The NEC e313 is available on the 3 network very cheaply and has become one of 3's most popular phones. It's a good value 3G phone that supports video calling, video messaging and all the other features available on the 3 network.
Other good features of the phone are the exceptionally large colour screen, polyphonic ringtones, voice recorder and MP3 player.
Although marketed as a budget phone, it has a lot of features that you might not expect, such as an expansion slot for additional memory, and even the internal memory is generous at 19 Mbytes. The finish of the phone is nice (better than in our photo here!), and as 3G phones go, this one is slim and relatively lightweight, although at 126g it's heavier than nearly all 2G phones. Overall it's good phone for those wanting to try out what 3G has to offer.
Users in the UK may not be very familiar with NEC as a mobile phone manufacturer, but overseas NEC has years of experience in this arena, especially as a manufacturer of the hi-tech i-mode phones in Japan.
The main issue with this phone, as with all 3G phones is the battery life - expect to charge the phone every couple of days, or daily if you make much use of the video calling feature.
Features of the NEC e313 include:
* Supports all 3's video mobile services: video calling, video messaging & download video clips
* Rotating video camera for video calling, recording short videos and taking photos (VGA resolution - 640 x 480 pixels, digital zoom)
* Display: 65,536 colours, 220 x 176 pixels
* MP3 player
* Voice recorder / Call memo to record conversations
* Multimedia messaging (send photos, videos and text)
* Predictive (T9) text input
* e-mail
* 40-voice polyphonic ringtones
* Java games
* Synchronisation of data with a PC
* Phonebook (500 entries)
* Organiser features: Calculator, Currency Converter, Scheduler, Notepad, To Do List, Clock, Alarm
* WAP, GPRS class 8
* Connectivity: USB
* Fast 3G data transmission: 384 kbps download / 64 kbps upload
* Internal memory: 19 Mbytes
* Optional memory card up to 128 Mbytes (Sony MemoryStick Duo™)
* Size: 147 x 64 x 21 mm
* Weight: 126g
* Talktime: 2 hours
* Battery standby: 3.5 days
NEC e313 Review