|
|
 Mobile Windows News |  Podcasts |  Videos | Search | Forums | Site News |
|
Live from CeBIT 2007 : review of ETEN glofiish X800 - a phone that has it all - including HSDPA and GPS March 18, 2007 [Pocket PC phone] | By Edward J. R. Some people like to have keyboard-less PDA phone - because they prefer construction that has no moving parts or because they simply like to use touch screen more than physical thumb keyboards... Here we present mini review of ETEN glofiish X800! It has no keyboard (similar model - glofiish M900 - but with slide-out QWERTY keyboard is coming this year too), but is small and thin (unlike brick-like HTC Advantage) and it has it all: auto-focus (!) camera, HSDPA (up to 3.6 MB/s), UMTS video calling, built-in GPS, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, ultra-sharp VGA display (640x480 pixels) and even FM radio! 
First of all let us mention shortly that there was a little confusion because at the stand materials were naming this phone as "X600": 
... although the final name is "X800". Probably the finalization of the model name took place very short time before CeBIT 2007, where this phone was presented for the first time to the public. The specifications of this phone are listed here: 
... where you can see that built-in GPS is mentioned explicitly! Furthermore X800 uses SiRF Star III GPS chipset that is very sensible and not Qualcomm GPSone chipset that for example HTC-made HTC Trinity phone uses and that has poorer reception. To double-check that GPS is included we looked into the menu to notice several GPS utilities: 
... including ability to download GPS satellite data over Internet (to speed up GPS fix procedure) and SMS sending utility that sends your current geographical location over SMS! glofiish X800 has very nice rounded design with metalic elements: 
... and glofiish brand is visible also on the back: 
... that features 2 megapixel camera with auto-focus, what means: really sharp higher quality photos! Apart from this 2 megapixel camera, X800 features also VGA resolution camera in the front - for UMTS video calling. If you need another confirmation that GPS is supported in this phone, one of the buttons (the one over "Start" button) has GPS satellite symbol on it: 
X800 is powered by Windows Mobile 6 Professional: 
... with Windows Live embedded in the home screen: 
On image above you can also notice that display is extremely sharp and fonts are smooth. Clearly having VGA display is bringing a lot of benefits - not just for viewing documents or websites but also for everyday usage of the phone. X800 is powered by SC32442 procesor from Samsung: 
... what means 400 MHz and processor that has speed roughly corresponding to XScale processor with 520 MHz. Here is a dial application in this phone: 
... where you can notice that video calling application was not implemented in this unit, but we were told that by the time this phone will be released, the video calling application will be included with this phone. Fortunately FM Radio application was available already: 
... and since this phone has TMC (traffic jam avoidance with use of information through FM RDS) it has also FM radio hardware support, so just by adding software, an FM radio functionality can be used. It is worth mentioning that HSDPA in X800 is of latest generation and it supports 3.6 MB/s speed too - not just 1.8 MB/s as in some other phones. Furthermore HSDPA is tri-band (works both in USA and Europe/Japan) and GSM is quad-band (workth both in USA and in Europe/Asia) and supports also EDGE in areas with not so good 3G coverage. Conclusion: glofiish X800 will be released commercially around June/July 2007 and if by then no other manufacturer will release new phone, it will be the best Windows Mobile phone with touch screen, point. HTC manufactured phones are fine but they are either too big (HTC Advantage is a brick - a very very large device) or are missing features (HTC TyTN aka HTC Hermes is nice but it has no GPS and no VGA display). Also Toshiba G900 is nice and also has HSDPA and relatively small size, but is missing out on GPS. If you are a fan of phones with touch screen, glofiish X800 - or its brother with keyboard of name "glofiish M900" - may be for you! Please note: ETEN is open for operator branding, so if you are from some mobile operator or wireless carrier or major distributor, please contact ETEN for more information.  Post your comment (free registration is required to post, but if you register you can edit your posts later) [ 5 Comments ]
   |
| ||||||
| Mobile Windows News | Podcasts | Videos | Search | Forums | Site News |
