Panasonic X700 review: Glossy Symbian

The first Symbian with a torch

Besides the info on the small display, also a green blinking diode alerts you on an incoming call. The diode is hidden above a lighting diode on the edge of a gray panel and you will not even see it when it is not blinking. It can also shine in red - during charging and when the camera is activated, so that your "victim" should see you are shooting. White diode light is sufficiently strong to help you to find a lock but it is not a full substitution of a hand torch. To turn the lighting on, just press the star key for a while.

Torch detail • during charging and shooting in the dark • the torch is sufficient for close up pictures • this scene was lit by Panasonic in absolute dark

In the opposite side of the diode on the gray panel, you can find a small window of an infrared port. In the middle, there is an aperture of speaker used for ringing and loud handsfree, as well as camera lens on the top. Silver rounded space cannot be used as a mirror, because soft grooves are ground on it, causing the light refraction. Thanks to the display, a mirror is not necessary at all.

On the right side of the phone, you will find a connector under a rubber plug that is used to connect a personal handsfree. The plug is attached to the phone so you will not lose it. The same stands for protection of a system connector. A wrist strap eyelet goes across the right upper corner of the phone.

Twice protected aperture for handsfree • system connector

Panasonic loves SD cards

Panasonic did not hide the antenna inside, therefore a small "chimney" is dwarfing over the phone. After removing a rubber plug, it is also possible to connect the external antenna. X700 is a triple band phone, supporting 900, 1800 and 1900 MHz frequencies.

Antenna is really not "in"

Door on the upper edge is hiding a memory card. Panasonic is using miniSD cards and so X700 is one of a few Series 60 phones that are not using MMC format. With the phone you'll get also an adaptor that "makes" a standard SD card from the mini size, so you can use your miniSD in common card-readers.

MiniSD card and Panasonic X700

Panasonic provides the user with a 16 MB card, which is not a lot. Card is replaceable during normal phone operation; before you remove the card it is necessary to select "Remove the card" in the profiles menu. That will close all applications so you will not lose any data.

With the card you'll receive an adaptor that enables to use the card in a common card-reader

Card management application • safe removal selection •
file manager doesn't show you everything, install another one

A Li-Ion battery with capacity of 780 mAh is placed under the back cover. Official duration data are diverging. If we rely on the user's guide, Panasonic X700 lasts 77 - 170 hours on standby, 120 - 350 minutes of call. Real values will be lower, of course. I cannot share my own experiences because I do not have the phone for such a long time and testing during writing a review is not a normal use (anyway, eight hours is not a good result; we will see how the phone will go on). Charging takes 1,5 - 2 hours. SIM card fits completely in the slot under the battery.

Look under the back cover and the battery

Display is unusually small

Inner display features classic resolution of Series 60 phones: 176 x 208 pixels. Sizes on each side are by two millimeters smaller than at other mobiles of the class: 33 x 39 mm. The active display shows 65K colors and it is of a high quality, indeed.

Display is smaller but its size is still above the average

Wallpapers can be loaded on the display; Panasonic X700 also supports graphic themes that change also the menu appearance. Standard appearances are, with a few exceptions, terrible, but Panasonic accepts common themes used at Nokia Series 60 phones. It is possible to set brightness of the display and delay for the display saver activation. A "jumping" bar with date and clock forms the saver.

Various graphic themes

A respectable keypad

I am going to close the hardware part of the review by a description of the keypad. Main control element is a four-way button with a confirmation key in the center. Four functional keys are around the main button - two are placed traditionally below the display, next a "pen" key to access the context menu and a correction key. Below them, there is a row with call control keys and a key for entering the main menu. Softly bent rows form a numeric keypad; keys arrangement is regular. In the bottom corners there are two small keys for wap browser fast activation and a switch joint with profiles control button.

That's how the Japanese keypad looks like

Thanks to the clamshell construction the keypad is quite big, there is enough space left for it. Keys are pretty good; it is easy to know when they click. To make typing more comfortable I would remove those two buttons in lower corners, which I frequently pressed by mistake instead of correct keys in the lower row.

The keys lift is not too high but it clicks clear enough after press

Keys legends are black; by illumination, they get blue. In addition, bends separating the rows of keys are illuminated. Panasonic added to blue also green and red for the call control keys; but there were no diodes left for the main control cross-button.

Keypad illumination