Clamshell phones

Round-up reviews let you compare four related products and find out which one is best for you

Last updated: 12 May 2006

Clamshell phones have always been popular among mobile phone enthusiasts. One company at the forefront of this particular form factor is Motorola, who wowed people with the StarTac in the late 90s and continue to do so with the Razr V3. However, it's not just Motorola who make clamshells and now you are spoilt for choice when it comes to getting a phone that flips.

Unfortunately, quantity does not equal quality and before you go out and buy any old clamshell, these are a few of the things you should keep your eye on. First off, make sure the phone feels sturdy and that the flip stays solidly shut or open. This is particularly important if you're carrying it around in your bag and it accidentally answers a call or takes a photo.

The other important thing you want to look for is the angle the handset opens at against your face. Clamshells are long when opened by default, so you don't want something that doesn't reach your ear and mouth comfortably or feels out of place.

Finally make sure that the phone isn't too top-heavy. Clamshells are renowned for being unbalanced, and if the top section is heavier than the bottom then dialling or texting can be challenging, as the phone's weight forces you to use two hands.

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	LG P7200	Motorola Razr V3i	Samsung E770	Sony Ericsson Z520i
Review date	19 Apr 06	31 Mar 06	14 Mar 06	17 Mar 06
Editors' rating	6.6	7.9	7.0	6.7
Price range	£199	£190	£180	£135
Review summary	The LG P7200 features a good camera and quality specs, but is let down by the slow interface and badly designed keypad. If you can overlook these flaws you could be on to a winner, but after trialling it for a couple of weeks we're not jumping with joy or showing it off to our mates Read full review	Motorola has tried to breathe new life into an old handset by beefing up a few of its features. Always a tricky thing to pull off, especially when the original was well received, Motorola hasn't achieved total success. Yes, the design is still cool, but the improvements are small in scale and we'd have liked more Read full review	Small and pocket friendly, we felt drawn to the E770 the minute it came out of its box. The plentiful memory is welcome, and it's easy to use the camera and control music playback from the front screen. But don't get carried away by the idea of VibeTonz, though -- it is fun, but not a reason to ditch your current handset Read full review	The quad-band Z520i offers Bluetooth, infrared and some other interesting features. However, the loop aerial is unnecessary and 16MB internal memory just isn't enough. It also mysteriously takes pictures when it's in your pocket. That said, it is a good phone for the price and we like the easy-to-use interface and speakerphone Read full review
User rating	10.0	6.0	9.0	6.0
Form factor	Clamshell	Clamshell	Clamshell	Clamshell
Weight	98 g	100 g	85 g	94 g
Talk time (mfr)	240 min	400 min	330 min	540 min
Standby time (mfr)	300 hours	310 hours	200 hours	400 hours
3G	No	No	No	No
Camera resolution	2 megapixels	1.23 megapixels	1.3 megapixels	0.3 megapixels
Music playback	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
FM radio	No	No	No	No
Infrared	No	No	No	Yes
Bluetooth	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
	Full specification	Full specification	Full specification	Full specification