http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Toshiba+Portege+G900&search=
http://www.gsmarena.com/toshiba_g900-1905.php
are there any other Windows Mobile with 128 MB ram available?
After seing the Toshiba I am starting to doubt if I want the Kaizer....
No doubt the G900 screen resolution outclasses the Kaiser by a signicicant margin. However user's comments all over the net regarding useability of this screen in medium to bright sunlight conditions sort of puts me off. What is the benefit of a good resolution when probably half the time you cannot use it.
Regards
not the Toshiba please as there is the 'frozen' issue, hang when you off the phone and unable to reach you when someone calls you... Plus one for the Kaiser...
g900
it's easy to crictice and compare whith a device that is not out for sales. it's true that g900 havel some problems but nobody remember what about tytn when come out? i guess that in one month g900 problem's will bè solved and kaiser will come out in september with other problems that will maker people unhappy.cheers
Is the G900 a step forwards though?
To me this phone looks like only a slight step forward from the universal and only in form factor mostly.
It has no GPS and still a 2mpix camera. Both minus points. Ok.. it has Windows mobile 6 but who doesn't have that with half a clue.
No one is sure yet that the HTC omni is actually vapour ware or something real and if the OMNI were real its somewhere near where i would expect the G900 to be in terms of features.
The kaiser seems to have the next step forwards in all round features (apart from the screen res that is) but with a screen as small form factor as the Hermes would you want 800x480 or similar? it would be much harder to read generally though web pages would look better i agree.
also consider the g900 is a triband where the kaiser is quad not a problem in most places but here in the U.S if you dont have that 850 you are SoL in a large area still :-(
Hi
I'm also thinking of the Kaiser after returning the G900.
The screen is great but there are some things worth remembering:
1) No matter how good it is, it's not much use if you can't see it outside, it's a mobile device after all and that to me means in or outdoors use, but the G900 is indoors only. Believe me in bright daylight it's a struggle and in sunshine you can hardly tell if it is on or off.
2) Windows Mobile 6 doesn't run at the panels native resolution (it would be unusable if it did see point 3) and so is scaled bigger, so when in Windows Mobile you are getting the same amount of information per screen as you would with a 240x320 resolution. The ratio of the G900 means you end up with a bit more vertical space, but not a lot of difference.
3) When using anything that takes advantage of the G900 resolution, i.e. remote desktop or viewing a web page at 100%, while everything is pixel perfect and sharp, text and images are so incredibly small I felt like I was going cross eyed after a few minutes of squinting at the screen. You'd struggle to read anything on the move at that resolution and certainly couldn't outdoors in daylight.
4) The screen measures 45x65mm, I'd recommend cutting out a piece of paper to those dimensions just to visualise how small that screen is. Most pictures you view on your computer of the G900 will see the screen larger than real-life so it's a bit misleading when you screen shots.
Taking the practicalities into account of just how usable the G900 resolution is, and realising the screens outdoor limitations and it's tiny size making anything running to take advantage of that resolution migraine inducing, I can understand completely why the Kaiser is still 240x320, it's a practical resolution for a tiny display.
The money saved on the Kaiser by having a sensible resolution means you get a lot more extra elsewhere.
If the G900 had a 240x320 resolution, would anyone show any interest in this phone for it's other features?
The G900 also has reliability issues that may or may not get satisfactorily fixed.
Regards
Phil
Say what you want. The one thing I said I wish the Kaiser had was a bigger screen. I wouldn't buy the device because I'm not a fan of Toshiba but the form factor is impressive along with the fingerprint identification and the mouse type availability (sort of).
PhilipL said:
Hi
I'm also thinking of the Kaiser after returning the G900.
The screen is great but there are some things worth remembering:
1) No matter how good it is, it's not much use if you can't see it outside, it's a mobile device after all and that to me means in or outdoors use, but the G900 is indoors only. Believe me in bright daylight it's a struggle and in sunshine you can hardly tell if it is on or off.
2) Windows Mobile 6 doesn't run at the panels native resolution (it would be unusable if it did see point 3) and so is scaled bigger, so when in Windows Mobile you are getting the same amount of information per screen as you would with a 240x320 resolution. The ratio of the G900 means you end up with a bit more vertical space, but not a lot of difference.
3) When using anything that takes advantage of the G900 resolution, i.e. remote desktop or viewing a web page at 100%, while everything is pixel perfect and sharp, text and images are so incredibly small I felt like I was going cross eyed after a few minutes of squinting at the screen. You'd struggle to read anything on the move at that resolution and certainly couldn't outdoors in daylight.
4) The screen measures 45x65mm, I'd recommend cutting out a piece of paper to those dimensions just to visualise how small that screen is. Most pictures you view on your computer of the G900 will see the screen larger than real-life so it's a bit misleading when you screen shots.
Taking the practicalities into account of just how usable the G900 resolution is, and realising the screens outdoor limitations and it's tiny size making anything running to take advantage of that resolution migraine inducing, I can understand completely why the Kaiser is still 240x320, it's a practical resolution for a tiny display.
The money saved on the Kaiser by having a sensible resolution means you get a lot more extra elsewhere.
If the G900 had a 240x320 resolution, would anyone show any interest in this phone for it's other features?
The G900 also has reliability issues that may or may not get satisfactorily fixed.
Regards
Phil
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Okay - I wish I read your post before my last. Great write-up.
PhilipL said:
2) Windows Mobile 6 doesn't run at the panels native resolution (it would be unusable if it did see point 3) and so is scaled bigger, so when in Windows Mobile you are getting the same amount of information per screen as you would with a 240x320 resolution. The ratio of the G900 means you end up with a bit more vertical space, but not a lot of difference.
3) When using anything that takes advantage of the G900 resolution, i.e. remote desktop or viewing a web page at 100%, while everything is pixel perfect and sharp, text and images are so incredibly small I felt like I was going cross eyed after a few minutes of squinting at the screen. You'd struggle to read anything on the move at that resolution and certainly couldn't outdoors in daylight.
If the G900 had a 240x320 resolution, would anyone show any interest in this phone for it's other features?
Phil
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Couldn't you technically increase the the screen's running resolution to its native by editting the registry? Like on the Universal there are apps or registry changes you can make for it to actually display true-vga. Maybe it can also be done on the g900.
-Edit:: Reread point 3. lol Good point, the universal's screen was big and was able to use vga pretty well. I could imagine the g900's screen size running true wvga. I'm sure it would be quite a problem reading anything on it.
Great display
I just got one and the display is great. If you have to work with larger excel tables, browsing etc.
It has Flash light on the Camera! Something the HTC's lack. The processor is great too. Good speed. It is just a mater of time until we open a section for this phone on XDA so there should me more stuff comming up for the phone.
I like it a lot, the price is not bad as well. It costs less than SonyEricsson's P900 when they lauch it.
If you need security this is the phone. It has fingerprint reader. The security is must for me. Also the card reader is conveniently placed on the side of the unit so you can change the MiniSD very easily. Also the MiniSD is 1/2 the price of MicroSD so I can buy more cards. I'm sure Toshiba will give great support as well.
They allready posted a Patch for the freezing problem if you get one. I personaly haven't got this problem so I don't need patch... Also very nice camera for the Video Conferencing. And a nice VoIP option...
Also great backlit keyboard.
Great Phone.
I'm sure HTC will hit with something similar. If they get something better in a year or two I will sell the G900 and buy HTC.
I had P3300, they promised WM6 original ROM for June!!!!! Nothing.
Thanks got there is XDA and Tom Codon roms in order to get better value from the P3300.
Forgot to mention tha flash
There is Flash Light for the Camera which HTC lacks, at least the P3300. I'm not aware of HTC with FlashLight on the camera.
I had a g900 and the screen is fantastic for web pages.. I could read everything pretty easily when viewing a full page, but zooming in and out is easy too.
The locking issue should now be fixed with a patch, however I did experience other crashes too. The main reason I returned it was that the radio is terrible! I hardly ever got any 3g reception which renders its main feature, fast internet, pretty much useless. Even in central London.
haha, just wondering if TouchFlO would able to run on G900
wm6 supports karger natuve resolutiomn than 320 240 i think niow 640 by 480
g900 was my top choice but no 3g in the us the 3g is single band only!
the glofish only have 64m of ram
Agree with PhilipL, the resolution of G900 is nice but it is not practical.
The physical screen size is too small for 800x480.
3.5" VGA would be the best!
No way to the Portege!!
I owned the Toshiba 2032 (aka Audiovox Thera) a few years back. What a disaster!! It was by far the worse PPC device I ever owned! Toshiba provided absolutely NO support for that thing. I vowed then to NEVER buy another Toshiba device.
TEC
I have Touchflow running on this phone G900 and it's very Quick.
Related
Sorry for the simple post - just wondering from those who have the device if the screen is transreflective or not.
If not - what is outdoor viewing like?
Thanks,
-Daniel
Hi
Not transreflective even though some sites state it is.
Outside in bright light not too bad at full backlight brightness, in bright sunshine directly on the screen probably just about usable but you will be searching for shade I expect.
Regards
Phil
Yeah, the screen is my only disappointment so far. We finally get some sunshine in the UK, and it just makes my Kaiser a pain to use outside...
Not transflective????
Sure? Even the TyTN is!
Hi
Positive it's not.
Regards
Phil
Shame
Can't even use it as a sat nav then...
PhilipL said:
Hi
Positive it's not.
Regards
Phil
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry Phil, dont know where did you get this info. I work for a SatNav company and thus, evaluate many devices. Kaiser screen is one of the best I've seen with a very strong backlight. Actually, I checked it today vs. the P3300 and found that it is at list the same if not better. It is great for navigation and in my country there is a little more sunshine than in England
Hi
The Kaiser has a very strong backlight yes, but this isn't the same as being transreflective.
Transreflective means it doesn't need a back light at all in bright light, so the brighter the daylight including the brightest direct sunlight on a transreflective display means it shows up even better.
Working for a satellite navigation company it is disappointing you are not aware of the various LCD screen types as this is important to the suitability of hardware for various uses.
A link that explains the pros/cons is here: http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,104445/article.html
Regards
Phil
Ive been spoiled by the treos ability to be seen well in direct sunlight. I am expecting this to be the only drawback with my Kaiser. Is there a special type of screen protector that may help?
Being NOT transflective, the Kaiser is probably even cheaper to make than the Hermes.
Bloody HTC. (And Toshiba for that matter)
PhilipL said:
Hi
Positive it's not.
Regards
Phil
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
how do you know? ( just wondering what your sources are)
It doesnt make sense that it would not be trasflective... im not sure, but almost all of the other HTC devices seem to be ( the only ones im unsure of are the shift and athena) as well as 99% of other PPCs, smartphones, and PDAs... why would HTC do something that would cut the usefullness of their flagship PPC in half? ...not to mention the number of users it would turn away from the device..
I am not sure you know what the differences are if you think any recent HTC units have this?
Take a look at the Nokia N95, this is transflective.
Kev
I don't claim to be an expert, but the PDAdb site seems to have pretty accurate information and it says the screen is transreflective. here is a link to a comparison I did between the 3 versions of the kaiser (100,110, and 120) alongside this sweet LG KS20:
http://pdadb.net/index.php?m=pdacomparer
If you scroll down and look at the specs for the display, it says: "color transflective TFT, 65536 scales" for all 3 models. Is this information wrong?
kevwright said:
I am not sure you know what the differences are if you think any recent HTC units have this?
Take a look at the Nokia N95, this is transflective.
Kev
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
there are different levels of translfective screens... the nokia is likely better out-doors than the HTC, but i know for a fact that my wizard has this.. why wouldnt the kaiser?
It is or it is not............this is the question ..........yet..
Hi
It isn't transreflective. The site http://pdadb.net also shows the Toshiba G900 as being transreflective but it isn't, that site isn't 100% accurate.
I know what a transreflective screen looks like, and I can tell you with 100% certainty the Kaiser doesn't have one. Can you find transreflective mentioned anywhere on the HTC website specifications or in the manual? The answer is no, because it isn't.
Having said that on maximum brightness with the sun on the display it is 'just' about passable, you can make enough out to use it, but no where near as good as it would be if it was transreflective.
Regards
Phil
The G900 and the Kaiser are the most anticipated devices this year.
And neither of them turned out to be transflective!!
God why, why!!!
(Oh well, may wait for the GloFish X800 then)
wywywywy said:
Being NOT transflective, the Kaiser is probably even cheaper to make than the Hermes.
Bloody HTC. (And Toshiba for that matter)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well the science of transreflective or not left to one side for a moment - I find the Kaiser easier to see than the TyTn in sunlight and no problems so far as being satnav goes. In practical terms, I now often use it instead of my Tomtom machine and it's as easy to see and quicker to acquire a signal.
Mike
The hTC site says this about the display:
HTC TyTN II Display: 2.8 inch, 240 X 320 QVGA TFT-LCD display with adjustable angle and backlight
so it definately isn't transreflective.
Well I didn't believe it, but I took the Kaiser and a Hermes outside and guaranteed, the Kaiser is NOT transreflective, Hermes IS.
Mind you the Hermes isn't very good compared to some HP's I've had but you can read it, especially if you have a white background even with the backlight OFF. The Kaiser's display is GONE in full sunlight unless the backlight is full ON, and even then it's faint.
I don't use it often like this, and indoors or in shade it's no problem at all so it's not a deal breaker for me but I'm slightly dissapointed.
Now we know the reason for the backlight going dim vs off when the backlight timer expires, you would see nothing unlike the Hermes which at least was somewhat visible with no backlight.
http://www.infosyncworld.com/news/n/8476.html
Same spec with Kaiser, but with VGA 640x480 , 262K colors , FLASH, XGA Video out.
That's enough for my next Kaiser replacement.
If it's indeed ever to be released !
More complete spec:
http://www.gsmarena.com/i_mate_ultimate_9502-2158.php
Looks OK, but for a device that's the same size or larger than the Universal, I'd want a screen you can close, to protect it when it's in a pocket.
That's practically UMPC size, by the look of it.
With a 2.8" screen? Sounds pretty close to the size of the Kaiser.
Bet 640x480 looks real sharp on that size screen.
I dont think this is that big, according to the article the dimension is:
116 x 60 x 17.8
While Kaiser:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HTC_TyTN_II#Specification
112mm (L) x 59mm (W) x 19mm (T)
HTC Universal:
127 mm (L) x 81 mm (w) x 25 mm (T)
So, it is still SMALL device !
specs look identical to Kaiser to me, other than VGA screen
nothing earth-shattering there, imho
dld
As far as i know, WM6 doesn't support 256k colors...
wow... looks good.
any idea when it will be released?
Have any of these devices gone thru FCC approval yet? Don't think they have.
Nice device but no FM radio !
If the stats are the same, such as the processor, and it is higher res, wouldn't it just be like a kaiser, but slower?
Im not sure what the advantage would be of more pixels in the same amount of space would be. 2.8 screen is pretty small, 640x480 on that is going to be ultra fine.
Maybe this is a case of "Less is More", but I will hold my judgment till I can see it in action.
Wow, it looks darn good to me. VGA screens really do look sharp and ultra crisp. I would really want to know if it's a trans-reflective screen, that would push me towards it more.
Kaiser 112x59x19 190g
i-Mate 116x60x18 200g
Size wise, pretty close.
I was getting a little bit of envy until I read this.
...so you would have to be nuts to pay over $800 (xx50 anticipated price) to an overseas company or US importer, for a phone which comes from a company with tech support and return policies which are reported to be horrible, and questionalble quality products.
...I will NEVER buy another IMate product.
They are the worst company I have ever dealt with.
But don't take my word for it- Do a search in the PPC forum. They have horrid, incompetent support.
The only rom upgrades they ever put out, were basically stolen from the work other vendors had done (there were other vendors tags in the rom)
You have been warned.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Source
I handled two months back
Flying from Singapore to London, sat next to an engineer for the company. All I can say is the demo i held was a high quality steel make, no plastic etc, and the keyboard was sleek but smallish. Form factor similar to Kaizer but heavier.
The design / engineering are in the UK and he had two phones on him, this and another standard phone (no keyboard)
M
I'd wonder what kind of battery hit that VGA screen would have as well.
It has the same CPU with Kaiser.
Pops_G said:
If the stats are the same, such as the processor, and it is higher res, wouldn't it just be like a kaiser, but slower?
Im not sure what the advantage would be of more pixels in the same amount of space would be. 2.8 screen is pretty small, 640x480 on that is going to be ultra fine.
Maybe this is a case of "Less is More", but I will hold my judgment till I can see it in action.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi,
i've been using my kaiser for a couple of days now, and the only thing that I dislike about it is the screen resolution. I found another phone with 2.8" display, but this one has VGA resolution (640x480, double the standerd res.). Here is the link: http://solsie.com/first-28-vga-screen-windows-mobile-device-sharp-w-zero3-es/
So I thought, maybe it would be possible to buy a replacement screen for that phone and put it in my kaiser.
Do you guys think this is possible?
No it is not possible
Not at all possible. The graphics card and sceen are specially mated together and won't work with a different screen, ESPECIALLY one with a different resolution.
silly. Research before you buy.
There are plenty of windows mobile devices now with VGA screens, more to come. If you don't like qvga screens then don't get a Kaiser. To me the Kaiser, despite its great technology is marred by the atrocious screen resolution (given its supposed high-end status). I avoided it like the plague as I like to browse and the Kaiser seemed a VERY marginal step-up from the TyTn which I still have - GPS, sure and a - technically better - camera. Nothing else groundbreaking though.
now....let me get back to putting that 60gb hard drive in my Nokia 3210....
Okay wow, FINALLY a Windows Mobile device with a DECENT CPU. I don't care if it's a one-day-lasting charge. I LOVE the speed. 1 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon CPU.
If you haven't yet seen it, look around on YouTube for videos of the Toshiba TG01 that just entered release last month. It runs WM6.5's titanium sooooo smoothly with an incredibly high framerate.
I know it doesn't have a QWERTY keyboard, but almost every feature matches the XPERIA including the WVGA resolution screen, only slightly bigger which I like anyway. And it is a capacitance touchscreen like the iPhone... also with no annoying frame around it for dust to collect... Perfect!
It also has an accelerometer.
So I'm willing to give up on my XPERIA, but being that the TG01 is not HTC-based, would there be as much developer interest and would there be many custom ROM's made for it once it's "HardSPL'd" so to speak?
Another question is: should I wait for the Toshiba K01 which features a QWERTY keyboard instead? I've used an iPhone a few times and the on-screen keyboard was rather irritating.... is it something I'd get used to? Would I be able to use services like biotouch.exe by HTC which greatly improves touch accuracy?
holdout said:
Okay wow, FINALLY a Windows Mobile device with a DECENT CPU. I don't care if it's a one-day-lasting charge. I LOVE the speed. 1 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon CPU.
If you haven't yet seen it, look around on YouTube for videos of the Toshiba TG01 that just entered release last month. It runs WM6.5's titanium sooooo smoothly with an incredibly high framerate.
I know it doesn't have a QWERTY keyboard, but almost every feature matches the XPERIA including the WVGA resolution screen, only slightly bigger which I like anyway. And it is a capacitance touchscreen like the iPhone... also with no annoying frame around it for dust to collect... Perfect!
It also has an accelerometer.
So I'm willing to give up on my XPERIA, but being that the TG01 is not HTC-based, would there be as much developer interest and would there be many custom ROM's made for it once it's "HardSPL'd" so to speak?
Another question is: should I wait for the Toshiba K01 which features a QWERTY keyboard instead? I've used an iPhone a few times and the on-screen keyboard was rather irritating.... is it something I'd get used to? Would I be able to use services like biotouch.exe by HTC which greatly improves touch accuracy?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There will be alot of developer interest, there won't be any forums here. There will probably be custom ROMs just like the Dell Axim PDA. There won't be alot of ROMs though I bet.
I wouldn't get any Toshiba phone. From what I've seen they have no idea what they are doing. The only thing really unique about it is the amazing screen domain and the fast CPU.
Sooner or later HTC [Earth's most dedicated Windows Mobile phone smith] will release a processor just as good as the snapdragon. I wouldn't even get the TK01 because obviously I haven't seen the phone in real pictures and I by the looks of the TG01 they are disappointing us and I know that Toshiba is pulling the iPhone trick by limiting the hardware features. They will slowly improve hardware to increase future sales. HTC is a better choice, because they make improvements that are much better than most other manufacturers except for Nokia which I think make better phones every time.
And the touch screen keyboard is a nuisance. With a resistive screen if you planning on using two thumbs then don't get Toshiba TG01. I read that you hate iPhone's touch screen keyboard, and I am sure you're gonna hate Toshiba's current lack of multitouch which makes it worst. If you planning on typing gradually or with a stylus, then it would be okay choice.
I think Toshiba will handle the sensitivity well. It's just that many prefer multitouch typing, and we don't have that technology implemented on Windows Mobile yet.
Beside you are trading off for a headphone jack, keyboard, and media panel.
Would you rather type slowly on your Toshiba TG01 and consume 10 minutes or type quickly on your Xperia and consume 4 minutes?
The choice is yours. The CPU only affects one portion of speed. The button design of the phone is important too.
Also when the phone dies within 1 day, imagining a situation in which you can't charge the phone for 3 hours. You've consumed 3 hours of productivity and entertainment. So your opinion that battery life is not important is totally wrong. Having a fast phone but not being able to use is like having slow phone and being able to use it.
However, I think that fast CPUs might make devices last longer because it makes the device more stable and less prone to application hang and issues.
The TG01 has nothing going for it except the CPU. 1ghz is nice, but when you have no keyboard and a superbly annoying interface I have to say - no thank you.
okay point taken... so it's a resistive touch indeed. i mistakenly assumed that its smooth hard screen surface meant it has a capacitance touch.... how do they get the two films of sensor sheets to make contact underneath a hard screen surface?
i was just typing on my xperia on-screen with maxkey/fingerkeyb2 keyboards and the like. i dont think i type fast enough for me to want multitouch on-screen typing hehe.
yes i overlooked the headphone jack which means a lot to people... for me personally i havent used my headphone jack once though... hehe.
and i only used my xperia for entertainment when i first got it then i simply got bored of it hahaha...
i dont see how their interface is annoying. i'd probably still stick with wm6.5's titanium home screen but i still havent tried their strips/blinds interface which still looks rather intuitive nonetheless. and the shaking gestures is kinda fun lol.
it's funny how some of their marketing mimics XPERIA's colour scheme.
you're right about the battery life though..... i guess that's my only drawback........
personally i'm really digging the size. i love how it's big (slightly larger screen size than the iphone). xperia is really cool being that it's so sleek and fits very comfortably in your hand, but i always expected the screen to be larger and put that high resolution to better use. after all my vision isn't 20/20 haha. i think the trend for smallest/compact has now turned to being all about largest/slimmest... easier on the eyes and good for HD stuff (i.e. nVidia tegra, HTC MAX 4G). big slabs yet thin...
ohhh welllzzz..... guess i'll wait....
OK, this is bulls*it. But my 2 cents.
Fine, everybody is talking about the Toshiba 1GHz, how fast it is/it is gonna be, how it'll kick XYZ ass, etc. But hey, do people really know what 1GHz is? Do they know how fast it'll REALLY be? It's not too far away when HTC was having an issue with low graphics quality.
1GHz is just a number, looking nice in the papers. But without propper drivers etc. it doesn't neccessarily have to be as fast as for example devices with 800MHz today.
There is of course a sort of people who will always wait for the fastest (yeah dude, it's in the papers, dude!) device, although they won't fully use it. That reminds me an old Greek tale about a donkey and straw - he was also waiting for better and better until he died, alone and hungry.
So my advice - try it first, then make decision
Well the 1ghz snapdragon aint an CortexA8 but people say its faster then the cortex and it also uses arm instruction set V7 but since windows mobile doesnt even use instruction set 6 youre kinda screwed and you wont benefit from all the nice gimmicks..
You are all talking about how it sounds on paper.
Get out and actually TRY ONE!
IT ****ING ROCKS!!!!
I went to my local Orange shop this afternoon to see one and have a play with it.
The handset is about the size of the old XDA Exec (HTC Universal) but thinner than an iPhone. In fact the 4.1" screen is almost as big as my Polaris.
It's lightweight, but feels solid and well built. The screen was clear and bright, even under the shop's bright lighting. The phone comes with WinMo6.1, but I'll bet that Toshiba will have an upgrade to WinMo6.5 at some future date.
The touchscreen is sensitive and responsive, but the most obvious indicator of speed is the screen flip when you turn the phone on it's side. Most HTC devices take a second or two to flip the screen from portrait to landscape. This takes no more than 0.5s. The delay is barely noticeable.
There's no D-pad and only 4 small buttons on the bottom strip of the phone, so if you find it hard to use a phone without a D-pad, this may be a deal-breaker. That said, the screen is so large that you should be able to hit on-screen controls easily. The SIP keyboard is nicely sized and I was able to type quickly with no spelling errors (I didn't notice any obvious autocorrecting going on). The numbers layout is in a line though, and I would have preferred a "telephone" layout for the numbers.
The Orange version of the phone comes with an Orange Home screen which mimics the appearance and functions of the OmniaHD interface. Think of TouchFlo3D with the slider up and down the left side of the screen instead of across the bottom of the screen. I consider it to be nicer to use than WinMo6.5' Titanium UI which tends to fill the screen with text.
OFC, people are more interested in the new "Stripes" UI that Toshiba are presenting with this phone. Orange have kindly provided a simple way to switch between the Orange Home screen and Stripes from the Program list.
The Stripes UI is nice to look at and the rotation of the stripes is smooth, but it's insanely sensitive to swipes. If you want to swipe along one or two stripes, you have to use a small or slow gesture because a normal swipe sends the stripes *flying* along.
The stripes themselves are simply categories of functions. There's phone calls, SMS messages, audio/video, GPS and a few others as well. You can also change the colour scheme between about 3 presets. I'm just wondering how long it will be before some enterprising coder dumps the ROM and extracts the cab for the Stripes UI. I personally prefer the Orange Home screen, but that's just me.
The phone comes with CorePlayer out of the box and is the primary video player from Stripes. It also comes with a G.I.Joe trailer and it's fantastically clear and colourful for video playback. I don't think video playback will be a problem with double the usual processing power.
The one thing I didn't get to try was the internet or phone calls because I was hoping to try the "shake twice to answer" feature. The microSD slot is under the back plate where the battery and SIM go. It will also reliably take up to 32GB chips (if you can afford them).
All it would take is for someone to develop an LCARS theme Today screen and it would be just like the PADs from Star Trek:TNG. It's thin and light, but big enough to hold onto and read easily. If you like the Touch Diamond 2 but wanted a bigger screen, seriously consider the TG01.
As a former Xperia owner (I'm selling my latest replacement), the TG01 is functionally superior to the X1. It *feels* faster and the larger screen seems almost overwhelming if you're used to the 2.8" screen of the X1.
My only problem w/ TG01 is it only support 2100mzh UMTS which render useless for AT&T's 3G
everybody can make a 1ghz cpu but to make one which performs like one is the deal
and if it use the batt 3 times as fast as a say 333Mhz cpu it sort of beats the purpose
of it being in a handheld device
okay dude , if u wanna have the 1ghz cpu chances are u need it for smooth gaming/emulation purposes , but how u gonna get around that without any HW keyboard ?? the TG01 isnt the x1 killer *yet*
ZenithUK said:
You are all talking about how it sounds on paper.
Get out and actually TRY ONE!
IT ****ING ROCKS!!!!
I went to my local Orange shop this afternoon to see one and have a play with it.
The handset is about the size of the old XDA Exec (HTC Universal) but thinner than an iPhone. In fact the 4.1" screen is almost as big as my Polaris.
It's lightweight, but feels solid and well built. The screen was clear and bright, even under the shop's bright lighting. The phone comes with WinMo6.1, but I'll bet that Toshiba will have an upgrade to WinMo6.5 at some future date.
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I don't think Toshiba will release a rom update. Just google "Toshiba e550G Windows Mobile Petition", you will know why I sad that.
If I decide to get the TG01, I would approach the likes of cmonex and Olipro (OliNex team) with a view to getting a Hard-SPL for it.
As for ROM cooking, I've been looking at the tutorials with interest lately. As I understand it, it all starts with a ROM dump.
Dedicated sub forum
As xda will not have a dedicated sub forum for Toshiba tg01 (a pity), I suggest you all got to MoDaCo.com which now has a dedicated sub forum for the tg01. It was this forum that made i900 what it is today.
http://TG01.MoDaCo.com
If you look in the i900 section, you can see that huge activity and rom cooking going on there a, so don't be fool by the new topic start up for the tg01. see for example http://www.modaco.com/category/342/i...ia-modaco-com/
I'm very interested in this phone, but I wont go to Orange because of their poor internet bundle.
As far as Emulation/Gaming is concerned, you can either use a bluetooth gamepad (which can be found on ebay) or use a wired pc gamepad through the TG01's USB Host
Early results from FPSECE show that this is an emulation beast!! (see http://www.fpsece.net/forum2/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=78&sid=2b0fb50428f1a74faa25c3061036641f)
saw the tg01 in the shop today. for me the device is too big, i could not fit it in my jeans pocket and it does not look very good, although it is very thin.
Ganondolf said:
saw the tg01 in the shop today. for me the device is too big, i could not fit it in my jeans pocket and it does not look very good, although it is very thin.
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How does it not fit?
nevermind said:
But hey, do people really know what 1GHz is? Do they know how fast it'll REALLY be?
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I've seen YouTube vids of the final TG01 released product and it is BLAZING fast....
holdout said:
I've seen YouTube vids of the final TG01 released product and it is BLAZING fast....
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But the screen rotation is slow.
poetryrocksalot said:
How does it not fit?
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too big, it would fit in a suit jacket pocket but not in my jeans. way too big
Hi all,
Well i had and X1 but not for long and i now own and have used the TG01 for the last few days and it is seriously quick and stable. I'm using SPM Mobile Shell as it just makes the devcie so usable and didn't like the Orange Home screen nor the Toshiba Stripes UI either.
The 1GHz processor isn't just for playing games it transforms how quick WM performs to as there is just no lag or stutter doing anything at all also CorePlayer which is pre installed plays unconverted DivX avi's with no problems no lag no stutter and everything is perfectly in sync to. The other thing is although the screen is resistive as long as you remember this and don't just run your finger over the screen but press lightly and then swipe it really is both very responsive nad fast. It's to early to really give feedback on battery life but as these next generation processors although much faster have been optimised for better power consumption the battery seems to be lasting a day easy and that's with me still constantly playing with things playing Music and watching Video's. One last thing that i thought would be a problem just isn't the lack of 3.5mm point as the Micro USB hands free adapter has a 3.5mm point so just plug in my Shure EC2g ear phones and it's all good much easier when listening to Muisc to answer a call this way.
The last thing i would say is the screen is just amazing Toshiba by using thier flat panel tech on it have done a great job the colours are bright and crisp and it's crystal clear. This devcie really does make WM fast and usable especially once you are using SPM Mobile Shell 3.0 with it well at least it does IMO. Oh and whoever claimed screen roatation is slow is wrong.
Marc
So far, not a 100% fail like the last one imo
Some good features. But Im still pissed at the way Jobs is making out like he invented it all. E.g. 720P video...
Boring... its the same thing. They need one with a bigger screen.
courtlandre said:
Boring... its the same thing. They need one with a bigger screen.
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+1.
all phones seem small compared to my HD2
erm.. hardware is good
finally they have added multi-tasking phew
but i hate the interface because if you have loads of apps you have to scroll through loads of pages just to get to an app they haven't done anything about that.
but over all a better iphone to the last
still could be improved alot!
New screen is nice, but its not AMOLED and the resolution is rather pointless when its still a puny 3.5 inches, i call fail on that. The resolution is a way to get around a scaling problem, not a 'feature' in itself. 720P is also nice, but hardly unique, 5MP cam is adequate. OS 4 is meh and has been since it was announced, so im not tempted away, its still a restricted, limited platform controlled by prudish control freaks. The hardware just doesnt creak quite so much (for the time being). A few months later we will see 720P screens and dual core CPUs on devices that cost less all with a better, more open OS.
rovex said:
New screen is nice, but its not AMOLED and the resolution is rather pointless when its still a puny 3.5 inches, i call fail on that. The resolution is a way to get around a scaling problem, not a 'feature' in itself. 720P is also nice, but hardly unique, 5MP cam is adequate. OS 4 is meh and has been since it was announced, so im not tempted away, its still a restricted, limited platform controlled by prudish control freaks. The hardware just doesnt creak quite so much (for the time being). A few months later we will see 720P screens and dual core CPUs on devices that cost less all with a better, more open OS.
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Agreed.
Its going to take allot to tempt me away from my HD2 (allot more from apple ) I'd think about the EVO 4g if it was in the UK.
But apple has never done it for me...
Overall better job though
Another useless i...e thread
courtlandre said:
Boring... its the same thing. They need one with a bigger screen.
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lonelykatana said:
+1.
all phones seem small compared to my HD2
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Here we go again
Agree with all above comments and forthcoming on same line
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Above all its just not good enough, it wont be a hardware leader for very long. Yes its faster than any current HTC and the screen is higher res, but 3.5 inches is not good enough its that simple. Id take 800x480 at 4.3 (or 5) over 960x640 at 3.5 inches ANY day. You have to get pretty close to see the pixels on any current WVGA screen, even the 5 inch Dell Streak.
iphone 4...
yawn...
wake me up when it innovates...
who effing cares....
EVO Ftw!!!!!!!!!!
rovex said:
Above all its just not good enough, it wont be a hardware leader for very long. Yes its faster than any current HTC and the screen is higher res, but 3.5 inches is not good enough its that simple. Id take 800x480 at 4.3 (or 5) over 960x640 at 3.5 inches ANY day. You have to get pretty close to see the pixels on any current WVGA screen, even the 5 inch Dell Streak.
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A 5" screen does not a cell phone make, you might as well just call it a tablet pc with phone capabilities. If it can't fit in my pocket then it is useless to me, external cell phone holders are for narcissistic douchbags.
the screen res is one of its high points along with front facing camera but fails with teh small screen and the wifi only videochat.
Nanan00 said:
A 5" screen does not a cell phone make, you might as well just call it a tablet pc with phone capabilities. If it can't fit in my pocket then it is useless to me, external cell phone holders are for narcissistic douchbags.
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The Dell streak does fit in a pocket. I have no problems with it at all. Its just like a thinner HD2 really.
domineus said:
iphone 4...
yawn...
wake me up when it innovates...
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I agree completely. It's like, it's not anything special at all anymore, now that I know Jobs is a complete tool and lies to the public ("I don't like Flash because it's not open, but here, check out HTML5 in my closed browser").
Same size and weight basically. They say it's thinner, but why are people clamming for thinner phones? That's going to crack!!!!!
720p video? I doubt the quality of this stands up to true 720p video and I dare someone to prove me wrong. I have 720p video on my Olympus EPL1 and I'm sure it blows that mini camera's quality out of the water.
Front-facing camera? Not only do none of the current US networks support this, but do you really think this will take off? Yeah webcams sure did and are everywhere now. As it is now, people using cell phones in my general vicinity are already complete tools, now video calling near me will make them into 150% douchebags.
YAWN is right
My idea of a perfect phone would be the iPhone 4's hardware with Android as software... Don't hate me for saying this, but Apple products truly look high-end.
androidlicious said:
My idea of a perfect phone would be the iPhone 4's hardware with Android as software... Don't hate me for saying this, but Apple products truly look high-end.
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I dont hate you for it, i just think you are completely wrong. I hate Apple 'Style'. For me the HD2 is still the best looking device on the market. Its just wonderful to look at, on or off.
256mb of RAM on board a 1Ghz processor? That's like having a Ferrari with a pinto suspension...lol. That and the small screen; Psuedo Hi-Def on a tiny, non-AMOLED screen? I'm just not feeling Apple, never have, and it would take some real innovation to convert me (i.e. never).
Just my 2 cents...
~Jasecloud4
Ive had a phone with >300DPI before, the Nokia N90. It was really nice and looked odd because of the super pixels density, but ultimately a 2.1 inch screen only goes so far. Its the same here. 3.5 is just too small to make the resolution worth it.
jasecloud4 said:
256mb of ram on board a 1ghz processor? That's like having a ferrari with a pinto suspension...lol
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haha awesome!