Introduction

Panasonic releases the North American GU87 and international GD87 as it's premiere cell phones for 2003 with features like a 65K TFT color 132 x 176 pixel screen, external LCD, 16 instrument polyphonic ring tones, and downloadable games.

Panasonic hasn't been as strong a player in the cell phone market as Nokia, Samsung, and Sony Ericsson. However, that may all change. Panasonic entered the highly competitive camera phone market with the North American GU87 and international GD87. When looking at the specifications of the phone, it holds its own against some of the top contenders.

Design

In terms of design, the GU87 is similar to most flip phones in dimensions and weight. However the phone has many feature you wouldn't find on some phones. Among its color screen, polyphonic ring tones and digital camera, the GU87 also includes a great messaging package. SMS, MMS, and POP3 / SMTP email client will keep you connected wherever you go.

In terms of multimedia, the GU87 is a pretty good phone. The polyphonic ring tones are 16 instruments. While it's not top of the line, it fairs pretty well and sounds good. The volume is about average. There might be difficulty hearing calls if you put the phone in the bottom of a bag.

The background pictures are 132 x 176 pixel. It's much bigger than the standard 128 x 128 pixels found on Nokia and Samsung's phones. Compared to the 101 x 80 pixel phones that are still being released, the GU87 is incomparable.

Camera

But perhaps the most noticeable features about the GU87 is the camera attached to the front. The camera allows you to take 132 x 176 pixel images to place as wallpapers, or picture IDs. However, once disappointing feature is the inability to take higher resolution images. In fact the resolution is unchangeable.

That's not to say its a bad camera. In fact its one of the best we've seen. The versatility of the filters and effects are incredible. You can choose from different settings to shoot depending on the environment. For example, use Midnight Mode in dark settings. Additionally, you can add frames to your pictures. Put cool borders around pictures of your friends to add a touch of fun. Then attach them to their phonebook contact so when they call their picture pops up.

Screen

The GU87 has a beautiful 65K TFT screen. It ranks up there with the top phones on the market now. And at 132 x 176 pixel resolution, the screen is larger than most also. If you text message a lot, you'll notice the difference. The extra height in the screen allows you to view up to 8 lines of text at once.

One of the best feature about the GU87's screen isn't on the main screen, its the external LCD. You can change the color it flashes when it rings based on who is calling. Assign different colors to different contacts in your phonebook. That way you can quickly see who's calling based on the color on the external screen. The 3 colors you can choose from are green, blue, and orange.

Controls

The GU87 comes with a 4 directional keypad and 2 soft keys. The left soft key is associated with the phonebook while the right soft key opens the shortcuts . The plastic buttons well spaced and easy to type on in terms of layout. Nothing too off the wall here.

One annoying thing we came across was the inability to answer the phone without pressing a button. When you get a phone call you have to physically open the phone up and hit a button to answer. We would have liked to see an option in the menu settings where simply opening the phone would answer. Aside from those small gripes, the GU87 has a good controls layout.

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