Ericsson R380 World Specs
| Phone Capability / Network: | GSM |
The Ericsson R380 World is one of the easiest-to-use phone/PDA combos we’ve seen. Unfortunately, its use of the GSM wireless network—which has the least amount of coverage in the U.S.—limits its appeal.
At first glance, the 5.8-ounce R380 appears to be a standard midsize phone, measuring 5.1 by 2.0 by 1.0 inches. When you flip down the keypad, you find a 3.3- by 1.3-inch four-shade touch screen with a respectable 360-by-120 resolution. The screen can display six lines of text; a miniature stylus lets you navigate and input text, then slides into the side for storage.
Although the PDA part of the R380 doesn’t run the more popular operating systems, the Symbian EPOC OS has an elegantly designed interface with a fast response to input. We found using the WAP browser in the Ericsson quite convenient: You just tap the WAP services icon, tap Open Location, and an address bar pops up along with a tiny virtual keyboard.
The R380 is a dual-mode, 900- and 1,900-MHz GSM phone for use in the U.S. and Europe. Unfortunately, the phone’s biggest downfall is that the GSM network has limited distribution in the U.S.