Design and Looks
Basic phones or otherwise, Fly never spare good looks on any of their handsets- and the DS 180 will attest to that. Many may mistake this black bar phone to a Nokia N72 as it borrows the basic shape from that phone. The phone's girth and enormous size is certainly something we don't see on most basic phones- those will appreciate it who like their phones to make an impact on anyone who sees them. The back of the phone is also stylish and consists of two distinct units- one that houses the camera and another that also doubles as the battery cover which is made out of brushed aluminum.
We are very pleased with the display on the front as it measures a respectable 2.2-inch diagonally and produces 262K colours. We however feel the low pixel density of 176 x 220 does not do justice to the enormous screen size and this is manifest in the grainy image of the DS 180. Below the screen we see the D-pad, soft keys, call-end keys and alphanumeric keys all rolled into one unit. The D-pad is unusual and typical of the ones on some basic LG phones. The softkeys bend into the phone where they meet to improve touch orientation. Below the D-pad, the alphanumeric keys are big and divided only row wise. But each row is thin so typos are not to be ruled out. The keys are also flush with the phone's surface and are hard to press.
If you don't know already, this phone is dual-SIM. But the dual-SIM technology is primitive and to be able to receive events from both SIMs- they should both be in standby mode. When any one SIM is used 'actively' the other SIM switches off. The phone also has basic media functions like FM radio and mp3 player. Mp3 is basic and offers few options whereas the FM radio comes with pre-scheduled and instant radio broadcast recording. This phone is also equipped with a 2MP camera. The quality is OK and the phone also squeezes in an image editor to help edit your snaps. Finally, this camera is also capable of video recording. But be careful of the internal memory, it is very low and it will be very difficult to manage without a memory card installed at all times.
This phone is also equipped with some unique apps including Webcam (where the phone's can be used as a webcam), Call Blacklist and Mobile Tracker. The latter helps users track their phones when they get stolen- after the thief or anyone inserts a new SIM card, the phone number associated with the new SIM is sent to two predefined contacts. This is similar to the Mobile Tracker we've been seeing on basic LG Dynamite and Bullet phones lately.
When you compare the DS 180 Active to other phones in its price bracket you will notice the DS 180 offers more features than any phone from big competitors in this price range- there are no equals just the DS 180.
Features
- Upper-segment mobile design
- Dual SIM handset
- 2MP camera
- Bluetooth with A2DP
- FM radio with radio broadcast
- Mp3 player with memory expandability
- Guard Trace mobile tracker feature
