| Mini Review of the LG TM-520 |
| Mini Review of the LG TM-520 |
 |
The
following mini-review is based on my experiences with the LG TM-520 at two
different times (with different units). Because this is not a full
review, it does not contain my usual level of detail. However, it does
cover some of the more important aspects of the phone such as build
quality, RF performance, and audio quality. |
Before reading this review, please read Some Thoughts on Phone Reviewing.
My first impression of the TM-520 is that it’s a gorgeous little phone. The styling and execution are excellent, and overall I think it looks light years better than Motorola’s V60 line. Build quality is also beyond reproach, with the same sort of attention to detail that you find in Samsung models. Fit and finish are therefore without fault.
Like many new clamshell designs, it features a display on the outside of the phone so that you can see numerous pieces of information without having to open it. Unlike other phones, the TM-520 provides 2 lines of text on its external display, and so it is both easier to read, and chock full of more information than most external displays.
The internal display (while only monochrome) is large and easy-to-read. You don’t get a choice of a font sizes, but the one they provide is legible and handsome. The display normally contains a large-font digital clock while the phone is idling.
The keypad is well spaced, and the keys are generally well engineered to give the user feedback. I had no trouble pressing any of the keys, and it was perhaps the best example of a keypad I’ve seen on a clamshell phone.
I wasn’t too pleased with the extent to which the clamshell opened. Like the V66, the TM-520 presses into my chin when I try to push the phone snuggly against my ear. The V60 (for example) does not suffer from this problem.
Feature-wise, the TM-520 isn’t going to get any gadget nuts fired up. The phone is a basic model with a limited feature set. However, the features it does have are easily accessible through a well-structured menu system, complete with softkeys and a four-way cursor pad.
To test the RF performance of the TM-520, we pitted it against a Samsung T300, and my old Motorola Timeport. Readers of my reviews will remember that I previously declared the Timeport to be the best-performing CDMA phone sold by Telus (then Clearnet) at that time. I was therefore curious to see how the TM-520 stacked up.
After numerous tests in weak areas around Square One in Mississauga, and Sherway Gardens in Etobicoke, it became clear that the TM-520 was actually not a bad performer. However, it wasn't as good as my trusty Timeport, which could hold onto signals better, and wouldn't loose service anywhere near as easily. As for the Samsung T300, it couldn’t compete with either of these phones, and lost service (or dropped calls) while the TM-520 and Timeport still worked fine.
By this point you’re probably thinking that there was virtually nothing I didn’t like about the TM-520, but we haven’t talked about audio quality yet. To say that I was disappointed would be a gross understatement. For lack of a more literary description, the TM-520 sounds like crap.
The tonal balance on this thing was clearly the most bizarre of any phone I’d ever tested. It couldn’t be described as tinny or bassy, muffled or shrill. It was just plain lousy, and depending upon what type of voice you were listening to, it would make that voice sound dramatically different from what it should have.
Strangely, the outgoing audio quality was reasonably good. It was natural sounding, and free of any of the weirdness heard on incoming audio. Within the limits of the EVRC CODEC, the outgoing audio was among the best I’ve heard in a CDMA phone to date, though again I'd have to give the nod to the Timeport for having slightly better tonal balance. Why they couldn’t do the same with the incoming audio is a complete mystery.
Another problem area is the ringer volume. Even with the "fix" that is supposedly added to the new models, the volume of the ringer is, at best, pathetic. I can't say I've heard such a quiet ringer in a very long time.
If LG can fix the crappy incoming audio of this phone, and increase the ringer volume, they’d actually have a killer model on their hands. Despite its lack of gee-whiz features, the phone is solidly built, looks good, has a legible display, great RF characteristics, and great outgoing audio. I personally wouldn’t touch it with a 10 foot pole solely because of the its incoming audio qualities (or lack thereof). That’s a shame really.
P.S. As recently as 16-Mar-2003 I had a chance to listen to a TM520 with the newest firmware, and it sounded very much like the weird audio was history. The phone still didn't sound especially great, but the voices I heard from the earpiece at least sounded like they were supposed to. I would still recommend that you take advantage of the Telus 30-day money-back guarantee to thoroughly expose yourself to the phone before you make any final decisions. If the phone sounds okay to you, keep it.
