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NEC E338 Review

NEC E616

With an MP3 player, video and picture capturing ability, 3G data transfer, and much more, the NEC E338 seems like a feature lover’s dream phone, but the dream may be broken when the camera is revealed to no have high quality versions of any of its prominent features.

The E338 takes the functionality of a block form 3G phone, such as their E313 or E228 models, and puts it all into a more lightweight flip. Coming in two classic colors—silver and black—the E338 has a nice, streamlined image.

The eye is immediately drawn to the top mounted digital camera. With the capability of rotating 180 degrees, this camera was designed to take pictures (while you use the display as a view finder) and to facilitate video calling, incorporating 3G technology. The resolution on both the video and picture capturing is extremely poor in light of more recent advances in phone/camera hybridization, but if high resolution is not as important to you as a stylish, low price phone, then the E338 may be right for you.

With an MP3 player integrated into the device, you may wonder how just 19 MB of internal memory could support a multimedia phone such as the E338. Luckily, NEC has added a Memory Stick Duoä slot, making your potential media storage virtually endless. With the E338 and a few Memory Stick Duosä you can carry all the songs, pictures, and other media that you want, without worrying about filling up the limited memory on the device.

But alas, no Bluetoothä! Again NEC has neglected this increasingly popular method of connectivity. Bluetoothä allows you to synch your phone with a number of different devices, including a Bluetoothvä earpiece, allowing you to transfer data to friends and talk handfree all day with maximum efficiency. The lack of this feature is sure to turn some shoppers off.

The main complaints about the block form E-series were that they were too heavy and that they lacked high camera resolution and Bluetoothä. With the E338, NEC has fixed the weight and size issue, but we will have to wait for another upgrade to see about getting some higher-end features.

The main features of the NEC E338:

  • Tri Band: GSM 900/1800/1900
  • Speaker Phone
  • Javaä Games
  • MP3 Player
  • 40-Tone Polyphonic Ringtones
  • Predictive Text
  • E-mail
  • MMS
  • SMS
  • EMS
  • Infrared Connectivity
  • 65,536 Color Display Screen
  • 180 Degree Rotational Digital Camera
  • Flip Form
  • Organizer
  • WAP 2.0
  • Voice Dialing

Technical Specifications of the NEC E338:

  • Weight: 113 g.
  • Talktime: 3 h.
  • Standby time: 115 h.
  • Battery: 680 mAh
  • Memory: 19 MB
  • Height: 94 mm.
  • Width: 47 mm.
  • Depth: 23 mm.
  • Internal Display Width: 176
  • Internal Display Height: 220

The features that the NEC E338 is missing:

  • FM Radio
  • Bluetoothä Connectivity
  • Touchscreen

Accessories available for the NEC E338:

  • Extended Capacity Battery
  • Handsfree Device
  • Car Cigarette Lighter Charger
  • Desk Speaker Stand
  • Alternate Covers
  • Memory Stick Duoä