Alcatel OT-508A review
Network and connections
An essential and easy-to-use phone for users who don't want too many complications from a phone. This Alcatel OT-508A has a GSM Dualband network receiver, on frequencies of 900 and 1800 MHz. It does not support UMTS. To browse the web you can rely on the GPRS modem and the dedicated WAP browser. The convenient Bluetooth is also present, for quickly exchanging files with compatible devices. Furthermore, it's possible to sync contacts and appointments with your home computer, via USB cable.
Design and features
Classic lines, even a bit outdated, but that certainly go well with the few functions this Alcatel has to perform. The front houses the screen, a 1.8-inch TFT, capable of displaying up to 65,000 colors. In the central part there's the directional pad with function keys. Below instead is the standard alphanumeric keypad, with well-sized keys for comfortable use. Compact dimensions, to ensure uncompromising portability: 14 mm thick for just 69 grams in weight.
Main features
The proprietary platform offers essential yet complete applications. Contact list, calendar for appointments, alarm clock, calculator and stopwatch are practical to use. Support for predictive text helps a lot with text composition, making it easy to handle SMS and multimedia messages. As for the purely telephone-related aspects, there's speakerphone, voice recorder and support for multi-party conferencing.
Entertainment and multimedia
To avoid leaving the entertainment department empty and provide the user with a complete device, here's a built-in camera, for taking photographs at a resolution of 0.3 megapixels. The quality is poor, but still useful when needed. A more positive note instead regards music playback. The OT-508A in fact supports formats like mp3, so you can always have your favorite music in your pocket. It's also possible to tune into FM radio stations. Internal memory is only 10 MB, however expandable with microSD cards. Lastly, very good battery life, lasting up to 500 hours in Stand-by.