1. Electronics & Gadgets
The text-oriented phone
A Snapshot Review of The Ericsson R289LX

A text-oriented phone, this model lets you plug a special keyboard, the Ericsson "ChatBoard" to send and receive text messages more easily than by using the numeric keypad.

Carried by AT&T Wireless in the U.S and Rogers AT&T in Canada (under the model R278, virtually the same phone).

Did I like it?: Not that much

The Pros:

• The Chatboard, for those who are interested.
• Stylish look
• Limited Custom Ringtones capability (see my article about the best ringtone engines

The Cons:

• So big and heavy for such a recent phone. Why?
• T9 predictive text input in this phone applies only to the micro-browser. For texting, you will have to rely solely on the Chatboard.

In a word...

Far from being the best phone of the year, but a good solution for those who carry their phone in a bag or briefcase and don't like typing text messages on a small numeric keypad.
Picture of the Ericsson R289LX cellular phone
Illustration: The Ericsson R289LX

See Also:
• 6 shopping questions

• Smallest Phones Around

• 3 steps to buying a phone

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