Ericsson R380s Review

Overall Rating

Looks cool, great concept, clear sound.

Unstable, can crash at any time. Slow to boot up (22 seconds). Poor navigation (i.e. "Lock keypad" is 6 keys away)

To start with I thought this was a great phone. After using nokias for many years the poorly thought out navigation began to get on my nerves. Then it started to hang and crash. I began to miss the palm pilot, and found I used the calander functions less and less. The phone seems to be unable to keep its clock running correctly too.
As a phone it is great though. The sound is very clear, and the voice activated dialing works almost perfectly. It is comfortable to use, light enough, and will last me a week on one charge.
I think I will sell it though. Ericsson no longer make phones, there is no sign of an O/S update, and I just dont need a phone that I can not rely on. Close, but no prizes for this one.

Members' Comments onIan.'s Review

• Mike. on 8th May 2001

  Sounds like this guy got a R380s with a faulty software download. All he needs is a software upgrade which can be done under warranty at any Ericsson Accredited Service Center! To dispel the misinformation supplied by this person, Ericsson DO still make mobile phones, they have only outsourced the assembly to a company in Malaysia!

• Kevin Truong. on 27th Jul 2001

  I totally agree with Ian's comment. I'm very disappointed and angry since I got my R380s. It crashes almost once per month (my software version is the latest one according to local Ericsson Rep office), if you have no backup you are dead. Another bad point to raise is the paint (gray color) on the back of the phone started to scratch with time like a one cent product !!! it costs me 8 times my montly salary, it's inadmissible. Ericsson should do something. All my friends have the same problem, we are four guys buying this phone and 2 have resold it nearly half price after 3 months use. It's a shame for a big name like Ericsson to release such a product. :-)

• Craig. on 6th Dec 2001

  I agree this phone does have problems. I've had mine for 2 months and the problems are as follows:
  
  1. Running really slowly (A lot slower than when I got it, there's still 1.1 of the 1.2 MBs free).
  
  2. Locking up, it didn't respond to any key presses or opening the flip.
  
  Removing the battery after locking up helps to solve these 2 problems for a few days before it starts again (very strange!).
  
  The latest problems is it won't send any SMS message, even with full signal strength and having emptied all the message boxes (out, in, sent & drafts).
  
  I have contacted my provider and still await their response, a week later, about getting the phone sorted out.
  
  I'll reply/edit this message once/if the problem is sorted with the details.