Spice S-940 Mobile Phone

What one looks for in a mobile handset, apart from the obvious features is perhaps sometimes a bit of style and class. This of course depends on each individual's taste and requirements. There are quite a few mobiles in a decent budget that look like they are capable of catering to most requirements and Spice’s S-940 is one of these. However having all the features is one thing and being able to deliver a good experience is another. On that note allow me to provide you with my opinion on whether or not the S-940 is capable of delivering just that.

Form Factor
The S-9007 is quite the looker. It is fashionable with a touch of class with the shiny and lined metal finish. The large 2.4-inch TFT LCD looks very attractive and clear with 65K colors and a resolution of 240x320 pixels. Though the keypad seems well designed and neatly placed, it was only after a bit of testing that I came to the conclusion that it’s not. The five way nav-pad’s directional buttons are a little too slim to access for someone with large fingers. It took a while getting used to. The center select button doesn’t depress too well and seemed to be a bit off center and hence made an annoying ‘clik’ every time it was pressed. Even the process of pressing it was uncomfortable. I’m hoping this was just an issue with the test piece I received.

The alphanumeric keypad is large and well spaced out. It’ll take no more than a minute to get used to. An issue was that the number ‘3’ key was dangerously close to the ‘End’ button. On more than one occasion while typing I ended up back at the desktop and had to go through the painful procedure of returning to the message menu. That meant I had to keep using the center select key often which I was just not willing to do as much.

The rest of the handset is designed with a very basic aesthetic sense in mind. A microSD card slot is located on one side of the handset and a mini USB, universal port on the other. The 2 megapixel camera is located at the rear with a single LED for the flash.

Features and Performance
Interface
Spice has gone with a Java-based OS exactly like you’d find in a Chinese mobile handset. It’s quick, colorful and easy to navigate - however, a few of the features are a bit odd. For instance, when I changed the Time/Date settings to a 12 hour clock and I had to either Schedule an SMS to go out or set an Alarm, I was required to enter the time in 24 hour format.

A confirmation even after making small changes to any setting requires a save which is followed by an animation. It just wastes time sometimes. Aside from a few quirks though it’s not too difficult to get the hang of.

Media
From a Melody Composer to an Image Editor with plenty of settings, there are quite a few media options available with the S-940. The music player has a flashy interface with EQ presets for audio adjustments. The audio quality is not too bad but the decibel level is just too low. The earphones attached to the hands free kit were not too comfortable for me personally but I’m sure it won’t be too much of an issue for most. But with the volume being so low, I can’t say it was a good overall audio experience, especially when it came to drowning out the daily commute's shrieks and banter.