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Problems/Issues?
No external screen
Sharp didn’t include an external screen on the 903 at all, so you can’t check the time, reception or battery levels unless you open the phone up. Japanese phone makers seemed to follow this trend in Japan for a little while since the swivelling flip started being used extensively, and the 903 is victim to this trend. It’s not a good trend at all, and hopefully Sharp will rectify this in future phones, particularly with a bigger screen than the small 72x12 pixel one used in the GX25.
Having said this, the 903 does indicate if it’s received a call, message or an appointment as passed by blinking the flash LED in one of three different colours, so you can still know if these things have happened or not without opening the phone.
Small internal memory with restrictions
While eight megabytes of memory is very small these days, normally I wouldn’t have thought anything of it, because of the miniSD card slot, which allows cards up to one gigabyte to be used in the 903. It’s the software restrictions embedded in the phone that bring the 903’s internal memory’s size under greater scrutiny. For example, if you want to set a sound file as a ringtone, it has to be on the handset memory. If your MP3 file is two megabytes, it will take 25% of your internal memory up, just to set it as a ringtone. In addition, Java applications are stuck on the handset memory as well – they can’t be copied to the memory card, probably because of copyright issues and Vodafone’s worries that people will pass games around illicitly that way. It’s silly because most regular people like you and me won’t be bothered to pass games to friends via memory card, and chances are your friend’s phone uses a different memory card format anyway. These are very silly restrictions, and regardless of who is behind them (Sharp or Vodafone Group in the UK), they should be fixed in Sharp’s next handsets.
Java applications can’t be transferred to handset
Another restriction related to Java applications, this is actually a problem that predates the 903, all the way to the original GX10 released three years ago. Considering that most games come from Vodafone live! and the cost of them can be included in one of their call caps, it’s not a serious problem in my eyes, but nonetheless it annoys some people with Sharp phones.
Extensive DRM restrictions
The digital rights management restrictions embedded in the 903 are so extensive that they are amazing. It’s very obvious with Java applications (again), because if you download an application, and then swap SIM cards, the application deactivates and is inaccessible. It stays this way unless you put back the SIM card that was used to download it onto the handset. This is regardless of whether you buy the application or download it freely. Why is this necessary?
Also, if you download any content from the Vodafone live! store, including music files that could be up to two megabytes in size, they are restricted to handset memory and can’t be moved to the memory card. With only eight megabytes of memory, I can’t see how Vodafone expects you to buy a lot of music from them at all.
Nearly no accessories available at all
While previous Sharp phones such as the GX30 have enjoyed limited accessory support, such as batteries and car chargers, in Australia, the 903 has almost no accessories available for it at all. There are a huge number of accessories listed on Sharp’s website, including desktop and car charger holders, a music player remote control, and 3.5mm headset adapter. None of these are available in Australia, and after checking various forums I’ve learnt that outside Japan they’re not really available anywhere at all. The easiest way to get them would be to use eBay, which isn’t really acceptable.
The only things available from Vodafone shops that work with the 903 are AC adapters, car chargers and USB data cables. The first two are in fact designed for the GX30 and while they work with the 903, they charge slower than the 903’s proper equipment (the 903’s bundled AC adapter is faster at charging than the GX30’s one).
Included features different depending on region
This is the problem that annoyed me the most. The Japanese version 903SH is embedded with many more features than the other three versions of the phone, including my review 903 handset. They aren’t crucial to the phone’s running and main features, but I am bewildered as to why they were removed from versions of the phone sold outside Japan.
These features are detailed below. For reasons of simplicity I refer to the Japanese version as the 903SH and the Australian (or worldwide) version as the 903.
- Themes – The 903SH has three different themes or skins that can be selected to customise the look of the main menu and rest of the phone (similar to Motorola phones’ skins). The 903 only has the default Vodafone theme (which is much improved from previous Vodafone menus, however).
- Operator Logo display – the 903SH can toggle this on and off, so you can see your wallpaper without anything cluttering it. The 903 can’t turn it off at all.
- No menu bar on standby screen – the bottom menu bar on the standby screen is transparent on the 903SH and visible on the 903, covering the bottom part of the wallpaper.
- Java storage on memory card – the 903SH can store Java applications on the memory card, while the Australian 903 cannot.
- Status bar clock: When on a screen other than the standby one, the 903SH displays the clock in the top-right hand corner. The 903 doesn’t do this.
- Messaging folder support – the 903SH is able to store messages in multiple folders, and can automatically receive messages directly to certain folders based on characteristics such as recipient and subject. The 903 can’t do this (it stores everything in one big list).
- Speed Mail – the 903SH can be programmed to start composing a message to a person by pressing one number button on the standby screen, the same way the speed dial function allows you to hold down a number to call someone in particular. Simply dial one number, push the down arrow and the composition window appears with the recipient already entered. The 903 doesn’t have this feature.
- Auto Power-On – the 903SH can be programmed to turn on automatically at a certain time. The 903 doesn’t have this feature.
- Answer Phone – the 903SH has its own answering machine built in, and is able to store messages from people calling without using the network’s voicemail service whenever the phone is in range of the network. This feature doesn’t exist in the 903.
- Colour variants – the 903 is only available in black in Australia, but in Japan the 903SH is also available in white and red. In Hong Kong it’s available in a limited edition full black colour.
People may never use these features, but it doesn’t mean Sharp should delete them completely. I personally find all of these features useful in some form or another, and I’m sure there are plenty of other people who would like them too. I have no idea why Sharp doesn’t keep these features in the worldwide version of the phone. It just doesn’t make sense, and I do hope that in the future they make the different versions of their phones sold around the world more transparent. If it’s Vodafone Group making these restrictions, then I hope they realise that people want these features and that these restrictions are very unpopular.
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