Conclusion

The Alias 2 has good points and bad. The good include fast downloading speeds, a reliable network, tons of storage, a quality camera for a non-smartphone, excellent audio for turning the phone into a personal music player, lots of photo editing and quality adjustment possibilities, two large, easy-to-read screens, plus the ability to connect to a computer to use its modem or copy songs from a personal music library onto the phone.

These last two items are ways to save money with a phone that may otherwise incur numerous charges for a person.

Extended email services come at a price, as do music and ringtone downloads and other multimedia, plus Internet services provided by Mobile Web only. Luckily, there are ways to live without the extras.

Free email services are provided for a variety of today's most popular email providers, lack of storage is rarely a problem, leaving the cost of a memory card to only those seeking to put more than the average person on their phone, and text and multimedia messaging is simple and comes with a regular phone plan.

The bad parts include not having Wi-Fi as an Internet connection possibility, having to hold the camera very steady to get a clear picture, and even then small details are too fuzzy to make out, not having games or many other entertainment options the day you get your phone, not having a way to see yourself when taking a self portrait, and having annoyingly loud sounds on the keypad.

The jury is still out on whether the E-Ink keypad falls into the good or bad category.

It appears the keypad's properties could be split between the two camps. It's an advantage to have more keys without a bigger keypad, and the ability to use QWERTY and multi-tap without having a second keypad or making the keys tiny. But more isn't always better.

Short cuts can come and go before you're ready for them to become ineffective, and empty space in vertical mode looks like a waste.

The Alias 2 is not a phone for someone looking to upgrade from one phone to a similar phone with similar functions. It's too different for that. Instead, the Alias 2 is better geared toward a person willing to take a chance on a new technology and risk fumbling with the phone at first with the possible bonus of finding a technology that makes life easier once the person masters the new system.

< Prev Next >

This article is Copyright 2002-2012 Mobiledia Corp. and the review in part or in whole may NOT be reproduced in any electronic or printed medium without prior permission from Mobiledia. For information on reproducing any part of this review (or any images) please contact us.