Bluetooth in a cell phone has traditionally been reserved for shoppers who could spring for high-end handsets, but now Sprint has brought it to the mainstream with its compact, slightly funky LG PM-325 camera phone. Of course, we wish Sprint hadn't hobbled the data-transfer capabilities of Bluetooth, but with a slick sliding keyboard, an impressive screen, and great call quality, the PM-325 is an attractive, affordable option for users that want a taste, albeit a limited one, of what Bluetooth has to offer. At $229, the phone is pricey, but you should be able to find it for a discount with service. Overall, the LG PM-325 scores points with an attractive design that takes time to discover fully. It weighs a slight 3.3 ounces and measures a compact 3.9 by 1.8 by 0.9 inches. At first glance, it appears to have only a tiny, recessed screen that shows the time, incoming calls, signal strength, and battery life, but a quick flip of the thumb slides the keypad down to reveal a large (1.75 inches diagonally) display that can show a vibrant 65,000 colors. The screen is difficult to see in direct light, but you can adjust the backlighting time and the font size.
The Good
The Bad
The Bottom Line
The slide is a fun, functional feature that makes the phone more compact, but it doesn't really make it easier to use. We found the slide extended the keypad beyond the reach of our fingers, making one-handed operation difficult. And because the backlit keys are close together and set flush with the surface of the phone, we often hit the wrong key when dialing. Also, we were a bit mystified about another point. Traditionally, the point of a slider mobile is to hide the keyboard to avoid an accidental misdial. In this case, however, LG chose to hide the screen instead, so locking the keyboard is still in order when you're carrying around the PM-325. Fortunately, you can dial the phone without extending the keypad, and you can access some menu functions when on a call.
Otherwise, the controls on the PM-325 are pretty straightforward. The five-way toggle at the center of the handset is used to navigate the bright, icon-driven menu, which comes with a choice of two styles. You also get one-touch access to four user-defined functions. Likewise, two soft keys open the menu and a task list. We were glad to see that the OK button doubles as a camera shortcut, and there's a Back button. The volume rocker and a voice-dialing control are on the side of the device, while the VGA camera lens and a small mirror are mounted on the back; you don't get a flash. The phone also comes with a standard 2.5mm headset jack and a USB port for data syncing, although the USB cable must be purchased separately.
Unfortunately, you don't get a speakerphone--a curious omission--but the addition of Bluetooth sets the PM-325 apart from most mobiles in its class. With a Bluetooth headset, which will cost you an additional $50 to $100, you can answer calls and carry on conversations without the hassle of a cord running from your ear to the phone. Sprint deserves some praise for putting the feature in a midrange phone, but users should know that Sprint limits its use. Although you can connect to a wireless headset, it cannot be used to connect to your PC or other Bluetooth devices. This follows a distressing trend we first saw with Verizon's Motorola V710. Though the companies say otherwise, some carriers are hobbling Bluetooth to force users to pay for their data services to move files off their phones. While some might say some Bluetooth is better than none, the whole effort is a cheap move.
The mobile comes with a decent VGA camera that can take pictures in 640x480, 320x240, and 160x120 resolutions. You also get a choice of four color tones (Normal, Sepia, Black and White, and Negative), three quality settings (Fine, Normal, and Economy), and three shutter sounds; there's also a silent option, or you can record your own sound. Other controls include adjustable white-balance and brightness settings, a self-timer, and an 8X zoom, the last of which is usable at only the lowest resolution. When finished, you can send your shots via a multimedia message; you can also store 20 images at the highest resolution or 96 at the lowest. On the downside, we weren't terribly impressed with the photo quality. There is no flash, and even stationary subjects were washed out and blurry. In fact, if you look at your small distorted image in the self-portrait mirror, that is pretty much what you will get when you click the shutter.
When connected to the Web, the PM-325 can play demos of streaming video from MobiTV, the Weather Channel, and ESPN. You can purchase full access for $9.99 per month, but the jerky clips are barely watchable as the phone operates on Sprint's present 1xRTT (2.5G) network. You can personalize the mobile with a variety of color themes, screensavers, and sounds, and you can download additional options, applications, and ring tones from Sprint. As for games, you get only demo versions of Ms. Pac-Man, Jamdat Solitaire, and Tetris Deluxe, but you can buy the full versions if you so desire.
We tested the LG PM-325 on the Sprint PCS network in the New York metropolitan area. We were able to consistently find a clear steady signal, and callers remarked that our voice was exceptionally clear. There is no headset included with the phone, but it would make sense to acquire a Bluetooth set. Enabling the Bluetooth transmitter on the PM-325 is a simple process, and we were impressed with the ease with which it recognized our Jabra FreeSpeak BT250 headset.We managed to coax a relatively meager 2.5 hours of talk time on a single charge. That's more than a half hour short of the rated time of 3.2 hours, but even that is not great. The standby time was approximately 6 days, compared with the promised time of 7 days. This isn't terrible, but if you are a heavy phone user, you should plan on recharging your phone almost every night. According to the FCC, the PM-325 has a digital SAR rating of 0.95 watts per kilogram and an analog SAR rating of 0.9 watts per kilogram.