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

Cell Phone Batteries

These are the details of my latest phone (yeah, I know it is a bit outdated, I really should purchase a new mobile phone):

Motorola V171 - cellular phone - GSM

Product Short Spec:

Band / mode:

EGSM 900 / GSM 1800 (Dual Band)

Talk time:

Up to 633 min

Weight:

2.9 oz

review

So for now the true question is do I spend the money getting a new Motorola V171 - cellular phone - GSM mobile phone battery or do I just purchase a new phone with a better performing battery? Replacement batteries are reasonably inexpensive but a new phone would be fun. Always decisions need to be made.

I tend to use my cellular phone heaps, both for my job and for private use, so having a second battery is often worth it but having to replace a faulty or damaged battery is such a pain. My newest phone is working ok 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 old, I really should find a new mobile phone):

Sanyo 6600 Katana (Cherry blossom pink)

Positives:
The Sanyo 6600 Katana has a slim silhouette and offers a VGA camera, Bluetooth, a speakerphone, text messaging, voice dialing, a voice recorder, and a wireless Web browser. It has a large external screen.
Negatives:
The Sanyo 6600 Katana’s feature set is rather underwhelming and doesn’t have 3G support like many of its slim counterparts. It also suffers from flat keys that are slippery and difficult to dial by feel.
Facts:
The Sanyo 6600 Katana pales in comparison to the Motorola Razr and the Samsung MM-A900 in terms of design and features. But on its own, it’s a pretty good midtier phone.

Note: This product is part of the Sanyo 6600 Katana series. .

When the Samsung MM-A900 arrived from Sprint late last year, we called it Samsung’s answer to the Motorola Razr, thanks to its slim shape and similar, flip-phone design. Fast-forward several months, and Sprint has yet another Razr competitor on its hands: the Sanyo 6600 Katana. Having named it after a type of samurai sword, Sanyo clearly has high ambitions with this slim and slender handset, perhaps aiming to draw people away from the widely popular Razr. But without features such as a megapixel camera, a music player, or 3G support, the Sanyo 6600 Katana pales in comparison to both the Samsung MM-A900 and Verizon’s Razr V3m. On the upside, its retail price of $279.99 is markedly cheaper than that of the Samsung and Motorola phones, and you can get it for $79.99 after a two-year service contract with Sprint. It also comes in Mystic Black, Sapphire Blue, Cherry Blossom Pink, and Polar White. The white phone is sold exclusively at RadioShack.

The major draw of the Sanyo 6600 Katana is, obviously, its design. It has a superslim form factor that measures 3.9 by 2.0 by 0.6 inches, much like the MM-A900, and it weighs a very light 3.4 ounces, much like the Razr. Its thin profile means it slips into a pocket easily, and we found the phone comfortable to hold in hand and next to the ear.

The Sanyo 6600 Katana has a VGA camera.

At first glance, it’s easy to confuse the Katana with the Razr. The camera is located at the top of the front flap with the external display just underneath, which is very similar to the Razr–although the Katana has a slightly beveled front, while the Razr’s front flap is flat. We liked the Katana’s large, 1-inch-diagonal, 65,000-color external display; it demonstrates the usual signal strength, as well as battery life and time; plus, it shows photo caller ID and acts as a camera viewfinder for self-portraits. On the left spine is the volume rocker, while the right spine is home to a dedicated camera button.

Flip open the phone and you’ll find a large 65,000-color, 2.2-inch-diagonal screen, which is rather disappointing when compared to the 262,000-color support of the Samsung MM-A900. What’s more, the screen was difficult to see in bright sunlight. You can change the display’s backlight time and font size, but you can’t adjust the brightness or contrast. The menu design has a brushed-metal look, which we found boring, but it was easy to use.

Below the display are the navigational controls and keypad, which are arranged in a blocky, gridlike layout. The navigation keys consist of two soft keys and a five-way toggle that also act as shortcuts to text messaging, voice recording, the My Content folder, and the Web browser. These shortcuts are not user-customizable. Below the left soft-key is the dedicated camera button and below the right soft key is the Back button. Above the keypad are the Talk and End/power keys, with the speakerphone key in between. As with the MM-A900 and the Razr, the keys are flush to the surface, making them difficult to dial by feel. Perhaps worse than either of the two, the keys on the Katana are terribly slippery, which made navigating the menu even trickier. The keys glow bright blue when activated, and you can adjust the backlight timer on the keys.

Behind the Katana’s slim silhouette is a disappointing feature set. It doesn’t have nearly the multimedia clout that the Razr and the Samsung MM-A900 have in terms of a megapixel camera, media-player functionality, and 3G support. Yet the Katana has several basic features that should satisfy most users. The 500-entry address book holds up to seven numbers per entry, an e-mail address, a Web site URL, a home address, and a memo. Plus, you can assign a contact to a group, a photo ID, and one of 16 polyphonic (72-chord) ring tones. There’s also text messaging, instant messaging, e-mail, picture mail, voice recording, Bluetooth, a calendar, an alarm clock, a countdown timer, a stopwatch, a world clock, a calculator, a vibrate mode, a speakerphone, and a wireless Web browser. We liked that you could activate the speakerphone before you make calls.

The Sanyo Katana produced disappointing picture quality.

The Katana offers a VGA camera, which produced predictably disappointing picture quality with washed-out colors (not to mention way too much orange) and blurry object edges. You can take pictures with three different resolutions (640×480, 320×240, or 160×120 pixels), three quality settings (Fine, Normal, Economy), and the choice of either two shutter sounds or silence. Other camera settings include five picture modes (Normal, Beach/Snow, Scenery, Night/Dark, and Soft Focus), a self-timer of up to 10 seconds, multiple shot, stitch shot, 10 picture frames, eight color tones, brightness, and white balance.

You can customize the Sanyo Katana with a variety of screensavers and animation graphics, though there doesn’t seem to be an option to change the wallpaper. Plus, you have the option of downloading more screensavers, graphics, and ring tones from Sprint via the wireless WAP 2.0 browser. On the gaming front, the phone comes with Midnight Pool, World Poker Tour, and demos of Ms. Pac-Man and Tetris. You also have the option of downloading more games from Sprint.

We tested the dual-band, trimode (CDMA 800/A900; AMPS 800) Sanyo Katana in San Francisco using Sprint’s service. Signal strength and call quality were great, as both parties could hear each other loud and clear. Speakerphone quality was similarly good, and we were impressed with how loud the calls were. We successfully managed to pair the Sanyo Katana with the Jabra BT160. Browser speed was predictably poky, taking a few seconds to load each page.

The Sanyo Katana has a rated talk time of 3.5 hours and a rated standby time of seven days. In our tests, we eked out an impressive 4 hours of talk time, but battery life fell short at just four days. According to FCC radiation tests, the Sanyo Katana has a digital SAR rating of 0.678 watt per kilogram.

So I suppose the true question is do I spend the money purchasing a new Sanyo 6600 Katana (Cherry blossom pink) cell phone battery or do I just buy a new phone with a longer life battery? Replacement batteries are very cheap but a new phone would be great. I must make a decision…

I always use my cell phone often, both for work and for personal use, so having a second battery is often worthwhile but having to replace a faulty or damaged battery is such a pain. My latest phone is working ok but I would like a replacement battery for times when I am not in the office.

Cellular Phone Battery

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

Sierra Wireless Voq Professional Phone

review

So I guess the real question is do I spend the money purchasing a new Sierra Wireless Voq Professional Phone mobile phone battery or do I just buy a new phone with a long lasting battery? Replacement batteries are reasonably inexpensive but a new phone would be fun. I must make a decision…

I tend to use my cell phone often, both for work and for home use, so having another battery is often worth it 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 those times when I am not in the office.

Cell Phone Battery

These are the details of my latest phone (yes, I know it is a bit outdated, I really should buy a new cellular phone):

LG VX5200

Positives:
The LG VX5200 has a compelling voice-activation menu, an easy-to-use camera, a speakerphone, analog roaming, and solid performance with strong talk-time battery life.
Negatives:
The LG VX5200 suffers from poor display quality, an overly large antenna, and lack of video support on the camera. Also, caller-ID photos don’t show up on the external display.
Facts:
The LG VX5200 is a great lightweight option for the consumer on the go and a strong follow-up to the LG VX6100.

The LG VX5200 for Verizon Wireless is the follow-up to last year’s VX6100. Although far from a full-featured smart phone, the VX5200 is a good choice if you spend a large chunk of time on the go with the need to communicate. And even if you want a few more options–after all, the modern-day phone isn’t just for calling people anymore–LG has managed to successfully address the multimedia concerns of the midrange cell phone user, adding functionality and features not available on the VX6100. On the downside, however, the VX5200’s design has yet to integrate superior quality displays. Overall, you get what you pay for, and the LG VX5200 is a bargain at $119 (or cheaper with service).

The elliptical design of the LG VX5200 is sleek and attractive. We also like the two-tone midnight blue and silver front flap. The handset measures 3.5 by 1.98 by 0.9 inches and weighs a slightly hefty 4.16 ounces, but it fits nicely in the palm of your hand and is easy to fish out of a pocket or purse. Of course, the large protruding antenna is cause for concern if you are rough on your phone. Still, the construction of the VX5200 is solid, and we found the phone easy to open and shut.

The LG VX5200 has a compact flip phone shape and size.

The 65,000-color external display is a definite improvement upon the VX6100’s grayscale screen, and despite the postage-stamp size, it manages to pack in a lot of information, including the signal strength, the time, battery life, and an entire bar of indicator icons. Yet, not all was good. Unfortunately, the VX5200 doesn’t allow the user to adjust the backlighting time on the external display, nor does the external display show picture caller ID. The camera lens and the flash remain in a convenient place, sitting just above the display. The location made it easy to get our fingers out of the way when taking shots, and we easily took self-portraits using the display as a viewfinder. We are disappointed, though, that the VX5200 has no sliding lens cover, as does the VX6100.

The button on the right side of the LG VX5200 activates the camera and clicks pictures without having to open the front flap. The left side of the handset has a volume rocker, which we’re happy to note remained disabled when the phone wasn’t in use, preventing us from accidentally turning down the ringer volume on the phone if pressed against the side of our purse or pocket. A key just below the volume control opens the voice-command menu, while a headset jack–sans a rubber cover–sits just above the rocker. The single feature on the rear face of the VX5200 is the speakerphone.

A design flaw on the interior of the LG VX5200 concerns the internal display. Yes, we were able to read the well-designed menus in bright and dark conditions, but the overall quality wasn’t too sharp, which made playing games and viewing photos somewhat tedious. The 65,000-color screen, at 1.7 inches diagonally, also could have been larger, given the current height and width of the handset. You get a choice of two font sizes and four display themes, none of which are remarkable. You can change the contrast and the backlighting as well.

The navigation controls at the top of the LG VX5200’s keypad include a five-way toggle that gives shortcuts to the calendar, the Web browser, the picture menu, and Verizon’s Get It Now service. Alternatively, the calendar key is programmable to one of the following features: alarm clock, notepad, or EZ tip calculator. Just be warned that since the Web browser and Get It Now shortcuts can’t be changed, accidentally hitting the wrong button may wind up costing you money. You also get two soft keys, a dedicated camera control, the Talk and End keys, and a Clear button that also activates the speakerphone–nice. The well-spaced keypad buttons are slightly raised above the surface of the phone, and the numbers and letters are large and brightly backlit.

The LG VX5200 has a 500-contact address book. Each entry holds five phone numbers and two e-mail addresses. You can also categorize contacts into caller groups or pair them with a ring tone or picture for caller ID. But don’t get too excited, as neither function is very well executed. The picture doesn’t show up on the external display, and the measly five monophonic and five polyphonic ring tones available on the VX5200 were embarrassing in public places. That said, our friends and coworkers insisted that "Jungle Boogie" was not much of an improvement. Other features include a vibrate mode, text and multimedia messaging, 1-minute voice memos, support for instant messaging, a calendar, a world clock, an address book, a tip calculator, and a full-duplex speakerphone. We also downloaded software so that we could access our Hotmail account. Overall, the handset’s 16MB of memory is impressive, holding up to 100 voice-recorded memos, 200 pictures, and 98 unique speed-dial settings.

As mentioned earlier, the strongest feature of the LG VX5200 is the voice-recognition command menu, allowing users to access many of the handsets’ key features with just their voice. After training the speaker-independent voice-recognition software, we successfully used voice commands to make simple phone calls, access our voicemail, call up our contact book, and edit our contacts, as well as check for missed calls or received messages, the time and the date, and the status of our phone. Using the speakerphone for voice commands worked fairly well; it understood our voice commands about 75 percent of the time. We would have liked to use the voice-command menu to add appointments to the calendar, but this wasn’t a supported feature.

The LG VX5200’s camera comes with a flash.

The phone has a quality VGA camera that takes still pictures but no video. The VGA camera takes pictures in three resolution settings–640×480, 320×240, and 160×120–and we had the option of customizing the white balance, the brightness, the shutter sound, and the color effects. The camera also comes with a 2X zoom, an embedded flash, a multishot adjustment, and a self-timer with three settings. We used the pictures for wallpaper and sent them via a multimedia message and an e-mail. We noticed, however, that sending a multimedia message was more trouble than it was worth, as it involved many steps and took too long for our liking. On the whole, though, the camera features are well integrated with the handset, and due to its ease of use, we enjoyed using it.

The LG VX5200 has average photo quality for a camera phone.

You can personalize the handset with a variety of wallpaper and sounds. In typical Verizon fashion, no games are included, but we downloaded Tetris and Bejeweled. Due to the lack of clarity on the screen, however, we didn’t enjoy extended gameplay.

We tested the dual-band/trimode (CDMA 800/1900; AMPS 800) LG VX5200 in the San Francisco area on Verizon’s network, and call quality was generally good. We had no trouble with the sound quality, and although callers said we sounded far away and tinny when compared to our normal cell phone, no one mistook the call being made from a landline. Also, we did get interference when we sat too close to our computer or car speakers. Criticisms aside, we were impressed with the clarity and sound of the VX5200’s speakerphone, and while we didn’t experience any dropped calls, we did get network busy signals on two separate occasions.

Battery life was impressive. We beat the rated talk time of 3.3 hours, reaching a total time of 4.5 hours on a single charge. Our standby time was nearly 5 days, a bit less than the promised time of 6.8 days. The phone did not heat up after continued use of more than 20 minutes, and the sound quality didn’t decline. According to FCC radiation tests, the LG VX5200 has a digital SAR rating the 1.23 watts per kilogram and an analog SAR rating of 1.26 watts per kilogram.

So for now the real question is do I spend the money getting a new LG VX5200 mobile phone battery or do I just buy a new phone with a longer life battery? Replacement batteries are quite inexpensive but a new phone would be nice. Decisions, decisions…

I generally use my cell phone heaps, both for my career and for home use, so having a second battery is often worthwhile but having to replace a faulty or damaged battery is such a pain. My newest phone is working well but I would like a replacement battery for those times when I am travelling.

Cellular Phone Battery

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

RIM BlackBerry 8703e (Verizon Wireless)

Positives:
The RIM BlackBerry 8703e is EV-DO capable and supports up to 10 e-mail accounts with real-time delivery. The 8703e also boasts a sharp screen, a full QWERTY keyboard, Bluetooth 2.0, and a speakerphone.
Negatives:
The RIM BlackBerry 8703e for Verizon does not include any instant-messaging clients and occasionally suffered from muffled call quality.
Facts:
Despite some spotty call quality, the RIM BlackBerry 8703e for Verizon Wireless is a great messaging device offering reliable e-mail delivery, a full QWERTY keyboard, a gorgeous screen, and EV-DO support.

We imagine a few CrackBerry addicts and messaging fanatics rejoiced when Verizon Wireless announced the availability of the RIM BlackBerry 8703e during the fall CTIA 2006 show. Similar to the
BlackBerry 8700g for T-Mobile and the
BlackBerry 8700c BlackBerry 8700c for Cingular, the 8703e features a full 35-key QWERTY keyboard and famed push technology for real-time e-mail delivery, while keeping a fairly compact form factor. We’re also big fans of the gorgeous screen and EV-DO support. Unfortunately, we did experience some occasional problems with call quality but not so much that we couldn’t carry on a conversation. That said, if e-mail is a top priority for you, the 8703e is a solid choice. The RIM BlackBerry 8703e for Verizon Wireless is available now for $249.99 with a two-year contract.

Design
As the saying goes, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, and this certainly applies to the design of the entire BlackBerry 8700 series. Similar to its GSM cousin, the BlackBerry 8700g, the RIM BlackBerry 8703e sports a nice and compact form factor at 4.3×2.7×0.8 inches and 4.7 ounces. True, it’s not as sexy or sleek as the BlackBerry Pearl; it has a blockier, wider form factor that takes some acclimation to use as a phone, but the trade-off is you get the advantage of a full QWERTY keyboard (not that pesky SureType deal) and a large 2.5-inch diagonal QVGA display. Also, the 8703e is extremely easy to use one-handed, thanks to the trademark BlackBerry track wheel and escape button on the right spine.

The screen shows off 65,536 colors at a 320×240 pixel resolution, which makes for a great viewing experience as images and text appear sharp and colors are bright. The BlackBerry 8703e’s display also features a light-sensing technology that automatically adjusts the backlighting depending on whether you’re indoors, outdoors, or in a dark environment. Sure enough, we had no problems reading the screen even when in direct sunlight. As with other BlackBerrys, you can change the backlighting time, the home screen theme, and the font size, style, and family, all through the Options menu.

For phone calls, there are Talk and End buttons right below the display, as well as a convenience key in the middle that can be programmed to launch any app, while the full QWERTY keyboard can handle all your messaging needs. The 35 individual keys are tactile and well spaced, but they are a bit slick and feel plasticky. Still, we had no real problems writing any e-mails or text messages, and they’re adequately backlit for typing in dim rooms.

There is a 2.5mm headset jack, a mini USB port, and another customizable soft key on the left side of the BlackBerry 8703e, while the power button and mute key are on top of the unit. Finally, the speakerphone is located on the back of the device. Verizon packages its BlackBerry 8703e with a travel charger, a USB cable, a belt holster, and reference.

Features

As with other BlackBerrys, e-mail is king on the RIM BlackBerry 8703e. The smart phone is compatible with BlackBerry, Microsoft Exchange, IBM Lotus Domino, or Novell GroupWise servers and the famed push technology delivers your corporate e-mail in real time right to your device. In addition, you can access up to 10 personal/business POP3 or IMAP4 e-mail accounts, and thanks to the handy BlackBerry Internet E-mail service, you can set up everything right out of the box. Just go to the E-mail Setting utility on the device, enter your e-mail address and password, and let the 8703e do the rest. We used this process to access our SBC Global account, and we started receiving our messages without any problems within about 10 minutes. Of course, mobile professionals may need more functionality than e-mail to get work done on the go, so the BlackBerry 8703e’s attachment viewer opens popular file formats, such as Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Corel WordPerfect, PDF, JPEG, and GIF.

Disappointingly, the Verizon BlackBerry 8703e doesn’t come with any instant-messaging clients (not even BlackBerry Messenger) preinstalled on the device. We were able to log onto Yahoo Messenger via the phone’s Web browser, and even though the 8703e is more of a business-oriented device, we still appreciate the convenience, or at least the option, of having a preloaded IM app. That said, the phone does support text and multimedia messaging.

One great advantage of the Verizon BlackBerry 8703e is the EV-DO capabilities. With the support of the carrier’s 3G network, you’ll be able to connect and browse the Web at almost broadband-like speeds. While data speeds can reach up to 2Mbps, you’ll probably experience more in the 400Kbps to 700Kbps range. You can also use the 8703e as a tethered modem for your laptop using the included USB cable, but you will need to sign up for Verizon Wireless’s BroadbandAccess Connect service in order to do so. If you already have an unlimited data plan with qualifying voice plan, you can get unlimited BroadbandAccess Connect for $15 a month, otherwise, it will cost $30 a month. The 8703e also has integrated Bluetooth 2.0 (no Wi-Fi) but it’s limited to wireless headsets, hands-free kits, and synching with Bluetooth-enabled PCs. It does not support the object exchange (OBEX) profile.

As a phone, the address book is limited only by the available memory, which tops out at 64MB Flash memory and 16MB SDRAM. For each entry, you can store up to eight numbers, work and home addresses, e-mail and Web addresses, company information, and notes. In addition, you can assign them to a group category–business or personal. You get 32 polyphonic ring tones with support for MP3 rings tones, as well as a vibrate mode, conference calling, speed dialing, call forwarding, and a speakerphone.

The RIM BlackBerry 8703e does not have any multimedia capabilities, such as an audio or a video player or a camera). You do get one game (BrickBreaker), as well as a number of PIM tools, including a calendar, a task list, a memo pad, and a calculator.

Performance

We tested the dual-band (CDMA 850/1900; EV-DO) RIM BlackBerry 8703e in San Francisco using Verizon’s network, and call quality was a bit of mixed bag. While our friends said they had no problems hearing us and were impressed by the clarity of the phone call, we thought they sounded a bit muffled and had some difficulties hearing our callers. On a brighter note, speakerphone quality was great on both ends of the conversation. We also had no problems pairing the phone with the Logitech Mobile Traveller Bluetooth headset.

Armed with an Intel processor, the BlackBerry 8703e was responsive and speedy as we opened and worked on various apps. Also, thanks to the EV-DO speeds, the Web browsing experience was great as pages loaded quickly.

The 8703e’s battery is rated for 3.3 hours of talk time and up to 8 days of standby time. In our battery drain tests, we were able to get a solid 5.2 hours of talk time before having to recharge. According to FCC radiation tests, the BlackBerry 8703e has a digital SAR rating of 1.44 watts per kilogram.

So I guess the real question is do I spend the money getting a new RIM BlackBerry 8703e (Verizon Wireless) cell phone battery or do I just purchase a new phone with a better battery? Replacement batteries are quite cheap but a new phone would be good too. Decisions, decisions…

I tend to use my mobile phone heaps, both for work 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 travelling.

Cellular Phone Battery

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

Palm Treo 680 (unlocked)

Positives:
The Palm Treo 680 features a sleeker design; integrated Bluetooth with the ability to use it as a wireless modem; more user-accessible memory; and e-mail capabilities. It also offers a bright touch screen and productivity tools and is easy to use.
Negatives:
The smart phone doesn’t have integrated Wi-Fi nor does it support Palm’s Wi-Fi card or voice dialing. What’s more, the VGA camera is disappointing, the QWERTY keyboard is a bit cramped, and the speakerphone quality is a bit scratchy.
Facts:
With a user-friendly interface, decent performance, and an affordable price point, the Palm Treo 680 is a good smart phone for the first-time buyer or for mobile users looking to be more productive on the road; we just wish it had a better camera and Wi-Fi support.

Note: This product is part of the Palm Treo 680 series. .

Photo gallery: Palm Treo 680

So for now the real question is do I spend the money buying a new Palm Treo 680 (unlocked) cell phone battery or do I just buy a new phone with a long lasting battery? Replacement batteries are fairly cheap but a new phone would be good too. I must make a decision…

I do use my cell phone a lot, both for work and for personal use, so having a backup battery is often a good idea but having to replace a faulty or damaged battery is aggravating. My current phone is working well but I would like a replacement battery for times when I am on the road.

Cell Phone Battery

These are the details of my latest phone (yes, I know it is a bit outdated, I really should buy a new cellular phone):

HP iPAQ HW6500

review

So I suppose the right question is do I spend the money purchasing a new HP iPAQ HW6500 mobile phone battery or do I just buy a new phone with a long lasting battery? Replacement batteries are fairly inexpensive but a new phone would be good too. Decisions, decisions…

I generally use my cellular phone regularly, both for my career and for private use, so having another battery is often worth it but having to replace a faulty or damaged battery is such a pain. My current phone is working ok but I would like a replacement battery for those times when I am on the road.

Cell Phone Batteries

These are the details of my latest phone (yes, I know it is a bit obsolete, I really should buy a new cellular phone):

Sony Ericsson J220a (Refurb)

review

So I suppose the true question is do I spend the money purchasing a new Sony Ericsson J220a (Refurb) cell phone battery or do I just get a new phone with a longer life battery? Replacement batteries are very low cost but a new phone would be nice. I must make a decision…

I always use my cellular phone often, both for my job and for personal use, so having a second battery is often worthwhile but having to replace a faulty or damaged battery is disappointing. My current phone is working ok but I would like a replacement battery for those times when I am on the road.

Cell Phone Battery

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

Nokia 6126

Positives:
The Nokia 6126 has an appealing design with a superior internal display, good performance and a well-rounded feature set that includes Bluetooth, a 1.3-megapixel camera, a speakerphone, and world phone support.
Negatives:
The Nokia 6126 has slippery keys and a poorly located MicroSD card slot. Also, some sound quality was unimpressive.
Facts:
The Nokia 6126 is a well-designed and full-featured mid-tier cell phone. It’s a good performer, too.

When we first heard about the Nokia 6126, we were a little surprised. Among the phone’s other attributes Nokia, seemed to be touting the 6126’s slim profile as an attraction. Since Nokia usually sets trends rather than following them, we were puzzled that the Finns were chasing after the thin-phone craze. Yet when we had the 6126 in our hand, we were pleased to see it wasn’t a blatant attempt to imitate the popular Motorola Razr. Packed with a powerful set of features in an appealing design that’s a full 0.3 inch thicker than the Motorola handset, the 6126 is a pleasing mid-tier phone with a solid feature set and good performance. It’s not offered by a U.S. carrier as of the time of this writing, and rumors that it would come to Cingular have not materialized as of this writing. As an unclocked phone, it should cost between $200 and $250.

Nokia has grown its flip-phone stable slowly but surely over the last couple years, and the 6126 is one of the latest models in the series. The black-and-mirrored-silver color scheme is attractive, and we like the smooth, rounded edges and the lack of an external antenna. At 3.6 by 1.9 by 0.8 inches, it’s not a Razr by any means, but it still sports a pleasingly sleek and compact form factor. Front and center is the attractive 1.5-inch, 128×160-pixel external display. With support for 262,144 colors, this is a vast improvement over many other Nokia external screens, and it displayed colors and graphics well. It shows the time, the battery life, the signal strength, and photo or video caller ID. You can change the backlight time, the screen saver, and the wallpaper. Above the display is the camera lens. There’s no flash or self-portrait mirror, but the external display functions as a viewfinder for those vanity shots. On the left spine is a volume rocker, while a camera control and a power button sit on the right spine.

A final external control rests on the right side of the hinge. Though at first glance it looks as if it could perform just about any function, a quick press revealed that it’s a release mechanism for the front flap. You don’t need this button to open the phone–it opens just fine the old-fashioned way–but it’s fun to use and is much more effective than the push-and-release method on the Motorola Pebl. The phone opens with enough force to flip up quickly but not so much force that we felt it might fly out of our hand. What’s more, the button is tactile, and the mechanism seems sturdy enough overall. Yes, it’s all a bit gimmicky, but we still approve. Be advised, however, that the hinge closes somewhat stiffly.

Whichever method you use to open the 6126, you’ll be drawn immediately to the brilliant main display. At 2.2 inches, with 240×320 pixels and support for an awe-inspiring 16 million colors, the 6126’s screen puts most other comparable mid-tier cell phones to shame. Colors and text popped, and everything from photos to graphics to games to animations were displayed beautifully. You can change the font size and the backlighting time, and though you can’t alter the brightness, it didn’t seem to matter. What’s more, the presence of the Nokia Series 40 platform means the user experience and the menus are vivid and intuitive.

Below the display are the simple navigation controls, which consist of a four-way toggle with an OK/menu button in its center, two soft keys, and the Talk and End controls. The toggle can be set to give one-touch access to four user-defined shortcuts, and you can designate the two soft keys as shortcuts, as well. One available option even includes a shortcut bar with a selection of user-defined applications. Overall, the navigation array was large and easy to use, though we did find the keys a little slick. Also, with the exception of the toggle and the OK button, the buttons are set flat with the surface of the phone. Likewise, the brightly backlit keypad buttons left us a bit divided. While they are large, tactile, and raised above the surface of the phone, they’re a bit slippery, as well. That said, we liked the mirrored frame that surrounds the keys.

Another minor quibble we had with the design is that the MicroSD card slot is located behind the battery cover. You don’t need to remove the battery itself (an improvement over earlier Nokia models), but you do need to remove the cover. This is not a huge deal, but it’s worth noting. On the upside, however, we liked the textured covering on the rear flap.

The main feature attractions of the Nokia 6126 lie with its multimedia capabilities, but we’ll get to the basics first. The large 1,000-contact phone book has room in each entry for five phone numbers, e-mail and Web addresses, a job title and a company name, work and home street addresses, a birth date, a nickname, and notes (the SIM card holds an additional 250 names). You can organize callers into groups or pair them with one of the 13, 64-chord, polyphonic ring tones. You can also pair them with photos and videos for caller ID and photos to show up on the external display. Other offerings include a vibrate mode, text and multimedia messaging, a calculator, a world clock, a voice recorder (limited by the available memory), a calendar with reminders, a to-do list, a notepad, a countdown timer, a stopwatch, and an alarm clock.

Hands-free features were plentiful, as well. There’s full Bluetooth for connecting to a headset or for sending files, plus voice dialing and commands and a speakerphone. For worker bees, there’s also POP3 and IMAP4 e-mail support, audio messaging for sending voicemails directly to another cell phone, and USB cable support. Offbeat features included a translator for English, Spanish, French, and Portuguese; the Nokia sensor application for sending personal messages to other Bluetooth phones; and a Presenter application that allows you to control a PowerPoint presentation or other Microsoft Windows application from the 6126 by connecting via Bluetooth to a PC (you’ll need the Nokia PC suite). Finally we liked that you could use many of these functions even when no SIM card is inserted in the phone.

The 6126 camera doesn’t include a flash.

The 6126 has a 1.3-megapixel camera that takes pictures in six resolutions: 1,024×1,280, 960×1,290, 600×800, 480×640, 240×320, and 120×160. You get a variety of camera settings including three quality modes, six color effects, a 10-second self timer, a sequence mode for shooting three photos in rapid successions and an 8X zoom. The only thing missing is a brightness setting, but we’re willing to overlook that omission. The camcorder shoots 3GPP videos in one resolution (176×144) with sound. The default mode lasts just 6 seconds, but you can also shoot longer clips, depending on the available memory. Image quality was just above average for a 1.3-megapixel camera phone. Colors and subject outlines were distinct, but images weren’t very bright, and smaller objects tended toward fuzziness. Video clips were fine–a bit grainy, as expected, but suitable for short clips. Besides saving photos to the phone, you can also send them via Bluetooth or a multimedia message or use the USB cable to transfer them to a computer or a compatible printer with Nokia’s XpressPrint service.

The 6126 had good photo quality overall, but smaller objects were somewhat fuzzy.

If you tire of taking shots, you can use the 6126 to listen to tunes. Inside, there’s a digital music player that supports files in MP3, MP4, AAC, and WMA formats. The interface is rudimentary, though its easy to understand and use. Options include Random and Repeat modes, an equalizer, stereo widening, and an Airplane mode. Also, you can minimize the player’s interface or use it with the phone closed. Internal memory is limited to 10MB of shared space. As a result, we suggest using the MicroSD card slot, which can accommodate cards up to 2GB. The only thing remaining on our wish list is an FM radio.

You can personalize the 6126 with a variety of color themes, wallpapers, screen savers, and alert sounds. If you want more options you can download them via the WAP 2.0 wireless browser. You can always get more ring tones as well and use MP3 files to identify callers. The 6126 supports Macromedia Flash Lite 1.1 and Adobe Flash Player. Two Java (J2ME) games are also included (Snake 3 and 3D Soccer).

We tested the quad-band GSM (850/900/1800/1900; EDGE) Nokia 6126 in San Francisco using Cingular’s service. Call quality was quite good with admirable clarity and volume. We had no trouble getting a signal and encountered little interference from other devices. Callers reported good conditions overall on their end, even in noisy environments. Our only real complaint was that voices sounded a little harsh at times. Speakerphone calls were loud enough, though voices sounded a bit muffled on our end. Likewise, callers had more trouble hearing us, but they didn’t report significant problems. We successfully paired the 6126 with the Plantronics Explorer 320 headset and found decent call quality there, as well.

Music quality over the sole speaker was nothing special. Tracks were tinny and somewhat distorted, especially at higher volumes. By all means use a stereo headset.

The 6126 has a rated talk time of 3.4 hours and a promised standby time of 10 days. Our tests showed a talk time of 3 hours, 47 minutes.

So I suppose the true question is do I spend the money buying a new Nokia 6126 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 always use my cellular phone regularly, both for my career and for home use, so having another battery is often worthwhile but having to replace a faulty or damaged battery is so annoying. My newest phone is working well but I would like a replacement battery for those times when I am travelling.

Cellular Phone Battery

These are the details of my latest phone (yep, I know it is a bit old, I really should find a new cellular phone):

Sony Ericsson K510i - cellular phone with digital camera - GSM

Product Short Spec:

Band / mode:

GSM 900/1800/1900 (Tri-Band)

Talk time:

Up to 360 min

Combined with:

With digital camera

Weight:

3.2 oz

review

So I suppose the right question is do I spend the money buying a new Sony Ericsson K510i - cellular phone with digital camera - GSM cellular phone battery or do I just buy a new phone with a better performing battery? Replacement batteries are quite inexpensive but a new phone would be good too. Always decisions need to be made.

I tend to use my cellular phone heaps, both for my work and for personal use, so having another battery is often worth it but having to replace a faulty or damaged battery is so annoying. My newest phone is working ok but I would like a replacement battery for those times when I am travelling.

Cell Phone Battery

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

Motorola Krzr K1m (US Cellular)

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

US Cellular’s Motorola Krzr K1m is similar in both design and features to the Motorola Krzr K1m for Verizon Wireless. You can get it for $179 with service. Read our review of Verizon’s handset for a thorough analysis.

So I guess the right question is do I spend the money buying a new Motorola Krzr K1m (US Cellular) cellular phone battery or do I just buy a new phone with a longer life battery? Replacement batteries are very cheap but a new phone would be nice. I must make a decision…