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Content by Francisco
Reviewer Rank: 240
Helpful Votes:
768
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Reviews Written by
Francisco "hifranc" (Newcastle upon Tyne, UK)
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
Good but not perfect, 24 Feb 2009
I switched to the Blackberry 8220 because I had a Sony Ericsson W910i, which kept on restarting (on some days several times). Before settling on the 8220 I checked out most of the phones on the market today and this one had the least complaints about reliability. I've had mine for about a month so how has it worked out?
On the stability front it's not perfect (it's crashed 4 times) but that's still better than my old phone and, from the comments I read about some other phones currently on the market, it seems to be pretty good in this day and age.
If you've used other phones, especially Sony Ericsson ones, there are things to get used to in using it so I'll mention them first:
The keypad is laid out in a QWERTY order with 2 letters per key. The keypad is 5 columns wide with the numbers in the centre. The predictive text works out a lot better. That is partly due to the fact that there are only 2 letters per key but there are things in the programming that help: there are more place names programmed in than any other phone I've used and it has been programmed to consider letters from nearby keys if they are very likely.
You cannot alter the interval that it checks e-mails nor can you manually check for e-mails. You enter your e-mail account details (either on the phone or via the Blackberry site) and it checks your e-mails in the background. It made me feel a bit fidgety in the first few days that I had it but I've got used to that. One of the other consequences of that is that I recommend that you only set up your e-mail if you have an unlimited internet usage bundle.
The voice dialling system will not ask for a sample of your voice but try to match what you say. You also have to give it a command so it's "Call Amazon" rather than "Amazon". One thing I would advise you to do is make sure that it's set to UK English as mine came with US English set and it had difficulty understanding me.
If you set it so that the vibrate and a tone is active, it would vibrate first, then ring. You cannot have it set to vibrate and ring at the same time. You can, however, set the number of times to vibrate and whether an LED should flash.
What do I like?
The screens are clear and bright, and the phone is pretty reliable. Being a flip, you can just lock the keypad by closing it. You can set it so that you need to enter a security code (no predictive text allowed) every time it locks. I like the option to have a flashing LED activated as I spend half my time listening to podcasts.
The phone is fast at responding most of the time (however, if you pause, for a moment whilst scrolling through a list of tones the phone would insist on playing you the tone first before letting you continue). The camera has a flash and takes good pictures (it's a 2 MP camera so adequate for a phone). The browser can deal with Java scripts and the email application can, most of the time, deal with HTML in the message. The phone is good at finding a signal.
On the downside:
The SMS (or text) message application is not on the front screen by default (that can be changed though). You cannot send a text to multiple people without first creating a group in your phonebook for the people you are sending it to.
The manuals you get with the phone are pretty basic. There is more help on the phone in the Help application.
Lastly, there is no timer application pre-installed (i.e. where you can say I need an alarm in x number of minutes, e.g. when you're cooking).
In short it's a good phone, which I like a lot, but it takes a bit of getting used to and can be annoying at times.
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Reviewer's Tags:
8220, blackberry, crash, email, flash, flip, pearl, phone, photo, reliable, smartphones, tone, vibrate, voice dialling
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2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
Good at start, 1 Jan 2009
The sound reproduction is good but it's not long lasting.
I bought my headphones at the end of October so they reached me in early November. At the start the reproduction was good and the volume loud enough for me to hear in noisy environments. Only 2 months later I usually only get sound in one side at a time.
To be fair they are cheap so replacing 6 a year is not as expensive as getting one of the more expensive ones (which are similarly short-lived). However, as they are advertised for use with MP3 players, which usually spend a lot of time in pockets, they really should be tougher.
In short it's a reasonable set of headphones but they don't last long if you carry them around in your pocket.
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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
Good so far, 7 Mar 2008
I was offered a free upgrade to this phone. I accepted before I found out more.
My last phone was a SE w810i so I'll compare it to that.
Good:
Mini menu on front page to access phone book, calls, texts, calendar, etc (that may have been put on by Orange, though).
Very clear screen.
Predictive text not only tries to predict your current word but, when you're finished that one, it tries to predict the next word (my favourite feature).
Text message memory (and memory of previous people contacted by text) seems to have been expanded.
Charger has socket in back of it so it looks like you can use another device at the same time as charging phone.
Very good at finding a signal (I could use it in places that I couldn't use my w810i).
It's a slide phone so you can unlock it just by sliding it open.
The half moon buttons have gone so it's easier to press the right key.
The navigation key is bigger so it's easier to use.
The calendar tells you, on the front page, how many reminders you have for the current day.
Bad:
Whilst the battery lasts a few days it seems that it's not as long as my old w810i.
Reputed to be unreliable (I've had not problems as yet). I've taken a star off for that as the reports are so numerous that I've got my old phone a new sim in case my new phone breaks down.
It seems to take longer to pick up e-mails (but that could just be down to Orange network traffic).
There is no flash/light for the camera.
Just different:
The keys are a lot flatter (to enable the sliding) so that does take a little getting used to.
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1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
Reasonable basic network, 2 Jan 2008
I bought this so that I and my other half can go on-line at the same time and so that I didn't have to power cycle every time we changed computers over.
We're using a Mac (which Linksys don't support) and a PC. I, initially, had trouble logging in to the router to set it up. I called Linksys tech support and they suggested the reset button. That worked and I was able to set it up.
My ISP recently changed its tech support number from a local rate call to a premium rate call. One of the things that the router asks for is my ISP's DNS servers. Faced with the prospect of a premium rate call I decided to implement the old trick of referring it to my cable modem.
How does it work out? For the most part it's a lovely bit of kit. However, when I request a website there is a noticeable delay before the page starts downloading. I suspect that this would shortened if I did have those DNS servers entered directly to it, though.
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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
Predicatable but fun, 13 Oct 2007
Alex Fletcher (Grant) was the lead singer in a fictional 80s group called "Pop". One day an up-and-coming teenage pop singer Cora (Bennett) offers a challenge to Alex -- write a song in a week and get featured on her album. Sophie (Barrymore) interrupts Alex and his lyricist when she comes to water Alex's plants. Alex decides that he wants her to write his lyrics.
The first half is both heartwarming and predictable. The second half is where it departs a little from what you'd first expect but... to say more will give it away.
The characterisation was done well for a film of the genre. The characters felt a little more real and a little deeper. Still, there were lots of light-hearted moments.
In short: if you like romantic comedies, this is one of the better ones.
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4 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
Mixture of song writing and controversy, 12 Oct 2007
I'm interested in politics (especially concerning civil rights and liberties) so I decided to watch this documentary. It's, in part, a look at the furore over the remarks of one of the band members said -- she said that she was ashamed that President Bush was from [her home state] Texas on the eve of war in Iraq. The other part of the film shows the Dixie Chicks writing songs, being with their families, etc.
I thought it was OK. I liked the bits about the controversy but, in my opinion, there was too much on the song-writing/family bits of the film and not enough on the issues. It was informative and I learnt quite bit but it feels like a typical behind-the-scenes-of-a-band-on-the-road-documentary. The issues caused by the comment probably take up over half the piece. It doesn't help that I'm not sure I like their music.
On the other hand, as a Radio 4 (and Today programme) fan, so I'm used to tougher and/or more focused examination of issues.
On balance I think you'll love this DVD if you're a fan. If you're not then, whilst you'll learn a lot about the Dixie Chicks side of the story, it won't be as engaging.
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2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
Action, adventure and a conscience, 31 Aug 2007
Danny Archer (Di Caprio) is cynical smuggler of diamonds in Sierra Leone. He doesn't care which side he smuggles for -- as long as he gets paid. Solomon Vandy (Hounsou) is family man whose life is shattered when the civil war catches up with his village. Maddy Bowen (Connelly) is a journalist investigating conflict diamonds and a specific diamond company (which seems to hint at a real diamond company). She feels that Archer may be the man to help her get her prey.
Meanwhile, Vandy, whilst he's doing forced labour in the diamond mines, discovers a large, rare, pink diamond. Archer gets wind of the rumour and decides to become Vandy's friend.
Will Archer get his hands on the diamond? Will Vandy get his family back together? Will Maddy get her story?
Being set in an African civil war the issue of child soldiers comes up. The film shows the training regime of a child soldier and explains how a child goes from being an innocent to a killer.
The film has a lot to say about conflict diamonds (they're also known as "blood diamonds"). In fact the film opens with a G8 conference on conflict diamonds and closes with text on the state of conflict diamonds. Like The Lord of War, it was made, in part, to highlight an issue. However, the film feels more like an old-fashioned adventure movie. It's probably closer to a film like Beyond Borders in feel.
I enjoyed watching Blood Diamond. If you enjoy adventure movies then this one is worth a look.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
Mostly good, 31 Aug 2007
Good:
-- Good sound reproduction
-- Effective background noise reduction
-- Very comfortable
-- Delivered with 3 sizes of ear pads
Bad:
-- If there's a breeze then they often whistle
On the whole like them a lot but the whistling (when there's a breeze) is irritating.
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3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
Surprisingly good, 6 Jul 2007
I'm a fan of the original series of Battlestar Galactica and only bought this as it was cheap and I was curious to see how the remake would be handled. I was pleasantly surprised.
The story is that the Cylons, a race of robots created by man, rebelled and war broke out. 40 years after the end of the war, the Cylons launch a surprise attack (in the original series it was the day the peace treaty was signed). The Cylons were able to attack with the unwitting help of a human (in the original series the traitor did it knowingly and willingly). The Cylons [in the remake] also have a secret weapon -- the latest Cylons look (and feel) like people.
The differences go beyond that -- whilst the names of the old characters are there the people have been updated for a modern audience. The characters are a little more realistic (they have issues), and the emotional range is greater, but it has still an action/adventure feel. The change in timing (i.e. 40 years after the war) means that most of the current crew have not been in a real battle and, at the start, are not battle-hardened.
All in all, it's very different to the original series, although it has the same basic plot, and, provided you're willing to judge it for itself it is pretty good. However, some people may like the original series more.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
Reasonable start, 12 April 2007
The book introduces Braille at Grade 1. It has a few exercises, which do get you to learn and practise what it's teaching you. Within the two dozen or so pages it has, I learnt a lot. However, whilst it includes letters, numbers and capitals, it does not teach punctuation. For me, the most annoying thing about the book was its style: The target audience seems to be middle school pupils.
In short it is useful for Grade 1 Braille learning but it doesn't teach you everything in Grade 1 and its style could be a little off-putting to adults.
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![Music and Lyrics [DVD] [2007]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/517L2ojcamL._SL110_.jpg)
![Dixie Chicks - Shut Up And Sing [DVD] [2006]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51JgKBS5XQL._SL110_.jpg)
![Blood Diamond [DVD] [2006]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51qSvyJuNgL._SL110_.jpg)
![Battlestar Galactica - The Mini Series [2003] [DVD] [2004]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41AYAS109GL._SL110_.jpg)
