Introduction
GX10, GX20, GX30... these were great phone at their time. Not mentioning GX25, which has been the phone with the best price/value ratio for a long time at the red network operator. Recently 550SH, 770SH and 880SH tried to bring something new, but none of them really became a well-sold handset, and we shouldn't even mention GX33.
GX15, however, was a nice little phone and then GX17 only had the full lack of innovation, but it really surprised us that one could sell the same interior a third time. You could say that Samsung also launches lots of similar/same phones, but on one hand they have lots of models and on the other hand phones with similar features are launched at about the same time.
GX15, however, is 4 years old. Back then we have appreciated its nice pricing, in the case of GX17 we have been a bit disappointed and now, after such a long time, we get the same thing. The developments are minimal, but it's a fact that the phone from GSM Takács costs a bit more (in prepaid package) than Mandarina Duck we have been laughing at recently, so it's one of the cheapest handsets. And what is really funny? That for a couple of euros less we can get a GX29 or a Samsung E250.
Exterior
And what is this? Anyone could tell me that this is pure coincidence, but I won't believe it. GX18 is so much similar to Nokia 6300, that one could almost think that there has been someone Chinese designing it. I'm not talking crap, we'll immediately see a picture with both of them, and you can see that practically everything is the same, except the small arc of the keypad and the navigation key, which is now rounded.
The Sharp phone is of course much lighter, as it's not made of metal, but the other measures are almost exactly the same. On the sides there are some differences, as the small Sharp is more advanced at least in one thing: it has a miniUSB port, through which it can be charged and connected to a PC. The blueish keypad backlight is again common, but from the display's point of view there are some differences. That's because no matter that GX18's 128 x 160 pixels large TFT is shiny, it is still far from Nokia's QVGA screen.
The two handsets are of course completely different on the back, as on the Sharp's simple black plastic cover there is only a Vodafone label, while on top we can see the VGA camera. No matter the plastic case, there can still be no complaints about the quality, it has been assembled fine. In the package we'll only find the charger, a CD and a pile of papers, there's not even a headset.
Basic functions
The menu system is 100% the same as in GX17. It's aggressively red, it still has the old Live graphics (at the time of GX17 this was new), and when starting off the main screen the icons have the same short animations as in the previous model. Everything looks the same and does the same.
The phonebook can store 500 entries with the most important extra details and messaging there is a nice feature called optimization, which turns off Unicode character use. It's an enhancement that instead of the 3 megabytes of storage space we now have an overwhelming, incredible and gigantic amount of 2 MB. Nowadays this is still quite weak if there's no expandability, and there isn't.
There is an email client (just the basic one, no attachments) and MMS messaging is supported. The calendar has only a month view, the alarm clock can store five time points. There is a sound recorder which can record for 30 seconds, while the list of games includes only three demos. GX18 has the good old Sharp features like we can set alarm/message/call ringtone in seconds. Vibration is quite powerful, that's okay, just like voice quality during calls.
Other, summary
The hole on top of the back cover has a VGA camera behind it. This is of course not written on the phone, but it is pretty freakin' important that there is a 4X digital zoom, as this is there. What should we expect of a VGA camera? Yep. It's just like that. Test images below. Oh, and before I forget, it can record videos at QCIF resolution.
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There is nothing to talk about musical features, as the little Sharp doesn't support the MP3 format. The phone, however, has some new data transfer features, as although infra is not here anymore, Bluetooth is of version 2.0, just like the miniUSB connector we have already mentioned in the first part. However, in order to use it we need the supplied software, a GX18 won't work as an external drive, but it can at least be charged. I think I don't even have to mention that GPRS is the fastest communication technology supported, and there is a good old, basic WAP browser here in order to “make the most” of this wonderful network data transfer technology.
Oh and by the way, energy. It had an uptime of two days, and then we're lucky. Neither GX17 nor GX15 were powerful from this point of view and nothing did turn for the better now. The 750 mAh battery is slim both physically and in performance, so I'm not surprised by the results.
Summary. What has been good for the mid-range a while ago, is now good only for the entry-level. GX18, however, has some serious competition over here too, as Samsung E250 is a bit more professional (let's jut mention the MP3 player and the expandable memory) or we have GX29 with a QVGA display, also from Sharp. It might have a chance after a price fall, but until then it might be considered only by those who don't have enough money for a Nokia 6300.
Bog
Translated by Szaszati
Sharp GX18 has been provided by GSM Takács. Thanks.
The handset can be purchased online at www.gsmtakacs.hu.
Specifications
| Sharp GX18 | ||
 | General | |
| Technology | GSM | |
| Size | 106 x 45 x 11.5 mm | |
| Weight | 70 grams | |
| Available colors | silver-black | |
| Display | ||
| Display size | 1.8” | |
| Display resolution | 128 x 160 pixels | |
| Display type | TFT | |
| Number of colors | 65 thousand | |
| Memory | ||
| Phonebook capacity | 500 entries | |
| SMS memory / max. MMS size | 200 / 100KB | |
| Internal memory | 7 MB | |
| Memory expandability | none | |
| Data transfer | ||
| Frequency bands | 900/1800 MHz | |
| GPRS / EDGE | Class 10 (4+1/3+2) / none | |
| UMTS / HSDPA | none / none | |
| IrDA / Bluetooth | none / present, 2.0 A2DP | |
| WiFi | none | |
| USB | present | |
| Push-to-talk / RSS | none / none | |
| GPS receiver | none | |
| Basic functions | ||
| Profiles | present | |
| Vibra function | present | |
| Built-in handsfree | present | |
| Voice dialing / voice control | none / none | |
| Sound recorder | present | |
| Alarm clock | present, also when turned off | |
| Predictive text entry | T9 | |
| Software | ||
| Platform | Sharp Live | |
| WAP / HTML browser | present / none | |
| E-mail client | present | |
| Java | present, MIDP 2.0 | |
| Games | 3 demos | |
| Currency converter | present | |
| Extra software | - | |
| Multimedia | ||
| Main camera | VGA, fixed focus | |
| Secondary camera | none | |
| Video recording | QCIF | |
| Music player | none | |
| Equalizer | none | |
| FM radio | none | |
| Battery | ||
| Main battery | 750 mAh Li-Ion | |
| Standby time | 210 hours | |
| Talk time | 450 minutes | |
| Other | ||
| - | ||
