NEC 338 3G phone: we're turning Japanese

Arriving on our desks with a discreet clunk rather than the usual room-shaking thud, the NEC 338 is a dinky clamshell available exclusively on the 3 network. It’s so small and light (113g) that you could easily mistake it for a normal handset, rather than an info-loving 3G model.

The first thing that stands out is the manuals. There are so many leaflets and booklets that they're distributed as a box set, complete with an index on the slipcover. They're decorated with the Japanese-style cartoon characters that inhabit Planet 3: a panda bear, a green serpent, a pink turtle and their various small, round friends. The user guide also contains lots of photographs and step-by-step instructions for accessing all the phone's features (you'll understand why this matters in a moment).

The next thing you notice is the Japanese factor. From the size (diminutive) to the styling (conservative) to the font (monospaced) to the menu system (different), it's unmistakeably a Far Eastern phone. We had to go back to the user guide almost immediately, just to extract ourselves from the Settings menu. Basic operations such as 'Send' and 'Back' don't appear on the screen, but eventually we learned that pressing the dedicated (but unlabelled) 'Enter' button always moves you forwards. Pressing Cancel takes you back to whatever you were doing before you pressed the wrong key.

That said, the menus aren’t illogical, they just play by their own set of rules. Learn how they work and you'll be all, 'Moshi moshi,' and, 'Dewa Dooyoobi ni.' You can also access all sorts of 3G goodness, including video calling and music downloads. -ML

Update: this review is now live here.