Sagem my300C review: Sagem my300C

Sagem is synonymous with cheap and cheerful mobile phones that look and feel a little plasticky, to say the least. Fortunately, the French manufacturer has figured out a way to make inexpensive look good in the form of the my300C. It doesn't come packed with features, but it won't leave you embarrassed when you take it out of your pocket.

5.5

Sagem my300C

The Good

Small design; glossy front section.

The Bad

Tiny amount of on-board memory; camera isn't very good; screen is tiny.

The Bottom Line

Sagem has done a good job of creating a small, cute phone that costs very little. We like its design and it's straightforward to use, but if you're looking for a feature-packed phone, we suggest you look elsewhere

The my300C is available now on pay as you go in Woolworths and Argos for the reasonable sum of £40.

Design
It may not have a designer label, but the my300C is worthy of a fashionista's pocket. The glossy front section adds an aesthetic quality you'd expect from a higher-end model. There's a discreet flashing blue light that tells you whether the phone is on and indicates incoming calls or messages.

The my300C's keypad is small but well laid out and easy to press

Open it up and there's a small colour screen that's not great for viewing photos or videos, but it serves its purpose when composing text messages. The my300C's keypad is small but well laid out and easy to press. Each key gives enough tactile feedback to press comfortably and texting is straightforward.

One of its best qualities is its small size, which made carrying it around in a pocket or a bag very easy. The advantage of it being a clamshell phone is that it won't answer or make a call by mistake, which is great if you carry it in a jam-packed bag.

Features
For £40 you can't expect much and you don't get much. The my300C has a very modest feature set that includes a VGA (0.3-megapixel) camera, a WAP browser, and Java games. It's only dual-band so it won't work in certain countries and there's only 3MB of on-board memory, with no option to expand.

It might not be the height of technology, but it's perfectly fine for the basics. If all you care about is making calls and sending text messages then it's great -- just don't expect it to browse the Web properly or play music.

Performance
Audio quality during calls was clear and only a little muffled. The loudspeaker, called 'amplified mode', was a little quiet for use as a hands-free kit in loud environments, but it sounded okay in a quiet room.

Picture quality from the my300C's VGA camera was very blurry and distorted. If you're looking for a good camera phone, this isn't it, but if you just want to take very small pictures to send to friends in MMS messages it's okay, just don't expect very clear shots.

Battery life is quoted at 210 minutes talk time and 250 hours on standby. Given how few features are available on the my300C, we found we didn't play with it that much and therefore the battery lasted over two days without needing to recharge it.

Conclusion
The my300C is a cute clamshell handset that comes in at the bargain price of £40. Okay, so you don't get a great camera, a music player or much on-board memory, but if all you really need is a phone to stay in touch with your mates and family, it serves its purpose. It doesn't look bad either, considering how cheap it is.

Other cheap and cheerful options include the LG KP202 and the O2 Jet, which doesn't have a camera or music player but boasts outstanding battery life.

Edited by Jason Jenkins
Additional editing by Nick Hide