Philips X550 review

Network and connections
Brother of the X810 model from the Xenium series, this X550 will be aimed at the Chinese and Eastern European markets. It is a GSM Triband, on frequencies of 900, 1800 and 1900 MHz. UMTS support is not present, however the internal modem allows you to take advantage of Internet connection via GPRS. The dedicated HTML browser can therefore be used to open Web pages. Bluetooth is present instead for exchanging files wirelessly, as well as the USB data cable output.

Design and features
The exterior look is appealing, with an intense black color that gives it importance and elegance in any setting. The body structure is one-piece, unlike the Slider X810. The front part houses the screen, a 240x320 pixel TFT capable of displaying up to 256,000 colors. Images are always sharp and bright thanks to the ability to set the brightness sensor. Just below is the controls area, with an unusual thin pad and function keys. The keyboard is standard alphanumeric, with joined keys that are still quite usable. Compact dimensions of 11.7 mm thickness and just 90 grams of weight.

Main features
The proprietary platform that the X550 is equipped with is complete and simple to use. Contact list, organizer for appointments, alarm clock, calculator, currency converter and stopwatch are definitely handy. Predictive text support helps a lot in managing SMS, MMS and E-mail. You can also open attachments in the most common Office and PDF formats. If you want to customize your device, you can install new applications, compatible with Java support. The phone side instead offers speakerphone, voice recorder and multiconference support.

Entertainment and multimedia
The memory present in the Philips X550 is expandable via microSD cards. This allows you to always have plenty of space for your favorite music, to be played through the dedicated multimedia player. It supports various audio and video formats, but does not allow you to listen to radio broadcasts. On the back of the phone there is a camera, with a resolution of 3.2 megapixels. It allows you to take good quality photographs, thanks also to the Digital Zoom, LED Flash and dedicated functions. Battery life is decidedly high, with as much as 720 hours in Stand-by and 8 and a half hours of talk time declared.