Why You Can Trust CNET Sagem my511x review: Sagem my511x
Like a bug in amber, the buttons on the 511 are maddeningly trapped within a translucent substance. For this reason, we can't recommend it.
Poor old Sagem phones haven't fared too well in the CNET.com.au review stakes. Last month, the my411X scored a startling three out of 10 due to dismal call reception. The previous two models from the French manufacturer -- the my401c and the my400v -- were slapped with a 6.9 and a 4.2 respectively.
Sagem my511x
The Good
The Bad
The Bottom Line
The scorecard's not looking crash-hot, but Sagem reckons it's onto a winner with its Vodafone-only my511x, which is being marketed with the tagline "Object of desire". Let's see.
Design
The my511x is a slimline black candy-bar, with silver trim around the edges for a bit of flair. Size-wise it's almost identical to Sony Ericsson's W890i, but we're sad to say that's where the similarities end. At 128 by 160 pixels, the 511's display is noticeably blocky, with curves in the menu icons and wallpaper appearing jagged. On the plus side, the menu is well designed, with none of the hidden settings or confusing structures found in a few of Motorola's handsets.
The Sagem handset's overall look is similar to the company's own my411x, but more utilitarian and less friendly. We'd call it the Darth Vader to the 411's Skywalker, were we to shoehorn in a Star Wars reference.
The front face is covered in a smudge-prone layer of plastic. As with the my411x, reflections from fluorescent lights were visible on the display and its surrounding frame, as well as on the keypad.
About that keypad. It's bad. Really bad. Perhaps seeking to buck trends -- in this case, the trend of usability -- Sagem's designers have decided to submerge the buttons beneath a sheet of plastic. As a result, pressing the number keys is an operation akin to an archaeological dig: you know that there's something of value down there, but the stratified junk makes it quite the effort to get to. In other words, you'll need to press hard and with accuracy. Making matters even more taxing is the fact that there is no tactile separation between the keys, which gives you no physical guide for which one you're pressing.
Features
Being a budget phone, the my511x has a predictably short list of features. A 1.3-megapixel camera joins a music player (MP3 and AAC), WAP browser and five games including Lego Star Wars. (Well there you go -- turns out our Star Wars comparison wasn't gratuitous after all.)
Also on the specs list is Bluetooth, which you will probably be using for file transfer given the lack of a USB cable.
Performance
It's not all bad news for the my511x. In contrast to the my411x, call quality was great -- no drop-outs, crackling or volume issues to speak of.
Where the my511x came unstuck was in the details. Text messaging, for example, ignited a simmering rage within us that threatened to boil over at any moment. Other than the aforementioned trapped keys, there were two big issues. First complaint: when typing in T9 mode, new sentences do not automatically begin with a capital letter. Fast and furious texters with a healthy disdain for the rules of English grammar will be unfazed by this glaring omission, but to our Strunk-and-White-reading selves, the quirk borders on traumatic. Second complaint: if you're composing a message and decide to exit mid-way -- perhaps you're chickening out of an amorous text -- there is no option to quit without saving. You must either save your unfinished text or stay in the message composition window. A small thing, perhaps, but irritating all the same.
At an RRP of AU$149, we weren't exactly expecting stellar things from the my511x, but with better buttons it could have been a decent bargain model. As for that "object of desire" claim? Well, if your desires include developing calluses on your fingertips, then sure. Otherwise give the my511x and its subterranean buttons a miss.