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| Panasonic GD75 |
| General |
| Network | Gsm 900 / Gsm 1800 |
| Announced | 2001 |
| Status | Available |
| Size |
| Dimensions | 106 X 46 X 16 Mm, 75 Cc |
| Weight | 82 G |
| Display |
| Type | Monochrome Graphic |
| Size | 6 Lines |
| | - Joystick
- 6 Screensavers
- Background Pictures |
| Ringtones |
| Type | Polyphonic (3 Channels), Monophonic |
| Amount | 23 |
| Customization | Composer, Download |
| Vibration | Yes |
| Memory |
| Phonebook | 200 |
| Call Records | 10 Dialed, 10 Received, 10 Missed Calls |
| Card Slot | No |
| | - Several Fields In The Address Book
- Message Templates |
| Data |
| Gprs | Yes (gd76 Only) |
| Hscsd | No |
| Edge | No |
| 3g | No |
| Wlan | No |
| Bluetooth | No |
| Infrared Port | No |
| Usb | |
| Features |
| Messaging | Sms |
| Browser | Wap 1.2.1 |
| Clock | Yes |
| Alarm | Yes |
| Games | Yes |
| Colors | |
| Camera | No |
| | - Calendar
- T9
- Voice Dial
- Dictaphone
- On/off Timers
- Callerid Graphics
- Calculator
- Built-in Handsfree |
| Battery |
| | Standard Battery, Li-ion 650 Mah |
| Stand-by | Up To 150 H |
| Talk Time | Up To 6 H |
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Panasonic - GD75Joy "stick" with the Panasonic GD75
iMobile would like to thank Panasonic (Australia) for supplying us with the Panasonic GD75 for our review
Take a closer look!
Major Differences
5-way directional joystick
Polyphonic (harmonic) ringer with voice ringer feature
Downloadable polyphonic ringtones, melody composer and voice ringer feature
Downloadable operator logos
Desktop handsfree function
WAP over CSD
Voice dialling and memo (Dictaphone) functions
T9 predictive input system
Concatenated SMS messages with SMS chat feature
Organiser functions
Multiple alarms Problems/Issues?
Slow T9 output
Sales package (should contain):
1 x Panasonic GD75 handset
1 x Panasonic GD75 Li-ion battery
1 x Panasonic GD-series phone charger
1 x Panasonic GD75 user manual & supplementary documentation
1 x hand strap
Overview
Panasonic has recently released two new handsets into the Australian market - the GD75 and GD95, each offering a revised user interface and some new features as well. Some may think that the GD75 is inferior to the GD95 - when you just simply look at the model numbers. On the contrary, both phones are an improvement over its predecessor, the GD92, where they carry very similar features - with some “pluses” and “minuses” here and there.
New features
The GD75 is a “somewhat” upgrade to the GD92, adding in some much-needed features that are now requirements for today’s mobile phones. These include the addition of a WAP browser, operator and animated background logos, concatenated SMS messages, downloadable polyphonic ringtones, a set of organiser functions, and two games.
Physical aspects
Physically, the GD75 is a “fatter” phone - compared with the GD92. I did not really find this a problem - as the phone’s width is considerably reasonable compared to other phones on the market. At the same time, this allowed for a wider screen allowing for a slightly larger LCD screen. The average person would find holding the GD75 much easier than the GD92 because of the wider footprint and lightweight design. Also, this is the first Panasonic that incorporates an internal antenna design.
One feature not available on the GD75 compared with the GD92 is the different screen backlight colours. The GD75 uses a light-blue backlight, which some may either dislike or think it complements with the green keypad backlight well.
"The high-resolution graphics LCD screen provides for an improved user interface"
User Interface
The slightly larger, high-resolution graphics LCD screen provides for an improved user interface. Icons used are now larger than before - with more screen space to display menus and functions. In conjunction with the addition of a 5-way directional joystick (left/right, up/down, and depress), this improves the phone’s overall usability by decreasing the number of keystrokes to perform an operation.
Another neat idea added to the menu system is the use of ‘bubbles’ (like the ones used in comics). When a user is using a feature of the phone, such as typing an SMS message or going through a phone book or message list, depressing on the joystick will bring up a bubble showing the options available. For example, when looking through a message list, the bubble will show options such as “delete”, “read”, “reply”, etc.
A screen image option can be set - where the phone can be set to display either a static or animated image during standby (that is, while waiting for a call). By default, the GD75 uses an analogue clock image with date and digital time display. The information is presented quite well considering the amount of space available on the screen.
The tactility of the keypad was quite good. But the response from the phone’s software wasn’t as responsive once your input speed quickens. The phone buffers the keypresses that are not responded to immediately.
Making and receiving calls
Similar to the GD92, a user can make or receive phone calls in two different ways. One is the standard method of holding the phone. The other method is to enable the desktop handsfree option where the phone can be placed on a nearby surface (for example, on the desk in front of you) where you can conduct the phone conversation without physically interacting with the handset itself. The caller’s voice is fed through the speaker located at the back of the phone.
Polyphonic (harmonic) tones are played when the phone either receives a call or SMS message. These ringtones produce a similar level of music quality found in MIDI files.
Messaging
Concatenated SMS messaging means that a user is able to type more than the 160-character limit imposed on SMS messages. Now one can type up to the length of three messages long (up to 459 characters). Also, an SMS chat feature (similar to that used by some Nokia phones) allow for ICQ-like dialogues.
Battery life
The GD75 uses an internal battery. This same battery is locked down with the back cover by a latch located at the bottom of the phone - ensuring that both items stay put until the latch is released. Usually, one would not need to remove the battery unless he/she decides to use a spare battery. Charging of the phone is done by plugging up the charger at the base of the phone.
Approximate battery life averages around 2-3 days on standard usage.
Major differences...
"5-way directional joystick"
5-way directional joystick
The GD75 uses a joystick as the primary navigational device for the phone’s menus and its features. Allowing for 4-way movement (left, right, up, down), you can also depress down onto the joystick to confirm menu actions and selections. The idea of this is that a user does not have to lift his/her finger off the joystick to perform an action on the phone.
Polyphonic (harmonic) ringer
Adopted from the GD92, the polyphonic (harmonic) ringer plays high-quality ring tunes from its speaker located at the back of the phone. Up to 20 built-in ringtones (pre-defined - 5 replaceable/downloadable) and 3 variable ones (2 voice ringers, 1 editable by composer) are available.
"The built-in handsfree function allowing a user to talk on the phone while having it placed nearby"
Downloadable polyphonic ringtones, melody composer and voice ringer feature
The GD75 is one of the first phones that can download polyphonic ringtones from the Internet. Up to 5 can be downloaded onto the GD75, replacing 5 pre-defined tunes. In addition, the GD75 comes with the feature of letting a user compose his/her own tunes or make a recording that can be used for the ringer too!
Downloadable operator logos
The GD75 allows for the use of an operator logo to be displayed instead of the standard text message signifying the network currently being used. These logos are currently only available download from the Internet.
Desktop handsfree function
Another feature adopted from the GD92 is the built-in handsfree function allowing a user to talk on the phone while having it placed nearby (for example, in front of you on the table, next to you on the bed, etc). The difference here compared to other handsfree functionality offered is that you do not need to wear a headset - as the earpiece is the actual speaker (used for the polyphonic ringtones as well) located at the back of the phone.
WAP over CSD
The WAP browser is complemented very well by both the larger screen and the navigational joystick - allowing for seamless viewing of WML pages and ease of browsing without having to endlessly press buttons to move the page. A counter provides the convenience of knowing how long you have spent browsing online - something useful as you can keep track of the time spent online.
LEFT: Panasonic GD95
RIGHT: Panasonic GD75
Voice dialling and memo (Dictaphone) functions
As with most new phones, the GD75 offers voice dialling capabilities for up to 5 numbers saved within the phonebook. Additionally, the phone also offers a feature that allows you to do a short voice recording during a call - of up to 16 seconds.
T9 predictive input system
Typing messages become less of a nightmare thanks to the availability of the T9 predictive input system - where a built-in dictionary “predicts” the words that you are typing without having to tap the same key many times before getting the correct letter. T9 is available for use in writing SMS messages, emails and also phone book entries.
Concatenated SMS messages with SMS chat feature
Concatenated SMS messaging allows for the creation of SMS messages over the 160-character limit per message. This is done by breaking up the original message sent into separate messages and sent in sequence of each other. When the receiver gets the SMS messages, they will be described as being “linked”. The SMS chat feature makes conversing over SMS easy by maintaining an ICQ-like dialog interface.
Organiser functions
The GD75 comes with a set of simple organiser features - including a full-view calendar function, calculator and currency conversion functions.
Multiple alarms
The alarm feature on the GD75 allows for multiple settings, where numerous ones can be set to ring at specific times of the day. Very useful for those people who fall back asleep after learning how to cancel the “snooze” function. Now, instead, you can have ability to have different alarms ring when you want them to.
Problems/Issues?
Slow T9 output
Although the GD75 comes with the T9 system for the inputting of words, the downside realised was the lack of speed when it came for the phone to output these same characters onto the screen. If a user were to type somewhat faster, he/she may have to wait for the text to be displayed before continuing. Although the phone now knows how to buffer keystrokes, it is annoying when - after all the words have been displayed - you find that there was a spelling mistake back on the first line. If it had displayed the inputted words faster, then errors can be corrected beforehand.
In Summary
The Panasonic GD75 is definitely in there with the other phones! Features offered by the GD75 are quite sufficient for those who need a phone with an average level of functions at an affordable, valued-for-money price. For those who are considering phones, such as the Ericsson T65, Motorola T191, Nokia 3330/3350 or a Siemens C45, one should definitely include the Panasonic GD75 into this list! |
| Common misspellings on this brand: lanasonic , panaspnic , apnasonic , panasonicx |
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