Sharp GX30i Review

Overall Rating

Excellent high resolution colour display.
External display.
Expandable memory via SD card.
MP3 player.

Limited battery life.
Inability to use downloaded MP3 tracks as ringtones.
No radio or loudspeaker.

I got a Sharp GX30i nearly 2 years ago on upgrade from a GX10. It was cutting edge at the time with a 262,000-colour LCD display, 1 mega pixel Camera, along with enhanced bluetooth, MP3 and wireless support, setting it apart from the standard GX30.

On receiving the phone I was initially very pleased. The quality of the plastic appeared good and it had a substantial premium feel. It is by no means a small phone, and even folded it will occupy most of the palm of your hand and at around 1" thick, (folded) is no Razr V3.

Nonetheless, on switching the phone on you will be impressed by the screen quality. It boasts an ultra high-res QVGA 262,000 colour screen, which gives crystal clarity on menus and quality downloaded images.

Even bang up-to-date phones, such as the Sony Ericsson K750i do no better, despite higher camera mega pixel values. In fact, having seen pictures on top spec modern phones such as the 750i, there is little to tell between them.

The GX30i also has expandable memory via an SD card slot. The phone will come with a 8Mb SD card, which is pretty much a token gesture. I've got a 128Mb SD card in mine, and it is more than enough to hold 50 - 60 songs.

Many forums suggested that other owners had suffered with problems getting MP3's onto the GX30i. I suggest buying a USB card reader and just dragging the MP3's into the card via your PC desktop. This works fine. If you've burned CD's to your computer via Windows they may be saved as Windows media files. Download an MP3 converter from the net and you're sorted. Once they're converted, drag the new MP3 version onto the card and it will play fine on the GX30i.

The MP3 player has two notable weaknesses. Firstly, it does not allow any kind of shuffle or playlist selection; you just select one song, which will then repeat over and over. Secondly, the phone will not allow you to use any downloaded MP3's as ringtones. I'm not sure why, but it's a bit of a shame nonetheless.

There is also a video recorder which allows 400kb of playback with sound. It's pretty basic, and the reproduction is nowhere near as good as the photo quality. You will get smearing and sound distortion, so don't rely on it for any kind of significant event.

The phone was initially offered only with Vodafone, so it comes with GPRS access to Vodafone live. This is really useful for downloading games, tones, and also for traffic info and directions. Java games really flourish on the quality screen, and they are clear and sharp.

There are the standard array of useful features such as calendar/calculator etc. There is also a voice memo feature which saves 10 seconds of voice info. It does lack some standard kit, such as stopwatch, radio and loudspeaker. The latter is not overly serious, as the phone boasts bluetooth wireless support.

In summary. Despite being an aging unit, this phone still delivers a great deal of features. Some of which rival or exceed current models. It is well put together, and despite not being able to compete on looks, will still satisfy all but the most demanding techno junkies out there.

Members' Comments onElricardo's Review

• bmw e30 on 5th Jan 2007

  Great review about the Sharp GX30i mobile phone! Very helpful and detailed. Well done!