Sagem my511X craftsmanship
Opening up the compact box the Sagem my511X came packaged in, our eyes rested on a handsome looking device. Our excitement intensified as we picked up the impressively slim, not to mention light handset. Yet this euphoria began to subside when it took us an age to figure out how to open the back of the phone to plug in the SIM and battery. After admitting defeat in trying to locate a release button we prised it open with our fingernail.
The cover to the charging slot is awkwardly attached to the back of the handset, and is a real nuisance to open. There is little lag after prying it open, meaning you have to try and squeeze the charger into the slot. Once you’ve managed this, the slightest knock will dislodge the charger, cutting off battery supply. It may be a harsh comparison, but it’s hard to fathom some of the larger manufacturers such as Nokia or Samsung crafting phones with such glitches.
Sagem my511X flat keypad
Only six buttons are clearly visible on the handset – a call and end button, two shortcut and menu confirmation keys (though there’s no indicator as to what function these shortcuts do until you press them), a navigation key, and an OK button that doubles up as the media player’s play and pause button – the number keys lie across the flat keypad. Once the phone is active, these keys have a backlight making them far more obvious to the eye, giving the handset an appealing Christmas tree look. Unfortunately this lighting display doesn’t make it more obvious to touch.
As there is no definition between the numeric keys, a degree of concentration is needed to make sure you don’t accidentally hit the wrong key. This can slow the entire use of the phone down to a mere trot. We found this the case when composing text messages, often having to backtrack to correct a word. With each press of a numeric key the keypad caves in slightly acknowledging the press.
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