Eten Glofiish X800 review
Having used the Eten Glofiish X800 for a few days now here are my initial findings.
Firstly, having read a little about this machine, I was expecting it to be larger than I would have liked, as it measures 113.5 x 60.5 x 15.8 mm. Although it is on the large side it is not unpleasant and fits nicely in the hand, and pocket for that matter.
I was also expecting a wow factor from the VGA screen and this is ultra sharp, but not as vibrant as I would have liked, this has now been resolved, I believe, with a software upgrade from Eten.
The wow factor does come from the 3.5 Mbps HSDPA, application downloads and emails are lightening quick, a 300k file loaded as quick as you could see it! Add to that the fact that it also includes quad-band GSM and EDGE-enabled GPRS, not to mention 3G and GPS. It certainly packs in pretty much everything that you could need or ask for.
What’s in the box?
ETEN Glofiish X800 Specification:
General
The left side of the PDA holds the volume rocker switch, voice command button, reset hole, and the headset jack.
On the right side are the power and camera buttons.
The bottom of the device houses the telescopic stylus, microphone, mini USB slot and the microSD card, which for me is very fiddly with the card being so small, but at least it is accessible without having to take the device apart.
The phone does feel solid and well made and it has been well laid out overall. The back of the unit holds the 2 Megapixel primary camera which has autofocus, mirror and a flash, which doubles as a flashlight. And then there is the VGA camera on the front for video calling.
A point to mention here is the back casing, also commented on in Matt’s unboxing video, which takes some effort to pull off and you do get the feeling that at some time you are going to break it. Also the first time I put the battery in its holder I didn’t notice the two little lugs on the side of the battery and once seated I couldn’t get the back cover on, the battery was now wedged in, to the point that it was very difficult to remove it without force, so don’t rush in as I did!
The X800 has a number of back-lit buttons. These include a four-way mini-joystick, not being a D pad/joystick user this one isn’t bad and is quite nice to use, but isn’t it quicker just to tap the screen? The usual ‘send’ and ‘end’ call keys, left and right soft keys, a dedicated GPS key for launching the GPS viewer and another to open up a quick launch panel. On top of that there is a Windows button and an OK button used to close apps in a quick and easy fashion. All very useful in themselves but of course the only input method available is the touchscreen as there is no keyboard of any kind.
Software
As I mentioned earlier, even when it’s set to the highest brightness, the screen just isn’t as bright as it should be. Putting the X800 alongside my existing phone it appeared quite dim. However, this is prior to the ROM upgrade which which has just been released by Eten which promises to address this issue.
Windows Mobile 6 Professional is included which has now become the defacto standard, and the useful additions of a Task Manager icon, and the aforementioned quick launch buttons make this machine very user friendly.
Eten have also included Spb Mobile Shell, a TouchFLO style icon panel from which you can launch popularly used programs, Time and date settings including alarms, 5 day weather and a speed dial tab. All of which are changeable to suit your own preference.
Another mention here of the speed dial softkey which launches a speed dial application, but with this application you get 2 types for input method. The first being a list of your most used and latest dialled numbers on a large keypad for quick redialling, and then you have the option to switch to an index dial, this allows you touch another large keypad containing a number pad and the alphabet, press a letter and it brings up all your contacts that contain that letter, much more usable than the normal Windows contact list.
There is the usual mobile Excel, PowerPoint and Word installed, a program called Location SMS which allows you to send your current location to someone else via SMS, a GPS position updater program which can be manual or automatic, and a GPS viewer to see what satellites you are connecting to and fixed into, either as a compass or as a globe, accessed as I mentioned via either the dedicated GPS button or the screen.
Camera functionality from the 2 megapixel camera is fine, the layout and function buttons are again well thought out, I was impressed with the video quality in various lighting conditions.
The camera button is in the wrong place in my opinion as whenever I hold the phone my finger naturally rests on the button, when making calls, dialling etc. And more than once I have pressed it and launched the camera without realising.
Highlights
Lowlights
Conclusion
The size of the unit could be an issue for some, I thought it would be for me but it is not a problem. It is a more than capable machine and I am sure that with a bit more use and a bit more familiarity I could get really used to it on a day to day basis. The niggles with the screen and call quality appear to be behind us.
I haven’t seen anyone quote battery expectancy as yet, I did come across an alleged 7 hours talk time and 150 hours standby. I found that with normal daily use with a little internet surfing and phone calls I would get around 2 days, heavier use today resulted in a score of 40% life left. Obviously it really depends on what you are using it for as to how much time you will get.
Looks like the Eten range is set to challenge the ‘big boys’ and with the range they have now it is likely that they will fair very well, it has one or two gripes but well worth considering, and very capable.
Review by: Steve
[Post tag(s): smartphone, Pocket PC, Eten, Glofiish, Eten Glofiish X800, Tracy & Matt]
About the Author: Matt
More than 20 years in the IT industry. Blogging with a passion and thirst for new technology since 2005.Subscribe
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