The Pantech 3200

Pantech is a name unfamiliar with most North Americans, but they’ve been around making cell phones for quite some time (usually for other name brands). The PN-3200 is the first model to be marketed under their own name here in Canada and it gets them off to a fairly good start. Except for slightly harsh tonal quality, low-volume ringers, a poor speakerphone, a few other minor quibbles, the Pantech 3200 is actually quite a good phone. It has exceptional outgoing sound with incredible resistance to background noise, excellent RF performance, plenty of earpiece volume, and reasonable over-the-road performance. You could hardly ask for more, except perhaps a lower price.



Price is sadly the major problem with the 3200. As it stands the phone is an excellent entry-to-mid-level model, but it’s priced much closer to the upper end than anything in the range in which it falls. It is unavoidable to compare the 3200 with the Nokia 6265i because Telus prices that phone only $50 higher when the phone is bought outright and only $30 more on a 3-year contract. What does that extra $50 buy you? The list is rather extensive and reads like a laundry list of must-have features in modern cell phones.



The 6265i offers a higher-resolution screen (320 x 240 vs 220 x 176), a higher-resolution camera (2.0 mega-pixels vs 0.3 mega-pixels), external memory cards (up to 2 GB), an MP3 player, full-featured Bluetooth including OBEX, and the ability to put your own material on the phone without going through Telus and paying big time for the privilege. Add to that much smoother tonal balance, and slightly better over-the-road performance, and it’s hard to think of any reason not to spring for the extra $50 and go for the Nokia. To be fair, the 6265i has slightly lower earpiece volume and poorer ability to cope with background noise on outgoing calls, but that’s hardly a damning list.



I normally don’t compare two phones on the basis of price in my conclusions section, but the vast gap between the features and capabilities of the Nokia 6265i and the Pantech 3200, combined with a minimal price difference, makes this comparison inevitable. It’s really too bad for the 3200, because it is a phone worthy of your consideration. However, like the personnel officer who must choose between 2 almost equally-talented applicants, they’re going to choose the one with the better degree, or the greater work experience, or something else that distinguishes one from other. To complete analogy therefore, the Pantech 3200 is the applicant with a high school diploma going up against an equally-talented contender with a university degree. We all know who ends up with the job.