14 DAY TRIAL // Sagem Mobiles has been a major actor on the mobile communications market. The French company designs, develops, produces and markets a wide range of mobile telephones using advanced technologies together with a wide range of mobile phone accessories. Sagem Mobiles also develops and produces mobile handsets for ODM (Original Design Manufacturer) offerings. Known as manufacturing some of the sturdiest and 'long-living' devices, Sagem decided to shift its attention to design. Being inspired by the leading trends of 2008, the French company launched on the mobile market the SAGEM my721X 'So Ice'. Resolutely modern, 'updated' to these days needs, this elegant brushed aluminum handset reflects the continuous ascendancy of fashion phones on the communications market.
Announced in February 2008, Sagem my721X was officially launched on the market in May 2008. The device targets mid-level market and can be acquired for the cheap price of $300 USD.
Design
Sagem is well-known for its affordable handsets that don't necessarily look cool, but are cheap and offer good basic features. The new Sagem my721X seems to be a firm statement saying that the French company is ready to battle other communications industry giants that manufacture fashion phones. For those that didn't know, Sagem is responsible for the astonishing design of the Porsche handset. Thanks to the aluminum covers, my721X bar looks really cool (literally), so it has been tagged as 'So Ice'. Lightweight (90g including battery) and slim (112.5 x 48.5 x 9.8 mm), the new fashion phone from Sagem stands out from the crowd and features the so praised 'wow' factor. Furthermore, the handset is strongly built and sturdy and can give the impression of indestructibility (tough as ice).
The metallic front cover has a SLVR-like keypad that proves to be very easy to text with. The 2 inch-display has been covered by a protective glass, which seems to be scratch resistant. Above it, there's the in-call speaker, which can also be used as a loudspeaker. Moreover, on the base of the front cover of the candy-bar, there's a second loudspeaker, which can be used together with the one above the screen to give users the impression of Stereo sound. The middle D-pad has been shaped to look like a circle and is highly responsive, just like the keypad. The left side of the device features a universal port that can be used to charge the phone or to attach the wired stereo headset that comes in the sales package. Furthermore, on the right side of the phone, there is a microSD slot card and three multimedia keys that are controlling the music player. Two of these can also be used to adjust the volume. Both ports on the two sides of the phone are covered by rubber stripes, which are annoyingly hard to pull out. I have also noticed that the microSD card, once inserted, will be impossible to pull out if the back cover isn't removed. Even with long fingernails, the microSD card cannot be reached, thus the port could've been put under the back hood.
The 3.2 Megapixel camera on the back of the phone features self-portrait mirror, 6x digital zoom and video recording capabilities. On the other hand, the lack of flash, autofocus and dedicated camera button could prove a real setback for those that are using the camera frequently. The module camera is left unprotected, so scratches are possible. Right under the camera, there's a small button that slides up and down to open the metallic back cover of the phone. When the aluminum case isn't used, a black rubber-like plastic makes the phone look more stylish. Sagem has managed to pull out a slender and smart design, which most likely will attract more buyers that the French company had up until now.
Display and Camera
Unfortunately, once we have finished praising my721X's design, there are only few good things left to be said about the candybar. The 2 inch-TFT display supports 262k colors, but only a mere resolution of 176x220 pixels. The screen is of lowest quality and almost impossible to use when in strong sunlight. It barely supports the most basic benchmarks and those that are supported scored below average. The brightness of the display cannot be adjusted, but users can take advantage of the Energy saving settings (Economic mode and Backlight), which can prolong the life of the battery if used wisely.
The 3.2 Megapixel camera features 6x digital zoom and can take snapshot using a maximum resolution of 2048x1536 pixels. The camera lacks autofocus, macro and flash capabilities, but also a dedicated camera key. Basically, you are forced to use the large circular joystick to take pictures, either shooting in portrait or landscape mode. It has also been placed on the back cover of the phone and it is totally unprotected, thus increasing the possibility of damaging it.
There are various settings that can be used to try and improve the quality of the pictures, but to no avail. Still, there's one function that comes in handy and should be embedded into any module camera software: anti-Shake function. Other settings include: Effects (Sepia, Grey Scale, Negative) and Exposure (Night, Back light, Sunny, Cloudy and Tungsten).
The sound of the module camera can be turned off, but the preview mode cannot be set to full screen. As much as I think that the number of megapixel shouldn't matter a lot, my721X's module camera pictures are way behind, in terms of quality, compared with any Cyber-shot series or Nokia mid-level handset.
Videos can be recorded and are limited only by the amount of memory available. Again, we cannot talk about quality. Still, I think 'decent' is the word that can perfectly describe the quality of clips and pictures taken with this handset.
Menu and Software
Sagem's UI, while not the most user-friendly interface, is pretty straightforward and offers a pleasant user experience. I have noticed that the phone tends to be a little bit sluggish when browsing through the menus. The phone's menu has been divided into more sections, pretty easy to guess what are used for. The first on the left is the file manager, which has been named My Documents, and offers access to all folders and files stored either on the phone's memory or on the memory card. When the Camera icon is clicked, users are able to access the camera interface and shoot pictures. I have noticed that the browsing is very slow.
The Games and Tools category contains five sub-menus: Services (depends on the network operator), Games (only one Demo game - Block Breaker developed by Gameloft), Calculator, Unit Converter and Applications folder. Music folder gives users the opportunity to take advantage of the only two entertainment tools comprised in this handset: music player and FM radio. Then there are the basic Openwave Mobile Browser and the Time Manager folder that includes productivity tools such as: Alarm, Timer, Organizer, ToDo, Chronometer and Autonomy (which gives you an idea of how much your battery will last either in standby or talk time mode).
The Phonebook can register around 500 names and 100 SMS. You have around 14 fields that you fill for every contact you want to add in your Phonebook (name, 3 numbers, ringtone, photo, name, address, 3 emails, birthday, comment, URL and more). Just as the name suggests, it the Settings menu that offers users the ability to adjust different settings to their needs. Overall, Sagem's my721X user-interface is easy to use and offers only basic productivity tools to novices, as well as to mobile phone experienced users.
Communication
I was unpleasantly surprised to find that Sagem my721X bar phone lacks even the most usual connectivity technologies. The handset only features GPRS Class 10 and even this is working worse than expected (28 Kbit/s download and 18 Kbit/s upload).
Besides GPRS, Sagem my721X also features Bluetooth 1.2 and USB 2.0. Data transfer speed through Bluetooth connection was again below average (25 KB/s sending and 22 KB/s receiving), while USB synchronization has been a real issue.
The only benefit you have when connecting the phone to a PC is the fact that it charges the battery.
In terms of messaging, the candybar is compatible with SMS, MMS, but also with some basic email options.
The triband (GSM 900 / GSM 1800 / GSM 1900) network compatible handset has a good GSM signal reception. The sound is a little bit muffled and average in loudness. The vibration alert is also average in intensity.
Processor and Memory
Sagem my721X features an ARM9 family processor running at speeds up to 90 Mhz. It is a low CPU for a low-end Sagem handset and it shows especially when starting Java applications. I have experienced freezes when trying to run various Java compatible applications, so don't be surprised that the phone will not run all the software you intend to use. Lags when browsing the menus are frequent and will probably become annoying if you are used to speedy devices.
The 11MB internal memory is too low even for an entry level handset. Still, this might be enough especially that the phone comes with a 512MB microSD card included in the sales package. I believe this is a great idea as the 3.2 Megapixel camera makes large sized pictures, which need a lot of storage space. Furthermore, the phone is compatible with 4GB SDHC cards, but I have noticed that the handset becomes very sluggish when browsing such a high storage accessory.
Multimedia
The phone hasn't been gifted with any fancy multimedia features except for the two loudspeakers placed on the front part. The music player is compatible with MP3, MIDI, AAC, AAC+ and WMA formats, but doesn't have any settings that could improve or at least change the sound quality. You cannot even sort the music found on the microSD card by artist, song and album or make a playlist by selecting more songs. You have to manually select every song that you want to be in the playlist, which makes the process a real pain when you have hundreds of songs.
As I have stated above that there's no Equalizer or other function that could improve the average quality sound. The wired stereo headset cannot be changed with better headphones as the proprietary Sagem port is unique and the sales package doesn't contain an adapter.
If you want quality, then your only chance is to listen to music by using the two stereo loudspeakers. Unexpectedly, you get clear, good and loud sound with no trace of distortion.
The FM radio reception is average and the sound quality below average. Still, you have the RDS and can transfer the sound to the loudspeakers. Both music player and FM radio can be used in the background.
Battery
The 710 mAh Li-Ion battery has an officially stated life expectancy of 200 hours in standby and about 3 hours and 30 minutes in talk time mode. Even if we are to believe the official numbers are real, we still have a low talk time for those that are using the phone a lot. I had to recharge the phone every two days and only managed to talk 30-40 minutes per day. If you continue to use the phone even only to browse through the menus, the battery still depletes at an impressively fast rate. Not the worst battery, but surely below average.
Impressions
Sagem took a step forward in terms of design, but still remains light years away in terms of functionality and technical features. I was pretty astonished when I have put my hands on my721X, but after starting to use it I couldn't find anything interesting or innovative. Sagem's my721X is a very cool looking phone, but that's about it.
The Good
Besides its design, Sagem my721X candybar doesn't have too many goodies to offer. The only things worth mentioning are the 3.2 Megapixel camera and the two Stereo loudspeakers that deliver very good quality sound.
The Bad
I believe the worst thing about Sagem's 'So Ice' handset is the fact that it lacks even the basic features that should've been embedded in today's devices - especially for a company that wants to start something new and intends to fight the competition with good looking and highly reliable mobile phones. No EDGE or 3G technology, low quality display, below average multimedia features and very low data transfer speeds for Bluetooth and GPRS connectivities make this handset almost unbearable.
Sales package
Sagem my721X handset 710 mAh Li-Ion Battery Sagem wired stereo headset Charger 512MB microSD card miniUSB Connectivity Cable
Photo: Tudor Raiciu for Softpedia.com