Pantech GI100

While Pantech has consistently produced high-quality handsets, it's very much the new kid on the block here. The earlier G800 was a feeble attempt to catch up to the more established manufacturers by offering Bluetooth support. Hence, it's refreshing that this Korean phone maker has charged to the front of the pack with the GI100, which is probably the first GSM handset in the world to embed fingerprint recognition technology.

Design
The GI100's appearance is lackluster. Although the smallish clamshell looks great in print ads, in reality, it resembles an uninspiring, gray-colored angular wedge. An inelegantly curved antenna and a protruding eyelet for attaching a strap are fixed to the top right and left of the handset's base respectively. The 1.2-inch 260k color external display is more appealing. Preloaded clips of scenery were rendered in tantalizing details. We liked that in a video of a sunflower field stretching to the horizon, we could actually see individual flowers waving as the cloud formation changed overhead. Aside from framing shots, the external screen lets you switch profiles, read incoming messages and access call logs. It also serves to identify callers by still images or even short clips.

Other notable external features include a camera lens and seven embedded light emitting diodes (LEDs). Those who have tons of contacts will be pleased as this Pantech allows you to categorize them into seven groups and be tagged to one of the seven colors for notification.

Flip the phone open and one is greeted with a larger rendition of the excellent external display. A biometric sensor sits in the middle of the four directional keys, in place of the more traditional “OK” button.

Due to its petite proportions, keys on this phone are packed a tad close for comfortable texting.

Features
The GI100 sports a top-of-the-line 1.3-megapixel CMOS camera. In addition to the onboard flash and usual tweaks, such as the ability to adjust image quality and apply effects, this mobile offers a 15-multishot mode. Images are captured in rapid succession and the user can choose to only save well-taken ones. In camcorder mode, Pantech claims this unit records 3-minute clips. However, we could only record up to 45 seconds and saving them took quite a while. Overall, image and video quality were high, save for indoor shots which suffered from poor white balance.

Biometric identification is an uber cool security device and while previously only available in handheld computers, the GI100 now offers it. The process starts with "enrolling your finger" whereby users have to slide their finger over the sensor three times at moderate speed. It's not easy to do it the first time, but the diagrams and instructions in the manual were of great help. Upon three successful readings, the fingerprint is registered. This then allows the user to set it as a password to unlock the phone. Plus, users can tag it to a secret phone number that is not recorded in the phonebook, and does not appear in the "dialed numbers" section after making the call. To dial the secret number, the user presses the "OK" key and slides the registered finger over the sensor. A maximum of 10 secret numbers can be tagged at any one time.

Security-wise, the sensor was dependable and never failed to authenticate the registered finger once we got the finger sliding process right. In terms of practicality, save for the index finger and thumb, trying to pass other fingers over the sensor proved awkward. Furthermore, we wouldn't recommend users to ditch their speed dial keys in favor of dialing via biometric authentication as the latter process takes longer.

With regard to other features, this mobile utilizes the same icon-based main menu and intuitive SMS system as its predecessor, the G800. It also offers a whopping 256 MB of flash memory and melodious 64-chord polyphonic ringtones.

Connectivity, Reception, Battery Life And SAR
The GI100 is equipped with GPRS Class 10, WAP 1.2.1 and Java support. Transfer of data can be achieved by MMS or the supplied data cable. Bluetooth and infrared connectivity are absent. Given the high end capabilities of this phone with regard to imaging and biometric detection, the omission of Bluetooth is glaring.

We experienced no problems with either connectivity or reception and the phone lasted three days on moderate use.

The highest Specific Absorption rate recorded was below 2.0W/kg, which meets international requirements concerning exposure to radio waves.

Conclusion
The GI100 retails at S$598 (US$440.28) with a two-year plan and S$798 (US$587.53) without contract. For that price you get the unit, two standard batteries, a travel charger, serial cable and syncing software packed in a classy looking box. The phone's comprehensive feature set is a major draw but it could do with a cosmetic facelift and better connectivity options.