Best Basic Phone? NEC 343i/SE J300i/SE K300i

A

anitasdame

New member
Hello! I'm in need of a lower end basic phone (on a budget) 100euro max.

I'm in Ireland, looking at 3 models. The NEC 343i, SE J300i, & SE K300i. Even though the specs say the NEC 343i has no connectivity, i've read here that its only port, a mini-usb, can be used to connect to the PC.

Needing a basic phone, I am interesting in a solid built phone, good software, ease of SMS, and of course call quality. If you have any other phones to suggest in that price range, please do! Below you can find specs for all three phones.

thanks alot!

NEC 343i:

Key specifications

Size 105 ? 44 ? 12 mm
Weight 105g
Java DoJa 1.5
Connectivity none
Camera CMOS 300K pixels
Display
Screen size 128 ? 160 pixels
Wallpaper screen size 128 ? 160 pixels
Browsing/DoJa screen size 128 ? 128 pixels
Colours 64k
Second screen none
i-mode
Browser Access Inc. CNF+
Languages supported iHTML, iXHTML
Max page size 20kB
i-mail
Size limit 50KB
Capacity inbox: 860KB, outbox: 430KB

SE J300i:

General

Phone type????Dualband
Network(s)????GSM 1800, GSM 900
Wireless technology????GPRS, WAP, Java

Display

Colour LCD?????Yes
Colour Depth????16 bit, 128 x 128 pixels

Functionality

MMS????Yes
Predictive text input/type????Yes
Polyphonic????Yes
Ringtone options????40-chord polyphony
Built-in digital camera?????Yes

Other

Other features????Speakerphone; MP3, AAC playback; voice dialing; 3D games; 12MB internal memory

Physical Features

Dimensions (WxDxH)????99.1 x 42.6 x 18.2 mm 99.1 x 42.6 x 18.2 mm

SE K300i:

General

Phone type????Triband
Network(s)????GSM 1800, GSM 1900, GSM 900
Wireless technology????GPRS, WAP, Java

Display

Colour LCD?????Yes
Colour Depth????16 bit, 128x128 pixel

Functionality

MMS????Yes
Predictive text input/type????Yes
Polyphonic????Yes
Ringtone options????40-chord polyphony
Built-in digital camera?????Yes

Other

Other features????VGA camera; video messaging, recording and playback; MP3 ringtones; 3D games; infrared; speakerphone; voice dialing; 12MB internal memory

Physical Features

Dimensions (WxDxH)????99.9 x 45.2 x 19.4 mm
 
Another important factor for me is software that isnt sluggish. I currently have the antiquated Samsung x-100 and while it did a good job, the software lags ALOT and i hate it! so i want a new phone that can handle its own software.

thanks again
 
I currently have the NEC 343i and it isnt bad, but I only paid ?30 for it when it was on special offer from O2. Yes, it does have USB connectivity, it also charges through the USB port. However you need the software and drivers to connect to a PC, the link is on here somewhere. The NEC also has the advantage of iMode, which is really good. The iMail is also really good, send email and receive it to your own email address on your phone. The camera is not too bad in decent light, I have taken some fairly good pics considering it is only 0.3 mp.

The phone only comes with 1 game, which is rubbish. It also only takes polyphonic ringtones, the ones included are also pretty rubbish.

The texting function of the phone is pretty good. The buttons are not too big, not too small and weighted just right, nice and clicky. The predictive text is quite good.

One factor to bear in mind is that the NEC only has 1.3 mb of memory with no chance to expand, so not very good capacity, and does not play MP3s.

Now, on the bad side, my first 343i had a defective joypad (up, down, left, right button) and would not scroll down. It was replaced but my replacement has now also developed a fault with Imode. However I dont really use the Imode that much so it doesnt bother me. Also, as you say you dont want a sluggish phone, the NEC may not be for you, scrolling through the main menu is pretty sluggish with a fade in/fade out animation and scrolling through the phonebook is very similar.

Overall, the NEC is lacking in several ways (ringtones, connectivity) but this is balanced out by some of its more outstanding features (imode, imail and of course, its looks). It is solidly built and looks superb, with its blue glowing keypad.
 
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