Digital Trends

NEC 525 July 8th, 2004 | by Ian Bell

Features and Design

You do not have to measure the 525 to know this phone is a bulky one; at first glance you can tell that it is a bit larger than many of today's newer phones. The 525 measures 4.12-inches by 1.88-inches by 1.06-inches and weighs in at a little over 4 ounces; this is certainly not a very petite phone. There is a reason for the large dimensions though, and once you flip the phone open you will immediately see why. The NEC 525 features an absolutely stunning 2.2-inch 65,536-color high resolution display. Coupled with the smaller external LCD color display, while the phone is larger than average in size we think it's pretty justified.

The whole phone is bathed in a two-tone sliver paint that while not being very original still gives the phone an appealing look. On the outside of the phone, NEC chose to put the volume controls under the external screen rather than the side of the phone which is a little bit different. The camera lens is also on the outside of the phone just above the external screen. We have seen phones that put the camera on the backside of the unit, but the placement on the NEC 525 is favorable. The backside of the 525 is another story though. If you flip the phone over, there are a lot of inconsistent lines and some grey rubber feet which do not match the silver color of the case. There is a rubber cover on the left side of the phone which protects the interface port for the data cable and the power adapter. The flap is pretty flimsy and might tear off under heavy use. The infrared port and headphone jack can be found on the right side of the phone. Other than the back of the phone, the NEC 525 is not particularly bad looking; it just won't win any design awards.

As for features, the 525 really has a lot to offer. It supports the GSM/GPRS 850/1900 networks on the North American side and will run on the 900/1800 networks globally, so you should be able to use this phone just about anywhere.

The HDM 525 incorporates several features that take advantage of both LCD screens. The exterior LCD allows the phone to show time and date information, text and even photo-based caller ID. What this means is that you can add someone's picture (or any image) to their entry in the phone's address book so when they call, the screen will show the picture related to that entry. And the larger, internal high-resolution screen allows for viewing more detailed images and comfortably playing games. You can view JPEG, GIF, BMP and PNG images without any compatibility issues as long as the image is not too large in size — the internal memory is only 1MB. With AT&T's mMode service, 525 HDM users can download 16-bit stand-by wallpapers, 40-note polyphonic ring tunes, and advanced Java-based games.

The built-in camera takes shots with a 100K resolution and features a 2X digital zoom. As with any small CCD-based camera, the images won't be near print-quality but they are fine for quick e-mails or viewing on your phone. The digital zoom can add to the grainy-ness of an image but better-quality optical zoom lenses just aren't the norm yet in wireless phones.

If you are an on-the-go business type, then you will be happy to hear that you can sync the 525 with Microsoft Outlook so you can take your contacts, calendar, and tasks with you. The 525 also has PIM functionality so you can store up to 500 entries in the phone book, 100 to-do entries, 600 calendar entries and 500 note pad entries.

And lastly, what is a high resolution screen good for if you cannot play games on it? Luckily the 525 is Java enabled so you can play games and use productivity tools with the phone. One cool thing about the 525 is that is actually has two processors, one that is used for normal phone functions and the other is used specifically for the Java games. According to NEC, by employing DoJA — the Java engine created by Sun Microsystems and NTT DoCoMo - and utilizing a second, dedicated applications processor, the 525 HDM is able to offer a “lightning fast mobile gaming experience that does not impact incoming calls.” We found this to be the case as phone functions were not affected by game-playing.