Panasonic GD87 Review

Overall Rating

The whole thing! It's just a dream, it's fast on moving from menu to menu and writing with t9 imput.

Also the built in digital camera! With its zoom night shot and borders - once you've taken your pictures, you can place them as a background picture or as a caller ID picture when someone calls.

The screen is wonderful, and I believe it to be a 65,000 colour screen! (well that's what it says on the box lol) but it does live upto it,

The polyphonic ringtones are very cool with 16 notes and you can download new ones from wap (or send them from your computer or pda with the irda). The phone has irda built-in of course.

And, of course, with that colour screen you've got to have wap in colour!

In fact there's not one thing i don't like about this phone except how much it costs. It's a lot of money but it's worth it. I would buy this phone again if i knew the first time it was gonna be this good!

i just love this Panasonic GD87 mobile phone, (although i buy a new phone nearly every month i know i'm gonna stick with this little baby, after buying a t68i and then buying this 3 weeks later i think my t68i is gonna be lonely for the rest of its days) since this is all ive ever wanted. I've never needed blue tooth so i won't miss that. And dragging a big digital camera for my t68i got very annoying but no more! with the GD87 because, as i said, it's BUILT IN and still the phone remains incredibly small.

Once more, no firmware problems that i have noticed 'yet' and i use it lightly

One other thing is the battery. It lasts very long since it has a colour screen the same size as a t100 from samsung that don't last 3 days (in my journey with it anyways).

So as this review comes to an end ;-(
i just got to say, you must get one quick!

Members' Comments onjam.'s Review

• Charlie. on 22nd Nov 2002

  This review has made me seriously consider buying one, thanks for all the info on it!

• Rizla. on 22nd Nov 2002

  Cool I have one on order for wait for it £40 ha I hope no-one else pays the £299 I've seen it advertised for everywhere else, but im so glad that I'll be getting the fastest phone on the market and that people who already have it love it. I'll tell you all what I think when i get mine (next week 22/11/02)

• Robert. on 22nd Nov 2002

  Sounds like a great phone, features wise it seems identical to the sharp gx10 except the sharp phone is slightly cheaper and supports java. Apart from that is there any other difference?

• jam. on 22nd Nov 2002

  Well I also own a GX10 and they are basically the same just the GD87 looks better on the out side, but the GX10 does have java (im looking into changeing firmware, software of the GD87 to a GX10 from sharp so then I can have the looks of a panasonic but the java of the GX10)

• Noddy. on 25th Nov 2002

  Hehe... Change the firware of this Panasonic phone to that of the Sharp... Funniest thing I've ever heard. If only it were possible.

• jam. on 27th Nov 2002

  ok people I've found a way to change the firmware format, just you will lose some memory of the GX10 but it works I've managed to make a dct4 wire connecter that does connect and reconises the sharp and I've been able to put the panasonic software into the sharp but not the other way, my tests have found that the screen is centerd proberly messages work and so does the camara although the reaction time of cam to real life movement is 2x slower, im trying to get my hands on a P800 since ive seen one at work (some guy had one) yet im not sure how he got one??? I played a realy cool shoot em up on it and now I want one badly, we will soon see if i get one (if i do ile write a review

• ~.: peach(¯¦¯)shaker :.~. on 27th Nov 2002

  Thanks for the review, as it was quite helpful. however, I have read that the phone has problems relating to the speech quality, and volume, whilst in conversation....likwise with the loudspeaker option producing much the same effect. Is this true? Anything you ask voda about the phone, they'll just try and sell you the GX-10 instead, which is very off-putting, as I really don't have any idea as to which is the better handset.

• tim. on 27th Nov 2002

  I've just returned from Japan and all I saw was phones like this little beauty. Makes me laugh at everyone buying camera phones like those Nokia boxes or the Sony with the plug ins. So where can we get them for 40 quid? That has to be the big question, surely!

• Rizla. on 28th Nov 2002

  The gx10 is on that voda live thing and I'm not sure if the panasonic is, so that could be the reason that everyone is pushing the sharp,, personally and call it shallow but I go on looks and the panasonic looks so much better. Easy choice

• dbrook. on 28th Nov 2002

  I'm considering getting one of these. I got an Orange SPV - lots of great features but that's let down by poor battery life, no available accessories and slow menus. I wonder how this compares with the SPV?

• jam. on 28th Nov 2002

  well I've heard this to but my Panasonic seems to be fine I've done alot of tests on it to do a good review,but dont let them tell you anything if you want a Panisonic dont let them talk you into a Sharp you have the right to ask Questions and poke fingers ask to see a working model to be sure your getting a worth while product (whats the worst they can say now you have to pay double for asking???)

• swuc. on 28th Nov 2002

  Does anyone know what sort of stuff (games, applications etc) you can download into the GD87 (over the IR port oe email/SMS/whatever). I'm trying to decide between the GD87 and the Sharp GX10. I'd prefer to have a triband phone (i.e. the Panasonic) but I want to know what I'm going to be missing since the Panasonic doesn't have Java and the Sharp does. Help? Anyone? P.S. In case anyone's wondering prices here in ireland are (with upgrade on Vodafone): Panasonic GD87 - €340 Sharp GX10 - €260 Nokia 7650 - €340

• Rizla. on 29th Nov 2002

  www.onestopphoneshop.co.uk £40 with a contract like I care about having a new number and contract to get me hands on one of these little beauties, and thats on orange too which is sweet (I dont have to change networks). for ya have u checked out those £15000 mobiles? Made by Nokia under another name ..Platinum cased. Vertu ... check them out you wont believe it

• jam. on 30th Nov 2002

  you all might think im a bit mad but I'm going to use my nokia 7210 again instead of panasonic and sharp because of the pop port, I've found some info that nokia may be makeing a tv tuner for the pop port phones, and there is already a cam for it now which I've invested in (it is of good quality with zoom and stuff) so I'm leaveing my sharp and panasonic to go back to the fast and trusting nokia (and the panasonic gd87, sharp GX10 and the nokia 7650 work with the vodafone live! service which I tested and the 7650 gave the best results on vodafone live)

• phoneboy. on 30th Nov 2002

  I have the T68i for a few weeks. Love it and do use the bluetooth to sync with my iMac/iCal/ Yet this phone seems like the one to have. Two questions How good is the picture quality? How good is the date book application? thanks

• jam. on 1st Dec 2002

  well the picture quality is not as good as that found on t68i (which I've found to be better then the nokia 7650 panasonic and sharp) If you view the pictures on phone screen the panasonic will win, but upload to a pc mac or handheld pc and view them and the t68i has the better picture hands down! (hard to believe I know but it's true) I've found the picture quality on the nokia 7210 also to be as good as that found on t68i (I think that camara's that are not built in but plug in give better quality)

• Rizla. on 2nd Dec 2002

  Still waiting for my phone to be released so then they can send it to me,,, How long will this be going on ? Am I to be the last person in the world to get my gd87!!!

• woxiz. on 2nd Dec 2002

  How is the difference between the screen's on T68i and the panasonic? I'm gonna buy a new phone with color screen and I don't know wich one to buy, I want color screen, polyfonics, nice games, and a small phone...

• kbuk. on 3rd Dec 2002

  forget even trying to use the IRDA on the panasonic to transfer data to your PC - it just isn't happening! Panasonic do not do any phone management software for the phone, and only one place so far seems to do a fonebook manager (of which I have yet to find anywhere in the UK that does it!) As for stuff that you can download from Vodafone Live to the fone - Basically it appears to be just ringtones (V Expensive). You cannot download games due to the fact that this fone does not support Java! And downloading wallpaper, again is a very expensive option, with less than satisfactory results. The beauty in this phone lies in it's size and Looks. Unfortunately it does not lie in it's functionality or user friendliness - especially if you are one of those who likes to use your computer to talk to the phone! - currently there is no way that I can tell of - to transfer pics between the phone and the PC. If anyone does know how to do this, or of any software - then feel free to post!

• Dan. on 3rd Dec 2002

  How easy is the keypad to use? Is it small and fiddly? I like big buttons for my fat clumsy fingers!

• jam. on 3rd Dec 2002

  Well the difference between the t68i and the panasonic GD87 lies mostly in the screen the t68i's screen is differnce size (square) and only has 256 colours when the panasonic's screen higher then wider and has over 65,000 coluor screen (if you have a sonyericsson t300 or are going to buy one be careful because it also has a 256 colour screen which means it will be hard to find java games for it when most java games are built with 4,096 colours in mind) to see the difference for your self change the resolution of your computer from 24-bit or 16-bit to 256 colours (there is a big diff)

• yoni. on 18th Dec 2002

  Panasonic gd 87 has a software cable serial you can transfer photo and other thing with computer the reference should be: EB-RSD67 it cost around 90 Euros due so its a bit expensive. Now the most dificult is to get it since is not easy panasonic not sell that cable so easy, the software for the cable is not included you have to later download it from their web for free. As for sharp there is no possible way to transfer with usb cable or any and voda has blocked IR so forget sharp plz if you want pc transfer. It is all about panasonic gd93 nice looking with smale pix or a ugly nokia 7650 with big pix camera photo resolution

• tbbe. on 25th Dec 2002

  hi, I saw someone selling USB data suite for gd87 at £25.99, the guy didn't mention whether it is EB-RSD67. anyone can help?

• Grey Area. on 27th Dec 2002

  Fiancee just bought GD87 USB suite from Carphone Warehouse for £30. God knows what spec it is (I'm not up to speed on mobile phone tech yet). It wasn't a Panasonic brand, and we haven't installed it yet, so don't even know if it works. I agree with the review on the phone completely - we spent ages comparing all the different models - someone asked how the GD87 compared to the SPV - I think the SPV is a good idea, but badly implemented - the buttons are almost microscopic, the screen definition is lousy (compared to the GD87) and it seemed a bit slow. Also the camera was a bolt on unit - not exactly what you want for "on the spot" snapshots!

• Grey Area. on 27th Dec 2002

  Further to last message - USB suite is by someone called "Konnect - powered by Kondor" and part code is MA-8310P. It installs okay, but we can't seem to get the help function to work, so we're sort of finding our way in the dark. The good news is that it did find the phone as soon as we stuck the cable in the back, and transferred the phonebook to the PC in about 10 seconds.

• Charlie. on 28th Dec 2002

  Both the Sharp GX10 and the Panasonic GD87 are reduced in Vodafone stores to £99 with contract. Which phone has the better reception on Vodafone of the GX10 or the GD87 and voice speaker quality?

• Dave. on 2nd Jan 2003

  The GD87 is very similar to the GX-10 but there are differences that make the GD87 stand out as the clear winner.
  
  The screen is bigger and has better resolution.
  
  The phone itself is smaller, lighter and thinner.
  
  Also for me the best reason to buy this mobile phone is it can work in America.
  
  Wicked phone! But don't buy it because i want to be unique and be the only person with the coolest phone! lol

• carlos. on 8th Jan 2003

  No problem using Irda to transfer pix and midi files (under 50k) to my gd87. Just point the phone at the IRda port and wait until win2K finds it then drag and drop pix and sounds to your desktop Irda icon. (Infra read must be set to receive on the phone) From phone to pc is almost as easy. Just point then select send by IRda while looking at a photo or sound then choose ok... Can't do the phone book but will probably buy USB data cable soon for that

• hedona. on 30th Jan 2003

  HI RIZLA, JUST CHECKED www.onestopphoneshop.co.uk- THE PHONE IS INDEED £40 BUT YOU'LL BE LOCKED IN TO PAY THE £30 MONTHLY LINE RENTAL, WHICH COMES TO £400! THIS ENDS UP BEING MORE EXPENSIVE THAN BUYING IT ELSEWHERE- OR DID YOU FIGURE OUT A CLEVER WAY TO GET AROUND PAYING THE MONTHLY LINE RENTAL? IF YOU OPT FOR THE LOWEST MONTHLY TARIFF, THE PHONE'S PRICE IMMEDIATELY GOES UP TO £200.

• OK. on 5th Feb 2003

  I am keeping myself from not throwing this thing at the wall since the day I bought it. It is veeeery slow (especially phonebook); the menu is unbelievably stupid; there isn`t even an option to copy entries from simcard to phonebook.. Every option on the menu is confimed ten times and everytime in other ways. This is just a toy, not a phone !

• mark. on 14th Feb 2003

  The GD87 does NOT show who you received TEST messages from .. a MAJOR failing in the handset !!

• Twoshoe. on 15th Feb 2003

  Mark, you CAN see who sent you the text message - just hit the down scroll button!

• Drach. on 16th Feb 2003

  It *does* show the sender of the text message, if you scroll down to the bottom of the text. Has anyone else worked out how to get POP3 mail working on Vodafone network yet? I seem to be having problems getting mine connected.

• jam. on 18th Feb 2003

  I'm not sure if voda allow it, but you should have been given a new email when you sign up with vodafone live (i did)

• Drachan. on 19th Feb 2003

  I have a vodafone live! email address, I just want to know how I can send photos taken with the camera as emails to friends of mine without mms.

• Sam. on 25th Mar 2003

  Nice phone, shame about the synchronization software/functionality. I just bought the above mentioned USB Handset Management (Konnect/Mobile Action) software and cable and I am almost at the point of lobbing the whole thing out of the window right now!!
  The software causes my PC to crash (not just slightly but a "complete lock up", no mouse, no keyboard, only reset or power off). Using W2K Pro on a "big" HP machine. Also tried it on a laptop and seemed to work OK but my Outlook is installed on the HP so I want the synchronization to happen on that machine. It's a nightmare!
  Anyone know of any other software which would do the same job (without crashing my machine)?

• jam. on 26th Mar 2003

  ive allready got rid of my GD87 and bought a P800 its so much better in software hardware camara MP3 big massive screen i didnt know why i didnt buy it when it first came out...

• Fat Bloke. on 26th Mar 2003

  I'm using the MA-8310P USB data connector, bought from the carphone warehouse for £30, can be found at www.mobilefun.co.uk for £24.95.. But most places are selling it for over £35. Software installed with no problems on win2K & XP. Syncs prefectly with outlook, lets you charge the phone as well. Been able to transfer files through IrDA on a number of different laptops, only issue is the 50KB file size limit (not mentioned in the manual).
  I've only been using Panasonic GSM phones and this is the best phone I've ever used. The Panasonic ix70 should be coming out in the autumn which is 20% smaller with Bluetooth & is Java enabled, that should make it the worlds greatest phone (increase in earpiece volume would help).

• Drachan. on 27th Mar 2003

  I'm in the same place as Jam.. I took my GD87 back because.. as nice as it is it's a bloody dull phone!
  
  The P800, however is *amazing*.

• jam. on 27th Mar 2003

  i think panasonic should stick to makeing TV's and Personal cd player's
  
  even the new one thats comeing out will only support java games and APP's made by.... PANASONIC!! what are they thinkning? they never gonna sell any phones. at the end of this year there is going to be loads fo new phones out by everyone under the SEA! which will be so much better and the phones with 3 colour screens will be comeing out (flip phone 1 screen inside 1 outside and 1 that flips out from the side)
  
  so no one will care about panasonic anymore infact id have to say i perfer the GX10 just for the amount of java games offerd the prob with the GX10 is no way to connect it to a pc/laptop or anything! because the IRDA is only for a GPRS connection and there is no cable and it dont have bluetooth (damn phones WE NEED BLUETOOTH!)

• Wax. on 30th Mar 2003

  I,v just bought the GD87e a few days ago,and its easily one of the best phones on the market,better then the GX10.I have read the orange instructions but I found it cumbersome and difficult to understand.Please can owners help me with my following questions..
  
  1. What is the easiest way to transfer pictures from the camera to PCs?
  2. Is there any way of enlarging the picture that appears on the screen during a phone call(it appears very small)
  3. Are there any websites where free ringtones can be downloaded?
  4. When will new games be available to download.
  
  Phew...Any comments appeciated.

• jam. on 31st Mar 2003

  LOL i feel so sorry for you...
  
  the only way to transfer pics to computer is with the panasonic cable or by sending them from your phone to your email...
  there is not any way to make the pictures bigger thats the biggest problem the pictures are only screen size...
  
  there is no web sites for free poly tones (they all cost £££)
  
  and the java on the panasonic is personal java which means only java games made by panasonic can be used on it lol which means (they want even more money off you)
  this is all ehy i got rid of my panasonic i feel it was a waste now!
  __________________________________________________
  the GX10 has: better picture (bigger picture size etc)
  actuly has java LOL
  cons of the GX10: no cable infra red only for GPRS connection to laptop...

• wax. on 2nd Apr 2003

  Thanks for your help jam,you seem to know a few things about the phone. Do you know how to set voice recordings as your ring tones?, Iv managed to record some samples onto the data folder but when I try to use them as a ring tone there doesnt appear to be any option on screen allowing me to...is it possible? Hey do you really think the GX10 is better! The GX10 may be better for games+messages but the GD87 really is better in all other aspects. No the screen for the GD87 is bigger and the phone looks a lot better and less bulky.

• jamatjam. on 3rd Apr 2003

  sorry but when i said the picture is bigger on GX10 i ment pictures taken by the camara and i should know since i own both and wrote the review above lol
  
  in my work with them i liket the GX10 better for java and better camara options the panasonic GD87 camara an only take pics to its screen size nothing bigger which is anoying if u own a P800 and want to move pics to that :@!!
  
  the panasonic has all the features the GX10 has exsept java and the cam only takes small pics the screen on both phones is the same... but the GX10 on pay & go is only £300 but the panasonic is only avalible on simfree or pay monthy (sim free it costs £400) the panasonic is smaller but then the GX10's battery lasted longer when i used it and i was allways useing it with games and MMS's
  
  if i was someone going to buy a new phone and had about £300 to spend i wouldnt get any of them we allready have phones out that come with craddles and extra batterys, and wheres the bluetooth? im not gonna wait till panasonic bring out new one this summmer that has it even then its going to be little bigger then this,
  
  thats why i bought a P800 much better, its got everything and MORE! and that very nice bluetooth that i missed in the GX10 & GD87...

• wax. on 4th Apr 2003

  Yes but can you tell whether you can save voice recordings and set it as your ring tones-on the GD87? I think the P800 is a very advanced phone,problem is its a bit bulky,otherwise it would easily be the best phone ou there.

• wax. on 6th Apr 2003

  does anybody know wether u can use recorded voice recordings as a ring tone,and if so how?

• jam. on 7th Apr 2003

  the quick and simple anser is no, u cant do it, 1 the memory is to small to keep a small voice or song on it since even at 5 seconds one file could take up 500kb and two Panasonic never made the GD87 to be able to do this and u cant get a java programe to do it, again 1. because java cannot use other systems in the phone and 2. the panasonic only has personal java (which means it will ONLY play games and APPS made by panasonic)

• BFG. on 13th Apr 2003

  Comment by jam from UK! on 31st Mar 2003
  '....the only way to transfer pics to computer is with the panasonic cable or by sending them from your phone to your email....'
  
  WRONG! I can quite happily transfer files backwards and forwards using an Infrared device on my computer. Although haven't figured out how to transfer my addressbook yet!
  
  Regards.

• maxc. on 25th Apr 2003

  I have a gd87 and it seems ok especially since you can use it anywhere in the world being triband which the sharp is'nt main problems I have found are the earpiece volume being to soft, and the screen outside on a sunny day goes almost completely black and is dificult to see, even at it's brightest, I suppose this would apply to the sharp as well, bought the data cable from carphone warehouse, £29.99 it did not list any panasonic phones on cd-rom supplied, though it said on package ok for gd87, so could not download, tried several different ways ie. manually and caused a horrendous crash took it back for refund, and then ordered one from irvine mobiles on ebay £25.95 delivered to my door in 3 days, this was MA-8310P listed gd87 on cd-rom menu and seemingly downloaded ok only trouble is, what now! The phone manual tells you nothin other than list a data/charge cable as an extra,lots of info on infared connections, which vodofone told me was not so good! I want too be able to send pix by email,can anyone tell me in simpleton, step by step terms how to do this!!!also should'nt charge light be on, on the handset, cause it aint.. I'm hopeing maybe one you experts can HELP!!! thanks everyone for the review very enlightening

• OneThing. on 20th Jun 2003

  Just incase anyone out there still reading this. head to http://www.orangedealer.co.uk/ for the gd87 for only £209 quid. prepay. cant argue with that.

• boo. on 19th Jul 2003

  I may well be being stupid but I have just got a panasonic GD87e. I wish to transfer photos taken on the camera from my phone to my pc. I realise I need a irda but i don't know what this is. There doesn't seem to be any kind of lead or anything in the box. This may be a ridiculous question but i would appreciate anyone who will help me. Thanks x

• punimitsu. on 24th Jul 2003

  Downloading Photos to PC Poll
  
  Which is better / easier?
  
  Data Cable or Infra Red???
  
  thx! p

• Jam. on 25th Jul 2003

  Data cable is the fastest and easyest option.
  
  the panasonic is quite old now i suggest not buying it now, its not that good anymore there are 1.4 megapixel cam's in some 3G phones now infact we have 3G phones with video calls, no need to get a 2G phone (2G = GPRS).

• geordie72 on 31st Mar 2004

  hi
  can anyone tell me how to recieve e:mails direct to my panasonic gd87e phone instead of to my pc?
  cheers
  geordie

• bearhench on 22nd Apr 2004

  Im having a few problems with my gd87, it sudenly stopped sending and recieving mms (picture msgs) worked one day, then stopped the next. just wondered if anyone had experienced these kind of problems before, and if they have could they let me know if they ever sorted the problem. cheers.