Please Improve This Phone. Review on Philips Fisio 625

I needed to buy a cell phone as I was using a Motorola Talkabout which was a total wreak and in less than a year of using the phone the battery could not even hold charge for a call. The user interface was terrible. Philips was on my mind a lot and a visit to their India website showed me great stuff in the Mobile Phones section. Moreover I'm someone grown up on Philips products; so there was added confidence. Considering how much I could spend I chose the Fisio 625 which was priced at around Rs. 8000.

Considering the features there were better phones on offer at this price bracket (This was sometime in May 2003, In Cochin) but I wanted something different; I mean seriously; how often have you seen someone with a Philips mobile phone. Philips styling is also very unique. About the Fisio 625. It took no longer than a few seconds for me to understand how the user interface is organised. Simply brilliant. Features are very good. WAP,E Mail Client, Voice Dial, Melody Download, Graphical User Interface thats very easy to navigate but a bit slow on response, Beautiful White display thats not harsh on the eyes and is very easy to read in any light conditions.

A particular ringtone and graphic could be assigned to a caller, Images of JPEG and GIF format could be uploaded to the phone; I never tried this feature cause I never had any PC interconnect cable. The design is the most stricking thing about this phone. Its round all over and fits in your palm, very light and keypad spacing is just right. The battery in another big bonus. Managed to get a full 3 days on battery backup. Great Voice Clarity too. The negatives about the phone. It simply hangs whenever it feels like.

This happened to me several times and I finally replaced the phone with another Fisio 625 at the dealer. Offcourse I managed to do this after getting in touch with Philips direct. The phone used to hang during the middle of a call, while using SMS and since I had gone so used to the interface I used to try and access any point in the Menu as fast as I could; the phone would never keep up in terms of response and would eventually hang.

My second replacement was again a disaster. On the second day of using it; it hung. I kept using the phone for a few days and on one occassion the phone switched off on its own. I thought it was my mistake of not locking the keypad and ignored the problem. The problem repeated and the phone used to keep hanging and power switching off on its own. I got in touch with Philips again and they offered another replacement. I had decided that this would be my last.

This was my third replacement in a span of 3 months. All the problems I mentioned above repeated on this phone too. I had enough and asked Philips for a model replacement. I was dealing with a customer service person sitting in Chennai. I was told to wait for sometime as they were releasing a new flip phone model called the Philips 630. This is Philips 3rd phone with a color screen but I guess it was their first flip phone. I waited for calls to come from Chennai but they never did; I had to do all the calling. A full month had passed by and I was told shipment had yet to arrive. I still kept calling; one fine day I was told that stock of 630 arrived in Cochin and I also happened to be there; I was told to approach another dealer for replacement.

Upon doing so the dealer asked me to pay the difference for which I refused as money was never discussed with the Philips personel I was interacting with. Considering that they have made me suffer so much I asumed that would give me a full model replacement without asking to pay the difference. The new Philips 630 cost about Rs. 13000 in August 2003. I asked for a refund having had enough and more problems with Philips Mobile Phones and the same was organised. Philips had built a fantastic phone but it is just way too bugged with software codes.

However I would like to highlight the fact that replacing my 625 did not require much effort on my side. Philips knew the phone had problems and they replaced my phone without any fuss. I never expected to get a refund but I did. In a way; this just goes to say that I will buy a Phlips Mobile Phone or any other product cause the support is very good and they listen to the customers problems. During the period I was told I will be given a Philips 630 as replacement I visited international websites to check out reviews. The reports were good but in the process it looks like I stumbled upon the manufacturer and software deisgn centre for Philips mobile phones. Visist https://cellon.com for details.