Panasonic X300 mobile phone

Panasonic X300 is a tri-band cameraphone, which makes it a suitable handset for use in the USA. This model comes in a neat candy bar style format, although it appears more rounded than usual, being both shorter and wider than most other bar phones. The mobile phone comes in a choice of three colour versions of silver, red or gold. One of the unusual design features of this model is its pop-up LCD display, which is released by a spring when the lens cover is opened.

Panasonic X300Among the many other useful features in the X300 are its integrated GPRS and WAP technology, MMS multimedia messaging, video recording and playback, a speakerphone for hands-free conversations, and a selection of polyphonic ringtones.

The display in the X300 is a CSTN type of LCD screen, which offers a resolution of 128 x 128 pixels and can also reproduce up to 65,536 different colours. Although this display is perfectly adequate, it is not especially large by today’s standards. The display pops up at 90 degrees to the phone body when you want to shoot still photos and video, and in this position it makes the phone resemble a miniature camcorder.

The X300 has a VGA integrated camera, which is also a fairly standard quality of camera found on cameraphones. A choice of 6 different picture sizes are available, depending on the use to which you want to put the picture, and these are the formats VGA, CIF, QVGA, QCIF, Sub-QCIF, and QQVGA (i.e. 640 x 480, 352 × 288, 320 × 240, 176 × 144, 128 × 96, and 160 × 120, pixels). In a rather untypical design the lens of the camera is built into the edge of the phone, which is in contrast to the lens location in most other cameraphones, where it is normally fitted into the back cover. The location of the lens reveals the reason why the display pops up, so that it can act as the viewfinder while you point the camera at the subject.

There is a sliding cover to protect the lens from dust and scratches, and this cover acts as a control over the camera operation. If the lens cover is slid halfway down it activates the camera, and if it is opened completely this causes the display to pop up. Opening the lens cover also reveals a small mirror that you can use to help with the taking of self-portraits.

Additional camera features are a twilight mode for taking pictures in poor light conditions, and some special effects are provided that can alter the colour of the picture (Normal, Monochrome, Sepia or Bluish). Several frames are also available if you wish to enhance your photos, although frames can only be added to the picture sizes 160 x 120 and 128 x 96 pixels. An anti-flicker option is provided to avoid problems when taking pictures in 50 Hz or 60 Hz electric lighting. Another useful feature is the close-up mode, which allows you to focus onto objects down to 23 cm from the lens.

Being MMS enabled means that you can send and receive multimedia messages with this phone, and these messages may contain a combination of video, picture, sound and text. The main drawback with the multimedia possibilities is that this phone cannot record audio, which may be a little restricting if you want to record audio to accompany a video clip. As with most other video-capable phones, the resolution of video recordings is inferior to that when taking still pictures, and in this phone video can only be recorded at a resolution of Sub-CIF (i.e. 128 x 96 pixels).

The Panasonic X300 offers the chance to perform some personalisation to alter the look and sound of the phone. A choice of 5 colour themes and 10 preset wallpapers are supplied as alternatives for changing the appearance of the phone’s display, and a choice of 6 user selectable profiles is also provided. It is possible to set a unique ringtone and picture ID for up to 10 different groups. For the more adventurous there is even a melody composer, which allows you to create your own melodies using instruments of your choice, and these may then be used as unique ringtones. For a bit of extra onboard entertainment there are also three games preloaded in the phone: Puddleland, Quadball and Exode.

With its integrated GPRS technology the X300 offers the user faster access and data transfer to the network services, and this also gives you the added benefit of an “always on” connection. The WAP 2.0 browser means that you can use this phone to gain access to the mobile Internet, where it is possible to search for information and on-line facilities such as news, sports, entertainment, business or shopping services.

For connectivity the X300 can be linked to a PC, or other compatible device, by using a USB data cable. The data management software is supplied on a CD-ROM, but if you want to make such a connection then you will need to purchase the data cable, as this is an optional accessory. Once a connection has been made it is a simple matter to exchange data and files between the phone and a PC, and it is also possible to synchronise your personal information, such as in the phone’s calendar or phonebook.

The X300 has several useful organiser functions to assist the user, including a Calendar, Scheduler, Notes, World Clock, Alarms, Calculator, and Currency Converter. The phonebook can store up to 500 contacts, each with 3 numbers (e.g. home, office and mobile) plus an e-mail address and additional notes. Also included is a vibration alert setting and T9™ predictive text input system.

Panasonic X300 Cameraphone specification

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Last updated 10th September 2009, 08:33 BST