Despite the fact that the market of mobile devices is flooded with touch smartphones, the role of push-button phones cannot be underestimated. Even among the “old-fashioned” devices, you can find worthy representatives that are convenient to use in any situation.
One of those is the Fly DS123 phone. The device just has a case that belongs to the category of “candy bar”, and, as you can guess, it is equipped with a physical keyboard. Read more about it in our article.
Device characteristic
The Fly DS123 mobile phone can be called obsolete for the reason that it is no longer released. The segment of keyboard-type devices from the manufacturer is represented by other models, which, obviously, more closely meet the requirements of the time. However, despite this, the mobile is still worthy of your attention.
In every sense, the phone is equipped at a fairly good (as for the requirements put forward by the user) level. At least Fly DS123 customer reviews confirm this. Now in this review we will briefly describe the technical characteristics, after which we will directly give the recommendations themselves from people.
Design and housing
The Fly DS123 device is made in a simple, but quite stylish design. It is emphasized by a metallic sheen - the whole phone was specially placed in a light case (several color combinations are available), which contrasts with the dimming around the display. For this reason, the phone looks so that it can be used by a stern man and a fragile girl - regardless of social status and age. In addition, the device was assembled in such a way as to prevent damage during bumps and falls - therefore, we can confidently talk about the security of this model and its reliability in operation.
If you take the phone in your hands, in general it does not play and does not creak, the lid sits like a glove.
Screen
As already mentioned, the entire display is placed on a dark panel on the front of the device, which successfully contrasts with the light “body” visible on the side and back. According to the technical specifications announced by the manufacturer, there is a 2.4-inch screen running on TFT technology. For a device with a physical keyboard, a resolution of 240 by 320 pixels, which can be found here, is optimal for basic tasks. Obviously, no one is going to watch a movie on this phone, although this is theoretically possible.
Communication
First of all, it must be emphasized that the device supports two SIM cards. You can understand this if you take apart the device or just go into the Fly DS123 settings. There you will see a window for switching cards, assigning one of them - the main one - for outgoing calls and so on.
As for the possibilities of connecting the phone to certain networks, the latter is able to work both in the standard GSM / DCS format and connect to the GPRS / Wap mobile Internet. Yes, we are talking about several outdated communication formats, but nevertheless, with their help you can view the message sent to you on social networks or by mail using a browser for this category of mobile phones (Opera Mini). There is also support for a newer communication format - 3G. Due to him, the device can be called a full-fledged smartphone.
It should also be noted that there is a Bluetooth module for sending and receiving files using this model. The feature is useful, and there is a place on the phone for this - there is a memory card slot up to 32 GB, with which you can expand the functionality of the device to a multimedia drive. For example, if you are a fan of listening to music, this kind of portable player that supports communication will be very useful to you.
Unfortunately, the ability to connect to a high-speed mobile wireless communication format (for example, LTE) using this model will not succeed, because there is no support for them at the hardware level. Obviously, the developer of Fly DS123 chose to cut back on the phone's capabilities, endowing it with only the most necessary functions. In this case, we are talking about a set of functions for “dialers”.
Battery
Traditionally, for our reviews, we provide an item on the phone’s battery, its characteristics. However, this, apparently, is not necessary, because due to the lack of Fly DS123 features in the feature set, which mean battery consumption, the phone is able to work for a fairly long time. According to reviews, we are talking about a few days, maybe even a week. If you are a business person who needs to be constantly connected, this phone is just for you. Modern Android gadgets cannot even dream of such a level of autonomy that the battery installed on the DS123 Fly offers. To ensure its operation, a compact battery is required, which, in addition, allows to reduce the overall dimensions of the device.
Memory
We already raised the issue regarding memory on the Fly DS123, and earlier we indicated that there is support for a microSD card. In addition to the ability to expand the volume to 32 GB, there is also a built-in volume of 1.6 MB, which is enough to accommodate several photos, as well as receive SMS messages. Of course, to get more features it is better to increase the space on the phone. Support for working with Java applications allows you to install, for example, various “readers”, which turns the phone into a very convenient portable “reader” in your pocket. In addition, you can put here various games for the "killing" of time and a browser.
Transferring data from a PC to a phone (and vice versa) is very simple. The included USB cable makes it possible to exchange information in a simplified manner - the connected mobile computer sees it as a removable disk.
Multimedia
At first glance, of course, it might seem that the phone is too trimmed in functions, making it difficult to talk about any functions that are more complex than just making calls or sending messages. In fact, this is not so. Firstly, we already mentioned Java support - this can make the device a reader or turn it into a device for surfing (with Opera). The user also has the opportunity to download the ICQ client, due to which you can stay in touch using instant text messages.
In addition, the device by default plays pictures and animations (JPG, JPEG), video files (AVI, MPEG, MP4), as well as music tracks (MP3, AAC, WAV). If you connect a headset to your phone, we also get an FM player. Thus, we can talk about the availability of options for basic work with some multimedia formats.
Camera
The main camera is installed on the device, which, according to the official description, has a matrix with a resolution of 1.3 megapixels. However, as noted by phone users in reviews, this is not so. A 0.3-megapixel module for creating photos and videos was placed on the device. The quality of the image that is obtained at the output leaves much to be desired. Everything that is photographed by the device is obtained in a few dark colors. And directly the image itself will not be easy to disassemble after that - the picture will turn out to be somewhat blurry. As for the video, the objects on it are also blurry, especially when it comes to shooting in motion.
Therefore, the fact that Fly DS123 is not a “camera phone” can be said conclusively.
Menu
Since this is a center of access to all phone functions, it is very important that a clear and easy-to-use menu is preinstalled on it. Fly DS123 has a directory that is quite comfortable in interaction, which is managed very simply and smoothly, without unnecessary braking and delays. Plus, the menu is equipped with colorful, intuitive icons that even people without wide experience with mobile devices can understand. There is nothing complicated in this part of using the device.
Codes
Readers would also like to draw attention to the so-called “secret codes”, or combinations for accessing certain functions of keyboard devices. So, they are also on the Fly DS123 codes that allow you to perform the operation according to a simplified procedure. For example, in order to see which software version the phone is running on, you need to enter * # 8375 #. Another example - to enter the technical settings menu, you need to drive in the combination * # 13646633 # (directly there you can control some system options).
Other options
Of course, other additional features will appear in the work with the device. For example, this is a flashlight located on the bottom of the phone. It is quite hardy: thanks to a powerful battery, it will be able to shine for 5-6 hours without a break. Also, such as a fairly loud speaker, the sound quality of which allows you to listen to music without headphones.
There are many similar functions in the device, and anyone who directly works with the phone can open them for themselves.
Reviews
Due to the fact that the Fly DS123 device (the firmware of which, by the way, has not been updated since the release) has become quite popular among users with keyboard devices, you can find a lot of reviews and recommendations related to it. In particular, people leave their opinions that the phone is really worth the money, shows the “miracles” of productivity and speed; practically does not fail and does not produce errors, as is the case with other models.
Of course, the model also has a lot of negative assessments - and most of them were left because of customer dissatisfaction with how the camera shoots the phone, or how the music plays.
Regarding the negative, I would like to note the following: the discontent of people who wrote such comments is based on the desire for the best, and this is normal. But, at the same time, one must not forget about what price category the device belongs to, what can be required of it. The problem of many users is that they expect the iPhone 5 to work with the cost of a small “dialer”. When reading their comments, this should also be considered.
conclusions
In general, the device deserves attention. If you are satisfied with the functionality that this model has, you can safely buy it without worrying about the quality of its work.