Cell Phones - Phone Book

All the cell phones in this review store 99 names and phone numbers. The Mitsubishi will also store addresses. Motorola Nexus stores radio IDs as well, for use with its 2-way radio function. Names are stored in the order they are entered, which can be a bit inconvenient. If you want your book in alphabetical order, you need to enter the names in that order. The Ericsson only has a short space for names - you won't be able to fit second names into the phone book here, which is a little inconvenient.

Cell Phones - Ringers and Speakers

The Mitsubishi Mobile Access T250 offers a range of different ringers, and you can set a different ring for each different sort of incoming data - phone, text message and email. You can also set a different ring for different people in your phonebook, so you'll know who's calling without picking up. This is great, however the ringer volume is not loud enough , and with the ringer speaker on the back of the unit the volume problem is compounded - you won't be able to hear it ring if you put it down on your desk. There is a similar problem with the voice speaker as well - its small and hard to hear, and you can't carry on a conversation with any kind of environmental noise around.

The Nokia 5165 has 30 different ring tones, and slots to upload 5 personalised tones as well. Once again, you can program different rings for different members of your phonebook: set a ring for friends, a ring for work colleagues, and a ring for text and you know instantly what you're dealing with before you answer. On the downside, the Nokia doesn't have a vibrate alert - unusual for cell phones these days - so discretion during meetings isn't possible. The Nokia does have a handy alarm feature, with a 10 minute snooze function as well. You can program the alarm to sound as loud as you like, and it has a volume that will reliably alert you. Unfortunately the alarm doesn't pick up the variety of tones that the ringer offers, but it functions when the phone is turned off as well, so you can comfortably rely on this feature.

The Motorola Nexus i1000 has a strong clear ring that you can hear even in a noisy environment, or for discretion there is a vibrate ring mode. Although the speaker is hidden under the flip cover the volume is fine, and it is easily adjustable if need be. The i1000 also has a speaker phone function that can be used with the cover open of closed, and is excellent for hands-free use.

Like the Mitsubishi and Motorola, the Ericsson T182 has a vibrate alert for use in meetings or noisy places. You can program the phone to use different ring tones for work, home and friends, just like with the Nokia and Mitsubishi. The speaker on the Ericsson isn't quite so clear as the other three phones, being particularly quiet on the bass scale, but it is of an acceptable level.

Cell Phones - Web and Email Access

Whilst the Nokia 5165 and Ericsson T182 have fantastic text message abilities, they do not offer web or email access. The Nokia's text message feature allows you to store up to 30 messages at a time, which might be handier than constantly using WAP for online email access.

The Mitsubishi Mobile Access T250 offers basic web access, with no color or praphics. Access will be limited to areas with very stable and reliable coverage. The T250 only offers online browsing at this point - there is no download ability - and this can get costly very quickly. This feature will only really be handy if you know precisely what you are after, or if you limit yourself to the Mitsubishi information web sites which offer news updates and specific services such as film schedules. Whilst the features is easy to use, while you have the cell phone in net mode you miss any incoming voice calls, although these will be picked up on your free voice mail. It would be handy if the phone had a notification feature to allow you to free up your phone when there was an incoming call.

The Motorola Nextel i1000 offers similar features to the Mobile Access T250 and has a similar area of coverage. Once again, you pay an additional fee for this feature so you'll likely want to keep your browsing to a minimum.

Cell Phones - 2 Way Radio

The Motorola Nexus i1000 is the only phone In this review offering a 2 way radio feature, which is why it is commonly used in businesses at the moment. It allows groups of phones programmed to the same band to page each other, so is handy for internal office communication. One of the down sides of this feature however is that the phone will start talking to you without you answering if someone radios you, which could be inconvenient at times. To silence the loud speaker and send the conversation to the ear phone you need to hold down a button on the phone - so make sure the phone is close by if you are expecting a personal message and you've got company!

Cell Phones - Miscellaneous Features

All four of these mobiles offer the basics: call waiting, caller ID, and a missed call or message log and free voice mail.

The Motorola Nexus has a 3-way chat feature, so you can speak with 2 other callers at once - great for organising a get-together. The Ericsson's conference call feature gives you the same freedom.

All four of these cell phones offer the new T9 technology, where the phone will intelligently predict your words with only a single press of each key. This cuts down your typing time considerably. The Nokia cell phone has a large built in dictionary, in other languages as well as English.