 has a digital SAR rating of 1.01 watts per kilogram.

So I suppose the true question is do I spend the money buying a new Samsung SGH-D307 mobile phone battery or do I just get a new phone with a better performing battery? Replacement batteries are fairly low cost but a new phone would be nice. Always decisions need to be made.

I have bought a number of cellular phones over recent years, as I am sure most people have, and while none have been particularly extraordinary, some have most definitely been crap. The main problem I have ever had with my mobile phones has been with the batteries. The cell phone battery has either died or it just would not last long enough and I would need to buy and carry a replacement battery.

I generally use my cell phone often, both for my career and for private use, so having a second battery is often worthwhile but having to replace a faulty or damaged battery is disappointing. My newest phone is working fine but I would like a replacement battery for when I am not in the office.

Cellular Phone Battery

These are the details of my most current phone (yes, I know it is a bit past it, I really should find a new cellular phone):

LG KG920

Product Short Spec:

Band / mode:

GSM 900/1800/1900 (Tri-Band)

Combined with:

With digital camera / digital player

Weight:

4.9 oz

review

So I guess the true question is do I spend the money purchasing a new LG KG920 cellular phone battery or do I just buy a new phone with a better performing battery? Replacement batteries are reasonably low cost but a new phone would be fun. Always decisions need to be made.