Panasonic GD87 / GU87
Average Ratings
All Show No Go
This phone looks great on paper, and it's got a beautiful display, no doubt about that.
From a feature-list perspective, the only things missing are Bluetooth and an external LCD.
Unfortunately, that's not the whole story. Reception is lousy with the GD87, though that could also be because I'm on AT&T. I regularly lose calls in NY, Chicago, SF, and LA. Oddly enough, I seem to get pretty strong coverage in Des Moines.
The worst features of the phone are inherent in its design, however. The speakerphone is so quiet it might as well not be called a speakerphone - and the headset volume is nearly inaudible in anything other than a dead silent room.
The camera takes tiny photos, but the real problem is that the ONLY way to get the photos transferred is to email them to yourself. Emailing from this phone is an exercise in frustration, requiring endless menus, scrolling, and switching of buttons. To top it off, you can only fit one photo into an email. Don't let yourself get ten or twelve photos that you'd like to keep - it will take an hour to send them, no exaggeration.
Games? Well, you can play Tetris or Herding Sheep, but you can't download any others. Don't bother asking Panasonic's tech support about this, they'll just ridicule you and ask if you bought the phone "just to play games."
Battery life is pretty short, but I could forgive that if the battery meter accurately reported remaining juice. Full bars means NOTHING on this phone.
The phone book is possibly the WORST feature on this phone. Impossible to add a number from your recent calls to an existing listing, you just have to get out a pencil and edit later. The phone can't store rich info on the SIM card, only on internal memory, so forget about transferring your phone book to a new handset.
Bottom line, I love the form factor (it looks just like a Japanese mobile), and the beautiful screen. But what's the use of features without reception, volume, or usability?
Absolutely horrible! Weak antenna, weak earpiece, weak...
This is my 4th phone in 3 years, and honestly, this phone is by far the worst phone Iâve seen.
Lets begin with the camera, as great as this feature is, cameras (in the US) are in their infancy, and unless you really like paying $0.40 to send a crappy picture to your friends, forget about this feature. Itâs a novelty feature I have absolutely no use for, and never bothered with. While we're talking about the camera, why do I have to listen to the annoying fake shutter even when the phone is on silent?! Pure folly on Panasonic's behalf.
The antenna (this is the most important aspect of a phone to me) is horrible. It cannot maintain a signal for its life. I now have a Nokia 6200 and itâs a champ when it comes to antennas, and itâs internal. I would have assumed the stub would do some good, but no. I tested the phone in NYC, Philadelphia, and Salt Lake City, pure crap for signal everywhere. The Antenna is horrible, you'll be lucky to maintain a call in certain areas.
The active flip, itâs missing. What a horrible idea to exclude this. I mean, there is an external caller idea (which is actually quite nice!) so why do I have to open the phone to reject a call? Would two buttons on the side of the phone have been that inconvenient? Terrible.
The battery is okay, barely acceptable. I could pull out 1.5-2 days usually; this includes fooling around with some of the features. Considering the gorgeous display, itâs acceptable. I do doubt the battery goes to the signal strength though...
Now for another flaw which just send this phone over the edge (aka, back to AT&T), the earpiece. There is one hole in the case for the speaker to meet your ear. This makes it impossible to find the sweet spot, and when you do, get ready for disappointment, this phone is INCREDIBLY QUIET. I don't know who was testing the unit, but they must have ultrasonic hearing b/c I could barely hear the other person in a quiet room.
Plus: Beautiful Display.
*AVOID this phone!*
Fairly Good, but not with AT&T
I give the phone this poor rating with AT&T GSM service. It is a fairly good phone with a few problems, but I strongly reccommend you DO NOT get GSM service with AT&T, at least not in New York City, at least not now. I wanted a new phone and since GSM is the future, I figured since I have to go that route eventually, might as well do it now. Big mistake. Service was bad to atrocious. Reception was abysmal, calls were missed and dropped. I would watch the antenna bars moving up & down as I stood in one place. I went back to my old phone and service.
As for the phone, the major problem with it is that the phone will not answer by opening or hang up by closing, the biggest detriment with it. Especially when driving, this is a key feature, but the phone cannot be set up to allow this operation.
Also, the ear hole is very small and can be missed. Another major problem - when using a headset, you do no hear yourself in the earpiece! But it is an easy phone to use and the screen is very good.
Excellent phone
Just got this phone from Hong Kong. I am currently using this phone with the AT&T GSM plan. This phone is awsome. Color screen is big and bright. Ringtones are very clear and unique (surely to stand out in a crowd). The camera is definitely the best. The picture quality is picture perfect and clear. Definitely the best camera phone I've ever had.
Gotta Get one!!
OMG!! I am having a ball with this thing!
This phone just rocks.
This phone feels so much better than the T721. Feels a lot more durable too! The clamshell design really makes a big difference. I was SOO afraid it was going to be to big for me.
I LOVE the screen. Very bright, crisp & colorful.
The ring tones are great. Very loud. Can't miss a phone call with any of them. Has 20 preset ring tones.
The TETRIS, game is a blast! Not to crazy about the sheep herding game though. I personally think it's stupid!
The reception is great. Very rarely go below 3 bars. 4 Bars is the max on it.
The camera is good too. This is my 1st cell phone with a camera so I am not too sure what to compare it with.
Have had it 2 days. My complaints so far are I think the volume during phone calls could be a little louder, however, the hands free ear piece helps ALOT with this. I have to actually turn the volume down with the ear piece on.
The phone book is a pain in the keester! Not very organized. Took me almost 2 hours to copy everything over from the sim card so I could customize it with the profiles & symbols.
Am still trying to figure out how to get the alarm clock to do snooze.
Battery life is not great. Had it dead 5 hours after I got Tiebout I guess when you don't ever put it down, that's what happens. However, I did have the motorola T720 & T721, so my experience with batteries wasn't great anyway. I am SOOO experienced in charging batteries! If you had either one of these phones, then you know what I mean!
My last complaint is PRICE PRICE PRICE!!!!!! But I am a gadget freak and gadgets are always pricey. Right?
I truly feel like I made a great decision here! I have not put this phone down since I got it! Can't wait for more accessories to come out!
You won't regret getting this beauty!
Only three gripes!
First off, nice work on Panasonic's part once again. The Allure and the Duramax both made it into my phone hall of fame. The GU87 is the best personal communication tool ever built. Now down to the complaints I have. #1-No active flip....there is no way to set up the phone so you can hang up by shutting the phones flip....or answer by opening it. Or maybe there is, and I don't know how...either way...it should just be automatic...on the other side of the no active flip thing....when you are in a menu, you can flip the phone closed and it will stay on the menu until you push a button no matter how many times you flip that thing open and closed. #2-When I inserted my sim card (AT&T) it auto read my phonebook into memory....but it lists last name first instead of first name first. That was annoying. I had to remember all my contacts last names....not terrible, just annoying. #3-Battery life...the time Panasonic claims on the batt life is not quite what I am getting. Given I have been playing with the thing every second I can get, I still run into a day once a week that my batt will be out of juice. (I charge it every night when I go to bed.) Not complaining...just telling.....if you use this phone a lot.....talking or using features.....this batt will die in less than a day for you....however...I may be prematurely unplugging it from the charger some nights.....(really really late nights) so who knows...maybe user error.
Over all, this has to be one of the best phones available on the market. The features it has, the durability, the style, the power it gives you.....ENJOY YOUR PHONES!!!
Stay away!
I don't reccomend this phone.
Pros include:
Decent camera, infrared, large screen, ability to change outside LCD screen colours, speakerphone.
Cons:
Horrible reception [at least on the one I had]. When others with my provider had full bars, I would have maybe 2 at the most. Very poor battery life. I would charge it fully in the morning and by evening without even using it, the battery would be low and I'd have to charge it again. This phone reboot itself constantly, especially when trying to make calls, send sms, or connect to data. Calls were frequently dropped, and the speakerphone decided not to work half the time.
Don't consider this phone, you'll be happier with something else.
****GREAT PHONE****
I just got my GU87 February 2005, and it is GREAT! I love everything except for 2 things.
I don't like the battery power. I have to charge my phone everyday because it is always low. I suggest you buy a car charger.
Another problem would be when I am making a call. I can barely hear the person on the other line, even if the volume is at maximum. Speaker phone is not the best, but its okay.
One of the good things about this is the camera. It takes good pictures compare to others. Any other features of this phone are good.
REMEMBER:
*battery and volume BAD!
*everything else GOOD!
Almost forgot, reception in my area is good. Some people say that the signal is weak, but mine is good. I guess it depends where you live. I live about 30 minutes from Los Angeles,CA.
Good at first
This phone has a lot of cool features on it, and was one of my favorite phones for quite some time. I think my mind was clouded by overlooking its faults for quite some time because of the beautiful screen, the excellent (but difficult to figure out) clock time zone features, the camera, and just how darn smart this little beauty looked.
After months of use of this phone, reality started to hit me by finding out a few not so good things about this phone.
1. Phone would lock up, and reboot itself randomly during calls. Probably at least once every 2 weeks.
2. Reception - Laughable (ATT Wireless). I travel a lot, and would see people in and out of the airports taking and initiating phone calls. When I would pull mine out, I would see nothing but "Searching for Network". - very frustrating when sitting right next to a guy talking away on his cheap low end.
3. The earpiece - Why did they need a rubber protective tab covering the earpiece hole on the side of the phone? Too hard to lift, ended up scaring/smashing it and was an eyesore.
4. Delete function - What a pain! There is no option to "Delete All" in any given email/SMS/MMS/or any folder for that matter. You have to delete things ONE AT A TIME. I used my SMS/MMS a lot, and this was a true pain.
5. SIM card transfer - don't do it. You'll have to start from scratch if you want it to look like your last phone book.
6. Address book - The address book was GREAT, however, the full functionality of the addressbook came from the actual phone, rather than the SIM card. (SIM card only held phone numbers. The phone held phone numbers, pictures, email addresses, notes, etc.)
7. Calendar reminders - well, you could set them, but if you had to go find them, forget it... you'll just have to wait until your reminder pops up.
All in all, don't get this phone unless you just want to take pictures... but I'd get a real camera for that.
