Pantech C810 Duo

“Pantech's new Duo handset would probably have tongues lolling to the ground... if only the company hadn't made a version of this phone for Helio over half a year ago. The Duo is essentially the Ocean Lite, stripped down in both size and specs and with Windows Mobile 6 instead of Helio's home-grown OS. As with the Ocean, the stunner here is the hot, hot, two-way slider action: Hold it upright to slide out a standard numeric keypad. Flip it on its side to slide out a backlit QWERTY keyboard and automatically reorient the screen into landscape mode. The phone's OS is surprisingly responsive, call quality is good to great, and battery life, at four and a half hours of talk time, is impressive for a 3G handset. The Duo is missing some of the Ocean's niftiest features, though: There's no GPS, and the camera is knocked down from 2 to 1.3 megapixels. But this means it all comes in a smaller package (over an ounce lighter than Ocean and noticeably more compact). Then again, that creates its own set of problems, as typing is quite a bit more difficult on the smaller keys. These are minor quibbles, however, as the Duo is overall a rousing success, aptly combining the simplicity of a dumb handset with the deep features of a true smart phone.WIRED Considerably more portable than Helio Ocean at just 4.4 ounces, fits easily in even small pockets. Easily accessible MicroSD slot. Good audio quality, plus a loud speakerphone.TIRED Flat, crammed-together keys slow down typing. No Wi-Fi or GPS. Lackluster camera. Some users will bemoan the lack of a touchscreen.”

“There is no mistaking that the Pantech C810 Duo for AT&T is a good device. It offers a lot of good functionality, like HSDPA data and top-notch voice control, in a cleverly designed package. While the QWERTY keyboard suffers from a few design compromises, it is still very useful to have included. On the down side, the camera in the Duo is a massive disappointment, and the Duo's main menu seems especially disorganized.But luckily for Pantech, I don't feel that any of these things are deal breakers. While I might like the physical design of HTC's S710 better, the Duo is all over the S710 when it comes to data speeds. So if fast is your game, and you wouldn't mind occasionally using a QWERTY keyboard, the Duo could be just the ticket. I give it a Recommended rating.”