An Extensive Pantech Duo Review

An Extensive Pantech Duo Review
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Pantech Duo

The Pantech Duo’s design innovation makes the phone a very efficient device. This makes both dialing calls and typing text messages quick and easy. The Duo is powered by Windows Mobile and is the first dual-slider phone with the Windows OS. The Pantech Duo is a great device offering decent design, features and performance.

Design (5 out of 5)

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The Pantech Duo is a three layer phone, display, dial-pad and keyboard, which makes it 0.8 inches thick and 3.88 ounces in weight. It is smaller and lighter than most other dual-slider devices on the market but is still rather bulky as a pocket device. Its body is made of plastic in a dark metallic shade and measures 4.02 x 1.97 inches.

The Duo has a stippled or dimpled border which surrounds the display and navigational keys which tends to give the phone a classical appearance. The rest of the device is smooth and glossy and gathers fingerprints quite easily. It’s curved edge design tapers near the bottom of the device which makes for a comfortable grip.

qwertykeyboard

The Duo’s QVGA display measures 2.2 inches and supports 262K colors. The 240 x 320 resolution display makes for a vibrant, clear and sharp image. The screen’s orientation also changes from portrait to landscape once the QWERTY keyboard is pulled from its position within the device.

Below the Pantech Duo’s screen are the navigational buttons and soft keys. The buttons consist of a five way navigational toggle, Talk and End/Power key and a Home and Back button. There is also a button called the Quick List key which doubles as the key lock function. On the sides of the device are the volume button, dedicated camera key and voice recorder. On the top of the device is a microSD slot and on the back is the camera lens and an LED light which doubles as the camera’s flash feature. Overall the design is great for a dual slider phone.

User Interface (4 out of 5)

front

The Pantech Duo runs on the Windows Mobile operating system and features its familiar user interface. The phone’s home screen features a Start Menu taskbar like that on a Windows PC, an icon list on the top and a text list in the middle which shows current tasks, reminders and messages. The Pantech Duo does not feature a touch screen display so all navigation is done with the toggle button. The home screen can be customized to change the background image, theme, displayed icons, font size and backlight time.

Features (5 out of 5)

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The Pantech Duo features Windows Mobile version 6 and thus carries a wealth of features and upgrades. Some of its improved features include, the calendar and an e-mail search function. Productivity has not been sacrificed on the Pantech Duo unlike other similar mobile devices. Microsoft Office Suite which includes and edits Excel, Word and Powerpoint and also Acrobat Reader for PDF viewing is included. Other basic features include, a clock, voice recorder, calculator and ZIP file manager. It also features a Task Manager where multiple programs can be controlled through one application.

The Pantech Duo’s strength is in its messaging capabilities and the several productivity tools which enhance it. Microsoft’s Direct Push technology ensures mail arrives to the phone in real time, hence no lag in the receipt of important messages. The Duo can also sync all the information from its tasks, contacts and events using the Exchange server function.

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The Duo is devoid of Wi-Fi or GPS services but does have Bluetooth connectivity. Instead of version 2.2, Bluetooth’s most latest upgrade, the Pantech Duo features version 1.2. It however does support AT&T’s 3G connectivity and has the ability to handle its speed efficiently. The Pantech Duo can access any of the many AT&T content like AT&T’s Mobile music, and video applications. Real time clips from MTV, Comedy Central and ESPN can also be streamed directly on the device.

Performance (4 out of 5)

The Pantech Duo is a quad band mobile device operating within the 800/900/1800/1900 GSM network. The Duo’s call quality is above average, with a low rate of static disturbance, echoing and dropped calls, if any at all.

Browsing the Internet is fast. Downloading media takes only seconds and streaming video experiences rare instances of buffering. The Duo’s performance is also above average as the phone zips through its menus, content and data rather fast and without much error or freezing. Some third party application may experience a short lag on the other hand.

Video and music is decent but are better enhanced with the use of a pair of headphones rather than the phone’s own speaker feature. The Pantech Duo lasts for 3 hours of talk time and more than 10 days on standby due to its great battery life.

Verdict (4 out of 5)

The Pantech Duo is a great mobile device for people looking for a comfortable and efficient mobile phone. The phone’s features are geared more towards the messaging clique who may need to remain in touch and in constant connectivity with family, friends or for business purposes. Although the phone does features music, video and camera functions, they are not as effective as other phones on the market. The Pantech Duo is a great small business and basic mobile device. The Duo costs $89 and can be purchased at www.amazon.com.