Panasonic GD87 Review

Overall Rating

Superb Clamshell Styling
Strong and Durable
Best Screen and camera on any phone I've seen to date

Downloadable Games
Speedy Menu
Sub LCD screen
Good Battery Life
Easy To Use
Large Memory

Dodgy Reception
Hard to type messages
Can only store one downloadable game
Glare
Software faults (easily fixed)
Hard to transfer numbers/messages/files

Panasonic GD87 - The screen on this mobile is the largest I've seen on a clamshell, and it has a very sharp image. The only problem occurs in bright sunlight, where it can be hard to see anything. The camera is superb in most conditions, giving a fine image of various qualities. However, this doesn't work so well in the dark. In fact, it doesnt work at ALL in the dark. But hey, who takes pictures in the dark? The other issue with it that annoyed me is that it makes a 'cha-ching' noise everytime you take a picture, and this can't be deactivated. There is a 'twilight mode' but this is useless. However, the camera does have some excellent features such as the zoom, and effects such as negative and monochrome. You can also leave the camera on, close the phone, and use the external mirror to take a picture of yourself. Unlike many similar phones, the camera is mounted behind the screen, not on the hinge, so it is easy to aim.

The phone can store about 30-50 pictures depending on their size. However, transferring them to PC is a pain in the neck, as you have to buy an extra cable and the process is very, very slow. They also come out the same size on the PC as they do on the phone. There is no option to save messages on PC, and phone numbers don't seem to work well either.

The menu on the phone is fun and easy to use. There aren't that many options to choose from, but all the essentials are there. 200 SMS can be stored, but typing them is slower than on say Nokia phones because of poor key design. There is also no option to send business cards or to forward numbers.
Other features on this phone include MMS messaging (waste of time - I never used it), WAP and GPRS, Infrared and Orange information (only on Orange, but really good). The external screen tells you when you have messages, etc., and can go three different colours. It also tells you who is ringing and the time. Brilliant! A useful feature is the power setting, allowing the phone to switch itself on or off at given times to save power (eg. off at 0:00 and on again at 08:00).
There are a wide choice of ringtones and a melody composer, but no option to really record or download your own. I always kept this phone on vibrate because it is REALLY powerful - on a wooden surface it can be heard from anywhere in the house.

The battery life is actually really good for such a hi-tech phone. I had to charge every 3-4 days with moderate-heavy use. If the battery is fully drained before recharging then it has better life.

The phone is also really strong. I have dropped it, stepped on it, thrown it and scratched it and it still works fine. The battery can get a bit scratched up, but as it's silver it's hardly noticable

I have had this phone for 18 months and am very happy with it. The only problem was a software glitch caused by 3G signals which caused the phone to turn off. However within a week this was freely fixed by an Orange repair shop. The reception is great outdoors but poor indoors, and I live in London. Overall, if you want a phone to impress, then this is for you. It is worth the money just for choosing the colour you want it to flash for calls, SMS etc. It is also beautifully styled and quite rare, so will make you stand out. However, if you are a serious caller and texter, you may be disapointed by the phone's lack of design practicality in that department.
I am only replacing it because I have to change tariffs, otherwise I would happily keep it forever.