Author Archive: Matt

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?

The X800

USB sync cable

AC adaptor

2.5mm stereo headset

spare stylus

battery

Getting started software CD’s and quickstart guide

a ‘leather’ case with belt clip

screen protector

ETEN Glofiish X800 Specification:

Windows Mobile 6 Professional

500Mhz 32bit Samsung SC32442 CPU

128MB ROM, 64MB RAM

VGA (480×640) Touchscreen

GSM850, GSM900, GSM1800, GSM1900, UMTS2100

CSD, GPRS, EDGE, UMTS, HSDPA

SDIO, microSD, TransFlash

WiFi: 802.11b, 802.11g

GPS: SiRF Star III , 20 channels

Bluetooth 2.0

2 Megapixel primary camera

Front mounted VGA camera for Video calling

1530 mAh Lithium Polymer Battery

113.5×60.5×15.8 mm

160 grams

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

The speed dial program

The autofocus on the camera which I have not had before and is a welcome addition.

The freebies such as the case and screen protector.

Lowlights

Screen brightness as spoken about now apparently fixed.

Voice call quality was also awful, on more than one occasion I had to use speakerphone to understand the person I was talking to, but once again Eten have addressed this problem in the latest ROM update which is already available. Having run this patch it is much improved.

The 500 MHz 32bit Samsung processor, seems a bit unreliable, most of the time things run really quickly but annoyingly at times it takes forever to get going.

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]

TomTom RDS-TMC addon review

You might be wondering why we are reviewing a product that has been out for over a year. The RDS-TMC addon for suitable TomTom units adds subscription-free traffic information, and is supplied in the UK by iTis.

iTis hold the national licence for an RDS datastream attached to the Classic FM service. Data is received by the unit, which then shows current problems on the mapping in the same way the GPRS Traffic subscripton works.

Sounds good? It is, but it’s not been easy for TomTom in the UK. The RDS-TMC service and signal are extremely weak in the UK anyway, and is not really suited to “wire” type aerials. There have been a lot of problems, a couple of major revisions, and now the latest update – the version we are reviewing/mentioning here.

Firstly here are a few really useful images from Mike Alder at www.PocketGPSWorld.com, showing the different versions.

The different RDS Receiver versions:

Note that the model number 4V00.013 is ONLY shown on the cable of the unit itself – NOT on the outer box!

Mike has also produced a POI fileset for TomTom units with the location and frequency information for the iTis transmitters. PocketGPSWorld.com forums will be able to help you find these.

So does the new version work? Well yes and no. Its a lot better, it does find a signal, sometimes with little effort. However theres still far too much time lost while the unit is scanning, looking for any kind of signal to use.

It’s important to read the additional guide information for the UK – you do need to specifically select ‘United Kingdom’ mode for it to work at all.

It’s a decent enough update I guess – but the missing external aerial socket is still a HUGE problem, especially if you have an Athermic windscreen.

I’ll be using it regularly over the coming months, and testing new method of positioning the cabling. With the help of the userbase on the PGPSW forums, I may also hack an external aerial connection onto it, and wire it into my DAB aerial (supposedly it’s better for data).

Posted by: Mark

Image credit to Mike at www.pocketgpsworld.com

[Post tag(s): smartphone news, Pocket PC news, Tom Tom, Satnav, RDS TMC, GPS, Tracy & Matt]

Asus P526 (Pegasus) review

INTRODUCTION

Moving onto our second device from Asus, I’m looking at the P526.

Again, this is, as far as we are aware, a full retail unit, boxed, and with a final ROM.

The Asus P526 was kindly supplied for review by our friends Devicewire.

What’s in the Box?

I’ll not go into too much detail, since Matt’s unboxing video is available for you to look at.

Inside you’ll find:

The P526

Mains Charger

USB Sync/Charge cable

Application CD with Activesync and software pack

Hands free headset

Standard Battery

Manual & getting started guide

Asus P526 Specification:

Windows Mobile 6.0

201Mhz Texas Instruments OMAP 850

GSM850, GSM900, GSM1800, GSM1900

CSD, GPRS, EDGE

2.6″ LCD touch screen with backlight, 240 x 320 dots resolution with 65,536 colours

64MB RAM, 128MB ROM

Bluetooth 2.0

2.0mp camera

Built-in numeric phone keyboard, 20 keys

microSD card slot

WiFi: 802.11b/g

SiRF Star III , 20 channel integrated GPS

Dimensions: 58 x 110 x 15.4mm

Weight: 115g with battery

GENERAL

This phone certainly looks the part, and I was very impressed when I first opened the box.

Although this candybar runs Windows Mobile Professional (touchscreen/pocket pc), it looks very much like an average smartphone. The usual phone keypad is present, and there’s nothing to suggest the screen is touch sensitive. It just looks like a normal candybar smartphone.

The screen is of decent, if not outstanding quality, and although the screen isn’t as sensitive as I’d have hoped – it is very accurate, at least in the short time I’ve used it.

Although on the small sizd, the keypad is very nice to type on. It’s very tactile, and it is possible to write a text by feel alone. No wobbly keys, it feels well made and expensive.

We also have the regular call keys, a C (or back) button, and the ASUS Launcher button (more later). We can also see a thin row of 4 other buttons. The outer of these are the softkeys, and to the left is the windows key. Finally on the inner right hand side, we have a direct button to the voice control software.

At the bottom of the device, we have a standard mini-USB plug just like the other ASUS device and also exactly the same, a 2.5 earphone jack plug. I’m really happy that ASUS have gone with such common connections. Weirdly I couldn’t get my HTC charger to work with the P526 though, which is even more odd when you consider that the M530w worked fine with it. USB charging worked fine though.

On the right hand side, towards the bottom is an easy access microsd card slot. Phone shaped/sized devices commonly have these hidden away under the battery – so ASUS get another star from me for sticking it on the side! Above the card slot, we rather strangley have the device reset button, recessed behind the outer cover. You’ll need the stylus to press the button, but its still an unusual place to put it!

Moving up we have the standard camera button, and then – “the switch”. Once the phones in use it’s fairly obvious that this mysterious little switch is a keylock. Not seen one like this before, but I like it. Unfortunely the keylock is a little bit buggy – again more on that in the review.

The left side is fairly barren – just an OK button and the same up/down/click rocker switch as found on the M530w

On the reverse we have the 2mp camera – but no flash, the speaker grille (ASUS must like these!), and a cover. Under that cover? The GPS external aerial connector. Yup, it’s a very small phone, but they’ve managed to get GPS to fit somehow.

Finally moving to the top of the device, as you might expect – nothing but a power button.

SOFTWARE

Theres not a lot to be said really. All the regular additions are there – the voice commander software and a JAVA system are both preinstalled. A wireless manager is there too – looking suspiciously like that found on Ubiquio devices. There’s not a lot in there anyway though – just phone and Bluetooth. Remember theres no wifi to be found – or any form of 3G 🙁 .

Highlights:
Looks/Size: This phone looks great. I’ve got an ASUS laptop, with exactly the same colour scheme, and together they look really smart. It’s a good size, it looks like a phone, and a nice one at that.

Lowlights:
Awkward daily usage: No direction pad! OK, it was worth a try – but this should never have got from the design stage. Using the phone is an absolute nitemare. Scrolling through text, or moving menus up and down can ONLY be done using the rocker switch on the side, or the touchscreen. Neither option is natural – and the small touchscreen can be a problem, unless you get the stylus out everytime.

No 3G: Er… iPhone anyone? What a glaring omission. These days this in itself is an absolute killer for many potential buyers.

No wifi: This doesn’t bother me as much, but I know it will put off a number of people – especially considering the lack of 3G.

REVIEW

Well at least with this device, ASUS’ built in internet/mms auto config tool worked!

The first boot again started up ASUS’s custom installer app to install a few “packages” (No reboot required here though), and up popped the auto config tool, which as I said, did actually have the UK networks in the list this time.

The software list on the device does pretty closely match that found on the M530w. It’s sparse, but one nice extra on the P526 is the ASUS launcher software. Think of your standard Nokia dumb phone menu – the launcher is a nice replica of it. It is pretty decent actually – and does make it easier to navigate around the phone and its various settings. I still found things a little clumsy though, due to the missing direction pad.

Internet access is GPRS only, and typing any kind of web address in with the phone keypad is torture. If this device dropped the touch screen and used the Standard version of windows mobile, it would be fine. However, due to the awkward way Professional edition handles input methods makes this phone a awkward to use at times and it’s especially noticeable with website addresses.

Perhaps this can be improved with software updates – but right now its a bit of a mess. Speaking of updates – I hope one is due soon. A couple of nasty bugs have also shown up in the few days I’ve had it.

Firstly the keylock method is very nice – a lot easier than the “device lock” today screen applet. However, it does seem to occaisionally get itself in a mess, at which point the touch screen becomes active, and “touchable”, while the hardware buttons remain locked. The keylock switch is still in locked position, so not exactly ideal if you take your phone out of a pocket to find you’ve called japan for the last hour!

Our second nasty bug is the backlight. It seems to have a mind of its own. The summary would be – if it turns off, it’s nearly impossible to turn back on. The timeouts and settings make no difference, and when this happens, you have to turn the screen off completely (tapping the power button), then back on.

These issues add up to a device that takes some getting used to!

So far then I’ve sounded rather negative. However, being positive for a minute – this phone gets attention. You might struggle to pick it out from the Nokia N series of phones really. Its a nice looking business phone, and here in the office, people seemed to like it.

The GPS also works really well. It doesn’t get a very strong signal, but worked fine in the car using TomTom. Tracking seems to be very accurate and a signal is acquired quite quickly. It’s here that the Asus P526 starts to make sense. A Windows Mobile Professional device, in a candybard form factor that includes touchscree AND GPS!

The problem is that WM Professional OS does not seem suited to a device that will be used as a phone. On a PDA with a qwerty keyboard it’s ideal, but touch screen is not a suitable method of navigating around on the P526 and requires the use of the sylus and the buttons to get anything done. This, coupled with the lack of direction pad, just makes doing anything on this device hard work.

In terms of reliability, bar the silly little bugs, the Asus P526 fairs well. I have been very critical of it but the phone remains stable despite me forcing it to run ActiveSync, TomTom, Google Maps and whatever else I had running at the time. The bugs I’m sure can all be sorted in time – I’m just surprised they weren’t picked up on before the devices hit the stores.

CONCLUSION

Having enjoyed the Asus M530w so muc I have to say I was expecting more from the Asus P526 and was quite disappointed to be honest.

The P526 just wansn’t my cup of tea and I really struggled to get to grips with the lack of direction pad and the WM Professional OS on this style of device. That said, I know that this device will be popular given its form factor and integrated GPS. It’s just a shame that these come at the expense of WiFi and, more importantly, 3G.

However, I’ve seen enough in both devices to be hopeful for future ASUS releases. I’ve used ASUS motherboards, an ASUS laptop for a while now, and I’d like an ASUS phone in the future.

Unfortunately, it won’t be this one.

Review by: Matt

[Post tag(s): smartphone blog, Pocket PC blog, Tracy & Matt, Asus P526, Asus]

Asus M530w (Aries) review

INTRODUCTION

For the past week, I’ve been using two phones. Both Asus, both new devices. The first of these is the Asus M530w – a Windows Mobile Standard (Smartphone) OS device, with a full QWERTY keyboard. The other is the Asus P526 which will feature in a later review.

It’s a retail device, with the full retail packaging, and looks rather like a scientific calculator. As you might expect from a (Fat) candybar QWERTY device, it’s not exactly the best looking thing in town, but there are plenty worse as well.

The Asus M530w on test was supplied by our friends at Devicewire, who stock all manor of smartphones and accessories.

What’s in the Box?

1 x M530w

2 x Battery (3.7V 1200mAh)

1 x Documentation Pack

1 x USB Sync Cable

1 x AC Power Adaptor

1 x Wired Handsfree (With small remote)

1 x Small ASUS Holder/Case (quite nice!)

Asus M530w Specification:

Windows Mobile 6.0 standard

416Mhz 32bit Intel XScale PXA270

GSM900, GSM1800, GSM1900, UMTS2100

CSD, GPRS, UMTS

2.4″ LCD screen with backlight, 320 x 240

64MB RAM, 256MB ROM

Bluetooth 2.0

2.0mp camera

Front-facing VGA camera

Wifi: 802.11b, 802.11g

Built-in QWERTY keyboard

microSD card slot

WiFi: 802.11b/g

Dimensions: 65 x 117 x 13.8mm

Weight: 135g with battery

GENERAL

The Asus M530w has a full qwerty keyboard and but it’s not a slider. That means it’s fairly big, pocket calculator size, and certainly looks rather geeky. However, for the form factor chosen, it’s making the best of things really. It looks and feels expensive, and the black/silver colour scheme look good, if a little unoriginal. At 65 x 117 x 13.8mm, it’s a pocket filler, but because it’s so thin – it really isn’t as bad as you might expect.

The front of the phone is roughly split half and half with the 320×240 screen, and the QWERTY keyboard. Between these areas, we have the common smartphone button configuration, including a direction pad, with OK button, home and back, and the softkeys. We can also see the standard phone controls. The buttons are slightly concave, and feel very nice and tactile.

The screen is good, and very usable, but doesn’t seem quite as vibrant as other latest devices. I’m not sure why – and it’s not really a criticism because it’s not a problem and doesn’t affect the phone.

The keyboard itself seems very good. The keys are nicely spread out and I must admit – it’s easier to type on than my current favourite device – the Samsung i620. Obviously the extra room on the M530w has been put to good use.

At the top of the screen, we have an LED indicator, which works the same as any other Windows Mobile Standard device. It is quite bright though – I know this is something that annoys a lot of Smartphone users! To the right of this, is the forward facing camera.

At the bottom of the device, we have a standard mini-USB plug (yay!) and a 2.5 earphone jack plug (Even more yay!). It’s been a while since we’ve seen a device using such open standards.

The right hand side is empty except for a single Camera button. This is held down to start the app, and pressed to take a picture. More on that later.

On the left hand side, there’s a neat rocker, which includes an OK push button within it, and just below that, theres an up/down combo button. Although all this is useful for is volume, the ‘up’ button does also double as a start command for the built in voice command software.

The reverse side again resembles a scientific calculator. Ok, maybe apart from the camera! The lens is visible, but protected with a non-removable plastic cover. Next to that we have the flash/light. Then oddly a fairly large speaker grille. Although unusual – it’s not actually as bad as it sounds.

Moving finally to the top of the device – we find only a solitary silver power button.

SOFTWARE

Sadly ASUS haven’t really been very daring when it comes to their ROMs. The M530w have a rather vanilla version of Windows Mobile 6. Asus have modified the menus, and they’ve done that well.

There’s just not much in the way of extra software. The usual suspects are all present – Worldcard Mobile, Voice Command, and Clearvue. It’s all good, and useful to a lot of people I’m sure.

Asus have included a few titbits though. SPB Zip makes a random appearance (though is a very nice addition), and a Remote Presenter tool is also found both on the device, and as PC Software on the included CD. This IS actually quite nice – and works in the same way as similar software available for Nokia phones.

JAVA is also included (bit of a given these days I admit), and a streaming player. This appears to support only Real Audio. I’ll try and get some clarification on that though.

Pocket Internet Explorer is obviously included in the Internet menu, along with Internet Sharing since this is a WM6 device. The auto-configuration app is also hidden away next to it, but does start on a hard reset as well. VERY VERY Annoyingly, it appears to be a bit broken – as there is no way to select your operator. The list is empty. As stated above – this is slightly worrying if this is a retail ROM device.

Asus have grouped and updated the menu well, with most apps where you would expect to find them. It’s a shame though that they couldn’t have included a few more bits and pieces in the ROM.

The Asus homescreens are functional, if nothing special. You may well end up looking for something a bit more usable though.

Highlights:
Keyboard: The large QWERTY keyboard do much for looks of any device – but at least it works well. I type quickly, but couldn’t beat it. The CPU helps here – the device seems rapid in general, and this extends to the keyboard input speed.

Battery life: Seems good. Two batteries are included, which always annoys me, because manufacturers need to realise this is NOT a suitable solution to poor battery life. Anyway moving on… I haven’t used WiFi much, but have used data connections, Bluetooth and lots of calls – and it’s handled it all well. Down to about 50% at the end of the day.

Speed: The clean ROM will probably suit a lot of people, and coupled with the fast CPU, the M530w is very very quick.

Wifi: This device is so slim, it’s impressive that they have managed to not only fit wifi in, but get it working well. I’ve had no problems with signal quality, and I’m pretty impressed with it really.

Lowlights:
No HSDPA: In a rather odd move, ASUS have given the M530w a 3G radio, but not the newer HSDPA standard.

Size: It’s pretty big! It looks like a calculator. It goes with the territory with this form form factor, but its definitely a business phone rather than a ‘cool’ device

REVIEW

Having finally worked out how to install the sim card and battery, I was greeted with a flashy spinning ASUS logo, followed by the more relaxed Windows Mobile boot screen.

The first boot seemed to take a long while, and having got to the start screen, a ASUS branded program popped up and installed some custom programs. At the end of this, the software proudly claimed “Installation COMPLETE!” and rebooted. The second time through was much quicker, and this time I was asked if I wanted to auto-configure my data connections. Unfortunately the software doesn’t seem to have any data settings with it and basically did nothing!

Not a good start.

I’ve seen the same software in action on our other Asus review device – and it does work well there. I’m hoping this is not a retail ROM, because it’s a bit poor these days to have a device that won’t configure itself.

I did consider trying HTC PC application to configure it – but instead I acted like a random customer might – and searched the web for the settings.

Having finally got up and running, syncing contacts and generally getting the device shipshape, I tried the internet. It’s a shame an additional browser isn’t included – but pocket IE does look OK on the landscape screen. It’s about time Microsoft but a bit more effort into improving their default browser. Its limited, but I guess it works OK for a bit of surfing on the train etc.

Typing in web addresses – and in fact texts or emails, is, as you might expect, an absolute breeze with the QWERTY keyboard. The keys are well spaced, and raised away from the casing. It’s easy to type using either two hands, or one. The less common symbols/punctuation appear as a secondary function – and the really commons ones have their own key entirely.

The size is a bit of an issue for me though – you can’t have it totally your own way. The keyboard by its nature makes the device large. However slim it is, it’s still big. I also can’t get away from the fact it looks like a calculator!

I love the Standard version of Windows Mobile. Far more than Professional, so for me at least, this device is far more usable than any of the touch screen units about. Touch screens are NOT good on phones in my opinion. This is a phone over a PDA, so its a good choice to go with Standard in my opinion.

The sound profiles are all pretty much standard – and MP3 ringtones work as well as any other WM device. As stated earlier, it’s a mostly vanilla ROM anyway. ASUS haven’t overly modified it which is a good thing overall.

The camera application is pretty sweet though. Very easy to flick between still and video mode, and options are all within easy access menus. The obligatory link to the standard ‘Photos and Videos’ app is also there.

In terms of reliability, the M530w is doing well. The auto-configuration app was a let down, but that aside, I’ve not found much to complain about. Certainly the phone is very stable (not crashed yet), even when running multiple applications at once.

CONCLUSION

Asus have started well. Its a decent first strike in the Windows Mobile world, and the import stuff like reliability is all there.

The software included is a little disappointing, but hardware wise, there isn’t much to criticise.

I guess the major problem I have is the lack of HSDPA. It wouldn’t be a problem with most devices, but the M530w is (or at least should) be aimed at business, who will probably demand HSDPA. I say that purely because of its size. Unlike the i620 from Samsung – this is not a fashion phone.

The ASUS support forums are very good for my laptop – and I’d hope the same can be said for the M530w and other ASUS phones once the user base is there.

If you are after a phone with a full QWERTY keyboard, then this is a good example of one, from a top brand.

The Asus M530w is available now and costs just £195.74 (Ex. VAT) at Devicewire.

Review by: Matt

[Post tag(s): smartphone blog, Pocket PC blog, Tracy & Matt, Asus M530W, Asus]