Alcatel 355

In the past Alcatel has been known for making funny looking mobile phones, but their newest addition, the Alcatel 355 is a sophisticated looking device.

This candy bar shaped unit is pearly white and slightly rounded so it is not only attractive, it is also quite comfortable in the hand. If this is a preview of what Alcatel has to offer, they will be running with the big boys in no time at all. The device is also available in cherry red, silver and cyber blue.

What We Like

The Alcatel 355 offers a QWERTY keyboard that is conveniently located under the colorful display screen. This TFT screen is 1.8 inches with 65,000 colors and a resolution of 160 x 128 pixels. The device is very compact as well as light-weight. Weighing only 80g the unit measures 103mm x 58mm x 12mm.

We discovered that the case of the Alcatel 355 doesn’t seem to scratch easily and it also has rubber grips on the sides that make it very easy to grip and the protruding handle on top of the device lets the user attach a lanyard to the phone, making it hard to lose.

The Alcatel 355 offers a VGA style camera that takes pretty decent photos. For your listening pleasure, the 355 also offers an MP3 player and an FM radio with RDS functionality. A 3.5mm audio jack has also been included so you can enjoy your music with your own headphones, instead of using the ones that come with the device.

Some other features include an organizer, voice memo facility and predictive text. The device has a speaker phone for hands free talking and it comes with ring and vibration alert. However, you do have the ability to use your MP3 files so you can personalize your ringtones.

The phone book in this device has the ability to hold a large number of entries and the user can also access information about their last calls which includes either dialed, missed or received calls.

To keep the user connected while on the go, the Alcatel 355 supports a variety of connectivity options which includes a class 10 version of GPRS and a mini USB connection. There is also a micro SD slot that will allow the user to upgrade up to 4GB.

What We Don't Like

The 355 has a Li-Ion 650 mAh battery giving the user up to 9 hours of talk time and up to 450 hours of stand-by time. Unfortunately, the Alcatel 355 does not support 3G or Wi-Fi. This is a large disappointment because it makes downloading large emails a real problem. On top of that, the screen is small so browsing the web will be quite slow and frustrating.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the Alcatel 355 will definitely not replace your BlackBerry, but it is however, an alternative for those who don’t want to spend a large amount of money. Unfortunately, the lack of Wi-Fi and 3G makes it very restrictive.