The Xenium 989 is easily as good as any other phone that is in the market, without any serious faults, or any breath-taking features to really distinguish it from the rest. This is not really a bad thing, since a good phone is one that works.
Available in champagne/silver and metallic-black, the sleek dual-band phone is compact and light, weighing only 99g. The antenna is about the most cumbersome part of the phone, which sticks out obtrusively.
The display is a high-resolution graphical LCD complete with blue backlight and zoom functions. The illumination for the backlight is powerful but not glaring. Together with the sharp display, navigation through the phone's menu is smooth and easy.
As mentioned before, this phone is a whopper when it comes to the number of functions. Put Philips' Carousel software together with the Pilot Key and add to that the standard date, time and alarm functions. Topping it up with Personal Information Management (PIM) features, the rest are standard fare of voice commands and software that makes message sending an intuitive process.
The only possible flaw with the phone is the lack of an in-built vibra-ring which comes only with the right battery pack. Another area lacking is the omission of a WAP browser, which may not be necessary, but given the hype that surrounds mobile phone Internet, this feature will be sorely missed. A piece of good news to the road-warriors though: Philips packed a built-in modem so there is no need for a PCMCIA card for data and fax transmission.
It is difficult to rate this as an exceptionally good phone as its salient feature is that it has many. For the same reason, this phone is not a bad investment too. If you are hard-up for functions galore and slim-sleek design, then this phone is as good as you can get.
Philips Xenium 989
Company:Philips Australia
Dealer:OPTUS
Ph: 133 999
Price: AU$959
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